The thing I love about December 30...

The thing I love about today is that I get to celebrate marrying such a wonderful man! 

It's been 6 years since Bryan and I stood in front of so many family and friends and became husband and wife. Six fast years, filled with love and happiness. 

I am married to my best friend and my true love.

Bryan asked me to marry him on top of a mountain in Colorado. A memory I will cherish forever. 

Happy Anniversary, Bryan!

I love you!

Bryan's Birthday

On December 23 we celebrated Bryan's birthday here with the Billings family. I got a few pictures of him opening presents, but my traditional birthday tribute is still to come. :-) (Don't worry, it is sure to include an abundance of pictures!) 

We had a big meal together, opened presents and had birthday cake. And, he had a great helper in Makenah...she was by his side for it all! 

I am so thankful for Bryan!! 

He is a wonderful husband and friend, and a fantastic father! 

We love him so much!

Merry Christmas!

We're wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

With much love, from our family to yours!

A Via Christi Evening

For many, many months I have had this past weekend marked on my calendar. And for me, that also means it was something always coming up in the back of my mind, causing a little bit of stress.

This year I was in charge of planning and putting on the annual Christmas Party for Bryan's entire residency. An evening of dinner and dancing. It started with raising money in early fall, and continued with reserving, planning, and ordering. Admittedly, I am not a good delegator. This, coupled with the fact that there was not much help to be had, left me to take most of it on myself. (Thankfully, Bryan was there to be my right hand man!)

All that to say, the event was a success and I am proud with how it turned out. And glad to be done. :-)

I don't have a picture of Bryan and I all dressed up. Imagine me (and the big baby bump!) with a very handsome guy in a black suit. I also kept the camera in its bag for the remainder of the evening, and just enjoyed the people and entertainment.

But, here are a couple of pictures of the room while we were waiting for the guests to arrive. We used the Visitor's Center at Cowtown.

I love the rustic feel of the room with the fireplace. We left it roaring the whole evening. 

Hors d'oeuvres while all the guests arrived. 

We had a delicious catered meal and a big chocolate fountain for dessert. The DJ provided great music and fun entertainment.

I was tired from being on my feet all afternoon and then making sure everything went smoothly that evening. But, since everything went great, I was able to enjoy the party too. I am sure glad to have that in the record books (and I know Bryan is too.) I was happy to be able to plan a party for everyone, and I hope they had a good time. 

The tradition of the tree

Last year, for Makenah's first Christmas, one of the traditions that we started was cutting down our own Christmas tree as a family. We were looking forward to it again this year, and even though we managed to hit another cold day, picking out a tree together at Prairie Pines is worth it!

They have several fields for you to walk through with different varieties of trees. 

Me and my girl.

We found it!

 We all liked the tree and so Bryan got to work. He makes cutting down a tree look easy.

Makenah had to go and inspect and touch the branches.

 Tagged up and ready to be shaken and bagged.

Shaking all the needles off. 

 At this point we went inside to pay and see the pretty decorations again. We also considered stopping to see Santa again this year. I knew I would have to sit with her...Well, before I could take more than one step towards him, she burst into tears. We left that room quickly!
We got the tree home, in water and promptly decorated it! Makenah loves the lights on it, as well as the garland around the living room. If I haven't turned them on yet when she gets up in the morning, she makes sure to remind me to go around and turn them on.
For last year's tree adventure, you can go here.

Classic

There are a few things about bath time and this picture that make me happy. Things I want to remember forever.

1. The classic shampoo time mohawk. Who can resist forming such cuteness with lathered up hair.

2. Big, sweet eyes. They just gaze in wonder.

3. The fun we have with bubbles. She says "bubbles" in such a cute way! I can't even figure out how to type it! 

4. One last piece of tape on that first cut. What a trooper she was, and its healing up nicely. 

5. Our little ladybug, still so petite. Those eyelashes, button nose, and sweet smile.

6. Me leaning in over the side of the tub to help lather up. My growing baby belly getting in the way.

7. Our big girl who can help wash herself now. She loves to use soap!
8. Laying down to "swim" and kick and splash.
9. Lining up all the toys on the side of the tube one by one and then knocking them all back in. 

10. Daddy snapping pictures we will treasure forever. I love this one! 

Thanksgiving 2011

How lucky we were to get to see both of our families this Thanksgiving. Because of Bryan's holiday work schedule, we had a longer trip to Garden City last week. During Christmas, we'll get to spend lots of time with the Billings clan. 

Before we left for Garden City, we had turkey and all the 'fixins with my parents, brother, and sister.  

I think Makenah is going to like mom's cranberry salad as much as I do. 

Snuggles from Grandpa

Big kisses for Aunt Jenna!

Uncle Bear helping with the shoes. 

We were in Garden City for most of Thanksgiving week, and found ourselves staying busy eating, playing games, playing outside, laughing, and relaxing together. 

Playing drums in pajamas!

Working in the office with Papa Steve

Cooking with MeMe Debbie

(You can see Makenah's first ouchie above her eye. Up until now we've only had little bumps and falls, but this cut required a little extra attention from Daddy. No stitches needed, but he got it closed up and all taken care of.) 

 The art of the long snap...

 Us girls thought those boys just looked funny!

 There were even brothers wrestling!

 Makenah got to walk Bentley while we were there. "Walka walka Entley!" she would say. 

 Love

 We also celebrated Papa Steve's birthday while we were there!

Playing with Uncle Blake and holding on tight to her "bootball." She thought it was so funny how he could do pushups with her on his back. 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! We have so much to be thankful for!