Show Us Your Life--Christmas Traditions

I have been following Kelly's Korner for a little while now. She has the neatest blog. Each Friday she does a "Show Us Your Life" tour...whether it be husbands, kids, weddings, vacations, jobs, etc. This week it's "Show Us Your Life--Christmas Traditions." I will jump on the tour bandwagon now and write about our Christmas traditions that will soon be changing....

Kody and I have been married since October 24th...but have been together over 6 years. This is actually our 7th Christmas together, but, we have NEVER spent Christmas day or Eve together. Our relationship started out long distant and so the fact that we couldn't be together over the holidays didn't really bother us. Finally I moved there for college and could have spent Christmas with them, but I didn't want to sacrifice my holidays until I had to. (Note: I love his family...nothing to do with that!) His sister-in-law gave me advice...not to share holidays until absolutely necessary. So, we didn't!

My Dad owns a jewelry store. His busiest time of the year is from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Since I was 15 I would help out over the holidays....time crept on and I was all the sudden only able to work on Christmas Eve, but that was always a busy day. Men of course wait until the last minute! :) My mom always brings lunch out to my dad's store for everyone to eat during different shifts and we close when it finally slows down around 4. Then my dad and I usually would ride around together for awhile and just talk. My family goes to Christmas Eve service (my favorite service of the year) around 7. We sing Christmas songs and the church is normally packed with family from out of town visiting. The past 6 or 7 years we've gone to my Aunt Judy's after church and just chill. We eat appetizers & play games....nothing that involved gifts because we exchange with that side of the family the next day.

My parents always had us go to bed at a decent time on Christmas Eve....Now, Santa has never proved to NOT BE REAL at my house...so we'll see this year now that I'm married. My brother & I would wake up on Christmas morning and Santa had been there and we each had a big pile of unwrapped toys, games, etc. We always had the coolest stockings too. We'd then open gifts from my parents and just sit and relax. We had Christmas lunch with my dad's side of the family and it rotates each year where we have it...(my parents house, or 2 aunts)...next year it's our turn to host!

This year will be different since I'm married. We are spending Christmas Eve with my parents and after church will exchange gifts with them and Alex. We probably won't get to go to my aunts and hang out since Kody and I have to leave the next day for Jackson. We'll spend Christmas day and the weekend in Jackson with Kody's family. They normally have a big Thompson Christmas Eve bash on the 24th, but we won't be there for that either. You have to compromise!

Once we have children I can't wait to do Christmas. We will be pretty traditional when it comes to waking up at home and having Santa gifts all out for the kiddos to see! I remember just wanting to stay home and play with my new toys on Christmas day!! It's so fun!

So....show us your life....Christmas Traditions!

Weekend Recap

I so did not want to come back to work today, but in all honesty, it hasn't been bad. I was off last Monday--shopping in Springfield, worked Tuesday, and took off Wednesday at noon. I am still not used to the "you don't get full holidays when you graduate" thing! But the City is good to us and we do get Thanksgiving day & Black Friday off...and of course, several other holidays!

Thanksgiving was a hit, at least I thought so. Kody and I started the holiday week off at Fish Shack on Wednesday night with my parents, brother, and grandpa. It was good, gosh I love Fish Shack! Then we headed home and I started some more prepping for our big meal on Thursday. We hosted Thanksgiving for the Prewett side and had a blast. Kody got up on Thursday and fried a turkey...I cleaned some more and then made a cheese ball and green bean bundles...which were to die for and I will include the recipe...

Green Bean Bundles:
2 lbs. of fresh green beans
1 lb bacon (partially cooked) (I microwaved it for 5 minutes)
4 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar
Red Pepper slices (optional, I didn't do this)
Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste Blanch green beans in salted boiling water for 5 minutes.

Cool beans under running water. Wrap 1 slice of bacon around of bundle of 8-10 green beans. Place the bundles in a shallow baking dish. Lay a slice of red pepper across each bundle. Drizzle melted butter over beans and sprinkle with brown sugar, garlic salt, and pepper. Bake uncovered for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees.

They make the prettiest dish...very festive for the holidays. This recipe came from St. Louis, MO--from Cheryl Ladd's kitchen...Mom to a great friend--JESS!

