Independence Bowl

Though I had been running a temperature on the 27th, I felt much better and was fever free on Dec 28th. So it seemed like a good idea to attend an Independence Bowl Viewing Party with our third family - the Sosebees. The Sosebees are our good friends Nan and Daniel. And their parents, Dan and Jan. Plus the younger brother Dustin. And what Sosebee party is complete without the Johnsons and the Machens. This is the same crowd we traveled to Destin with in July and we always have a good time together whether it is to watch 24, play trivia at Old Towne Tavern or to cheer on the Dawgs.

Brad and I arrived right in time for the beginning of the first play. I was a little hesitant about attending in my glasses as I was still tending to what was thought to be a sty (more on that later) and wearing my contacts was not an option. Still, my family welcomed me with open arms. We had a good time and the Dawgs played equally with the Aggies. We had a secret weapon in our corner, Dumplin. Dumplin is Nan and Daniel's Maltie Poo and she was dressed accordingly for the game.

After the first half of play ( and nothing too spectacular from either team), it was time for a chili dinner. We all ate and conversed. The food was great and the desserts were plentiful. In fact there was even Meredith birthday dessert. My wonderful friend Nan made one of my favorites - red velvet cake - into cupcakes to celebrate my birthday. Dustin even serenaded me with his guitar as Happy Birthday was sung. How special!

We stayed throughout the whole game and were happy with the victory. We then played the new game of Things. Finally, probably too late, we headed for home. Thanks Sosebees for a lovely time and thanks dawgs for a good finish to a not so good year!

Blogging Boom

Since I have been sick ( see below), my blog has received more updates in one day than it usually sees in a month, please scroll down and enjoy and leave your comments!

Boom, Downhill from there

We went to Brad's grandparents house and had a good time but as I was there I grew hoarse. Then it started to hurt to swallow. I figured it was the onset of a cold.

The 26th we laid low and it still hurt to swallow but I was okay with that. I took it easy only eating cereal, tomato soup for lunch and homemade turkey veggie soup while taking in some episodes of Muppet Show on DVDs. I still had great hope for celebrating Christmas with my mom's side of the family on the 27th and with my mom on the evening of the 27th. i went to bed after reluctantly taking Nyquil and waking up an hour later to go to the bathroom....so much for being knocked out.

The 27th came and I got ready to go to my mom's. I made a broccoli casserole while I sent Brad on to church. I took my shower and dried and curled my hair. That was when I decided I needed to lay down. My hips hurt, my head was spinning a little and my throat still hurt. Brad forced a thermometer in my mouth....100.8. Boo! I was sick and didn't want to risk getting Granddaddy sick so I didn't get to go to Christmas. I laid in the bed all day and then upon one round of sleep... my eye started oozing a discharge. Ugh! I thought I had pink eye but it turned out a sty I had been too unconcerned about had opened and was releasing a discharge. Still I was alone all day while my hubby attended the family gathering. He must have had a good time because he didn't get home til almost 10pm. I waited all day for my helping of apple cake made by my mom. I encouraged Brad to sleep in the guest room since I had been germing up his side of the bed all day in order to have access to the nightstand. I hoped to be better.

Today is the 28th. The eyelid is still sensitive but the eye is no longer discharging. My throat still hurts a little to the swallow but is very manageable. And my temp is 97.4. I am on the mend.

Tomorrow, my mom and I are going to celebrate my Christmas with her and my birthday. I hate to have it all lumped together. However, this year it is necessity.

Christmas with the Griswolds

No , Chevy Chase was not present. Just Jackie, Jan, Florene, Suzanne and Brad and Meredith. We enjoyed a lunch of ham, green bean casserole, butter peas, yeast rolls , mashed potatoes, the mac and cheese, and salad I brought and cake mix cookies, german chocolate cake and chocolate cake. It was a great way to spend an afternoon in my dad's new house.

The Christmas Scene in Hoschton

We were happy to have Grandma join us in our festivities this year!

Dad and Jan enjoyed opening their gifts

Brad got a new hat

I spent time with my sister

And of course there was a banjo involved ( my sister is trying to learn how to play and my dad was interested, refusing to put it down for a family shot)

I really enjoyed the time we spent together. I got some very nice gifts from my dad and Jan including a lazy susan for my overflow of spices in my pantry, the Glee soundtrack, Reba McEntire's new CD, James Morrison CD, One Tree Hill Season Six on DVD and Wii Sports Resort. I didn't want to leave and we stayed for quite a while but we were due to the Dillard grandparent house. So on up the road we went.

Christmas Morning

On Christmas morning, we got up early. 7:30 to be exact. I wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time to enjoy our presents, to get ready for Dad's, to cook for Dad's and to get to Dad's. My dad and his wife have moved to their house in Hoschton so it takes a little less than an hour to get there. I was baking homemade Macaroni and Cheese and making a salad with mandarin oranges and raspberries in it. So getting up was a necessity. It turned out to be well worth it though because apparently I was a very good girl! We alternate opening gifts first and then doing our stockings. By the time I was done opening my gifts , I had a printer, a purple Ipod nano with my name engraved on it, the Muppet Show Season One DVD, A Bug's Life on DVD and a pink fleece jacket.

