Let it snow let it snow let it snow!!!!!

Well - the snow/ice has come! It rained all night long and then this morning about 10 it turned to sleet. It's still sleeting really hard. I came home at noon so I could work at home and it wasn't too bad but our road is looking really slick now. I'm worried about Scott. I want him to come home now but he's a guy and isn't concerned.
We are supposed to get 4-8 inches of snow tonight on top of the the ice. It could get scary out there!
We have our Sunday School Christmas party here tomorrow night so hopefully this will all melt and clear before then.
I'll post pictures later for all of you who don't live here of our winter wonderland!

All I Want for Christmas

Side Table

Kitchen - it's hard to see but I have Santa decorations up

Living Room

The tree

Yes - we have FIVE stockings - one for me, Scott and Dawson and 2 matching ones I got on sale after Christmas last year that will one day be embroidered with our kids' names.
My gold tree in the kitchen

Here's what Christmas at the Stamps house looks like. I tried to take pictures of Scott's handiwork on the outside lights but they didn't turn out too good.

Scott and Kelly's Day of Fun

Scott and I both took an extra vacation day today so we could have an extra long weekend. We got all of our work done on Sat and Sun so we could enjoy the day. We got all of our Christmas up on those two days. I'll take pictures and post tomorrow maybe. It's always a lot of work but so fun to have the house all decorated. Scott nearly killed himself climbing on the roof to put lights up. I told him we may have to be those white trash neighbors who leave their lights up year round since it was so difficult. Our neighborhood is beginning to be competitive with the lights - I feel like we are going to have to become the Griswold's.
So back to the day of fun. We slept in a little and then went to the gym together. I'm surprised they let me in - it's been so long since I've been there. Then we came home and got ready and went and ate lunch at P.F. Cheng's. It was SO good. We then walked around the mall for a while. It was a pretty warm day and there was hardly anyone there so we really enjoyed it. Although our waiter at lunch warned us that he's been "tracking the weather" and we are supposed to get a huge ice and snow storm on Thurs/Fri. We'll see.............. I later went to a couple of little stores in town to finish up my holiday shopping. Then tonight I'm headed out to watch the Bachelor Finale with a group of cute girls. I'm pretty sure these girls and I are the only ones who have been watching the Bachelor this round but if not .......who is he going to pick? Sadie or Jennifer?

Thanksgiving

We headed down to Little Rock on Thursday morning and met my parents for lunch at Mimi's Cafe. This was one of the only places open but it turned out real good. They had a full thanksgiving lunch for $15. You picked your soup, salad and dessert and then also got a huge plate of turkey, dressing, mashed and sweet potatos and vegetables. It was more than any of us could eat but very good. Then we went and took our after lunch nap at the hotel. We then went and saw "Facing the Giants" which to quote Scott was the "best movie we'd seen in a long time". It was WONDERFUL! We both cried a ton!
After the movie - there was NOTHING open so we ended up all walking over to the gas station next door to pick out our snacks for dinner - chex mix and hostess cupcakes were my meal du jour! Then we hung out in mom and dad's room and watched TV. It was a very nice and different day.
Friday morning - mom, dad and Chris headed out to do a few things before going to the game and Scott and I left so we could make it home to watch the game on TV. We stopped in Alma and ate at the Red Rooster (yum!) and then watched the game. It was a little upsetting mostly because I just hate LSU - but we are still in the SEC championship game and we should still get a good bowl. And we are still 10-2. That's nothing to be sad about.
We have a lot to be thankful for this year!

Maddie

Maddie and her baby sister Ella - a week before they found the cancer

We had a nice Thanksgiving and I'll give an update on that later (once my mom sends me pictures) but I want to update you on something I'm very thankful for this year.
My friend Louis who I work with has a little 3 year old daughter who is absolutely precious. Last February right after they moved to Baltimore they discovered Maddie had a brain tumor on her brain stem. It was a very dangerous type of brain tumor for young children. But God had them in the right place at the right time. They went to John Hopkins and she had surgery and has been going through treatments ever since. She is not out of the woods yet but today she had one of many follow up MRI's and it was clean once again! This is a huge praise that the cancer has not returned and Monday she goes in for her very last in-patient chemo treatment. She will continue to recieve treatment at home for the next 20 weeks but they have spent so much time in the hospital this year that it will be a relief to be able to stay home.
You can follow her progress on my link "Maddie's site". I praise God for answered prayers! Her family's faith and strength through all of this has been an inspiration to me.

