December...

I simply cannot believe how fast this month has gone by! We have been so busy celebrating and enjoying December that I haven't sat down to blog since Thanksgiving!

Our holiday highlights include:

Ross's mom, Debbie (the best mother-in-law EVER) came to celebrate Ross's 28th birthday and spend the weekend with us. She and Mack enjoyed a little tug-o-war as well.

A trip to High Point to have Ross's birthday dinner with Joey and Leslie at this tasty little place called The Mix. We got to bring a few of our favorite kiddos some goodies and hang out with Mark, Liz, and their soooo sweet 10 week old twins while we were there.

Dinner with Cliff and Mary who we hadn't seen in far too long.

Christmas in Kannapolis. It was the first Christmas Ross and I hadn't gone home for the big day, but instead celebrated at our home. Mom, Dad and Ryan came to spend a few days and we had a really nice time just relaxing together. The dogs enjoyed the extra attention, too. (Please note Mack who dipped himself in mud first thing Christmas morning...suffice to say he spent most of Christmas outside).

Hope you all had the merriest of times with your loved ones. See you in 2009!

Big News!

There will soon be more Married Mulls!! Jared proposed to his wonderful girlfriend, Jennifer, on Thanksgiving Day and she accepted! Ross and I are excited to have our first sister and we are sure that Jared couldn't have chosen a better girl. Truth be told, she is pretty lucky, too. Congratulations you guys!

Thanksgiving and Grandma's Birthday

playing catch up

I can't believe it's almost December. Time is just flying by... in the past couple of weeks our friends Heather, Scott and Jeremy came to visit, Mack grew a ton and learned that tug o' war is his favorite game, my friend Jean was skyping on Oprah talking to Brad Pitt, and I had a great girls night out to see Twilight.

Ross and I are leaving in about 6 hours to drive to Illinois for Thanksgiving. We'll get a much needed catch up with family and celebrate the big 8-0 with my grandmother on Saturday. Lots of fun to be had and turkey to be eaten...

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones...we have so much to be thankful for!

Emily's Baby Shower

My sweet friend, Emily and her husband, Shannon are expecting a little guy in December. I was so glad to be able to celebrate his impending arrival when I was in Brevard a couple of weeks ago. This little boy is already so loved, I can't wait to meet him!

Jean & Brian got married!

3rd annual camping trip...well, kind of.

Ross and I always go camping with our friends at least one fall weekend. We were all set to go last weekend except there was some snow on the ground where we usually camp. So we held a pre-camp out meeting and decided to "camp" at Ashley's house. Yes, I am a wimp and I am ok with that. Our camp outs are just about enjoying each other's company around a campfire anyway so why can't we do that with heat and plumbing a few feet away? Sarah and Josh met Ross and I at Ashley's and not only did we enjoy our smores and conversation around the fire, but then we slept in beds and didn't wake up with cold noses!

Sisters

I don't have any sisters, or sister-in-laws (yet!) but Tuesday I got to visit with the next best thing! Katie and I have been friends since she was born about a week after me. I have forgiven her for stealing my bottle as an infant and waking me up before 7am at every sleepover we attended, and I think she's forgiven me for making up all kinds of stories to keep myself out of trouble at her expense! Amanda came along a couple of years later and these two girls are the absolute closest thing I have to sisters. Luckily enough, Ross and I passed through Greenville at dinner time yesterday on our way home from Atlanta and we got to catch up. The time I spend with the Limbaugh girls is always great, albeit way too infrequent.

High School Musical: The Remake

This weekend while hanging out in High Point with the Weismans, Kameron and Jill decided to entertain us with their favorite High School Musical songs. These kids could not be any cuter! We love being around as they grow up. Kate, the best big sister ever, was at a sleepover so we missed out on getting good pictures of her. Check out Jill's face in the picture below...she doesn't appreciate anyone trying to sing along!!

3 years!

