Christmas in pictures

I had a great time with my family this Christmas. I'll let the pictures and video do the talking!

Our Christmas PJs


We ate breakfast for dinner on Christmas Eve. We tried a new recipe...chocolate gravy!


The best Christmas gift my family could ever get!


My parents' new house doesn't have a fireplace, so this was my Mama's way to improvise!


Present time


Have you ever seen someone get so excited about a metal detector??


Watch here to see the full reaction!


Nerd Alert!


Celia


Daddy


Thad


Mama




Country Rock Band


When you go to Celia's house, she won't let you use paper towels because "they are bad for the environment".....hence the towels


Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!

Merry Christmas

O Holy Night is my favorite Christmas song! I came upon this version tonight. Pretty awesome! Be sure to pause the song in the previous post before watching.



Merry Christmas to all!!

Time flies!

I can't believe Christmas is this Friday. It really feels like we just celebrated it not too long ago. It's amazing how fast time goes as you get older! I attended my church's Christmas service last night. One thing that struck me was a quote in the introduction...it said "Christmas isn't just a holiday....it's a love story." I have never thought of it like that, but it is so true. One of the songs that was performed to help that point was "You're Here" by Francesca Battistelli. Take a listen to this very moving song...

Here are a few decorations from my house this year!


My Auburn tree


This is a gift from my realtor, Gina McGlaughlin...it's an everyday decoration!


I won't get to see Ben again until after Christmas, so I let him open his gift early. Look at my cute godson!




Playing with his new toy with his Auntie


However, he thought this way was more fun!


Thad gave Ben a gift too...I must say...he LOVED this present far more than what his Auntie gave him! The little dude LOVES buses...and Thad too for that matter!


I hope you are all enjoying the week leading up to the celebration of our Savior's birth!

Are You Ready???

I AM!!! The first leg of the tour goes March-May of 2010....I have tickets to 4 different shows....YAY!! Don't fret...you'll get reviews and pictures!

A "Church" lesson

I love the series that we are doing at church right now. It's called "Live, Laugh, Love." Today the preacher talked about joy and laughter, and we laughed a lot during the service today! If you are looking for a church home in the Birmingham area, let me know because I go to a great church!

HOWEVER, the purpose of this blog is to tell you about a conversation that I heard sitting in my seat waiting on the service to start this morning. The seating at my church is stadium like. These two middle age (54 and 62 years old...how do I know you ask...stay tuned) women were sitting directly behind me. These women were talking loud enough that people several seats around would have no problem hearing...hence how I heard their ages. Apparently, both of these women have been married multiple times, and found it appropriate to discuss their sex lives, or lack there of, in church (in earshot of others mind you) this morning!

WARNING: explicit discussion ahead

These two women discussed how one of them had never had an orgasm (the 62 year old) though had been married 3 times, and the other one (54 year old) wanted to BE with Keifer Sutherland....I know she had been married twice...not sure if she was currently married. The 62 year old women told how last night she had a dream about being intimate with her neighbor...then they laughed and commented that maybe it was a vision. (OOOOKKKK!!!) The 62 year old said that all her husband ever does is pat her on the arm and say "Goodnight Honey", and then went on to comment that she would have sex if somebody would just try.......REMEMBER....all of this was a discussion going on at church!

However, the thing that struck me the most was this comment. The 54 year old commented that she didn't know if she knew what true love was. She said she had cared about her husbands (plural) but she had never had a true love, and I quote, "where you hunger for the person you are married to." The 62 year old agreed that she didn't know true love either. (Remember she had been married at least 3 times).

I find this sad. I am single as you all know. Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to be married....to MR RIGHT, the one God has planned for me....but, I would rather be single all of my life than be middle aged and feel the need to have a conversation like this. I want to know real love, and I don't want to settle just so I can say "Im married." I have heard many people say negative things just because I'm 30 and single...even my Granny called me an Old Maid for crying out loud...but I tell you...I'm happy, and I would much rather be in my position than be married in a ho-hum type of relationship...just so I could have "Married" as my status.

