My 2010 Christmas Card

"I am not alone at all, I thought.
I was never alone at all.
And that, of course, is the message of Christmas.
We are never alone.
Not when the night is darkest,
the wind coldest,
the world seemingly most indifferent.
For this is still the time God chooses."

~Taylor Caldwell

And So The Journey Begins

Hmm...I can't believe this. The worst, most tragic night of my life happened one month ago. In some ways it seems like each and every minute of the day lasts an eternity. Yet it also feels like the wound is so fresh that it just happened hours ago. Ha, as I'm typing these words I have the sudden urge to throw this computer...this is so unreal. I'm trying to grasp that this is going to be my new normal - my new journey.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed."

Psalm 34:18

I take so much comfort in this truth. I wish I could fully describe this feeling of calm that will wash over me when I get upset, anxious, or angry. I've been a believer since I was a little girl, and believe me, I've seen my fair share of difficulties, but never have I seen the hand of God as I have in this past month. It's amazing. It's incredible. It's true. It's constant. I have learned to trust and depend on the Lord in a whole new way. It's amazing what rock-bottom will teach you. He has met me in my darkest hour and given me the peace to know that even though He never promised me an easy journey, I know my destination will be worth it.

______________________________________

Many people have asked me, "How is Dallas doing?" Well, the little love sponge is starting to act like himself again. He has enjoyed being around lots of friends and family.

It may come as no surprise, but Brad was the disciplinarian. He had lots of rules for Dallas, which is most certainly why Big D is such a well behaved pup. And it's probably no surprise to know that Dallas doesn't mind me for squat. I always said I was the fun parent, aka the push-over ;)

I have felt so bad for Dallas, that I've slipped up on one of the major rules. Dallas was NOT allowed to have table food/people food/call it what you want.

Ummm.....

Let's just say Dallas had a VERY HAPPY Thanksgiving :)

Dallas loves his Uncle Justin and Auntie Kristen and Auntie Taylor. Sweet lil' Tay has given up the comforts of her own bed to sleep with Dallas and I everynight. He gets a massage from Tay until he falls asleep.

And then of course there is the extended make-out sessions he has with Kristo. Her poor little face was raw from all the full faced tongue baths she received.

Dallas is going to be okay. I'm going to be okay. We've got one heck of a journey ahead, but together, my fuzzy sidekick and I, we are going to make it.

At Rest in the Arms of Jesus

Bradley C. Hatton
July 29, 1981 - November 7, 2010

I'm not sure I can put this into my own words yet. I can't think, I can't comprehend. My best friend, my sweet and handsome husband went to be with Jesus suddenly on Sunday night, November 7th. I am absolutely heart broken, but I have hope. I have been shaken to my core...the depth of this hurt and trauma I can't even describe. The only way I am able to put one foot in front of the other right now is from the amazing out pouring of prayers and support our family has received. My God is carrying me.

Two days after Brad passed away, I randomly opened my Bible to this verse I had highlighted a long time ago:

"I will never leave you nor forsake you. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
-Joshua 1:5&9

"You're in a better place, I've heard a thousand times.
And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you.
But the reason why I'm broken, the reason why I cry,
Is how long must I wait to be with you?

I close my eyes and I see your face.
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place.
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow.
I've never been more homesick than now.

Help me Lord cause I don't understand your ways.
The reason why I wonder if I'll ever know.
But, even if you showed me, the hurt would be the same
Cause I'm still here so far away from home

In Christ, there are no goodbyes.
And in Christ, there is no end.
So I'll hold onto Jesus with all that I have
To see you again

And I close my eyes and I see your face.
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place.
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow?

I've never been more homesick than now."

-Mercy Me

Can I just say...

Alicia is all work and no play, I'll live to blog another day...

Like BigDogs

My most precious MeeMaw taught me so many life long lessons:

1. Always have on matching bra and panties
2. Diamonds are a girls best friend...and junk jewelry
3. It IS important to have the best yard on the block - and neighborhood - maybe even town
4. In her own words, "Always have some cover-your-a$$-money"

(I'm realizing I can list another 500 things off the top of my head)

5. One of our favorites is the importance of "Bunkin up" and "Layin' in the bed like big dogs"

Therefore we always make an effort to bunk up like big dogs
{that would be Taylor, Kristen, Mom, Dallas, and I}

Bunking up gets intimate for Kristo and Dallas
Definitely french kissing...

Busted - still posting pics from May...I'll get to June eventually.

You can't take us anywhere

We sisters find joy in the little things in life. This joy can be found in a classy pair of eye glasses that magnify your eyes to 5 times the size - found in the back of an antique store - playing Next Top Eye Glasses Model in them until you have a headache - and paying 10 bucks for them (Taylor) because they are so hideously awesome.

Excuse me, do you know where I am?

Unlike Dallas on the 4th of July, I have not been in hiding, I just haven't been home much. I do have one heck of a blog catch-up to-do list. We've been to Texas and back, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Carolina for our 5 year anniversary (go us!) and I just got back from New Mexico late last night.

