It's January. It comes every year. We know it's coming. It comes after the hoopla of Christmas. It comes just before Spring. And we know this. We go all November and December asking for snow. Then, snow comes. And, this year, it kept coming! In fact, it may be coming again! Yes, it might! We asked for it. We've asked for it for a long time. And it's here. So what will you do about these cold temperatures and this white stuff? My vote? Enjoy it! While browsing Facebook today, I couldn't help but notice all the "I hate cold!" and "Augh! Snow again?!" statuses. I completely understand the inconvenience and chill bumps. At school this week, our integrity word is "Optimism." I think we all could use a little practice. It can be difficult sometimes.

You should know that thanks to the Christian guidance of a good friend (and sister-in-law) I have become acutely aware of too much complaining. And, to be honest, chronic Facebook complaining bothers me a bit. No offense. Everyone has their quirks, and that's mine. I've worked hard in the last year or so to watch what I put out there...which leads to me watching my attitude toward circumstances. I continue to catch myself feeling overly stressed or aggrivated or tired. But, I can choose how I react. And, I can certainly choose how I react publicly. I can also slip up from time to time. Which makes me a bit nervous posting this because I'm afraid I might be called out for any non-optimistic comment I make. But, that's okay. Accountability, right? Ha! So, I thought I'd give myself and others a little pep talk.

So, in hopes of encouraging all those in the "winter slump," I've researched all the positive things about this time of year. After all, there are SO many more reasons to be thankful! God has given us so much! So, here we go...

1. We get to wear all of our cute boots, scarves, sweaters, tights, and great coats! And all that winter clothing covers and disguises fat rolls (for the most part). That's what I'm talking about!

2. We have a great excuse to curl up in a blanket, drink hot chocolate, and watch a movie! Some even get to sit by a great fire in the fireplace! Love it!

3. You don't have to mow or rake the yard! And, when it snows, you don't even see your yard at all!

4. No pesky bugs like mosquitos, bees, wasps! No pollen either.

5. Sales! Everything is on sale. Like...90% off in some places!

6. Soups! I love a good soup in the crock pot during cold weather.

7. No need to rush to get groceries out of the car. It serves as a refrigerator!

8. You can have a dirty car. Everyone will understand because it's too cold to wash it.

9. All the dog poo in the yard freezes, which makes it easier to scoop. If you don't scoop...it's frozen so it won't stick to your shoes.

10. Doctors claim that cold weather boosts your metabolism in your body's effort to stay warm. So people tend to lose more weight in the winter. Interesting fact! That probably only works if you don't eat extra like I do during the winter. But, just think what we would look like if we ate this much without our boosted metabolism! Ha!

There you go! A few reasons to enjoy these last several weeks of cold weather. I'm sure there are more. Can you think of more? Feel free to leave them in the comments. Enjoy your winter night! I'm gone to play Bunco!

Happy Birthday, Pop!

This weekend, Russ and I joined the rest of the Johnson family to celebrate his dad's (also known as "Pop" to the grandkids) birthday. It's always fun for all the family to gather as the kids run everywhere and the "grown-ups" catch up on life. We did miss Roan this time. She ran a half-marathon in Starkville Saturday and wasn't back in time. We made this birthday simple by ordering out. We placed our orders for Mexican food and ate while we visited. Soon after, it was time for Pop to blow out his candle and for us to eat cake! Then came the gifts...

Russ's dad with his gifts

Pop received nice gifts ranging from a handmade toboggan from Julie to shirts and flashlights. Will even wrapped his gift in a Hannah Montana gift bag complete with music! Very fun! We laughed and talked over each gift as he opened them. Sam took guesses on what they might be based on the size. For example, Russ's mom bought Pop a nice new bible. Sam picked it up grunting and said, "Oh, Pop! Open this one. I think it's a weight. It's heavy!" So cute!

Me, Olivia, and Julie

After supper and gifts, we all spread out throughout the house to enjoy our time together before we all headed home for the night. The adults talked, rested, and played with iPhones and computers....

