Smith Family Christmas Celebration

I had my first family Christmas celebration on Saturday. We all headed down to Van Buren to celebrate with the Smith side of my family. We had a ton of fun. In total, the house was filled with 31 people but the only ones that mattered were the 4 little ones - Kinley, Anniston, Treyson and Will. As soon as the babies arrived, everybody stopped talking and all attention was centered around them. Throughout the night we ate tons of food, watched football games, opened presents and had a visit from Santa - and yes, ALL the kids had to sit on his lap including me. I love Christmas time because we have get-togethers like these. Below are a few pics from the night and the rest will be posted on Facebook. Merry Christmas!Ryan was a trooper with the picture taking - I warned him, with 4 aunts who are all as picture crazy as I am, he was going to be posing for a lot of pictures that night. Anniston in her cute Christmas outfit.
Kinley and baby Will - the newest addition to the family. Kinley kept saying all night "Take a picture of me" (she gets that from her mother-Leah always loved being center of attention)
"I promise Santa, I have been a VERY good girl"

The Smith siblings - Don, Laura, Julie and Susan.

Ho Ho HUH?

Check out this hilarious website: http://www.sketchysantas.com/

Dont' we all have pictures of Santas that just don't seem quite right?!?

This is my favorite- The "What the Hell am I suppose to Do" Santa.

Happy Birthday Ryan!!

Today Ryan turns 29. Everybody wish him a very happy birthday.

Love you Ryan!

My Christmas Cottage

One of my favorite things about living in a house is that I have a WHOLE house to decorate. I think i have filled up my 1000 sq. foot home with as much Christmas stuff as I could find. My house is so cozy with all the Christmas decorations so I have started referring to it as my Christmas Cottage.

This is my main tree in my living room. I want to do a fancy tree with lots of ribbon and matching ornaments but I just can't seem to part with all my snowmen ornaments yet. I have been collecting snowmen since 2002. This tree is almost completely covered with them.

The wreath on my door. It was pre-made but I added to it to spice it up a bit.

My Kitchen table.

This is my mantle above the fireplace (which unfortunatley isn't functioning). Collin helepd me with the garland. And yes, Tackle does have a stocking - don't judge me. This is the stocking I have had since I was a baby. It has a cross-sticked Snowman on it so apparenlty my obsession with snowmen started at birth.

Speaking of Tackle, even he is decorated for Christmas with his Christmas collar.

This is my second tree in a nook off of my kitchen. It is decorated with only red and white snowmen. I told you I had a ton of them. This is where I put Ryan's birthday presents - his birthday is Dec. 15.

And last but not least, my purple tree! Ha. When I moved into the house I painted the laundry room purple. Those of you who know me know I am obsessed with purple. So for this year I just had to have a purple tree. It is only 2 ft tall and sets on top of a shelf. Also notice the purple frame. I love it!

Merry Christams, Love Meredith and Tackle.

Holiday TV Schedule

My wonderful boyfriend knows me all to well and knows that I love Christmas movies. On a particularlly stressful day, he sent this email to me and it instantly cheered me up!! The link below is a day-by-day listing of every holiday show or movie that will be showing on every network. JACKPOT!

Enjoy!

www.jsonline.com/entertainment/tvradio/72905527.html

JLNWA Winter Dreams 2009

Looking for a fun activing to do on Sunday, Dec. 6? I have just the thing for you!

The Junior League of Northwest Arkansas presents the 11th Annual Winter Dreams Tour of Homes.

Eleven houses in Washington and Benton County will be on display for all to see. The homes have been decorated for the holidays and will be full of great ideas for your own holiday decorationg. Each home will be open to all ticket holders to enter and explore. Tickets are only $20 and all of the proceeds will benefit the mission and projects of the NWA Junior League including providing special Chrismtas wishes to local children.

Below is a list of the 11 homes on this year's tour:

• Underwood Plaza
• Mardis Home
• Blowers Home
• Smiley Home
• Bogel Home
• Givers Home
• Hicks Home
• Meier Home
• Nicklau Home
• Russell Home
• Eaton Home

I will be working at the Blower's home in Washington County from 10:30-2:30 so come by and see me. I will be your lovely tour guide. For all of those who know Kirsten Blowers, this is her parents' house. Kirsten is an interior designer and owns her own home store in Fayetteville, Riffraff. Visit her blog to get sneak peaks of her parents' house.

