I love Christmas.

I love our Christmas tree.

I love our gingerbread house.

Most of all I love getting Christmas Cards!

Merry almost Christmas!!!

Tis the season

I think it is safe to say we have been busy this Christmas season.

We have been to many Christmas parties ... and still have some ahead of us. This is the kind of busy I like though :)! We had the Chick-fil-a christmas party a couple weeks ago. We ate yummy food ...heard the chirstmas story... and played fun games! Andy was in one game where he had a string around his neck with a cotton ball on the end of it, and vaseline on his nose. He had to swing the string using only his neck to get the cotton ball to stick to his nose. Trust me. It was pretty funny. My office went to dinner this past Tuesday to celebrate all our hard work. We went to Ruth's Chris Steak House. It was delicious. For dessert we had something called a Chocolate Explosion! HEAVENLY! We have been busy buying and wrapping gifts too! As of yesterday we are totally finished. Ta Da!

Fun Fact: I love wrapping gifts ... and the way they look under the tree.

In other news ... My parents pool/house renovatoin is coming along. Getting closer! I can't wait until spring when I can enjoy this beauty.

And then some of the best news ever: I'M GOING TO ME AN AUNT! Meet Henley. Isn't she a cutie! Calli and Brett are going to pick her up mid January. I can't wait to meet her ... and Colbie can't wait either. Cousins :)

Deer Steaks

On Saturday my fam went to my sisters house for Deer Steaks. I have now eaten deer. Not just any deer. Deer that my brother in law killed. (Poor bambi). At first it kinda gave me the willies ... but it was REALLY good. I didn't know I would like it so much.

What I loved more than the food was spending time with my family. My mom, dad, sister, brother in law, mimi, grandaddy and Andy. Wow. There isn't a group I would rather be with more. So thankful for my fam, and that I so enjoy them so much!

The Cereal Dilemma

Picking a cereal. It seems so simple. Right?

Well I am here to let you know that it is not simple for all of us. Andy is the cereal picker in our house. I have referenced before that my husband takes a very long time to do things. He gives everything he does thought, and takes his time making decisions. I on the other hand do things quickly, and like to get things done. Everything is a race. One of my biggest races that occurs every so often is the grocery store! Get in. Get out. Get what you need.

Andy says I always go into the grocery store like a man woman. He says sometimes he feels like he should warn everyone I am coming just in case I run them over. (This might be true ... oops). Most of the time Andy and I go to the grocery store together. Our visit consists of me pushing the cart around the entire store like a crazy lady while Andy stands and looks at all the different kinds of cereal.

You may think I am joking. I am not. I normally pass by him a couple times in my mad dash and he is in the exact same place. Just looking. and looking.

Andy walks up and down and up and down looking at all the different boxes as if this is the biggest decision he will ever make. Then he comes and finds me (which at this point I am most likely almost finished) and smiles and holds out the cereal like a little kid. He is so proud. It is precious.  

So next time you pick your cereal and it seems so easy ... remember that it isn't easy for everyone :)

A Mommy

My mom says that when I was little and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up I would say "A mommy." Almost in a tone that was like come on people ... duh, is there another option?! 

I didn't say a doctor, police officer, teacher, nurse, vet ... you get the point. At that age I could have said anything I set my little mind on. Yet I said I wanted to be a mommy.

I think as a two year old God was already planting in me a desire to be a mom.

To be a nurturer. Caretaker. Protector.

I truly believe I have been given a passion to be a mom.

I think that is why I have had such a hard time finding direction in my career. In college I had the hardest time deciding a major and look where I ended up. Child and Family Studies (aka I want to be a mommy). Sometimes I get frustrated with this desire. I am not at a place where I am ready to be a mom. Sometimes I think why can't I just be normal and have big career goals! You don't get paid to be a wife. You don't get paid to be a mom. Yet these are the things my hearts so longs to be doing.

I watch some of my friends and so admire the passion they have for their job. I watch my friend Chelcie and admire her passion for teaching. She is going to make such a wonderful teacher! I watch my husband and admire his passion for business and serving people. I watch my sister and admire her passion for speech pathology.

