Merry Christmas...

...from Physiotherapy Associates! :)

These are our Christmas cards we sent to our top referral sources and several patients...Shutterfly comes in handy for a bunch o' stuff!

Tomorrow, we exchange gifts! I love Christmas!

Monkeyin' Around

This was the first weekend I have been at home in a month. And man, was it nice.

We actually slept in for a change. And by sleeping in, I mean I slept until 8:00. I'm a 40 year old trapped in a 20-somethings body. (I also go to bed before 9:30, but that's neither here nor there.)

While Kyle slept a little longer, I got up and made a little monkey bread for breakfast.

Super easy recipe.

All you need is a four-pack of Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits.Sugar.Brown Sugar.Butter.Cinnamon.

Pull the biscuits apart and cut into quarters.

In a ziploc bag, pour in 2/3 cup sugar and 2 tsp of cinnamon. Place the quartered dough into the bag and shake shake shake.

In a greased bundt pan (first time I've used this bad boy), place the sugar-cinnamon dough into layers.

Melt 1/2 cup butter and then mix I forget how much brown sugar (but it seemed like a lot). Pour this mixture over the layers of dough.

Pop in the over at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Once it's done, flip it over onto a dish. Be careful. It can make a sticky mess.

And here it is in all its delicious glory.

Oh so good! Tastes like one big cinnamon roll!

Best Friends, Baby Girls, and Baptisms

My best and oldest friend Kati, along with her husband Patrick and baby girl Abbigail, is in town for several weeks over the holiday. Patrick is in the air force, and they are stationed in Wichita Falls, Texas. So it's not very often that they get to come home. In fact, the last time they were home was for my wedding.

Kati was 8 months pregnant at the time of our wedding and completely rocked her bridesmaids dress with that sweet baby in her belly. Abbigail was born just a month later. And I FINALLY got to meet her for the first time last Thursday.

I made dinner, set the table, and everything. My mother would have been proud. (In fact, she was..especially after I called a million times with a bunch of questions regarding the chicken I was planning on cooking.)

We got to spend some much needed quality time together. It's moments like these that make your life full.

Here is the little sweet cheeks playing her piano on Mommy and Daddy's ipad. She's a prodigy.

Opening Christmas presents from Aunt Courtney and Uncle Kyle.

OOOOOoooo Golden Books! I had a collection of these growing up and remember reading them over and over. And being the nerd I am, of course I'm going to be the dorky aunt who buys books instead of cool toys that light up and make lots of noise.

This is the face that says, "Ok, enough pictures guys."

Sunday was Abbigail's baptism at Incarnation Catholic Church. Kati had asked me to be the stand-in godmother for Abbi (godparents must be Catholic), since her friend Diana was unable to make it. Her husband was in a terrible car accident, so many prayers are needed their way during this tough time.

Kati and Patrick were married at Incarnation. And the priest who is now there actually married Patrick and Alicia, where I was Alicia's maid of honor. Small world.

Abbi was sleeping before it all began. Then she woke up. Smart girl. She wasn't going to be asleep when holy water and oil were about to be put on her head.

She did so well during the entire ceremony. I think she liked being the center of attention.

Clearly, I was excited that my sweet little niece is now part of the body of Christ.

15 years of friendship leads to unforgettable moments like this. (Can you tell we've known each other for a long time...coordinating without planning like we used to do in elementary school)

And the hubs. We're getting better at finding opportune times to take pictures together. He loves sweet little Abbigail. And afterward, while at a little reception, I promise he said these words to me: "Let me hold her, you've had her the entire time. I haven't gotten to hold her." Haha. He's going to be a great daddy one day...One day.

Crossville Christmas

We have had a FUN weekend. Much needed to say the least.

Kyle's birthday was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. His parents gave him (and by him, I mean us) Titans/Colts tickets.

It was cold. Very cold. Fortunately, we had good preparation after going to the UT game several weeks earlier.

Val, my boss, hooked me up with a sweet Colts scarf.

Kyle and at LP Field.
GOOOO COLTS!!!!

Paige and Steven were with us as well. She bought him tickets for his birthday too. This is why they are best friends.

We were surrounded by Titans fans, except for a crazy lady two rows behind us that I am sure our entire section wanted to kill. Luckily, we found a Titans fan kind enough to take our picture.

COLTS WIN!!!!!

This guy (who looks a lot like my husband) was pumped!

Cold and tired. Yet all smiles.

We headed to Crossville for the weekend to have early Christmas with Kyle's family. Since we spent Thanksgiving with his family, we will spend Christmas with mine. We had to exchange gifts at some point. And I wasn't going to be the one to suggest waiting until after...

The McShan's Christmas tree. The bottom half of the ornaments are missing because Duchess, the boxer, decided to eat them while she was home alone.

The stockings were too heavy to be hung :)

We celebrated Christmas early last year with us each other. I can't wait to spend Christmas Day, together, married.

Ramona's big gift! She was shocked!

Bruce and his big gift! The Judge! This pistol shoots shotgun size shells. (I'm learning a lot these days) Bad gun for a bad man.

I'm just a little excited about my gift from Jonathan and Micah. A gift certificate to The Screen Door, a super cute shop in Crossville.

I have been wanting a chalkboard for my house and was pleasantly surprised to unwrap this! It's a chalkboard with a sliding bulletin board section. The chalkboard is magnetic (which I think all chalkboards are but I can't remember that far back to elementary school). And then there are several hooks on the bottom...I love a functional gift!

And when I thought it couldn't get any better, I unwrapped this gorgeous Kate Spade for a true blue Christmas! :)

Micah loves his saw from his favorite sister!

And Jonathan loves his new work clothes!

Kyle working it in his new North Face Summitt series. That I can't wait to borrow. Muhahaha.

I love stocking stuffers! Especially gifts that resemble past presidents :)

Remember how I told you how much I loved Petro's? Well, I got some mix for their "Hint of Orange" Sweet Tea. This stuff is legit!

Brothers in matching pjs. Kyle, the oddball.

Duchess was worn out. And disappointed she didn't get her gifts early like everyone else.

And Lady just lies content with it all.

After church in Crossville, we packed it up and headed home. In this...

People were driving sooo slow. But I suppose I can't complain when people are playing it safe, especially over the holidays...

We made it home, safe and sound. And with LOTS of Christmas cards in the mailbox. I love this time of year!

ONLY TWO MORE WEEKS!!!!!

Yes, Deer!

Several weeks ago Kyle and Travis went hunting. This is what Kyle managed to strike down...
He's a little guy but just wait til you see what came out of this thing...

Travis with his kill and very proud face. haha. Kayla, I thought you might like this.

That one little deer managed to take up more than half of my freezer once Kyle took all the meat to get processed.

I have never cooked deer before, coming from a family where no one was a hunter. I definitely asked around on the best way to use some of the "hamburger" meat. Since it has started to get pret-ty chilly outside, chili (no pun intended) sounded good.

Deer meat is way darker than ground beef and has a little bit "different" scent to it.

After browning the meat, in a large pot, I combined the deer meat, two cans of diced tomatoes (undrained), 4 teaspoons of cumin, 1 teaspoon of garlic salt, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon ground red pepper, and 1/2 cup of chili powder. So said the recipe.

Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes and it's good to go. Add a little cheese if you like. I think next time I won't use as much chili powder, because this batch was WARM! Not so hot that you couldn't eat it, but you would definitely want to keep a large glass of water nearby.
Warm chili, hot fire, cozy house-shoes, and a loving husband equal a great way to end a long day.

The things marriage makes you do. Never thought I would ever eat deer, much less learn how to prepare it...

Any recipes any of you all might have, please send them my way :)