The Whelans

We are home from a wonderful Christmas with both families.  We consider ourselves fortunate that we are only 1 1/2 hours away from each family, so we can do Christmas with both! Here are a few of our favorite things we received....

If you have yet to watch this show; you are missing out! One of my co-workers recommended it as a fun show to watch together, and we are loving it! 

2.) "Light of the World"

I saw this book advertised right before Christmas and immediately ran out to get it for Josh! Apparently, according to my brother-in-law, this is one of the few interviews that have ever been done with the Pope.  

3.) Swiss Army carry on hang-up bag:

    Sorry, couldn't find a visual for this one.  But, this bag is really neat.  My in-laws gave it to Josh, and supposedly it has all the cool bells and whistles! 

Mary Kate:

1.) Josh did really good this year with thoughtful gifts.  He also wrapped them very carefully and thoroughly to make sure I didn't peek, (which I have been known to do once or twice :) ).  My favorite gift he gave me was a Wolfe print to frame for the nursery.  It is such a special one because it reads "Unto Us" with the nativity scene below it in gold.  When he gave it to me, he said that just as Jesus was given unto us, so was this precious baby coming in July! We have heard a lot lately from people, "Was this planned?" (because we haven't been married that long).  But, Josh and I feel that even if this baby was sooner than we would have "planned," it is something we are so thankful for.  We know people that have been wanting children for years, and so we do not take this for granted!  I just still can't believe that we will meet our baby in less than 7 months.  I CAN'T WAIT!!

2.) "Mom's One Line a Day"

I loved this, too! My how Christmases have changed :).  This is a memory book to record all of the milestones and funnies the baby does.  I am hoping I will be dedicated in recording everything, (at least for the first child), ha!

3.) Gift Certificates!! I got some great gift cards to some of my favorite places, and I have already used one- thank you Whelans!

Josh and Mary Kate:

Last but not least, one of OUR favorite gifts together was our Chicago trip with the Sims!  We love traveling because of all the memories we make, including being snowed in for a day longer.  Thank you Mom and Dad for this fabulous Christmas gift!! Where are we going next year?? :).

Lake Michigan on the day we were supposed to leave.  

With Christmas only 4 days away, I thought I would wish everyone a 

Here I am at 3 months preggo... 

I am a little behind, but here are a few pics of before and after Christmas decorations.

......on October 24th, Josh and I found out we were going to be parents!!!!!!! 

Today is a special day, because my dad turns 60!!! The good news is; I checked with him this morning, and he said he can still hear and see fine :).  I have a great dad, and one who is very, very patient to put up with all of us! We are thankful we are only 2 1/2 hours away from my parents, so we get to see them often.  Hope it is a great one, Dad! We love you and CAN'T WAIT to celebrate next weekend here....

Hello blog readers, (all 4 of you)!

Here is a "small glimpse into our life" right now.... This weekend we were actually NOT traveling, in Oxford with NO houseguests! Don't get me wrong- we love our busy lives and all our fun visitors- (especially the Tau Chapter), but we were happy to spend some time just the two of us!! So, what did we do you ask??? Acted like complete, boring losers. And loved every minute of it! Friday night, Josh got back from Birmingham late, (did I mention that he loves his new job), and I had been DYING to go see "Life as we know it." So, we opted to run by Chic Fil A real quick before the movie. We didn't get the memo that every family with children under the age of 3 would also be there. Good times. I found myself feeling sorry for a mother who was rocking one baby in the infant carrier, and yelling at another to stop running. Not there yet... Then, on the way out I saw one of my old professors (chasing HIS two year old), and asked me, "What are you doing here?" Great question! Is it that obvious that we are out of place?? Needless to say, in the car we both made a vow that from now on, we would eat at "grown up" places on Friday night. On to the movie.... SO GOOD!!!!!! I'm talking the best chic flick I have seen in a long time! I was beginning to think these movie people were running out of ideas. And, for a bonus- Josh loved it too! Anyway, I cannot tell you what time I went to bed because that would increase my loserdom tremendously.
Saturday we watched the Rebels get slaughtered by that horrible orange team. I will name their name- Tennessee- for fear of sounding like Dan Mullen with that "team beneath us." I am going to leave that at that! I will say, I actually "rambled" a whole paragraph about Ole Miss/State- obnoxious facebook, BUT I decided against posting it. I don't want to be one of those offensive blog writers. I want people to like my blog, not for it to make them mad! Hence, the deletion of the paragraph from this very passionate Ole Miss fan! Now, I will just leave it to your imagination :).
This weekend we are headed to Jackson, then Picayune to have a quick Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family. Then, we will drive back Monday (5 hours, ugh) and go to Greenwood Thursday and Friday. Is it terrible that all of this makes me tired??? I am happy to see my mom's side of the family, though, because we definitely don't see them enough. And, I always love a relaxing trip to G'wood.

