A Long December

Christmas has come and gone.

Sigh.

But it was beautiful! Santa brought me wonderful things!

One was SNOW!!!!!! It has never in my lifetime snowed on Christmas Day and it did this year. It didn't stick, but it sure was pretty falling! Apparently, it stuck the next day, but we were in Jackson when that happened. Mom took pictures.

One was a fun-filled visit from my brother and his awesome girlfriend, Dervon. We were able to do so many fun things besides just hang out and open gifts. We went on a tour of Sloss Furnace, then up to Vulcan, and then to Sips-N-Strokes...all in one day! So fun!

Alas, they have flown back to DC. I am still in Birmingham.

Santa also brought me a Cricut! I am BEYOND ecstatic! Mom and I played with it last night. I cannot wait to cut out all the little things and learn all the tricks!

Ben gave me a beautiful purple sweater for Christmas...perfect to go with his Christmas present from me...LAKERS TICKETS!!!!!!!!! We are going to see the Lakers play the Hawks in March! I'm a genius. Best wife ever.

I also got a North Face rain jacket, GLEE Season 1, CDs, a pretty scarf, new sweaters, and lots more! I am blessed.

Ben's family banded together to give him enough money and gift cards to buy a new TV for the living room since I refused to contribute because the one we had was just fine. We now have a beautiful new 42" TV in the living room. And the 32" that was in the living room is now in our bedroom making it a movie theatre. Geez.

2011 is in two days. TWO DAYS!!!!! I can't believe it!

We are ringing in the New Year with friends in one of our favorite cities, New Orleans! It should be PACKED because it's New Year's (of course) and the Sugar Bowl is this weekend! I will not be letting go of Ben's hand.

Things I'm looking forward to in 2011:

Watching Alabama beat Michigan State on New Year's Day in the Capitol One Bowl.

Watching Auburn beat Oregon in the National Championship.

Watching Cam Newton draft 1st round in the NFL, leaving Auburn in his dust. (HA!)

Building my career.

Helping my husband build his career as he returns to school.

Having my husband's dreams (hopefully) come true in June.

Lakers v. Hawks in March.

New beginnings, wherever the Department of Public Safety puts us.

A return to DC in June to visit my brother.

Our third wedding anniversary on August 30th.

Turning 25 in October.

Another holiday season and the adjustments we'll have to make because of Ben's new job.

Starting to try to start a family. (Redundant, no?)

Let's not forget, though, that 2010 was a great year.

My favorite things about 2010:

GLEE!!!! This season was a fun theme year. The Britney episode was amazing.

Charlotte. She is the world's greatest dog. I don't know what I did before her.

Our summer trip to New Orleans.

My trip with Mom to Atlanta.

One of the best seasons of Top Chef ever.

Having A Pig and A Paintbrush boom.

My favorite trends/beauty products of 2010 that I hope continue into 2011 because I've invested too much money into them (I've included links):

Ulta Professionals Nail Polish - I bite my nails unless they are painted and this is the best, chip free polish I've ever found! Good Clean Fawn and Scarlet Starlet are my faves.

Maybelline Falsies mascara - Makes my lashes so long! Waterproof is WATERPROOF.

My Toms - Buy one pair, and Toms gives a pair to a child in need in a 3rd world country.

Shoedazzle - Seriously.

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion - If a zit starts to come up, dab a little on this at night, wash it off in the morning, and I swear it's gone. It's a little pricey, but worth it.

Platform stillettos like these - LOVE THEM. Can't get enough of them. Husband is thinking of building shelves in the closet for them.

Motocross boots - Want some. Can't afford them.

Long sweater cardigans - These are adorable and so easy to wear.

So, as 2010 comes to a close, I leave you with a great song. The Counting Crows are one of my favorite bands and this song plays continuously in my head the last week of December every year. Enjoy the brilliance that is Adam Duritz.

Random Trivia Fact: BABY NAMES ARE IN!!!!

Worst Celebrity Baby Name of 2010 - Buddy Bear Maurice (Chef Jamie Oliver)

Best Celebrity Baby Name of 2010 - Grace Margaret (Mark Wahlberg)

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Christmas time is here! YAY!

We have been so incredibly busy. I know I've started my last three or four posts like that, but it's true! We have been traveling, painting, shopping, *eating* and getting these two married:

Seriously, the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to. Congratulations, Jayla and Dustin! So proud to be your best friend! I wish many years of happiness and blessings for you both! We will make so many "4 Ps" memories!!!!

