Lets Catch Up Shall We?

Its been awhile since my last post - so Happy New Year!

My busiest time at SDEA is the first of the year.  I work late most nights and am swamped until our student conference - therefore no blog posts from me till now.  So, lets catch up...

Warning long post with lots of pictures!!

Christmas!
With three families - we have a lot of traveling to do at Christmas!  So, Michael and I decided to do our first married Christmas together a few days before.  We had a night at home in sweats, made dinner, watched Polar Express and swapped gifts.

We started our night with the most important thing -  reading the Christmas story - the birth of Jesus!

My stocking had DVD's and a Steel City Pops gift card!

I got a purse that I LOVED and a new straightener!

Michael had some cd's, stuff for his car and his hair

Polar Express by the tree

 

I got Michael a new pair of shoes and jeans

Our travels began with my mom's side of the family in Jasper.  We had fun with the kids making pictures...

He is so much fun

And so cute!

A sweet sweet boy

Michael and Ella decided to get into it...

We then headed to Michael's parents in McCalla for his mom's side of the family.  We had a great time playing Dirty Santa and hanging out with everyone.

Michael's aunt & uncle - Bill and Alisa 

Michael's mawmaw - she is so sweet

Michael's dad, Terry- little dirty Santa trading going on

Michael's aunt Janice, mom and aunt Alisa

We gave mawmaw a picture of the family from the wedding - she loved it!

I love her expression looking at the photo

The next morning (Christmas Eve) we opened gifts with Michael's family.  I have loved being a part of the Mayfield family.  They have welcomed me in with open arms!

We got Michael's mom - Debbie - a vest - she loved it!

Elizabeth and her friend, Dan.

Elizabeth, Michael's sister, is such a precious woman - I have really developed a sweet friendship with her.

Michael's dad, Terry, he was fun to watch open his gifts - his reaction to all his gifts was tons of excitement!

We had the opportunity to visit Michael's grandparents, Mimi and Grandaddy on Christmas Eve.  There are such precious people. 

We gave them a picture of the entire Mayfield clan (minus one cousin) from  our wedding.

Then we made the track back to Jasper for my dad's side of the family.  We were back and forth all weekend but it was fun seeing all of our families!

We always open a few gifts on Christmas Eve...

Ella loved her Cabbage Patch Kid named Ella

Brandon was reading up on his flag football set

One of the gifts Michael and I got them was the Children's Storybook Bible

 

Uncles are always harassing this guy...

Ella can read her name now, so she was finding all of the gifts with her name on it...

 

Tracy got a new vaccum

All the guys got step ladders

Its fun with kids on Christmas Eve.  Ella and Brandon put cookies and milk out for Santa and reindeer food out in the yard for Rudolph and Co.

 

We are all ready for Santa!

 

  

 

  

Testing out the new bikes!

Michael and I got $ for our summer cruise!

Ronald got a hunting mask

Brandon had asked for an iPod touch.  Well, Santa decided to hide the gift under after everything had been opened...the excitement on this little guy's face when he found it under the tree was priceless!

Christmas lunch - yum!

After lunch we headed to my mom's for Christmas dinner...
My mom surprised us and decided to dress up like Mrs. Claus - needless to say the kids loved it!

Everyone from our family got wedding pictures or wedding books.  Might as well get our $ worth out of our pictures! :)

 

Brandon got a guitar - Michael showed him some chords

Needless to say it was a busy, but fun filled time with our families.  We are so thankful for them and most importantly for the birth of our Savior!!

First Married Christmas!

Karen (34), Cindy (32) & Liz (31) - AL

Today I'm hooking up with Kelly's Korner for Show Me Your Life Singles Edition! I'm so excited to do this & introduce you to 3 of my favorite ladies! Lets get started...