Somewhere in there I turned 28. The big 3-0 is upon me, and I say this with genuine excitement. Perhaps working with retirees all day has rubbed off on me because I can't wait to cruise around in a golf cart wearing bermuda shorts, socks with sandals, cashing in on that senior citizen discount, maybe make some quilts, and do what ever the flip I want!

phew...

.... I need a margarita, pronto.

I'm here!

Okay, I'm going to just get this out of the way and lay out my explanation {excuses} for blog negligence.


1. You know when you get so far behind on laundry that you just get overwhelmed and don't know where to start.... same concept

2. I stare at a computer for a good part of my work day. I'm like a little kid. As soon as I get home from work, I run in the house and change into play clothes and then play outside until dark.

3. I need some LOVE, comments, some interaction. Bloggers often say they blog to serve as a journal of sorts. I get that, but I also feel like I'm talking to myself on here, and where is the fun in that?


So what have we been up to? Here's the short list:

• Went to Dollywood with our wonderful neighbors and their kiddos. It was a lot of fun and I will certainly be going back for the FOOD! Oh goodness, it was like classy fair food!


• Girls trip to Louisville, Kentucky for "Wicked". It is by far my favorite play. The music, set, and story were fantastic! It was a quick weekend trip, but we even managed to squeeze in Churchill Downs and place some bets. You could say I'm a big deal...I doubled my money...all $2.00 dollars.


• My whole family came to visit from New Mexico! I can't believe we were all able to coordinate our schedules. All the kiddos are growing up and that's getting harder to do. It was so nice to get to share our life in Tennessee with them. We did plenty of sight seeing, eating, shopping, board games, and of course - played a lot of "Just Dance" on Wii {more pictures to come}. Brad and Mom managed to weasel their way out of dancing, tisk-tisk. My brother Justin is a very talented photographer. I didn't even attempt to take pictures the week they were here because I knew I would just steal his. He is editing the pictures, so I'll have to add those later with some more trip details.


• And last weekend I got to visit Kelley, one of my dear high school friends that only lives an hour away in North Carolina. Her and her sweet husband our expecting a baby this fall!
  

And some photo highlights:

In KY with the Colonel

Watch out! High Roller coming through!

The FAM!

80 ft Waterfall we hiked to. Some of the girly girls in our family missed this natural beauty. They may or may not have elected to stay in the car because they didn't want to get their shoes dirty :)

carpool

Can you tell which one is my kid? Ha!

I'm already feeling the need to trade in the ol' 4Runner for a Swagger Wagon:

*Side note, Brad actually rented a Swagger Wagon this week to drive to Nashville for work. I have been singing this song non-stop to annoy him, but I'm fairly certain that he now sees its appeal.

Warms my heart

I hope it was a happy Mother's Day for all the mommas out there...especially our lovely mommas. Even though we didn't get to spend the day with either of them, we get to look forward to seeing my Mom at the end of this month and Brad's Mom at the end of June!

Being out in Tennessee by our lonesome can be a little sad on special days, but we are so very blessed with a couple of different neighbors that have taken us in. My sweet buddy Kylee brought me the most beautiful roses for Mother's Day. She is so thoughtful to think of me as her second Mom. She may be in elementary school, but Kylee is wise beyond her years to know that her kind gesture would mean the world to me on that day.




This next photo was not planned, and it took the trained eye of my sister Kristen to notice the hilarious details between the photo above (my kitchen) and the photo below (my mom's kitchen). We may be 1,500 miles apart, but there is no denying we have some freaky similarities.
1. Flowers positioned in the same spot (our kitchens even have the same layout)
2. Exact same lotion in the same spot to the left of the sink
3. Covered cake plate with half eaten cake in the same spot

So, Happy Momma's day Mom....I've grown up to be just like you, maybe even your clone...and I'm quite proud of it :)

I may not have a conventional baby...YET, but I do have a soft-sweet-angel-baby-bear that warms my heart every day.

You're so thoughtful Kristo :)

Kristen has been very busy with one of her favorite hobbies - faceinhole.com. Thanks Krissy, you are a true artist :)

I can't even begin to describe how much I have loved Pippi since I was a little kiddo. She was independent, strong, fun and had a monkey - everything I wanted to be. Thank you Kristo for making all my dreams come true.

Farm Livin' Is The Life For Me!

We decided to take it up a notch from the previous post. Why not start an ambitious garden?

Sure, we have no idea what we're doing.

I do know that all the cool retirees in the neighborhood are doing it....so how hard can it be?

Okay, it's a little difficult, but we had a blast working hard in the yard - and Brad has a sexy farmer's tan to boot.

My boys are worn out!
Dallas had a good ol' time sprinting through the garden after we so carefully organized the rows. When he wasn't destroying our progress, he was chilling in his baby pool all day.

We even planted a tree this weekend....for Dallas....is that weird? Little Bear has been missing his peach tree.