Everyone brought a dish and we of course ate like Kings. I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy buzzing around...but oh well! Thursday afternoon I started decorating our front deck with lit garland and wrapping our light posts with lights. Kody worked on the roof, although it does look good...he is not done. We watched Christmas Vacation and went to bed pretty early! Long day!

Friday--Black Friday, I wasn't very successful. I tried to go get a new laptop and of course they were out. Then I went around town looking for another one and they were out...so I paid full price, but got an even better laptop. Full price at Wal-Mart is never that bad! I put our Christmas tree up on Friday afternoon. We have a red & gold theme and I think it looks great! I hope to buy a new, fuller tree after Christmas this year and put our current tree in our basement with random ornaments and then decorate the upstairs tree a little more formal. Kody wanted (& has always had) a real tree, but since he didn't commit to vacuuming daily and watering it, he lost that battle. SORRY!

Our tree--with the flash on!

Saturday I worked at At Home and then we went to dinner with my brother & parents. :) Alex had to leave on Sunday and after he left Mom and I went to see Blind Side....excellent...go see it right now! I loved it!

That's about it. Tonight is the At Home Market Christmas party and I'm excited! This will be a fun week...Friday is Josh Hamby's birthday party so we get to go party with the Hamby & Tyree's! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday...I do love Christmas, but there's something about Thanksgiving without all of the gifts that makes it special. Normally we spend Thanksgiving at my grandparents house, but this year Kody and I offered to host. We can't go to Jackson because of his work schedule, so we'll be there for Christmas.

We're having the whole Prewett clan out to the "country." We're really excited. We spent Sunday cleaning the house (or Mom and I did) and my Dad tackled our leaf problem in the yard. Kody was where ???? Oh yeah, in the deer woods! He was not successful during rifle season, maybe he can get one with his bow...maybe.

I'm making Green Bean Bundles, a recipe from Jess Ladd's mom. They sound so yummy! Then I will make 2 chocolate chess pies...they are to die for. Kody's frying a turkey and that's all we're doing. The rest will be brought by everyone else!

Monday Mom and I hit up Springfield and got a lot of Christmas shopping done. I bought all new decor for our tree. I want to buy a tree after Christmas this year on sale and have one tree for upstairs and one for the basement. The basement tree can be the ornament tree and upstairs will be themed. For now, it's gold and red. Very pretty!! Can't wait to set it all up on Friday. Kody's gearing up for lighting our house up like the Griswold's on Christmas Vacation. For as long as I've known Kody he's wanted to "decorate his own house." He's going to get to this year. He said you'll be able to see our house glow from in town. LOL...doubt that, but I have no doubt we will be the most lit up/tacky house around. I will love it though. :)

I did get a lot of my shopping done on Monday. Just a couple more to buy for and I'll be set! Kody was actually easy this year, but my problem with him is I keep wanting to buy him more. We set a limit though since we're buying ourselves at least 1 new tv! We're opening gifts at our own house Christmas morning and I'm so excited. We've never spent Christmas together, so this will not only be our "1st Christmas married" but also our "1st Christmas together." Then we'll head to Jackson later Christmas day. Christmas Eve will be spent with my family and we'll go to Christmas Eve candle-llit service. Love, love that church service!!!!

I'm trying to get more into the whole blogging thing. I really enjoy it and love reading others. I've gotta figure out the whole "group" thing. One thing at a time. At least I figured out a new layout with 3 columns. It's wintery/Christmasy.

I'm leaving work in about an hour, going to work out at Curves, and then head home! I'll tidy things up a bit and then wait for Kody to get home. We're prepping the turkey tonight. Last night he wanted to watch a movie. Well, I was so tired I kept falling asleep. He said we'll try again tonight. This is a HUGE night to go out, but he hasn't mentioned it...and since I will probably be an idiot going out shopping early on Friday, I need all the rest I can get!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jamaica---Heaven on Earth!

We landed in Jamaica around 1 Central time...which was Jamaica time as well. We took an hour and a half ride to the resort and FELL IN LOVE. We stayed in Negril, about an hour and a half from Montego Bay. Negril is home of the 7 Mile Beach...truly the most beautiful beach I have ever seen...We stayed at Couples Swept Away Resort. "Couples" is very similar to the Sandals resorts, just there are only 4 in Jamaica. We stayed at one of 2 in Negril. The others are in Ocho Rios and San Souci!