If you are intersted in tickets you can either purchase them online here or contact me and I can get you tickets.

Hope to see everybody there!!

My Thankful List

Every year around this time, like most people, I start thinking about the things I am truely grateful for. Here is what I have come up with:

• That I have parents who have always supported, loved and encouraged me my entire life
• For my brothers who I am luckily very close with and can call my best friends- its amazing what growing up will do to siblings' relationships
• That I found the one person who loves me unconditionally and is a true friend - Ryan
• Having a large extended family whom I am very close with and that live close enough so I can see them pretty regularly
• Coming home to a guy that all he wants to do is lick my face and play with me and is always happy to see me - Tackle :)
• My other best friends - I might just be a crazy person if I didn't have the girlfriends that I do. They know me too well
• My education and my job - I am lucking enough to have afforded a higher education that provided me a job that I absolutley love. And I am especially thankful that I don't dread going to work everyday
• My country and the people that protect it - I am so thankful that I am free and can do what I please, worship how I please and work where I please and even more grateful for those that sacrifice so that those things aren't compromised.
• My house and my heat - I am lucky to go home at night to a toasty house which provides a roof over my heat
• And most importantly, my God who has given all of the above mentioned to me. God is Good!

Happy Turkey Day to All!

Gobble Gobble

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings

Last weekend Ryan and I went to another wedding in Little Rock. It was for Ben Kent and Ev Gillian. Ryan grew up with Ben and I was a Tri Delt with Ev so we both knew people at this wedding. On the way home, I started thinking.....How many weddings have Ryan and I been to together in the almost 2 years we have been together. So we counted. The total came out to 7 weddings together and 6 others without one another (2 of which were on the same day, each of us in one). We are both at that age when most of our friends are getting married but I think we are above average for most couples. I am heading back down to Little Rock this weekend for Megan's wedding and there are already 4 weddings on our calendar for next year and we are expecting at least 1 more to be planned. Whew! Eventually, all of our friends will be married but I'm not sure when that will be :) Here are some pics from last weekend.

Ryan and his Momma. Love her!

Me and my man. Dress courtesy of Collin. I brought 2 different dresses as options to wear that night and I still ended up wearing one of hers. Old habits die hard :) Thanks friend.

Thanksgiving Eve 1888

On Thanksgiving Eve in 1888 Sarah Ida Shaw and Eleanor Dorcus Pond founded Delta Delta Delta. Every year, the collegiates and alumna celebrate our founding with a dinner. As the NWA alumnae chapter president I am in charge of planning our dinner. So my officers and I have been planning it for the past 3 months, trying to make it the best one yet. I think we succeeded! There were 21 alumnae present and we were able to have it at the Delta Shelta. It was perfect because the house was decorated for Christmas and it looked beautiful. We had the traditional candle-lighting ceremony and munched on some YUMMY Noodles while some of the in-house girls served us. Overall it we had a great time and I am so glad it turned out so well. I am looking forward to next year.

Half the group eating dinner
All around the Christmas Tree in the foyer

And we had to get the traditional staircase pic. The painting on the wall is a picture of my mother walking down the steps from the house and was given to the house by her pledge class in memory of her. It has been hanging in the house since the earlier 90s. Very cool.

The Playoffs

Farmington has made it to the playoffs and the first-round game is tonight.

Farmington Cardinals (6-3-1) vs. Ashdown Panthers (9-1)

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Yes that's right, we have to trave TO Ashdown. And for all my girls, yes I have already asked Collin to come to the game with me :) Collin is a former Ashdown High School Cheerleader. The drive will be about 4.5 hours and after the game, Ryan and I are driving up to Little Rock to stay with Collin because one of Ryan's friend is getting marreid on Saturday.

On to the game preview....

The team left yesterday to travel to Ashdown so they didn't have to worry about being on a bus all day before they had to play tonight. Farmington is coming off a not-so-surprising defeat to Shiloh Christian last week. I will spare everybody my rant and rave about Shiloh's "non-recruiting" practices. The one good thing that came out of that game is that it prepared the Cards to play Ashdown this week. Shiloh and Ashdown have a similar offense but, sad to say, Ashdown is 10 times faster than Shiloh. That will be the key to the game tonight: not letting the Panthers get an open field. Any one of their players will be able to out run any one of the Cards so we need to confuse them on defense and pressure the QB so he makes inaccurate throws. The Cards are ready for the first round of players and are anxious to eat some panther for dinner.

