Monday, December 28, 2009

8 months

Mike reminded me this morning that 8 months from today we will be walking down the aisle! Can you tell I'm excited and ready to be Mrs. Staton?!?!?!?!
8 months and counting...please go fast :)

New Traditions

We have spent Christmas at my parents house or Grandma Briner's house for as long as I can remember. This year we changed things up due to the arrival of Abby Reece.
The Gibbs clan headed to TN to spend the holiday at Em & Greg's house. Nate & Abby Reece were the center of it all and loved every second of it. Nate was very aware of Santa, new toys, baby Jesus and Handy Manny coming to his house. Em helped Nate write a letter to Santa and leave cookies, carrots & milk. It was SO CUTE!!

Christmas morning was very eventful as Nate opened each present, and said "open, open, open". It was a Handy Manny Christmas and I have so much more respect for Em's patience as she has to listen to LOUD toys all day long!

I have the pleasure of being born the day after Christmas, so I usually get a second day of celebration with my family! My sisters fixed a special birthday breakfast and I got to open all my presents before L headed to the airport. I got some great gifts but my favorite was a scrapbook from Em. She surprised me with a scrapbook she made of all my baby pictures through 8th grade. There were some hilarious pictures, captions and personal touches. It is completely AWESOME and I am so thankful for all the work she put into it.

We all (including the newest family member, Handy Manny) went out for some good ol' Mexican. After dinner, we headed home for yummy birthday cake. I was a bad aunt and talked Nate into going head first into the cake with me. Sorry Em...I know payback will get me one day!
Christmas 2009 was another great one with the family! Next year at this time I will be married...wahoooooooo!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Gibbs Girls...

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Christmas Dinner

Last week we had our bible study Christmas dinner...complete with the same food as last year and all the same girls. There is something comforting about saying that :)
I blogged about our dinner last year and am still just as thankful for these girls!

I'm so thankful to say that our bible study is still going strong every Tuesday. It's been a year of different books, lots of conversations, many challenges, laughter, tears and the same sweet voices encouraging and loving each other.

We are all in new seasons of our lives: new houses, babies, jobs, school, new careers, engagements, and so much more. But we can look back at our prayer books and see how we prayed each other through every situation.

I love these girls and am thankful for another year with them! Let's see what "fun" studies we pick out in 2010!!!
We just love little Emerson & can't get enough of her

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Rick Jr.

I have been sick for the past 2 weeks and I am very behind on blogging. (the codeine cough medicine has finally worked!)

We have been talking about getting rid of the Wrangler and getting a new car for a few months. After several test drives and some research, Mike narrowed it down to the car he wanted.

He found one he liked and even though I was sick, I couldn't miss the opportunity to haggle at the dealership with Mike. I was so excited about 1)getting a new car and 2)getting a good deal. We talked about our strategy before going to the dealership and decided how we would approach it. (I know you guys are laughing but it worked). After several hours at the dealership and lots of back and forth, we walked away with a fantastic deal and new car. (dad would have been so proud of us!) We are excited about our big new car and can't wait for all the App tailgates in the fall :)

Mike said goodbye to his beloved Wrangler...

Monday, December 7, 2009

Hidden Talents

It is safe to say that I have an elf on my hands. Mike told me last year he enjoyed wrapping gifts and was pretty good.
Well last night he decided to open his gift wrapping business in the dining room/living room. He went at it for a few hours and seemed to have a great time. I sat on the couch and drank wine while he played elf...it was quite enjoyable for me.

All the gifts look great under the tree now!!
(minus the bows b/c apparently I was "supposed" to buy some)
Is it bad that I asked if he would mind wrapping the presents I got him?!?! I believe my mom and sisters did this for me growing up....some things never change.
He is for rent during the holidays if you need a good little elf :)

I know O'Malley looks depressed but I promise he is not