Merry Christmas...love, the Henson's!

Matt and I will be traveling for the majority of the Christmas holidays. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season! MERRY CHRISTMAS! and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Holiday Parties

Matt and I have been so busy with Christmas parties. We have had work parties, parties with friends and family gatherings. After the Dicken's Christmas, we had a week off from events so we managed to get some shopping done. The weekend of the 14th though the 16th was INSANE!

On Friday the 14th, both Matt and I had our company Christmas parties. So in typical fashion, we had to split up and attend our parties solo. Matt's party was at a fabulous restaurant called Ellendale's. They had a delicious meal and a lot of fun playing dirty Santa. I am sad I wasn't able to get to see everyone he works with as they are all so sweet and fun to be around. Maybe soon I'll make it out to his office to see everyone!


Also that night, I had my company Christmas party. Our party was at an event hall called City Hall. The space was decorated so nice and looked very festive. They had a great Christmas tree put up and tables facing a stage. During the evening, we had a great meal of prime rib. Needless to say my piece of meat was as large as my plate. Apparently there were mashed potatoes under the meat but I never saw it!

This is our team at work. From left to right: Ben, my boss and the general counsel, me, Pam, a paralegal, Heather, anothe paralegal, and Mike, the AIMS guru and contract administrator.This is my friend Heather from work. She is one of the paralegals. We had a great time dancing with the band at the party!

Matt made it to our Christmas party late after his dinner. He got to meet everybody I work with and they were glad to know he exists! He does exist! After working with this group for almost a year and a half, they had never met him!

The next night, Laurin, Marie, and Leslie had their Forgotten Angels party. It was so much fun and so nice. Well done girls! They had the party at their apartment and served wonderful food. It was so much fun to get together and celebrate the season and do something good too! Each guest had to bring a gift for the forgotten angels on the angel tree at the Salvation Army. I, of course, took a Barbie! Which everyone thought was so typical! Anyway, below are some pictures from the party!

The next day we had our family Christmas with the Core/Kaeser's. Ashley and Carter had us over for dinner. They made 2 kinds of Chili, it was great! We really enjoyed getting to spend time with them!

Our 1st Christmas...

So this is our first Christmas married and in our new house. We have had so much fun decorating the house and our tree. I just had to share a few pictures.

A Dicken's Christmas!

Over the weekend, the town of Franklin closed off the square and had their annual Dicken's Christmas Festival. All of the townspeople dress us from the Dicken's era and perform dances and other scenes from "A Dicken's Christmas" and "Scrooge". Above is a picture of Marley. Although, we never saw Scrooge.
Me and not sure which ghost this is!
The Ghost of Christmas Past!

This was a really fun day. They had horse drawn carriages and all sorts of sales at the local shops. Also, all of the police were dressed in old fashioned constable uniforms! Even the weather helped out, it was very overcast, gray and foggy! Very Londonish!

Thanksgiving

We had our first Thanksgiving at our house. My parents came in town on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We had dinner at our house around 5. It was great. Matt & I did the turkey, squish salad (my Nana's recipe) and asparagus with a horseradish cream sauce. My mom made her special creamed corn, baked yams, and brought the team and wine. The most important thing...the WINE! Matt's mom brought her special stuffing and Jessica made two wonderful desserts...pumpkin cheesecake and a cranberry/pear pie. We had a wonderful day and enjoyed being together so much. We have so much to be Thankful for. Below are some pictures from our fun day!

Matt preparing our 18 pound turkey!
My "tablescape"....

The finished product! We were so proud and it was SOOOOO good!

Family Christmas Card Picture!
of course it was raining!!

Girls night

Brynnen came in town for a "work" visit! It was so fun to see her. Laurin, Brynnen, Brynnen's co-worker Melissa, and I went to dinner at the B'oundry! We had a blast and way TOOOO much wine! But it was fun....Pictures of desert below....

LSU vs Ole Miss

Well once again, we made the trek to Oxford. On Friday, we got there in time for dinner. We met my family at Doe's. It was so fun to see everyone! We didn't do too much that night as we wanted to ready for the next day. Saturday morning arrived and we got up and dressed, and headed to the square to do a little shopping...which was Matt's idea...I swear. We ended up going to Hinton and Hinton and buying Matt some new pants...In case any of you are looking for nice durable khakis, we bought Matt a pair of Bill's Khaki's. They are great and really tough! Which is good because Matt goes through pants like crazy!

Anyway, we went to the Grove, which was packed and got to meet Laurin's new boyfriend! Wes seems like a great guy and he was a great sport! Our tent is so much fun but a lot to take in! So anyway, the day was a great day! We danced, got to see great friends and even Elvis! Even some of friends from Washington were in town! Below is my friend Emily from Washington! It was such a fun surprise to see her! I just hate we couldn't spend more time together!

So as the night wore on, the dance party started. Below is a pic of Matt and I dancing. It's always fun at the LSU game...
OOPS! Did I forget to mention the game?? I can't imagine why...Of course the Rebels lost...big shocker...but I must say, they let Brent Schaffer play...and he was good. Where has he been??