Tomorrow is our three year anniversary. Which means that we started dating 10 years ago! It seems like yesterday that I met that blonde headed, blue eyed, senior at his soccer game. I'm blessed to have such an awesome partner in life. Enjoy some of my favorite pictures from my favorite day...

Ashley's new house

Last weekend, Ashley's family had a wonderful housewarming party for her. She moved into such a sweet little dollhouse and has done a ton of work making it her own. Kylie and I were both able to go and we had so much fun catching up. These girls are two of my best friends from college, and we have a good time no matter where we are or what we're doing.

Random...

A couple of weeks ago we went to High Point to hang out with Joey and Leslie to see a great 80's band, The Breakfast Club. (Check them out at thebreakfastclub.com) Definitely go and see them if they are in your area- we had a great time. And we of course had fun playing with their awesome kids...see Ross with sweet baby Jill below.

In huge dog news, Mack is enormous.

Been a while...

Seriously, I have got to get better at this blogging thing! It's been a pretty busy couple of weeks for us, but I thought I'd at least post for my few readers who check in on the married Mulls. It is finally starting to feel like fall which is my absolute favorite time of year. I totally buy into fall everything, and feel like I can't get through a pretty fall weekend without a leisurely stroll in the park with a pumpkin spice latte. Silly, I know, but I love love love this time of year.



Ok, and I have to share this gross sounding, delicious tasting recipe as well. I have a teeny, tiny sweet tooth (minus the teeny tiny) and I'm always looking for goodies I can bake, enjoy, and not feel terrible about. I found a recipe for Black Bean Brownies and thought they sounded disgusting, but interesting enough to try just once. They were VERY good! I had Ross and Jared try my "new recipe" and give me their stamp of approval before I filled them in on the ingredients. I took some to school too and they were a hit. Pretty sure I'll be making these instead of traditional brownies most of the time.







Black Bean Brownies

1 box brownie mix (I think I used Betty Crocker family style)

1 can of black beans



-Open beans and dump them into a colander to drain and rinse off the slime

-Put rinsed beans back in the can and fill the can to the top with water

-Puree beans and water in a blender or food processor

-Add bean puree to the brownie mix and bake as directed



Considering the amount of protein and fiber in these, I definitely think they are worth a try!

Mack in action

Mack is a whooping 66 pounds these days! It's hard to believe he's only 5 months old. I'm not sure we realize what we've gotten ourselves into...

A week with mom

We were lucky to have Mom come and stay with us this past week. The secretary at our school was out of town for the week, and Mom graciously volunteered to come fill in for her. I tell you what, it takes someone pretty special to not only volunteer to do someone else's job for 40 hours a week but to do that surrounded by high school students is something else! The kids and staff adored her, and we loved having her here spoiling us with "mom things" all week long.

She took us out for dinner a couple of times, and we took Danny and Kelli along with us to Wild Wing one night. It is so nice being back in Charlotte and having lifelong friends right down the road to hang out with. I love this picture of Kelli and Danny (doing his best blue steel impression).

Thanks mom, for everything!

Jean's Bridal Shower

Last weekend Caroline, Brooke and I threw our longtime friend, Jean a bridal shower. Carly arranged some goregeous flowers, we cooked a lot of food, and we really had a relaxing time celebrating with Jean and looking forward to the big day in November.

Georgia

We spent the Labor Day weekend in Georgia visiting with Ross's grandparents, aunts, uncles, and a couple of VERY cute cousins! We grilled out, spent a lot of time visiting on the porch, and launched rockets and had a silly string fight with Makenzie and Kayla. These girls are so much fun and we love seeing them, and the rest of the family, whenever possible!

Jared's girlfriend Jennifer came to visit this weekend which means Mack and Lola got even more attention! It's as if they have an aunt and and uncle around who spoil them so they basically pay no attention to Ross and I because they've figured out who the fun ones are! You should know that there will probably be more pictures of Mack than Lola on here... Lola seems to think the flash on the camera is the same thing as lightning so she scurries off and hides as soon as the 1st picture is taken.