GO CARDS!!!

To the Veterans I Love

To all the Veterans in our country I wanted to wish you a Happy Veteran's Day. I want to especially thank the Veterans in my family and my friends who have or are currently serving our country.

• My Grandfather - Bob Brewer - served in WWII
• Ryan's Dad - Jerry Pettigrew - served in Vietnam
• My Cousin - Jared Smith - served in Afghanistan
• My Friend - Chris Petrancosta - graduated from West Point and is currently awaiting deployment

Thank you for your sacrifice, your service and your willingness. Today I honor you. I love you all!

Obnoxious

If you know me at all, you know I love taking pictures. I am pretty sure I get that from the Smith side of my family. I love taking pictures so much I carry my camera around in my purse just in case the occasion calls for a photo opp. My mental checklist before I leave the house everyday is wallet (check), cell phone (check), camera (check). Seriously!

Welll my sweet boyfriend has come to adore (hint of sarcasim) this quirk of mine. Most of the time he agrees to be in the pictures for me. He knows this make me happy. The poor thing hates digital cameras though because he knows one picture will turn into 5 if I don't like what I see on the first take.

Notice I said he will oblige and take the picture with me most of the time. Some times he just doesn't want to do it and starts acting obnoxious about it. Last saturday at tailgating was an example of that obnoxiousness. After three takes of trying to get a decent picture of us, I gave up. Below is what I was left with.

Shopping Extravaganza

Sunday was a day dedicated to shopping, shopping and more shopping. Me, mom, my four aunts, their three cousins and my cousin Amy all decided to spend all day in Tulsa shopping until we dropped. We arrived around 10 a.m. and didn't leave until 9:30 p.m.

Shopping with my aunts is always an adventure and we always come out with many funny stories. Before we even left for Tulsa, we were printing off coupons all week to all the different places we wanted to hit up. We were a sight digging through the millions of coupons to find the one for that particular store we were in.

First we started off at Gordman's. There we each had to make multiple purchases because they only took one coupon per transaction. After Gordman's we went to lunch at Ron's all had the best chilli cheese burgers in town. After we were refueld, we head off to Stein Mart. There I got a couple of Christmas gifts and a Christmas gift for myself - a leopard trench coat on 75% off sale. Merry Christmas to me!

The Woodland Hills mall was next. The funny thing there happened when Susan freaked out because she thought she lost a bag when in actuality she was holding it in her hand. We were all rolling with laughter. After about 4 hours in the mall we headed to one of my favorite stores Garden Ridge where I purchased a ton of cheap Christmas gifts. I am super excited abot decorating a WHOLE house for Christmas.

All that shopping took a toll on us so of course we had to get some Mexican for dinner. Here we are ending our day at Abuelos.

Below is the trunk of one of three cars we were in. I should have counted how many bags we had all together. It would have been a rather large number

I can't believe it...

Wow! I can't believe Bekah is going to be a mommy. Actually, scratch that, I can belive it I just can't believe I've come to that point in my life. The time when my friends are starting to have babies. I felt like it was just yesterday when 3 of my best friends all got married within 8 weeks of each other.

We always knew Bekah was going to be the first to get married and the first to have a baby - she is a kindergarten teacher for crying out loud! When she called me and I heard her say -"Guess what Mer? I am 8 weeks pregnant!" it was one of the most exciting things to hear and one of the the weirdest too. At that moment I felt like I officially had entered that next stage of life. It also made me feel like I have no control of my own life anymore :) I am growing up even if I don't want to.

I can't imagine two people that will make better parents than Bekah and Dallas. I can't wait to watch her tummy grow and to plan a baby shower (yikes I've moved from wedding showers to baby showers already?!?).

Oh and by the way, thanks for giving me a life-check moment Bek! I will never forget that moment :)

I love you Hoppers. Congrats Mom-to-Be!

A Lawyer Celebration and a Tri Delt Happy Hour

Thursday night, Ryan's law partner, Brian Lester (of the Lester Law Firm), was honored as the Arkansas Bar Association's Young Lawyer of the Year. An event was hosted at Soul in his honor and a lot of young attorneys were their to congratulate him. He was presented with his award by Judge Mark Lindsey of Washington County

As soon as Brian got his award, I left and rushed over to the other side of town to attend a Tri Delta Alumni Happy Hour. As most of you know, I am now the alumnae group president and we are trying hard to get more Tri Deltas involved. Our Happy Hour was at Theo's on Dickson Street and we had a great turn out! Below is a picture of Becca Fergus, Erin Telfer and me - the only representatives from the pledge class of '03. We had a lot of fun catching up. Next up is the Founder's Day dinner on Nov. 12.

