reflections of 2009

Wow. I started writing my reflections of 2009 and realized--this isn't just the end of one year, this is the end of a decade. And what a decade it has been! Many major moments occurred: attending college, Sigma Chi and Chi Omega, graduating college, moving to Louisiana and Texas, moving back to Arkansas, starting "grown up" jobs, leaving said jobs for bigger and better things, Tim and I meeting and growing to become best friends and partners, Pippi, Tyson, nieces and nephews...I could go on and on, I mean, it is 10 years worth! I can't believe that 10 years have gone by so quickly. I can still remember my sister calling me on NYE of the Millenium explaining to me that is was in fact the "Mill-en-ni-ni-um!" I expect great things for the next decade--Tim and I starting our own family and growing with one another. I'm so excited!

The year 2009 was a big year for me and Tim. Some moments were the happiest of our lifetime thus far while other moments were some of the most tragic of our lifetime. We've learned a lot in 2009--that life can change in an instant. That we are not invincible. We've learned to love the moments as we experience them and cherish our family and friends, both in the good times and the bad. We've learned that support systems are crucial and that to enjoy our time here on earth is the most precious gift that we receive. We've learned the power of prayer is an amazing, amazing thing--in both miracles and tragedies.

So, without further ado and in no particular order, here are some of our key moments of 2009:

RAINiest YEAR in ARKANSAS history

Tons of friends and family travel to NOLA for Mardi Gras!

Baby MAXX joins the family!!

Tyson becomes the "Dog Bed Master" destroying 3.5 beds!

Tim pops the "BIG QUESTION" and I SAID YES!!!

Cherie takes "Launch Your Kid" live!

Shay attends her FIRST Jimmy Buffett concert (I know, right?? Why did it take SO LONG?)

Our humble little city, Little Rock, makes the Forbes Top 20 Most Livable Cities

Recession =(

Tim joins Delta Trust

Crazy Wedding Planning!!

Did I mention RAIN?!?!?!?

Girls Trips/Guys Trips (fun, fun!!)

Tim and Shay Celebrate Their Third Anniversary!!

Hall High and Catholic High Class of 1999 10 Year Reunion!

Healthcare Reform, Healthcare Reform, Healthcare Reform (not much else in the news)

Crazy Shay goes back to school

Year of the Hummingbirds in the front yard (ya'll I really loved watching those birds!)

OUR DECK GETS STAIRS!!! (Huge Moment!!)

Hogs gain an offense (what's that? PASSING???)

New Orleans Saints 2009 NFC South Champions!

Tim tries the gluten-free diet (that was NOT fun!)

TONS of friends get engaged! (too many to list these days!)

TCU makes it to a BCS game!

Baby LIBBY joins the family!!

Tim and Shay host first Christmas Eve together

again...did I mention rain???

Yay James!! Kicked Leukemia's booty!!!

While it breaks my heart to write the following--they are moments from '09 that made profound impacts on our lives--or on lives of people we hold very near and dear in our hearts.

Rest in Peace --Pamela K. Thorson (1950-2009), Shay's Aunt

In Our Hearts Forever --Mamie Katherine Adams (June 25, 2009),

daughter of Sarah and Taylor Adams

Tim and Shay wish all of our blog readers a very Happy New Year! Here's to 2010 and all the amazing memories it will hold for us all! Up next...April 24!!

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Christmas 2009

I can't believe that Christmas has already come and gone! Where oh where does the time go!?! This is my absolute FAVORITE holiday. For every reason that comes along with the season. The birth of our Saviour, spending time with family and friends, finding that perfect gift for your family. I LOVE to see the smiles on their faces when they open their gifts! Lots of food and no guilt in eating it! :) I could go on and on...

This year was a first for me--as I hosted our family's Christmas Eve get together. Christmas Eve is the night the Paulsons all get together and exchange gifts, eat gumbo, chili, ham and lots of junky snack foods, and enjoy one another's company. I was thrilled how the night went and got TONS of pictures...