Thank You God

Today was a great Sunday! My friend Julie who teaches sunday school with me was out of town so I offhandly mentioned to Scott last night that he should come help me this morning. I really didn't think he would but I got up early this morning and when I came out of the shower - he was up and when I asked him what he was doing he said "what time do we need to leave?" I can't tell you how thrilled I was. And he was SO great with the kids. I know he will make the best dad some day. The kids loved Mr. Scott. And they wanted "Mr. Scott" to give them their snack. We went around our circle this morning and said what we were thankful for. My favorite answer was when one of the little boys said he was thankful for "Toys R us". ha! We did the same thing in our adult Sunday School class and I really enjoyed hearing as most people shared what they were thankful for this year. We have SO much to be thankful for. I shared 3 things but I could have shared 300.
After Sunday School we had a potluck lunch and it was a lot of fun. I don't realize how many kids we have in our class until we all get together with the kids and it was a circus but so fun! We had three new/visitor couples this morning so that was a good time to visit with them. One of the new girls asked me if there was anyone in our class who was NOT nice because everyone had been so welcoming and nice to them. I was thrilled to say that no - everyone is really nice not just in our class but in our church. Another new couple had shared that they were already thankful for our class and how warm everyone had been to them.
I'm SO very thankful for a church home. And for a group of wonderful Christians who I don't just go to church with but who have all become our best friends. I have grown in my walk with Christ so much over the last 3 years and I think our marriage has greatly benefited from being so in the center of God's will and God's word so much. And from the Godly wisdom of those God has put in our path through FBC. We are blessed over and over and the little I can do to give back to the church (and to God) will never be enough.

Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders

I have to admit. I love cheerleading. I was a cheerleader in junior high and high school and I loved it. I also always loved the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. I remember my dad giving me this shiny blue jacket that said "DCC" on the back with a big star and I loved wearing it. I used to tie up my shirt like the cheerleaders and practice in the backyard. This was the 70's when the Cowboys were hot (and we lived in Texas).
Well today was one of those wonderful days when I had absolutely nothing to do but lay around in my pj's all day and watch TV. I did fit a lot of football in but I happened to stumble upon a great show on CMT......"Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders - making the team" and they were having a marathon. All of these DCC hopefuls went through a 4 month camp to become one of the 36 to cheer at Texas Stadium. It is very entertaining.
P.S. Go hogs - SEC West Champions! We played it a closer than I liked against Cowbell State but a win is a win!

Bebo

Last night Laurie and I went to see Bebo Norman in concert (and Aaron Shust and Brandon Heath). It was very good. Laurie and I have gone to Bebo concerts ever since he started out about 11 or 12 years ago. He used to come to UBC a lot and do small accoustical concerts and he did some of that last night so it brought back good memories. We saw several old friends at the concert too. We had a great time. We were too tired to try and stand in line and get our picture made but my friend Melinda did so I thought I'd post her picture with him. Melinda has had her picture made without pretty much every Christian artist so I knew I could count on her.

P.S. I have to add that Bebo admitted he was a HUGE SEC fan and a lifetime Georgia fan. He went on to comment that AR was having an awesome year and he knew we would beat FL and hoped we would! You know it's a great year when you go to concerts and they are talking up the hogs! :-)

Primetimers

The over 55 crowd at our church are called the "Primetimers". They are always going on fun trips and every year they have a valentines banquet and a thanksgiving dinner. Tonight I got to help serve at the thanksgiving dinner and it was a lot of fun. I enjoy being with the other women who help at these functions.
Check out the link on my blog called "Mom and Dad". My parents are updating it from Nicaragua about their trip there this week. Please pray for them!

P.S. When I got home tonight......I watched the TN game again on DVR. Man we are awesome! #5!!!! It just feels so great to be so good!!!! DMAC for heisman! Make sure and vote on ESPN!

