What we do in Mississippi

Well, these 2 squirrel hunt:

And I get to stay home with this guy:

When it snows in Mississippi....

you gotta blog about it!
We didn't tell Merrit about the "snow" beforehand because honestly, I didn't think it was going to do anything and I didn't want to get his hopes up. So Monday morning when he woke up and saw the snow, he said "Oh my goodness! Santa Claus has come again!" I had to try to explain to him that not only does SC not come every time that it snows, but that it was also VERY random that it snowed on Christmas this year! We had fun playing in the snow, but have since then had some SERIOUS cabin fever! I think that I have seen "Astro Boy" 892 times.

Refrigerator Worthy

I stole this from a friend of mine who stole it from a friend of hers. It is now on my refrigerator. Love it.

"I may infuse within you a dream that seems far beyond your reach...this is not a path of continual success but of multiple failures. However, each failure is followed by a growth spurt, nourished by increased reliance on me." - God

weekend away

I've been holding off on this post, because I'm waiting on pictures from my sister. My husband and I went to visit her and her boyfriend in New Orleans for New Years. I was scared to take my new camera anywhere with me, so I only got a few! Alexa has been sick (with Strep, that I gave her) and has not been able to work. She has no internet at home, therefore has not been able to send me her pictures. She took some really good one's and I can't wait to get them! But for now, here we go:

This is Alexa's house in uptown New Orleans. It is the cutest little house EVER. It's a duplex and is decorated JUST like my sister. Here is a view from across the street:

I LOVE the detail on the mantle, and look at the crown! This is actually a piece above the mantle, but the mantle has the same look. This house is super old, and I love it!

My sister loves taking pictures. She has shown her photos in several shows and is actually about to do her first wedding. I think that she is so talented. This is a picture that she took. It is blown up and tacked to a canvas above her mantle. Yes, tacked. Haha. Love her.

The first night that we were there was New Years Eve. We went to Clancy's on Annunciation Street in Uptown New Orleans. It.was.fabulous.

We had fried oysters with brie for an appetizer. Oh my goodness. I'm getting chills just thinking about it.

My entree was the smoked Duck. I can't even talk right now because my mouth is watering so much.

This is the ONLY picture that I have of us. It's the first night of the New Year. We were heading out.

We walked 2 blocks from Alexa's house to St.Charles, where we took a streetcar to downtown. We ate at the Pearl Resaurant and Oyster bar, which was on St.Charles.

Jonathan had NEVER been to Bourban Street, so we had to walk down it once to show him what he has been missing all of these years! It was crazy. I remember going when I was younger and thinking how fun it was. WOW. Either IT has changed, or I have changed. I think it's the latter. We took a cab to Frenchman, where we went to a jazz club called the "Spotted Cat." Now, that was fun! We ended the night at Mimi's in the Marigny.

The next day was sad. I hate my sister living so far away. We went walking down Magazine Street and ate at Ignatius. This was also....AMAZING. I got the crawfish etouffee.

It was a wonderful getaway. My husband and I don't get to do this often, so it was very much enjoyed. But, honestly, as much fun as we had, Sunday night when we got back home with our kids, was the best of all.

Thanks, New Orleans, for an awesome weekend away.

Bring on the change, this girl is ready

Well, Christmas is over. I found something out this year that I didn't know before. I actually like the weeks leading up to Christmas much more than Christmas itself. Is that bad? I know that it's Jesus's birthday, but I always feel like I'm trying that whole day to make it perfect. No, this is not going to be another post about me trying to measure up! This was actually one of the best Christmas's that I've ever had. After the initial worrying, I let it all go, and soaked it all up. I really enjoyed the lights, the music, the several plays/musical's that I saw, and the cold weather. I think that every now and then, I like a change in my routine, and Christmas brings that.

Christmas Eve is always the most special time for me. I don't know why. I guess because growing up, we always had Christmas Eve at my mamaw Branton's house, who I loved SO much, and miss all the time. She was my mother's mother and was an ANGEL. Anyone who knew her would say the same thing. I swear, she had a direct line to God. My mom is pretty close, but my mamaw, man, I strive every day to be like her. Sometimes, especially during the holidays or after something really special or really hard, I think about her and how much I want to tell her. She wouldn't even know me now. I have changed SO much since she passed when I was a senior in college. I would like to hope that she would be proud. My mom's side of the family was extremely close when she was alive, now we hardly ever get together. I hope that one day, I can provide what she did for my children and my children's children. Her FAITH was unmoving. Her LOVE was unconditional. Her STRENGTH was from God.

