The Henson's

More Lillie and a welcome home!

2010-11-15T22:17:00.000-06:00

The story of Lillie’s birth- June 3, 2010!

2010-11-15T22:03:00.000-06:00

So as we got all checked in, I got my epidural and we settled in for the night. It was about 2 in the morning by the time the nurse cut the lights out. We were so glad to get some rest, we knew we had an eventful day ahead of us….we just didn’t know how eventful! So about 5 in the morning my nurse comes in to start my pitocin since my contractions had slowed due to the epidural. As soon as they gave me the pitocin, Lillie’s heart rate skyrocketed! I mean it was almost to 200 beats per minute. The nurse immediately stopped the pitocin. She called Dr. Cox (my OB) who wanted us to wait an hour before trying again. So, I went back to sleep for another hour. At 6 the nurse decided to try again. This time, Lillie did just fine with the pitocin. Her heart rate stayed right where it was supposed to be. Good and strong! At 7 the nurse shift changed and our new nurse arrived. At first, we weren’t really sure about the new nurse (she hadn’t her coffee yet and I can totally relate, I’m not a morning person either), but by the end of the day April was basically our new best friend. She was absolutely amazing! Anyway, shortly after April arrived Dr. Cox came in and broke my water. We were in business! My body began dilating and things were moving smoothly. Our families arrived around 10 and were so excited! About 12:00, I began running a fever. Lillie was still fine, but I wasn’t feeling so hot. Dr. Cox started my on an antibiotic at this point and oxygen. It was lovely having that thing up my nose! So anyway, about 2:00 our friends showed up and we got to say hey to everyone but Art (he got there a little later).

After visiting with everyone, my blood pressure was getting a little high and so it was time for a little rest. Or so I thought. April checked me and I was dilated to 10 cm. It wasn’t time to rest, it was time to start pushing. About 3:00 everyone left us and it was Matt, April and I in the room. I started pushing and boy it was hard! About 4:15, we hadn’t made much progress and so April decided I need to take a rest. I literally passed out. Matt got a breather too! At about 4:45, Dr. Cox came in and it was time to try again. I was getting desperate at this point. I really wanted Lillie to be here. I pushed and pushed. At 5:15, I realized my body was coming to and I could feel everything…remember, I had gotten my epidural at 2 in the morning and this is at 5 in the afternoon. Anywho, they called the anesthesiologist and they came in and gave me a boost! However, we also discovered my epidural pump had broken and so the anesthesiologist just stayed put and gave me a dose every few minutes. About 5:30, Dr. Cox told me she could see Lillie’s head. Matt and I were thrilled. We didn’t think it would be much longer. Well an hour later, we hadn’t gotten any further and Dr. Cox told us it was time to do a c-section. My body was exhausted, my blood pressure was really high, my body had a fever and Lillie needed to come out. So at 6:35, I agreed to the c-section. Once I said yes, and had a good cry, our room was stormed with nurses and doctors galore! My good friend April was still hanging with us and even though her shift was over, she was headed to the OR with us. Matt had been so good about keeping our families updated as best as he could throughout the afternoon, he was given about 2 minutes to run to the waiting room and tell everyone we were headed into surgery. Matt let everyone know and met us in the OR. I was really nervous, so they gave me some morphine to help me relax. I had never had morphine before, and it made me talk non-stop. It’s a good thing, I don’t remember much. Anyway, we agreed to the c-section at 6:35 and sweet Lillie was here at 7:02pm. She weighed 8 lbs, 6.5 ounces and was 20 ¼ inches long. The only thing I remember from the OR is Dr. Cox telling me to look up and she was holding Lillie over my head. Matt got to hold Lillie first and he brought her right over to see me. I was so excited. They got me put back together and let me hold Lillie on the way to the recovery room.

Lillie, Matt and Lillie’s nurse, Susan, got me settled in and Matt took Lillie to the waiting room to meet our families. Little did we know that everyone except our mom’s had gone to celebrate Lillie’s birth. Anyway, our mom’s got to meet Lillie first!

Then my mom came to the recovery room with me and Matt’s mom went with him and Lillie to get her settled in the nursery. After a while, Laurin came to see me too. I remember her walking in and starting to cry! We’ve been through a lot in our 25 years together and she said she just lost it seeing her best friend laid up in the bed! She was also a very proud auntie Lala! The rest of the night is a blur for me. Matt said they finally took me to my room about 10:30. Apparently, our families had all gotten to see Lillie in the nursery and had gone home to get some rest. So we got to have a little family time, just the 3 of us! I finally got to hold Lillie and didn’t want to give her up even though I couldn’t stay awake. Finally Matt took Lillie so I could rest. It had been a long day, but after 19 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing and a c-section, our beautiful baby girl was here!

We stayed at the hospital until that Sunday, June 6. I’ve never been so glad to go home in all of my life! We had quite the welcome home from sweet Shelby who was so ready to see us and our new addition!

Today is the due date!

2010-11-15T21:44:00.000-06:00

June 2^nd- my due date finally arrived. And of course, I didn’t go into labor before my due date. So Matt worked his last day of work and my parents took me to a big lunch at Amerigos! I ate so much. But I couldn’t eat anything after 4 that day, so I gorged! Huge bowl of pasta, appetizers! It was wonderful. But my cravings weren't satisfied yet… a little before 4, I decided I needed ice cream. I mean what else did I crave during my pregnancy but ice cream. So mom and dad took me to get my last fix! We hit up Ben and Jerry’s on the Franklin Square. Man that hit the spot! So we head back to my house, Matt gets home and my parents leave to give us a chance to have a little down time before going to the hospital.

Matt and I are getting the last of our things together. I decide I need to shower before heading to the hospital. Jill, the birthing class teacher, told us to shower and shave our legs before heading into the hospital. Well, I did. I also started having some contractions. They were timed out at about 6-7 minutes apart. I mean really, was I really going into labor on my due date? Well yes I was…

Adam and Carmen came over bc they were going to house/Shelby sit while we were at the house. We took some pictures and headed to the hospital. As we drove to the hospital, my contractions were getting more and more severe. I told Matt, I’m really in pain and really in labor! He thought I might be being a little over-dramatic. Well not so much. We got to Baptist hospital at midnight and checked in. After about half an hour or so, I was in my room and being hooked up to the fetal monitor. Sure enough, I was in labor with contractions 4 minutes apart!

Week 40

2010-11-15T21:39:00.004-06:00

My due date was 1 day away. I had my last regular appointment with Dr. Cox. We confirmed our induction. We were scheduled to check into Baptist at midnight on June 3^rd. Matt and I couldn’t wait. The time was finally here to meet sweet Lillie…Finally!

Week 39

2010-11-15T21:39:00.002-06:00

More waiting…Dad went home to work. Mom’s birthday came that week. I did manage to go out to eat that night. I was hungry and huge! Literally I had a hard time reaching the table over my belly! We went to Dr. Cox on the 27^th of May and finally got the blessing that we had been waiting for! We were going to be induced June 3^rd, unless we went into labor earlier. At this point, I knew that I would have to be induced. Lillie was way too comfortable in there to come out on her on. So that weekend was Memorial Day and Chappell’s first birthday. We went to Chappell’s birthday party Saturday. She had a precious party with an Alice in Wonderland theme. It was a mad hatter tea party. Matt and I got her a precious tea set and some bath toys! She was so cute!! And loved her party. It was so fun to see our friends for what we were sure would be the last time before our Lillie arrived! Sunday night everyone arrived in Nashville. Marsha had us all over to her house for a cook out. Also, we celebrated my last day of work! I decided to take a few days off before we were to be induced so that we can finish up a few things to get ready for Lillie’s arrival. It was so nice to take a few days and sleep (well as much sleep as I could possibly get) since I was so big and uncomfortable.

Week 38

2010-11-15T21:38:00.001-06:00

More waiting… It was also our 3^rd anniversary. Matt and I cooked out for our anniversary because I was so big and uncomfortable that I didn’t want to go anywhere.

Week 37-

2010-11-15T21:37:00.000-06:00

We had our sonogram and were told that Lillie was already 8 pounds with 3 weeks to go! I started to freak out! She was good and healthy but just big. I had nightmares about a 9 pound baby and it seemed it was coming true. At our appointment with Dr. Cox, I begged and pleaded to be induced. But she said it wasn’t time. It was to early….so we waited. Mom and Dad moved to Nashville that weekend because we expected for me to go into labor at any moment. We continued to wait…

Week 36

2010-11-15T21:35:00.000-06:00

I started working from home full time this week. Here’s why! I went to my weekly appointment with Dr. Cox and I had noticed that I had started swelling more and then I developed a rash. As Dr. Cox was doing her measurements, I measured way far ahead of where I was supposed to be. This wasn’t a huge cause for concern, but since I had been having contractions, Dr. Cox had me hooked up fetal monitor to check things out. I was having fairly steady contractions for a few minutes at a time, but then they would die out. Lillie’s heart beat sounded great, too! Dr. Cox decided that I was swelling so much, that it was time for me to start to take it easier. Well as you can imagine, that’s hard for me. I still had so much to do! Also at this point, Dr. Cox thought it would be a good idea to order another sonogram to see how big Lillie had gotten. She was concerned that Lillie had gotten to be too big and we may have to be induced! Well, first and foremost was our health, so I went to my office to meet with my boss and explain to him the situation. He simply said, I don’t want you to go into labor here, so stay in touch and do as much as you can from home. So I packed up my things and home I went. We took the rest of the week fairly easy.

35 weeks and counting...

2010-11-15T21:33:00.000-06:00

So after the Jimmy Buffett concert, the great flood of Nashville happened. My parents and Adam were in town and really left just in time. The rains came Saturday and we watched an 18-wheeler float down I-24 on the tv. We had no idea how bad it was going to get. After the concert on the way home we noticed some flooding on the roads, but just thought it was just a bad rain. However, the next morning, it was still raining and only getting worse. We watched as our town started to flood. Downtown was a disaster, water was everyone. People were fleeing their homes. My friend, Pam, from work, had her whole house flooded and lost her car. Matt and I were even stranded in Franklin as all the roads were flooded and there really was not way out!!! Thank goodness I didn’t go into labor!

Bad Blogger!!