Christmas morning we checked out the loot Santa brought the pups and Tim and I exchanged our gifts. Then we headed over to my grandfather's house to eat brunch with him. We finished the day with going to see the movie Sherlock Holmes and then spend the rest of the day being lazy! PERFECT CHRISTMAS.

Here are some of the pictures I took during the Christmas festivities:

Me, John and Lizzy

Steve got "big boy" panties, just like what John wears!!!

He was so proud! He just had to model them!

Veronica and Nick got a pretty neat gift, too...since their old tv died on them. :)

I love my sissy!

And my Timbo...

Miss V, daddy and mama

Miss Lizzy is a huge fan of shoes. She was modeling my new boots for us all...

Ty was very intrigued with the little ones.

But then it was exhausting keeping up with them. Thank goodness for Moogie's lap!

Christmas Morning we had to check out what Santa brought us...as usual, he did pretty good!


Ty's candy cane rawhide is as long as him!

Our new doormat. :)

This is a print for the 2007 National Championship LSU team. Tim got to go to that game, so I figured he'd like to have the print. It's going to hang in the office (out of my line of vision)...

The BESTEST gift...a photo shoot with our wedding photographers. I had originally opted out of engagement photos, but began to regret that decision. Thankfully, I have an AWESOME fiance and he got me the shoot for my Christmas present!

Pippi enjoyed Ty's candy cane, as well. Santa did good. ;)

Not really sure what this face is...but I got a snuggie. And it's pink and fantastic!

Since I had soo many pictures from Christmas Eve, I put the Christmas Eve pictures in a slideshow (I'm just too lazy to upload all those pictures!!).

trip to who dat nation

Last weekend Tim and I loaded up the pups and the car and headed down to New Orleans. I took the first driving shift which is all of 65--and I usually detest making that part of the drive. However, luck was on my side and not Timbo's for this drive...the second Tim got behind the wheel, rain started falling. And it fell and fell and fell. From Tallulah, LA to New Orleans. Over three hours of Tim driving in torrential rain. Needless to say, he wasn't too pleased with the drive! (who could blame him).

On Friday, my mom, Tim and I met up with MawMaw El, Will, Amanda, and Maxx and had YUMMY poboys from Parkway Bakery and Tavern... Then Tim and I wondered around the French Market for a little while. Friday night, mama cooked up a delicious meal to celebrate my dad's birthday (and Linda's...though, she was absent from the festivities).

Saturday we headed down to the CBD early and enjoyed the pre-game festivities. We won't talk about the results of that game. But...I will say we had so much fun. After the game we met up with Amanda, Scott, Rachael and Will (they were downtown for a wedding). It was SO MUCH FUN!!

Here are some pics I got (and "borrowed") from the weekend.

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Christmas!!


One of the CUTEST little boys in the whole wide world (don't let that face fool you--he's such a happy little man!) with his Mama and Uncle Will.

Me and Tim with MawMaw El. Her face is FUNNY!!!
El and Tim playing with Maxx.


My time management disabled mother....didn't have the table set about 30 minutes before the guests were to arrive, so I set the table for her. Isn't it pretty?!?
Mama and Timbo outside the Dome.

Me and Tim outside the Dome.

Inside the Dome. For those of you that have heard the story...you can see the Witten family right behind us. ;)

POST GAME--at the Sheraton with the fam...

Tim and his (our) cousin, Amanda (thanks for the pics, Amanda!!)

Sad cousin Will because of the Saints loss. :(

Me and Amanda...I can't wait to be a part of ya'll's fam!!! Love you!!

Elizabeth Clare Behrens

Tim and I are THRILLED to announce the arrival of our THIRD niece, Miss Elizabeth "Libby" Clare Behrens.

She arrived Monday, December 21st at 3:32 pm. She weighed in at a whoppin' 7 lbs. 12 oz and was 20" long.

