Tennessee Thanksgiving

The Saturday following Thanksgiving, Kyle and I along with Steven and Paige, headed east to Knoxville for football time in Tennessee...Please try to control your stomach when you see me sporting that hideous color. :)

Early early on the strip.
Steven and Paige. She's a Kentucky and knows what it feels like to be surrounded by Vols. It can be tough.

Early morning Moe's. Burritos at 10 AM...Why not?
Me and the man.

Splitting the T.
It was a little chilly in the shade. God bless Hot hands.

He's so into the game, he won't even smile for a picture.
One of the few things I love about UT football. Petro's! It's pretty much a Frito pie but waaayyy better. And they have sweet tea with a hint of orange which is oh so good!
UT win=happy husband.
Post game photo-op.

No fear Bulldog fans. I IMMEDIATELY changed into maroon when we got home to watch the dawgs whoop up on Ole Miss. No greater feeling. And for that we head to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl! Go dawgs!

Overindulging in Crossville

Fortunately, figuring out how to split holidays for our first year of marriage wasn't all that tough. We agreed to spend Thanksgiving in Crossville with his family and Christmas in our home together and then with my family.

I got off work early Wednesday afternoon and drove down to the delta to pick up Kyle's grandmother. Once we got back to Memphis, we finished packing up the car and headed to Crossville. We didn't get there until late late late that night. Slept in just a little bit on Thursday and then were up and at it, ready to eat.

I tried to get Kyle's little brother Micah to take a picture with me. He doesn't like to have his picture taken, therefore I got taken down.

Brotherly, sisterly love I suppose.

Ladies first.

After we ate lunch, Kyle and I drove around town with his brother and dad looking at land and houses. The thought of moving away from Memphis becomes more real every day, so the time has come to begin to embrace it with open arms. Tough feat. But cute farm like houses like this one make it a little easier.

Possible site of a future McShan home. Crossville dreaming I suppose. It was gorgeous. For the sake of keeping our hopes and dreams a potential reality, I am under strict orders by the hubs not to reveal locations. I'm so unfamiliar with the area that my best shot at describing location would probably place you on the complete other side of the county anyhow.

Our first married Thanksgiving.

Friday was spent in meetings and shopping. Saturday was a day of football, Vols game in Knoxville and a Bulldog win watched from the comfort of the couch that night.

Sunday we made the journey back to Memphis. We had to take Kyle's grandmother back to the delta, but first made a stop to see his cousin Nikki, her husband Billy, and their oh-so-stinkin' cute baby girl Riley. She's a climber and has lots of rolls. I love her chubby little self. She was pulling up on the furniture and would walk around as long as she had two fingers to hold on to.

Ignoring Kyle ruining the picture, Riley LOVES her Mississippi State Bulldogs. And I love that her parents have some sense! :) She loves her cowbells and definitely showed me how she rings them!

Riley and her cousin Kyle.

And kisses from her cousin Courtney make her giggle.
It was so good to get to see the Herbison's. While waiting to meet Kyle's uncles for dinner, we got to watch this pretty delta sunset. The clouds were crazy and the sun was bright orange! Beautiful!
All in all, wonderful holiday. We are wiped out from all the driving, but it was well worth it.

How did you spend your Thanksgiving?

Birthday Boy

The McShans have had a busy, busy week. So for the sake of not overloading everyone in one post, I'll just break it down bit by bit over the next few posts.

Last Wednesday was Kyle's 29th birthday. O.L.D. OLD! Tuesday night my mom cooked a steak and baked potato dinner. His choice. We celebrated at my parents' house with steak and cake. Which I am so grateful for, because work about killed me last week, and I definitely had no time for grocery shopping, much less cooking.

Yellow cake with chocolate icing. His favorite. Add some Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream and you have perfection.


Reading a sweet card from the in-laws.

Best Buy gift card! Bam!

After a long, busy day for the both of us...

When it comes to birthdays/Christmas/any occasion involving receiving gifts, I have no patience with opening gifts. Kyle was hell-bent on not opening his presents until his actual birthday on Wednesday, but I coerced him into opening them before we went to bed Tuesday night.

Braves hat (that was a little too big) and glo (an interactive Bible program for the computer).

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband. God willing, I can't wait to celebrate 80 more together. I love you!

Seasons Greetings

So now that the Christmas decorations are up in my home, it's time to get on the ball with Christmas cards! We will definitely be using Shutterfly. Right now bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly. You can learn more here.

I have used Shutterfly before for announcement photo cards for work, and they turned out great! It didn't take long at all for them to process my order and get it shipped to us. And the best part was, the proof online looked just like the one that came in the mail!

They have everything you could possibly need on here, including holiday story cards and new years cards.