2010-10-08T22:13:00.000-05:00

So I never realized how difficult it was to blog when you have a baby! I mean I love her so much, but I have very little time to do much else but take care of her and spend time with Matt. I have finally found some time and am playing catch up! So please bear with me!!!

Lillie's first concert!

2010-05-30T12:16:00.000-05:00

On May 1, Jimmy Buffett came to Nashville. I had never seen him before and was determined we were going to the concert, no matter how pregnant I was!!! So we bought tickets and "took" Lillie to her first concert. We both loved it! I mean seriously, who doesn't love JB, I know I do! Well Lillie loved it too. While Matt and I danced throughout the whole concert, Lillie kicked and squirmed and moved around the whole time too. I think we might have a little parrot head on our hands!! Which is fine by us... Anyway, so at 35 weeks, we headed to the Bridgestone arena and had a blast! We sat with our good friends Chad and Heather! Take a look at Chad's gear below. Little did he know, he might actually need that snorkle later on!

So we knew it was raining outside, and that it was bad weather, but we had no idea how bad. During the concert, Jimmy made a comment about the Nashville flood of 2010. Well, flood it did. As we were driving home in the torrential rain, we just thought what a bad storm. We turned onto Hillsboro road to get home and it was flooded. I mean standing water no telling how deep. When we woke up the next day to horrific rain again, my parents decided it was time to bolt! and I'm pretty sure they are glad they did. The flooding only got worse and come Monday, Matt and I were stranded in Franklin. Every road out was underwater. What we didn't realize was that other parts of Nashville had it so much worse than we did. The whole city pretty much flooded. I have never seen anything like it. So while we couldn't leave Franklin, we were very fortunate that our house didn't flood and we were ok. Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone who lost so much!

Baby Showers Galore!

2010-05-30T12:09:00.000-05:00

Matt, Lillie and I were very blessed to have such wonderful friends give us baby showers in Jackson & Nashville.

My sweet girl friends in Jackson (and a couple of wonderful friends who traveled, thanks Kimberly & Jason) gave us a wonderful baby shower Easter Weekend. Madison opened up her beautiful home for our shower and we had a blast. We got so many amazing gifts! Everyone was so sweet. Our hostesses gave us our car seat and we were totally surprised. It was the exact thing I wanted and was so worried about getting. Thanks girls for making this so special! Uncle Adam gave us the big lamb you see in the picture above. I love it and it is literally huge!!!! It will be perfect for Tummy time and for Lillie to love on!

So excited about our carseat!!!!

The next weekend, our wonderful friends in Nashville had a shower for us! It was a wonderful party at Mike and Lisa Whitten's house. We enjoyed getting to see everyone so much. Again, Lillie was showered with wonderful presents. We really got everything we needed! Matt was especially excited, we got a BOB stroller! One of the major items Matt really wanted. Thanks Marsha! Thanks so much to everyone!

Lastly, the sweet girls I work with and my sweet boss hosted a baby shower for us at work. They were so sweet to get my favorite dessert, cheesecake!, and have punch. We enjoyed everyone getting together and really appreciated all they did for us. Lillie is all set now! My boss' wife even came and brought his 2 adorable little girls, Sophia and Sara. As you can, we got a little practice with Sara! Thanks so much to Pam, Halley, Kelly, Amber and Ben!

Birthdays, Bedding and Birthing classes!

2010-03-30T16:38:00.000-05:00

So, alot has been going on at our house lately. Where do we start?!! A two weekends ago, Matt and I made the trip to Jackson for my dad's birthday. Dad knew we were coming in town for his birthday, but what he didn't know was that we had been planning a surprise 60th birthday party for him. So in typical fashion, Dad wasn't very cooperative. He wanted us to cook redfish from his recent trip and couldn't figure out why Matt and Adam wanted to spend all afternoon Saturday at the country club watching basketball. Neither of them really cares about basketball, so you can imagine Dad's confusion. Luckily, Adam and Matt can be very convincing and managed to get Dad out of the house for a couple of hours so we could set up and get ready. All of our guests arrived around 7, and Dad got there around 7:30. I think he was surprised. We had a great turnout, with friends from Jackson and out of town coming to celebrate. I think Dad was truly honored at some of the guests who came from so far away! The party was a blast. In typical fashion, it ran late. Of course, after Dad's friends left, Adam's friends were still there and the party had only started at 11:30! We had a blast! Even the dogs had fun. Adam and Carmen brought their puppy, Swayze, to meet Shelby. They seemed to get along great, well until Shelby chased Swayze into the pool. Poor Swayze couldn't get her footing and fell in. Luckily Mom had heated the pool so it wasn't freezing, but not to be out done, Shelby promptly jumped in the pool. So the night turned into a pool party, with some of Adam's friends following suit. And of course, an evening would not be complete without a trip to Krystal. Being the sober one, I probably should have taken Carmen to get the food, but Nicole was sweet enough to do it. And thankfully, she was in good shape too!

Also, this weekend, we got our bedding for Lillie's nursery. We couldn't be more thrilled with the way it turned out. Here are some pictures below. I LOVE IT! And it, of course, has a little sentimental value too. My first grade teacher, and some of my close guy friends mom, made this bedding for Lillie. She did a fantastic job! Now all we have left is for the chair to come in and get some curtains done. Mrs. Owen is going to do a curtains for us with the leftover fabric. I can't wait to see how they turnout!

Also on the recent agenda was birthing classes at Baptist Hospital where Lillie will be born. Well, our teacher was great, but what can you say about birthing classes??! We learned alot....It was all good information to have, just kind of overwhelming to do it all in 2 days. But we couldn't find 6 consecutive weeks we would both be in town to attend a class. So 2 days it was. So what all did we learn?! We learned to change diapers, bathe the baby, wash her hair...we learned that you don't put baby powder on a baby anymore, it can cause pneumonia....we learned where to check in, about the new visitation rules, and we learned that an epidural is God's gift to women when they are in labor....yes I will be getting one as soon as I can. According to Baptist, they won't let you have an epidural until you show some progress in your labor....my doctor said I could have one whenever I wanted....I'm sure it will be some mix of the 2, but in my mind, why suffer when you don't have too. As soon as possible please!!

Other than that, and working, not too much going on here. I had my glucose and anemia test 2 weeks ago. I haven't heard my results yet, so we are going with no news is good news. We have started our every 2 week rotation with the doctor, so we go again on Thursday and I figure I can get my results then. We are headed to Jackson this weekend for a baby shower with all my sweet friends. They are so kind to honor Matt, Lillie and I in such a sweet way! I hope to do a better job in the picture department than I did at Dad's party. Maybe someone else will take some pictures too! Oh well, more later!

28 weeks and 3 days plus a name!

2010-03-13T22:25:00.001-06:00

Alright everyone! After many ignored requests, here are some pictures of what I look like pregnant. As of today, I am 28 weeks and 3 days. We only have about 80 days to go. I can't believe time is going by so fast! It's crazy!!!! Well other than how large I am getting, we have finally settled on a name and couldn't be more thrilled. By the way, Matt says these pictures make me look bigger than I am. Bless my sweet husband for attempting to make me feel better :) We have decided to name her...

Lillie Haynes Henson

We are so excited to have a name, something to call this little one! and let me tell you, she has personality already. She kicks all the time and loves ice cream, just like her mama these days! She has both of our "wild" streaks we think because she seems to party in my stomach all the time! Other than kicking up a storm, she seems to be perfectly content!

I go for my 29 week check up on Thursday, thats when I have my lovely glucose test. They give you a small "bottle" of water that contains 50g of sugar for your test. You have to drink it in about 5 minutes and then wait an hour to have your blood drawn to see how you processed that much sugar. The doctor gave it to me at my last visit in case I wanted to drink it in the car on the way to my appointment. She made it sound like a great idea, but then said, it can make some people throw up. So I had visions of driving up i-65 chugging my glucose drink and then having to pull over in rush hour traffic to throw up. lovely, so I think I will wait until I get there to drink my hummingbird food! I'll let you know how it goes!

Adventures in Registering for Baby Girl!

2010-02-14T08:58:00.001-06:00

Matt has been at the Miami boat show this weekend, so I headed to Oxford to see my mom, Adam and Carmen! On Friday, being the dutiful grandmother, my mom went with me to Babies R Us in Memphis to register for sweet Baby Girl! My sweet friend Elizabeth sent me a list of items that I needed to register for and so with the list in hand, we were off! We got to Memphis about 2 on Friday after having lunch with Carmen. (In case you are ever in Horn Lake, have lunch at Wise Guys pizza! Carmen took us there and it was the best pizza I have had since we were in Chicago in December. It's Chicago style pizza and amazing!, but I digress...) Anyway, we arrived at Babies R Us at 2, checked in to get our scanner gun, and we were off with the list in hand. Of course, nothing is arranged in logical order in there, and its hard to find anything. I mean you would think they would have all the bath stuff on one aisle, but nope! It's spread out over about 3. Oh well, first up on our agenda was bottles and all that goes with it. I bet your thinking, it's just bottles, how hard can it be?! Well, there's about 14 different brands of bottles and each has about 3 different sub-types. So I'm standing there, looking at my list, looking at the wall of bottles and feel this major feeling of being overwhelmed come over me. So I take a step back, and a deep breath and make a choice. I figure if I got the wrong kind, someone will tell me at my showers and I can return the bottles and get the right kind. Next up, pacifiers....again no simple task. Apparently some babies are really picky about their pacifiers and some don't care. Some only like soothies, others like the avent kind. So I'm supposed to pick out the pacifier that this baby is going to like without ever meeting her....great! Again, my theory, if I get them at a shower, I'll open 1 package, let her try it out and if she doesn't like it, take the others pack and try a different kind....I think I'm seeing a pattern. Parenting is going to be a lot of trial and error :) So rather than take you step by step through our time at Babies R Us, I'll fast forward to the next time we checked our watch. Remember it was 2 when we started. It's almost 4:00 by this point. So we decide to grab a seat, now we know why they have rocking chairs all over the store, it's not only so you'll buy one, but to give you a place to rest when you have hit the delirium stage of registering. I sit down, take out my list, and begin seeing what I lack. Well that was a fairly long list. So after about 5 minutes of resting, we start again. Luckily, we have learned our way around the store and are able to get finished by about 4:30. We got to check out and I realize, I never found the bathtub I wanted. So I asked the lady about it, and of course, it wasn't with the bathtubs, it was over by the strollers??!! So anyway about 4:45 we are ready to leave, with the bathtub in hand b/c it's on clearance and "may" not be there when people are buying for our showers. I am such a sucker. Oh well! Mom bought a lady bug night light that shines stars on the ceiling! It's pretty cool! After Babies R Us, we headed over to Cotton Tails by Laurel Wood Mall. Thanks Liz! We walked away with some precious items. Baby Girl got 3 outfits and 3 pairs of shoes! They had baby Merrell's on sale, so we got a pink pair of those, and 2 pair of sandals, Red and Pink! They are so cute! After we closed down Cotton Tails, we headed back to Oxford for dinner at Lenoras! YUM! Saturday, we slept in and relaxed, but no trip to Oxford is complete without a trip to Oxford Kids Company and Neilsons. Both were having great sales. We got a cute Christmas jumper and a dress on sale at OKC for 60% off each. and Neilson's had a sale too! I got a cute pink fleece jacket for 70% off! Man I love a deal, but when you get a precious waterproof micro-fleece coat for $17, you are doing something right! Above is a pic of her coat! Anyway, this sweet girl is going to have a closet full of clothes before she got here. And some of the stuff, my mom brought me, was my stuff when I was little. It's so neat to have my stuff mixed in. I had some cute day gowns that are made of really light cloth that will be perfect for this summer. Anyway, per the instruction of my husband, I better start getting my self together so I can get on the road before the snow hits...did I mention I am sick of snow....YUCK! Bring on the warm weather!

