Well, the last 30ish hours have been quite the adventure. We have finally got our power back and I couldn't wait to share the awesome pictures we took this morning. The roads were terrible so we took off on foot to take the pictures. It was all Clay's idea as you could imagine. haha.

We have really been blessed though because we didn't have big trees in our yard to do any damage and oddly enough our neighborhood has all of the powerlines underground. So we were able to have time with and without electricity. It could have definately been so much worse because many have been without since Monday night. Clay's parents, sister, and their dog Ginger have been spending the night because we have the gas fireplace and better chances to get electricity from time to time. All in all, it's been kinda fun. Lots of Monopoly and Catch Phrase... oh... and horrible JUNK FOOD EATING!!!!

My Ode to snowy/icy weather.

A forced day off is necessary from time to time. I will embrace you icy weather. Thank you for a much needed break. So guess what. I get to fill hours with meaningless activities. So far I have eaten dinner, filed some papers, caught up on hours of television, and managed to get up to refill my Diet Rite Cherry Cola (which my friends is fantastic)

Since my last post we’ve had some quite exciting events. I have not managed to make it alone by myself in the house yet. I attempted last week while Clay was out playing basketball. The night started out fine. I managed to get in my Wheel of Fortune and anxiously await The Office. I kid you not, at about 7:50 (10 minutes before my show might I add) there is a dang knock on my door. So here I am… home alone… In a bath robe, clipping my toenails. The awful memories rushed back. Although we now have a peep hole I frantically flipped the outside light on and was too scared to look out to see what was looking back at me. I ran to our closet to call someone to come over. Ridiculous. I am a 25 year old woman and can’t stay at my house alone. But it was really too late for anyone to be selling anything at 8:00 at night. I know what you are thinking… what kind of neighborhood do you live in? I promise it is a good neighborhood. That is why we picked it. So, attempt #2 to stay home alone. Saturday night. Clay has plans for a poker night. I have plans to clean our house. He leaves and I am positive that I will make it fine. Once again, I kid you not. 2 minutes after he left our stupid doorbell rings. I don’t even answer the door. I call Clay to come get me. But you know what. It turned out for the best. I beat out 13 people and made it down to the final two. I got dealt a bad hand and was handed the second place pot. So I guess it all worked out at least.
Maddie did have her surgery last week. That was an ordeal. She was pathetic. But she is now fixed and no more worries. It stressed her Mama out. Pitiful pics posted below.

Clay has always told me that I am so impressionable. I am so hard headed that I have always given him a good argument to defend myself. I’m not impressionable. Well it wasn’t until the other night that I realized; I am, in fact, impressionable. Let me set the scene. I watch 1 episode of America’s Next top model- I think I am America’s Next top model. I watch dancing with the stars- I think I am a dancing star. I believe I need a red carpet to get into my car. I watch American Idol- I am singing while putting dishes away claiming to clay that I can sing any Dixie Chick song just like them. We watch the Pro Golf Tour- I get my golf bag and head to the greens. I look the part but sure don’t cut it. I claim if we had golf in high school I could have gone pro. The 2008 Olympics are on at our house 24/7: I run around my house jumping, spinning, attempting gymnastic leaps, claiming that if we had volleyball in high school I would in fact be a volleyball Olympian. The non-stop political campaign- I claim that I can be President and achieve world peace. But it wasn’t until last weekend we somehow stopped the TV. on the ESPN Dog show that I realized I in fact am impressionable. I was literally running Maddie around the house trying to get her to do tricks on command. I was claiming that Maddie would win best in show. It was at that moment Clay looked at me and says “Whitney please look at yourself. You are so impressionable.” And Clay adds after reading this post that I should add…. Oh, and I’m blogging now. Haha.

Some day we will have posts of our children. I can’t wait until that day. I mean I can wait and will wait. But I am just looking forward to that day. I get my children-fill at work. I wish I could post tons of pictures but the whole patient confidentiality thing stops me. But just imagine me with some of the most amazing kids in the world. Some of the moments at work are priceless. But until that day comes for the pictures of our little tots, pictures of us will have to suffice.

Check the peep hole!

Tuesday Morning (12-30-08)
Wow. How do I even begin with this posting? Let me just say that Clay and I had the most random night last night. It all started around 6:00 p.m. We had just finished with our supper and were seriously considering a fat-FULL milkshake with extra Peanut butter cup. As we were about to get up to go for the ride we heard what sounded like somebody running up to our door and ringing our doorbell time after time, for what felt like 50 times. Clay and I looked at each other like.. “Hum, who is trying to play a prank on us.”

So he gets up to answer the door. Maddie runs outside and a frantic mid 30 year old woman runs into our house. She was screaming “He’s trying to kill me, help me, he is trying to kill me” “he was suffocating me and he cut my wrist, call the cops.” For what felt like 30 minutes I am sure passed by so very quickly in 2. Believe it or not, Clay opened the door and Maddie ran in. We slammed the door shut and locked it and forced this woman into our guest bedroom because we have exposed French door windows and who knows if he is outside our house trying to kill her. I was like a deer in headlights trying to find my phone to call 911 and it was so difficult to do because …for all I knew this woman was bleeding to death in our guest bedroom and she was screaming bloody murder. Really makes it hard to think. I mean, the last time this happened the woman was screaming and we were able to find our phone quickly and didn’t have any problems. J/K Ha.

