Friday, October 30, 2009

Happy Friday!


My dad came home yesterday afternoon, and you could certainly tell he was happy to be back. He feels so much better and is really doing wonderful!


I brought cupcakes home yesterday for us to eat. I couldn't resist giving my niece, Aly (also referred to as 'Sis'), one of them to get all over her. After threats from my sister that I would have to clean her up because of the mess she was making, I was prepared to do so. However, she did Aunt B a favor. She dumped her supper that was in her bowl over her head. No one saw it until it was too late! You couldn't help but laugh, and I couldn't help but take a picture of it.


I hope everyone has a safe Halloween! Tonight includes pumpkin carving and baking cookies. I'm anxious to see my little trick-or-treaters and their costumes.


Until then...Happy Friday!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Feeling Better!

First of all, I would like to update everyone on my dad. He is still in Baptist Hospital, but he will hopefully be returning home sometime tomorrow. Please pray for him to have a good recovery process. He has appreciated everyone's phone calls and visits by the hospital. As the days have passed, the doctors have conducted more tests and have discovered more about his condition. According to the doctors, they fixed what had to be fixed immediately when he arrived on Tuesday afternoon. However, he still has a good bit of plaque build up in his artery. This is going to require him to take Plavix, two baby aspirin, and possibly some other medication as well for quite some time.

Ashley and I drove down to see him yesterday afternoon, and he looked great. He was mostly just tired and sleepy. Who isn't tired in the hospital though? It's so hard to get rest! We will not be driving down there this afternoon since he will be coming home tomorrow morning if all goes well. Thank you again to everyone who has prayed for him and checked on him! It really means a great deal to us to know we have such great friends and family to support us in times of need.

On a lighter note....

I wanted to share this picture (above) with you. I was leaving W.S. Neal Elementary, where I do my practicum (student teaching) hours. Some kids participated in a pumpkin carving contest, and I couldn't resist taking pictures of it. I figured I would share it with you guys. I made many more pictures, but for some reason they were all blurry except for this one...ugh!

Upcoming posts...Dot's birthday celebration, pumpkin carving, and cookie making!

***Update: My dad is home from the hospital! They let him come home early! I can't wait to see him!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Thank You! Prayers Were Answered!

I would like to thank everyone who prayed for my dad yesterday. Words cannot express how grateful I am to you for praying and to God for meeting the needs of my dad.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
- James 5:16

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask- we know that we have what we aked of him."
- 1 John 5:14-15

For those who would like to know about my dad, yesterday afternoon around 2:30 he began to have chest pains at work. He went to the nurses office because he felt sick. I believe the nurses immediately knew something was wrong with my dad, so one of the nurses called 911 for the ambulance to come. He was taken quickly to D.W. McMillan Hospital, and my sister and I arrived at the same time. The nurses informed us while we were filling out paperwork that he was definitely having a heart attack and that he would be Life Flighted. She also let us know though that they were able to get the medication in him to help his chest pains that he was having.

Everyone in Brewton knows that it had been raining very hard earlier Friday and was still a bit cloudy outside. However, when it was time to fly, everything was clear for them to come and get him and fly him back to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola. Praise the Lord! Before he left, we were able to see him. I've never seen a heart attack patient before, but he seemed to be stable and was talking a good bit. His main problem then was how cold he was. Kim Carroll was his nurse, and she was great. It was nice to see a familiar face with him. Thanks Kim!

Soon after he left, I was already on my way to meet Colby at his house to leave my car there. I stopped at my office to pick up a few things that I had left there because I had been in such a hurry earlier. As soon as I got there, I saw the helicopter in the sky. My family responded very quickly and was able to get to my mom to drive her down there. Word spread quickly and prayers were going up all around my dad.

As we were on our way, we discovered that my mom's brother, Greg, was already in Pensacola for an appointment of his own. He was at the hospital when they landed with my dad, and he was able to keep us updated while we were making our way to him. Once again, God was looking out for us. Soon after, my uncle called back and said they were taking my dad in for a Heart Cath. You can learn more about this
here.

When we arrived, the doctor came out fairly quickly and let us know how my dad was doing. She reported that the heart cath had been very successful. He had a 98% blockage in an artery on the front wall of his heart (I apologize for not using the correct terms. I think I'm explaining this right.) He will be on medication for the next year to be sure he will not have another one.

He was taken to the
CCU where we were able to see him. I saw him twice last night, and he was doing wonderful. Another praise! I talked to my mom this morning, and she said he was still doing great. They will be moving him to a room sometime this morning or early afternoon. He will probably be there until Friday. Then, he must rest for an entire week, which I have to say is much needed by a man who never stops going.

Once again, thank you to everyone! I love my dad, and I don't know what I would do without him. He is such a special person in my life who I wouldn't trade for anything in this world. I apologize for such a long post, but I wanted to offer a place for anyone who was wondering about him to see what had happened and to check updates on him.