Brad did well on the gifts too. He had opened up two tickets to the UGA vs South Carolina basketball game, a new UGA hat, The Office Clue game, Season 7 of 24 on DVD and Lego Indiana Jones for the Wii by the time he was done.

The stockings didn't disappoint either. I was lucky enough to get a matching necklace and bracelet set, a Swedish Chef Hallmark Christmas tree ornament and Carrie Underwood's new CD. Brad found the book The Shack, a tie to go with dark brown slacks, a bass scales book and GIJoe the movie on DVD in his stocking.

Merry Christmas to one and all!

Christmas Eve at Home

So Christmas Eve at the Dillard House occurred between Christmas Eve at Home before and after. As mentioned in the previous post, we have traditionally gone to our church service for Christmas Eve. Also, the past four years we have taken a picture in front of our church's Christmas tree. I have always enjoyed that tradition. This year would have been our fifth year taking a picture. Brad let me know recently that the pictures we take in front of our Christmas trees at home have always been more special to him so Christmas Eve came with another Christmas tree picture before going out to his parents.

Then when we got home from his parents' house, we got into our Christmas pajamas ( last year I bought us coordinating navy pj pants - his have polar bears and mine Christmas trees...I decided with no kiddos around it wasn't worth the investment to get new ones. I hadn't worn mine since last year so they are still in great condition) and watched Mickey's Christmas Carol and Winnie the Pooh and Christmas too while sipping on hot cocoa. This is another activity that I hope will become a Christmas tradition between us and additional little Dillards as they appear.

Christmas Eve

After a night of fun cookie making on December 23rd, Christmas Eve came in. We traditionally spend Christmas Eve with Brad's parents. We usually attend the Christmas Eve service at our church as well but this year it was not possible. That was okay as it allowed us more time with family. We had Christmas dinner breakfast at the "Dillard House". There were three chefs this year, all adourned in professional attire and armed with two waffle irons to meet the needs of this crowd.

Brad and Linda

Brad and his Brother Jack

After eating a breakfast of waffles and omelettes, it was time to open the presents. That was a lot of fun this year as Carter was old enough to really get into it. We got him an outfit , a Pooh Christmas book and a Dusty the Talking Vacuum. As any boy would do, he quickly threw the clothes to the side, had some interest in the book and was mesmerized by the talking vacuum. That was good as the talking vacuum was an Ebay item because after passing him up on the Kohls website to go get him in Kohls, he was nowhere to be found - including the Kohls website. In an interesting turn of events, post Christmas Jack and Christina saw one in Kohls. But still Aunt Meredith was happy to be on the hunt for something meaningful to her favorite nephew.

Opening the Clothes

" Yes Uncle Brad, this book is mildly entertaining"

Let the Good Times Roll

It was also very special to watch Linda and Mr. Jack open one of our gifts to them - a snapfish picture book of our cruise together over the summer. I think it was a big hit.

So we had a great time at the "Dillard House". I got some quality Carter time, a Vera Bradley lanyard for my keys to go on at work, a pair of purple and black Argyle socks, an apron with my name monogrammed on it, an umbrella with polka dots on it for my car and $25. It was a great time.

Christmas Eve Eve

The Eve before Christmas Eve is a special time in the Dillard house. It is a week before my birthday and getting oh so close to a certain favorite holiday. This year, we got a chance to spend some special time together. We made Christmas cookies using a Pampered Chef cookie press that we had received as a wedding present. I hope this will be a tradition for years to come, maybe to help lay cookies out for Santa in the future.

Brad manned the KitchenAid mixer

We were armed with the proper equipment i.e. dough and press

With the help of an encouraging husband, a perfectionist decided to work through her frustrations

And it all paid off. Cookie making was a success!

We are Definitely Ready for Christmas.

A few short weeks ago, December 5th to be exact, this is what it looked like in here:

But now, we are definitely ready for Christmas, it almost looks as though Santa has already been here!

Merry Christmas!

Oh, How I Miss Thanksgiving Break

As I sit here and work on another Masters portfolio assignment and look forward to being done with it in time to enjoy my Christmas break fully, I look back to our Thanksgiving Break. We had a great time. Wednesday we traveled to the lake and spent time with Brad's parents and Carter. Jack and Christina joined us that night. Thursday we woke up and traveled to Warner Robins after a family shot on the deck of the lakehouse.

In Warner Robins, we ate lunch with about 80 of Linda's extended family and relatives at a church where the Dobson clan convene each year. The meal was satisfying to say the least because on the way home this is what the van looked like ( Brad woke up just before the pic was taken).

We played a little more at the lakehouse. To my surprise, Carter tried to say my name a few times. It was something that sounded like Meme once and then something that sounded an awful lot like a muh and duh lead two syllable word. Yay! Then a desire to shop on Black Friday and to be able to get ready for Friday's Griswold Thanksgiving festivities put us heading out from the lakehouse on Thursday night. Frigid temperatures met us in Loganville as we scrambled to find a paper with ads ( to no avail). We opted for Internet Black Friday shopping, went to my aunt Joyce's for Thanksgiving with Dad's side of the family and game playing. Saturday brought IMAX theater time with our adoptive family The Sosebees. And then the weekend wrapped up with church. Here's to more fun like that in two weeks.