Christmas in Chattanooga

Christmas morning was one I will never forget. I was in complete awe of the snow falling down. It made me not miss home as bad, knowing that I would never see this in Mobile. It was absolutely picture perfect!

We left our house that morning and headed over to Ben's parents house. Jacob had flown in from Boca Raton Christmas morning, so it was really good to see him. Ben couldn't wait to get over there so they could play in the snow!

Carol is truly the hostess with the mostess. I have some big shoes to fill that is for sure...I own like 2 Christmas decorations and did not even put up a tree this year. I am pretty sure she would be appalled if she came over to our house and would have sent some kind of emergency decorating crew over.

I mean who doesn't own casual Christmas china and formal Christmas china? Totally normal, right?

Working really hard to create that perfect snowman!

Jacob diligently working....not knowing a large snowball was headed his direction...

Guilty...

I guess he asked for forgiveness by offering to clean his neck off

All of the yummy food

After dinner, we enjoyed some tunes from someone's new toy...

 Later that day, we headed over to see Miss Dottie, Ben's grandmother, who unfortunately fell the week of Christmas and had to spend Christmas at the rehab center. In her words, "this is the most unusual Christmas." Due to the snow, she didn't want to get out as she was afraid she might fall again. So, we brought the Christmas presents to her. But I think the gifts cheered her up!

We had a great time with my in-laws and I feel so blessed to have 2 families that care about and love us so much. And I must admit, it was really nice not having to travel and waking up at our own house on Christmas morning!

My favorite Christmas gift this year was from my mother-in-law, who passed on her silver tea set to me. I don't know that I could ever bring myself to use it but I think it is absolutely beautiful just sitting on our buffet. I have never mentioned to her that I wanted one, but I couldn't be more excited that she has entrusted me with hers. I love sentimental things and this means so much more to me than any tea set I could have gone and bought.

Merry Christmas!

This makes my heart smile. I love coming home and checking the mailbox and seeing all of the cute Christmas cards. I especially love to display them and I find myself just staring at them throughout the day. We are obviously at a time in our lives when many of our friends are starting families.....I mean look at all those cute cheeks! Besides making me want to just squeeze all those little cheeks, looking at this display makes me so thankful. It is a reminder of so many prayer requests that have been answered, both in our lives and in our dear friends lives.

"Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done WONDERFUL things!" -Isaiah 25:1

May your greatest Christmas blessing be God's love for you and yours! Yes, I stole borrowed that from a Christmas card. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

And since we've no place to go

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

This picture was taken this morning after it snowed all day Sunday. It was our first snow of the winter. I could seriously sit by the window, and the fireplace of course, and watch it snow for hours! After growing up along the Gulf Coast, I love that this is something that happens in Chattanooga more than once every 10 years. It definitely gets you in the Christmas mood seeing everything covered in white.

It's great to be an AUburn Tiger!

Ben and I went to Atlanta this past weekend for the SEC championship game. We were so grateful to have been able to find tickets and take a little weekend getaway. And my Tigers did not disappoint! 56-17! What a season...I am SO proud of our team for getting the opportunity to play for the National Championship on January 10th...history in the making :)

It was a great weekend and we were able to catch up with some good friends who we hadn't seen in a while!

Future Auburn student who sat behind us

 Post-game, back at the hotel...we were exhausted

 But it was SO fun to see the #1 Tigers beat South Carolina!

We stayed at the JW Marriott in Buckhead which was perfect because I had not even started our Christmas shopping! No trip to Atlanta is complete without going shopping! The mall in Chattanooga leaves much to be desired!

The beautiful trees at Phipps....I just love Christmas decorations!

Happy Friday!

Give Thanks...for the Pot-O-Gold

I love the St. Jude commercial which is part of their Thanks and Giving Campaign. Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and give to those who are not. The message is simple but it always makes me stop and reflect because I think it applies to life in general, not just children. I am so thankful for everything God has done in our lives. We are blessed beyond reason.

We alternate holidays with our families, so this year it was Thanksgiving in Daphne with my family. My mom has a pretty big family so I have lots of cousins. It was so good to see everyone and catch up! We especially enjoyed getting to see Ryan and Adrienne.

We love spending time with them and are looking forward to going to NYC next year and seeing them!

Some of my cousins with their significant others

To get in the Christmas spirit, we went to the Magic Christmas in Lights show at Bellingrath Gardens. No one in my family had ever been even though my mom talks about it every year. The temperatures were in the 70s all week and the night we decided to go on this hour long walking tour it was in the 30s. Needless to say, we were freezing but it was so fun.  

 

The expression on the jack in the box says it all

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

"Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34