So much goes on during the month of December. Although Christmas is about the birth of our Savior, most of the time we forget about the true meaning in between the mall and the dinners and the gifts...Christmas is a time to reflect on the blessings we've been given, and the most ultimate blessing of all, Jesus.

It clicked with me this year while standing in church one Sunday just how worshipful Christmas can be. If you know me, you know I love some Praise and Worship music. I love my home church and my Birmingham church mostly because of the amazing worship services. There is nothing better than praising my Savior through song.

I get so used to Christmas music by the time Christmas rolls around. We play it constantly at work from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I get numb to it. For instance, Rihanna is singing some version of "Silent Night" that has a Jamaican beat to it. Really? Then there's "Dominic the Donkey" and the dogs barking Jingle Bells, usually followed by Jessica Simpson singing "Santa Baby."

What does this have to do with our Savior? Absolutely nothing, I tell you.

We stand in church services all through the month of December singing Christian carols, but with no emphasis. How many times have we sung "Angels We Have Heard On High" or "O Come All Ye Faithful?" We are so numb to what these songs MEAN.

Some of my new favorite worship songs are Christmas songs. They are applicable to daily life. Take "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" for example. Emmanuel means GOD IS WITH US. God is with us daily. Read the words below:

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appears.

REJOICE! REJOICE!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

We are Israel, in a figurative sense. Have you seen the world around you lately? We are captive to the world. Emmanuel will return to save us from ourselves. Rejoice!

Or "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." The third verse is my favorite.

Hail the Heav'n Born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings,

Ris'n with healing in His wings.

Mild He lays His glory by,

Born that man no more may die!

Born to raise the sons of Earth,

Born to give them second birth!

Hark! The herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn King!

We are saved because of the life and death of the Son of Righteousness! Hallelujah!

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" written by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

And in despair I bowed my head,

"There is no peace on Earth," I said.

"For hate is strong and mocks the song,

Of peace on Earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep,

"GOD IS NOT DEAD NOR DOES HE SLEEP!

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on Earth, good will to men!"

How blessed are we with a God who is not dead and is not blind to our troubles! God knows the depths of our hearts and is over everything, even when we feel like He has forsaken us. In the end, God will prevail over the enemy!

There are countless others. I've found myself standing quietly in church, just listening to those beautiful words of triumph and redemption and hope. We worship the One who deserves to be praised, even in the busiest or uncertain of times.

Jesus Christ is the reason for the season. May we never forget why we are here.

Random Trivia Fact: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of the great American poets, only penned this one hymn. It was written amidst the Civil War, after the news of his son being killed in battle, and then losing his wife in a fire. There are two verses usually omitted from the hymn version about the war. He wrote this great hymn in the depth of despair. Yet, he knew our God lives!

Wide Open

My husband is one step closer to being a State Trooper.

He passed the physical test with flying colors.

He went through a background interview with an ABI (Alabama Bureau of Investigation) agent and there was no drama.

He filled out a 350 question psychological test and was handed a time to go take a polygraph (thankfully here in Birmingham and not Selma).

I would personally like to thank the government for giving the DPS a grant to hire a Trooper class. You are making my husband smile like Christmas morning.

Am I freaking out?

Heck yes.

Knowing that this is it is unbelievable.

The uncertainty of the next few months is awful.

All is in God's hands.

Before he left on Sunday, I prayed over him, as I always do before anything like this. I prayed for Ben to be have strength and ability to finish all of his tasks. I prayed he would be calm and confident. I prayed for myself to be prayerful and patient. I prayed that if this is what we are supposed to do with our lives, God would reveal it evidently.

So we are waiting patiently. Definitely not my spiritual gift.

RANDOM FUN FACT ABOUT ME AND BEN: I always, always, ALWAYS pray over Ben before he takes any kind of test regarding police. The two times I didn't, he failed the tests. How's that for faith?

Killing Me Softly

My brain hurts.

I'm helping Ben put the finishing touches on his State Trooper Application.

It's, like, 30 pages long.

Kill me now.

I mean, it wants to know everything about him and me and his parents and my parents and his parent's parents and creditors and money owed and money made and education and units earned...

I'm surprised they don't want my blood type.

SHEESH.

And they made it very clear to be extremely specific and THEY WILL KNOW IF WE'RE LYING.