Monday, October 26, 2009

It Can Be Done

Earlier today I posted that I was going to attempt to crochet. After watching many online tutorials, the above picture is what I have completed this far. You can see the project that I am working on here. I've found that it is very time consuming, but I get better every time I do it.

This is a close up of the stitches. It's only four basic stitches...very easy. If you're interested in trying it yourself, you can find the pattern here. It's titled as the "Boy Wrapper." I chose to use pink yarn instead of blue though. I can't wait to see how this will turn out, but I may be waiting a LONG time to see at the rate I'm going. Wish me luck!

My First Attempt


Lately, I've been really inspired to become very crafty, and I don't mean sneaky. After looking at the tutorials for knitting, I crossed that out quickly. Then, I turned to crocheting, which seemed to not be quite as difficult. I'm attempting to make the blanket pictured above. I figured that if I could get the first three rows (they are the basis for the entire blanket) then I could complete it. So far, I have completed the entire first row of 149 stitches. I tried taking pictures of what I have completed so far, but my camera isn't cooperating.

Unfortunately, I have reached a point in which I'm confused as to what to do. If only I could figure out how to turn the work...ugh! Online video tutorials here I come! Wish me luck! I'll post my progress as I make it. Let's just pray there's progress=)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

TRM Homecoming

This weekend was the 10 year Homecoming for Colby's brother, Judd. We were so happy to see the two of them since we don't get to see them too often because they live in Birmingham. You can see them pictured above. We had a blast with them. The weekend was filled with homecoming festivities, and Colby and I participated in a few of them.


I met up with Abby, Colby's sister-in-law, where I work. Judd treated us to getting our nails done that day, so we headed across the street for some girl time. Thanks Judd! Afterwards, the homecoming parade came through. You can see I caught some beads. Luckily, the rules of Mardi Gras don't apply to the local parade to get beads thrown at you. Haha!

Judd's class was the very last class to come through (I think). He showered us with candy or shall I say the entire bag he had left. Thanks again Judd!
Colby and I are friends with the people who own the old fire truck. It seems to be part of every parade now that the Nalty's have it.


Colby's mom also caught up with us to watch the parade. I can't believe it, but this is the first picture all three of us have ever had together.


Last night, we met up with Judd and Abby at Willie's Restaurant to see some old friends. Everyone in Judd's class seemed to be so nice and friendly. I didn't know many people, but I met some really wonderful people. Abby even got a picture of Judd and Colby, which hasn't happened in some time.

Needless to say, we love when Judd and Abby come to Brewton. I can't wait to make our trip to see them in December!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Decorating The House In My Mind


Do you receive a catalog and think that you could probably decorate your entire house from that one catalog? It's the shop that nearly describes your style exactly. Well, I received the newest Ballard Designs catalog this week, and I have probably looked through it fifty times. I just can't seem to get enough of it. I ooo and aaahh over the pictures and think to myself about how I could use those pieces somewhere in Colby's house.

Out with the old and in with the new! It's more like I wish that's what could happen. Right now, I'm very pleased with the opportunity Colby and I have been given by his parents. They've allowed Colby to renovate the house that is next door to them and live there rent free. You just can't beat it. Then, one day we will be able to rent the house and receive the rent in return for the amount of money was put into the house for renovations.

The house is very cute, and it is very presentable. It's just lacking some style and especially some color. That's why I dream of what I'm going to do to the house one day. Right now, we're just trying to get the basics in the house. There is definitely a lack of storage, so that comes first.

In the mean time, I suppose I will just dream about the things I want to add to the house, and especially dream about the things I want removed from the house. Haha! So, I've picked a few pieces to share with you of things I would buy from Ballard Designs if I had all the money in the world to spend....don't we all wish that!

I liked this sofa. We don't have a very big living room, so we would either need two smaller sofas like this or a little bit larger sofa and a chair. I know it is a safe color, but I want to be able to change things up if I'm so inspired to do so. Therefore, safe color couch and other colors incorporated throughout the room to brighten things up...

I also liked this media stand. I always thought I just liked the traditional solid wood looking furniture, but as I've grown older I tend to lean towards things that will brighten up a room, and I really like this piece of furniture in white.



As the queen of organization and a future teacher, I need some space to grade papers, keep important information handy, and have a place to put my laptop other than on the coffee table where I use it now. I also love the adorable chair that goes along with it.


Also, Colby has a full size bed, which means that in the near future we will be upgrading to at least a queen size bed. New mattress size also means new headboard!!! Yay for that! I think a nice upholstered headboard like this one would be nice. I think it would give the room a nice feminine touch against all of the other furniture in the room. What do you think?

Well...I just thought I would share some thoughts this morning I had on my mind. By the way, if you've bought anything from Ballard Designs, what is the quality of their merchandise? Do you recommend it?