Russ and Jenny, his sister

Russ and Jeff

Jimmy and Russ's dad relaxing

...while the kids made paper airplanes and paper darts to shoot at each other. I think Farley even made them into dog toys by the end of the night! Ha!

Sam making his airplane

Will

Russ's mom wasn't feeling well, but we made sure to grab a quick shot of her, so we would know she was there. She wasn't very happy about this, but she was a good sport.

Russ and his mom

We are very blessed to have Russ's dad in our lives. I appreciate his example of hard work and his Christian values as he raised the love of my life. Thank you so much, "Pop"! Happy birthday to YOU!

Fruit Chillers

After two months or so of living in our cozy little apartment, I finally went for real grocery shopping. Like, I bought things that can actually make meals, drinks, and snacks all at one time! I'm pretty excited about it. I know what you're thinking..."What in the world have you been doing?!" Well, I won't make excuses. But, I still work out of town three days a week. When I'm in town Russ and I have been putting up Christmas, taking down Christmas, going to storage to get boxes, going to storage to put up boxes, and quite frankly eating out! Yes, it's true. We're guilty. In fact, we have always been guilty of eating out a good bit. Plus, Russ has been working a few nights and I don't just cook for myself. But, I made a plan. If only for two meals this week while I'm in town and Russ isn't working nights. I made the plan.

While I was shopping, I picked up something a little different to try. You remember when I had the stomach bug? Well, I asked my parents to come stay with me for a day while Russ worked. I really wanted a Popsicle. So, they brought them! And chicken noodle soup! Who says you ever get too old for your parents to still come baby you when you're sick? Anyway, I've gotten into eating these popsicles now. Russ and I had a big discussion about eating healthier, and well...I still wanted popsicles. But, I found something that I thought might be okay to bring into the house.

Fruit Chillers! These are found in the canned fruit section. For those of you on Weight Watchers, it's ZERO points! So, I brought them home and put them in the freezer. Russ and I ate one for dessert today. And can I please tell you that they are OH SO GOOD! I'm loving it! And they are so much better for you than regular popsicles. They also taste better!

So, that's the moral of my story. Del Monte Fruit Chillers are awesome! The End.

Fun Friday

On this FUN FRIDAY, I thought I'd leave you with some final images from our cruise. You know, just for FUN! Oh, and if it's "too fun" for you, you may be too old! Ha!

Señor Frog's

Party of Two

Ummmm....

No words...

And, last but certainly not least, I will show you a shot of our own personal entertainment one night. We had quite the crowd surrounding our photo shoot by the time it was over. Regardless of the husband switch, Kristin being asked to "please get off the floor" while crawling under everyone, and all the laughter, we were able to get quite the family photo to share!

One FUN family vacay!

Happy Friday to YOU!

Guess What!

It's snowing...again! Yay! Isn't it so fun to watch all the ways God chooses to decorate our world?

What a wildly wonderful world, GOD! You made it all, with wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations. - Psalm 104:24 (The Message)

Snow Day 2011

So....unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past week, there was a major winter blast that came through last weekend. What that meant for us...SNOW! And COLD! For those of you who don't understand the rarity, we hardly EVER get snow! But, this snow was marvelous! Fluffy! White! Perfect! Exciting! Freezing! And it came in huge amounts!

Me and Farley

I was beside myself with excitement and INSISTED that Russ and I take Farley on a walk to get the mail. He hesitantly obliged, and off we went! The snow had just begun, and I was in love! Farley loved it too! I put my snow gear on top of my pajamas, and we headed out with a camera of course.

Russ and Farley

You can see how much it snowed between the time we left the apartment and the time we got back. Just look at the ground and compare! We snuggled back into our cozy apartment for a while peeking out the window every once in a while and giggling with excitement. We decided we needed to take Farley out just one more time, and this is what we saw...

Russ braving blizzard conditions....ha!

Yay! It was a winter wonderland! Russ was freezing and in a hurry. But, I just had to take a minute to build a mini snowman before we went back in! I could NOT miss this!

