Merry (Late) Christmas!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! This was the best Christmas ever for me! I was able to spend time with my family AND my NEW extended family! It makes me more excited than ever knowing that I am going to have so many more Christmases like this one!!! Although I miss all the folks that we weren't able to see, I know that one day we will be able to see them during the holidays!!!

Jerry, Jalen and I were so excited on Christmas eve when we got home that we watched part of It's a Wonderful Life and it came to be midnight, so we decided to open our gifts since we had to be up early on Christmas to eat breakfast at my mom's! I was so excited because this is the first year I had Christmas with my very own family! I really enjoyed it! It was great watching Jalen's face as he opened all his gifts! We got him a bike for Christmas, and Christmas day was perfect for riding his bike - it was warm and sunny!

A couple weeks ago, Jerry and I went on a date to Tanglewood, which is a park in Winston-Salem that has a huge Christmas Lights display! We were both very excited to go, but when we got there we had to wait about 3 hours before we saw any lights! Then when we got up to the lights my camera battery went dead! I was able to take a few pics with my cell phone! It was so beautiful, and well worth the 3 hour wait! Hope you enjoy the pics I put below! Keep in mind that it is difficult to take pictures of lights in a moving vehicle with a camera... And a lot of these were taken with a cell phone!!! They were so beautiful and HUGE!!!

Beginning of our wait at Tanglewood!

This is the bridge we drove under... Lots of cars in front of us!

Chick-fil-A is the sponsor of the lights!

It looked like it was snowing! So pretty!

The flower she is watering looked like it was actually growing!

This is my favorite... The reflection on the pond made it so pretty!

You can't tell, but this one was HUGE!!! Jerry's car was probably as tall as the leaf on the right!

This one was huge too! This was also one of our favorites!

I loved all the different ones that we drove thru!

This was cute.. The eskimo caught the fish and the polar bear takes it off his line!

This is Jerry's favorite... The golfers really look like they hit the ball!!!

This tree was gigantic!

Jingle bells!!! There were bells everywhere after you drove thru this little tunnel!

This was an actual train with lights on it... Wish it was a better picture!

Once we got in, I was sad to leave!!! It was beautiful!

Well, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! We are looking forward to ringing in the new year! Have a blessed day! I'll get the Christmas pics up ASAP!

Detroit Loses... Again.. & so did Jerry!!!

Well... Jerry and I made a bet last week that if the Lions lost today, I could buzz his hair off! I figured I had a pretty good shot considering they were 0-12, and also that they were playing the #1 team in their division - the Minnesota Vikings! Well, it was a pretty rough game! Detroit was ahead for the majority of the game, but in the end the score was 20-16 - Minnesota wins!!! I took some pictures to commemorate this occasion! They are all below! I had a great time with this... Jerry was not amused, but in the end he liked the cut I gave him (and so do I!)

Jerry after the game (pre-buzz cut)! A little upset it seems!

The final score...

My new toy! haha...

I had to take a picture of this! hahaha!!!

And... The final result...

Still as happy as ever!

It will be missed!

Well.. I hope everyone likes Jerry's hair. It won't be like that too much longer.. I figure it will grow out pretty fast, but I'm still going to cut it! I'm going to try to do the faux hawk on him when it gets long enough! If I do a good job, we'll be able to save a pretty good bit of cash on hair cuts!!!

Done For Now!!!

It's been a while since I have written a blog, so I just wanted to update everyone on our planning process! We have our cake picked out, and I'm so excited because our cake is going to be so yummy and gorgeous! We had a cake tasting a while back, and it was the most delicious cake I have ever tasted! Shannon, from Sugar Plum Fairies Cakes, had our cake/cupcakes sketched out before I could even tell her everything I expected!!! We will be having Strawberry, Orange, Lemon and Coconut (with lime curd) cupcakes. Our cake topper will be coconut (I think). Jerry's groom's cake will be Chocolate. All of them will have buttercream frosting! I don't want to spill all the details, but I can't wait!!! Everyone is going to love it... I hope!!! So... I am pretty sure that everything with the wedding is done, for now! Just final details need to be done, and I need to order my dress.

Also, I want to say "I'm Sorry" to my dad! He has been reading and keeping up with everything on here, and I have yet to mention him or put up any pictures of him! There were no pictures of him because I didn't have any, but since Thanksgiving just occurred I got a picture of my dad and my older sister! I love my dad very much, and never meant to hurt his feelings! I LOVE YOU, DAD!!! I just realized in my pictures from Detroit, I didn't put any up of Jerry's mom and Lou! So, below there are some more pics from Detroit! (Sorry guys!)

Kristy, Dad, and Me on Thanksgiving!Lou, Jerry's Mom, Jerry, and Me!

My future Mom-in-Law and me! Right after we told her we got engaged!

The other night, Jerry and I had date night. We went to see the movie, Fireproof, and went to dinner at a local Asian restaurant called Wild Wok. I had Jerry try sushi for the first time! I love sushi, so I was hoping that he would enjoy it too! We started him with some that had all cooked items or veggies, but I also ordered some raw Tuna with rice (or Maguro, if you're familiar). We had shrimp lettuce wraps as an appetizer which was also something new for him! He liked it all. YAY! We also found a new wine that we like at Wild Wok. It's a plum wine (very sweet, but very tasty!). Fireproof was also a great movie! If you aren't familiar the movie is about a couple whose marriage isn't working so well. The husband receives a book called "The Love Dare" from his father and begins to work on his marriage for the next 40 days, and in the end, they work things out and start getting back into church and praying together. It was a good movie to see before our upcoming wedding!