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Got candy?


So...I have been working hard on getting some decorations up for the house. Like I said in a previous post, I have not been able to spend a lot of money, especially on some decorations that I desperately wanted. However, I figure that since this is only the first year I've had a house to decorate that I can buy things each year until I have a collection of decorations that I just absolutely love. So, I just want to share some of the main decorations around the house.

For the front porch, I have made some big additions that most people don't know about. Colby and I had absolutely NO front porch furniture other than the swing that was donated to us by Colby's brother and sister-in-law, Judd and Abby. I have added the two rockers and table to the front porch, which is one reason the rest of my decorations aren't as terrific as I would like.
I bought so many mums one day at Wal-Mart that I filled my car up. So, I had to come back and get my groceries that day. I'm really happy about the way they look. For the pumpkins, my sister and I went to a pumpkin patch that had tons of pumpkins to choose from. We didn't get to go out and pick it ourselves, but I did like the way it was set up. I should have taken a picture of it now that I think about it. They had pumpkins in rows with signs of how much each size was. Then, you took it upon yourself to pay in the box. I think that is great that they are able to do that. I hope someone doesn't take advantage of that in the future because it really does add to the experience. I hope that one day when I have kids I can take my kids there to pick pumpkins out. That will make great pictures! My sister and I plan to carve pumpkins a couple of days before Halloween with my 17 month old niece, Aly. She has her own "baby" pumpkin for herself. You will see a picture of it below.


I made cute trick-or-treat pales for my younger cousins and my niece. They are all planning on stopping by to trick-or-treat me for my first time at the house, and I'm so excited. You can see Aly's pumpkin in the picture above. If you're wondering where I got the sign, it came from Target. They have some cute Halloween items in the $1 rack. I also got some adorable dishtowels from that rack. They have candy corns on them. Oh yeah...I got some cute cheese spreaders as well.



Last but not least, I decorated my table. I know these pictures aren't that great, but it's the best I could do. I got the pumpkins from Wal-Mart, and I really love them. I stumbled upon the lantern at Dirt Cheap in town. It's an absolutely disgusting store if you just look at it, but you can really get some awesome things there if you just look around. I added some candles to the inside of it. Hopefully I will have some company over to light my candles and smell the warm cider frangrance. That's all for my decorations though! Happy Halloween!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Happy Birthday Daddy!





Today is my Dad's 49th birthday! I just wanted to wish him a very special birthday. I feel like I have been so blessed to have such a wonderful father throughout the entire course of my life. It seems as though so many people don't have the opportunity to even know their father, but mine has been great! I love him so much, and I can only hope that I show him how much I care for him as often as he deserves it.


If you're wondering about the picture above...it is a picture of my dad and me when I was really young. I was searching on my computer for a picture, and I thought this one would be appropriate.


As for the celebration, I believe my mom will be cooking supper for my dad at the house tonight. He's also doing what he loves most today, hunting. Actually, he and Colby are going dove hunting this afternoon. I guess we'll have to see what they bring in. Luckily, that's not what is for supper tonight...yuck!

Friday, October 2, 2009

Preparing for Fall

Fall is finally here! More importantly...it's finally October, which means that we can all begin our fall decorations. I have been contemplating on how to decorate Colby's house this year to get in the spirit of the season. I've finally decided that I will be decorating with potted mums and pumpkins. Hopefully, this will spruce up the house a bit. I've been searching the internet for ideas, and I found a few pictures that I thought were great inspiration.

I've decided that I want the decorations to be a bit elegant, rather than scary. I especially didn't want the decorations to be tacky. It seems that sometimes people get a bit out of hand. Here are a few picture that I found that I seemed to be drawn to.




I liked the photo above mostly for its simplicity. I'm on a budget, so this is a great way for me to still decorate the house, add some color to the porch, and be in the spirit of the season. I was particularly drawn to the wreath on the door. It looks like it would be very easy to make if you had many small pumpkins and some black ribbon.

I also liked this photo for the mums and arrangment of pumpkins. It just demonstrates how easy it is to decorate for fall without all of the ghosts and goblins hanging from the front porch. I'm not saying I'm against all of the typical Halloween decorations. It's just not for me. You can get the tips for this idea here.



This is one of my favorites. How pretty this would be by my front door!



This makes me wish I had a fireplace in the house. I'll save this photo for future use!




I am all about monograms. I loved this, and I may give it a try. I just wonder how I'm going to make it look as good as this one. Hmmm...I guess I will use the directions from the Martha Stewart website to figure it out.



Last but not least, an easy way to make decorations. The simple use of a template and some cookie cutters makes it very simply to light up the outdoors when trick-or-treaters come by.
I hope everyone enjoyed my thoughts on fall and Halloween decorations! I can't wait to see everyone else's decorations around town.