Sometimes I envy these people as I watch the direction they have in their lives. I keep searching for a career that I am passionate about ... when I know deep down my hearts desire is to be a mom. So now what?! Andy and I aren't ready to have children. So I have an awkward 5 or 6 years where I work, but I'm not doing what I feel called to do. Is it possible to feel called to be a mom? I think maybe so.

Oh Christmas Tree.

Saturday we spent a large chunk of the day getting our house ready for CHRISTMAS! We purchased a stand, lights, tree, etc ...

We got our (very first!!!!!!!!!) tree from the lot next to where Andy works everyday. He has gotten to know one of the men (Eric) really well. This is the way their family makes money inbetween lawn mowing season. We looked. and looked. and looked. and finally found the perfect one. Our ceiling is about 8 feet high, so Andy held his hand up and we had to find one under that :). Really accurate measuring here. They put it in this machine that got all the dirt and excess off and wrapped it up nice and small to put on the top of our car.

We spent Sunday afternoon decorating our tree. Andy and I have to be cautious when we do tasks like this together. I think one of our biggest fights occured while carving a pumpkin. I am a get it done make things happen kind of person ... and Andy is a perfectionist/very detail oriented lets take 10 years to put up a Christmas tree kind of person. So before we started we had to remind ourselves of each others tendencies. We got it up without pushing each others buttons. Yay. Success. Here is Andy putting Mr. Santa on top.

TA DA!

Three things I love about a Christmas Tree.

1. The way it looks. SO pretty :)

2. The way it smells. YUM. Makes the whole house smell fresh and clean.

and 3. The ornaments.

I love how ornaments tell a story. We don't have a ton of ornaments ... given that it is only our second Christmas together, but the ones we do have are special. 

Here are a couple of my favs! 

The Chick-fil-a one is special because Andy is pursuing a career with Chick-fil-a. Duh. He got this on his first visit to corporate. The next one is from my sweet friend Lauren. It has our wedding date and initials on the back of it. The next one you can't see well but it is AWESOME! This was my fav as a child. You can plug it in to one of the lights and all the characters move. How cool is that? And the last one is from our honeymoon. Amelia Island. We are going to collect ornaments from everywhere we travel together (So far we have two haha).

Merry Christmas.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It looks like Christmas at the church downtown I walk past every single day ...

It looks like Christmas time at the Ritchie Law Firm ...

It looks like Christmas time outside the Fennell house. Andy has always done outside lights and was reallllly proud to put these up ...

And it is about to look like Christmas time inside the Fennell house. Tomorrow we are getting our first real Christmas tree. Last year our Christmas tree (if you can even call it a tree) was dinky. Because we were in a tiny place. Remember this?

Don't worry. We will do much better this year. Just wait and see!

Happy almost December. Have a great weekend.

Ready. Set. Freeze.

I wanted to share something with you that always makes me laugh.

Without fail every single time we put a shirt or jacket or something on colbie she FREEZES in this position ...

She puts one leg up and balances there for atleast 3 or 4 mins. It is so funny! You have to see it in person to believe it!

Ps ... the last picture is in our new house. Check out that good lookin hardwood floor :)

Boxes Galore!

I am currently on my 6th move in 5 years. Needless to say I am ready to stay put for a while! A large chunk of our thanksgiving this year was spent moving boxes into our new home :). On every trip I would hold something breakable in my lap. We are now successfully out of our apt and into our hosue ... but still living out of boxes. We have one room right now (which Andy likes to call the nursery OH MY NO THANKS) that is fullllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll of stuff.

We have unpacked some of the boxes ... but some will be staying pack for a while. We are in the process of updating our Kitchen. This means right now we have a makeshift ghetto kitchen. We have a sink (no disposal), fridge, and stove. Other than that we are on our own. We are using a card table to hold our coffee pot and food. Classy right?!

Don't worry. I can still have coffee and make oatmeal every morning. Life is good.

