Hey Girl Hey

I wrote a post on marriage over at BLOOM today. You may be thinking "HA what does she know about marriage". I wouldn't blame you for thinking that. Nonetheless, I did. Go say hello to Nicole:)

If you stopping over from BLOOM, thanks for clicking that little mouse and visiting:) I married this MAN, and we had this BABY. I take way to many pictures of him like THIS session. #sorrynotsorry. I used to TEACH, but now I'm a SAHM. At one point I thought I wanted to be a FASHION blogger. Hahahahahahahaha. That's all I'll say about that. Now, I simply document my life with my favorite boys on the planet and our PUP. Every now and then, I'll give you great WISDOM on marriage:)

Thanks for stopping by BLOOM readers! If you want to know a little bit more about me and this tiny little corner of the webosphere. Go HERE:)

p.s not sure why half the font is brown and half black. but just go with it, okay? 

lions and lights

Alyssa is a fellow Memphian! How fun is that? She seriously lives 10 minutes from me and I found her through blogging. Crazy World! Her blog is FULL of things to do or places to eat in Memphis! I've even learned of several new places through her blog that I can't wait to try. She's a Jersey native exploring her new town. Thanks for stopping by, Alyssa! Josh and I love going to Zoo Lights, and we can't wait to take C!

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Hi, I'm Alyssa, another Memphis area blogger over at  Ten Feet Off Beale. To me, it isn't Christmas without some traditions. Our special tradition is going to the Zoo! Yes. The Zoo. In December. Luckily, in Memphis, it isn't tooooo cold.

Every year, the Memphis Zoo decorates for the holidays with stringing lights and holiday displays. They also have a temporary ice skating rink and singing Christmas trees!

We enjoy getting some hot chocolate and simply walking around and taking it all in. Between the light displays, people watching, ice skating, and spending time with each other.

Jeremy, my boyfriend, took me to Zoo Lights right at the very beginning of our relationship. We often spend time reminiscing about that night, and how nervous we both were. Going to Zoo Lights has become a Christmas tradition for us that I look forward to all year and know that we will keep going for (hopefully) many many more years.

Be sure to check with your local zoo, Memphis isn't the only one around that does this. Maybe it will even become a new Christmas tradition for you!

Thanks for reading! Be sure to stop by my blog to see what other fun stuff I do around the city of Memphis.

A big thank you to Kate for letting me guest post :) I love finding other Memphis area bloggers!!


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If you're stopping by from Ten Feet Off Beale, be sure to look around and stay a while! This guest series was so fun to do! I can't wait for next Christmas when C is a little older and starting all these new traditions! Be sure to read the other posts!!

these three boys & a advent calendar

I asked a couple of my favorite bloggers to guest post on their favorite Christmas Traditions. I found Allison a while back through a random series of clicking through other blogs. I immidetaly felt a connection to her blog. She is a mommy of three adorable little boys. She used to live in Memphis.. crazy! She and her husband moved to be in Seminary... Josh just finished, and they just adopted. We can't wait to adopt! Her blog is so encouraging and one I look forward to reading everyday.  Thanks for posting Al, Josh and I can't wait to use this advent with C next year!

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advent is Christmas

hi friends, this is al from after His smile. katie asked me to talk about my favorite Christmas tradition & at first all i could think about was stuff like... playing games, cooking with my sisters, driving around to look at lights or watching Christmas movies with my husband. but then i remembered that advent is just what Christmas is about. advent is us celebrating the coming of our Lord to pay the debt for our sins & free us. games, food, lights & movies pale in comparison to what He's done for us. my husband (mike) & i just started being very intentional about advent with our boys last year. this is our second year & we're enjoying it immensely. i grew up being very focused on what Christmas was about for me. what gifts i was going to get. how much fun i could have experiencing the season. but advent turns our eyes off of ourselves & onto the One who is to be greatly celebrated & welcomed into our homes this time of year. He came & we choose to let Him come & overtake our house in decoration & overwhelm our selfishness. 

we use Ann Voskamp's Jesse Tree devotional. (http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/11/free-jesse-tree-advent-family-devotional/) & every night during advent we light our candles & cuddle on the floor & we listen to daddy tell us about Christ's plan to come. & we sing of His birth & we hang our ornament on our jesse tree. our boys may not understand all the words their daddy says, but they are seeing how important this celebration is & they're learning the words, "baby Jesus". & that is the whole point. simply, for two 2-year-olds & a 4-year-old they are understanding that we celebrate baby Jesus at Christmas & that is greater than all the gifts & cookies that this time of year brings. 

may your Christmas be full of His grace & may you celebrate Him like you never have before. please stop by after His smile & say "hi". :)

al

If you're stopping by from After His Smile, Be sure to look around! It's nice to have you:)

So that time she wore hilarious pajamas

 I've been wanting to find some new Christmas traditions to start with C. I asked some of my favorite bloggers to share what their favorite traditions are. One of my favorite bloggers is Nicole from Bloom. She has to be the cutest person I've ever seen. She is currently planning her dream wedding. It's such an encouragement to see her and her fiance pursue a Godly marriage. Thanks Nicole for guest blogging today!

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Hey, Kate&Kuby readers!  My name is Nicole and you'll find me writing about my faith, my engagement, and any other thought that runs through my mind over at Bloom.  I've come to love blogging and the friendships that are formed through that, and I am so thankful to have begin to chat with Kate through our blogs the past few weeks!  I've come to love Kate's writing style and -of course- her precious, little family!

Kate asked me to share a little bit about my Christmas traditions and from the moment she asked me I knew just what I would share.  To give you a little background about me, I am an engaged gal with two younger siblings.  Obviously, Tyler and I don't have our own Christmas traditions yet, but some of the best memories I have come from Christmas with my family.  I know that as Tyler and I get married and start our own family many of our traditions will come from my own family.  

For as long as I can remember my Mom has allowed us to open one gift on Christmas Eve.  Every year we always, always looked forward to opening the box that contained our Christmas Pajamas!  When we were young we would always tear into our gifts and quickly slip into our new pajamas so that we could get ready for Santa to visit.  We would pitter patter into the kitchen and help Mom put the last few sprinkles onto the cookies and pour a big glass of milk in case Santa got thirsty, too.  We would pile the cookies onto our special "Santa" plate (which we still use on Christmas Eve!) and pose in front of the Christmas tree.  We would hold tight to that plate of cookies and that tall glass of milk as we smiled our big, happy Christmas Eve smiles.  

1995- Brett and I 

1996- Brett, Anna, and I:  Anna's first Christmas 

1999- Brett, Anna, and I

 I figured that as we got older my Mom would begin to pick out cute PJs for each of us that don't match... 

2011:  Brett, Anna, George(a friend), and I

but, we have continued to get matching PJs even as we have entered our teens and twenties. :)  Our Christmas Eve pajamas have become one of my favorite gifts each year and I know that this is a tradition that Tyler and I will have in our own family one day! 

If you're stopping by from Bloom, be sure to look around. It's nice to have you:)