I can't wait to pick out my and Kyle's very first Christmas cards as a married couple! I plan on doing this every year (especially once our family starts growing) and keeping a copy so we can see how we change over the years. Picking out the Christmas card should be easy, picking out what picture we use, now that might be complicated.

Check out Shutterfly, and I will post our pick as soon as it's done!

Is Heaven Enough?

Since Husband Kyle was gone all weekend, I had Brother Kyle (yes, it gets confusing at times) protecting me and this house. He spent the night on our couch (although we do have a very comfortable guest bed) both nights. This morning, we went to church together and enjoyed an always wonderful, never disappointing breakfast at Blue Plate Cafe.

And as always, church was wonderful, never disappointing.

We have been walking through Matthew in the midst of a series called "Saving the Saved." The focus being on the religious attitude we have here in the Bible belt and missing everything the Gospel calls us to and to be. For me, this series has been one that has caused me to look introspectively more so than any other sermon series before.

The past few weeks we have looked at the authority of Jesus. He has exercised His authority in healing the diseased/disabled when He cleanses a leper, the environment when He calms the storm, over demons when He casts them out of two men onto a herd of pigs who then go overboard and drown in the sea (Matthew 8). Today we looked at how Jesus exercises his authority over our eternal life/souls.

Matthew 9:1-8

"1)And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. 2) And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.' 3) And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, 'This man is blaspheming.' 4) But Jesus, knowing their thoughts said, 'Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5) For which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk?' 6) But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgiven sins-he then said to the paralytic- 'Rise, pick up your bed and go home.' 7) And he rose and went home. 8) When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men."

So picture this. Jesus in a crowded house, teaching, preaching. Friends of this man who was paralyzed wanting so badly to get their friend to Jesus. We know that Mark accounts this same story by telling us that the friends climb on top of the house and dug a hole through the roof to get their friend to Jesus! When it is written, "Jesus saw their faith," it is referring to the friends. This is what authentic Gospel community living looks like. When was the last time I/we acted like the friends of the paralytic? What lengths have I/we gone to get our friends to meet Jesus??? Or have I/we been so consumed in my own relationship with Him that I disregard the needs of others???

Let's look from the paralytic's point of view now. Imagine being paralyzed and trying to get to Jesus after hearing of all the miracles and healings He has performed. So you get to Him, and rather than Him saying to you "Get up and go, you're healed, no more paralysis," He instead says "Your sins are forgiven." If I'm the paralytic in this story, I'm going to see Jesus so I can walk. And this Man is going to tell me my sins are forgiven instead??? :) But that's exactly what He does. Often times we come to God asking for one thing. And in the process of waiting, He gives us something greater! The paralytic comes for healing, yet Jesus gives him salvation while he waits to be healed!!!

Now the scribes (the religious people) say Jesus is committing blasphemy, meaning He is doing something that only God can do. Jesus basically says, "Bingo! I am 100% man, 100% God, I have that authority!"

The crowds were afraid and they GAVE GLORY TO GOD. We often forget that the healings and miracles that occur in our own lives are NOT ABOUT US, but about THE GLORY OF GOD.

The big question of the morning: If you were the paralytic in this story, would you be okay if the story ended with verse 2? Regardless of being healed, knowing what type of job will come your way, wondering if you will ever find a wife/husband, etc, is knowing that Jesus has died for you and forgives all our sin to live in eternal glory with Him one day enough?

Are we cool with the story ending with verse 2? Is Heaven enough for us????

Just The Beginning

I have been B-U-S-Y today...Trips to Garden Ridge, Target, Macy's, Bed Bath and Beyond. I think I've got a good start on getting the house ready for Christmas. Here are some pictures of what I have done so far. Ready to do more!

This is the dining room walking into the living room. The garland across the entry way is 25 ft and came from Garden Ridge for like $25 maybe. It's pre-lit and the ribbon around it came from Bella Vita in Collierville.

On the dining room table are several silver trees and a few sparkly reindeer. The silver trees I believe came from Target's after-Christmas clearance last year. The reindeer came from Garden Ridge today. Those candles behind the reindeer are awesome. They are vanilla scented and battery operated. Yep, that's right. No messy clean up. My mom bought them at Costco and the best thing about them is they have a timer. You can set them to turn on at a certain time, so coming home to a warm, "candle lit" house is now super easy.

Shot of the fireplace. Hard to tell but the stockings are green. The cross was a gift from years ago that a friend's boyfriend-at-the-time made. I love it and if anything were to ever happen to it (ahem, Rachael Jones) I would cry. There is a little metal nativity scene to the left of the cross. And the Gators are on the TV to the right :)

Close up of the mantle. The apothecary-type jars are from Garden Ridge. Recycled from the candy bar at my wedding reception. The balls are just extra ornaments I didn't use on the tree. The pine cones are actually gold glittered and are also ornaments I didn't use on the tree.

