Christmas Day

Christmas morning, we open presents and do breakfast at our house, and then go over to Mimi and Poppys house for lunch, presents, and dinner. My Uncle Mike, Aunt Pam, and cousins Hunter and Taylor drive down from Macon to spend the day with us. I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I am sure other people have more on their cameras!

Cousins. 

 Uncle Mike trying to make Taylor smile. 

 Poppy got a mouse pad with pictures of us on it. 

 Lets see how many times it takes to get a good picture...#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

 #6

 #7!!!! But mamas eyes are closed!

 My pretty cousin, Kate.

 Spencer. 

 Reed wearing Chanels collar. 

 kate.

 Cutest kid alive. He farted on me right after this picture. 

I sure do love my family. 

Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve

Every Christmas Eve we go to my Grammy and Gdaddys house for dinner and presents. I got moved to the adult table this year.. I do not know how I feel about that though?! The kids table is more fun :)

 My cousin Kendyll... She has tripled in beauty just in the past year!!

 My Uncle Tod

The kids.

 Daddy and his parents. 

 Every single picture I took of Nathan turned out like this.. He said it was his Mamas presence surrounding him. (Aunt Melanie)

 My baby. 

 Another angel-like picture

 Me and Brittany

 Told you! I guess Aunt Mels presence really was with him that night! 

Aunt Sue.. I do not know what happened to the coloring! 

 Brittany gave me a child life specialist coffee cup. 

... and she made Chanel some goodies :) Chanel could not take her eyes off of them. 

Jaguars/Patriots Game

 On December 23, I went to my first professional football game. It was an overwhelming experience, but it was a great time!! I went with Anthony, his dad, his dads girlfriend (Mrs April), Mrs Aprils son, and their exchange student. 

 This *kind of* made me miss cheerleading!

 This is their exchange student Axelle. She is from France. I have learned so much from her. And I got her to try boiled peanuts for the first time! 

 I spy a man in the air. 

 I know he got tired of me asking him what was going on every second of the game. 

 Anthony and his daddy. 

 happiness. 

I seriously do not know what I would do without this boy sometimes... 

Birthday and Ice Skating

December 21 was my birthday, and it was the first time I have EVER had to work on my birthday. However, my friend and co-worker, Sara, made it as special as she could by bringing me a birthday princes crown. I wore it proudly. 

 Anthony gave me this gorgeous diamond necklace on my birthday. It was actually a Christmas present, but I begged for it on my birthday!

The night of my birthday, my parents took me to Outback to eat...then we went to Elements to get some coffee. 

 For my birthday, all I wanted was to go ice-skating. Me, Anthony, Sara, and my other friend April all drove to Columbus, GA to go ice-skating. 

 birthday girl and the boyfriend. 

 I think that the arena should use this picture as their next ad! :)

 Dont judge. I fought for this little kid ice-skater thing?

 Sara was so good that she had a man ask her to race him. 

 He asked to race Anthony too. 

 This picture is just funny to me.. I dont know what was going on. 

 Oh, April... 

 My friends. 

 He refused to hold my hand because he thought I would make him fall. Well let me tell you something, HE was the ONLY one that fell the whole time we were there!!

 We were trying to spin like the professionals. 

This was one of my best birthdays ever!!!!

BUCKET LIST 2013

So, last year I only completed half of my bucket list.. Hopefully this year I will be able to accomplish most everything on my bucket list... 

• Get a job... a real job.. a Child Life Specialist job
• Learn to say no
• Go to a concert
• Stomp on grapes and make wine
• Be better about confronting people
• Go to New York, Chicago, California, and/or Nashville
• St. Patty's Day in Savannah
• Go all year without a wreck or speeding ticket
• Go Ice skating
• Read more
• Help out a stranger
• Learn to run
• Face my fears, and go white water rafting
• Learn to cook
• Renaissance festival
• Paint more
• Go kayaking
• Give to the homeless
• Go to a midnight movie premier
• Karaoke
• Meet someone famous
• Go to Disney World
• Make a holiday special for a less fortunate child 
• Swim with the dolphins (and actually touch them this year)
• Save money
• Go camping
• Meet someone that will impact my life forever
• Go on a cruise???
• Help someone achieve one of their goals
• Learn to make candles
• Have a sleepover at my Great Grandmas
• Listen to my G-Daddy teach Sunday School 
• Make new friends
• Go to a football game
• Do what makes me happy, not others
• Build a snowman?!?! :)
• Never hold back from complimenting someone
• Get fit and in shape
• Be featured in a newspaper/magazine/book/etc for Child Life
• Go on a picnic
• Go to the mountains
• Go to Callaway Gardens to see the lights
• Spend an entire weekend in pajamas watching movies (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
• To something out of my comfort zone
• Find little things to celebrate
• Learn to drive a stick shift car
• Make family/friends videos.. I love going back and watching home videos
• Take Chanel for a boat ride
• Raft down a river
• Drive to Thomasville for a lunch/dinner date
• Go on a vacation by myself
• Win something
• Go a day without ANY electronics.. No phone. computer. iphone.. etc
• Complete the 26 Acts of Kindess to honor the victims of the Connecticut shooting

