New and Improved

Since I had the week off from work, I decided to occupy my time by painting the living room. It was dark brown, but since we got the new dark leather sectional...I have been bothered by the mass amount of brown in one room. SO change was in the air! I love painting, but this time was a little more difficult. Zach said I could paint as long as he would not be asked to help at all....smart man. It was a long couple of days painting but it was so worth the end result. I LOVE IT! My inspiration for the color was from a GORGEOUS paisley blanket my mom got us for Christmas....you can see it on the sectional.

A New Love

Zach and Rylee had so much fun together this visit. Rylee is very much attached to Mommy's hip and loves to be with Chrysti. But this time, her and Zach were together most of the time. He was so good with her....he is going to be an amazing father one day.

A Morning with Uncle Zach and Aunt Becca

Friday morning before we left, we treated the girls to a special morning. I love doing fun things with my nieces since I rarely get to see them. We all headed to Chick-fil-a for breakfast!

And then we had a very special surprise. I took the girls to get their nails painted. They were so excited. They picked out the color paint about a million times. Ally is a big thumb sucker so it was hilarious hearing her talk about how she couldn't suck her thumb if she got her nails painted. They all were so good waiting for our turn...I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.

Waiting for our turn, we played Simon Says....This Ally trying to wiggle her nose.

Christmas at The Phillips House

Friday, Zach and I headed to Berry for Christmas with The Phillips Side. We had a great time! Zach got money to buy him a new pair of golf shoes....much needed considering his other ones have been glued together a couple times. I got a web cam and Mamma Mia...such a cute movie. Every year the siblings and in laws draw names for gifts. Misty got my name and got me the cutest gifts. Earlier, Zach and I had said we weren't going to spend too much on Christmas since we had gotten the couch and a new mattress....we'll be didn't listen obviously (not complaining though). I got Zach the Greatest hits of Journey...he is obsessed with Journey! He also got me M&M's with our pictures printed on them and they said "I love you". So thoughtful :) Babies EVERYWHERE! I can't wait for next Christmas because there will be 2 more added to the mix!

I guess I had a Back Pack theme this year for the girls. We got Katie Beth and Carly quilted packs with their initials monogrammed. They turned out really cute.

Kendall's First Christmas!

These are the gifts Misty got me....she did good!

Christmas Morning

I can't believe that Christmas has already come and gone. I look forward to this time of year so much and it passes so quickly. But it was another great Christmas. The girls all got great gifts and enjoyed it so much. Christmas with kids is so much fun! For the Big Kids, we all got stocking full of fun goodies. Zach and I got tons of Dark Chocolate from different countries, gift cards, socks, a houndstooth umbrella, a poultry roaster, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter, Yahtzee...and much more. Ally was so excited to go open all her presents!

Zach got me Diamond earrings!

If you ever read my sister's blog, Life Throws You Surprises, then you will understand my gifts for the girls a little bit better....But I got Kayley and Ally little backpacks with their names on the Blog. Kayley is Butterfly and Ally is Ladybug. The girls love their names and take them very seriously. If they see a ladybug, they all automatically assume it is for Ally...and the same with a Dragonfly for Rylee, a Flower for Julie, or Butterfly for Kayley. The backpacks are called Silly Sacs. They are absolutely adorable and the girls didn't take them off the rest of the day.

My favorite gift, after the earrings. I love wine! My mom found this and thought of me...it is from a vineyard in California called Middle Sister...could not be more perfect!

Flip Burger Boutique!

My Uncle Tim treated "The Kids" to dinner and dessert for Christmas. He is a Huge Food Guru and loves Top Chef. So what better place to takes us to then to a restaurant opened by one of the Top Chef finalist. We went to Flip Burger in Atlanta and it was AMAZING! Not your typical burger, but that is what made it so great. It was so nice spending time with everyone, especially Tim since he just moved back from St. Paul. After Dinner, we headed to Decatur for dessert. We went to Chocolate Bar.....need I say more.

Not only did they have fabulous burgers and onion rings, but they had quite out of the ordinary milkshakes....We got Krispy Kreme to share.....it kind of freaked me out how much it tasted like a donut....but very good!

Family Photos

Our first Christmas as Mr. and Mrs! My husband is so handsome.All the Ladies....My Aunt Laura came for Christmas this year. It as so nice seeing her....it better not be 9 more years before we see you again :)
My Beautiful Sisters
The Whole Family

Christmas Traditions!

Christmas Eve was a fun filled, jam packed day full of my familiy's traditions. We woke up and started the day with decorating the tree and decorating sugar cookies. My nieces had a great time and really got into the decorating. There were sprinkles EVERYWHERE.

Every year, my family puts the Christmas Tree up on Christmas Eve and everyone gets a new ornament. Zach and I got our "First Christmas" ornament and decorated the tree with ornaments from our honeymoon. The girls all got their favorite princess ornaments. It is such a fun tradition to decorate the tree with everyone together.

My Personal Favorite

Chrysti's Four Snowman for her Four Girls

Christmas Eve ended with Christmas Mass. I love Christmas mass because you can just feel all the love in the church and it reminds you of why we are celebrating this holiday. After Mass, we visited The Buttericks House for our Annual Egg Nog and then home to wait for Santa!