For Today....

I am...

thinking... that I should get some work done this morning so that Luke and I can go get our Christmas tree this afternoon.

reading... "Sacred Marriage" and learning that marriage is not about making me happy, but about making me holy.

going... to Starbucks for a peppermint mocha, then Lowes to buy our Christmas tree. We've bought our tree from Lowes for the past 3 years and they definitely have the biggest trees for the best prices.

making... chili for dinner.

hoping... that I survive Luke's trip to Germany this week. I HATE when he travels out of the country and I am stuck here. It makes me nauseous thinking about not being able to get in touch with him if I need to.

talking... to Rage :) He is the only one up right now.

remembering... what Christmas is really all about. We are trying to be more purposeful this year on focusing on the true meaning of Christmas.

texting... The world! texting has definitely become one of my main forms of communication.

thankful... for my wonderful husband who spent 6 hours last night putting Christmas lights on our house, even though we don't have kids and he says that no one will ever see the lights.

looking forward to... Christmas with my family. I miss my sisters.

listening to... A Baby Story on TLC. We got Verizon Fios last Tuesday and thus far we are loving it.

Outside my window... The sun is shining! Oh how I LOVE Florida!!

Pictures to prove it... Here is my view from the couch that I am currently perched on :) Christmas decor is beginning to go up, and TLC is on the TV.

Bringing Back Thanksgiving

This year, more than any other year, I have felt like we as a society, as a nation, as a group of believers have decided to skip over THANKSgiving in an attempt to head straight into the Christmas season. Now, most everyone knows that we at the Graham house LOVE Christmas!! It is our favorite holiday and we go all out!!

But I can't help but feel like we let THANKSgiving pass by with far to little notice. We are being pushed into the Christmas season earlier and earlier each year by the retail world, who make very little money off of a holiday based on being THANKful.

So in an attempt to be more purposeful about all holidays (and the meaning they hold) I have decided to Bring Back THANKSgiving!

It has not been easy... I have been accused of "forcing Fall" onto this otherwise hot and humid state. I proudly wear my brown/orange/fall clothes, I have eaten more than my fair share of candy corns, I have left my Fall decorations of pumpkins and fall leaves up, and I have participated in WAY too many craft shows.

And today, on the eve of this holiday we have spent time as a family making pumpkin cookies and doing THANKSgiving crafts. We are making time... holding off on the Christmas season... and putting some purposeful time and effort into being THANKful.

Luke and I are at his Mom's for THANKSgiving this year. Here are some pics of our holiday thus far...

Candy Cornucopias
Half eaten pumpkin crunch (who needs to wait until THANKSgiving day to dig into one of our desserts :)

Graham decorating Pumpkin cookies.

Our plate of pumpkin cookies

So we look forward to tomorrow with great anticipation. I am so excited about waking up in the morning, watching the Macy's THANKSgiving Day parade, spending time with my Graham family, eating TONS of good food, and reflecting on just how THANKFUL I am for all that God has done for me.

I have made a sign that is currently sitting on the island at my mother-in-laws. It reads "Today I am THANKFUL for..." By end of day tomorrow I hope the entire sheet of paper is filled with things that we are all THANKFUL for.

I hope tomorrow brings tons of fun, food, and family for everyone, but most of all I hope it helps us all remember to be THANKFUL for all of the good and perfect gifts that we have been given to us from God.

Jax and Jill Design

I know it has been a while since my last update, and part of the reason is that I have been super busy building up the Jax and Jill Design business! Emily and I did the Hunsader Farms craft show a few weeks ago and it was not only a blast, but a HUGE success!

We have spent a lot of time getting our Etsy store up and running, our logo nailed down, our business cards created, and exploring the possibility of having some small boutiques carry our products. We are also preparing for at least two (maybe three) more craft shows this Fall. Business is booming!!

Here are so of the most recent Jax and Jill bow creations, being modeled by some of our cutest customers!

For more information contact us at:

jaxandjilldesign@gmail.com

www.etsy.com/shop/jaxandjill

Wedding

Luke and I spent last weekend in Greeneville, TN. Luke's cousin Jonathon (who was in our wedding) was getting married and Luke was a Groomsmen. Luke and I had not seen each other for several weeks, as he is on week 9 of a 15 week tour... YIKES... so it was a great time for he and I to meet up and spend some time together.

