Christina's Baby Shower!

A few months back, my sweet, beautiful cousin Christina called to tell me she was PREGNANT!!!! and of course I wanted to throw her a baby shower as soon as I found out. It's the first baby on my mom's side of the family- so it's kind of a big deal! She was able to pick a date of January 26th and was able to come all the way from Chicago. A lot of the family lives here or in driving distance, so it was good for a family baby shower. 

I threw the shower with Kim- who lives in Clayton. She is my uncle's dad's wife (say that 5 times fast! hah!) but she is SO sweet and was such a joy to plan this thing with. She has a huge house and offered to host it there. So we split up the tasks and got to work! I made all the invites by hand :D Christina is having a baby GIRL! :D and her colors are yellow and gray and theme is baby elephants. SO adorable. So I stuck with that for the invites- which is also why I made them- easier than finding something already done. haha. 

Me and Kim! 

 

The invites

We also decided to feed everyone lunch since a lot of people were driving in from out of town. So we settled on some hor'dourves and lasagna for lunch. Kim also made this amazing coffee punch. I seriously could have downed the whole thing myself. I MUST get that recipe!

Some of the food

 The yummy punches

I also wanted to do something creative for the shower so I made a diaper basket! It was actually all supposed to be made out of diapers, but I figured she could use an actual basket too- so I filled it full of diapers and topped it with goodies for her and the baby. It was super easy and a lot of fun to make:D The basket is wrapped in receiving blankets and I tried to make most stuff I put in it useful. 

 The basket in the beginning stages..

 The cute lollipops made out of baby wash clothes and baby spoons
 (thanks Krystal!)

 Almost done!

 At the party :D

So when the day rolled around I showed up early to help set up- but of course Kim is amazing and had already done everything. She stuck with the yellow and gray theme and actually found baby ducks that went with it! Everything looked amazing. After everyone arrived, we took some pictures, dug into the food and just had a great time chatting with everyone. Since it was a family shower, everyone knew each other so it was nice to catch up. 

The adorable decorations

 

baby ducks!

 The cake Aunt Rhonda made

 

all the presents!!!

 The amazing Cooper family :D

After lunch we played a trivia game- which turned out to be hilarious. And then I gave everyone a birthday card to write to the precious baby for future years to come. I saw this on a website and thought it was a neat idea- especially since it was all family and the child would know each of us when she read the card. So each person gets an age and a card and writes to the baby for when they turn that age. SO cool! Christina said she had a cute box to put them all in and would pull them out each year for baby Hoagie! Next was present time!! Christina and baby Hoagie are going to be stylin! She got TONS of stuff. Such a blessing for sure. It kind of got me in the baby mood! (I said KIND of;D) 

 I LOVED THIS! Christina' s aunt made it for her.

 And Mawmaw's quilt. LOVE it.

After presents we dug into cake and ice cream. My Aunt Rhonda, future Grammy, made the cutest cake! and it was delish. :D We spent the next while just chatting again. Then it was time to say our goodbyes. Such a great event and it was so much fun getting to honor my sweet cousin during this very exciting time in her life!

Christina and the soon to be grandmas!

 

Me and my beautiful cousin :D 

Congrats again Christina-Face!

Sherry Berry

So I was going to do a "My life in January" also as an update, but too many HUGE things happened!! So I'll start with the first one: 

MY SISTER IS GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!! 

Yes, you heard that right :D My sweet sister met Aaron in August and they have just hit it off great. He is a great guy and has been getting her to try things she normally wouldnt do- like hike! I still cant picture her hiking. haha. But he treats her really well. Well right before the New Year he proposed!! 

 He gave her his grandmas ring- so sweet :D

They are both Jehovah's Witness, which has caused some drama in the family. Which means instead of asking my mom or brother for my sister's hand in marriage- he actually asked me. My stance is that while I dont agree with their beliefs, she's still my sister and I want to love her and be there for her. Especially, through something so exciting as getting married. I hope in a way that it shows Christs love. But she's my sister and I want to be apart of her life always. 

So, they have planned this thing fast and she is getting married April 27th! AH! So crazy. It's hard to believe my baby sister is so grown up now. Shes rocking out all the wedding to-dos too- she already has all the invitations done, favors, some of the decorations, and most things planned out. My sister has never been super organized, so it's interesting to see her be UBER organized for this.

A few weekends back she had an engagement party. Aaron and some of her friends surprised her with getting her family, his family, and a bunch of her friends together to celebrate their engagement. SO SWEET! they did it at Mellow Mushroom in Burlington. My boss let me leave a little early so me, Chris, and my mom (john had to work) could get there on time. The party was fun! We got to meet his family and talk with them for a long time. I also met up with the other bridesmaids and we started some planning. Currently, we are in the process of planning her bridal shower and bachelorette party. They are both going to be March 9th since the wedding is so soon and she doesnt get much time off work. I'm excited because its so fun to plan this type of stuff and my mom is finally getting into it too:D I'm really glad for Sherry that she is. 

The sweet couple

 Most of the family and friends

 Our family!

 

The cake

 

The bridesmaids! :D

This past weekend we went wedding dress shopping!!!! She looked gorgeous in everything she tried on. We went a ton of places and had it narrowed down. She decided to sleep on it and when she woke up she knew the perfect dress for her and went and bought it!!! SO excited. It's gorgeous and I cant wait for everyone to see her in it :D I will also be making her veil- which im stoked about. The one she liked was $175 dollars- thats insane. So I'm going to get my craftyness on and make one for MUCH cheaper. Such a fun time. 

Anywho- this totally deserved it's own post!! CONGRATS SHERRY AND AARON!!!

