We attended the Bridge Street Christmas tree lighting on November 21st. It was a breath taking view and an unbelievably festive way to enter into the holiday season. The tree itself was enormous and so perfectly lit and decorated. The crowds of adoring onlookers helped to "make the season bright!" As the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra serenaded us with Christmas classics, it was impossible not to get that child-like feeling that is oh-so consuming. BUT, it was COLD!! As a matter of fact, it was the coldest day of the year to date. Lauren was bundled up in her fir rimmed leather coat, and I, being the big dummy I am, had every hair on her little head perfectly in place; with bow on top. "My, Oh My," 25 degrees with the wind blowing is not the time to worry about "cuteness"!! We, along with half of the 2000+ others made a quick run into the shop(s) to snatch up the last of the boggins and scarfs. Thankfully, Gymboree had the sweetest little matching set that was on sale. After waiting in line behind the other silly Mommies, I made my purchase, yanked off that Christmas bow, and bundled my child up; like I should have done before leaving the house. All-in-all, it was a great evening that will probably become a Styles family tradition.Sunday was the Woosley family Thanksgiving get-together at our house. We had a delicious lunch of snack-type foods...being that not a one of us wanted to dive into the big Thanksgiving meal yet; you know..turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce....NO...enough of that was to come in the days ahead. Instead, we opted for deli sandwiches, stuffed mushrooms, cocktail shrimp, and other holiday/party favorites. It was tasty, and we had a wonderful time. The kids had so much fun and wore themselves out! In fact, Mom just informed me of a rather humorous event that I didn't even know happened....sorry Katie!!! :) Evidently, Emma (L's cousin) and Lauren got into our garden tub with their clothes on. As I've heard it, one of them turned the water on, soaking Little E. I can imagine that "someone" was L!!! She has a terrible habit of turning knobs, handles, or whatever else that produces water, lights and/or noise. I gave katie a shirt to change E into, but I thought she had just gotten sweaty; I had no idea what really happened. When you get an almost three year old, and a child just entering into the "infamous 2's" together, be sure to keep the fire dept., poison control, and 911 on speed dial. It might get dangerous!! :) They can make you want to pinch their heads off and laugh at the same time! Besides that, it was a great day and a fun way to start the holiday.Thursday was the Grider (Mom's family) family Thanksgiving lunch. It was the usual wonderful day of eats, hanging out with the family/rednecks...just kidding guys.....remember, I am a Grider too....so I guess I am the biggest redneck of all!!! They are a great family and we have the best time of laughs, jokes, and most of all memories. I love you all! That afternoon, we made a quick run to Chris's Aunt Mary's house. We were too stuffed to eat again, but we visited for a while. The evening ended with the Havoc hockey game. We don't go to as many as we would like because of our hectic schedule. Lauren loves to go, so we figured that would be as good a time as any to fit it in. She did amazingly well and cheered on the team. Her "that's not nice" comments during the fights were funny too!! The teacher in me looks for everyday '"teachable" moments in the little things life has to offer! As I digress, the night ended very late for us; we crashed at the house around 11:00 or so, ending a very eventful and blessed day. We are truly THANKFUL and gracious to our Heavenly Father for his many blessings!The Styles family Thanksgiving celebration was on Friday. We dined on those Thanksgiving favorites yet again...YES...we are officially "turkied and dressing'd" OUT!! Once again, it was a perfect time with the people we love and are so thankful to have in our lives. The night ended with a trip to town for a a large purchase of Chris's new toy (47" LCD LG Flat Panel TV) for our living room. Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, Happy Easter, Happy 4th of July, Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday....get the picture!! :) Yes, we made the plunge. Chris has wanted this for several years now, and he has been extremely gracious in waiting. It definitely has great picture quality and is oh-so theateresque . I am praying that it will outlast the extended warranty. Let's have a moment of silence...hmmmmm....I feel better!!My prayer is that you all experienced a truly blessed week. Happy Holidays!! Brandi
I hope to update and post some new pictures soon. We have a busy weekend lined up! On Friday, we are going to the Christmas tree lighting and festivities at Bridge Street. I can't wait!! Then, my immediate family is having a get-together at our house on Sunday for lunch. The menu sounds absolutely delicious. Needless to say, not a one of us will slim down in the days to come. Oh well, it is worth it!! And all of God's children will be frantically busy next week! I'll fill you in soon..I promise.BTW, I have gotten a lot of hits...but few comments. Please show some love and leave your comments. It makes this "project" feel worth my time!! Until next time. Brandi
I have been following a blog of a sweet couple for some time. They have an adopted son from Russia. They are also in the midst of a domestic adoption. They have already bonded with the 3 day old and have had a wonderful experience with the baby's family. However, as they are now ready to finalize everything & leave with the baby, the birth mother is reconsidering. I am heartbroken for this family. Please pray that God's will be done for both families!! No matter how this turns out there is going to be an enormous amount of hurt and loss. Please believe with them that God will prevail in all of this!Click on my blog list titled "Our Journey of Love" to view this site.Thanks!