Of course, being in TN also meant that we got to spend time with our precious niece and nephew, Savannah and Shepard. Savi is so stinkin smart and Shep is such a precious little mellow boy, who LOVES to be warm. When he is cold he is fussy and not happy, but wrap him in wool blanket and take him outside and that child is super content!!

Luke and I stayed a few extra days in Greeneville after the wedding, where we got to spend some quality time together exploring this historic city. We visited Davy Crockett State Park, Andrew Johnson's home, and several historic Civil War sites.

It was so nice to get to spend some time together in this beautiful town!

Baby Jane

She has finally arrived!! Baby Jane Alexa Lourcey was born this morning at 9:33am (6/11/09) and was 8lbs and 20 inches long. From what I can see thus far she looks A LOT like Emily did as a baby! I can not wait to meet her in person!! More pics will follow soon.

SUMMER!!!

Summer is officially here!! Blazing hot days, breakfast at the beach, trips to the pool, VBS, sundresses, flip flops, and watermelon are the norm for the next 3 months! This summer also brings some awesome changes in our lives...

1) Luke is on a 12 week tour!! 12 weeks is A LONG time to be apart but thankfully, because my work schedule is lighter during the summer, I am going to be able to fly out and spend some time with him on the road. I am leaving on Thursday night to meet up with Luke for a few days and I could not be more excited! I miss him terribly, but we are so excited about what God is doing for Since October right now (that info in a very lengthy blog to follow shortly.)

2) I am not keeping any kids for the summer. Tyson's mom is home on maternity leave, so I am spending my summer focusing soley on church work. We are doing a MAJOR restructuring of our Children's Department right now, so this is allowing me to focus all of my time and energy on building leadership and relationships with my Team Members.

3) I am getting to do a little design work this summer, as I am designing the new office building (space planning and furniture wise) for our church. We are in the process of building a new building on 40 acres on SR 64, and we are putting a 6000 sq ft office building on the property as well. Our move in date for the office building is August 1st, so I have already begun working on this project. I am really excited to get to do a little design work this summer!!

4) Beach vacation with my fam is coming up in July and I am looking forward to spending a week on the beach, relaxing, reading, and working on my tan!!

5) Luke's cousin Jonathon is getting married on July 11th in Tennessee, and Luke is in the wedding. I will be flying up to Tennessee to spend a few days with Luke's sister Heidi before I meet up with Luke for the wedding. I am super excited about getting to meet baby Shepard for the first time!

I think that about wraps up what is going on with us right now. I apologize for not being a better blogger, but I can't seem to find time to sit down and blog these days!

I leave you with another super cute picture of Tyson with sweet watermelon juice dripping off of his chin!! I love this little boy!!

Babies, Babies, Everywhere!!!

We have had A LOT of new babies enter our family and our lives over the past few weeks and I wanted to share them with all of you!!

Our nephew Shepard Graham Cooley was born on May 2nd. Shepard is Luke's sister Heidi's 2nd baby and he is such a cutie!! Luke has seen Shepard twice since he was born and I am SUPER jealous!! Though I will get my Shepard fix in July when I fly up to Nashville to spend a week with him and his big sister Savannah!

On Friday May 8th my friend Stephanie, whom I worked with at Chancey Design, welcomed her twin girls into the world! Peyton Emma and Hannah Debra are super cute and super tiny! I spent this past Sunday afternoon with Stephanie, Drew, and the girls and I got to hold these precious babies for hours! It is so amazing to me how Stephanie already has them on such a great schedule and is taking care of the two of them by herself while her husband is at work. She is Amazing!!!

And Last Wednesday, my little Tyson became a big brother when his mom had our precious baby Chloe Sky Tullio! She is so amazing and looks SOOOO much like Tyson!! However, she surprised us all when she came out with a head full of black hair, just like her daddy!!! (T's hair is definitely a lighter blondish/brown like Meadows). Everyone a the Tullio house is adjusting well and I am loving getting to spend time with both Tyson and Chloe. I love helping Mike and Meadow take care of there precious babies!!!

And Baby Jane... she is coming soon!! Although she is not due until June I am confident that she is going to join this group of May babies!! We will have to wait and see :)