Happy New Year!

Hey y'all! I hope you're having a wonderful 2009 so far! I am so excited to see what this year brings! This year will definitely be full of new adventures for my new little family and I will try my best to keep you updated on it all! Please say some prayers for us as we embark on the next step of God's plan for us!!

Once again we celebrated the New Year with our closest friends in the entire world. I started this tradition with my high school friends waaaay back in high school, but after starting college it kinda became this collogromate (okay, NO idea how to really spell that word!) of high school friends and people that Andrea had became friends with at Lipscomb Univ. Then, as Marc and I started dating the high school friends slowly all started doing their own thing with hubbies and such and in all these different states, and our New Year's parties settled down to just this new Lipscomb "crew" of Marc's & Andrea's friends; people who I had started to call my close friends as well. This past year marked the 9th year to be with the same group of people every New Year's! It's now our set tradition. No question about WHO we will be with every New Year's Eve! Every year we do alternate who will host it. This time it was at Johnathan & Brooke Akin's home in Hermitage. We just stayed in and ate lots of yummy food, played games, did a "Dirty Santa" gift exchange, and caught up on what is going on in each other's lives. We all come back together the next day after waking up at 11 am for a yummy breakfast at Cracker Barrel; our favorite place to eat!!

We had some new friends join us this year and we hope they can now be a part of our tradition! :) Erik & Angela; and Matt & Kristin, it was so fun celebrating with y'all and I hope we weren't too crazy for ya! Hee hee! :) Love you all!

Uncle Cory feeding Mason his dinner... rice cereal and applesauce

Dinner #2... Uncle Erik giving Mason his bottle... the little boy isn't spoiled at all by all of his "uncles"!

Brooke, Carrie, Beth, Andrea, and me... some of my best friends in the entire world!! Brooke and me... love her! Together with our husbands we have helped each other get through some tough times these last few years. I'm so thankful for the Akins'!

It was way past someone's bed time! I made the mistake of trying to get our family New Year picture at 11 at night! Oh well, I'll know better next year!
Oh, I love this one of Mason and his daddy!

Happy New Year!!

Some serious discussiong going on during this new game we were playing... I can't even remember the name of it, but it was the most fun!

The Petersons' & Akins' scheming and coming up with some crazy answers!

This is Marc's and my TENTH New Year together and it is our tradition every year to show on our fingers what year it is.. It's getting harder and harder each year to do that, but our lovely assistant Carrie helps us out some! :)

Lovin' from my baby

Matt, Marc, and Seth doing who knows what...

Our silly husbands... oh, and they so wanted to sport all of their New Year gear, the wives didn't force them to do that at all! :)

Best Friends Forever!! Andrea and I have not spent one New Year's apart since 7th grade!! No matter where we are, we always make it a point to come back together again at this time of the year!

Matt & Kristin

Kristin and Carrie were good friends in Memphis. Kristin and Matt moved to Nashville this past summer and I've hounded them to join our Life Group at Harpeth Hills. Ha ha! I'm so glad we're getting to know them after hearing wonderful things about them for so many years from Seth & Carrie!

My Life Group girls... me, Andrea, Kristin, Angela

Checkin' on my baby and wishing him Happy New Year... Carrie and Andrea came up with me to check out the situation. I have no idea how he was sleeping so soundly with all that racket going on downstairs!

This moment may officially be my best New Year's moment ever! :) I am so blessed by this little boy!

Time to play Dirty Santa... oh, and dirty it got! Here you see Marc and Matt fighting over some gift card. Thank you. Marc was stealing the Longhorn's gift card from Matt that WE actually brought to the party! That is so wrong, Marc Moore!

Kristin proudly showing off the prize she fought so hard for and won!!! A little stake thing for your front yard or wherever. I got it at Christmas Village and wish I would have gotten one for myself. It's sooo cute!

Oh my! Carrie threatening all of our lives if we dare touch her pink tree bag given by Andrea! But what is Seth's role in this though?

New Year's Day.... off to Cracker Barrel after we all finally get up out of bed! And STILL flaunting our 2009 headbands! Even Mason is wearing his... along with his new sunglasses from his Uncle Jody and Aunt Christy

Let's try the Moore Family Photo again since it didn't exactly work out on New Year's Eve!

This momma and son were loving their new sunglasses they got for Christmas!! What is everyone trying to tell us?? Are they taking us on a tropical beach vacation sometime soon??!??! OH, please!! Marc COMPLETELY surprised me with these just as we were going to bed Christmas Eve. And I didn't think we were getting each other something!! I was in complete shock that my husband had bought me COACH sunglasses!! What in the world?!?!
I love my Carrie Rae!!
Mason with two of his favorite aunties!! They spoil him rotten!

On January 2nd (yes, still celebrating!!!) Beth had us all over to her parents' house where her, her momma (Mrs. Herndon), and Ms. Hargis fixed us the yummiest chili ever! That is another one of our traditions... for our crew to go over to the Herndons' for some of Mrs. Herndon's home cookin'!! Some of the best fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and fudge pie we have ever had!! They started this tradition before I even knew Marc... when they were all freshmen at Lipscomb.

Here are us girls doing ANOTHER gift exchange... but this time we were playing nice! Us girls always exchange fun, cheap girly gifts. John & Jamie Burgess, and their precious baby girl, Audrey, joined us for this one. They came down from Morganfield, KY that day. They usually spend New Year's with us but couldn't make it to this one. We were so glad they caught the tail-end of our celebrating though!

Johnathan Akin holding Mason, and John Burgess with his baby girl, Audrey.. Just hangin' out watching us girls get all into our gifts
Oh, I LOVED my beautiful pitcher from Jamie!! It's so unique, but yet kinda Southern Living-ish looking!
Girls picture with our babies... wait, where are you going, Colt? He had had enough apparently! And Mason was getting there!


Mason with his Auntie Beth... we miss her so much when she is in Texas! It was so good to be able to see her over the holidays and catch up on her exciting adventures.
Oh, I'm so glad I caught this sweet moment! Marc and Seth (one of Marc's best friends from Lipscomb) with their most prized blessings... And Colt is telling Mason the biggest secret!

We all hated for our wonderful 3 days together to end! It was like we were on vacation or something! It is so hard to all get together, especially since we're so scattered... Memphis, Nashville, Texas, Kentucky... but we are so blessed that our friendships just get closer and closer as the years go by. I love you friends!