For the better part of a year or more I have been having problems with both knees. They crack, pop, stay sore, and make physical activity difficult. If you know me well, you know that I hate taking medication and going to the dr. I try to remedy problems on my own before taking the plunge & going. But, the condition is growing increasingly worse. I began to worry that if I didn't have it looked into soon that I would make matters worse.I went to my family physician last week. He did an x-ray; however, that looked good. He said that cartilage related problems typically don't show up on that type of scan. In turn, he referred me to a Physical Therapist (PT) for 4 weeks of therapy..once per week. That brings me to today. I just returned from an hour of agonizing exercises. My goodness....I am OUT of SHAPE!!! It was pathetic. The 80 year old stroke patients worked circles around me (exaggeration, but I was a sight to see)!! Ultimately the long term outcome is supposed to be strengthened leg muscles to better control knee placement and location.The diagnosis is long in name. Basically, "hippy" women (big through the hips...not those from the 60's and 70's) sometimes have mis-alignment of the knee bones b/c of the pull & curvature from the hip area. It was and is confusing to me, but they seem to know what they are talking about. Anyway, in a lying position, the knees should be facing straight. My right knee turns slightly to the right. My left knee completely faces to the left. Therefore, in essence, I have crossed-eyed knees. :) The result is grinding and popping because the bones don't smoothly glide over the natural C-curve. The therapy and many at-home exercises should provide the thigh muscles with new-found strength to pull the knees back into place. Let's hope. If not, my next stop is an orthopedic physician. I'll update and maybe get pictures posted of my exercises. It is going to be a task!!!!!!
Today was definitely one of those "blah" days. I realize that Fridays are supposed to be fun & carefree. Well, the last two Fridays at work have been my most hectic days all year. Just when I thought everything would slow down, ten more things came up. It is as if everything has to be done at once, and my feet and head can't seem to catch up with the demands. Oh well, I guess I'm just having a woe is me day. I'll get a good night sleep & be A-okay in the morning. On a lighter note, tomorrow should be a fun-filled day. Thanksgiving breakfast is in the morning at church. I am always up for a home-cooked breakfast; especially when I am not the one cooking it. After that, we're driving to the Monaco to watch Madagascar 2. Lauren cannot stop talking about it. She absolutely fell in love with the first movie. We pull up the "You've Got to Move It, Move It" song on YouTube & she goes crazy. So, we are excited. I'll fill you in on how she does...we hope she makes it through the whole movie! Finally, our busy day is going to end with the Bama-LSU game. I don't know why, but this one is making me nervous. We shall see. Until next time, Roll Tide Roll! Have a great weekend.Brandi
It has been a hectic election day. It started early this morning with the RMS mock election. We voted at school for the Pres/VP & a special amendment pertinent to our student body. The students registered to vote several weeks ago. They had homemade ID cards, which they had to have on person to vote. The school itself looks like a national convention with all of the red, white, blue, streamers, balloons, you name it. Anyway, we spent the entire morning getting students to the "polling place" and voting. It was busy but so worth it. Check us out in Monday's Huntsville Times.I left work at 11:30 b/c of an afternoon dr. appointment. Apparently I've inherited the family knee & joint problems. Anyway, I will be heading into town to have that looked at around 2:00. In the meantime, I breezed into our polling place at Maysville Church of Christ. I have yet to figure out why we are zoned there (10 or so miles from here) when there is another one exactly a mile up the road. Who knows!? As I stated earlier, I flew in and out. I literally walked right up to the man, showed my ID, signed & printed my name, took my ballot, voted, got my sticker, and was back in my car in 10 minutes. It couldn't have been easier. I am hoping and praying that the aftermath of today's events will be peace and unity in America. I can't imagine returning to a world like that experienced some 40+ years ago. We may disagree on what is best for our country, but it costs nothing to be civil. God Bless.
Halloween 2008 breezed through and was over so quickly. We had a great time enjoying the festivities but are glad to see it pass. I am exhausted!!
Lauren had a party at school on Friday. She came home talking about all of the goodies she got. Apparently she gobbled down a cupcake or two, candy, and anything else she only gets on rare occasions. Needless to say, we had a sugar-hyped 2 year old and the night was still young.
Chris, Lauren, and I set out to venture the neighborhood around 5:30. Most of the houses immediately around our house are occupied by older families that don't participate. So, we drove one street over and started our door-to-door "begging" there. We encountered several Spider Men, a fireman, Hannah Montana, some scary looking creatures, and the cutest Buzz Lightyear I have ever seen. Lauren's candy basket was full of chocolaty goodness (I've been sneaking samples..shhhh...don't tell).
We made our way to church for Trunk-or-Treat around 6:30. Members of the church had the trunks of their cars decked out with games and fall decor. Lauren played for a little while & got some more candy to add to her already heavy basket. We were all getting tired, not to mention that it was about 50 degrees. It was a little nippy. At that point, we asked ourselves, "What do we need to do?" "We are all freezing and it's dark out." You guessed it. No, we did not go home and put on a pot of hot water to make hot chocolate. We did the next best thing. We drove to the nearest Dairy Queen and got blizzards. Their is absolutely no logic behind that. It was Friday night and we had a temporary lapse in judgement. Anyway, it was a great night. Enjoy the pictures.