Oh, also, today is Valentines. My Valentine sent me a dozen beautiful red roses and I can't wait to see him when I get home! Happy Valentines Day everyone! Hugs and Kisses!

6 months preggo...

2010-02-02T18:43:00.000-06:00

So today marks the beginning of month 6 in this pregnancy. I can't believe we have crossed the halfway mark and are on the down-hill side...not too much going on, yea right?!! Baby girl is moving around a ton. I feel her all the time which is pretty cool, except when I'm sleepy. Sometimes it gets uncomfortable, but what can I say...at least she's moving around. I keep making Matt put his hand on my stomach to see if he can feel her too. I swear I can feel her when I put my hand on my tummy, but he says he can't yet. Maybe it's my mind playing tricks on my hand. Oh well! I am finally starting to show a baby belly. I finally look pregnant and not like I've gained 15 pounds...speaking of pounds, the doctor says I'm doing great on my weight gain. 7 pounds so far....so I think that's pretty good. I have finally outgrown my regular clothes...and have started looking for maternity clothes. I was happy to make it to 22 weeks before having to get into the stretchy pants. But seriously, who designs maternity clothes...they are hideous...I have found 4 pieces I like...luckily, my sweetest friend Kimberly has a sister who was pregnant recently and said I could borrow her clothes. Kimberly and Jenn, I am forever indebted to you for this. Not only will it save me the trouble of searching for something cute, I won't have to go to the mall or shop online!

Other than that, we are adjusting to getting ready for the baby. I have finally selected fabric for the nursery bedding. Now to put my art skills to use and draw out what I want. That should be interesting. But it's going to be pretty cool to tell baby girl that mommy's 1st grade teacher made her bedding. Yup, you read that right. My sweet 1st grade teacher and mom of some really good friends makes bedding and household items and has agreed to make my baby bedding for me. Not only will she do a great job, but it's kind of cool and sentimental too!! Also, Matt and I went and began our baby registry a couple of weekends ago. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of going to Babies R Us, be warned. Not only is it intimidating, but everything they have online isn't in the store. Or at least that was the case with our Babies R Us. We wandered around like chickens with our heads cut off looking at all the baby stuff, decided to make some selections, only to come home and do more research, go to a different store and change our minds. We only got through the big items before enough was enough. But at least we have selected a car seat/stroller, swing, etc. My mom is going to go back with me to do everything else. Bless her and our sanity :)

Lastly, I know I keep referencing baby girl as "baby girl", but we still don't have a name. We have it narrowed down to 2 names, but are having so much trouble choosing...I mean this kid is going to be stuck with this name for the rest of her life and I can't imagine having a 40 year old "Gracie Lou" on my hands! When we have a name, I'll let ya know!

Nursery in progress...

2010-01-23T13:34:00.000-06:00

So we started working on the nursery recently. Our furniture came in last week and on Saturday, Matt, Johnny & Art went and got the baby furniture and put it together for us. A special thanks to Johnny and Art for being such good friends and helping! I know this wasn't an easy task or a fun way to spend your Saturday :) They were so sweet. As you can see, we are still in the early stages, but I was so excited about the furniture I couldn't help but put up pictures. We are still trying to find bedding, deciding whether to buy or have it made. I just can't seem to find anything I like so unless it's cost prohibitive, I'll probably have a friend of mine's mom make the bedding :) We still lack lots of stuff, but have made a step in the right direction. And as you can see, the dogs are very comfortable in baby girl's room! Matt and I really think Shelby will move in there permanently when we bring the baby home! Oh! the other dog in the picture is Layla! No I haven't convinced Matt to let me adopt another dog, we were keeping Layla for Matt's mom while she was out of town...

So while the guys were working on the baby furniture, Emily, Chappell and I had a girls lunch and went shopping. We had a good time, just check out the smile on Chappell's face!

I couldn't help but snap her picture b/c she was having so much fun on her girl's day out!!!

PINK OR BLUE???!!!

2010-01-16T11:07:00.000-06:00

January 11 was a big day at our house! We finally got to find out what Baby H is...I mean besides a baby of course. Matt and I couldn't hardly stand it! I don't think either of us slept much the night before because we were so excited! So on Monday morning, we got up early and headed downtown to Vanderbilt Imaging Center to have our sonogram! Everyone really thought it was a boy...and they had me convinced that my inclination was wrong and it was a boy! Well everyone was wrong...

Baby H is a GIRL!!!!!!

Matt and I were so excited. We couldn't stand it....I of course went out and bought something pink immediately! And now we are getting our furniture in today for the nursery and starting to register tomorrow. I am so thrilled to finally know what this baby is...It's so nice to say, She or Her or whatever feminine pronoun we can use.

Of course, now we begin the name game... Seriously naming a baby is quite the challenging task...All the names I like Matt's not to fond of and vice versa. We will come to an agreement, but man what an overwhelming task! We also have the 100,000 baby name book. That's the most intimidating thing I've ever looked at. But we'll get there.

For now, I am starting to feel her move more and more, which I love. I know Matt is ready to feel her too. Hopefully soon!!!

Hayden Michelle Kaeser

2010-01-16T10:54:00.000-06:00

So we arrived home from Dallas on January 3rd about noon. Matt and I had intended on a day of relaxing, washing clothes and just generally taking it easy. We little did we know that we were going to get to meet Ashley & Carter's little one that day. About 3, I sat down to blog about Dallas. I was going to do so good and get my pictures uploaded and blogged that day we got home. Well as soon as I sat down and plugged my camera in, the phone rang and Matt told me to take a quick shower, it was time to head to Baptist! Ashley was in labor! and Carter said the baby would be that night. So we headed to Baptist and not to long after we got there, sweet Hayden Michelle Kaeser was born! She made her debut only 17 minutes after we all left the room. She's adorable and everyone is doing great! Matt and I can't wait to see her more!

Cotton Bowl Champs 2010!

2010-01-16T10:40:00.000-06:00

So instead of doing a big New Years Eve thing this year, Matt and I stayed home and packed. We were headed to Dallas the next day for the Cotton Bowl. We didn't go last year, but we decided this year was a must since we weren't sure what things would be like next year. So at 10:00 on New Years Day, we were off on a jet plane to Dallas. We had a blast!!! We stayed at the Renaissance, which was an Ole Miss hotel. It wasn't the hotel where the players were staying, but there were so many Ole Miss people there, you would never have known it. On the first night, we went to dinner with my parents and Will Lassiter. then after dinner, we went and met Will's sister at the Ritz Carlton for drinks (well the boys drank :) I know what you are thinking, fancy, drinks at the Ritz Carlton....well it was eye opening, but not in the way you would think. Little did we know that the bar at the Ritz is known for it's ladies of the night...that's right, high dollar call girls roamed the bar! I have never seen such and it made for what could have been a long night watching the guys drink into a very interesting people watching experience. On Saturday we got up and it was Game Day! So we loaded the buses at the hotel and headed to Cowboys Stadium, Jerry-World!! The bus ride was fine, except our driver got lost... I mean seriously, you can't miss this place and he got lost?! When you pull up to Jerry-World, it literally looked like a space ship that had landed in Dallas. It was a really cool venue, but not like anything I had ever seen. After finally unloaded after a mutiny on the bus, we headed to the complex, where we watched Armadillo racing....seriously only in Texas do they have armadillo racing at the football game. We headed inside to see the largest video board in the world (or at least I think it is). I mean that thing is distracting :)

Finally after a sloppy game and a hard fought battle, the Rebs were victorious! Carmen's comment was that the baby was going to anxiety issues after the past couple Rebel games we have attended. I mean if any team can give you a heart attack and potentially blow a game, it's Ole Miss. The baby did move around alot during the game. I think it could since the excitement! After the game, we had the best dinner. We went to III Forks. The food was amazing :) Sunday came early as we had an early flight, but we were glad to get home...you'll see why in the next post! Here are some pictures from our trip!

2009-12-31T15:10:00.000-06:00

So much has happened in the past month that I don't even know where to begin. The last time I posted it was about Thanksgiving and how much we have to be thankful for. Well since that time, Christmas has come and gone and here we are at New Years Eve! So many times I sat down to post, but since my home computer died, and my work computer was all I had, and I didn't have time to post at work in the last month, so well here I am, doing what I always do, play catch up. So once again, here goes!

Since we last left off, Matt and I attended the Ole Miss-LSU game, to which my Rebels won! Thank the Lord that Les Miles has clock management issues, b/c LSU sure made a play for it at the end. I mean, the whole crowd was shocked when the team started celebrating...it took a few seconds to figure out just what had happened. But as always that was a fun weekend in Oxford. Keith, Tracey, and the twins spent that weekend with us in Oxford and we had a blast. Here are some fun pictures from that weekend!!