Please, ladies and gentleman....if you NEED to have this conversation, do it over the phone or in a private setting....not in church of all places!!

Happy Thanksgiving

I am sitting on the couch watching football with my family feeling full and blessed. Can I just say that I love my family, and I love spending time with them! In the past, we have had Thanksgiving at my aunt's house. Due to changes in the family this past year, my mom and dad decided to host Thanksgiving. There were 14 people that shared a meal this year. My mom, with minimal help from my brother, prepared the meal, and it was delicious! The dressing was as good as my grandmother's, and the apple cheese was amazing too. Paula Dean's mac and cheese recipe is always a hit, and my dad grilled the turkey and ham...Is your mouth watering? Mine would be but I'm stuffed to my eyeballs from eating it all! My job of the day...photographing so I could blog!

Mama - the chef


The spread


Dessert table


My other job - taste tester...I tasted raw dressing to make sure it was seasoned right, raw mac and cheese just to check on it, and purple hull peas to make sure they were done


Aunt Glenda and Celia - If you know my GG, ask her if she likes Irish coffee!


Me and Celia - this is a holiday tradition...always trying to get a pic of us...this is the best we could do


Daniel and Uncle Milton


Thad and Aunt Janice


Don't ask!


Diane and Stephanie (Stephanie is my cousin Daniel's wife and Diane is her mom)


Aunt Janice and Justin


Daddy and Uncle Billy (his brother)


One of my favorite things that the women in my family do is sit around at the table and chat after we eat....here is today's scene


Laughing at the stories






Cooking lessons - Stephanie wanted to learn how to cook apple cheese like my mom and aunts, so Aunt Janice taught her!


The Burton men after lunch


My cousin, Cody or "James" depending on where he is


Happy Thanksgiving to all! Hope you had a great day!

Oh what a night!

I went to Nashville (yes, again for those of you asking that question!) this past weekend. Carrie was to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, and this was the first performance there since the new album came out. I found out earlier last week that she would be signing the new CD for the first 80 people to buy the album from the Opry store. I have my first 2 album signed, and I thought it would be awesome to have the newest one signed. I convinced the friends that I was with that we should camp out in front of the store overnight in order to assure that we were in the first 80 to buy the album...of course they agreed! We made it to the Opry Originals store in downtown Nashville around 11 pm on Friday night. (Keep in mind that the store didn't open until 10 AM the next morning!) Though it was 40 degrees outside, and we had to "sleep" (an overstatement) in our chairs or on the concrete with nothing but a Snuggie to cover up with, it was well worth it!!! Let me make a side comment that the advertisement for the Snuggies to be worn outside didn't mean it would warm you in 40 degree weather!

Here are Michelle and I after one of the street vendors gave us his last 2 bouquets...he was ready to go home...I think this was nearing 2 AM!


I would love for you to watch the video of what transpired as the night progressed. You will not see me in this video because I was behind the camera...watch until the end...I think you might be amazed!


Notice Carrie and her assistant's faces as Lisa was giving her the money!


So...I'm sure you figured that since I camped out, I got a voucher to meet Carrie...indeed I did. I posted a video a few posts ago of Ben kissing Carrie. I talked to her about it, and gave her the copy of the video....and got my CD signed!




I know you all think I'm crazy, and I'm ok with that! Each of us has something that we like to do...our "thing" if you will. Mine just happens to be going to concerts, especially country concerts...especially Carrie Underwood concerts. Here is another reason why. Look how she really listens to you when you actually get a chance to meet her! (I'll forgive all of you who are rolling your eyes!)



On to the Opry....I have seen the Opry several times not, but never at the historic Ryman...what a treat! The lineup was amazing. They streamed it on Myspace, and they hoped that 20,000 people would watch...I believe over 90,000 people watched...pretty cool huh! Here are some of my pictures from the night!

Jake Owen




Martina McBride




Rodney Atkins


And, of course, Carrie Underwood