Deck the Halls

Bailey with her stocking ;)

I was having the hardest time getting into the Christmas spirit this year and I wasn't sure why.  I thought maybe it was because I'm an North Carolina girl that is used to a much colder December than Charleston has to offer.  Or maybe it was because I hadn't started any of my Christmas shopping yet.  Or maybe it's because I've been trying to hang on to Fall for as long as I possibly can...

Well after a wonderful Thanksgiving spent at my in-laws, Brad and I came home and did our traditional post-Thanksgiving Christmas decorating.  After putting all of my pumpkins *sigh* back in storage, we busted out six large boxes of Christmas decor and made a day of it!  We played Christmas music and reminisced about sentimental tree ornaments.  Slowly but surely our house was transforming from Fall to Winter...and I finally started to feel in the Christmas spirit!  All it took was a little Harry Connick Jr. Christmas tunes, a lit tree, and time spent with my hubby decorating the house.  There is nothing like decorating to get you excited about the holidays :)  Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!

Willow Tree nativity scene.  

Simple decorating...

My Buyers Choice Carolers...a Jenkins trademark decoration!

This is SO easy to do...I got the pine needles and magnolia leaves from
my back yard.  Free decorations that are beautiful are the best ;)

Ornaments hanging from my dining room chandelier.

Our tree skirt was bought in Truckee, CA on a family vacation.  I think
of Cara and the Besio family every time we put the skirt out.

An easy decoration...and you get to eat it too!  My favorite ;)

My new $4.00 shutters from Habitat Restore.

My grandmother, Mama Ann, always had Andy's Mints on hand.
I bought these to remember every Christmas spent in Red Springs.

Red apples to accent the greenery...

Simple table setting.

I love decorating my tea cups each season.  

The Family Tree

Standing on Her Own Two Feet...

My niece, Mia, is finally standing on her own two feet...and she seems to enjoy her new found freedom!

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Grayson's FIRST Birthday

While up in DC last weekend watching Bradley finish his FIRST marathon, we were also able to experience another FIRST...our nephew's birthday!  One year ago my sister-in-law labored for nearly THREE days to have this little guy.  What a blessing he has been to our family!  These pictures just go to show you that you don't need to do anything extravagant when celebrating a baby's first...just invite your family and make sure to have LOTS of cake ;)

The icing was his favorite part!

How BIG is Grayson???  SO BIG!!!

Grandma to the rescue!

I think that Grayson will grow up to be like Uncle Brad...check out both of them "texting" in this picture ;)

A Marathon with Memories...

Brad, Taylor, Ashley

Since June, my sweet hubby has been training for the Washington DC Marine Corps Marathon.  If you're a Daily Portion follower, you probably remember my previous post about his training.  Until you've actually trained for a marathon (or are a wife of a marathon runner), it's hard to appreciate how long and difficult and time consuming marathon training can be.  I can think of so many times Brad gave up time with friends, family, and even one another just so he could go RUN.  Needless to say, I think I was just as excited as he was to see race day finally arrive.  So this past Halloween weekend, my hubby, my brother-in-law Taylor, some close friends from Charleston, and 30,000 other crazy runners took on DC in a 26.2 mile run!  All the wives ran the 10K and were able to meet up with our husbands after the race.  Here are some great pictures from race day!

Brad at Mile 16...still going strong!

The 10K runners...

Lisa running 10K

Candace working it in her running skirt!

Me running the 10K

Lisa at the finish line

Craig and Candace

Ashley and Lisa

Candace, Mary, and Craig

Me and my hubby!

Me, Brad, Ashley, Lisa

Taylor, Me, Bradley, Ashley, Lisa

After the race we were finally able to see some of the sights around DC...

Me and Bradley

Lisa and Ashley

Nancy and Grayson

Taylor, Lindsay, and Grayson

The tired crew waiting to drive home

Brad and I had a chance to meet up with my college roomie and her hubby and walk through the Mall area.   We even got to see some crazy people at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear...

Elizabeth, Livingston, Brad, Me

The Rally

Rally

Brad at Smithsonian Museum

Me with Mr. Caveman.  Tee-Hee :)