After our trip to Oxford, we headed to the lake for the Thanksgiving holiday. We spent Thanksgiving with Matt's family. On Thursday, it was Marsha, Jessica, Matt and I, which was really nice to have a low key weekend. However, the coming days were anything but low key. Matt's dad's family joined us for the weekend. What a fun time we had! I had a picture of the entire group somewhere, but now I can't seem to find it.

The next weekend brought Martini's and Mistletoe, a fundraiser benefit for Cheekwood. Matt and I served on the host committee for Cheekwood and we enjoyed seeing our hard work come to an end :) The event was held at Cheekwood with a band, food, and open bar! Last year, I definitely partook in the open bar, but this year it was Matt's turn. I served as the designed driver for the evening. A position I am getting used too! Here we are at the party!

The next weekend, we went to Chicago for a long weekend. Just the 2 of us. It was so nice to get away and spend some quality time together. We haven't been on a trip just the 2 of us since our honeymoon! and it was great. We did so much while we were in Chicago. We ate at some amazing restaurants and saw lots of sites. We froze too!!! When our flight landed in Chicago, the temperature was 1 degrees...that's right, this southern girl was in 1 degree weather with a windchill of -14 degrees. But we still ventured out and tried to see as much as we could in the amount of time we could. Of course, everything was all decorated for Christmas so that was so much fun seeing everything all done up! We stayed at the Omni on Michigan Avenue and couldn't have picked a better location. Literally you walked out our door and 2 of the 3 restaurants were right there and so was Michigan Ave. We did shopping, went to the Field Museum and watched ice skaters at Millennium park. We bought Christmas presents too! SO MUCH FUN!! The pictures below are from all over Chicago.

Dinner at Harry Caray's!

Pizza at Giordano's Silver Bean in Millennium Park

That brings us to the weekend before Christmas! Can't you see how time has flown by...We finished up our Christmas shopping and started a new tradition. We had dinner with the Maxcy's and the Kaeser's and exchanged gifts for the kids! Since Johnny and Emily are the only one with a child, Chappell was the only one who go toys. Baby H and Baby K got sweet blankets and Baby H got an outfit from the Kaesers and Baby K got a Sleep Sheep from us. We had such a good time playing with Chappell and then had a great time having dinner and adult time....kind of a crazy thought of having "adult time"...when did we get to be the adults??!! I guess when we starting having babies....obh well..It was such a fun night and tradition we look forward to every year going forward. On Sunday afternoon, we spent the day with Marsha and had out Christmas with her. It was nice to spend some quality time together before Marsha went to Charleston to spend Christmas with Jessica and we headed to Jackson to spend Christmas with my family.

On Wednesday, we headed to Jackson to spend Christmas with my family. We had such a good time getting to see everyone. We got there Wednesday afternoon and stayed until Sunday. On Thursday, we ran some errands and just hung out. We had prime rib for dinner and it was delicious! Christmas morning rolled around and we opened our gifts. My big present from Matt was and iMac. and I was thrilled. As my 2 faithful readers know, I have been in need of a computer for awhile, so I am now proud to say that I am sitting at my new computer happily typing away on the blog. This thing is awesome. and now if only I knew how to use it! I guess I will figure it out with time....After Christmas morning, we all got dressed and started our holiday party. All of my family came over and the party started! Something around 30-35 people at my parents, eating, laughing and enjoying each other's company. We missed my sweet cousin Reed, who is deployed to Okinawa (sp?). The best part was when we were able to talk to him on Skype. I had never used this before and it was amazing. We were able to see Reed and talk to him. It meant so much to us to be able to celebrate with him in even the tiniest way. We all wanted him to know how much we missed him and how proud we were of him! So at least he got to be included for a little while! The party eventually closed down about 1:30...I'm not sure the last time I saw 1:30 but we had a good time :) Saturday night, Matt, Adam, Carmen and I went and hung out with Keith and Tracey. We always have such a good time together and a trip to Jackson would not be the same without seeing them!

Well, that about closes out December! In the midst of all the crazy partying and traveling we were doing, we did manage to work and attend a few other holiday parties I forgot to mention. All in all, it's been a great December. I am still feeling good. Just ready to know what you are Baby H! Speaking of that, Matt and I had our 18 week appointment on Tuesday. The doctor said everything looks great and we got to hear the baby's heart beat. That's the 2nd time we have heard it (the first time was in early December). Let me tell you what a great sound that is!! When we first heard the heart, it was a faint sound and it took Dr. Cox a minute to find it. Cut to 4 weeks later and geez, that heart beat was loud and easy to pick up! She had no trouble finding the heart beat and said it would only get louder and stronger with each visit! On our 18 week appointment, Dr. Cox ordered our 20 week sonogram! I can't believe we are half way through this pregnancy. REALLY????!!!! our 20 week sonogram is scheduled for January 11. Only a week and a half before we know what Baby H is and then we start playing the naming game! We can't wait!

I hope you had as a great a holiday season as we did! We are headed to Dallas in the morning to cheer on the Rebels! I hope to take lots of pictures with my new camera and have lots to share when we get back! Hope for a win!!! Have a happy and safe new years! and here's to 2010! May it be an amazing year for all!!

So much to be thankful for...

2009-11-25T13:42:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking today about all of the things I have to be thankful for....and there's a lot this year. So here's everything I am thankful for (and I'm sure I've forgotten something)..my husband Matt, who is the most patient person I know; our families: my mom, my dad, Marsha, Adam and Jessica, and our extended families; I am thankful for all of our friends who are amazing; the servicemen and women who protect and serve our country, especially my sweet cousin, Reed, who is about to deploy on his first tour (God Speed Reed, I am so proud of you); I am thankful that Matt and I both have jobs and are able to provide for ourselves; our sweet dog, Shelby, who always puts a smile on my face and loves us unconditionally; I am thankful the Rebels are playing good football (finally); and most of all, I am thankful for this little life in my tummy. I can't believe Matt and I are going to be parents and I am thankful for this gift from God! Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Pregnancy so far...

2009-11-19T11:37:00.003-06:00

So as of today, I am 12 weeks and 1 day pregnant. A lot has happened in the past 12 weeks, and we couldn't be more excited. Matt has been amazing in his patience with me, but the quote of the week at our house has been, "This emotional roller coaster may drive me to drink", and WOW! have I been an emotional wreck. More on that later....

For most of my pregnancy, I have felt great. TIRED, but not sick. I'll take that any day. Things are starting to get better energy wise and I am very thankful for that. However, as mentioned above, the emotions aren't great. An example:

Matt graciously decided to hire a painter to paint our nursery. So over the course of several weeks, we looked at paints, decided on a color, and hired the painter. Well he was at our house over the past weekend (when we were out of town). Matt was very thoughtful and hired the painter to come when I wasn't home, so I wouldn't have to smell the fumes! However, when we got home, the room was painted and I lost it. I mean break-down! I hated the color...the color I had chosen. I like it now, but wow, that was a moment!

The man will have earned SAINTHOOD by the time this baby gets here! There are many more instances where I've gone from happy to upset to angry to back to happy in 60 seconds, but I can't think of them at this time.

We have also received a couple of baby gifts so far! Our first baby gift came from Marsha (aka Mar-Mar or Marsh, she hasn't decided yet). She got us a precious angel daygown and a sweet stuffed bear. It's very cute! My friend Marie got us a green polka dot burp cloth! Also, my Nana and Pappaw sent us a baby gift. Apparently Nana bought this when we got married and I am so glad. I now have a baby spoon in my silver pattern. It's so tiny and precious! and the baby couldn't go without a present from Daddy either. During my birthday dinner, Matt sat next to our good friends, Johnny and Emily. They had precious Chappell in May and told Matt the best thing they had for her was a sleep machine. So Matt pulls up Amazon.com on his phone, Emily shows him which one and it arrived at our house a couple of days later! What a sweet Daddy!

This past weekend, we were in Oxford for the Ole Miss-UT game! (HOTTY TODDY REBELS!, what a great win!) Mom, Marsha and I, of course, did some baby shopping. Mom (Deb, Debo or Deba, she hasn't decided either) and Dad (Gar, we're pretty sure he's going to stick with this, since this is what Adam and I call him) got the baby a Colonel Reb onesie, a blue and red tu-tu (if it's a girl), a super rebel cape (in case it's a boy), and some Col. Reb pacifiers! I hear there is other stuff, but it's for Christmas! Marsha also got the baby some precious Ole Miss stuff. So come Grove time next year, we will be all set!!!

I think that's about all for now on baby stuff and pregnancy. I'll be sure to post more from now on!

A journal...

2009-11-19T11:35:00.001-06:00

So a friend of mine (who is also pregnant and due around the same time) has started keeping a blog as a journal of her pregnancy. I thought what a good idea??!! I have always used our blog as a place to post fun pictures of what we are doing, but now, since I have had so many people ask a lot of the same questions about how I'm feeling and what's going on, I thought I would keep this blog as my journal and everyone will know what's going on!!! So here goes....

BABY H!

2009-10-29T11:34:00.004-05:00

Matt and I are so excited to be expecting a baby! Baby H will be here on June 2! and we can't wait. We had our 1st sonogram and doctors appointment on Tuesday. It was so neat to see the sonogram with the babys heart beat. It was 172 beats per minute and measured right on schedule at 9 weeks! We also got to see Baby H move on the sonogram and I couldn't believe how tiny it actually was when the sonogram tech told us. A little less than 2 centimeters, I mean really??!! We are so excited and feel so blessed to be having a baby! Please keep us in your prayers for a smooth pregnancy. So far we have been lucky with no sickness or nausea. Only sleepiness....I feel like I could sleep 23 of the 24 hours each day, but hey, I will take that over sickness anytime. I've posted our sonogram pictures too. I can't help myself but stare at them. It's really a miracle!

Happy Birthday Matty!

2009-09-04T12:34:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is my sweet husband's birthday. Since we will be at the lake, enjoying wonderful food and the beginning of football season, I thought I would go ahead and post a happy birthday to Matt! Matty, Happy 29th Birthday tomorrow! You're getting old!! haha! Just kidding, I'm not too far behind you. Shelby and I hope you have a wonderful day and get everything you want! I love you! and Shelby loves you too!