I should be qualified to be an FBI agent after this.

Congratulations, Auburn, on a spectacular season.

Random Trivia Fact: My brain may explode before the evening is over. So might my house. You should see all the crap on the table that we've had to pull out to write down dates and account numbers. UGH.

Thankful

I don't know about you, but I ate a lot of dressing.

I'm stuffed silly, but could continue to eat dressing every day for the rest of my life.

Only if it has the little chunks of egg in it, though.

Yum.

Back on the diet, Katie...

THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR IN 2010:

1. My dear sweet hubby who decided to surprise me when he picked me up for lunch today with a half-dozen red roses, just because I wasn't feeling well with a cold that I can't kick. Too awesome. I love you, Ben.

2. My wonderful families that Ben and I were able to spend time with over the holiday. Grace and support flows from these people. Love them.

3. My sweet Charlotte. I don't remember life before her, and hope that she lives to be 100 years old so I never have to live without her.

4. Continuous grace from my Lord and Savior. How could you not believe?

5. My new car, even though we're pretty sure it has an electrical short and must be sent to the car doctor this week.

6. Future plans for Ben and me...and plans to start a family...

7. A Pig and A Paintbrush which is thriving!

8. You out there who read my ramblings.

9. Zaxby's and Taco Bell. OMG.

10. Shoedazzle. Really. Try it out. What an investment!

11. Waking up every day for 333 days and counting in 2010.

12. Etsy. Saving my life on Christmas presents this year.

13. Employment for me and somewhat non-employment for Ben. Things are so iffy nowadays and we are lucky to be gainfully employed.

14. The Military History Channel. No commercials! Best channel in the middle of the night!

15. The State of Alabama Department of Public Safety for perhaps giving my husband his dream job in 2011.

16. Febreze Pet Odor Eliminator, Swiffer, and OrangeGlo.

Ben and I have been so busy lately. With A Pig and A Paintbrush items flying left and right, I have no time really to do anything else at night. It's a blessing though.

We did go see Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan in concert the Friday before Thanksgiving. AMAZING. Jason Aldean is Ben's favorite. It was a rocking concert. We hardly sat down all night. And yes, we belted (along with everyone else in the BJCC)

"TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE ON MY BIG GREEN TRACTORRRRR!"

So fun. Concerts are the thing Ben and I do together. We've seen several this year.

The January after we got married, we saw the Eagles live. A dream.

August 2009, we saw Keith Urban and Sugarland for our anniversary in Nashville. Incredible concert.

For Christmas last year, he gave me tickets to see Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert (my fave) in January. They were awesome.

We saw Lady Antebellum and Tim McGraw this summer. Another great concert.

Then, Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean two weekends ago.

Plus, we love live music and will go to fun places around town to hear cool tunes and discover new bands.

It's bonding time.

Ben is headed to Selma Sunday night to spend the night at the Trooper Academy. He takes the physical test Monday. I will be an absolute wreck at work on that day. I know he'll do fine. I get more nervous than he does. PRAY PLEASE!!!!!

Christmas season has begun! I got some AMAZING deals at the after Thanksgiving sales (and a receipt from Belk that says, "You saved $445." Yep, I'm saving that one.) There is Christmas music on the radio at work. Magic 96.5 plays non-stop Christmas music. We watched "The Family Stone" with Ben's mom last night and "Christmas Vacation" with Ben's family on Thanksgiving Day. Decorations are going up SOMETIME this week (I got an awesome new wreath for our front window!)

Here's a sneak preview of a Christmas card photo. I bought Charlotte a jingle bell collar to wear in the picture. She HATES it. Absolutely scared of it. So, once the picture was done, I gave it to Ben's stepmom for their dog, Sophie. Apparently, Sophie doesn't want to take it off and wears it constantly. I'm glad my $4 is being used.

Sorry for the long post. I just needed to ramble a bit.

RANDOM MUSIC MONDAY!!!!!

I know I haven't done one of these in a while, so I thought I'd give you one today! Here's a Jason Aldean song I can't get out of my head off his new album "My Kinda Party." It's my favorite on the album. If you are a country music fan, you should pick up this CD. It's a great one!

"TEXAS WAS YOU"

The Space Between

I don't know if you've noticed, but I like to write like I talk.

Lots.

Of.

Dramatic.

Pauses.

