My New Year's Resolutions

So, I'm going to work really hard at keeping these New Year's Resolutions! Here they are:
1. To walk on the treadmill at least 3 times a week and get in shape for the CRUISE!! (No, for those of you already wondering, I'm not planning to lose weight, just tone up and get in shape)!
2. To keep in touch with long distance friends and family better. (Hopefully, Facebook and blogging can help with this!)
3. To take more pictures and actually get the pictures developed.
4. To read the Bible in a year! (Thanks Kelly for the inspiration)!

I think that's it...what are yours?

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

We have had such a great time over this Christmas holiday. I'm a little sad that it's all over, but we really had a lot of fun. We had a lot of family in and out of the house between Wednesday and Friday, and that is really what Christmas is all about. We have so much to be thankful for and we especailly want to thank our wonderful family for all the gifts, but most importantly for the love and support you give to us throughout the year. Thanks for a great Christmas and Happy New Year!


The playground was a huge hit!!


Mason's new frog rain coat and boots

MacKenzie's new ladybug boots...her raincoat is coming!

What a tired and sweet boy!

Aunt Lauren and MacKenzie

Mommy and MacKenzie got matching purses!

Why Christmas Has Been So Much Fun Already...

1. Daisy, our Elf on a Shelf, has been a huge hit. The kids wake up every morning wondering where she is...and it's hysterical when they find her! It never gets old for us or them.
2. Whenever we forget to move Daisy, the kids actually believe us when we say "she was too tired to fly back to the North Pole!"
3. I can say that "I'm calling Santa" or "telling Daisy" when the kids are being bad and they immediately start acting better. (Well, at least MacKenzie does...Mason hasn't quite gotten that concept yet).
4. I love hearing Mason say Christmas tree...it sounds more like "kissesme"!
5. Mason yells "SANTA...HO, HO, HO" every time he sees a Santa...anywhere!
6. MacKenzie really understands the whole Santa thing this year...and it's just so cool! She's so excited!
7. Santa's elves (a.k.a. Lowes) came to install the "playground" today. I'm so dang excited I can't stand it! I won't sleep for the next 3 nights just waiting to see the kids' faces on Christmas morning!
8. Both of them love looking at all the Christmas lights and Christmas decorations in everyone's yard. They both have to yell out whatever it is they see...it's very amusing!
9. MacKenzie told Santa that she also wanted "Lady and the Tramp". Well, that was easier said than done...Disney has a great marketing scheme and puts movies in the "vault" after so many months. Well, lucky us...that one's in the vault. Thank goodness for Amazon...we furiously went searching for one and found it! It arrived today in the mail...whew! Now I know what my parent's went through looking for Cabbage Patch Kids and Barbies!
10. MacKenzie singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is too precious!

I can't wait for Christmas! Watching my kids during the whole holiday season has been great! It's the best Christmas present I'll ever get!

Let the Christmas Festivities Begin!

This weekend we started all of our Christmas festivities. On Friday night we took the kids to "Lights of Hope" to see all the Christmas lights and Santa one more time. We even got to see Mrs. Claus! Saturday, we enjoyed a great lunch with MacMimi (my grandmother), Mimi & Poppi, and my aunt Beth and her family. We had a great time as always. We then enjoyed an AWESOME church service on Saturday night!! On Sunday we headed to Black Mountain to spend some time with Gran and Papa and Uncle Ryan. IT was a nice, relaxing time. The kids have already gotten way too much, but it's so much fun watching them this year. They are really into it! Here are a few pictures from our weekend!

Fire Truck Fun!

So, Mason has had this fire truck for well over a year now, but they have found a new use for it now! They entertained themselves for at least 45 minutes with it!!

8 Things!

I've been tagged by Carrie Byce to list my "8 Things". So here it goes...

8 TV Shows I Like to Watch:
1. Dancing with the Stars
2. American Idol
3. House
4. College Football
5. Pro Football
6. The news
7. Reruns of the Cosby Show
8. Scrubs

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Olive Garden
2. Matty's Downtown
3. Smoke on the Water
4. Cracker Barrel
5. Chic-fil-A
6. Flat Rock
7. Mimi's Japanese
8. Fiesta Mexican Restaurant

8 Things that Happened Today:
1. I got sick!
2. I woke up.
3. I took a shower.
4. I went to work.
5. I went to CVS to get some medicine.
6. I went home for lunch.
7. I signed up for Facebook!
8. I saw an old co-worker.

8 Things I Am Looking Forward to:
1. Christmas!
2. The weekend!
3. Taking the kids to the circus in February.
4. Feeling better.
5. Watching all the bowl games.
6. Spending time with family over the holidays.
7. The CRUISE!
8. Seeing my kids' faces on Christmas morning.

8 Things on My Wishlist:
1. for the kids to have a good Christmas
2. to start feeling better
3. to be debt free!
4. to figure out what my last 4 things will be...!
5.
6.
7.
8.

