A WV Thanksgiving and Wedding

Our Thanksgiving was spent in West Virginia, and we had a wonderful time! It was great to see everyone and just relax with family. Rusty came with us and loved every minute. There were 3 dogs for him to play with and he was exhausted every night. While we were there, Matt's cousin got married and it was a beautiful wedding! Here are some pictures from our trip.



All the dogs waiting for a treat!









Matt and his grandparents







I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Now, I have to decorate for Christmas...where has this year gone!!?!

Delicious

I recently discovered the most amazing snack! I know it has been around for a while, but I just got them from the store the other day. I am going to have to hide the box so that I don't eat all of them!! They. are. A-MAZING. Just thought I would share. :)

What we've been up to...

Well, Matt and I have been busy the past couple of weeks. So, to take a break one Sunday we went to Oak Mountain State Park with Rusty. We all 3 had a great time and it was wonderful to just relax and enjoy each others company. Matt has been doing Cowboy Action Shooting for about a year now and is doing great! He went this past weekend and got first place in his group. He loves to shoot and dressing up as a cowboy. I am so glad that he has something to help him relieve some stress. I recently got back from Florida taking care of Matt's grandmother. She had to have a pace maker put in and my MIL was sick, so I went and took care of her. It was an interesting week that's for sure!! Oh the stories I could tell, but I guess I will be nice and keep them to myself. :) She is a sweet lady who I promise looks just like the old lady from the Wedding Singer! I was glad I was able to go and take care of her and it was nice to visit sunny Florida.
This past weekend my mom, Aunt Debbie, Katie and myself stayed at Ross Bridge here in Birmingham. We had a great time and it was so nice to spend the weekend with them. We went shopping and finally got my mom some sassy jeans! She is going to be looking good!!
Matt and I are heading to West Virginia for Thanksgiving and also to go to his cousin Leigh Ann's wedding. We are excited about the trip and seeing the family. Well, I hope everyone has a great week! War Eagle!!




Matt with our sweet nieces




Matt and Rusty at Oak Mountain




Rusty slept for days after this trip!





Maverick Matt and his first place finish!

Mamaw

At the end of April, my family received some devastating news. My grandmother, Mamaw, found out she had a brain tumor. They were unable to remove the tumor, but she completed 6 weeks of chemo and radiation all at the age of 82. Her strength and faith amazed everyday!! Sadly, last Friday my Mamaw lost her battle with this disease. This has been one of the hardest weeks of my life.
I had the wonderful privilege of being with my grandmother the last two and a half weeks of her life. I was also able to hear my Mamaw take her last breath on Earth, and it was amazing. I know that my Mamaw is walking streets of gold with my Papaw, Whiteheaded Mamaw, and Aunt Cindy. She has been waiting her whole life for this moment. I am crying now for me, not for my grandmother. I have no doubt that she is in a fabulous place, and she wouldn't want to leave no matter how much we begged her to come back. I am so grateful for these past 2 1/2 weeks with my Mamaw, I learned what a Godly woman looks and acts like. I can only hope that one day I am as strong a person as my Mamaw was.
I grew up living just 3 doors down from my grandparents. I have so many wonderful memories from her house on Richard Avenue. We always sat on her patio enjoying desserts and a Coke. I would always complain to my Mamaw about my Mom and she would say, "Be nice to her honey, she's got alot on her plate." Even as I got older and moved away from Mobile, I still called her to complain about something. She was always so positive and telling me "The Lord doesn't give us anymore than we can handle." I called her to talk about my struggle with infertility and she would always tell me to be patient, that God has a plan. I am going to miss these conversations so much, and I honestly don't know what I am going to do without her. Towards the end of my Mamaw's illness, she was unable to walk and had to rely on her children and grandchildren to help her. She was a strong woman and hated having to rely on anyone. Several nights ago I had a dream and my Mamaw was walking and we were all cheering her on. As I looked closer at my Mamaw, she was carrying a baby. I know that my Mamaw went to Heaven to help pick out the perfect child for Matt and me.
My family loves listening to songs that remind us of my Mamaw. I have put some videos that are my Mamaw to a T. (Don't forget to pause my music at the bottom of the page.) I love you Mamaw and miss you so much everyday!

