Christmas Time && A Very Busyyy New Year!

We had an Amazing Christmas with most of our family! Here are some of the things we were able to do and a few pictures to go along:

Our oldest nephew Shelton had a Christmas play on the Thursday afternoon that we arrived so we were able to suprise him and attend that, which was so exciting! He was super suprised along with our other nephew Riley and niece Kyerra who were also there, they definitely were not expecting us to come. Riley had already gotten out of school at noon and so he came with Shane's brother Joe and Kyerra's teacher let her come and sit with us!

Shane and I

Riley and I

Kyerra and Shane
Shelton
Shelton and I
Shane and Shelton

After Shelton's play, Shane had to go up to work and drop off some parts that we had brought back. So my mom and I went and got our nails done! That night we had Shane's work Christmas party to attend, which turned out really great :)

Shane and I

My mom and I

My mom and dad

My dad and I

Jaynet and I

Matt and Shane

Shane's great uncle Bob suffered a severe heart attack shortly before Christmas so we spent some time up at the hospital with him and his wife Ruth. It was such a scary time, but we were able to spend time and have such a wonderful talk which I am so thankful for.

Shane did work the week of Christmas, so I was able to spend alot of time with my mom which was so nice, of course we went shopping and had lunch and just had fun hanging out :)

We did manage to get Bransen into the Vet to get his yearly shots, which was definitely a plus!!

Christmas Eve we had an open house Christmas party to attend at the Oeschger's home and then we ended up going to eat that night with my uncle Kyle, aunt Amy and cousins Colby and Tyler. After dinner we all went back over to their house to exchange gifts, which was hilarious! They tricked me and gave me this old grandma looking night gown... and I of course didn't realize that this was a joke so I was trying to be as polite and thankful while wearing this look of shock on my face while everyone was laughing!!! Then I got my real pajamas which are adorable :) We stayed over there for quite a while before going over to Joe and Jennifer's to stay the night and let the kids open all of their presents from us. The kids enjoyed all their presents from us, they all got jeans from gap, shirts and 2 other presents each and then we gave them 3 family gifts to share or play together! Shelton didn't really know what to think.. since we got him 2 psp games and he had no idea he was getting a psp for Christmas we had to let him open 2 boxes with a note from Shane and I with a couple of dollars saying that he had to wait until Christmas Morning to open the rest of his "real" presents from us! This is "our" every year family tradition and I look forward to Christmas Eve and the Morning of each and every year!

Kyerra

Riley

Shelton

Riley with his Mad Hatter Monster Truck

Shelton with his first note and dollars

Kyerra with her Hannah Montana dolls

Kyerra's jeans and shirt

Kyerra's Coach Vest!!!
Oh, I just adore this and it's by far my most favorite gift that I've EVER bought for her :)

Riley's shirt

Riley opening his Hot Wheel cars to go with...

his Hot Wheels Race track

Shelton's shirt

Shelton's jeans

Shelton's 2nd note!

Shelton with Operation

Kyerra with Trouble

On Christmas Morning, we were awakened by all 3 kids excitedly telling us to Hurry and get up that Santa came and it was time to open all of their presents :)) There is nothing better than waking up to 3 kids filled with so much joy! Riley received an awesome bright green bike from Santa Claus and the other 2 well they already know... yes you know, what they know! ha After they all finished opening All of their presents which took a Longgg time, Jenn made us a delicious homemade breakfast which included bisquits, eggs, bacon... the works, she spoils us every year!

Around 11:00 am we left and went back to my parents house where we had such a wonderful Christmas opening presents with them! They definitely still spoil us every year!!! I got a new hot pink Chi to add to my collection haha, I swear I have soo many of those things.. One in every color! I also got a new Abas wallet, its Taupe from the Sassy Collection, Oh it's sooo beautiful and definitely one of my Fav's!!! I got a new Black Fossil watch.. some clothes... cd's... and soo much more I can't even think of it all! Shane got a new play station which he was so thrilled about... the Madden 09 and Country Singstar (really for me!) to go with it... a ton of clothes... and a bunch of other stuff! haha

Around 1:00 pm Shane, my parents and I all went to Happy to have Christmas at my Pepa's house with him and my aunt Kassi and cousins Tyler, Faith, and Jaidyn... my uncle Cody is a police officer and had to work that evening but was called out early to a home invasion. We had such a great time.. eating wonderful food.. I even made a friend of mine's all time famous salad and it turned out so good!