Happy Birthday Adam!---a few days late

2009-09-04T12:28:00.001-05:00

Monday was Adam's birthday! He turned 25! Happy belated birthday Adam! I wish I had gotten this post up earlier, but my week was crazy with work! We love you very much!

Paul McCartney in Atlanta!

2009-09-04T12:25:00.003-05:00

In August, we went to Atlanta for the weekend to see Paul McCartney in Piedmont Park. It was a blast! He played for hours. It poured down rain on us, but it made it all the more fun!

A little hype...

2009-07-15T10:36:00.001-05:00

Let's hope the Rebs can live up to the hype. But ya just gotta love a cover of Sports Illustrated. Twice in less than a year. Can't wait for football season!

Late night snack

2009-07-11T01:57:00.002-05:00

Shelby enjoying a late night snack at 2! Mashed potaotes!

A little catch up!

2009-07-08T15:21:00.002-05:00

So I haven’t been the best blogger in the world in the last six weeks. I always say I am going to do better, but I never do. I am so busy at work and when I get home, well either I’m too tired to get on the computer, OR my computer dies. Yes, my home computer is dying a slow and painful death. I am taking my time getting the valuable pics and things off my computer so that maybe it will work for a little bit longer, but I just don’t see that happening. I think it’s almost dead! Oh well, time for a new one and I know just what I want...an Apple MacBook Pro. The 13” to be exact. Now we just have to save up the money to buy it!

Oh well, since I haven’t filled my 2 faithful readers in on what’s been going on here, here goes!

In May, after our anniversary, we had kind of a sad month. Matt and his mom had to put their 2 beagles, Pudge and Lucy, to sleep. It was really sad, but both dogs were sick and had lived long lives. I think they were 14 which is amazing, but Marsha took great care of them! We do miss them when we go to Marsha’s, but we know they are in a better place.

We had Memorial Day, which was kind of low key and nice. We went to the lake for the weekend and went out on the boat once. However, it started raining like crazy and was supposed to rain all weekend, so we decided to head home and relax... Relax we did! We cooked out and went to the pool. It was nice to be home for a weekend and sleep in our own beds!

Also in May, our best friends had their 1^st baby girl. I did a whole post about that below...so check it out...

“bout then, June rolled around. June was a busy month at our house. For the first weekend in June, we went to Oxford for the Super Regionals. After watching the game on TV on Friday and watching Matt Smith’s walk off home run, I just new this year was our year. Well we must be bad luck or something, b/c once again the Rebs lost a heart breaker on Saturday, and then again on Sunday to end the season. While the baseball was sad, we had a blast being in Oxford for a fun weekend that wasn’t “football crazy”. We got to see my parents new house they are building, (which we are thrilled about!) and enjoy a cook out. The one thing that was bad....we thought it would be a good idea to take ole Shelby off her leash and let her run in the yard. Ya know, burn off some energy...well Shelby found her way out of the yard and ran around Old Taylor Road. She almost got hit by 2 cars with Matt and I chasing her. I could have killed her and almost had a heart attack watching her run in front of cars on that busy road....Geez! we learned our lesson!

The next weekend we spent at home cleaning out closets, ya know, the fun stuff. We cooked out with the Maxcy’s and relaxed!

The 3^rd weekend in June was my high school reunion. See another post for those details!

The last weekend in June, we worked in the yard in the 100 degree heat (that was smart) and bought Shelby a dog house. At first she hated it, now she likes it. I’ll get a pic of her in it and post soon!

This past weekend, we had the 4^th of July. We went to the lake and had a crowd! It was so much fun. Adam and Carmen joined us, as well as Art and Jessica made the trip from Charleston for the weekend! We loved having everyone and probably had a little too much fun! The Core’s and the Hendry’s had a house full too! So you know when 20 people are on the lake together a good time is had by all! I hope everyone had a great 4^th!

I hope you enjoyed my little catch up! Things are kind of slow today at work and I was able to organize my thoughts a little! Once again, as I always do, when I post these long obnoxious posts, I promise to do better! We’ll see....but hey at least I’m honest about it!

Has it really been 10 years?

2009-07-08T15:19:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we had my 10 year high school reunion. I can not believe it’s been that long since we graduated high school. While many things have changed, somethings never do! We, of course, had a blast together! On Friday night, we had drinks at Julep. It was a very casual night and a great way for everyone to just come by. Afterwards, we of course couldn’t go home, so we headed back over to Liz and Percy’s house for late night. While the venue changed from high school, many things hadn’t! We laughed and laughed! On Saturday, the day started with a baby shower for Ashley Collins’ (see somethings do change. In high school there is no way we would have been up before 10 after being out all night :) After the baby shower, we had an ice cream social at the school. We took a group picture and got to see everyone’s children. And WOW! I didn’t realize how many of my friends have kids until they were all in the same room. BUT, they were adorable! Saturday night, we had a cocktail party at the Yacht Club. I had never been out there and it was really nice. You didn’t feel like you were in Jackson anymore with the water and the sunset! We watched our Senior Video and had trivia, followed up by a performance by Elvis. At our high school grad night, Elvis performed and it was great to see that he hadn’t aged a day! Here are some pics that my friends took! My home computer is broken, so I haven’t uploaded my pics!

Meet Baby Chappell!

2009-07-08T15:10:00.004-05:00

waiting for Chappell's arrival!

She's here!

On May 28, our best friend’s Johnny and Emily had an adorable baby girl, Chappell! She is a doll and we just love her! Aunt Leslie and Uncle Matt can’t seem to get enough of her. We were at the hospital when she was born and I got to hold her when she was just minutes old! That is something I will never forgot. Both mom and baby are doing great, and sweet daddy too! I can’t believe that when I am posting this, she’s already been here a month. Here are some precious pics!

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

2009-05-19T15:05:00.003-05:00

OUR WEDDING DAY!!!!

So, today is our 2nd anniversary! Wow! Where did the time go? I can't believe we have been married for 2 years! It's been an awesome 2 years and I look forward to many, many more wonderful years! I love you Matt! You're the best husband anyone could ask for! Love you!!

Rainy days.

2009-05-10T14:02:00.001-05:00

It has rained so much lately we had to let Shelby have a little fun!

You just gotta love it...

2009-03-27T10:25:00.003-05:00

Being an Ole Miss fan & not having a whole lot to cheer about until last year, you gotta love when the National Champion puts out their Championship banner and their only loss is to the Ole Miss Rebels! It just makes my day! Hotty Toddy!

Another boring day at work...a little catch up....

2009-03-24T15:25:00.002-05:00

Simmons Harrell- isn't she precious?!!?!!

So today has been the most boring day at work...not too much work to do and not too much going on here. Matt and I went to Jackson this past weekend to see my parents and for the annual St. Paddy's Parade. Well we got to Jackson on Friday night about 9:30 and had a great dinner my mom cooked. She did pork tenderloin in the oven and with Shapley's seasoning and it was delicious! I'll have to remember it in the future! So Friday night we went to bed with the intent of getting up to go to the parade. However, oops! we slept in...we were so tired. So instead of going downtown, we went and ate crawfish! and boy were they good. they were spicy and big! YUM! So, then we went and met up with Ashleigh and Ross at the Cherokee and to hang out...it was great to see them...it has been way too long! Then we went to see our friends, Madison, Chris & their 3 kids. Madison had a baby 2 weeks ago and we definitely wanted to see them all. We got a good visit with them, but poor Chris had just had his appendix out...he was a trooper and put up with us! Saturday night we had dinner at Tico's and Ashleigh, Ross, Fratesi and Shannon came out to meet us for drinks. We had blast getting to see them too! All in all it was a good weekend. We were very tired when we got back to Nashville. Finally the weather is beautiful and I really would love to be outside, however, I am stuck inside sitting as my desk....geez....oh well!! life as a grown up!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2009-03-18T12:10:00.001-05:00

Today is my sweet Daddy's birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day & we can't wait to see you this weekend to celebrate! You are the best! We appreciate everything you do for us! We love you!

Cotton Bowl 2009

2009-01-28T22:30:00.004-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post in November, the Rebels were bowl eligible! Well believe it! They weren't only bowl eligible, they made it to the Cotton Bowl...one of the best non-BCS bowls. (BCS sucks anyway)...Matt and I thought long and hard about going to Dallas. We really wanted too. But really there wasn't a good way to get to Dallas from Nashville. It was like $300 per person for a plane ticket or 11 hours in the car. Either way wasn't a good option right after Christmas! So what's the next best thing to do??? THROW A PARTY! So that's what we did. We took the day off work and threw a party for all of our Rebel (and wannabe-Rebel friends)! The game started at 1, so friends starting coming over at 12! Needless to say, the party kept going through the evening as Art made jumbalaya and we were all sad to see Alabama lose (really, us Rebels weren't that sad, I mean they beat us!) It was great party with great friends and great food! One of the best highlights of the party!!! Emily and Johnny came in a little late, but were so excited to tell us they had just found out they were having a GIRL! (In case I forgot to mention this, our best friends, Emily & Johnny are pregnant). Needless to say, Matt and I are so thrilled for them! Baby Girl Maxcy due May 16th! Aunt Leslie and Uncle Matt can't wait!

and the Mom to be!!!! Smiling for the Camera!!!

2008 in Review

2009-01-28T22:25:00.003-06:00

I hope you enjoy my little stroll down memory lane 2008. So many great things happened to us in 2008. All in all it was a great year! I hope you enjoy looking at the post of each month as much as I enjoyed putting them up!

Happy New Years!

2009-01-28T22:14:00.004-06:00

Matt and I spent New Years at home this year. I know what you are thinking, what dorks, but we were having a big party on the 2nd for the Cotton Bowl and we decided it would be best to stay home and chill. We, of course, that didn't happen, but at least we didn't have to drive either. Here's a family picture to wish you a happy new year!

My new years resolution??!! to be a better blogger....well you can see I have already blown that one!! Maybe I'll do better with working out ;) we'll see!

December 2008

2009-01-28T21:59:00.003-06:00

December was a fun month. Not quite as "eventful" as November, but a lot of fun. Every weekend, we had a Christmas party with friends or co-workers. Which was great. We spent Christmas in Nashville with Matt's family this year. It was a blast. On Christmas Eve, we were at Matt's moms and his cousin Eric came to town. The Whitten's came over for their annual Christmas Eve cocktail party and we had a great time visiting with them. On Christmas Day, Matt and I had his family to our house. We enjoyed opening presents, relaxin' , visiting and a fabulous meal. For some reason, I didn't get any pictures on Christmas day. which sucks! Jessica brought her new dog Olive home for Christmas and he and Shelby got along great. I wish I had pictures of them and our Christmas!