Karen, Liz & Cindy

Karen aka "Blarin Karen" is one of my best friends! She is 34 and works in the banking industry. Karen is a woman after God's own heart. She loves The Lord & always wants to serve & obey Him in all she does. She has an incredible voice (she sings on our praise team at church), loves her church, is the funniest person I know & is a natural born leader. Although she is a leader she is seeking a Godly man to lead her. She likes a big guy who loves to travel and loves spending time with family & friends. She is a HUGE Alabama football fan - Roll Tide, loves reality tv, all kinds of music & a good road trip! She is always a matchmaker (she introduced me to my husband) and now I want to help her! So if you are interested in a loyal, compassionate & Jesus loving girl - comment below!

Cindy is a girly girl who loves cars! She is 32 years old & works in the billing department at a local company in Birmingham. She is one of my best friends & has always been such an encouragement in my life. She loves The Lord & loves her friends & family (especially her sweet new nephew) with all she has. She loves to shop, loves to be crafty & loves old cars (she has an old camaro that she drives around town in). Cindy is always up for a good challenge - whether it be in fixing up her car, home improvement or getting in shape! Cindy is such a loyal person & deserves someone who will treat her like a queen! If you are interested in a lady who loves life & makes the best desserts around - comment below! 

Liz is one of the most artistic ladies I know! She is 31 & works for a printing company in Birmingham. Liz is my friend who is never scared of a travel adventure & loves to go to new places! She is a talented artist (she drew the photo below for our wedding), loves to play sports & loves anything involving art. She loves Jesus & is very involved at our church. She is such a sweet, thoughtful friend who I love sharing a laugh with! Liz is looking for a tall gentleman who will honor her as she so deserves! If you are looking for a girl who wants to travel the world - please comment below!

As you can see, I have 3 beautiful friends (who love to have fun) - their beauty is not only on the outside but most importantly on the inside! They love Jesus with all their hearts & seek that man that does the same. I know they are going to make someone very happy one day! Will it be you??!!

Merry Christmas

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:1-21 ESV)

Merry Christmas!

Dirty Santa Party

Weekend update from the Mayfield's!

I had the day off on Friday (which I am always excited about)! I began my day doing a little cleaning, wrapping gifts, watching Hallmark Christmas movies and then like everyone else I saw the horrific news from Newtown.  I was glued to the tv for the rest of the afternoon with a broken heart for those families that lost so much. It is truly unimaginable what those families and students are going through.  My prayer continually has been that this would wake up our nation to turn back to the only ONE that can heal this world (gun control, help for the mentally ill, more security in our schools won't fix our nation's problems - only HE can).  Our prayers have been and will continue to be with them in the days ahead.  

I was off work Friday due to our Dirty Santa Party that we were hosting.  Hopefully we can make this a yearly tradition because we had such a fun time.    

   

Lots of gifts piled up ready to be had!   

And lots of good food!  Our friend Liz made this cookie cake - so cute!

Our house was packed and we loved it!

Time to play!

Russ was hoping he wouldn't get stuck with the purple scarf!

We moved all of our furniture around to accommodate our very full house!

 

Russ was thankful he did not end up with the purple scarf!

One of the more popular gifts - mustaches :)

Michael ended up with the Dirty Santa - thankfully it was the best gift - a Best Buy card!

We have some of the best friends around!  We are so thankful for them.  As our friend, Karen, said on her Facebook status after the party...

So thankful to have such a great group of friends. Thankful to be able to sit around and talk about the good and bad, funny and sad and know that we couldn't imagine going through any of it without Jesus. Blessed with so much more than I deserve. Fun night!

It really was a fun night! 

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

A few years ago I heard my friend, Stephanie, talking about making an ooey gooey butter cake.  I had no clue what she was talking about.  So, I looked it up and decided to make it - wow - that is a good cake!  Now, its a recipe from Paula Deen, so needless to say, its full of butter and calories - but its good.  That has become my go to dessert to make and I have requests from friends to make it all the time.  

I made it for our Handley Christmas - so I decided to document everything while I was making it and post it here...hope you enjoy!!

Ingredients needed - full recipe is below

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. 

Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl (I always use the same bowl to save on dirtying up more bowls), beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together. 

Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well. 

Spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. 

Finished Product = yummo

Cake:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer.  Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together. 

Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well.  Spread over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.