End a Year, Begin a Year

The Smith family had a wonderful Christmas. Craig and I both had to work on Christmas Eve, but we were able to travel to Mississippi that evening. We piled up the kids, minus Junebug, which I felt really awful about. When I was telling her "goodbye," she ran up the stairs and gave me a "how could you" stare. I felt bad but didn't want to hang around long enough for her to accept my apology. We dropped the doggies off at my parents and headed to Craig's parents house to stay the night. Craig helped to prepare the Christmas Eve breakfast and was very pleased with himself the next morning when everyone was stuffing their faces with "breakfast quiche." He has since made it again and it turned out just as good without his mother's watchful eye.

 

 

After breakfast, we headed over to my parent's house. We got to say hello to my dad (he was working) and then went to my Mimi's and Poppy's for lunch. As always, the food was amazing. Everyone helped just like during Thanksgiving. Mimi made an apple cake that was an old family recipe. I've never had it before and it was the first time I had seen her make it.  I did miss the Blueberry Crunch that she normally makes but I was pleasantly surprised how good this new cake tasted. Definitely something I will request again. After lunch, we all just hung around and socialized. It was good catching up with everyone. I haven't been around as much this past month due to the new job. A few hours later everyone was ready for seconds and after everyone was finished, we opened gifts.

We left for Craig's house once again, this time with puppies in tow. They were super excited to see Maggie (Craig's parents' dog) and very upset when we had to put them up in the boat house. It was pretty stormy which made it worse. We went over to Craig's Mamaw's for the Cumbest get together and ate the family's traditional shrimp gumbo and potato salad. I was miserably full, but I guess the feelings were not the same for Craig. He was able to shovel in a second helping while I was in my food coma. We opened gifts and shared conversation. I only get to see them usually once a year and all the kids have grown so much since last year. We went up the road back to Craig's parents to open more gifts. As in previous years, I was very blessed. I can honestly say that I have some of the best in-laws in the world. They have always treated me as if I was just another member of the family.

We had to wait for the storm to pass and didn't get home till 11 and had to unload the very full car. Unfortunately, we both had to work the next day, so we didn't get to play with all of our toys. A few days later, the fur babies got to unwrap their gifts from Santa. Apparently, he visits the pets a couple of days after Christmas. They had such as good time unwrapping the presents. Check out the videos of them. Super Cute!

 

 

 

New Year's was pretty low key for us. We had to work New Year's Eve (imagine that...). We were invited to a party in Ocean Springs but decided to stay in because I wasn't feeling very well. Yeah, the life of an adult is super exciting.... So far, the new year has treated us well. We are both healthy and employed and very blessed to have each other. Our ten year anniversary (our first date) was on January 9th. I can't believe we've been together that long. We celebrated by going to dinner on the causeway at my favorite restaurant, Felix's. I highly recommend eating there if you are ever traveling across the bay. It was delicious, and the staff made it a very special night for both of us. I also want to say thanks to three guests that have stayed at our home these past few weekends. Robert, Tiffany, and Davo. We had a blast with y'all. Thanks for the company! We are looking forward to a very prosperous 2013. Happy New Years everyone. May you be healthy, wealthy, and happy!

Cheers!
Tara

Our 10 year Dinner Date

Anniversary Lilies

As I Wait

Today is the end of the world. Well, not so far. I woke up this morning as Craig was leaving for work. I asked him, “are we still alive?” “Yes, Tara…” I’m glad I have today off so that I can spend time with my fur babies though. As I am waiting to meet my maker, I will post the pictures from Bellingrath for your viewing pleasure.

We went to Bellingrath Gardens with Tina, Drew, Tristan and Allison the first weekend of December after decorating our house. Bellingrath is the home of an insanely rich guy. He wanted to please his wife so he surrounded it with a giant garden. These folks are long gone now and the gardens are open for public viewing. During the holidays, thousands of lights are put up for viewing. Craig and I went last year for the first time. We enjoyed it, so I think it may become a tradition for us.

Cheers!
Tara

 

Merry Smith Christmas!

I wanted to share holiday spirit with everyone, so I took a few pictures of our home. We decorated the first weekend of December and have enjoyed the decorations as I always do. Craig, on the other hand, was hesitant as he always is to get motivated. He doesn’t like to decorate, but I really do believe he enjoys it just as much as I do when everything is finally up. Junebug has particularly enjoyed her first Christmas. You may notice the absence of gifts under the trees. This is due to Junebug. I have to re-wrap several gifts because she was just too excited about Christmas that she decided to unwrap them. No, literally, the paper was shredded and the gift bags had all the tissue paper removed.

We also had a fun trip to Bellingrath Gardens. I will post our pictures in the next blog. I hope you enjoy our home as much as we do. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Cheers!
Tara

Our Beautiful Home

The Lights at Night

 

Our Living Room "Family" Tree

 

My "Nice" Maroon and White Tree

 

Details on my "Nice" Tree

Our Stairwell

Junebug likes to play with the bell

The stocking are hung by the chimney with care...

Mantle details edited

 

Mantle details unedited

After the gifts were gone, she wrapped up herself in the tree skirt...