Picture of the tree. Looks waaayyy better when the room is dark and the tree is lit up. Golds and browns are my color scheme. I love the look of red and lime green but it would definitely clash with everything in my house.

These little berries came from Bella Vita in Collierville. Again, from after-Christmas clearance last year. The garland is pre-lit and came from Target for only 10 bucks!

Love my little nativity scene. I bought this a few weekends ago at Merry Marketplace. It was hosted by the Junior League here in Memphis and was full of lots of holiday goodies! I bought this from a lady who lives in Texas and makes them. It is actually two pieces.

Better shot of the stocking. I love the "sock look" of these. I bought these at Target today for ten dollars each. My hand-me-downs from my mom didn't coordinate too well with everything else.

I just love this ornament. Completely sequins and only two bucks from Garden Ridge (I love that place!)

This "M" came from Target last year. I bought this soon after Kyle and I got engaged.
It's starting to cool down here. And with an old house with not so great insulation, my feet have been getting a little cold when I head to the shower in the mornings. I have been looking for a runner for our hallway for a while and refuse to pay more than $50 for one. I haven't found too many that I have loved, much less wanted to spend the money on. Until today. Garden Ridge came through again. $15 bucks!!!
And at the end of a long, rainy day of shopping and decorating, I wind down with this...God bless Swiss Miss. Try stirring your hot cocoa with a peppermint stick! My friend Audrey did this today, and my friends, I tell you it was delicious!

My little bro is here helping me hold down the fort. And sadly we have had to endure two tough losses. A Bulldog loss and a Gator loss. My heart aches. And my body hurts from bending over to plug lights in, reaching way high up to hammer nails, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...

As I add more to the decor, I'll add more pictures to the blog.

I hope everyone enjoys their Sunday. I'll be doing just as God commands me to. And that is REST!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

...at least at the McShan household.

My little brother is grounded right now, so in an attempt to be a good big sister and get him out of the house, yet at the same time make sure he is serving his "punishment", I had him help me transfer our Christmas tree from my mom's house to mine and assembled it. There is no way I could have done it myself. That things is huge and weighs a ton!

I felt a little guilty and like I was jumping the gun even thinking about doing it. I'm normally the one playing Scrooge when Christmas music is on the radio before Thanksgiving. And it's not because I don't like Christmas. I do. It's my favorite holiday. I just like for each holiday to gets its own attention. But we are so busy these days, I knew if I didn't get it this weekend, we (and by "we" I mean "I") would never get it done.

My guilty feelings of overlooking Thanksgiving quickly got whisked away in the smell of cinnamon, the glow of lights, and the warmth of the fireplace stockings.

I won't post any pictures until it's complete (which should be at some point tonight ha). But I will post a picture of two items on my list to Santa. And by Santa, I mean my mother.

I am becoming more and more obsessed with Ballard Designs. It's almost like Christmas when I get a new catalog in the mail. I browse and browse dreaming of the day when I can purchase whatever the heck I want out of there without the thought of student loans and truck payments hindering me :)

I LOVE these wall prints.

And in the words of Rachel Zoe, I die when I see this chair.

And die again when I think of it wrapped in this fabric.

This is just a start!

More to come soon....

Workin' 9 to 5

Make that 7 to 5:30 typically. But that's okay. Because I love my job. And I love my patients. And more than anything, I love the people I get to work with.

(And that's not to say that I don't complain every morning about wanting to sleep longer and not go to work, because I do complain quite often in the mornings. And at night too when I'm tired. But I'm grateful to be complaining about being tired from work, because that means I have a job when many don't.) This is what my mind does towards the end of the week. It's scrambled.

So back to the people who I love to work with.

I don't think there is another work-group that gets along better, helps each other out, makes each other laugh, supports one another in hard times, etc better than we do. Especially since it is all women. I feel like it is a very rare thing these days that a group of women can spend so much time together where there is no cattiness and where there is real authenticity.

The four of us make up two physical therapists, a physical therapist assistant, and one heck of an office manager.

Val is our fearless leader. She is one of the most selfless people I know. Always looking out for everyone else and bending over backwards to help people in whatever way she can.

Candice is the PTA. She is a trip. Never without a funny story or crazy dance move.

Phyllis. She's the one heck of an office manager I was telling you about. When she's out of the office, we go nuts. She keeps the ship running straight. She is our mama-bird at work.

And not only do we work together, we play together. Val, Candice, and I at the Carrie Underwood concert (the most exciting thing I have done in the past month).