For some reason in the post below and in this one, my stylistic paragraph breaks are not showing up.

I.

Don't.

Like.

It.

I like to use them for emphasis, you know?

Did my high school English teacher take over my blog and delete my paragraph breaks because in a typical written paragraph, it should consist of at least 5 complete sentences?

Whatever.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Thanksgiving for Ben and me starts TONIGHT!!!!! We have a Thanksgiving dinner tonight, then are heading to Jackson for umpteen Thanksgiving dinners with Ben's family on Tuesday, and then will return home late Thursday night. Friday, I will wake up super early to go have Black Friday with my Mom's family. It's a tradition. We shop and then we go see whatever Christmas movie is out.

And the annual Christmas celebration begins with Mom and me in the car listening to Michael W. Smith's Christmas album on the way to the mall on that Friday. Neither of us are allowed to listen to Christmas music until the opening bars of that CD.

It's the little things.

Random Thanksgiving Trivia: Did you know almost 50% of American families choose to eat somewhere other than the home on Thanksgiving day? What is WRONG with these people? They obviously have never eaten my Aunt Net's dressing.

How Great is Our God!

I am such a terrible blogger.

I apologize to you, 11 readers.

Life has been SO BUSY.

Catch u

Ben is through with his job as of November 13th. I am now married to an unemployed bum.

I lie. We totally joke about that. He's not really unemployed. He took a buy-out at his old job, so he's technically still getting paid to sit around for a while.

But it is hilarious to joke about it.

He always asks me, "How was work today?"

I tell him all about it, and then I usually ask him, "How was work for you today?"

Now, he has something entertaining to say.

"It was a really hard day today, Katie."

"I sure hope I get paid for all the work I did today."

I've asked him to do a few things around the house and the current retort is,

"Well, what else am I gonna do?"

And then that precious little crooked smile.

Love it.

TEST RESULTS!!!!!

He passed the Dothan Police test with an 84!!!!! He is ranked 6th! My man is a genius!!!

I am so freaking proud of him.

We were a little worried about the written test. Bless him, but he is super ADD. No, seriously, actually took medicine for it in high school. He is very smart, but doesn't do well when it comes to testing. We knew that if he could get past this written test, everything else is gravy as far as the physical test and background checks and such.

But he did it! Praise the Lord!

Funny story...we found out about his test results on Thursday night.

The Monday before, he got a lovely little packet in the mail...from the State of Alabama Department of Public Safety.

It was a letter from the State Troopers asking Ben if he was still interested to call Mrs. Williams at DPS Personnel by November 29th to schedule his physical test for December 6th.

STILL INTERESTED?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

This is all my hubs has ever wanted to do. This is all I've ever heard about.

Troopers. Troopers. Troopers. Troopers. Troopers.

(kind of a funny word if you say it a bunch)

He has been corresponding with a Trooper by email since he took the written test almost two years to the date ago. A few months ago, he said that they didn't forsee having a Trooper academy at all next year and maybe not even the next year. Ben had given up on Troopers until the economy (hate that word) turned back around. He was just going to join a local force and get experience until the Troopers were ready to hire again.

In other words, Troopers were the furthest thing from our mind on Monday, November 15th.

When he began reading the letter out loud to me Monday night, I busted into tears. Raw emotion. Pure happiness. This is exactly what he wanted. And it came to us on his first day of unemployment. The day that was supposed to be the scariest. Things were so uncertain.

How great is our God!

Now there's somewhat of a plan. We've decided to keep Ben out of work through the holidays, just to keep from causing scheduling conflicts with our umpteen families through Thanksgiving and Christmas. He wants to go back to school in the spring to start working towards his 4 year degree again (he never finished and really only has like a year and a half left). Pay is higher when you have a degree. :) Then he'll get a part time job in the meantime just so he's not stuck in the house all day long driving me nuts. Trooper Academy is scheduled to begin in June, so testing and background checks and interviews will take place intermittenly between now and then.

And then he goes to Selma for 24 weeks for Academy. I'll think about that later.

But, he's going to continue on with the Dothan Police also. We don't want to place all of our eggs in one basket and then be left with none when one falls through. He'll make a decision further down the road.

So, that's where we are. I am so proud of Ben. Please, someone give him a badge. :)

Random Trivia Fact: The letter he got from the DPS said there are Trooper shortages in all 67 counties of the state of Alabama. Makes you feel really safe, huh?