We also went to the Detroit Lions/Carolina Panthers game with Jerry's dad, Darlene, and Jalen! We had a great time! I don't know that Jerry and Jalen's time was as good as the rest of our's, but they are pretty used to the Lions losing by now, so their wounds healed quickly! It was Jalen and Darlene's first NFL game, and I think they enjoyed it for the most part! Jalen got upset with me during the game for cheering Carolina on, but I think he's over that now! I feel horrible because I don't have any pictures of Jerry's Dad and Darlene. Well, I'll work on that soon!

Jerry and Me!

Jalen and Me, before the game!

We had Thanksgiving at my sister's mom's house so I was able to get pictures of my sister and her husband! This is a picture of Tim and Kristy when they were dopplering Ava's heart rate! It was so exciting to hear her little heart beating away! She is due February 20th and we are all anxiously waiting her arrival! She is going to be one spoiled little girl!

Kristy and her baby bump!

Well. I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! I know that I did, but I don't want to see that much food for a long while!!! Hope everyone has a pleasant day and a great weekend!

A bunch of random stuff...

Life is wonderful!

I feel like all things in my life are finally falling into place! I have a great family, wonderful fiance and future son, and a great career. I honestly don't think I could ask for more.

My cousin Ashley, Pappaw, Kristy, Me, and Amanda (Counterclockwise from bottom left)

Some great news! Almost four weeks ago, I joined Weight Watchers. I feel like I should mention this because this is definitely part of MY wedding planning. So far, I've lost 11 pounds. I am thankful to have many supportive people surrounding me! My friend, Lori suggested that we start walking because she's wanting to get healthier too. I am soooo thankful for her because losing weight is so much easier when you have someone doing it with you (even with all the support)!!! We have went walking the past two nights. The first time, we walked a mile and a half. Last night, we walked almost 2.5 miles! We are going again tonight and I hope we beat both of those distances! We are working up to walking around 5 miles! There is no doubt in my mind that we will be able to do it! Every time I look at my left hand I get more will power! I want to look my best for my future husband! We are going to Jamaica for our honeymoon, and I'm going to do my best to get a bikini body for our trip!!! I'm off to a good start!

My walking buddy, Lori, and me!

Last night, I talked to my younger sister, Amanda. I miss her very much! Since she moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, it seems I talk to her more than I ever have. I guess we both took for granted our time living so close! Hopefully she knows she's missed! She's planning her wedding as well. She will be getting married next year in Vermont on May 24th. My poor parents! Two weddings, less than one month from each other! I'm sure that's a lot of stress for my mom, especially having one daughter that is across the country!

Mom and me right before the Michael Buble concert!

Ashley, Kristy, me, and Amanda at Thanksgiving

I also talked to my mom last night. My older sister, Kristy is due to have her baby in February. Little miss Ava Kelly is growing by the minute! I heard that my sister's belly button is disappearing! I can't wait to see her! She sent me some ultrasound pictures to my e-mail, and from what I can tell, Ava has a really cute profile! I can't wait to be an aunt! My cousin was the last baby in our family and she's 21 now! Time goes by so quickly!

My sister's husband, Tim, Kristy, Me and Amanda at Thanksgiving! Oh yeah.. that's Mattie sitting on Kristy's lap!

Like I said in a previous blog.. This is going to be an awesome year! I'm counting down the days until mine and Jerry's families combine! I hope everyone has a blessed day!

Almost Done!!!

Latest pic of Jerry & Me. With our matching faux hawks! LOL..

That picture was taken on Sunday! Sundays have really been fun for Jerry and me! Football, football, football!!! We have NFL sunday ticket so we can see all the Detroit Lions games... YAY! haha.. Maybe the next picture of us I post will be one taken during a Detroit game of Jerry hanging his head in shame as I'm rolling around in the floor with laughter!! I'm just kidding.. Jerry and I talk a lot of smack on Sundays. All in fun!

Now I'm going to have to start growing my hair out a little. I'm still going to keep it short because I like my hair better short, but the faux hawk is going away.. I just got it, too.. I have to say I will miss it - it's been a lot of fun! I know my mom will be happy to see it go though!

Well, last night I went to meet the preacher with my mom. He was awesome! He read through a couple things that are going to be in our ceremony, and I teared up... My mother did too... Which makes me really nervous that I will be an absolute wreck on our wedding day!! When I told Jerry about some things in the ceremony, he blamed me of trying to make him tear up!!! haha... If he breaks down, I know I will not be able to control myself. It always gets me when the groom tears up! Jerry didn't get to go because he was getting his things ready to go to Pennsylvania today! :( Everyone pray for him so he has a safe trip there and back please!

So, on my mind now is what the bridal party will wear. Since our wedding will be outside at the end of June, I want everyone to be comfortable and cool. So, I'm thinking that the men will be in light colors. I've added a photo of an option for the guys. Obviously, I'm not going to talk about what I'm going to wear because Jerry will be viewing this too, but I have picked my dress. It was actually the first one I tried on. It's white... That's all I'm going to say! haha... My matron of honor, Mindy, will be in a lime green dress. I've also added pictures of some ideas I have for that! Some of the pictures have different color, but they will be lime green.

This one will be lime green with a white sash.

I like this one.. It's fun and cute.

This is kinda cute. Not sure about the asymmetrical look, but I love the top half!

I think this would look nice on Jerry!

So, we almost have everything done! The only big things left for us to do are the cake and the caterer and those are both in the works! After that, it's just the little things! I can't believe we only have 9 months left! Actually, less than nine! Time has been going by so fast since we got engaged!