Our Christmas Card

Now that our Christmas cards have made it into mailboxes I can share it on the blog!

I used minted this year and the goal was to get them as cheaply as possible! I had a couple of discount codes and was very happy with the quality and how quickly I got them!! I think the turned out precious!

I can't believe we are only 4 days away from Christmas! I am thankful that I am officially on Christmas break for 2 weeks from school. I will have a short photography break but jump right into it again the day after Christmas!  What a blessing that is! I plan on doing lots of resting as well and hopefully more blogging!

Happy Happy Christmas!!

Oh Happy Day

It has been a busy few weeks! I am just too thrilled that today was my last day of school for a couple of weeks! I was showered with tons of gifts and my students were too sweet today. Brett and I have been trying to get settled, finish up work, and I have done tons of shoots lately! I am thankful to be done with those for a couple of weeks too but also extremely thankful to have booked 3 weddings for 2013! I am excited to continue this photography business and hopefully see it continue to succeed! :)

We have also been hanging out with this peanut as much as we can! She is changing so much and we pretty much are obsessed with her!

I am most looking forward to getting to be with my entire family on SATURDAY!! These three girls in the same house! :) AHH! This aunt is ecstatic! 

Other plans over the break include lots of resting, Christmas in Phenix City, and a trip to Birmingham for sweet Sarah's wedding! I have to say, I am looking forward to taking pictures over the next couple of weeks of everyday life and not just for a client. I LOVE doing that but I am excited about taking more of our life. I feel like since I have started this business I haven't done as great of a job documenting us and my family!

I hope that wherever you are, you are enjoying time with family during this Christmas season!

Lovely Day

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. We don't really do anything big for this day but it's always fun and I am sure thankful I got to spend my 4th Valentine's day with my husband! :) It was my first Valentine's day as a teacher and boy did I get showered with all sorts of cards and candy. Blessing or curse? hmmm...

Mangs and I decided to let the boys cook since we were going to be home late. I tried to deck the table and I did make dessert.

We used our fancyyyy china for the first time!! :)

A little dinner prep...

Goobs with their headlights. haha. 

Hey there Valentine!

The result. Grilled chicken for the girls....steaks for the boys....grilled veggies and baked potatoes. Yum!!

Thanks for cooking Pudge and Brett! You two are the best Valentine's ever!

Oh and a quick shot from Sunday. That lovely thing around my neck is my Valentine's present and I was so excited to get it! 

I love you sweet boy and am happy to be your wife this Valentine's day! 

Excited that we have 50 more Valentine's days together! :)

P.S. Another exciting thing. Husband and I both have a WEEK off next week! Whoop! 

Cannot wait for FRIDAY!!

Around Here During Christmas Break

During the break we have.......

Celebrated Christmas with Brett's family

Gotten to have Brett with my family for our annual Christmas Eve Waffle House dinner tradition

Celebrated Christmas with my family

Gotten more settled in our house...

Made me an official Kittrell

Spent lots of time together

Celebrated our first Christmas in the same city and as Mr. and Mrs.!

Christmas with Virginia

This past weekend we got to have sweet Virginia come and stay with us. I hadn't seen her since the wedding which in all actuality isn't that long but it was still a much needed visit. She opened presents.....

Gave us some lovin...

And we did a lot of baking and took plenty of pictures....

Precious right?

Little chef...

She learned important baking skills like the importance of licking the spoon! :)

We got a little flour on our faces

And she spread some on ours....

It was a very relaxing weekend and we had so much fun loving on that little girl!! 

Around here we are wrapping up our last week of school. Brett and I cannot wait to be on a little break. We are looking forward to spending time with our families, sleeping, and continuing to get our house settled! I am also hoping to make a few changes around the blog when I have some free time!

Oh and we also celebrated one month of marriage on Monday! I am so blessed to be married to him and so thankful that the Lord brought us together.

Happy Wednesday!

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Well, we are trying to settle into a routine and our new life as Mr. and Mrs. Our house is coming together and I am realizing how much stuff I have. On Friday we went and got our first Christmas tree together!

On Saturday, we decorated it as well as the rest of our house.

I am pretty pleased with how it turned out and we had a lot of fun doing this together! It has been a whirlwind of a few weeks but we are enjoying every minute of being married! 

In other news, my first graders are crazy right now. I am enjoying teaching but I have definitely got some Christmas craziness going on in my classroom! But, we are almost to Christmas break and next week we have lots of fun things we are doing! 

I also need to give a BIG congratulations to my sweet friend, Katherine. She and Blake are expecting their first child in June!! That is almost as good as a niece when your best friend is having a baby!! Congrats Kat and Blake!! We are so excited for you!!

The Lord has been teaching me so much with all of these changes in my life. I am seeing more and more sin in my life which is never fun but always ends up being good. I have been a bit emotional these last weeks, I have felt sorry for myself, I have been selfish. Bless Brett's heart. It's always good to recognize that sin in my life and I am thankful for His forgiveness. I am learning a lot about striving to choose joy and choose gratitude in each and every situation. 