Jaidyn Faith
Tyler
Faith, Jaidyn and I
Jaidyn and my mom
Jaidyn playing on her computer!

A little later in the evening we all loaded up and drove to Tulia to see my great grandmother and my grandmother who recently passed away in May's sister and her family! It was so awkward to not spend Thanksgiving or Christmas this year in Tulia at the nursing home.. I mean I have spent every holiday, birthday, family event in the family room of that nursing home since I was old enough to remember. My grandmother had Multiple Sclerosis and was in that home for most of my life.. more than 15 years. Holidays will never be the same without her here but I'm so thankful that she is not here suffering anymore! After leaving Tulia we went back to Happy and didn't leave until about 11 pm. We had a wonderful Christmas!

Jaidyn and great grandma Tyler, Faith and great grandma


We had plans Friday evening with some good friends for a game night but had to cancel because I was so severely sick (throwing up.. and you know the other stuff that does NOT need to be spelled out on here) all Friday afternoon, evening and most of Saturday. That was definitely a BUMMER... I even missed my hair appointment Saturday morning, which Never and I mean NEVER happens. Since I was so sick I didn't go with Shane to visit with his grandparents on his dads side Friday night and they were so disappointed! I love going over to visit with them and they love having us over so I was also bummed about not getting to go. They were able to have a nice long visit though which was very nice!

Shane's grandma (his moms mom) was admitted into the hospital the Saturday following Christmas (which happened to be the night of her side of the families Christmas dinner) with pneumonia so that was cancelled. We were supposed to give Shane's middle brothers boys their presents there so we had to stop by their house and deliver those important presents on the way to dinner with Shawn and Tasha! We don't get to spend much time with their kids especially not this past year so I was really stumped on what to get them, but they actually really seemed to like what I bought! We also stopped back by Shane's grandparents house where I could say hello and get to see them a little before heading back to Houston! They were very excited to see me, which is always so nice :) Papa was excited that Shawn and Tasha joined for the visit, he was even more thrilled that Shawn was a police officer!!! He was up and dancing and he definitely hasn't done that since his wreck a couple of weeks before Christmas, so that was really nice to see him so happy! We left there and then went to eat at Jorge's, which is usually sooo good, but it was late and they weren't very busy and it was definitely not the best I've had :( But we had a great time with great friends and thats really all that mattered!!! After dinner we headed back to my parents house to play games... but we started watching I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and I totally crashed.. I know party pooper, which is so not me! They didn't leave until around 1 or 2 am and we are so glad they were able to drive down from Dumas to see us :)

Shawn and Tasha Shane and I
Tasha and I

Some Exciting News:

We just found out yesterday that Kristen and Hank are expecting a little boy, Landon Curtis Nemoede! We are SOO Excited for them and can't wait to meet him in May :) I am so excited and very honored to be a hostess for Kristen's Baby Shower and am definitely looking forward to this wonderful experience as our friendship continues to grow!!!!

I'm so excited about the New Year! It's not even here yet and I already have so much planned...

January

16th-18th: Shane and I are meeting my parents and some close family friends in Tulsa for the Chili Bowl!

20th: School starts and I'm actually very Excited for this semester... Yes, Excited!!

February

5th-8th: Shane, Bransen and I will be in Amarillo for the weekend! I have a hair appointment and I have plans with Tara and some of the girls to get together and get some planning done for the bridal shower and bachelorette/lingerie party!!

16th: My Birthday!!! My teenage days have almost come to an end! ha

20th-22nd: Shawn and Tasha some of our Best Friends are going to fly to Houston to spend the weekend with us! We are so thrilled that they are making it a point to come down here and visit us before we move home :)) God has definitely blessed us with some Amazing friends!

March

14th: Shane and I's 2nd Anniversary! I just can't believe how fast married life flies by :)

26th-29th: I will be in town for Tara's Bridal Shower and Bachelorette/Lingerie Party that her bridesmaids (yes including me!) are hosting, which I'm so excited about!