Two days after Christmas, we headed for Jackson to do Christmas with my family. I did get some pictures while we were there, but not many...**Note to self...take more pictures** here are few of us opening our pictures. The biggest hit of a present was the iPod we bought my dad. It was the first present he opened, (preloaded), put the earphones in and that was all she wrote that night...He was out of it from then on. We also got to visit with Tracey & the girls while we were in town. Keith was off killing bambi and we didn't even get to come home with any deer meat :)

Pictures of Antigua

2009-01-28T21:15:00.007-06:00

Antiguan Thanksgiving!!!! and my Parents 30th Wedding Anniversary

2009-01-28T19:31:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving in Antigua was an amazing trip. We left on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and met my Mom, Dad & Adam in Atlanta where we caught a direct flight into Antigua. After 4 hours on a plane and way too long in Customs (the Antiguans have no concept of time) we were on our way to our fabulous home for a week, Carib House, on English Harbor. We really never thought we would get there in the car, but when we pulled up to this house, we all were amazed. We met our wonderful hosts, Lou & Johnny, at the house, where they promptly fixed us a drink and had the Ole Miss-LSU game on TV. To begin what was to be a wonderful trip, the Rebs won (not just won, they kicked LSU's butt all over the field, can you tell I'm a proud Rebel)...What more could you ask for to begin vacation! That evening, after the game, we ventured down to Nelson's dockyard for dinner. We found a cute little Bistro that was open, where we got to sit outside and enjoy the Carribbean. The waiter was great and when we told him that it was Mom and Dad's 30th anniverary, he promptly brought them a shot??!! Being the troopers they are, they took their shots and the fun began! When we got home, I was running up the stairs to the bathroom and split my big toe wide open. Matt cleaned me up, bandaged my toe and we turned on the music, and decided to check out the area around the pool. While helping Mom feel the water, I accidentally dropped her in the pool fully clothed. Feeling bad for having dropped her in the pool, I decided to join her in my jeans and t-shirt! On Sundays in Antigua, they have a party at Shirley Heights. Not only is this one of the best views on Antigua, it's a really fun party with plenty of rum punch, which Matt and Adam took to like a duck to water. They drank enough to drain Shirley Heights dry, but somehow, they only had more!!!!!! On Monday, we took it easy by the pool and of course went out for a more fabulous meal! On Tuesday, we went on a private sail boat tour of the island. The boats name was Jaberwocky....could it be more appropriate?? Nick and his wife (her name escapes me tonight) picked us up in English Harbor and our day sail began. We sailed out of the Harbor and got to see some beautiful portions of the Island and got to steer the boat...we got to see Carlisle Bay resort, where Prince Charles & Camilla had just stayed, all of the fabulous homes on the island and the completely uninhabited portions of Antigua. While on the boat, we were to have lunch. We expected sandwiches, pasta salad...the norm for a boat....but NO we had fabulous ginger chicken with saffron rice, salad and roles. I mean this nice lady made this wonderful food for us on a 2 burner stove. (I can barely make dinner on my four burner stove without using all eyes and ever pot in my cabinet!!) After a day on the water, we returned home and Ruthie was there to make us an amazing dinner. We had a fresh salad, a gourmet cheese plate, shrimp ka-bobs and large tuna filets. WAY TOO MUCH FOOD, but it was an amazing meal, all made from scratch! On Wednesday, the guys needed to play golf!! and Mom and I went to beach near the golf course. A little change of scenery...We had lunch at the beach, the guys took off and Mom & I headed for the shore. While having a wonderful and relaxing day of reading, sunning, and watching the German tourists attempt to tube & make fools of themselves, we needed some cooling off. So we decided to go for a swim. The water was wonderful, but as we were enjoying ourselves, this presumably European man had enjoyed as much of the water as he was going to and promptly stripped down (COMPLETELY) to change clothes. We're talking a full grown man. NAKED on the beach. I have never been more disgusted and awe-struck in my life. It was like a bad train wreck, you couldn't help but look. I mean who does this!! Well finally after the boys returned from golfing, we had drinks and watched what is possibly the most amazing sunset. Then we headed to dinner. Once we got home, we all relaxed and enjoyed tv and family time. That night, the events of our trip would change.... As Matt and I were getting ready for bed in our awesome bungalow, we heard a horrible scream come from the main house. At first, we thought my dad and Adam were playing pool and yelling at each other, but then another scream came too quickly, and I knew something was right. We ran down to the main house and found Adam and my Mom in the laundry room.. All I could think is what on earth are they doing??!! Well, my Mom had fallen and apparently broken her leg. I called 911 and the ambulance came. They took us to the hospital (I mean if you could really call it that). It was more like an open air facility resembling the scenes from MASH (you know that TV show set in Vietnam). When they say government subsidised healthcare, they mean you get nothing. Literally, my dad had to help do everything from do my mom's x-rays to wrap her leg in the stabalizing bandage to get her home. There is no continuity of care (but enough ranting on a blog about our fabulous vacation) Seriously, after 15 hours in the ER (what a JOKE!), they came home....My poor Mom was in so much pain and they gave her Ibuprofen??!!! really!!! So when she finally got home, on Thursday, we really just took it easy around the house. On Friday, we spent the day by the pool, enjoying our last day. That night Adam, Matt and I went to the Admirals Club for dinner in Nelson's Dockyard! (After watching the Rebels beat up on MS State, 45-0, Hotty Toddy). We had a fabulous dinner of Lobster Thermadour! and took take out to my Mom and Dad. On Saturday, it was time to go home.. SAD, Tear :( We had an uneventful flight home, which is alwasy good. On Sunday, Matt ad I picked up Shelby from her week at Camp and Mom had surgery to fix her leg. They put a titanium rod in her leg and she would be good as new (little did we know it wouldn't be until January :)

November 2008

2009-01-28T19:25:00.004-06:00

This brings us to November. WHAT A GREAT MONTH! November 5 is my birthday. To celebrate, we, of course, headed to Oxford. We got to watch the Rebels, who rebounded from a tough start, beat up on Auburn; which led to a fun night of partying!

In November, we luckily got to spend Thanksgiving break in Antigua! However, this trip was so much fun (and eventful), it deserves a post of its own!

October 2008

2009-01-28T19:03:00.005-06:00

In October, we finally got to go to Charleston to visit Jessica. Marsha rented a wonderful beach house on Sullivan's Island and Charleston is an awesome place to be. When we got to town, Mike and J were there. It was fun to see them and have a shrimp boil. Shrimp just taste better at the beach surrounded by the ocean...
We also got to meet many of Jessica's friends at our shrimp boil. They are all precious girls and we had so much fun with them. Also, Marsha's college friend, Janice, was in town while we were there! She was a lot of fun to hang out with.
While in Charleston, Cindy also came to visit and we got to spend some time downtown. Where I was introduced to my latest vice...Sweet Tea Vodka...It's made by Firefly Distilleries. It's great with a little lemonade. When we were downtown, we took a carriage ride and got to see parts of old Charleston. They houses are beautiful and what a great way to see the City.
Also in October, we went to the Ole Miss-Alabama game in Tuscaloosa. We stayed at our friends, Jeremy & Hannah's, cabins. Needless to say, it wasn't what we expected. I'll spare you all of the details, but here's a few. 1 bathroom for 8 people (including 2 pregnant women), part of the ceiling fell on Brett while he was taking a shower & we shared a bedroom with the Maxcy's.. At least we're all close :)

Also in October, my good friend Suzanne, had a precious baby boy; Gardner...He's adorable!

September 2008

2009-01-28T18:54:00.002-06:00

September brought about Labor Day! Whic h is also dubbed as Matt's birthday. We always spend this weekend at the Lake and this year our good friends, Johnny & Emily and Ashley & Carter spent the weekend with us!

September also had us make our first trip to Oxford. What a fun night, however, the Rebs lost to Vandy. Bad subject with my dad!!!! However, a bad time is never had in the Grove. We also got to meet Adam's girlfriend, Carmen, for the first time. She is adorable and so much fun to be with...

August 2008

2009-01-28T18:52:00.001-06:00

August brought another wedding and a few more trips to the lake.

Our good friends Josh and Dana got married in August. They had a great wedding. It was at Woodmont Christian and their reception was at the Musician's Hall of Fame. What a unique place to have a reception. We had a blast at their wedding!

July 2008

2009-01-28T18:40:00.003-06:00

Finally in July we were able to go spend some time at our lakehouse. Finally....Shelby loved riding on the boat and loved being in the water. We even got her a life jacket for easier floatin' and relaxin'!!
Also in July, our good friends Heather and Chad got married. We had a blast at their wedding and it was great to see so many friends from out of town. This is the only picture I have from their wedding festivities. This is at their rehearsal dinner at some place on Broadway with a roof top terrace that overlooked all the juke joints on Broadway!! So FUN!

2008 in Review

2009-01-25T22:43:00.001-06:00

So, since I was not a very good poster in 2008, I decided I was going to do a lot better in 2009. Well given, it's the end of January and I haven't posted anything yet, I thought I would do a year in review of 2008, remembering the good things in 2008, and filling in about the end of the year! Well, as of tonight, I have gotten through June and plan to get to the rest tomorrow night. However, if I want to be the least bit productive at work tomorrow, I had better get some rest!

June 2008

2009-01-25T22:40:00.001-06:00

A trip to California and a trip to Oxford took place in June. In the early part of June, we joined by parents and Adam in San Diego for the US Open. What a great trip! We had tons of good food & lots of excitement! Mom & I decided one day while the boys were at the golf tournament, we were bold enough to make the trip from San Diego to LA. What a great trip!

Also, we made the trip to Oxford to see some of our friends, Ross & Ashleigh, get married. Ross & Matt have been friends since Freshman year at Ole Miss. We love to hang out with them, but don't get to do it enough! We were so happy they finally got married!!! We also got to hang out with other great friends that came to town.