Last but not least.....I could not be more excited to see this angel TOMORROW!! She is coming to visit us and I am pumped to spend the weekend with her! Also, I don't know if I have mentioned it on the blog or not but, I am going to be an aunt AGAIN!! Linds and Eric are expecting another little girl in April!! Ahhh....I could not be more thrilled!!!

I am off to bed and thankful that tomorrow is Thursday! :) 

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Happy Thanksgiving! 

There is just so much to be thankful for not only today but every single day. The Lord has been so gracious to me and continued to bless me more and more. 

I couldn't help but think of the hymn, "Great is Thy Faithfulness" this morning..

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not

As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided--

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

He truly is so faithful and I am so grateful that His mercies are new every morning! 

I hope that your day is full of food, family, rest, and remembering all that the Lord has done for you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Selfless Servant

It's true. He would never admit it but he is exactly that.

Dad, thank you for just being there. Thank you for loving mom so well and providing for us. People say that Brett reminds them of you. Well, I am thankful for that and I know that he has a lot to live up to in the years to come!! 

Thank you for showing me what it means to seek the Lord first in every decision. Thanks for instilling in me the importance of having a relationship with Christ. Thank you for modeling that for me. 

I love that you work from sun up to sun down. I love your love for Alabama football. I love your gap. :) I love that you can fix anything and everything. I love that you serve. I love that you love Christ and love and lead your family so well. 

You are the best. There is so much more I could say....even though you wouldn't want me to! I love you dad and I am so excited for you to walk me down the aisle in a few months!! 

I had this picture from a while back and took a similar one recently of dad and V and thought it was so cute. Look how she has changed and dad has lost some hair! :)

Happy Father's Day Daddy! 

Her Children Arise and Call Her Blessed!

 Dear Mom, 

I could never tell you how truly blessed I am to have you. Not a day goes by that I am not thanking the Lord for you and appreciate you, even though I may not show it to you.

You are the most remarkable woman I know. I think back to my childhood and am so grateful for the millions of lunches you packed, being our taxi service, doing our laundry (oh wait...you still do mine!), and getting us an afternoon snack on the way home from school. You loved each of us so well and always made sure that we each felt special.

As I grew up you were constantly there to encourage me and feed me with truth from God's Word. You were never too busy to listen to me. You always had something to say that made me feel better. You were there to call me out when necessary and remind me of God's grace. 

Now I am much older and still constantly turn to you for advice and Godly counsel. You are full of wisdom. I am encouraged by your walk with the Lord and that you are encouraging me in mine. Thank you for instilling in me good morals and  Biblical principles.

 

Now, I am preparing and planning to walk down the aisle. I am not quite sure how I will leave you....that will be a big change. Thank you for being excited for me and helping me plan! Thank you for your constant prayers over Brett and I's relationship and future marriage. I hope that for Brett and our future family's sake that I am half the wife and mother that you are! I am so thankful for you! 

Love,

Laura

Celebrating Life and Love

Happy Valentine's Day Bloggers!!

This weekend we celebrated a couple of things. On Friday, Brett and I went out to celebrate his birthday. We had dinner and went to see the movie, Just Go With It. It was pretty cute and very funny!

Mom wanted a picture too... :)

We came home and Brett opened his gifts. I tell you, sometimes it is a struggle to buy gifts for that boy! I ended up doing, "Something You Want", "Something You Need", "Something to Eat", and "Something to Read." He really liked all that he got even though I stressed about his presents for days. It's just funny...I used to be the best gift giver. Seriously...I love to give gifts to people. Not just any gift, but the thoughtful ones, but with him, I struggle. He always knows what to get me and I always love it.

 Even though today is Valentine's day, Brett and I had to celebrate early and won't even see each other today. We celebrated on Saturday night. I cooked for him.....and his roommates! :) Grilled chicken (Brett grilled), garlic and parmesan potatoes (thanks for the recipe Kara!), and green beans....mmm... 

For dessert....cupcakes. They were decorated with these candy cane hearts. I have been wanting to do these since last year when I saw them here. They were easy and so cute!

My Valentine....

Brett is a GREAT gift giver. No, it's not always the norm...but it is always something practical and useful! I had been wanting the Pioneer Woman Biography...which I got, BUT, I also got her cookbook and I can't wait to use it! Then, he got me another Max Lucado book that I cannot wait to start reading! I have started the PIoneer Woman's biography/love story. Umm....so good. I should finish soon...and it's 319 pages. Yeah....it's a good love story.

 You have my heart sweet boy. 

For my gift to Brett I had to be slightly more creative because I had just dropped some money on him for his birthday. I ended up making him a slideshow of a bunch of pictures of us with a poem I wrote for him in the middle of it. (I'll pause for a moment and wait for the comments from the peanut gallery aka my family) Yeah, sappy and silly...but free. Best part....he loved it. "Best gift ever" Although, he might have been lying when he said that. I tried to upload it but......something won't work. So I gave up.

Brett, I am so happy to call you my valentine for the third year in a row. There is so much to love about you! Thank you for your thoughtfulness and for being so considerate. Thank you for loving me....even when I do not deserve it! You are a blessing!