April

4th: Cadence's 3rd Birthday Party!!

16th-19th: I will be in town for Tara's Wedding :)

??: I'm going to be a hostess for Kristen's baby shower so I will be in town sometime for that! Exact date hasn't been set yet.

May

9th: My mom is graduating with her Master's degree and Tasha will be graduating with her Bachelors degree so Shane, Bransen and I will be in town for that!!! The night of the graduation we (Tasha's best friend Lacy and I) will be throwing a graduation party for Tasha!

I Joined The Christmas Card Carousel

I just love Christmas Cards, sending and receiving that is! So when one of my best friends Tasha told me about the Christmas Card Carousel that Faith was hosting, I just knew I had to join in on the Fun!




This was my first year to actually create my own Christmas Cards using Adobe Photoshop and I love the way they turned out. I used a new printing company and my only complaint is that the picture of Shane and I came out a little bit too dark I think, but otherwise they turned out beautifully! Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful Holiday Season :)


(I'm not sure why my pictures have uploaded so small, if you
would like to see in better detail please click on the picture itself.)


This is just a little card I made for myself to remember Shane and I's 2nd Christmas together as Husband and Wife! Gosh time flies when your having Fun!! I can't believe that we have already almost been married for TWO WHOLE Years!


(I'm not sure why my pictures have uploaded so small, if you
would like to see in better detail please click on the picture itself.)


Now I hope that you all will go here and join in the Christmas Card Carousel... It's Fun! I can't wait to see all of your cards!!

Just a few things...

Since moving to Houston, I often get online and read all of the news and obituary updates at http://www.amarillo.com/. While reading this article I was completely in disbelief that a nurse (someone who is suppose to be aiding in healthcare because they Care...) would put someone through such so much pain.

What a horrific experience, and now having to live with a catheter because of a careless person's lack of negligence.

Here is the story for you to read:

My 82-year-old father was recently hospitalized in a Midwestern city with complications from a blood disorder. Medical staff assessed the need for a urinary catheter. The insertion was done with a dry tube surface. When he asked if they could "put something on it," the female nurse told him to "just take a deep breath."
The insertion was done twice, both times without lubricant. One of the results was bloody urine. My poor father said, "Just imagine being 82 years old and having somebody do something like that to you."
When he told his hometown doctor, she just abut came unglued. A male nurse also informed him that he always "lubes the tubes."
My father is now unable to urinate on his own because of a blockage, which his urologist says may have been due to damage caused by the dry insertions. He now has to live with the catheter.
I cringe whenever I think about his experience and wonder how many other elderly people have been subjected to this kind of abuse. Please print this letter so the word can get out about this torturous practice.


Also, I have been reading all about the Empty Stocking recipients.. and oh gosh, I cry everytime. I have just been so blessed, really all of my life and I just love being able to give back. Just being able to give a little to those who have been less fortunate... that is what this time of year is all about! I hate that the true meaning for the season seems to always be forgotten.. and I can honestly say that I am very excited to give.. that's really all I want to do this year! I encourage all of you to give.. even if it doesn't seem like much it could turn someone's whole Christmas season around.

Hope your all enjoying this wonderful time of year, I definitely am.. and can not wait for my dad to fly in today and then we are off to Amarillo for 10 days!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just wanted to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving! We have a ton of plans today, lunch with my family and then we will hopefully stop by to see Ricky and Erica for a little while this afternoon and then we are going over to visit with my mother-in-law's side of the family. We are going to spend the night with Shane's oldest brother Joe and his family since I am getting up so early (3 a.m.) to go shopping like a Crazy person with Jennifer, my sister-in-law! Yes, it's "our" every year tradition! ha Shane and I are both really excited to get to spend so much time with our niece and nephews, Shelton, Riley and Kyerra! We are also planning to take them to play and eat at Chuck-E-Cheese either sometime tomorrow or Saturday. They (Shelton, Riley and Kyerra) called us this morning and all three at the same time wished us a Happy Thanksgiving it was so sweet... totally made our morning :) We are also going to visit with my hubby's dad's parents sometime tomorrow or Saturday and I have so many friends to see sometime during my short stay, which I am very excited about!!!

