Christmas with Mom & Jonathan!

After Graduation, Mom and Jonathan stayed with us for a couple of days. The boys played golf and threw the football while Mom and I had fun in the kitchen. We spent the majority of Saturday cooking a delicious Christmas dinner. I learned how to make homemade gravy and fresh cranberry sauce! Here, "Daddy" and "Uncle Jon" are putting Sam's car seat and stroller together. Christmas pajamas are a tradition that Mom started a few years back. We all know what our first gift is going to be...and then we take a time-out to go put them on. Mom is always thoughtful in her gift-giving. Hosting Christmas for my family in our home was a different scene this year, but it really was wonderful!

Graduation! (Dec 14th)

Woohoo! I can't believe I am actually done with school! My time at Southeastern has been an amazing season. My heart has been challenged and my mind has been transformed. Learning along side of Scott has been a blessing! God proved Himself faithful time and time again as He allowed us both to be full-time students and part-time workers. So, while I am excited to be finished with my formal education, I will miss being in the classroom and on campus. I love learning--Scott reminds me that I can continue learning without the deadlines and added stress. Not to mention, I'll soon be learning a whole new "genre": parenthood!

This was the first time my brother Jonathan has been able to make
it up to NC. I was thankful he made the trip with Mom. I could not have made it through without the constant encouragement and support from my sacrificial husband. Scott has been an incredible teammate through sleepless nights, quick meals, endless studying, overflowing laundry, and continual papers. Thank you, Love! After the graduation ceremony, Mom took us out to lunch to celebrate. We went to Mimi's Cafe for the first time--the food was great! Plus, as first time guests, we left with a large assortment of muffins! Though unexpected, we were appreciative...

Celebrating early with Pops & Penny!

Dad and Penny drove up to visit the Wednesday before graduation in order to celebrate Christmas early with us. We had a very nice and relaxing time. I always enjoy being the "hostess"! Dad's wrapping is the best--it always includes a brown paper grocery bag and duct tape! This specific gift was the grand finale that we had to open last. What could it possibly be??? Drumroll please... A REMOTE CONTROLLED HELICOPTER!
Dad was super pumped about this "toy". After a slight ordeal trying to put in batteries, we finally got it in the air! We had a blast trying to control it. Who says you have to grow up? Pops couldn't believe how BIG my tummy had gotten... Yep, I am now "that girl" who looks like she has a basketball under her shirt. This picture makes me look HUGE!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

I just love all the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas! We took out our decorations right before we left town for Thanksgiving and put up everything but a tree. We had planned on getting a real one, but decided it might be easier this year to use an old fake one. So...when we were home, I asked mom to pull out the one I used in college from the attic. Although I knew the one she pulled down was not the same one from college, I thought it would suffice. Scott and I had a good laugh when we finally pulled it out of the box. We have lovingly called it our Charlie Brown tree. Isn't it cute?!? It only took one string of lights, which we had to wrap around it a few times. And, we had to be strategic on which ornaments to hang, depending on size and weight. I bought the tree topper last year during the after Christmas sales, and the tree skirt was a gift from mom! TA DA! It's a beauty! Of course, Christmas is not Christmas without baking. I got a recipe last year from my friend Amber. Scott raved over her "buckeyes," so I decided to give them a try myself. They were a success!

North Carolina Shower!

All the girls from my small group pulled together to throw me a baby shower. Traci Rafferty opened up her home, and everyone else helped with the yummies and festivities. It was a sweet shower as I got to hang out with friends from church, from school, one of my neighbors, and even a surprise visitor! Julie (one of my college roommates) came from Winston Salem, NC where she and her hubby now live. These are Jenilee's famous cookies.
Not only are they cute to look at, they are delicious too! It is hard to find UGA stuff in NC, but that didn't stop Amy from finding

this cute onesie at a local sports store. Katie Rafferty just wanted to check out all of Sam's gifts.

Home for Thanksgiving!

The last two years, Scott and I have not been able to travel home for Thanksgiving. This year, however, we decided to make a mad dash to GA since we knew I would be too far along to travel at Christmas. It was a very quick trip, but well worth it. On our way down to GA, we joked about returning to NC with a few extra pounds... Well, that joke became reality with the many meals we enjoyed with family. Needless to say, we were two stuffed turkeys!

Our first Thanksgiving meal was with Penny, Pop's girlfriend, and
her family the evening before. Thanksgiving morning we woke up to a yummy breakfast at Pop's house. Then, on to an enormous lunch at Mom's with all the family.
Here is Scott hanging out with Papaw on the front porch. After lunch and a quick visit with everyone, we headed to Scott's parents' house for dinner. While we were all there, we also celebrated Papa K's birthday.
Blowing out the candles was a family affair.

Family Photo Shoot

We have a friend in our small group at church who is also interested in photography. He was kind enough to endure a photo session with the two of us. (Thanks Tripp!) The following are a few pictures he took of Scott & I...and Sam at 31 weeks. Note to self: never schedule an eye appointment the same day you are scheduled to take pictures. Scott had his eyes dilated at 8:00am but they were still not back to normal at 12:30pm, despite what the doctor said. Needless to say, we have a lot of squinty-eyed photos.

A weekend getaway! (Oct 26-27)

Scott and I went on a marriage retreat with our church. It was a quick but restful getaway in the Virginia mountains. The scenery was beautiful as the leaves were changing into brilliant colors. We rode up with Mark and Carrie Armstrong.








Here we are, enjoying a nice walk around the lake--we opted not to do the hike with the rest of the group. Carrie is also pregnant, and we didn't think our pregnant bodies could handle it. However, we did do a mini hike later on.

Georgia Shower--Oct. 6th

What fun it was to celebrate the soon arrival of our baby boy with our Georgia friends and family! My aunts and cousin were the hostesses with the mostesses. They always know how to add their unique touch to make celebrations extra special. It was a treat to visit with familiar faces!






One of my favorite gifts was from mom's friend Elaine. She gave us an outfit that looks just like something Scott would wear. Like father like son. Everyone got in a good laugh.




Samuel got his first book about UGA and the Bulldogs! He's gotta learn early! Thank you uncle Wayne.






I was so thankful for everyone who came to the shower. Here is little Mary Mattalyn, Sam's cousin. She told me she couldn't wait for Sam to get here.