Sunday Fun

Today has been a good Sunday. We are learing how we can talk to God in 4 year old Sunday School right now and today we learned about Elijah praying for rain. So we sat under umbrellas and looked at books about rain and did puzzles and then we drew rain pictures. They listened so well duringthe story today and most of them wanted to pray out loud. It was very sweet.
We had missionaries from Africa in church today and they showed such a neat slideshow. Then we had a meeting after church because Scott and I are going to be on a new welcome committee. Twice a month we will man a welcome booth at church. I think it will be a neat ministry opportunity. Laurie and Steve are doing it also so after the meeting we went and ate lunch at Copelands (my favorite). We got big desserts after lunch. YUM! I enjoyed playing with Emily during lunch. She had on a very sassy zebra dress today. Tonight our choir is doing a Night of praise so I know it will be great! 

Code Red

One of the worst things that has ever happened to me turned into one of the greatest days and one of the best games I've ever been to.
I never do this until Saturday - but last night I decided to pull out our tickets for today. I always keep them in my top desk drawer. No tickets. I tore my desk apart and had a major panic attack when I realized I had cleaned out my desk a couple of weeks ago and they must have got stuck in something that got thrown out. I ran into where Scott was and told him we had an emergency situation. The biggest game of the year - actually the biggest game in Razorback history besides the '69 shootout was the next day - and I had thrown out our tickets. I was certain I would be signing divorce papers soon.
I called my good friend Hillary and when she answered all I could say was "CODE RED. We have an emergency." God really does care about the details of our lives because Hillary's dad just happened to have 2 extra tickets that he was on the verge of giving away. She called him and we secured them. And since we knew no one would be in our actual seats - we used them to get in and still got to sit with Hillary in our season ticket seats.
I would have never forgiven myself if we had missed this game. It was awesome! DMAC is a machine. No question he is on the heisman watch now. And AR is finally getting respect. And with most of the teams ahead of us losing today............I'm telling you ......we are on the road to Arizona. You may laugh now - but call me when I'm in Glendale in January. :-)
Go hogs and thank goodness for friends who can save me in a terrible situation. (and I'm no longer in charge of our tickets ever again).

GAME DAY!!!!!

We headed out early this morning to go and see Game Day in action and we weren't disappointed. There was a great crowd and a lot of hog calling. We got a good spot right in front of the "desk". Scott was able to get a lot of good pictures. He took over 200 - I'm just posting a few. My friend Hillary and her roommate got there before us and staked out our turf.
It was very cold so we left before it was over but we got home in time to hear Lee Corso pick us and put on the hog head and Kirk had on a hog hat. I wish we had a picture of that but I'm sure there will be one in circulation soon.
I'm so excited about tonight! I feel a win coming! GO HOGS - Beat the VOLS!

Getting the Hogs in the National Championship

1. Arkansas must beat Auburn
2. Arkansas must beat South Carolina
3. Louisville must beat West Virginia
4. USC needs to lose to someone
5. Auburn must beat FL
6. Rutgers must beat Louisville

7. Arkansas must beat Tennessee
8. West Virginia must beat Rutgers
9. A&M must beat Texas (or TX loses in Big 12 championship)
10. Cal must beat USC
11. Ohio St has to pound Michigan
12. Arkansas must beat Miss St
13. Arkansas must beat LSU
14. Arkanas must pound FL in SECG

Six things down - Eight to go! Arizona here we come! Everything is falling into place!

There isn't a lot to write about this week. Scott and I have both been a little under the weather for the past week so we haven't been doing much besides working, catching up on our TV shows and sleeping. Tonight is a big TV night for us - "Lost" and "Biggest Loser". Two of our favorite shows. One of the girls on Biggest Loser works for my company so it made it more interesting. She's lost over 75 lbs so far and looks amazing! If only I could go away to a ranch for a few months and do nothing but eat healthy and work out with a trainer......that just might be the trick to make me lose weight! :-)
My parents are leaving early Saturday morning for a mission trip to Nicauraga. Keep them in your prayers. My dad has been there several times but this will be my mom's first trip. I know she'll enjoy it. My dad loves going on mission trips and I know God has called him to do mission work (whether in AR or in other countries) but I know he still is a little sad to miss the TN game! ha! No - spreading the gospel to third world countries is much more rewarding than any razorback game will ever be.
Speaking of the TN game.......only 3 more days! We are going to try and head down to Fayetteville early Saturday morning to catch the show live! I'm so excited! I've shopping for red gloves and scarfs tonight.....it's going to be a cold game! GO HOGS GO!