Hope you have all been blessed this year, I know that we have and I am so very thankful for all of the opportunities that we have been given even though some of them have been the hardest things we have done.. i.e. living in Houston!

God Bless all of you!

Let's Play Catch Up!

I have so much to catch you up on... For starters I am going to be a Bridesmaid again! Yay, I am so excited to be in this wedding.. One of my best friends since 7th grade, Tara is getting married :) Congratulations to her and Ryan both, we all knew this day was coming we just didn't know when.. they will wed sometime in mid April and are looking at the 18th, and I am also excited because this will also be an outside wedding! I can't wait to be apart of this, helping with the bridal shower and bachelorette party, so much fun!

Also, we just spent this past weekend in Shreveport, LA./Waskom, TX. and Garland, TX. We had planned to be spending the weekend in Amarillo/Dumas for one of our Best Friends birthday party's but Shane's great uncle Ron passed away after a long battle with cancer. Sorry we missed your party Shawn, we really would have Loved to have been there!! But know that we were there in Spirit! We drove to Shreveport Thursday evening after Shane got off work and met David and Ruby where we shared a room Thursday and Friday night. Ruby and I stayed up visiting until a little after 2 a.m. and then we got up early at 6:45 a.m. to get ready. We all went to IHOP for breakfast which was right next to out hotel! After we had all finished eating another one of Shane's great uncle's, Thurman showed up with his wife Peggy and daughter Ruthanne. I had never met any of them because they live in Arkansas and Shane hadn't seen them since he was like 16 so it was really nice that we got to visit and I got to know them. Thurman is a sweetheart and he just adored me, I loved getting hear all of his stories from back in the day! After visiting for a little bit Shane's dads cousin Melinda showed up for us to follow her to the church for the funeral. I also met her for the first time, which is crazy because she lives in Amarillo! She was so much fun and I hope to be visiting them more often. It wasn't long after we got to the church that the funeral started and it was such an amazing service! Ron was such a wonderful person and a true man of God. He will be forever missed! After the funeral and visiting the graveside we all went back to Ron and Doris' house for lunch and to visit. It was really nice, I was so excited to see one of my favorite Cousin-in-law's Nikole! We have gotten really close, and definitely don't see eachother enough. We visited until around 8 or 9 that night and then we left, grabbed a bite to eat from Sonic and went back to the hotel. The next morning we got up a little later around 9 (or at least I did!), got ready and had lunch at a little restaurant pretty close to Doris' house. After lunch, we back to their house to visit for a little bit and then we said our good bye's. We decided to drive back to Garland with David and Ruby and stay Saturday night with them and go to church with them Sunday morning. After we got to their house, which I slept the whole 2 hour drive! We just hung out at the house visiting for awhile and then had dinner at Brooklynn's, a new pizza place they wanted to try.. it was pretty good. Not the best or anything but it was good. After dinner, of course we had to stop by Starbuck's and get a Caramel Macchiato!! Best part of the night! ha just kidding! After coffee we went back to their house where we were suppose to watch a movie, but visiting got the best of us and we didn't ever make it around to watching the movie! We finally went to bed around 1:30 or so. Sunday we got up early, went to church which was so great! After church we had lunch at a little Mexican dive which was Sooo good! We went back to the house, visited some more and left around 5:30... and didn't get home 'til about 9:30. We had a great weekend!!

I have also been working on my Christmas cards, which are turning out SO great! I am also going to make my moms and one of my best friends here in Houston, Leslie's! I am going to take their family picture tonight and hopefully send them all to be printed next week :) Also, I am doing so good on getting my birthday cards done, my December birthday cards have been done for the past 3 weeks! ha

Also, Tiff and I have finally decided that for "Our" birthday trip we are going to go to Dallas for a long weekend! We are planning on doing lots of shopping and going to the Dallas Stars hockey game, which will be so much fun! and who knows what else... having a great time together!

I can't wait, well actually I think that Shane is just as anxious as I am about our trip to Amarillo next week for Thanksgiving! We miss "home" so much, and it is so hard being so far away from everyone, especially my parents and our friends... Shelton, Kyerra, and Riley are growing up so fast and it just sucks that we don't get to be there every single day to see them, but we will soon and I can't wait!