8 People I Tag:
1. Brooke Moore
2. Brooke O'Neal
3. Lesley Griffeth
4. Katherine Sinclair
5. Becky Snider
6. Kelly Philpott
7. I only have 6...oh well!

Lights Before Christmas

Thursday night the hospital had its annual Christmas tree lighting and celebration. It is always so much fun! This year was even more special since the kids kinda understand the whole Santa thing and are really into it. We had a great time listening to all the Christmas carolers, making crafts, getting our faces painted and of course seeing Santa and his elf. The kids also get 3-D glasses to put on when the tree is lit. They can see snowmen, Santa, and snowflakes in their glasses. What a great way to get into the Christmas spirit!

Deck the Halls!

I love Christmas time! I love decorating my house and spending time with family. But most importantly, I love that Jesus Christ was born to one day die for all of our sins! Sometimes, we get so wrapped up in shopping and trying to find that perfect present that we forget the true meaning of Christmas. I hope that each of you will take time to reflect and remember what Christmas is all about. We should celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.

Happy Birthday, Mason!

This time 2 years ago I was having some weird feelings and started having contractions about every 4 minutes. That started the process of being sent to the hospital, sent home, and going back to the hospital before we could even get back home. Finally, the doctor admitted me, and around 8:45 a.m. on December 1, 2006, we welcomed Mason Dallas Councill into our lives. He has brought us such joy, and we are so thankful for our fun, outgoing two year old son.

Even though Mason will officially be two tomorrow, we had his party today! We had a Clemson party since he loves his "paw-paws" so much! We also invited the real Clemson Tiger, which had mixed reviews from the kids, as you can see from some of the pictures. Mason was totally freaked out about him even though he kept talking about how the tiger was coming to his house. While he was here, he didn't want anything to do with him, but now that he's gone, he keeps talking about him!! Oh well, we had a lot of fun. Thanks to all our friends and family who also came to make this a very special day for Mason!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wow...what a Thanksgiving we have had so far! We had about 23 people at our house on Thanksgiving day. It was a great time and great food! Jarrod fried a turkey and everybody else brought all the other yummies. We also started a tradition several years ago called the "big turkey". We have to "weigh in" before we eat and then weigh in after we eat. Whoever gains the biggest percentage of weight wins the Big Turkey Trophy! This year, Mason won!! He gained 2 pounds...1.2% more than he did before he ate! What's so funny is the year that I was pregnant with him, I won the award!!! :) Here are some pictures...I forgot to get a big group picture before everyone left, so only 1/2 of the crowd is in the group shot...

On Friday we did Thanksgiving all over again! We always get together with my mom's side of the family in Augusta. This year, we switched it up just a little bit and my cousin, Alicia, hosted it at her house in Spartanburg. We had a great time as always just hanging out and catching up. Thanks for hosting, Brad and Alicia! :)

Quick Update

No, we haven't fallen off the face of the earth...we've just been BUSY! I haven't had time to post anything in a while, so I'll try to catch up soon.

Just a quick update on us...I started my new job yesterday, my mom came into town on Saturday, Jarrod went back to the doctor and everything is OK, the kids are doing great and are having so much fun with our elf, Daisy. We're having about 25 people at our house for Thanksgiving (what was I thinking!!??). We then go to my cousin's house on Friday to do Thanksgiving all over again, Saturday is the Clemson-USC game, and Sunday is Mason's birthday party (I can't believe he'll be two)! So, we're very busy! I"ll try to post new pictures soon.

Playing in the Leaves!

We decided to bag leaves yesterday since our yard was covered in them. Jarrod and I ended up bagging 25 bags of leaves with more to come, I'm sure! But before they were all bagged, MacKenzie and Mason had their own fun in them!

I'm No Martha Stewart...

...but I sure can hot glue! I made Mason's curtains out of the bedskirt from his bed-in-a-bag. Since he has a trundle bed, I wasn't going to be able to use the bedskirt, so I decided I would make curtains out of it instead. I don't sew...I don't even own a sewing machine and haven't even laid hands on one...but I have a hot glue gun and it did the trick. I cut the middle section of the bedskirt out, hot glued ribbon to the edge so you couldn't see the rough edges, then I glued strips of ribbon to make the valence. And voila...I have a curtain!

I also made a name plate for Mason's room to tie it all together...some more hot glue, please!

I may not be the most creative and domestic one in the bunch, but give me a hot glue gun and let me have at it!! Here are the finished products!

Update on Jarrod

Jarrod had his colonscopy on Thursday. (Thank goodness that's over!) He was quite pitiful not being able to eat for over 24 hours. He never wants to look at Jell-o or chicken broth ever again!

Anyway, we really don't know anymore today then we did before the colonscopy. He doesn't have diverticulitis, but we really don't know what it is. The doctor took several biopsies to check for Chron's disease or colitis. We won't find out the results until Tuesday. So, it's just sit and wait. Hopefully everything will turn out OK. Please continue to pray for him.