May 2008

2009-01-25T22:27:00.002-06:00

May was a good month. Matt and I celebrate our first anniversary. It was a great night. We spent the night at the Hermitage Hotel and had a fantastic dinner at Flemings.
We also put the boat in the water for the first time. This is the beginning of our favorite time of the year!!!Lastly, we spent our Memorial Day apart. We had multiple graduations that weekend, so I had headed to Jackson for my cousin's graduation and my Mom's birthday. Matt stayed here for Ashley Whitten's graduation.

April 2008

2009-01-25T22:24:00.001-06:00

April was also a pretty slow month. Matt went to the Masters and my mom came to visit me! Which was so nice. We also had a fence built. Which was a God-send for Shelby...who loves to be outside.

March 2008

2009-01-25T21:59:00.007-06:00

In March, we headed South to Jackson for the annual St. Patrick's Day parade! Matt had never been, so we decided to meet Tanner, Nikki, Ross, Emily & Johnny in town and Par-tay! In case you've never been, you are missing out. The sweet potato queens are hilarious and the entire downtown Jackson area turns into a big street party! While we were out with friends, mom and dad were sweet enough to keep Shelby for us. When we got home, even she got in on the action!

Also, March brought the biggest snow of the year. We had at least a foot of snow. Which, ya know, is a lot by Southern standards!

Lastly, the most fun thing in March! Matt and I had our first BBQ of the year. The party was a lot of fun and of course, Matt and Johnny decided to have a little competition. Who had the best ribs??!! Of course, I am a little biased and thought Matt's were better, but they both were good. However, the hit of the night, was when we pulled out the guitar hero. Everybody loved it! Good music, good drinks and good friends. What more could you ask for on a weekend!!!

February 2008

2009-01-25T21:55:00.001-06:00

February was, fortunately, a pretty uneventful month. Matt and I celebrate Valentines a couple of days early at the Palm. It was wonderful! The food was amazing! Matt was gone to Miami for the actual day, but who cares! We are big Valentines people anyhow!

January 2008

2009-01-25T21:34:00.004-06:00

The New Year started out with a fun party at Mercy Lounge. We saw a great band and had a great time with our friends, Johnny & Emily Maxcy!

2008 also brought a new member to our family. Sweet baby Shelby! This is the first picture we took of her when she got home! Also, She spent the first couple of hours in our house, under a chair. I don't think she was really sure where she was!

Lastly, January brought the first snow of the year. Matt and I, of course, had to go outside and play. Shelby, also, got her first experience with snow!

FINALLY...

2008-11-15T19:10:00.002-06:00

The Rebels are bowl eligible! For the first time since 2003! Where will we go? I can't wait to find out! GO REBS!

NO, we haven't fallen off the face of the Earth!

2008-11-15T18:58:00.004-06:00

Contrary to popular opinion, Matt and I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. We have just been so busy lately, something had to go...and blogging was it. We are (thankfully) spending our first weekend at home this weekend since September. It has been so nice this weekend not to pack a bag and get in the car to go somewhere. I won't bore you to death with the details of our travels, but needless to say it has been a very busy fall. On the list of cities we have visited: Boulder, CO, Charleston, SC, Jackson, MS, Oxford, MS, and Tuscaloosa, AL. Here are some pictures of our travels...

HOTTY TODDY!

2008-09-27T15:20:00.003-05:00

OLE MISS 31 FLORIDA 30

I mean seriously, who ever thought we could go to Florida and pull off what I consider to be the upset of the year. I certainly didn't, but that didn't stop me from cheering on my Rebels today! and after a mild heart attack or 2, I can say it was the best day of football in my pajamas I've had in a long time. Shelby thinks we are crazy because Matt and I were yelling at the TV and jumping around. But seriously, it's our 1st SEC win since 2006 and over Florida, the #4 team in the country. WOW!!!!! Let's hope this gives us the boost we need to make this a great season!

ARE YOU READY???

My favorite summer picture!

2008-09-07T16:22:00.001-05:00

Here is my favorite picture from the summer!

Labor Day Fun!

2008-09-07T16:14:00.003-05:00

ashley and carter

johnny and emily

me and emily

matt and johnny

me and matt

We had a blast at the lake for Labor Day! Above are some pictures from us with our friends! It was a great weekend and a big party as always!

Happy Birthday Matt!

2008-09-05T14:45:00.002-05:00

Today is Matt's 28th birthday! I am so excited to be celebrating another birthday with him, even though this years' celebration will much more tame than in years past. In previous years, we have celebrated: in 2004 by driving to Washington DC to help me move into my new apartment, in 2005 by spending a wild labor day weekend at the lake with my family and Matt's (refugees from Hurricane Katrina); in 2006 by getting engaged and having a surprise party (it was a surprising weekend for both of us!); in 2007 with a dinner party at our house and a blow out at the lake. Well 2008 hasn't been too different, we did have a blow out weekend for Labor Day, but it came a week early this year. So we celebrated, but it wasn't focused on just Matt. This weekend, we are headed to the lake, but we are being low-key. family dinner, Ole Miss football tomorrow!!

Next weekend will be another celebration as 2 of Matt's closest friends celebrate birthdays this month. So there wives' and I have put a day of fun together, but it is a surprise for the guys, so I'll post about it next week!

Hope everyone has an uneventful and restful weekend!

I'll post Labor Day pics as soon as my home computer starts to cooperate!

Shelby loves the boat!

2008-08-21T14:26:00.004-05:00

By the 4th of July, I had finally gotten Shelby a life jacket. As you can tell, she loved it! She got to spend all day on the boat with us! She wouldn't jump off the back of the boat, but she liked when Matt lowered her into the water. She swam in circles. We aren't sure what that was about though!

We have sort of taken a bloggin break. I have several more pictures and will upload them when I get home. I probably shouldn't be doing this at work, but oh-well! Everything is going well at the Henson household. Just busy from the summer and trying to stay cool in the heat. I'll post more later.

Welcome to the world, Baby Hayden!

2008-06-30T22:43:00.003-05:00

Today is a very special day. (and selfishly for me, a little sad)! One of my very best friends from childhood had her first baby today. a healthy baby boy! Lauren and Micah Mize welcomed precious, Hayden Joel, to the world this afternoon. He weighed 7lbs 1oz! and I can't believe he's here and I missed it! I really had wanted to go to Jackson for his birth, but was unable to take off work. SO SAD! But Court made sure I knew what was going on and sent me the below pictures of the Hayden. (thanks Court!) He's just adorable! Lauren and baby are doing great and I can't wait to see her and meet him in August!

Oxford and wedding!

2008-06-30T22:40:00.002-05:00

The weekend of June 21, Matt and I were off to Oxford. Our dear friends, Ashleigh and Ross, were getting married! We had a blast getting to see our friends and spend time with some people we don't get to see very often! Congrats to the happy couple! and We can't wait to see y'all in August!

LA!

2008-06-30T22:36:00.002-05:00

A Trip to Southern California

2008-06-30T22:25:00.005-05:00

A much needed vacation finally came. The second week of June found Matt and I on a plane headed to San Diego. We went out to meet my parents and brother in sunny California for some much needed rest, relaxation and golf! The guys spent their days at the US Open at Torrey Pines. Mom and I spent our days sightseeing, relaxing and visiting all the great things about San Diego. We went to the Scripps aquarium, which was amazing, we also spent some time at Hotel del Coronado, the oldest wooden hotel in the US, then we headed up to Rancho Santa Fe, where there is quite possibly, more money than the rest of the world has ever seen! We are talking teenagers driving Bentley's as a learning car. It was amazing too!!! On Saturday, Mom and I took a side trip to LA! We both had never been there and it was amazing!!! See pictures from our amazing trip!!!

We also celebrated Father's Day while we were in California! So another belated wish to my dad! You are the best and we love you very much!

End of May/ Beginning of June

2008-06-30T22:21:00.002-05:00

May ended with us on the road again. For Memorial Day weekend, Matt and I had to go our separate ways. My cousin graduated from high school, it was my mom's birthday and I had a wedding shower to go too! Matt stayed in town for another graduation and a shower. What a wild weekend. Again a belated Birthday wish to my mom! Love you!!

June started with Matt travelling again. Matt was off to Destin for Ross' bachelor party. They had a blast at the beach. I wish I was there tooo. Not to hang out with the guys, but I haven't been to Destin in forever. Luckily a vacation was not too far away.

Our 1st Anniversary!

2008-06-30T22:15:00.003-05:00

The third weekend in May was our 1st Anniversary. We couldn't believe it's already been a year. And what a great year it's been!!! To celebrate our anniversary, Matt made us a reservation at the Hermitage Hotel and for dinner at Flemings. We headed downtown at about 3 that Saturday, and checked into our wonderful suite. It was so nice. We watched the horse races and just relaxed. That night we went to dinner at Flemings. What a great dinner. We really enjoyed ourselves and it was the perfect way to celebrate our day with a mini vacation...and the best part, we didn't even have to travel out of town!!!

The first couple of weeks of May...

2008-06-30T22:05:00.006-05:00

May started our time of travel...geez we have been everywhere lately.

The first weekend, we actually went to our lake house. We had a blast and really enjoyed cooking out and putting the boat in the water for the first time. But it was freezing....never mind the weather, we went anyway..hence the jeans and jackets...

We also took Shelby on her first boat ride that weekend. She absolutely loved it. She couldn't get enough of the spray from the waves. She even tried to jump off the boat when we stopped. She wanted to swim so bad. So I have now had to go buy the dog a lifejacket so she can enjoy the summer too!

Marsha and then headed home to pick up Shelby from the kennel. The second weekend of May was Jess Core's graduation and Mother's Day! Matt and I headed to Knoxville for the Friday night party hosted by Jess' parents. We had a great dinner at Calhoun's and then headed out for a night in Knoxville. Having never been out in Knoxville, this was a treat for me. We had a blast and (thankfully) didn't end up with any pictures....On Saturday morning, we headed to the lake. Instead of going on the boat immediately, Matt and I were in need of nap. Can you say we are grumpy when tired??!!! Later that afternoon, we decided to take a boat ride, only to find out the boat had been robbed. We are getting grumpier by the minute. These people knew what they were doing. They only took the CD changer off our boat, but took other components off other boats. It sucked! Sunday was Mother's Day. We had breakfast with Marsha!! So here's an extremely belated Happy Mother's Day shout out to my Mom & Marsha! We love you both!