My mini snowman

When we brought Farley in, he was shivering from the cold and had chunks of ice hanging in his fur. Bless his little spoiled heart! He was not meant for the outdoors! Ha!

Brrrrr!

He was in desperate need of some snuggle time to warm up. But Russ and I were much too excited to go to sleep. So, we stayed up watching the news, peeking out the window, and talking about how pretty the snow was.

Snuggle time!

It's still snowing!

The next morning, I jumped out of bed when Russ got up for work. Unfortunately, hospitals don't close for inclement weather. And I couldn't wait to see what it looked like outside! We had about 5 inches of snow covering the ground!

Dr. Russ

Oh, how I wish he could stay home and play!

Bye bye!

Instead, Farley and I spent the morning looking out the window as all the children ran around building snowmen and throwing snowballs. I felt a little goofy going out there alone and building a snowman. But, Russ promised to build one with me when he got home from work. So we waited by the window...

Unfortunately, that night I came down with an awful stomach virus and didn't get to build my snowman. I was sad, but really didn't care at the time due to the hugging the toilet part. Yuck! I did make a trip to Corinth for work later last week, and I enjoyed some of their 8-10 inches of snow! Did you hear that!? It was insane! There were snowmen in almost every yard bigger than me! In fact, the snow really didn't melt much at all until Friday. Craziness! I've not seen that much snow since the 80's!

We had a ball! Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

I've Had the Time of My Life

At this point, I can hear the Dirty Dancing song, "I've Had the Time of My Life." I can envision running across this EverBank Field as I'm lifted by a Bulldog football player just like Patrick Swayze lifted Jennifer Grey. Ha! Yes, that's how I picture it! It was an unexpected performance that is the best I've seen to date! And, I had the time of my life!

Smith clan on game day

We arrived at EverBank Field early Saturday to avoid traffic and watch the team come in. Excitement was everywhere, and cowbells were ringing. Such a heavenly sound! I just know there will be cowbells in heaven! If not, I'll bring mine!

Gator Bowl 2011

It was immediately very obvious that the Mississippi State fans outnumbered the Michigan fans by quite a bit. No matter what, we would bring noise to this Gator Bowl! We joined the enormous crowd as we waited an hour for the team to arrive. Finally, we saw the buses! Cowbells rang. People cheered. I screamed. Signs were posted. Fun was had!

Here they come!

Here they are!

Once the team entered the stadium, it was a mad dash into the stadium with all the other 50,000+ State fans! Maroon was everywhere!

To my left...

In front...

To the right...

Fun reminder of the Egg Bowl just adds an extra smile

We enjoyed a pregame performance by former Lonestar lead singer before the teams took the field to play a little FOOTBALL!

I don't remember sitting much of this game. We were up cheering and ringing our bells for our Dawgs as they destroyed Michigan! There were a few records set, including Most Points Scored by a Winner!

The crowd was wild! It wasn't a nail biter, but we all know this game could have turned around quickly if our defense hadn't kept Michigan from scoring. They can score fast. But, not that day! Such a FINE way to RING in the new year!

Excited Party of Two

The few Michigan fans that were there, sneaked out before the game was even over and were completely gone by the trophy presentation. We cheered for our coach and players and Chris Relf for being awarded the MVP trophy!

Wrap that in maroon and white!

Daddy and Mama in front of the scoreboard

Me and Russ - Gator Bowl 2011

No one wanted to leave. We all just let it sink in, and dreamed of our upcoming 2011 season. We were so glad we came, and couldn't wait to book our bowl game for next year! I'll be cheering for our Dawgs all season in hopes of another fun-filled bowl game! My goal: BCS Bowl! In fact, we stayed so long that the Gator Bowl staff came up to ask us to leave! Ha! So we slowly and proudly exited section 217 ringing our bells all the way!

Outside we ran into a few friends and even family members! Everyone was just so happy. Hugging. Giving high fives. Ringing cowbells. Still cheering!

Mama and Roseanna

Holly, Warren (Russ's cousin), Russ, Will, and Emma

Bottom line...

It was simply SUBLIME! I've had the time of my life, and I owe it all to you Bulldogs!