From the time we stepped out of the van, everyone was SO nice. The Jamaican workers did everything for us. If we touched our luggage, they would say, "No Mon, you're on vacation, we do the work." ...Ok, no problem here! We went into the check-in area to get our packets and keys. We were served cold towels and champagne! I messed around on the Couples website before we went and signed us up for what I thought was going to just be nothing...but turned out they thought we were returning guests. We got "Very Special Couple" t-shirts and a little treat bag for the way home...plus an extra free massage on top of the Honeymoon massage we were already eligible for!

Our room was great although two days later we did upgrade to a room not on the floor level and closer to the beach. Our second room had a hammock out on the balcony that Kody would nap in each night while I got ready. Since it was closer to 3 by the time we got there and hadn't eaten, we went straight to the grill for a snack. We had nachos and they were awesome! We kind of scooped things out and then got ready for the International Buffet that night. It was awesome. They had allllllllllllllllllll kinds of food. I mean anything you could think of and it was all so good! We turned in pretty early on Monday night just so we could get up and go the next day!

Tuesday we had signed up for Room Service, just because we could and it was free. It was fun to eat on our patio and talk about what we were going to do for the day. After breakfast we put on our suits and headed to the spa for a couples massage! Awesome!!! Then we headed to the water! Most days we would hang at the beach until lunch and then go eat lunch and Kody would be at the swim-up bar the rest of the day and I would lay out or try to...it was HOT. We had to wear a lot of strong sunscreen...in fact you couldn't even tell Kody went anywhere and I wasn't that tan...but I never got burnt either so it was ok.

Tuesday night was our private beach dinner. That was a wedding & shower gift from Josh & Ashley Hamby. It was very nice. We had lobster tail and chicken, veggies, bread, and yummy dessert. The dinner was so nice...candle lit and there were tiki torches lit on the beach...very nice!

Wednesday was a fun day. We went parasailing Wednesday morning...much cheaper than when we go in Destin. Parasailing was so fun. I always love doing it, and Kody's gone twice with me. You could see so much because the water was crystal clear! After that we hung out at the beach and then went to the pool. We met a sweet couple from the Atlanta area...Eric & Heather. We hung out with them Wednesday night at the Bon Fire on the beach...which was really cool!

Wednesday night we had dinner reservations at Lemongrass...it was Thai type food and not my favorite, but still really good. Then we met up with our friends and went to the Bon Fire. The set up this huge pile to burn and put the beach chairs all around the fire in a big circle. They covered them with a blanket and we hung out and listened to music. They set up a bar, but we were way too full from dinner!

Thursday morning we did the Glass Bottom Boat Ride. That was neat...once again, the water is so clear you could see so many fish and different types of reef. There was one are where the drivers call "Hollywood Walk of Fame".....there were tons of starfish! It was really cool! We later met Eric & Heather and walked down the beach a little ways to Margaritaville. They had awesome food and margaritas! Kody had been wanting to go and I must admit it was nice to have a good, American, juicy burger! They still didn't have regular ketchup though! ;) I had the best strawberry margarita ever! We walked back to the resort and just hung out at the pool. We met so many neat couples....even couples from Missouri: Cape Girardeau, Perryville, Hillsboro, St. Louis, Jeff City...etc.

Thursday night we ate at Feather's restaurant. It was really good! I had beef tenderloin and they had the best dessert....we met up with Eric & Heather to watch the Talent Show at the main restaurant/buffet, Palms. Unfortunately they had to go home on Friday, so we said our goodbyes.

Friday we took a day trip to Ocho Rios to Dunns River Falls. AWESOME experience. I will admit I was nervous to waste a whole day away from the resort, but it was worth it. The bus ride was 3 hours there...so we arrived about 10:30. It was really neat and not what I expected. It was really like a theme park for this waterfall you can climb. We walked all the way down the paved park to the beach. The beaches at Ocho Rios are much more rocky than sand. It was pretty though. We started from the bottom and formed a chain....and helped each other, along with our guides, climb the fall. The water was COLD to start off with, but they made you get wet, and it later was really refreshing. VERY fun experience and I would tell anyone to do it. After that we went into town to eat lunch at a buffet (was OK...I was leary of it.) and shop. We made it back taht night by about 5 and got ready for dinner. We ate dinner at the Palms and watched the show that night.