May and June

2008-06-30T22:03:00.001-05:00

WOW! I can't believe I looked at our blog today and it's been 2 months since my last post. So here's a quick update on goings and doings....

Let's start with May and hopefully my memory is good enough to work backwards..... so here goes....

Finally a fence

2008-04-30T21:47:00.003-05:00

We finally got our fence built. Shelby is loving being in the backyard and we are so glad to have our backyard is fenced in. It's so nice to be able to let her out without a leash. Here are some pictures of our fence!

Also, here are some pictures of the landscaping and flowers Matt & I planted!

SHELBY!

2008-04-30T21:33:00.007-05:00

As you can see, Shelby has gotten very big. We are going tomorrow to get weighed. On average she gains 8-10 pounds every three weeks or at least that's been the pattern so far. Here are some recent pics and one comparing her when we got her and now!

Shelby in Jan. 08 Shelby in April 08 A very tired Shelby loves her crate

A few more pictures

2008-04-27T15:09:00.002-05:00

***Scroll down I posted a lot***

BBQ Ribs & ROCK STARS!

2008-04-27T15:01:00.002-05:00

So I mentioned in my previous post about our friends coming over for BBQ one Saturday night. Well Matt and I decided to put ribs on the egg one Saturday and decided it would be fun to invite some people over. It turned out to be an all day event! We went to Sams and bought 3 racks of ribs! Johnny bought 2 racks of ribs too! and we had a cook-off....well sort of. Matt and I got the EGG going about 1:30 on Saturday and Johnny came over about 2. We put all 5 racks on the egg and started smokin'!!! Everything was going great and we were having a blast until the smoke detector starts going off because we are having to smoke the ribs in the garage b/c of the rain... It's always something....Johnny went home to get Emily about 4 and I hoped in the Shower. Everybody started getting here about 5:30 and the fun began.. Josh & Dana came over and so did ART! Marsha had a friend in town so she and Janice came over for dinner... About 7:30 we took the ribs off the Egg and chowed down! Boy were they good. Of course we then pulled out the guitar hero and the night began. We had a blast playing guitar hero! Here are some pictures of our night!!!!

A little catching up....

2008-04-27T14:39:00.003-05:00

So it's been a busy six weeks around the Henson house. Matt and I have been traveling and working....Since my last post, let's see what's been going on. First off, we came home from Jackson and it was already Easter weekend. Matt's cousin Eric came to visit and we had a cook out at our house. Then we headed to the lake for family time with Eric, Marsha and Jessica. It was so nice to get away and relax. Plus get to spend some time with Jessica who we hardly get to see. The next weekend Matt and I had several friends over to eat BBQ ribs and hang out....more on that night in another post...The next weekend I went to Jackson for a baby shower for Lauren Mize. What started out to be a normal weekend turned out to be quite extraordinary. As Revere and I head to Jackson, we get frantic calls from both of our mom's saying don't come, there are crazy tornadoes and Jackson is being pummeled. We, of course, thought they were exaggerating and were being very sarcastic saying things like the tornadoes aren't going to be following us on the interstate. Well we ate our words when we got to Jackson and actually saw the destruction. We had friends lose their houses along with major power outtages that affected the northeast portion of Jackson. So interesting enough, we had Lauren's baby shower by candle light. It was quite an event. We had a blast getting to see all of our high school friends (and their children :) wow, I can't believe we are old enough to have babies) and visiting. As for the rest of the weekend, we spent as much time out of the house as possible, because we had no power. NO TV, NO LIGHTS, NO FRIDGE. So that evening, we went to Tico's for dinner. Thank goodness they had power. We finally got to watch a little basketball and see everyone we knew...PLUS it was prom. You know it's always fun to watch the girls all dressed up...but this was especially exciting. The hairstyle of the night was the Scarlett O'Hara do...as my dad called it....The side pony tails with the large poof at the crown and ringlet curls in the pony tail. WOW! not to mention the dresses, one girl really looked like she had stepped out of the hustler store....anyway, enough about that. I got home Sunday evening and Matt headed to the Masters' on Wednesday. He gets to go every year with his cousin Eric. They had a blast of course. They even saw some famous people. Matt sat next to Venus Williams on the last day. He didn't get her autograph b/c he wasn't sure it was her until she had left! Oh well. My mom also came the weekend Matt was gone. It was so nice to have her have her here. We did lots of shopping and eating out. Everything was great, except the first night she was here, I got food poisoning.. YUCK! Last weekend, we spent the better part of the weekend working in the yard. I actually gardened and my plants are still alive. Some people have a green thumb, but I have a black thumb so the fact nothing has died yet is a major feat! We were so sore after working in the yard, I could barely walk but I have to say I am proud of the job we did. As for this weekend, we were supposed to head to Oxford for Double Decker, however, Matt is working on a major job at Opryland and had to work this weekend. So we stayed home. It really was nice hanging out at home and getting somethings done...I went to Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Publix & Pet Smart. I feel like Will Ferrell in old school, a little Bed, Bath and Beyond...anyone??!!! I did cook a good dinner of boiled shrimp, potatoes, Corn & sausage! Today, we are relaxing as it rains outside! It's a great day to be lazy and we are!!!! In between all of this traveling we are working lots and late most days. I am really looking forward to vacation, but I guess that won't happen until JUNE!! Oh well......That's whats going on in the Henson house...LATER!

St. Paddy's Day Parade

2008-03-17T20:31:00.001-05:00

Matt & I had a blast in Jackson this past weekend. We went to the parade and got to hang out with some great friends who were in town....Even Shelby got in on the action...check out her beads!

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland!

2008-03-08T17:40:00.007-06:00

It snowed about 5 inches today. That's the most snow Nashville has seen in as many years. Shelby loved the snow and so did Matt and I. It was so fun to play like kids and with the kids in our neighborhood. Here are some pictures of us in the snow!

Remember when....

2008-02-24T21:29:00.001-06:00

Oxford is unique. It's the only place I know where sofas belong on front porches, golf visors are worn at night, and Waffle House has a waiting list. Ole Miss is about much more than classes, it's an experience that you will treasure your entire life. What is it about Oxford that gets in your blood and intoxicates you with its sweet Southern comfort? Maybe it's the beauty of the Grove and the way it feels to sit on its grass and halfway study before that big test. Or could be....piling in a jeep with six of your friends and riding around town on a sunny afternoon heading out to Sardis....catching your favorite local band downtown and knowing one day soon they'll be famous....hanging out on the porch of City Grocery until sundown on Friday....spending more time trying to figure out the library than you do actually researching....scanning the Oxford Town to see who got a DUI, and laughing at the guy who was arrested for singing Dixie in his boxers drunk on a roof....stopping and realizing when you're out with your best friends that these people are the people that will one day be in your wedding. I never realized how much a T-shirt could hold when it spoke of Oxford, saying, it'll "get in your blood and stay forever". Maybe it's the football games, finding a date, dressing up, trying to stomach a Beam and coke at 9 a.m. after a Friday night that began at Proud Larry's happy hour, and recognizing that same excitement in the eyes of older alumni who keep coming back year after year, joining their old friends and hoping to catch a glimpse of their youthful times at Ole Miss. Our time there was short, but we made the best of it. We were only there four or five years (some people six or seven, if they knew how to work their parents). Now we're making road trips TO Oxford instead of FROM it, joining our old college buddies still dressing up for the games and still scanning the crowd for familiar faces. But one day, we'll be dressing differently and the familiar faces will be a little more scarce. We'll look over into that student section and remember when....when it was our time here and how quickly it came and went. We'll wonder about all those people we used to know; Where are they now? Are they successful? What about that cute person I had a crush on? Yes, we'll lose touch with a lot of people and names will be forgotten, but you'll ALWAYS have your close friends from OLE MISS. You'll email, talk on the phone, play golf or have supper clubs on Tuesday nights and most of the conversations will begin with these two special words which will have the power to make you laugh or cry or simply smile - "remember when" HOTTY TODDY

I read this today and it made me really miss Oxford. Matt and I had so many fun and happy times! We can't wait to go to Oxford in April for Double Decker...what a great place.

2008-01-21T14:02:00.001-06:00

I am so excited that Eli & The Giants beat the Packers. I can't wait for the Super Bowl and I would love to see the Pats lose! Way to go GIANTS!

The First Snow of 08!

2008-01-16T21:55:00.000-06:00

Today we had the first snow of 2008. WOW! They were predicting snow, then they said it was too warm....well, it was really coming down. I was on my way home from work and at first I thought it was raining....well guess again. It was like being in a blizzard...well probably not really, but it's the closest I'll ever get and I am happy about that...Shelby's first experience with snow. She thought we were crazy for making her stay outside in the cold and wet.
Now she's getting the hang of it....

Meet Shelby!

2008-01-11T22:42:00.001-06:00

This is our new puppy Shelby! She is a rescue dog and we absolutely adore her. She is such a good dog!! We aren't sure what she is yet or how big she'll big. I guess only time will tell!

This is our first time home. Right after we picked her up and brought her home, she wasn't so sure about her new surroundings.
Safety under the chair. She spent the first hour in our house under the chair. She eventually came out but often went back...we aren't sure why....
In our backyard. Shelby loves to be outside! So our next project is to fence in the backyard so she can spend mroe time out there without us having to supervise.
Again, playing in the backyard!!!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-11T22:39:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone has had a great start to their new years. Matt and I have had a great and adventurous start to ours. Here we are on new years eve with out good friend Johnny....not sure where his wife Emily is....oh well she rang in the new years with us too!

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

2007-12-22T11:20:00.000-06:00

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

2007-12-22T10:59:00.000-06:00

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...

2007-12-11T20:24:00.001-06:00

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!

2007-12-11T20:17:00.001-06:00

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

2007-11-29T21:00:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-29T20:53:00.000-06:00

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

2007-11-29T20:40:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-11-29T20:39:00.001-06:00

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!

2007-11-29T20:23:00.000-06:00

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....

2007-11-29T20:16:00.001-06:00

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!

2007-10-25T22:43:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-10-25T22:29:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-10-01T08:12:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-09-25T18:42:00.000-05:00

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!!

2007-09-05T10:05:00.000-05:00

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!!!

2007-08-31T10:17:00.000-05:00

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??!!!

2007-08-30T10:36:00.000-05:00

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!