We worked so hard to get everything planted. Perhaps we should have checked the weather report for that night - frost. No worries, we have a bazillion boxes in the basement to protect our precious veggies. Check out our lovely box garden.



Just know that even though I think I have gone country, this Waterford box begs to differ.

We've Gone Country

Happy Easter you-ins! I hope it was a great day for everyone. We almost had to postpone Easter this year because I had the worst stomach bug that I can remember. I got really sick the night before my test...which I had been studying weeks for....grrrr. I'm a nerd, I don't miss tests! But I digress, thankfully the Hatton household was finally all better for celebrating Easter.

Looks like the Easter Bunny brought Dallas some goodies. He's smiling!

And it looks that that clever Bunny brought Brad a new lawn mower. Don't worry, I know every man would want to pick out his own mower, and he did.

And it's official - we've gone country.

Spring is gorgeous here!


"See ya later!"

blah!

Studying all weekend for another licensing test for work = very uneventful weekend. I do have high hopes for the upcoming 3 day weekend. So much fun yard work to do (I am my mother's daughter).

I got up extra early to study this morning so I can watch the Baylor game guilt free tonight. Baylor vs Duke. A Baptist school vs the Devils. It's obvious whose side God is on :)

Also, we totally love that the Lady Bears knocked out the #1 seed Tennessee Lady Vols. Just for fun, I took Dallas on a walk around the neighborhood yesterday, full Baylor gear in tow, just with the hopes of running into a sad Tennessee fan.

AHHHHHH Sic em'

Well....

I really wish there was something interesting going on in our lives to write about. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I like that there is nothing crazy going on, but I highly doubt anybody would want to hear about how I go to work/go home/in bed by 9:00. Same goes for Brad.

Now Dallas on the other hand(paw), always has a packed schedule. His latest favorite activity is bird hunting. Just ONE time he saw a bird fly out of the shrubs. He remembers this. His new mission in life is to find that bird...and hurl himself in to the nice bushes every time we go outside.

yep, that's all I've got

Nighty Night!

Some local flavor

When Brad told me it was date night and we could go eat where ever my heart desired, he wasn't expecting me to choose my new favorite local hot spot. Not only is the sweet tea capable of giving you diabetes, the entertainment is one of a kind. On this particular night, we jammed out to "The Old Timers" band.

What you don't see in this picture is Brad sitting on a tiny and wobbly chair. Poor guy. He is such a good sport...most of the time.

Dallas had a slumber party with his new BFF, Buckeye. He is the sweetest little puppy. Brad and I didn't want to give him back to his owner! Here are the two fuzz-meisters loaded up and ready to go to school. Don't judge. This is what you do when you don't have human kiddos.

Almost forgot I had a blog

no...not really. There just isn't a whole lot of excitement going on here. I do have a few pics of some less eventful happenings I'll post tomorrowish...maybe, depending on how exciting Thursday night tv is :)

Nighty Night!

V E G A S

I'm just now blogging about our trip to Las Vegas because I have just now recuperated. WOW! SO much different than life in Tennessee! First of all, I need a whole lot of sleep and people don't sleep in Vegas. But even without sleep, we had a blast! I'm so happy we were able to spend some time with my parents who coincidentally had a Vegas trip planned for the same weekend. In one very short weekend we managed to squeeze in Cirque Du Soleil "O", Carrot Top, lots of hotel purusing, great food, and even some gambling and partying.


The 5 minute limo ride to the hotel. We do it up big!
You should know that this hard core crew had been up since around 3 a.m. for our early flight. Super Loopy!



We met up with my parents at Margaritaville. My Dad and I share a very special Jimmy Buffett bond. Our offical father daughter song is "Cheeseburger in Paradise". I was so close to having our Father-Daughter dance be to that song at my wedding, but I didn't want to seem like a weirdo, AND my Dad has killer dance moves that were better displayed by a classic country song.

Sing a-long if you know it..."Big Kosher pickle and a cold draft beer...."


Mom is doin' her thing! I had never even seen a slot machine in my life. She took me to her favorite slot machine, put in a $20 ...and it was gone within a few minutes.






smoochin' at Caesars :)

Headed to see Carrot Top with the work crew. I wasn't too sure about this one, but left the show exhausted from non stop laughing. Brad was laughing so hard the whole time that it just looked like he was crying.

Bellagio

Brunch at the Bellagio. What a beautiful hotel!

Hey, who is that handsome stud!





Rooftop fun with our friends from California

Sadly, I must have had a crazy good time that night because I squished my beloved camera. Grrrr.... Note to self, for the same reason you buy inexpensive sunglasses (b/c the nice ones get stolen, broken, or lost) - do the same with cameras.

In conclusion,
Vegas, you were crazy, fun, and wonderful. Thanks for the memories. We won't be seeing you for awhile because frankly, you are too dang expensive. It's not you, it's me. I just need a vacation that involves more naps, trips to the spa, and some more naps.