I'm Thankful

I'm thankful. I'm thankful for so so many things - especially this year. I didn't jump on the bandwagon of posting one thankful thing per day this month for fear of leaving something or someone out. But, I could not let this day go by without at least putting down a few of the reasons my cup is overflowing this year. So, here is a (not even close to comprehensive) list of the top ten things that make my heart sing with gratitude. 

1. I'm thankful for my Savior and His complete and unconditional love.  
2. I'm thankful for my wonderful husband. I am so blessed to be Mrs. Stewart.  
3. I'm thankful for our growing family and this little life that is growing (and apparently leaping and bounding) inside of me. It is such a miracle! 
4. I'm thankful for my fuzzy little doggie. That adorable Gizzy pup has brought more joy and laughter into our lives than I ever could have imagined.  
5. I'm thankful for my Mommy - a true Proverbs 31 woman. She loves and lives with her whole heart. I hope I can live up to her example.  
6. I'm thankful for my Daddy.  I love every bit of him and truly miss waking up to his goofy singing every morning. I cannot wait to watch him and my mom become grandparents! 
7. I'm thankful for my sweet brother and sister. We're closer today than we were when we all lived in the same house and it is such a blessing to watch the two of you become such wonderful adults. I'm so proud to be your big sissy. :) 
8. I'm thankful for the rest of my Alabama (and beyond) family. For sweet grandparents, aunts and uncles, and my wonderful cousins. I am blessed because of you.  
9. I'm thankful for the amazing family I married into. Brandon's family (Stewarts, Pollards, Gregorys, and all) have taken me in as one of their own from the very beginning. I couldn't even begin to list the reasons and ways they have blessed my life! 
10. I'm thankful for my friends - far and near. Friends who share their lives, their faith, and their families with me and allow me to do the same. I love you! 

 So, yes, I'm thankful - for these and so many more. My list could stretch on for days and not be complete. I could list my home, my church, my wonderful job and the people (staff, students, and parents) that come with it, the AMAZING food we will eat today (Grandma's home canned green beans - out here in Texas!!), the fact that I'll be eating it all in maternity pants (hooray for elastic!), and so many many things. 

I am rich because of these. I am blessed. I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dorm Days

My baby sister is officially a college freshman!  She moved into her dorm on Friday and starts her first classes tomorrow.  I can hardly believe it, and I am so excited for her to have this experience.  Makes me miss my old New Hall days!  I pray that her years in college are as near and dear to her as my own and that she will be a shining light on Huntingdon's campus.

Here is her side of her dorm room.  Isn't it adorable!

See that big empty space above her desk?  Very soon it will be displaying this lovely little bulletin board, made by yours truly.  I found all of my supplies at Hobby Lobby (isn't that fabric a great match for her bedding colors?) for less than $10.  It was super easy and I'm thrilled with how it turned out!  I'll do a how-to post on it soon.  For now, enjoy!

I've been playing around with some typography lately and couldn't resist adding a couple of verses to her board.

I can't wait to see it in her room!

Babes, I love you and I am so proud of you!!  Good luck tomorrow!
Love,
Sissy

Merry Christmas!

On this day two years ago, the love of my life suprised me by showing up in Fayette, Alabama on Christmas morning to ask me a very important question.  I said yes.  Today, we have been happily married for over a year and are the proud parents of a sweet, fuzzy Gizmo puppy.  I can easily say that these have been the happiest two years of my life.  I am overwhelmed by the blessings God has given our little family.

We've been in Alabama for almost a week now visiting my family and part of Brandon's.  We got in early early early last Saturday morning (around 2:30 am).  We spent Saturday driving to Decatur and then Huntsville for my dad's big family get-togethers.  On Sunday we went to Hanceville for my mom's family Christmas.  It was so great to see all of my cousins (most of whom we haven't seen since our wedding).  We had so much fun being together again. 

On Monday we drove down to LA (lower Alabama) to Dothan so we could spend some time with Brandon's dad, his step-mom Eloise, and her mom Joyce.  We had a great time visiting with them (although I wish we could have stayed even longer).  Gizmo loved getting to spend time with his Mimi.  :)  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures from our trip down there, but I think Eloise got some good ones.  I'll have to post those later.

We got back to Fayette on Wednesday night and have thoroughly enjoyed our time here.  Last night we got to attend my family's church for a beautiful Christmas Eve service, then started our family Christmas tradition.  We came home, had dinner, then opened family presents.  Then this morning, we watched Jonathan and Anna open Santa presents and we all went through our stockings.  I have to say that Gizmo and DC (my family's adorable dachshund) racked up.  :)  Today has been a very relaxing day.  It couldn't have been a better Christmas. 

On Monday, we will head back to Texas and have more Christmas with Brandon's mom and that part of the family.  For those of you who we missed today, we give you our love.  I hope you have all had a very merry Christmas.  May God bless us, everyone. 

Love,
Brandon, Melanie, and Gizmo

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRANDON!

Good Times

Well, Brandon and I are finally moved in and getting settled in our new house. All of the big stuff is unpacked. The kitchen is finished (except for whatever I decide to put on top of the cabinets). All that's left to do now is decide where bookshelves should go and load them up with books and what-nots, and then decorate! Fun stuff! :)

I love it here! The neighborhood is so gorgeous! I can sit out on my balcony and look out around the different brightly colored houses and I almost feel like I'm at the beach! The saltwater pools and the beautiful white egrets that fly around from the lake only enhance the feeling.

My parents got to visit us this last weekend. They drove the 10 hours all the way from Alabama on Friday and just went back yesterday. It was so great to see them and get some good Mommy-time. We haven't been able to spend a lot of quality time together in the last few years since I've been living in Texas, so this was really nice - and much needed. We all had so much fun. Brandon and I took them to Ikea (which, by the way, if you haven't been, GO!) and got some fun stuff for the kitchen AND some super fun stuff for my classroom. I actually found a big, heart-shaped pillow with arms and big hands. Perfect for working on steady-beat with my little ones! Ikea is wonderful! It's like the DisneyWorld of furniture/home goods.

While they were here, we discovered that the ponds and lakes around the community here are actually catch-and-keep until the end of August, so we spent a good bit of quality time fishing with my dad, too. He and Brandon ended up catching enough for us to have a fish fry! That, coupled with the fresh gulf shrimp that my dad brought with them, made my favorite meal. It was so good! I think Brandon may be hooked on fishing. :D

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and we were sad to see it end. Even Gizmo misses my folks. He had so much fun playing chase with my dad and snuggling with my mom - it was adorable (sometimes I wonder if he likes my dad even more than us!). He's even gone up and whined at the guest-room door a couple of times today, hoping to find them.

In other news, I will hopefully be able to get in my classroom tomorrow to drop off some of my boxes and see what kind of supplies I have. I've been told I should have a pretty big puppet collection - I'm really excited about that! I'm ready to start setting up and planning! I've already been to new hire orientation and my staff development starts August 10 (kids come on the 24th). In a few weeks, Brandon will have his placement exams and ensemble auditions at UNT, and by the end of August, things will be in full swing for both of us. I think we're both looking forward to it, but for now we're enjoying this vacation time too. :)