My life this past December...

Goodness! I know it’s been a very long while since I have blogged. We’ve had just a few life changes and events that have prevented me from writing ;D. I am going to do my best to update you the best I can. I think the most fun way to do this will be through pictures! Let me start off by saying it has been a real whirlwind but I wouldnt change a thing!

First, John and I ended our journey in Miami with a bunch of fun outings:

Duffy's-one of our favorite sports bars- we watched the State game and then went out afterwards:D

Check out that view:D

THE HEAT! :D We decked ourselves out so we could show our support here too!

After the game we walked over to Bayside and got some drinks, 

listened to music, and people watched.

Of course we went to the beach. *sigh* one of the things I miss the most- especially in this cold weather.

I got to go out with my staff- not as their boss! haha. They are the best. They also made me a box full of cards and pictures. It was beyond sweet and made me cry (duh). At dinner, they told the waiter it was my birthday. haha. they are one of the things I miss the most.

All the staff members that came to wish me goodbye- amazing group of people.

After a bunch of fun lasts, including a lot of cuban food (duh), we loaded up another trailer and headed back to Raleigh. Our last 13 hour drive. I cried as we pulled out and I can still envision Miami on that day. Right before we left, some of my staff- Josh, Danny, and Tyler, came and said their final goodbyes. I love those three guys and miss them like crazy.

Of course we did that trip in one shot. haha. We had to get back to Carter! He was so happy to see us and of course spoiled rotten when we got him back. haha. We crashed that night at the Martins house and then got up and headed to our new home. 

 Carter was not amused as we unloaded the trailer. haha

 LOVE HIM! words cannot describe how much I missed him!

We spent the next few days unpacking. Then Monday I started my new job! It just so happened to be resident appreciation week, so I got to meet a lot of the residents throughout the week. It was nice. It was incredibly busy and I was very overwhelmed with the new job. I love it! but it's a lot more different than I anticipated. haha

The next weekend my mom moved. So we went to her house that weekend and helped her pack up her house. A very exciting time and incredibly exhausting also. Sunday was split between helping mom pack and John's grandmas 80th birthday!! We celebrated by taking her out to lunch as a big family and then did cake at her house :D

Mr. Martin and Grandma!

I love these two!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The next week John started his job at WRAL. Our schedules were and are complete opposites :( which has made it incredibly hard to make the transition to NC easy or find furniture! Let alone get to spend some time together. We are very thankful, of course, and have had to get creative when it comes to settling in our new home. haha. 

The holidays were also thrown right in! Which was very exciting and again very exhausting. Too much going on at once can make for one very tired Anna! haha. Our second weekend home in Raleigh, Krystal and Josh came to visit for the holidays and brought Bailey!

  

Carter loves his girlfriend! Even when she takes his toys...dont worry- he stole them back. They took turns looking at each other pathetically. It was adorable.

 We opened presents before we went out to the State game one night. Carter and Bailey got to open theirs too! (Dont you love all our furniture? Or rather lack there of? Haha. We only had our Christmas tree up and beach chairs for a long time.)

 And we celebrated Carter's birthday! I cant believe my boy is 2!!!

 Aunt Krystal made him and Bailey Red Velvet Cupcakes for dogs!

 

Present time!!

  

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARTER!

 

  

Then we crated them together and left for the game. They were surprisingly very good!!

 

GO PACK!

 

 At some point we all went to Big Boss and hung out. It was another great night :D

 

Next came Christmas! Of course we found time to spend with both families. Unfortunately, we both had to work some, so we got creative again :D We celebrated early with Johns family and then spent Christmas with mine on Christmas day. Which included both sets of my grandparents for me! John only got to see part of them because he had to work :(. 

Of course Carter got some presents!

 and Grandma cuddled with Carter

 John got a sweet flying helicopter that Carter really wanted to play with!

 and of course they all took turns cuddling some more. haha

Of course John and I were beyond blessed with gifts this year again. 

But were really happy to just be home with family :D

  Carter wished everyone a very Merry Christmas too!

 Christmas at my Mom's- Mawmaw and Pawpaw!

We enjoyed each others company

 Just hangin out...;D

Soon after Christmas, AMERICAN AQUARIUM HAD A SHOW IN RALEIGH!!! :D So we got the gang together and went out for sushi and then to the show. ALWAYS a good time.

 I adore these two!

 My sister and her boyfriend came too!

 LOVE this band!

 

John and I spent every free minute we had looking for furniture. We went a good month without couches and a table and chairs. Furniture shopping was extremely fun, but again, overwhelming!! We found an amazing dinging room set off craigslist that we got an amazing deal on! The couches were also a good deal, but are place holders until we buy a house.

I cant even tell you how many tables we looked at. This had everything we wanted though! Cherry wood, pub height, and 8 chairs! All for an amazing price and it's in GREAT condition.

 Here is Carter checking out the couches the day they came home. He's decided he doesnt like the pleather though and stays on the floor. haha. We ended up with some black "leather" couches. A couch, love seat, and recliner. All for $300! It'll do for now! :D SO glad to have something to sit on other than beach chairs. haha.

 

And that brings us to New Years! John had to work :( but we had our usual get together at Hutch's so he could come after he got off work. One of my RAs, Josh, was actually able to come to the party! His mom lives in Cary, so he was in town for the holidays. Small world for sure, but it was nice spend some time with him. It was incredibly weird mixing my two lives though! We had a wonderful time!

Me and Josh! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

  

Again, love these two! :D 

That pretty much rounds out the end of my 2012. SO much happened and I am so very, very blessed for all that the Lord has provided to us. December was a VERY eventful month, to say the least!