Elf on a Shelf

MacKenzie is very into Santa this year and really wants to be a good girl for him. So, Santa sent his very own helper to our house to watch over MacKenzie and Mason over the next several weeks to see if they are good. We found Santa's helper last night, and she was sitting on our kitchen counter. We had to read all about her...

First we had to name our elf, which has been named "Daisy". Then, we learned that Daisy watches us and flies back to the North Pole after everyone has gone to sleep to report back to Santa. You can not touch Daisy, but you can talk to her and tell her what you want Santa to bring. Daisy will not talk back, but listens very carefully! Each morning Daisy will be in a new place and we have to find her.

MacKenzie has been amazed with Daisy. Daisy stayed downstairs until MacKenzie and Mason took their bath, then she magically flew into MacKenzie's room and was waiting on her. When MacKenzie found her she started laughing hysterically! She was in complete disbelief that Daisy flew upstairs! It was hilarious! MacKenzie finally went to sleep after staring at Daisy for a long time...When she woke up this morning, she said "Mommy, Daisy flew to see Santa while I was taking a night-night!" It was very cute. We started looking for Daisy, and Mason was actually the first one to find her. She was sitting on Mommy's dresser!

So, Daisy has been a lot of fun so far. And it's working beautifully...anytime MacKenzie starts acting up we remind her that Daisy is watching...it works every time!

"I" is for Icecream...

and i-pod! This week was a hard one! There aren't many pictures that start with an "I". MacKenzie also had a hard time remembering what an i-pod was.

Mason's Early Birthday Present!

Our plan was to give Mason his "big boy bed" for his 2nd birthday. We are giving him a Clemson birthday party and he was going to get all new Clemson bedding. However, he has demanded to have a big bed like his sister. So we gave in, and just got everything early. It's kinda been an ordeal. We thought we had a regular twin size bed. The bed we're using was Jarrod's from 30 years ago. So we bought a regular twin size matress and realized we needed an XL twin! Oh well, we got it all squared away, and it looks perfect. He's very excited that he'll get to sleep in his own big boy bed tonight!

The Cat's out of the Bag!

It's officially been announced that I will have a new position within the hospital beginning November 24. For the past 5 1/2 years I have served as the Community Relations Coordinator where I planned hospital and community events, supervised the guest ambassasdor programs and a gamut of other things. I truly have loved my job and will miss it. However, a huge opportunity kinda of fell in my lap several weeks ago, and I will now serve as the Doclink Coordinator. I'll be going into the schools in Anderson County and teaching different health topics. I'll also work with the local doctors and coordinate programs to get them into some of the schools. Since my degree is in Health Science this really gets me back to my "roots". When I first started with the hospital I did something very similar and LOVED IT!

I'm a little nervous since I have so much to learn and because I've been doing the same thing for so long. The great thing about it is that I still get to work for the hospital but will get to teach the importance of a healthy lifestyle to so many kids. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I transition into a new position in the next few weeks.

"H" is for head

and house and hamburger. This was MacKenzie's homework from last week...

Happy Halloween

I'm a little behind on blogging.

We had a great time trick or treating in our new neighborhood. There were kids EVERYWHERE! Mimi and Poppi came over and passed out candy while we took the kids around to a few places. I had enough candy for about 350 kids and we ran out by 8:00! Mason was a dragon and he would run around saying "rrrraaahhh". MacKenzie was a butterfly...

MacKenzie on the cover of a magazine!

OK, it's not some nationally known magazine, but it's our internal publication at the hospital called, "Inside AnMed Health". It's distributed to about 4,000 people, so I'm a proud mama! She's also on the inside of the publication. To see the whole thing you can go to http://www.anmed.com/body.cfm?id=1309

Here's the cover...

Halloween Treat

I had to make a special snack for MacKenzie and Mason's class this week for their Halloween party. I got this recipe to make "spiders". It was really easy, and they are really cute!

The recipe calls for peanut butter but since they have kids with peanut allergies, I couldn't use it...so I substituted funfetti icing instead. You just take Ritz crackers and put the funfetti icing in the middle and then use pretzel sticks for the eight legs. Then, use raisins for the eyes. And tada...you have a spider!

What Were We Thinking?!!

No, we didn't let our children take an entire bag of flour and spread it all over our kitchen floor. Instead, I got the bright idea that we really needed to regrout our kitchen. The people who owned the house before we did tried to "patch" up the grout and didn't do a very good job. So, we thought we could do it and make it look better. And eventually...it will...but it's been back-breaking, exhausting work. We've done nothing but clean tile for the past 3 days. We were up to 12:30 at night one night...and I thought I was going to die the next day!! We're making progress but it's slow. We still have some work ahead of us, but here's the before and after pictures so far.