So, I'm sure that I have missed something but I can't think of anything else at the moment... so I will try to do better at keeping you all updated! Oh btw, if you didn't notice.. I updated the header of my blog today! I put up a newer picture and also changed the wording from Mrs. Courtney Littlejohn to I'm the Mrs. to an Amazing Husband! I have been so blessed! I hope you all like, I thought it was cute :)


Hope you're all blessed this Holiday season! I know that we have been and I am so thankful!

Bestie Time... Wonderful Weekend!

To catch up on my wonderful weekend... My Bestie bought me a plane ticket for us to spend “our Christmas weekend” together! So I woke up at 5 a.m. Friday morning, got semi ready and Shane and I headed for the airport. He dropped me off at around 6 a.m. and my plane left at 7 a.m. On my way to Lubbock, I had to stop in Austin which seemed to be the longest stop ever.. probably because I was so anxious to get to Lubbock! Did I mention, that I literally froze for the entire plane ride… that was the longest 2 hours and 15 minutes ever. So I finally arrived in Lubbock around 9:15 a.m. where Tiffany and Jeff picked me up and then Jeff took us out for breakfast at IHOP, he's such a sweetheart! We had such a great time talking and giggling.. and I loved getting to know Jeff.. he is so perfect for my Bestie!!! After breakfast, Tiff and I went to get out nails done (which turned out Amaaazing! I was very impressed) and then drove to Amarillo. We spent Friday and Saturday night at my parents house, as usual!! After about an hour and a half and 3 potty breaks we pulled into town, we made it in perfect time for my hair appointment at 3! We always enjoy getting our hair done, talking and spending hours with Norma :) While my hair was processing Tiff also decided to get Norma to touch up her roots, since she was going to be sitting there anyway! After our afternoon hair session we went to my parents and changed clothes and then my parents took us out to dinner. We ended up eating at Cheddar’s which was really good and definitely worth the 30 or so minute wait! While we were waiting, I saw an old friend Melissa, who I haven't seen in such a long time, it was so nice to see her and catch up a little! I ended up having the Key West Chicken and Shrimp and it was so delicious, I loved it and will definitely be having it again! Turned out that our waitress was a friend of mine’s sister and so we got to chat, I had never met her before so that was neat! After a great dinner and tons, I mean tons of laughing we left. We went and rented a couple of movies at Hastings. Tasha called and I invited her over to watch movies with us at my parents… so we decided to go to Roasters and get a coffee and wait for her there, that way she could just follow us out to my parents house! After we got our coffee, we ended up going to Marble Slab, my parents Hate coffee! Then my dad decided it would be better for us to wait in the Red Robin parking lot where Tasha wouldn’t even have to get off of I-40, we would just be able to get on and catch up to her! Well needless to say when we finally all made it to my parents house we stayed up talking and catching up for hours, which is always great but we never made it around to watching a movie!! Haha Oh well, the movies will be around forever! Gosh I don’t even remember what time Tasha ended up leaving but I know for sure it was after 2 a.m. I begged her to stay but she wasn’t tired from all of our girl talk so she drove home to Dumas.

Tiff and I on the way to Cheddar's taking pictures!

Tasha and I

Tasha, Tiff and I (although you can't really see too much of me!)