Abby :)

Tomorrow my wonderful friend, Abby, is going to come and stay with me!! Abby and I roomed together at Camp War Eagle in 1997 and then we were in the Auburn Band together. Abby was a bridesmaid in our wedding and we love her dearly!! She is a great friend and I know I can always count on her. I have not seen her since our wedding, so I know we will have a great time. She always makes me laugh and I can't wait for her to get here tomorrow. War Eagle!! :)

Update

It's been forever since I blogged because all the blogs I read are of happy things and well not too much happiness has happened for us lately. We tried another IUI in April to find it did not work. Two days later we found out that my grandmother has a terminal brain tumor. My grandmother is so very special to me. We grew up living 3 doors down from my grandparents and it was wonderful. I have so many great memories of her and my Pawpaw. I was so mad when I found out because I want to be able to tell her that she is going to be a great grandmother again, but I can't right now. She amazed me after her surgery and her 6 weeks of radiation and chemo. I hope that one day I can be as strong as my grandmother. So, after we found out about my grandmother we decided to take a break from the baby stuff for a while. It has been nice because I don't feel like I have to look at a calendar all the time. As if things couldn't get worse, at the end of the school year I was told that my contract would not be renewed with my school. I was two days away from being tenured. I still have not found a job and last week was horrible for me. School started last week and it was the first time in 8 years that I was not teaching. I love teaching and know that it is what I am supposed to do. I have put everything in God's hands and I know it will all work out in the end.

On a lighter note, we have had an ok summer. In June we went to West Virginia for Matt's cousins wedding and had a nice time. Here are some pictures from our summer. Sorry for such a depressing post, but just needed to vent. I am so blessed to have Matt as my husband! He is wonderful and I know that without him I could not get through any of this.

What a week!

Sunday started off great, we got 3-4 inches of snow in Alabama!! Matt, Rusty and I had a great time playing in the snow.




Later in the week, Matt had to have some tests run because he has been really sick lately. The doctor discovered that Matt's gall bladder is "diseased" as is not working at all. He will be having it taken out this week and we are so glad. We are just so glad to know what has been causing him to be so sick and lose so much weight.

Today, my birthday, we discovered that once again we are not pregnant. Matt and I decided to start trying to have kids the moment we got married. Well, it has been a challenge to say the least. We had our first IUI (Intrauterine insemination) done last month and we just knew that we would be welcoming our first child in November. However, the Lord has other plans for us. I will soon have surgery for the doctors to check and see what exactly is wrong with my body. This has been a daily struggle, but I do have to say that it has brought Matt and I so much closer. I feel like every month I let him down and disappoint him, although he assures me that I don't. I can't ask Why?? because I know that our prayers for a child will be answered. Right now, we just ask that you pray for us and that we continue to put this in God's hands.

Sorry for such a Debbie Downer post, I just really needed to vent and this is the only way I knew to do that. I have though had a great 31st birthday!! It is crazy to think that I am 31, but so nice to be able to spend it with such a wonderful and devoted husband. I am so blessed.

Baby Evan

My brother, Sheldon, and his wife, Kristin, had their beautiful boy, Evan, on Sunday. He is doing great and we are so glad he is here. Here are some pictures of him for you to enjoy.

Perfection

Since we got our Wii for Christmas, we have played it nonstop!! Matt loves this new toy and I am quite certain if his test in a few weeks was Wii bowling, he would do great. So the other night Matt decided to play a quick game of bowling before bed and it turned out to be a perfect game. He threw 11 strikes in bowling and scored a 299. He was so excited and was all about taking a picture of it. We have now rented Mario Kart and are loving it...what did we do before the Wii??

A Year

I can hardly believe it has been a year since we got married! This has been one of the best years of my life. I could not ask for a better husband and friend. He is there for me anytime I need him, and is always there to make me smile. I am so blessed that we found each other and I can't wait to celebrate many more anniversaries with him. I love you Matt!!

These pictures were taken by our wonderful photographer, Melinda Mercer.

Christmas Vacation

We had a great Christmas and New Years! My mom and sisters got us a Wii for Christmas and we love it!! It has even managed to get Katie over to our house a lot more!! :) Matt has a huge HR exam in a couple of weeks, and he is worried he will fail it due to perfecting his Wii-ness.

My mom and sisters and I went to Texas to see Sheldon and his family. It was great to see everyone, but the drive was awful!! I know we have said this before, but we WILL NOT make that drive again. The girls are getting so big and it makes me sad to think about all we are missing out on. Hopefully we will see them soon once Baby Evan arrives.

I returned home to a new bedroom. Matt had a waterbed before we got married....that's right, a waterbed. Like my cousin Jordan said, "Do you hop in a time machine before you go to bed each night?" I hated the bed, and made it quite clear to Matt. Well, he took the hints and he got rid of it!! :) My father in law and Matt took off the hideous wallpaper, painted our room, and put in my old bed. I was so impressed becasue he had been VERY sick while we were in Texas, but he still managed to do this and work on our kitchen countertops. I am so lucky to have him as my husband.

So, needless to say I am not looking forward to going back to the world of 6th graders, but duty calls. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Sheldon and Kamryn

Kamryn and Karissa....gotta love the pull-up.

Karissa with her aunts.

Kamryn and Bacon