I cannot wait to look back on this next January and see what has been accomplished! I am nervous.. But excited!!!!

Last years bucket list...

This was my bucket list that I made for the year 2012... I only accomplished 25/50. Now it is time to make one for this year!!!

1. swim with dolphins... well kind of!


2. go to disney world


3. make a scrapbook for my internship .. I didnt make a scrapbook, but I made a video. 


4. buy a car.. well i had a wreck, and totaled my car, so insurance paid for a new one!


5. start up a child life specialist program at Phoebe.. I didnt do this on my own, but I feel like I helped out a lot.. it is in the works now!


6. be in a movie


7. go to a midnight movie premier


8. buy a stranger a meal.. I have always wanted to do this. After the shootings in CT, I started doing the 26 Acts of Kindess for each person killed and buying a stranger a meal was one of my acts!


9. jump in a pool fully clothed


10. learn to cook


11. learn some sign language.. I am now taking Sign Language classes every Sunday!


12. go to a shooting range


13. sell some of my artwork


14. go cow tipping.. well kind of! I went... but chickened out! They looked too mean!


15. learn to forgive and forget.... Still working on this one.. 


16. go to a movie alone. I went and saw the movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.


17. ride horses as much as i can.  "As much as I can" consisted of ONE time this year!


18. go to a braves game


19. go to a UGA football game... I didnt get to see UGA, but i DID go to my first football game!! Patriots/Jaguars game. 


20. save money for something really nice


21. go white water rafting


22. join a gym


23. save a life.. I have had several friends talk about suicide this year, helping them out through that was not easy, but showing them life is worth living was pretty rewarding and heart warming. 


24. become a column writer for the Albany Herald about Child life and other random things


25. donate money whenever i can. I have helped out with the organization "To Write Love on Her Arms", "Stand Up to Cancer", I am a "mother" to a child in Uganda, Ive donated to a childrens hospital, and a few other random places. 


26. go on a LONG vacation to the beach


27. Spend NYE in Times Square (This may not happen this year, but it will happen!!)


28. Take hip hop dancing classes


29. shoot a deer


30. go to a drive in movie theatre


31. see lady antebellum, carrie underwood, and lauren alaina in concert


32. be a counselor at camp rainbow in july


33. catch lightning bugs and put them in a jar


34. travel more


35. be ME, no one else


36. Go ice skating


37. complete P90x or Insanity


38. go camping


39. do a project a week.. off of pinterest. This is where I got all of my weekly activity plans for my internship. 


40. witness a miracle


41. lay in a field looking at stars


42. serve thanksgiving or christmas dinner to the homeless


43. send a message in a bottle


44. start a fundraiser for children in hospitals


45. make a quilt out of old tshirts


46. listen to my gdaddy teach his sunday school class


47. take a pottery class


48. become friends with a stranger


49. milk a cow


50. take a self defense class

Congratulations, Nathan!!

Last night we had the family over to celebrate Nathan's graduation from Georgia Tech!!!

And also to celebrate him getting his first "grown up" job!! 

He will be an engineer in Atlanta!!!

 Nathan, his girlfriend, and her sister

 My cousin Kendyll

 The kid table -AKA the "fun" table.

adult table- AKA the "boring" table.

 our family gave Nathan one of my dads paintings. 

 Kendyll finally beat me in the height competition. :( 

she is so pretty

 I forgot to take a picture of the cake before it was cut! 

I love me some Anna! 

The host of the party, Aunt Beccy

Nathan,

Congratulations!! We are all so proud of you!! I know the feeling of being done with college and having all that stress off of you! It is the best feeling in the world. I know you had a rough last few months of college, but I am so proud of you for pushing through and finishing out strong! I am so proud of you and the man that you have become! I know your Mama would have been so proud too!! Good luck in Atlanta! And you better not forget about your family down here.... 

Love you,

Mandy