I Give Thanks For...

This wonderful man:

And, these two beautiful babies

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tickled Pink

I'm absolutely thrilled because my sister-in-law, Kelsey, found out today that she is having a GIRL!  I guess I'll be spending my lunch hour shopping for lots of hair bows and other little girl goodies :) 

I can't wait to meet Callie Isabella!

Mission Accomplished

...and we both survived!  Mr. Carter and I took on a landscaping project, it took us 6 days from start to finish.  Mainly because we work opposite of one another and never really have time to "project" together.  Anyway, when we moved in our house there was ZERO landscaping...absolutely nothing, a blank canvas!  We bought the house in late spring and since other inside things had to be accomplished before we could turn our attention to the outside, we kinda missed the boat on making our yard pretty this summer.  We tried though, we did a mulch bed with day lillies and marigolds around our pool and a small stargazer lilly bed next to the stairs off of our deck.  We attempted the a mulch bed at the front of the house but the yard is majorly sloped and awkward so it was a little bit of a mess.  Here is a picture of our first attempt

Six days, 175 landscaping bricks, 2 bucket loads of mulch and lots of praying later

We are very proud of ourselves!  Now if all of our plants come back in the spring we'll have a beautiful little flower bed.

Guess What I Did??

I bought Christmas ornaments!!! :)  I'm totally the person who despises decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving, the rule is the weekend after Thanksgiving to New Year's Day...no exceptions!  Well, in my house anyway.
So let me explain:  Last year on December 23, I was shopping with my parents at good ole Target and all of their Christmas trees were like 80% off.  (Side note:  Before Mr Carter and I moved, my house had 10ft ceilings and my 6 1/2ft tree looked miniature)  It was like "A Charlie Brown Christmas", I found the perfect 8ft tall tree.  Absolute beauty.  I paid like $40 for a tree that was more than $200 originally...(and remember, it's not how much you spend-it's how much you save!) The problem was that because they only had the display and no box to put it in (and because of the shopping we had already done), it wouldn't fit in my mommas car and because of the massive price reduction, they couldn't even hold it for me if I paid for it.  So, on Christmas Eve morning, I drug Mr Carter to Target (45 minutes away) in hopes that MY tree would still be there.  We were there when the store opened at 7am and so was my tree!  I decided then that in celebration of my new tree, I would be getting new ornaments.  In years past, I've always decorated with using blue and white and snowmen.  So for Christmas 2010, the tree at the Carter household will be displaying red and two shades of green  Tonight, my mom, niece and I made a quick trip to Evansville to Hobby Lobby (who currently has all ornaments 50% off) and Michael's for some Christmas inspiration.  I got some super cute ornaments and some sparkly picks.  I cannot wait to see it all come together...but not until AFTER Thanksgiving!  I'll be sure to post some pics once the tree is up

The Married Life

Oh Gosh, it has been FOREVER!
So much has happened since my last post...we are finally married!  And it feels so amazing.  Mr. Carter and I had an absolutely perfect wedding day.  And, I am totally aware that every bride says that, and it's probably true, but we definitely had "our" perfect day.  We faced some obstacles on the way to the alter but we made it and we're married and that is truly all that matters.  So, in celebration of our wedding day, I thought I'd include a few pics for you

Playing in the woods before the wedding

Probably my favorite picture (via my bestie, Kristen)

We're Married :)

Our First Dance

A sneak peak from our photographer (who is absolutely amazing)

We were blessed in so many ways and cannot say thank you enough to those who made our day so wonderful.  We have AMAZING friends & families, a great (& very pregnant) photographer who ran all over the place and everyone who worked to make sure every single thing was in place.  We know that this was the first of many great days and can't wait to see what our future holds

In the last year

Today, I was doing a little reflecting and I had a "light bulb moment".  So much has happened in the last year and I have learned so many important lessons.  So here they are, the good, the bad and yes, even the ugly!

1.  Not everyone is as you would have them be...and this, you can do nothing about.
2.  Attitude really is everything
3.  People will disappoint you, if you let them.
4.  Sunsets really are more beautiful with the one you love
5.  After all these years, I still get a thrill out of chocolate ice cream and RC Cola (it was my Papaws favorite Friday night treat!)
6.  It is truly amazing how quickly you can love someone you just met (Davin and Aryanna stole my heart as soon as I laid eyes on them)
7.  Work hard, even when no one is watching.  It will pay off in the end
8.  Some people were born to be the center of attention...let them, it means way more to them than it ever could to you.
9.  Love was meant to be unconditional, no matter what.
10. Let it be!

MIA

Gosh, I cannot believe it has been two weeks since I've blogged! It's sad for me to admit that if it doesn't involve work or wedding planning, I'm not interested!  Fall is basically the busiest time of year for my job because kiddos are gong back to school and we are working to reorganize Girl Scout troops and start new ones (in 9 counties, might I add).  I've actually been having a lot of fun with work lately, I started working with a girls group home for at-risk youth.  Most of the girls are there court ordered but honestly, they are my best group of middle/high school girls.  It has been a very rewarding experience!  In addition to that project, I am also working on the Jr Miss Committee in Webster County.  Granted, I did not participate in Jr Miss because the county I graduated high school from did not have one.  It is actually a very cool program for high school seniors and they have the potential to earn a ton of scholarship money.  I decided to join the committee though, because America's Jr Miss Program actually has a partnership with GSUSA (girl scouts) on a program called Be Your Best Self.  It's a self esteem program that teaches these girls about becoming strong, community minded, healthy women.  Tomorrow is the actually program but the girls have been practicing for weeks, they compete in fitness, talent, interview skills and self expression.  I'm so excited to see their final performance!

Well, that was a little about work, now for some wedding :)  I had a fabulous shower about a month ago (see, I told you I was neglecting my blog) and I thought it'd be nice to share some pics with you all.  One of my best friends and bridesmaids, Kali threw me such a wonderful shower at a local B&B.  It was such a beautiful day and it was a great reminder of just how blessed Keil and I are.  We got some great goodies as you can see below. 

I had some great helpers when it came to opening my gifts, Miss Kaydence (one of our flower girls) and Miss Ryleigh.  They only helped break one bow!

This is the cutest market tote (and believe it or not, Keil picked it out.  Well, I wanted one and he picked the color/design)  My Nina and friend/bridesmaid, Tiffany got this for us!  I, of course, had to have it personalized!  I cannot wait to carry it around the local farmers market.

And, how cute is this apron?!  This was a gift from one of my  high school friends, Holly.  I LOVE IT!

I know I shouldn't have favorites but if I could, this would be it!  The gift from our second set of parents and preacher (and his wife).  They have two daughters who both have one of these.  Their daughter, Kristen (one of my besties) got hers last year for Christmas and I fell in love with.  I decided that once we got married, we would definitely be getting one.  Ronnie and Kelley (our preacher & wife) always joke and say that Keil and I are their children but this gift really made us feel like a part of their family.  It actually brought tears to my eyes when I opened it.  And, I know we aren't really supposed to use wedding gifts until we're married but it's on display, I just couldn't help myself.

And, this is a picture of my FMIL, myself and my FSIL.

21 days to go!