Thanksgiving----well sort of!

Matt and I decided to have both of our families to our new house for Thanksgiving! We were so excited, but a little nervous. We had never smoked a turkey before. So in typical fashion, we assembled all of our friends and had a "trial run". We bought a 14 pound turkey and fired up the Big Green Egg and went for it. The turkey turned out great and we ended up having a great time with our friends over.

November means my birthday!

I can't believe it's been the whole month of November and I haven't posted yet. It's been a busy month...

The first couple of days of November as always my favorite, as it leads up to my birthday! Laurin and I started the celebration on Friday, November 2. As our birthdays are 1 week to the day apart, we always do a celebration together. So we had lunch at Moe's. A favorite mexican food!!!

On Saturday, I got a treat. Matt gave me a gift certificate to get a massage before the wedding and I finally got my chance to use it. It was great to do a little shopping and then get a massage and then do a little more shopping. Saturday night, we did my birthday dinner. We went to Valentino's. I had never been there before but what a great Italian restaurant. We had a fabulous meal. Beef carpaccio, pasta, and grilled seafood! It was a treat.

After dinner, we went back to our neck of the woods and met some friends for birthday drinks! It is always a treat when people come to Franklin to hang out with us! We love it! However, we called it an early night. We had Titans tickets the next day!

Sunday morning we got up and went downtown to the Titans game. One of Matt's colleagues had given us tickets. So we had amazing club seats. Which is always nice!!! The Titans played a great game! We really enjoyed our afternoon, but it was HOT! We took coats and wore jeans and about melted!!!!

Monday was my big day! I finally turned 27! I don't feel any different. Imagine that....it was a good day at work...but working on your birthday is not fun...but as my mom put it...welcome to the grown up world! So the day passed and Matt picked me up from work to go meet friends for drinks! We had plans to go to cool springs, however, as we left my office, the sirens started going off and we were about to have a tornado!!! Needless to say we got stuck in all kinds of traffic and decided to call the night off in favor of doing things another night. However, as we sat in traffic, we went right by one of our favorite hang outs in Brentwood, Cross Corner, and decided it would be better to sit in a bar than in traffic. So we called everyone who was supposed to meet us and they agreed what a better spot. So Matt & I met Bill, Cindy, Marsha, Art, Johnny & Emily for drinks! We ended up staying for dinner and had a great time! Thanks to everyone who joined us! You made my birthday great!

About 9:30 Matt and I headed home! What a great birthday! Thanks to all of my friends and family who remembered me and called me on my birthday! It was great to hear from all of you and I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to everyone...but I love you all!!

Completing October....

So November has once again been a crazy month around the Henson household. As always we are traveling and getting settled. So here goes on updating you since our last post. I was in Boulder Colordao for several days for work. I came back and realized my iPod was stolen while in the airport. DIRTY THIEVES! I couldn't believe they took my old iPod. However, I was really glad they didn't dig deeper in the pocket of my bag because as the airport people tell you to carry your jewelry and valuables on the airplane, I of course had my jewelry in the same pouch as my iPod. At least someone was looking out for me. Well, I finally got home at midnight from the airport, saw Matt about 20 minutes before I passed out from exhaustion and of course the next morning, Matt left to go out of town for work.

I met him at the lake for the weekend. It was so nice to just relax and sleep...I was able to catch up a good bit! We went for a walk and got some exercise. Also, it was cold, so we just curled up and watched football. Sometimes there is nothing better than curling up and taking it easy...Of course, our beloved Rebels weren't on TV. Which was actually a blessing...Auburn beat up on us pretty good...Imagine that....

We came home on Sunday morning in time to watch the Titans game...They are always fun. We went to the grocery store and bought tons of candy as Halloween was approaching...

Halloween in our neighborhood is so fun. We live in a great neighborhood full of kids and so of course we had tons of trick-o-treaters!!! We saw everything for an adorable Minnie Mouse to scary Goblins to our cute neighbors who were a Transformer and a chicken (at least I think she was a chicken). Taylor had half of her costume off by the time they got to our house. All and all it was a fun holiday and a fun night...

Happy Birthday Jessica!

Monday was Jessica's birthday! I feel so bad for not getting a post about it then. However, I was traveling for work and didn't have a computer! However, here's to you Jessica! Matt and I miss you so much! We are so happy that you love Charleston and we can't wait to come for a visit! and we can't wait for you to come home for a visit soon! WE LOVE YOU!!!

It's Been a While!

Wow it's been a while since my last post. So many things have been going on since the beginning of the month, so I will give you a brief rundown. The first week of the month was relatively low key. We went to the lake house for the weekend and just relaxed. The next week, Matt was out of town for a week for a work convention. It was kind of lonely being home alone, but I worked a lot that week. The weekend rolled around pretty fast and Laurin and I headed to Oxford for a girl's weekend. It was the weekend of the Alabama game and we had a blast! Probably a little too much fun...but that's what Oxford is for! We also got to see Brynnen (who I miss so much!), her boyfriend and our good friend Adam, and our good friend Erskine. It was like a high school reunion! Erskine got married in August and we haven't seen him since long before that, so it was good to catch up. We of course headed to the Grill. Here we are enjoying hanging out!