Clay luckily found his phone and called 911 to report what was going on and then gave the phone to this woman to report details. While all of this is going on, I am thinking… are you kidding me? Is this seriously happening? Is he outside our house? How did she end up at our house? Within 20 minutes the cops arrived and question this woman whom we have safely hidden in our house. At this point, I am in the floor away from windows with a death grip on Maddie. I have been having some issues with my stomach and this problem sure didn’t help. I felt like I was going to vomit. Once the cops leave to find the guy I realize that I can’t handle it and crawl into our bathroom closet behind the coats. Luckily I could hear the woman who was now locked in our guest bathroom. She was using Clay’s cell phone (which I didn’t know at the time) and talking to somebody referring to them as “hunny” and “I love you” “ I will be there soon.” And of course I am in the closet thinking the worst… “oh my gosh, she is talking to Jesus.” “We are all going to die.” Haha.

I hear the cops enter our house again so I know we have some kind of security because we don’t have guns, knives, or pepperspray. Luckily Clay was able to grab a golf club! Since I hear the cops I crawl out and say to Clay “Psst, Clay, go get my pills.” Haha. Thank goodness I still had some anxiety pills from when I was taking my board exam because I was in some serious need to chill out.

Once I know the man has been arrested, I feel safe enough to go into the living room to see this woman that has caused such a commotion. Middle aged, blonde hair, and talking to us about many things we didn’t care to hear. Within 20 minutes of hearing her life story and way to much of her personal life I realized that in fact I would like to hit her. She was a bit of a drama queen and he obviously has some control issues. Needless to say, this woman was in our house for like 2 ½ hours and the cops finally cleared around 9:30 ish. We didn’t get a milkshake and instead had a hard time sleeping. I must say that I never in my life would have ever believed that this would have ever happended. I am just very thankful that nobody was seriously hurt and that we will be getting blinds for our kitchen, a peep hole, fence, and security system soon. We picked this neighborhood because we felt so safe and wanted to live in a place where we wouldn’t have to worry.

Come to find out, this was the first report of complaints in our neighborhood and these nut-cases moved in 3 days ago. I guess for the next 3 weeks I will sleep with one eye open.

So once it all cleared and Clay and I were left in the house, we just looked at each other in awe. He was able to laugh about it. I am really still not there yet. But I regret not asking to get a picture with her because she was crazy enough to do it I think. Wouldn’t that be the best ending to the blog. Regardless we are safe now. Hopefully we will not have any more crazy!

Update Friday morning (1-2-09)
Happy New Year! We are getting a peep hole installed today, we now own several cans of pepper spray conveniently placed around our house, and our french doors in the kitchen now have window treatments. So I guess it was good that it happened and nobody got hurt because we finally took care of some things that we should have done a LONG time ago.

Be safe!

Festival of Lights

I think Clay and I think each weekend... "How much can we possibly cram into the weekend?" Now that we are both working during the week we tend to live for the weekends. So.. this weekend started with my work Christmas party. It was a BLAST! I regret that I forgot my camera. I will do my best to paint a picture for you. Just imagine a ton of people all dolled up at the country club, good food, a dirty santa Christmas gift exchange, and lots and lots of dancing. Clay and I strolled in at about 2:30 a.m.

But like I said, we didn't stop there. We woke up the next morning and got ready for a trip to Branson with our friends Brandi (OT school friend) and her husband Nick. Believe it or not this was my first Christmas Branson experience. I had only been one other time (and we just went to Silver Dollar City) We ate at Fudruckers and shopped til' we dropped. We drove back that night and got in about 1:30 a.m.











Sunday was packed full of Christmas shopping. I got my elbow pads and game face on! I was ready to get out there and get it all done. I DID IT! I AM FINISHED. My mother-in-law and I had a great time. I got in about 8:30 last night and wrapped presents for a couple of hours. Lucky me because it iced over during the night and I woke up to long list of school cancellations this morning. A ton of my kiddo's cancelled today. I will work this afternoon though. But, I have been able to rest up and clean our house.

Ok.. Ok.. Now I am the biggest fan of anything related to Christmas. So I almost regret saying this.. But the following images might be to hard to look at if you do not want to be disappointed in the festival of lights in Branson. The following images were just a few taken to display the "random-ness" of the trail. It literally reminded me of someone going to Lowe's to ask if they had "stuff that lit up on half-price" and randomly placing them in a field with an extension cord.

That's right people... Happy MOO year!


I regret not getting the Hawaiian themed nativity scene....


STATUE OF LIBERTY... what?!? 'Tis the season


and finally.... yes... your eyes are correct. These are aliens. and their space ship.... What better way to say Merry Christmas!


and this was the expression we all had on our face....

