Two Posts in One Day?!

Maybe I've caught the blog fever and now I won't be able to stop posting, but I just couldn't help myself. I saw on Brittney's blog where Shutterfly is giving you 50 free Christmas cards if you advertise for them on your blog. You have to fill out this form and give them your blog address and then they e-mail you back in a few days. I'm sure I won't get "picked" to participate (considering I've made 5 posts in 5 months), but I started to look around their website anyway. Oh. My. Heavens. There are TOO MANY adorable cards. Even without the 50 free cards I think I'll still order our cards from Shutterfly, but I'm seriously worried about picking just ONE. Here are a few of my favorites ...

For some reason, they saved itty bitty, but I think you can still see just how precious they are!

Back from Hiatus

So sorry to those of you waiting for a new post (Suzy). I wish I could say that we've been so busy and I have so many exciting things to catch you up on, but that is not the case. I've simply been lazy. I don't know what it is about this school year, but I've been completely burned out and I don't have a good reason why. I promise to try to do a better job of updating, even though the only interesting things in our lives are our sweet pups (pathetic, I know).

Okay, so on to the one VERY exciting change that has happened in our life in the past 6 months. Christopher got a new job at ...

Yes, Waffle House. I was a little stunned when he came home one day in July and said he "accidentally" applied to work for Waffle House. "What do you mean you accidentally applied to work for Waffle House?" I said. He mumbled something about how he started to fill out an application online (just for fun) and never actually submitted it, but his information was submitted somehow and they called him for an interview and it wouldn't hurt to go talk to them, right?? (Insert Christopher's innocent smile here) "Sure, honey ... go ahead!" I knew he wasn't thrilled with his current job and although this was so beyond random, it fit him perfectly.

*Christopher wanted me to be sure and say he does not work AT Waffle House, he works FOR Waffle House (apparently there's a big difference). He is managing his own store, so he works FOR the company, he doesn't just work AT a random store ... something like that.*

Anyway, he LOVES this job. Like, he actually enjoys getting up early in the morning and going to work. His schedule is random and the people who work for him are crazy, but he loves it. So, I guess if he's happy, I'm happy (and it doesn't hurt that our bank account is much happier, too!).

I'm already making a list of other things to post about soon, but for now I'm going to take the colored lights (that Christopher put on) OFF our tree and put up some lovely white lights.

Cathleen

The Pups

Meet our sweet babies ... Emma and Henry!

Christopher got to meet them first ... 1 week before we brought them home!


Emma still has this incredibly pouty face ... Henry is still just as handsome.

Riding in the car with dad!

We love doing things together!


Terrible little piglet puppies.


I love snuggling with my sweet Henry.


Henry's favorite thing to do (besides sleep).


Emma's favorite spot - she thinks she's a cat.


Henry is a mama's boy and Emma is certainly a daddy's girl.
But of course we love them both equally!


Snuggling in the car on the way home from Atlanta. Does it get any sweeter?

I could talk about them all day and I probably have way more pictures of them than I'd care to admit, but I think I'll stop for now.

:) Cathleen

Memories from My Favorite Day

I'm just going to post a few pictures from our wedding day - June 20, 2009. I can't believe it's been over a year since we got married. It was such a special, wonderful, fun, (hot) day!

Four of my favorite people in the world.


Getting ready to walk in with dad!


My family + Christopher

Riding the trolley to the reception!

My sweet mom and dad.

Our first dance.

More dancing.

The railroad tracks behind The Sawmill.

It was SO hot, but we were happy!

Leaving the reception!

From the beginning ...

To be honest, I probably should have started a blog a year ago when our lives got really crazy ... I would like to remember some of the details. I've just recently become interested (obsessed) with other people's blogs. First it started with people I know (Brittney, Megan, Megan, and Mary Beth), then I started clicking on blogs that they were reading, and eventually I was checking on complete strangers' blogs ... daily. I finally decided to make my own blog when Christopher "caught" me being a creepy stalker the other day. It went a little something like this ...

