Movies, Movies, Movies...

I am truly a homebody, so I LOVE to rent movies and watch them in the comfort of my own home. There is just no place like home. At home unlike the theater, I don't have to deal with anyone trying to talk through the movie that I just paid an insane amount to see. And don't get me started on people kicking my chair or shaking their leg for the whole row to feel. Also, I am one of those patrons that feels like you should support the theater by purchasing "their" food and drinks (not bringing it in your purse). And since I don't agree with how much my Dr. Pepper and box of Junior Mints cost, I don't have to worry about this inner conflict when I'm at home. I have my choice of a whole kitchen full of food and drinks and even a sweet Cocker Spaniel to cuddle with.

What makes a movie awesome? Well, there are certain films that initially you MUST see on the Big Screen (and then rent for subsequent showings). Comedies don't generally fall into this category. Usually these movies are thrillers, big action films, and sometimes other types. This classification is more for movies like Inception, Harry Potter, Ironman, Batman, you get the idea....seriously AWESOME movies. But those aren't movies that you can watch over and over again. Once you know how it ends, you have to wait a certain amount of time before the desire to watch comes back. You might continue to talk about how awesome the movie is and tell everybody you know to see it, but it still doesn't change the fact that you know the ending and need some space.

Actually, there are very few movies that I could watch over and over again. These are generally those movies that I love to quote or that just make me smile to even think about. Off the top of my head, without even thinking about it, I can confidently list these:
So I Married an Axe Murderer
Anchorman
Dirty Dancing
Pretty Woman
Steel Magnolias
Office Space
Christmas Vacation
A Christmas Story
Love Actually

Here is Frank's list:
Last of the Mohicans
Aliens
Empire Strikes Back
Spider Man 2
Love Actually
Anchorman
Braveheart
300
Underworld
(Wow, we are very different. At least we had 2 in common.)

Keep in mind that this list isn't all inclusive of what we think are the best movies of all time. These are just those that we could watch every single day if they were on and not get tired of them.

Oh, and I must say that I am not a big fan of chick flicks (with the exception of the 3 listed above). There are very few that I would consider to be good movies. Most chick flicks fall into the "okay" rating and should be saved for renting.

Frank would like me to add this disclaimer to my post: I fall asleep during most movies that we watch at home. And my response to that is: If the movie is good, my interest will keep me awake to the very end. However, if the movie isn't worth losing sleep over, I'm happy to take a nice nap while he watches. What's wrong with that?

Let me introduce you to the sweetest baby in the world

Yes, that's right. I have the sweetest baby in the world. Her name is Little (aka Amara) and if you've met her, you know what I'm talking about. Now I do realize that a few of you that read this have or have had babies and may feel differently, but I must say that I'd be willing to bet on this. (I may be a little biased, right?) This post will hopefully help you to know her better.

First, you should know this about me, her momma. I am not a baby person. At least, I wasn't before she came along. I was never one to want to hold other people's babies. I wasn't a babysitter when I was younger. It just never was a desire of mine to spend time with babies. Little, however, has totally changed my world. I LOVE spending time with her and her little baby friends (Julip, Isaac, etc). I am completely smitten with her. I even miss her when she's taking naps because she is just so much fun and really is so sweet!

With that said, let's move on to more about her.

We call her Little because she was so tiny when she was born. She really looked like a little doll. She was 6 lbs and only 17 1/2 inches long. She has definitely caught up since then though. She grew almost 5 inches during her first 2 months and even more since then. She weighs over 14 lbs now. But to us, she will always be Little. It's amazing, though, to watch her grow. I literally think she grows sometimes during her naps. She'll wake up and I'll just have to ask if she has grown. And I realize that she will more than likely be taller than me (I'm only 5'1"), but she will always be Little to me.

Now back to her sweetness. She is such a happy baby. People at church constantly ask us, "Is she always this happy?" And we proudly say "Yes!" She loves people and will let anyone hold her. But beware if you hold her and get too close, she just might hug your face and even suck on your cheek. She rarely cries. The only times she really cries is if she is really tired or if she is in pain. We know that if she is crying then something is really wrong. She doesn't even cry in a lot of situations where it might be expected, like when she falls over or gets shots at the doctor. Last time we went for shots (this is not an exaggeration), she cried for about 5 seconds with the first shot and then she smiled at the nurse when she got the second shot. No joke! Frank is pretty sure she is a superhero, and I'm beginning to think so myself.