Saturday we spent most of the day at the beach & pool again and then went on a sunset Catamaran Cruise or "Booze Cruise." It was FUN! They made drinks for us and we just floated along. Then after the beaches ended, it was big cliffs and nice hotels, bars, or tiki huts on top of the cliff. There were lots of caves, including a bar in one cave! We got to slide off the slide of the boat into the ocean and swim through a cave. The water was really deep but you could still see the bottom. The sun set and we made our way back to our resort.

Saturday night was Halloween...the staff at the Palms redid Thriller. They were awesome and great dancers. Then they had a Jamaican singer dressed as Dracula and he sang for awhile. They had pumpkins carved all over....really neat to look at!

Sunday was our last full day in Jamaica. :(....We didn't do anything but lounge at the pool and beach and then headed for our massage later in the afternoon. We ate all of our favorite food for the day...the onion rings were my favorite at the grill...drank lots of Vodka Ting's....and enjoyed it all. Ting is a grapefruit soda in Jamaica and was excellent when mixed with Vodka. We ate at the Palm's on Sunday night and went to the Aura Lounge for awhile...it was like a piano bar and had late night entertainment....

We left Monday about 11...we were home that night by 9. Long day, but so worth it.

Favorite things from Jamaica:

1. the people
2. The beach!!!!!!!!!
3. Hummingbird drinks (similar to a chocolate milkshake...simply heaven, especially in the AM)
4. Vodka Tings...we started out calling them Ting & Vodka, we figured if we said Vodka first that's what we got more of! ;)
5. The food
6. No tv or cell phones....true relaxation!
7. (after the above) the Internet Cafe---hey, had to stay in touch somehow!
8. Feather's Restaurant
9. Martino, my little flag man who'd bring the flag and bring me a drink when I put it up
10. The cigarette man...no I don't smoke, but he was hilarious to watch every day.
11. The fact it was my honeymoon w/ my husband and nobody else. LOVED IT!

Go visit, that's all I can say!

We're Married!

Well, it certainly has been awhile since I have last posted. A lot has happened! I'm Mrs. Kody Thompson now. :) I will give ya'll a brief (or not so brief) recap of the wedding...

Friday morning we started decorating at 9 am...we were done with the church and Opera House by noon. It was a great feeling to be done with SO much so early. I had a slew of helpers...Mom, Jessica Johnson, Jess Ladd, Debbie, Judy, Amber, Teresa, Erica, Kaci, Grandma Hilton, Barb, Susan, Jess Hahs, Susan York, Ashley Hamby...I think that's it...if not, I did not intentionally forget you! The church looked great, we didn't do a whole lot knowing that flowers would be put out on Saturday morning. We put lanterns in all of the windows at the church and bows on the pews. Ashley & Jessica wrapped the mums with tulle and got those ready to sit outside. It was a VERY chilly, windy day. I was nervous for how the next day would be weather wise...it was supposed to be sunny. (come to find out it was!)

After decorating we all went to my mom and dad's for lunch. Teresa made chicken salad sandwiches, Ashley made some awesome cupcakes, and we had other things to munch on. It was a lot of fun to spend time with close friends right before the BIG day. After lunch everyone went their own way for awhile before rehearsal and dinner. I went out to our house and had a little while to myself. It was nice to relax and know everything was done! Later, I went into town and got ready at my parent's house for rehearsal. The guys had all played golf all day in the cold weather and were getting ready at our house.

Rehearsal at the Methodist Church was at 5 pm. Everyone was on time and looked great. We had a dressy rehearsal, but I thought it was fun to dress up! Always looking for a reason to look a little extra cute! ;) Rehearsal went so smooth. I was a little concerned with our large ground we'd be there forever because it would be loud. Nope, not at all. Everyone was quiet and attentive and we got through it all in an hour! We went through the whole service, which was extremely helpful for myself and everyone else to know what we were doing!