According to reports from Dave and Cherie (proud mom and dad)--Libby's big sister, Maddie, has not yet met her, but welcomed the news with, "Yea! Snack, please!"

Tim and I will not get to meet little Miss until April (insert sad face)...but we're THRILLED that our new computer has a web camera so that we can at least talk to the Behrens via Skype. :)

Welcome to the world Baby Libby!! We love you sooooo much!

Love,
and Uncle Tim

christmas card 2009

Now that I finally got the Christmas cards out in the mail, I figured I'd share with blog land. IF you didn't get one in the mail, please don't be mad at me. This year, with the wedding and all, I found myself a bit overwhelmed and wasn't even going to do one. Tim said I should at least send cards out to family and our very closest friends. So...that is what I did. Here is the card we sent out. It's not my favorite--there are so many other things I could've done with it--but it has two of the cutest pups in the whole wide world featured on it--so how could it be wrong???

And just because...
My mom sent me an email last night and I thought this was just too cute! Gotta love 'em Saints, right? Tim and I will be in the Dome on Saturday night to watch the Saints/'Boys game. YAY!!!

2nd annual girls baking day

We had a our Second Annual Girls' Baking Day this past Saturday. This has got to be one of my absolute favorite things that me and my girlfriends do together. For so many reasons. First, we're baking yummy goodies (umm...WHO could complain about that?) Second, I get to spend special time with some of my very favorite ladies. Third, this is a tradition that we can always maintain, even when our lives begin changing with kiddos, etc.

We just all really enjoy each other's company and love making yummy Christmas goodies. Thanks Mama, Ms. JB and Diane for instilling this FANTASTIC annual event in our minds. Here are some pictures I took of our day:

Here we are at our gift exchange. Tyson was helping. :)

Shot in front of the tree: Miss V, Jess, Marlo (aka Telluride), Mrs. G and me!


Mrs. Martha Crocker (inside Joke from last year). MESSY!!!

Baking away...

Pippi wasn't so sure about all the stuff going on around her...but she didn't want to leave the kitchen for fear of missing out on something.

Veronia (no...there is NO typo) lookin' serious. Marlo, I did this for you. :)

Love, shy.

Ty was definitely not interested in all the activities going on inside the kitchen, so he took up camp right outside of the kitchen, out of harm's way. ;)

Mrs. G working on her Puppy Chow. Or--as Miss V (aka Veronia) would put it "People Chow."

Miss V got all of us aprons for baking day. Here we are modeling them. I spilled butter on mine, so Ty was very interested in my apron the rest of the day...

We each decorated our aprons to help celebrate our annual day. We each put our name, Baking Day and the years we've participated thus far. I confiscated Mrs. G's...

cirque du soleil

Last night Tim and I went to an iShares function at the Museum of Discovery. iShares is one of Tim's vendors (for 529s if any of you are looking to set up college funds for your kiddos!) and they are sponsors of the US Traveling Cirque du Soleil group. Which means...we got to see a couple of performances last night! Those performers are AMAZING! I told Tim we're definitely going to have to go see a full show as soon as possible! I haven't been feeling well this week and almost backed out of going--but we were both SO glad that we went. It was a lot of fun!

I snapped a few pictures with my phone and thought I'd share with you guys.

Tim is headed to Shreveport tomorrow for one of his college buddy's wedding. I'm going to stay in Little Rock because my girls and I are having our annual baking day tomorrow! Lots of yummy goodies! Then, we both pack up and head out to New Orleans on Thursday. We're SO excited! Tis the season to be busy, right???

Tell yo' Mama!!!

...I'm from Arkansas!!!

Sorry, this video just made me LAUGH OUT LOUD. It was soooo funny to me!!! Thought I'd share with you all.

You better recognize!! ;)

h/t: Blog Hawgs

And I am apparently just easily amused today, because I found myself laughing out loud at this headline/news story from the Times Pic. Lucky Dog vendor, threatened, puts Marine training to work. Semper Fi yo!!!