Is that not the sweetest face you've ever seen? Here are a few tidbits about her to help you get to know her better:

-She loves to talk. She will carry on a conversation and keep going as long as you will talk to her. Of course, it's not in English, but she loves the conversation.

-She loves Mollie "Pancake," the dog. Actually, they love each other. It's been great having them together because Little isn't afraid of dogs now. When we go for walks in our neighborhood, if she hears a big dog bark, she doesn't even flinch. That's my girl!

-She has the sweetest laugh, and her daddy is best at getting her to laugh. Have I mentioned yet how much she loves her daddy? It's really fun to see. In the mornings when he gets ready for work, we sit on the bed and she just makes goo-goo eyes and smiles at him the whole time. To say he is wrapped around her finger might be a bit of an understatement.

-She is the best baby. I mean really, she is so "good" that it almost makes me afraid to have another child. Seriously, what are the odds that we would have another one that is as good as her. I mean, aside from the fact that she rarely cries, she has been sleeping through the night since very early on. For the past couple of months, she generally goes to bed around 6:30 or 7:00 and then wakes up around 6:30 or 7:00.

-For the past month, we have added cereal to her diet. She is doing great with it and even tried to feed herself. To our surprise, she has liked the rice cereal and the oatmeal cereal since she first tried it. I'm interested to see how she'll do when we move on to other foods.

-She's also been sitting up by herself for the past month or so. She's doing great at this, but she isn't really interested in crawling. We think she may walk before she crawls (haha...is that possible?) because she really likes to stand up and even jump, with help of course.

-She loves to play in her jungle gym, which she usually does a few times each day. She is very careful as she touches and discovers each new animal. She is so gentle to touch the different fabrics and really observe everything.

-She is a very busy baby. She doesn't like to just lounge around. She always wants to be doing something, whether it's playing in the jungle gym, tummy time, flying (with momma's help), dancing, or just having a conversation.

Okay, I realize this is a long post, but we have family that will appreciate the updates. And the last thing you may be thinking is, how did she get to be so sweet in the first place? Well, I think she gets it from her momma.

Love to all...

We are very very thankful...

It has been suggested that I should start my blog with a post about Thanksgiving. So, here goes:

For our family, Thanksgiving has evolved throughout the years. We have a very large extended family, and we all love to get together as much as possible. All of the women in the family are really great cooks and everybody is just a lot of fun to be around. You know how most families have a few people who are just crazy and have no social skills? Well, that is NOT my family. However, now that all of the cousins are in their 20s and 30s and starting their own families and have to visit their in-laws, it makes it tough to get the whole crew together. So for the past few years, instead of getting together on holidays, we pick a couple of other "normal" days during the year to get together.

And now, our Thanksgiving has become something that just my immediate family, plus a few others, participate in. (which is still a big crowd). My mom and dad host Thanksgiving at their house in Athens, and then quite a few others attend. Attendees this year included my brother Andrew, his wife Cristy and their six kids (Emma, Ivey, Noah, Levi, Judah and Miriam); my brother Matthew, his wife Jennifer and their two kids (Campbell and Carlie); Frank's parents; us; and this year, our good friends Malcolm, Lauren and their daughter Allie. We were so glad to have them! So, you can tell that there were lots of kids running around...10 to be exact. And that's just from my immediate family, so you can probably understand why all of the extended family can't get together on holidays.

We always have tons of food, no matter what the purpose for the gathering. Ask anyone that's ever come to my house for a get-together and you'll know. Thanksgiving was fun this year because we had the three newest additions to the family. Miriam (9 months old), Carlie (8 months old) and Little (what we call Amara--5 months old). It was so much fun seeing them interact.

Let me just say, Carlie doesn't usually cry like this. It looks like Little is trying to make her feel better. How sweet! I can't wait until next year when we see all of these little girls running around together.

Normally, I take lots of pictures, but I failed to do so at Thanksgiving. Forgive me, and I will do better. I even have a camera that fits in my pocket and is with me at all times.

We missed my sweet brother-in-law Daniel this year, who is back in Taiwan spreading the love of Christ. Please keep him in your prayers. He is missed greatly but we are able to talk to him on video chat by way of Skype. Do any of you use that? It's a great way to talk to your loved ones and be able to see them, no matter where in the world they are. And best of all...it's free!

I'll end this post with a picture of our new family. Love to all...

Learning Something New

I have no clue how to blog, but I'm going to give it a shot. A lot of my friends have these fun blogs that I love to read and get updates about their families, so I guess maybe it's time to start one of my own. My family is growing, after all. And I do love to write. So, why not? I welcome any tips or suggestions. Please! Send them on!