Christopher: "What are you doing?"
Me: "Looking at a blog."
C: "Whose blog?"
Me: "Umm ... well ... actually, I have no idea. I clicked on it from another blog I read and I just think it's fascinating!"
C: "Why don't you just start your own blog and stop being creepy."
Me: "Um, okay!"

So here we are. Let's start at the very beginning ... a very good place to start (Do Re Mi, anyone?) {Side note: I LOVE musicals}

Well I guess I'll start with the story of "Us" and then I'll move on to "the Pups" and other more recent things.

Christopher and I grew up together at First Baptist Greenville, although we were never especially close. To be honest, I thought he was a little (lot) weird (turns out, I was right). I was a cheerleader for my high school and he played basketball for his. He wore these hideous American flag basketball shoes (they were the "Patriots") and I hated admitting that I knew that guy with those shoes. Fast forward to the summer after our freshman year of college (2005). Christopher's mom worked for the church and was trying to convince him to go on a trip with the youth group. He told her he would only go if I was going (I think he was only saying that because he thought I'd never go; he says he really only wanted to go if he was able to spend time with me). Somehow I was convinced to go on the trip as a lifeguard for the camp. So Christopher was stuck. The first part of the trip was not especially exciting. We spent some time together, had fun, but it was still just the same as it always had been.

And then we went to Disney World and everything changed. This was my first ever trip to Disney World (yes, at the age of 19 - what a deprived childhood I had). Christopher had been a couple of times so he took it upon himself to "show me around". I don't know what it was, but something just clicked and we were inseparable for the rest of the trip ...

Perhaps a little premature?

The situation got a little bit sticky when we got back to Greenville because we both happened to be dating other people at the time (oops!). Eventually we ended those relationships before going back to college for the Fall (he went to Georgia Tech and I went to Clemson). We kept in touch (talking ALL the time), but still were not dating. FINALLY Christopher called me and asked if I wanted to come visit him in Atlanta. He knew I loved musicals, so he got tickets to see Phantom of the Opera at the Fox Theater. It was our first official date and it was AMAZING. The rest of the weekend turned out to be equally wonderful. I remember coming back to Clemson and one of my roommates at the time, Allison, asked me how my weekend was. I don't even remember all of the adjectives I used, but she said "Really?! Like, the best weekend ever??" and I said "Actually, yes. It was the best weekend I've ever had." After that we were "official" and we visited each other at least every other weekend (which is probably why my grades for that semester were the worst in my Clemson career - oops again!). We dated for 2 1/2 years before going back to Disney World ...

Christopher spent six months planning the return trip to Disney World, where it all began. I thought this was just a much-needed vacation after a hectic week of winter exams. The first surprise came when we arrived at the romantic Port Orleans Resort, which was a step up from the "value" resort I had been expecting.

We quickly checked in and headed for supper. Christopher was noticeably on edge and fumbled his way through the meal, spilling his drink in the process. After supper, he said he needed to go back to the room to change because his shirt was drenched in sweat (he was really REALLY nervous) and suggested I look around in the gift shop (which I did not object to). Christopher went back to change (and get the ring), and I began to get suspicious. We walked around outside, before sitting on a bench for a while. When a horse-drawn carriage pulled up to let another couple off, Christopher jumped up, suggesting we go "look at the horse". I agreed, although a bit confused at Christopher's sudden interest in equines. Before we could even get to the horse, Christopher bolted to the driver, saying "HiI'mChristopherTaylorIhaveareservationat9:00." We got on the carriage and I finally started to get nervous, knowing what was about to happen. Christopher started the carriage ride by sighing LOUDLY and saying "Well, alright ... give me your ring" (on my left hand I wore a topaz ring that he'd given me). I don't remember exactly what he said after that, but it was something along the lines of "this is where our relationship began, and this is the perfect place to take the next step in our relationship". Then he asked me if I would marry him and I joyfully accepted! We called our family and friends, Christopher had a much-needed beer, and we enjoyed the rest of our trip.

Okay, I doubt anyone is actually interested in all of this, but it's been fun to try to remember all the details! This post is getting a little long, so I'll quit for today.

:) Cathleen