One last thing, (if you are still with me). I don't know if I have mentioned, but I love to read. In college and grad school, it was difficult with all the schoolwork. However, now I have gotten back into the swing of it. I love new good book recommendations. Reading before bed just helps me relax after a busy day. Wow, I think the loserdom went up a few points with that statement. Anyway, I have just started reading "Water for Elephants." It was recommended by my mom. She knew I would appreciate it, because it is about a man who has Alzheimer's, lives in a nursing home, and is telling his stories of working in the circus. Ding, Ding, Ding!! This is what I do everyday at work! People ask me if my job is sad, and I honestly RARELY get sad. I feel like I am blessed with over 100 grandfathers! Elderly people have so much wisdom. I just love to listen to them talk. Plus, as I have mentioned before; they keep me laughing about 90% of the time. Actually, a few weeks ago, I wore jeans on Friday, (of which I will never wear again), BECAUSE one of my patients grabbed my pocket and said, "Man, those jeans are tight." I always say young people and elderly people = brutal honesty! How did I get on this rant? This is getting ridiculous.
The last thing I will leave you with is a great book I just finished. Seriously, you may read it in 3 days. "Don't Blink," by one of my favorites: James Patterson. Side note: If your husband sometimes travels for business, you may have to get your sweet, baby sister to stay with you so the boogie man doesn't get you....

Ok, I better go now before I start revealing family secrets, (just kidding)! Hope you all have a fabulous week!

Last weekend, all my Chi O friends from college came back to Oxford.  It was the most fun I have had in a looooonnnnggggg time!!!!!!! I have forgotten how much fun we have when we are together! We are going to try to keep this tradition going at least once a year, right?!!?  I am going to be a HUGE goober for a second, but I am just really thankful for all my college friends.  I mean, we have 10 best friends, (we missed you SK)!  Also, we have this hilarious email thread, and it always keeps me going through the work day to see what is going on.  It may just be one sentence from someone that has me laughing out loud at work, (and has my co-workers thinking I am so weird).  

On Friday, my little sister turned 21!! I can't believe she is 21! I probably need to apologize to her for my "bossy big sister" tendencies..... I sometimes forget that I am the sister and not the mother!  I am so thankful for her as a sister and a friend.  She has always been a wonderful sister to me- way more than I deserve!

I just haven't had anything fun to report lately!!  We have been staying EXTREMELY busy, though.  I have no idea what we do all the time but somehow the weeks are just flying by! How is it October already???  And how have we been married almost 6 months?!?!? Crazy! It has been so fun though! I really hope the first year is the hardest, because that would mean the rest of married life is going to be a breeze.  Pretty sure this is not the case, but so far we have had a blast. I think me not being in grad school has a lot to do with this.  I tell Josh that those were the "grumpiest" 2 years of my life.  Before I get off track and start rambling; I will leave you with a recipe.

I think that was one of the quotes from the Clarion Ledger today.  They hit the nail on the head.  After halftime, we decided we would watch us score one more touchdown and then go back to the grove. Needless to say, we didn't make it back to the grove until 6:30.  I don't think it EVER crossed our minds that we would be in DOUBLE overtime with Jacksonville State!!!  Surprisingly, Josh and Kirk behaved themselves pretty well, considering.  We had one hat throwing incident and a few expletives, but other than that we were good! Josh says he was just so "numb" he couldn't react.  He did tell me after the game that we "are not going to New Orleans anymore for the Tulane game."  Luckily he changed his mind.  This morning he said we really can only go up from here.  I think that's about right! Oh well, we are still (unrealistically) optimistic!  And, somehow we still love the Rebels.  The obnoxious state fan fb statuses on the other hand...... I am not going to say one word until after the Egg Bowl! 

 We did have such a fun weekend despite the football game.  Kirk and Caroline stayed with us, and we had a great time being low key!  Friday night, we cooked out with Jenny, Sparkles, and Carolina.  We moved our table to our back porch bc the weather was so wonderful.   We are going to do that more often- great idea, Caroline!  

Josh's parents came today and went to church and took us to lunch.  We haven't seen them in forever, so it was fun to catch up.  We even got to go look at some cars this afternoon!  Josh has realized that his car is on the downhill slope, and after 15 years it's time for a new one.  

 Ok, off to dinner and a movie!  I am SO happy for a three day weekend. :)

 Happy Labor Day!  

One of my good friends, Sheley Taras, gave birth to her first daughter today! Josh and I got to run up to Memphis this afternoon to meet her.  She is truly beautiful and looks just like Mom and Dad!!!  She DEFINITELY has her mom's cute lips, and Sheley thinks she has her dad's nose.  She is a healthy blessing from God! It has been fun to have been there since Sheley called me in January to tell me she was pregnant.  I know they will be great parents, and Josh and I are excited to watch little VK grow. :) 

I am feeling thankful today.  Something that I should feel everyday.  However, I am guilty of taking all of my wonderful blessings for granted.  But, I was reminded of how truly blessed I am when I was thinking this morning how much I would rather have been back in bed.  Then, I realized that my biggest "problem" was feeling tired.  Not to say that our lives are perfect in any way, but God has truly blessed us.  I could go on for days, but I will spare you. :)  So, today I am counting my blessings.

The things you do when your husband has been out of town ALL WEEK!!

One of my best friends from Ole Miss, Meg, got engaged about a month ago!!! I am so so happy for her! We love her fiance, too-- now that we FINALLY got to meet him this past Spring!  Our anniversary is 4/10/10 and theirs will be 6/11/11.  Love it!  Josh and I can't wait for all the festivities Meggie and Bob!  Congratulations :)

Most of the Sims crew got to escape to the beach last week.  It was WONDERFUL!! We were missing a key part though- the baby sister! We really did miss her a lot, and hope that next year we can ALL go. :) We stayed in Santa Rosa, FL. and it was very secluded and private- which we loved.  I did not see one trace of oil, but the seaweed was bad.  I am not complaining though; the water was still beautiful! Mainly we just cooked in the condo and relaxed.  You know you are getting older when reading all day and going to bed before 10:30 is fun.