On Saturday, I slept in until about 10 a.m. and then took a shower and started getting ready. My dad had already left earlier in the morning to get some stuff ready for their hunting trip and to go watch my cousins fencing tournament. My mom had already started getting ready and then I went and woke Tiff up around 11 a.m. My Favorite (and only) niece Kyerra called me early that morning to see what I was doing and tell me that she wanted me to come see her. I told her that I would come over that afternoon and hang out! So we finished getting ready… I had the joy of fixing both my mom and Tiff’s hair, because I’m just so amazing! After I prettied them up they had to wait on me to finally get to finish fixing my own hair. While getting dressed and all dolled up we of course all had to take pictures together! As we were leaving the house, I figured it would be fun to take some picture posing on Tiff’s new car, so we jumped on and had my mom take our pictures, which turned out so cute :) After our photo shoot we went to have lunch at Olive Garden, which is definitely one of my favorite restaurants! We waited maybe 5 minutes and were seated right across from an old family friend and her daughter… it was very awkward. How do you go from being best friends, your kids as close as being brothers and sisters and all of a sudden not even speak to one another? Well I guess that’s life and it just happens hmm… Well we all ended up in tears.. The most awkward part was when she (old family friend) asked my mom how her mom was doing… and my mom had to tell her that she passed away back in May. I think that’s when I really lost it… and of course miss emotional me, turned into a fountain of tears. Over all it was nice to see them yet very weird, I miss them dearly but they also haven’t been there for me through a lot of important times during the past few years.. such as my high school graduation, my bridal shower, and wedding reception. Oh well, as she (old family friend) said, I guess God takes you in different directions! They had already eaten and left and then Tiff, my mom and I had a wonderful lunch together :) If all of you don’t know, Tiffany has been my best friend for years, she is my Bestie and my mom’s 2nd daughter! We enjoyed the salad and breadsticks and all ended up sharing the Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with Penne Pasta and it was delicious! Then we dropped my mom off with my dad at Amarillo College to watch my cousin. I called Kyerra to tell her that I was on my way… and to get directions to their new house from Joe. We made it without any troubles! We got there and the boys were at Lisa’s so I immediately asked if I could take Kyerra shopping and Jenn of course said yes. K was So excited and so was I, I love spending time with her! Then Kyerra said I made you these cookies while pointing at the plate full of cookies covered with icing and sprinkles.. isn’t she the best!!! Well we ended up visiting for a good hour and a half before we even left to go to the mall, which was so nice we had a lot of catching up to do! First thing when we got to the mall, I had to use the restroom and Kyerra wanted an Icee! I got her a Cherry Icee and Tiff and I both got Pineapple Coconut Orange Frulatti smoothies, gaa I love those things… definitely can’t go shopping at Westgate Mall without having a Frullati!! Our first stop was The Icing, Kyerra’s pick! She loves looking at all their goodies… jewelry hair accessories, etc. Then we went to Victoria’s Secret where Tiff bought a Texas shirt to wear to the Texas vs. Tech game this coming Saturday (Go Longhorns!) and I got 2 free pairs of panties and a new bra! We also stopped in Claire’s (another of K’s favorites!) and then I got some good deals at Aeropostale, 2 shirts for $20.00 and 5 pairs of panties for $20.00 but 1 pair rang up as $0.99 so the lady told me to get another pair… my lucky day! ha We went into Limited Too, trying to find something cute for sis, but they didn’t have anything I was shocked. I stopped by Gymboree to talk to one of my best friends, Tara who is the manager there! We talked for a little bit while sis watched the movie they had on with another little girl and Tiff went to the Sports store to look around. Several customers then came in and Tara got busy so we left, and stopped by the Halloween store, where Kyerra tried on some scary mask and scared Tiff so bad.. oops! Sorry Tiff, I wasn’t even thinking about you being so SCARED of masks when I told you to look. Then we went to Gap kids and Kyerra found the cutest little shirt! It was actually the first shirt she picked up when we walked in… I guess you always know right away when it’s a keeper :) I’ve taught her so well!!! haha So I bought the shirt and we were finally done shopping after almost 3 whole hours… we got in the car and I asked K where she wanted to eat, and she wanted “China” food so we ended up going to Thai Arwan. I called and invited Joe and Jennifer but they had already eaten so I told them that I would bring her home after we ate. We all had egg rolls, I had Chicken Pad Thai, Kyerra had Chicken Fried Rice and Tiff had Beef Fried Rice. We had a great time laughing and talking, I always love getting to spend time with K and she had such a blast! After dinner we headed back out to Joe and Jenn’s to drop off sis, and we got to talking.. some more catching up and we didn’t end up leaving until sometime after 2 a.m. It was so nice though, we had such a great visit and I also got our Christmas picture of the kids!!!! Yay. I was SO excited, it is so good! It's already hanging on our living room wall!

Bestie and I

Mom and I

My mom, Tiff and I (The Queen and her Princesses!!)

Bestie's Photo Shoot!

Kyerra and I (the sun wouldn't cooperate for our outside pictures! ha)

Mirror Pictures are always a Must! Even in the dressing room at VS :)

I will add Sunday's events tomorrow... it's late and I'm tired!

Goodnight and Sweet dreams :)

Also... Many more pictures to come!