Hello again

So I have been absolutely terrible about blogging lately, but I wanted to update you on what's been going on in our little world!  Hang on...this is going to be a long one.

Christmas Completed...

We had Christmas with all the Gilland's on the Tuesday after Christmas. It was a great time and we played a mean game of dirty santa...It's officially crazy when we get together now because of all the sweet little ones we have running around. We currently have 11 babies running around and three on the way - a total of 14 second generation grandchildren! I think the photos are explination enough...

Everyone just finished with dinner - about to open presents

The chaos begins - passing out presents

Opening presents - and seeing what everyone else received!



I believe that Lilly was having more fun with the tissue paper than her actual presents - too cute!





The parents pitched in and gave grandmother a new rocking chair recliner - she was really excited about it.


"Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...that's what little boys are made of!"

Our last shower was a theme shower. They had the table decorated with little frogs, turtles, dogs, and everything little boy! It was absolutely adorable. And might I just add that she made a strawberry cake that was TO DIE FOR...it was amazing to say the least. We had so many sweet friends come to the shower and we really stocked up on all the essentials - now all we need is sweet little Tucker Wiley!

The food table - it was so cute! Even had a tablecloth that looked like grass

My sweet hostesses - Mrs. Leslie Hollowell, Aunt Nancy Clark, Mrs. Denise Howard, Mrs. Kim McDaniel, and Mrs. Cheri Smith

The Grandmothers to be!

My wonderful sister-in-law's - my sister was already back at school and couldn't make it :(

Diaper bag!

So I know I'm looking terrible in this photo but thought I would share the cow story - When we moved from Martin I missed hearing the cows mooing outside my window at night (honestly!), and I have constantly talked about how noisy the city is and how much I wish we had our cows back - well my parents bought Tucker a cow so that we would have a little piece of Martin back in our house. - I loved it!

We received some really sweet outfits, along with his pack-n-play, blankets, books, the mobile for his crib, high chair cover, sound machine, hooded towels, bottles, and many other great baby essentials.

I had such a wonderful time at all of our showers and we are so thankful to be blessed with so many great friends and family who care about us.  We are so appreciative of everyone and all they have done for us during such a special time in our lives.

On the home front...

We have made HUGE strides since the last time I posted about the house.  All the painting on the main living area is completed - except for a little touch up paint on the ceilings.  Also, we have carpet in both bedrooms, the stairs, and upstairs.  The stairs were a night mare when we moved in - you couldn't even walk up them without going sideways, but these have been fixed and look awesome as well.  J is going to start laying the hardwood floors on Saturday, so I'm hoping that by Sunday night we have at least a room or two ready for furniture!  All the tile has also been laid and grouted in the second bath, laundry room, pantry, and 1/2 bath, so we brought out our washing machine and dryer and plan on putting the closet storage back up in working order this weekend as well.  We are getting so close to moving in - I just can't belive it.  We would like to be completely moved in by next Saturday, and it's actually looking like we might meet our goals!

We are going to start slowly moving our packed boxes out to the house each day next week and may even stay there a few nights.  I have some photos below to show the progress - the first is just from the pretty snow we received here this past week.

Master Bedroom with carpet and new blinds - no baseboards yet though.

Our greatly improved stair well - love the carpet and the dark colors!

2nd bathroom - just need scrub everything down, add the shower curtain and mirror, and we are in business -well we'll have to add the door back too! :)

All the fixtures in the house were so nasty, but Jonathan cleaned this one up in the kitchen, and spray painted it for me - it looks like a brand new light fixture!

Laundry room with new tile - all I need now is to hook up the washer and dryer and bring out my big freezer and refrigerator!

New toilet and pedistal sink - looks like a completely different house!

Tucker's room already has the baseboard's down and J was gracious enough to let me bring out his furniture and set it up - the only room in the house that is livable - the rest looks like a hot mess right now. Last night we set up the crib, all his furniture, and I put some of his gifts away...I'm far from completing the process, but it was a great feeling to at least have it started!

I love our wicker pieces - we are going to hang a mirror above the dresser when we get a chance.



His crib with adorable bedding and mobile!



Changing table, reading nook, and swing that Jonathan put together - it wan't be there normally, just needed a place for it now.

Little reading nook - I thought I had a ton of books - I guess I'll have to get on collecting them!

Ah...what a feeling to know that we are actually making progress and moving forward with everything!  Now just to clean every other room in the house and bring furniture into them as well!  Hopefully we'll be meeting a little Tucker Wiley very soon and he enjoys his room as much as we do!