This year, I am going to try to be a constant, positive influence in people's lives. A friend of mine (hey, Cathy), who I admire greatly, just blogged about how important it is to have that constant releationship with God. I needed to read that, and I am ready to live it.

I feel that sometimes I am "on fire" for God, and other times I am just complacent with our little relationship. I want to be ON FIRE constantly. I know that this takes effort on my part, and honestly, I have been lazy. I want a direct line to God. I want to be on fire. May this new year bring this. Bring it on 2011.

Grateful and Ashamed

When the holidays come around, I go through a million different feelings. For instance, when December was fast approaching, the first thing that I did was.....WORRY. I was worried about everything. That our kids would not get enough, that they would get too much, that my husband would not get me anything at all, that he would get me something better than what I get him, that our house would not be decorated pretty enough, that I would spend money on the wrong things, that I wouldn't provide what my kids deserve (Do we go on the Polar Express? Do we not? Do I take my oldest to a Christmas movie? Do I not? Do we travel? Do we not?). You name it, I've worried about it.
And I know that it is SO cliche to say..."and then I thought of those less fortunate," but it hit me like a ton of bricks last night and I could not.stop.crying. I mean I sobbed like a baby. I'm not good at this blog stuff, so I don't know how to link someone else's blog to mine, but I ran across this girl's blog who is a friend of a friend and it just touched me, changed me. I was laying in bed last night and I heard Miller cry (he is my 1 year old and he occasionally still wakes up at night.) I thought about going to get him and then I thought to myself that it would probably be better if I let him soothe himself back to sleep. He did, within about 3 minutes, and it was no big deal. However, I could not sleep. So I went blog hopping. Like I said, I ran across this blog and this girl (woman) wrote BEAUTIFUL posts about life, faith, and her 4th son, who died.
She wrote that when she was in the hospital with him, he was hooked up to a ton of machines and she could not hold him, although that was ALL that she wanted to do. A nurse brought her a bottle of lotion and told her that it would probably feel good to him if she rubbed his feet with it. She said that that was the first time that she felt "useful" to him. Like something that a "normal" mom would do for her son. She said that thinking back, there is no way that he even felt it, and she was praising God for that nurse who knew just what she needed. She called the nurse an angel.
I cried, and cried, and boo hooed (sp?), and cried some more. I don't know why it hit me so hard. But I went and got my baby out of his bed and rocked him for about an hour, thanking God over and over for my many blessings. I felt like the shallowest person on the face of the earth. Why in the WORLD was I SO worried about the things of this earth that do not even matter? Why do I take what I have for granted? Why do I think about the things that I DON'T have?
NO MORE. I refuse to be so shallow anymore. I am going to ENJOY this holiday season, knowing that my children are BEYOND blessed because they are growing up in a home with parents who strive every day to put GOD first. I am going to pray and let God lead me in knowing what to do, what is too much, what to buy, what is unnecessary, ect.
Thank you God, for all my many blessings :)

Beach

Several weeks ago, my mom and I took Merrit and Miller to the beach. We went with my cousin Christy, her 3 kids, her fiance, my cousin Lisa, and my aunt Pat. Christy's fiance was very brave to come to the beach with all of the Branton women! We had a BLAST. I was worried about Merrit b/c last year at the beach, he hated the water. I have no idea why he is so scared of the water, but he is terrified. We stayed at Phoenix on the Bay. It was PERFECT for kids. It had a huge kiddie pool area with a splashpad, a waterslide, and a lazy river! Merrit played in the water every day and had SO much fun with his cousins, Riley and Reese. On the first day, he went under in the lazy river and would not get in again. Thank goodness for that kiddie pool because that's where we spent our days! Miller, on the other hand, is going to be a little fish. He LOVES the water. It was great having my mom there because when Miller napped, she stayed in the condo with him while me and Merrit stayed at the pool. I am SO blessed to have such a wonderful mother who helps me out so much. She even got up with him in the mornings and let me sleep! We did so many fun things while we were there and will DEFINITELY be going back next year and taking dada.