Me & My Dad at Rehearsal

Rehearsal dinner was hosted by the Thompson's and held at the West Plains Country Club. The food was Kody's choice and a hit for sure. There were burgers, chicken, salad, corn, rolls, potato casserole, and cobbler for dessert! I was finally able to eat after all the stress. Both of our families were there including out of town guests. We had about 65 people there and it was a blast. We handed out gifts to our attendants and parents and visited. I went home with my parents around 10 and got in bed and had no trouble falling to sleep!

October 24th--Wedding Day! I got up and headed to the hotel to eat breakfast with Kody's family and got Kaci & Erica and headed to the beauty shop. Missy did an awesome job on my hair, I loved it! I went straight home and Sally Walker put on my make-up! She's my Estee Lauder lady...love her! I quickly ate lunch and got ready to head to the church. Our photographer (David Coleman of D Coleman Photography) was meeting us there at 1 to start pictures with me, me getting ready, and me and the girls before Kody and I saw each other at 2. Kody and I had a private/special moment in the church before we did pictures. He stood at the end of the aisle with his back towards me. I walked down the aisle and then he turned around. Our video guy, Scott Heidy, and David got all of the footage. It was neat. I wouldn't trade it any other way. We had lots of time for pictures before the wedding with everyone and after we said "I Do" it was all over! We were ready to party.

Told ya it was gorgeous out!

That day was absolutely gorgeous out. Probably the prettiest day of my life! HA! We took so many pictures outside and the leaves were to die for. I will post some on here, just never sure if they are in the right spot! The whole wedding went off without a bang. I mean everything was beyond perfect! The service was beautiful, singing was amazing, the trumpet and organ were great, everything was great. After we said I Do and I got dipped for a kiss, we headed downstairs to let the church empty out. We then walked up to the Opera House from the church. That was a blast...we got in the middle of the road in a big line and ran at David. He snapped pictures and the ones I have seen so far are awesome! We got up there, met with the DJ, Diane Simpson of Just One More Song of Republic, MO. We all lined up and got ready for a our big entrance! Our entrance was unique and Kody and I had a lot of fun planning it....

Each person paired up with their partner...then were introduced together and danced into a specific song either picked by them or by us because it reminded us of them...and danced crazy into the reception. Everyone loved it! They then formed a tunnel and Kody and I danced into it. Here are the songs & partners...

1. Usher Charlie Robinson & Candlelighter Amber Carr: Thunderstruck by AC/DC

2. Usher Josh Hamby & Candlelighter Kelli Schenimann: We Went Out Last Night by Kenny Chesney

3. Groomsman Darren Lovelace & Bridesmaid Jessica Johnson: Bust a Move by Run DMC

4. Groomsman Ross Hicks &Bridesmaid Lindsey Murphy: Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox by Joe Diffie

5. Groomsman Aaron Randolph & Bridesmaid Jess Ladd: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Theme Song

6. Groomsman Alex Prewett & Bridesmaid Ashley Hamby: Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top

7. Groomsman Luke Hubbard & Bridesmaid Erica Thompson: I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas

8. Best Man Kyle Thompson & Matron of Honor Kaci Hubbard: Thriller by MJ!

Kody and I danced into Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC. I know, so classy...but it is my favorite song to dance to! We went through the huddle and then danced on our own...for what we thought would only be 30 seconds like the others..but oh no, it was the whole song. Finally we roped in the flower girl, Zoey, and ring bearer, Kannen and danced with them. The rest of the wedding party joined us. It was awesome! Kody and I then went straight into our first dance, Lost in this Moment by Big & Rich. Kody got to pick that one.

We danced the rest of the night and had a ball! Lots and lots and lots of fun and I wish we could do it over. I kept trying to just remember every moment because it goes by SO fast. We partied until midnight and then headed to the hotel.

The next day we went to lunch with Kody's parents (my new in-laws) and then were on our way to Memphis to get ready for our flight on Monday to Negril, Jamaica. We went to Beale Street Sunday night and ate, walked around, and just relaxed. We were both pretty tired so it was an early night in....next post will be play-by-play of Jamaica! HA!

Thanks to everyone who was involved in the wedding. It was by far, the best day of my life. Everything I dreamed of, and more.