Giving Giving and More Giving!

To tell you more about how Pure Charity works.........they wanted me to show through gift giving how the giving can double!

So I was able to buy gifts so I can show you how Pure Charity actually works and some of you are going to get these gifts!!! And then I hope you will help us work together to give to those in need while we are buying gifts this holiday season!!!!

{click the button to sign up!}

So let me tell you what I got and how this works!

Y'all know how much I'm OBSESSED with the Naked Palette eyeshadows from Urban Decay.  I bought two of these from Sephora. 

Would you like one????  Keep reading!

Then I hopped over to Buy.com and I bought all of these toys. 

But not for my girls.........these are going to my church's Christmas Store - needy families in our areas can come shop for free for new toys for their kids.

Who doesn't love Pottery Barn? They are a partner and I bought two of these gorgeous monogrammed pots.  One will be a gift for someone I love and ONE is going to go to one of you!!!

Keep Reading! 

and finally I went to West Elm.

I got a cake stand that is going to someone I love and this AMAZING flower pillow. 

Do you like the pillow? 

Keep reading.

So basically - you go to Pure Charity and sign up. 

Follow this link. 

You add in the browser plug in - and as you can see above - the button will pop up on all participating sites and show you how much you will get to put in your giving fund! 

So I bought gifts to give:

Sephora.com (gives 3.5%) : Spent $100    Giving Fund:  $3.50

Buy.Com (gives 2.5%): Spent $115    Giving Fund: $2.87

Pottery Barn (gives 3%): Spent $180   Giving Fund: $5.40

West Elm (gives 3%):  Spent $103   Giving Fund  $3.09

(note - it takes 5-10 days to get rewards in your giving fund after your purchase)

So $14.86 is going to a project. 

That might not sound like a ton - but imagine if 1000 of us had $14.86 to put towards something......

We could do something awesome! 

So sign up and these are the THREE projects I'd love for us to back - you can pick any of the below:

I think we can do more than just these three. But I think we can for sure do these THREE!!!

So here is the fun stuff...................

to win either
1. One of the two Naked Palettes
2. The monogrammed pot
3. The floral pillow

Leave a comment and let me know you have signed up!!!! And which you would like to win. I will draw the winners next Monday!!!

Oh - it's like the week of Christmas for me! I'm so excited about Saturday! Things are just falling into place. I feel a win coming!!!!!

Hog Watch Party

The food table before we added pizza, wings, rotel, cookies and cake

The Smiths



All the girls - Elizabeth , Julie, Emily, Laurie and me

We had 3 couples over last night to help us cheer on the hogs. WE had a great time and even though it was a nerve wrecking game - we are now 8-1 and #11 in the nation and for the first time EVER - College Game Day is coming to Fayetteville! I'm so excited I don't know how i"m going to make it until Saturday. I've got to start working on my posters now!!!!!!

Saturday Fun

Jill and Grace - aren't they cute?
Chris and Collier
Me and Jill
Paula Deen

11 1/2 years ago I moved to Fayetteville after OBU. My plan was to got to grad school so I got a summer job at a bank. When fall rolled around - I had lost my desire for my MBA so I stayed at the bank for another year. This was my very first real job and it was a real eye opener. The very best part of the job was a cute red haired girl name Jill who was working her way through school. We became fast friends. She got married and moved away and now has two adorable and big personality kids. Her family was in the area this weekend so Scott and I got to meet them for lunch. It was good to see her. After that we went to Sam's because Paula Deen ( who I LOVE ) was signing books there. I didn't expect to see that many people there but there thousands of people in line. It was nuts. I read in the paper that a lady got in line at 5 a.m. So I just snuck up to her table and took her picture.