Happy Almost Turkey Day!

Yes. We are in our 20's and still make hand turkeys every year :)

Obsessions

My Current Obsessions ...

1. Kim's Magic Pop

AMAZING! Mimi found these and ordered a ton of them! She gave some to Andy and I and I think we ate the whole thing in like 3 days. They are great. It is basically flavored air. That makes you want to try them huh?

2. Solitaire

I have a desk job. Need I say more?

3. Starbucks Pike Place

YUM! I love nothing more than a hot drink on a cold day.

4. Francine Rivers!

I am currently on the second book of this series. It is GREAT! The book starts out slow ... you need to commit to reading to chapter 6 before you put it down. I promise you will love it. I do!

5. Mason Jars.

I know these have been popular for a long time but I just really love them. I pack stuff for my lunch in them. I put coffee in them. I give people gifts in them. Love them!

6. OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ

Great Winter Color!

7. Parenthood.

Andy and I started watching this a while ago but have recently picked it up again! It is great. I'm obsessed. The woman who plays the attorney in this movie reminds me soooo much of the woman who works at the firm with me.

8. J crew tortoise hair claw

I wear my hair clipped up in a bun to work. Almost every day :)! I love this thing

9. SHUTTERFLY!

I love Shutterfly! I love Christmas Cards! EKKKK

Andy and I ordered ours. I can't wait to send them out. Maybe you will be lucky enough to get one!!!

10. Aquaphor.

I saved the best for last. Winter means everything gets dry. That means my lips get dry and cracked. Yuck. Aquaphor does wonders! If you don't have some get some...today!

Thankfulness

This is the season of thankfulness ... right?

8 days until Thanksgiving. I'm going to share 8 things I am thankful for. Soooo here goes nothin! I'm thankful for:

1. My Husband.

Yall he rocks! Seriously. I have always known he was great (even as an 8th grade brace face). But I am learning more and more each day how blessed I am to have such an amazing man. He loves and serves me well. Thankful for you Andy!

2. My family.

Look at them! How could I not love them! Thankful for my parents. And the example they have given me of what it looks like to have a marriage centered on Christ. Thankful for my sister and the mentor she has been to me!

3. My friends.

I have really great friends. Who are intentional and care for me like you would never believe. So thankful for great friends.

4. Our House.

We are getting so close to moving in! I'm thankful for all the willing hands who have worked so hard on helping us get it ready. I am thankful for the memories and laughter I know it will bring. I am thankful for a place to call home!

5. My Health.

So thankful for my health. Can't believe I ran a marathon this past year. Thankful for the ability to run, and the passion the Lord has given me for exercise. Just love it!

 6. Colbie...The Colbster...Little bit...Skitter Bug (Not sure how all these names came about).

I can't tell you how many times this dog has caused us to roll on the floor belly laughing. She is so funny, and yet so very sweet at the same time. So thankful for this 3 pound blessing!

 7. My job.

Yes I sit at a desk all day. Yes I answer phones all day. But so thankful for it :)

Thankful for being able to pay bills. Thankful for health insurance. Thankful for a place to do ministry.

8. Rest.

Sorry this was the only picture I could find :)

So thankful for days off. Saturday. Sunday. Love them. Thankful for a 5 day work week.

O.P. Jenkins

So one of the perks of your parents owning a furniture store (besides being in the commercials as a 7 year old. Yup thats right. I'm a star) is that when you buy a house you get really great help decorating it :).

Today I spent my lunch break looking a fabrics, pillows and couches. Oh My. I don't really know "my style" so I was kinda nervous about what I would pick. This same thing happened when I got married. I remember the very first step for me in wedding planning was saying what all I didn't like ... and that helped me get to what I did like. The very same thing happened today.

I walked around O.P. and said, "Don't like that, don't like that, don't like that .... until they got a feel for what I for sure DIDN'T like. Then they took me around and showed me things they thought I would like and wouldn't you know it I did! Amazing.

I'm so excited for the finished product. We are getting closer!