Christmas Train

I had a BLAST this past weekend. It all started with the ornament exchange at my house on Friday night and three of my very best friends coming to pick me up on Saturday morning to go to Christmas Train in Adair, Oklohoma to see our long lost friend Megan. This was our first time to experience Christmas Train. It is a big production at Camp Dry Gulch. If you love Christmas.... you would LOVE Christmas Train. It was so much fun to get to hang out with my girls all weekend! Here are some pictures from this weekend.


I know it's blurry.. But if you look closely you can see the actual train.








Yes, it is that time again. Time for the annual gingerbread house competition! This year we had new competition... The Sabatini's! You take a look and see who won!













And finally.... I promise I will not go on and on all night. But I wanted you guys to see some of our holiday decor! Mom and dad... you have to come visit us before Christmas! haha. You get a personal shout out. Feel the pressure. Please ignore the random cords hanging from the t.v. We really need to get somebody to hide those wires.









You wouldn't believe it... But I found a true Garrison snowman! haha!

Gobble til you Wobble

Woo hoo for good food, good family, and good friends. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I was a little scared because of the way it started out. I was in charge of an apple pie (highly requested) and I decided to make this key lime cookie recipe for my parents house since my mom loves key lime. I had never attempted this recipe but saw it in Martha Stewart's holiday magazine issue. So it has to be good right?? Well, needless to say I crammed WAY to much in those three work days and had to make both the pie and cookies on Wednesday afternoon before we tried to leave at 4:00. The pie was fantastic and the cookies had potential to be great. I rushed it too much. So we left our house at 5:30 to head to Conway with an apple pie.

Thanksgiving at the Garrison's was much needed family time. It is so nice to get together. We got there Wednesday night and all of the siblings wanted to go to the movies. I am not a movie go-er but I sent my best wishes and instead went to Wal-mart with Terri( my mother-in-law) to the pictures from the Thanksgiving photo shoot. We woke up Thursday morning to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade and stuff our belly full of turkey and dressing. Here are some of the photo poses we got.



Thanksgiving in Lewisville was fantastic. It has been a long time since we have been able to spend 3 days down there. It is so funny to go back and see how different the town is. Well, I am sure the town is the same. I just see it differently now. You know there are always some funny stories from Lewisville. I am so thankful that I can sit down with my family, laugh, and enjoy life. We skipped out on the Black Friday madness. I would rather be stung by 1,000 bees and dipped in hot wax than fight that crowd. Instead mom, Kaitlyn, and I went to Hobby Lobby to get the paint for my latest art project. We ended the paint run with a trip to Starbucks and rode home singing Christmas songs. So fun. I love my family. They are the best.




It's not finished yet... But, you get the idea.
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Well, I am laying in bed with a sore throat, stopped up nose, and itchy ears. So what better thing to do than blog. I had a fantastic weekend. (well worth blogging about)

Let me just set the stage. I have been an avid fan of Wheel of Fortune since I was a baby. My parents said that I would crawl up to the t.v. and clap when the show was on. Well, to this day Clay and I will compete each night as to who can solve the most puzzles the fastest. Of course I win every night. We try not to miss an episode. Well, this past week I heard that Wheel of Fortune was coming to town. The wheel-mobile was coming to Conway, Arkansas and hosting auditions for the show. Of course I had to fulfill ONE of my life long goals. I couldn't pass up the opportunity. So I pack up my car and head down to Conway. Clay had to work and all my friends were booked up. So it was just me........ and thousands of others competing to SPIN THAT WHEEL.

When I pulled up to the audition site, I realized that I wasn't alone. And to be honest, there were thousands of others just as nut-so as me. So there I sat for hours. I would fill out application after application. Needless to say my name never got drawn to run up and spin the wheel. Pat and Vanna got lucky. I think I would have scared them. I really get too excited about it sometimes and yell the answers. But I left that night knowing I at least tried. I can't say I never tried. So I left and went to visit with Clay's grandparents at their Sunday school party. I know, I know. Wild night!

Halloween was fun. We decided VERY last minute to go to a halloween party we got invited to. So very last miniute, we were running to Wal-mart to get the stuff to create our costumes. We convinced a couple to go with us. So that meant, we had to come up with 4 costumes in 4 hours. And I am sorry, I am not paying big bucks for a costume at a halloween shop. So what better thing to do than buy a sheet, cut it up, and safety pin it to fit. And that is exactly what they looked like!! But we had a good time. The best part was getting ready! Too funny!



I have been to the doctor for the 5th time about my stomach/blood pressure issues. I finally went to a new doctor to get a second oppinion. He gave me a new medicine and for the first time in months I feel good. I am able to eat without feeling sick and my blood pressure is back to normal!

I have always known I am blessed with a wonderful family and friends, but in the past month I have been reminded. Life brings challenges and a lot of times we think we may never be able to get through it. I pray for my friends and their recent loses that they find the strength to make it through tough situations. Losing somebody in your life is one of the biggest challenges in life. If God brings you to it, He will get you through it. I pray for the family of Anne Pressly, the Hardin family, the Hargrove family, and Essex family every single day. Takin' it just one day at a time is all you can do.

I really do have the best friends and family. I am getting excited about spending time with everybody over the upcoming holidays! (Don't worry... we are already decorated for Christmas at the Garrison household)