Also, this weekend I got to see my precious sister-in-law, Jessica. She is living in Charleston now and we don't get to see her often. So it was a real treat for her to be in town and for me to get a chance to see her. She has no idea how much Matt and I miss her! We can't wait for her to come home for Thanksgiving! However, we are thrilled she loves Charleston and we can't wait to come for a visit! Laurin and I left Oxford on Sunday morning. Laurin had a test to study for and I was anxious to get home and see Matt. It was a relatively busy week with work. Matt played catch-up and I tried to get ahead as my boss was out of town. Friday once again rolled around and Matt and I headed to Oxford for the game. The Rebs of course got blown away, but it was so much fun to see our friends, Brett, Vista, & Jeffrey! While I didn't remember to take any pictures, we had a great time! We went to the new restaurant the Waltz for drinks on Friday. What a neat place! It's a very trendy restaurant in Oxford and we loved the atmosphere. However, the night was not without it's entertainment. There was a couple sitting at the bar that had a major screaming match in the restaurant/bar. They were apparently eating dinner with his parents and who knows what happened, but it turned into a scene. Not only was the whole bar watching them fight, so was his family...about 30 minutes after they started fighting, they finally left the bar to a standing ovation!

We got home on Sunday and I turned around and headed to Boulder for work. I haven't uploaded my pictures yet, but a good time was had by all! It was two days of work, but we also had a high-tech scavenger hunt! It involved cell-phones, digital cameras and all sorts of crazy challenges. Like I said, pictures to come soon.

While I was away, however, I missed posting a special announcement for Jessica's birthday, so please accept the belated post! It will be above, so it will be special!

I finally got home last night at 11:30, got to see Matt for 30 minutes (before I passed out) and woke up this morning, knowing Matt was travelling for work today. So we have seen each other for 30 minutes since Sunday! SO SAD! However, we are looking forward to the weekend. We are headed to the lake for a weekend of relaxation and rest! Just what I needed!

Happy Birthday Meghan & Caitlin!

I can't believe my precious twin cousins turned 6 today. My how the time flies!!! Especially when you are having fun. I wish I had a recent picture to post of them that I haven't already posted. (that's them with Matt below). I remember when they were born premature, we didn't know what to expect. They were so tiny....Finally they got to come home and everyone was so excited. Quickly they caught up with everyone else their age and now they are smart, active and fun little girls. It has been a joy watching them grow up and I love every minute I get to spend with them! I can't wait for many more birthdays and fun times with these precious girls!

Weekends at the Lake!

We love going to the lake. Most weekends turn into a big party with dancing and The Last Waltz. For those of you who are not familiar with The Last Waltz, it's a documentary on The Band. It's a favorite and we really love "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". It's the best. Below are some fun pictures from Labor Day weekend. Just a little late, but better late than never. Also, this year for labor day, my parents, my cousins Keith & Tracey and their children, Meghan and Caitlin were in town. We spent most of our time on the boat, and the twins love their "Cousin Matty" as they call him. All in all, it was a great weekend!








We won "the Prize" awarded at the end of each night at the Lake. You can only imagine what it's for!

Matt Turns 27!!

I can't believe today is Matt's 27th birthday. As corny as it sounds, it seems like just yesterday we were 23, just starting to date, moving me to DC, and celebrating Matt's 24th birthday! The time has gone by fast but with many amazing memories. I am so lucky that you chose me to be your wife and to spend the rest of our lives together. Matt, you are an amazing husband and I love you more each day that goes by. Thank you for coming into my life and taking this amazing ride with me! I look forward to our future and the awesome times we have together! I love you and Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday ADAM!!!

Happy Birthday ADAM! We hope you have a great 23rd birthday! I can't believe you are that old! You make me feel old! I hope you have a fabulous trip to Memphis (don't do anything we wouldn't do) and I can't wait for you to come visit! WE LOVE YOU!

ARE YOU READY??!!!

Hell Yes! Damn Right! I can't believe it's already football season! As everyone knows this is my FAVORITE time of year. I love going to the Grove and seeing friends and family...hopefully this year, my beloved Rebels will have a little bit better showing than the last couple of years....I'm not holding my breathe! But one can hope! So here's to a fabulous football season and many many fun memories in the Grove this year. HOTTY TODDY!

Cheers to Ross & Ashleigh!

Our good friends, Ross & Ashleigh, got engaged Friday night! We are so happy for them and can't wait for their wedding! Here's to y'all!!! and it's about time....See y'all soon!

St. Lucian Honeymoon!

We spent our honeymoon in St. Lucia. It was fabulous. We stayed at a Sandals resort which was perfect because we didn't have to go anywhere to do everything we wanted. I would highly recommend going there...it was Paradise!

Wedding Pictures