Football Week 8

Farmington Cardinals (4-2-1, 3-1) vs. Huntsville Eagles (3-4, 2-2)

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The Cardinals are coming off their first conference loss and the Huntsville Eagles are traveling to Farmington with some confidence after their win against Pea Ridge last week. Both teams are desperate for a win, one more for Farmington guarantees a spot in the playoffs. Farmington will be at home for the first time in 3 weeks and anxious to bounce back from a loss. Farmington's lower classmen continue to improve each week and will once again be vital in tonight's matchup.

Editor's Note: Head Coach Adams has been down with a cold this week and is still not feeling 100%. Hope you feel better for tonight's game Coach! Love you!

Arkansas Razorbacks (3-3) vs. Ole Miss Rebels (4-2)

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For Kendall

So if you know one of my best friends Kendall you know she is a domestic diva. Well last night I made a recipe I found off her blog for Thai Peanut Pasta. Ryan and I love Thai food and we LOVED this dish. Thanks Kendall for the yummy recipe. Next on my list is her Grandma's pickles

What a Weekend!

This weekend was very busy but very fun.

It all started on Thursday. I participated in the Woodland Junior High 50th Anniversary celebration. At the 8th grade football game, they recognized 50 years of pom squad and cheer squad members. We were announced by decades and then did a cheer on the field. Talk about a flashback. I did the reunion with Jana. Her husband is a coach with Dad at Farmington.

Saturday Aunt Janie and I got up early and headed out to the War Eagle craft fair. I hadn't been in years and we had a tons of fun. We made some cool purchases, including some gifts, and made a lot of fun of some of the things we saw. We also ran in to Bekah and Dallas. That was a fun surprise.

Saturday night I attended the wedding reception of Kelsey and Jerome. Kelsey works we me and the other MCGers and I went to congratualte the happy couple. Sorry Kels, this was the only pic I had.

And finally on Sunday, Baby Hudson, Sarah and Nathan's son, was dedicated at New Heights Church. Both Ryan and I were excited to get to witness that and it was a great family experience.

Football Week 7

Farmington Cardinals (4-1-1) vs. Gravette Lions (6-0)

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This might possibly be the most important game of the season for both Farmington and Gravette. Both teams, along with Shiloh, are the only undefeated teams in 1-4A conference play. This game will most likely determine 2nd place in the conference. Farmington (57 points) and Gravette (58 points) are ranked 1 and 2 in the conference in scoring defense (via the Northwest Arkansas Times). But both teams will also be without key starters. The game is sure to be a great game and Farmington's toughest challenge to date.

Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Florida Gators

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All I can say about this game is that Arkansas has beaten the #1 ranked team TWICE on Oct. 17th in the past. Coincidence? I think NOT! Go Hogs!!!

20 Years Ago Today

20 years ago today, Spencer and I lost our mom and one month earlier, JD lost his Dad and two spouses lost their other halves.

20 years ago today, two families were hit with devestation but little did we know, a new family was about to be formed.

20 years ago today, a car accident and a sudden heart attack changed our lives. We thought things would never be good again. But, God had another plan in mind for us. Through these tragedies, he brought two broken families together. Spencer and I gained another wonderful mother and JD was given another amazing Dad.

We never know what will happen each day or how our lives will change, but through my family's life experiences, I know God has a plan for each and every one of us and He will take care of each of us.

Football Week 6

Farmington Cardinals (3-1-1) vs. Berryville Bobcats (1-4)

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Farmington hits the road for the first time since week one to take on the Berryville Bobcats. Farmington is coming off an exciting win aginst thier rivals from last week. Again, Farmington's defense will be tested with another run-based team. Berryville is a little weaker this year with only have won one game. The test will be to see how well the Cards play on the road.

Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Auburn Tigers

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The showdown between the Razorbacks and the Tigers is a bit of a family reunion. Former Arkansas coaches Terry Rocker and Gus Malzhan return to coach against the Hogs this year and Northwest Arkansas natives Cody Burns and Lee Ziemba are now both Auburn starters. Auburn is going to be another tough test for the Hogs.