Jeff Dunham

As part of my Christmas, Wes gave me tickets to see Jeff Dunham in Birmingham for the day after Christmas. I was pumped! For those of you who don't know, Jeff is a ventriloquist. When I was first introduced to his comedy bit, I was a little unsure, but...after a while, he really grows on you! He's HILARIOUS and very talented. I was a little nervous about the live show, because I heard rumors that he wasn't as good live as he was on his DVDs...the rumors were wrong.

We began by stopping of at the in-law's house to drop off our "child", Pistol Pete. We then went to Olive Garden and had a wonderful meal for FREE because of the wonderful gift cards we got for Christmas. After we ate, we traveled to the BJCC for the show. We had great seats, in my opinion. They were squishy (lol) and they were direct so that we didn't have to turn our heads to see the show. The show began with "Guitar Guy" who is kind of like Jeff's human sidekick. He was awesome on the guitar and had some hilarious songs, even one about us being free in 2012 from Oprah, Obama, and hopefully The View. It was hilarious. We also learned that "Guitar Guy's" son is the lead guitarist in "Avenge Sevenfold". After "Guitar Guy's" bit, there was a 15 minute intermission. Finally after the intermission, Jeff came on! He did about a 10 minute bit of his own before bringing our his first puppet, Walter, the grumpy old man. Most all of Walter's material was new and it was great! After Walter was Achmed the Dead Terrorist and after Achmed was my favorite, Peanut! Then there was Jalapeno on a Steek which he does while also doing Peanut. After Peanut and Jalapeno's bit, Peanut talked a little more and then Jeff ended the show and ran off stage. People began leaving, but then Jeff ran back on stage! He said "Hold on! I haven't done this guy in a while, but I figured it was appropriate, so here's Bubba J!" Bubba J is his red reck puppet...I guess he figured it was appropriate with him being in Alabama. It was funny because everyone knew Bubba's lines and it freaked Jeff out. He said it was like some weird church service. "Everyone open your bibles to Bubba 2:16". The whole show was awesome and I was sad to see it end! We had a great time and I highly recommend his live show!

Thanks for reading!

Christmas 2009

I feel like I have so much to write!!! I will try to break this up into sections...

Christmas Eve: Every year for Wes's side of the family, we go to their Christmas Eve party. We either all meet at his parent's house or his aunt and uncle's house. This year we met at my wonderful in-law's house. All kinds of family came...many of whom I did not know... We ate wonderful food and before I knew it, it was time to help my husband into the Santa outfit. Every year Santa visits the Dunsieth's Christmas Eve party and this year my husband was chosen to be Santa. He was very excited. His mom, his aunt and, I helped him into his get-up. After he was all in costume, he went around the house and came through the front door. All the kids were very excited. "Santa" had a gift for each of them. After all the children came and sat on Santa's lap to get their presents, some of the older cousins jumped in Wes's lap, followed by his dad and his grandmother (who actually tried to straddle him...HAHA!) He then looked at me and said "And how have you been, little girl?" I got up and jumped in his lap and kissed him on the cheek! He asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I said "You, Santa!" Some of the people there did not know it was my husband and we got some pretty priceless looks! It's all caught on video, too! HAHA! After "Santa" left we played the Left, Right game. It's kinda like Dirty Santa, but not as mean. It's a very cute game. My mother-in-law read a cute story about the Right Family and we passed the presents according to when she said the word "right" or "left". At the end of the story, whatever gift you had was yours to keep. Wes got a cinnamon diffuser and I got a cool re-usable bag with a Christmas fleece blanket inside. After we played the Left, Right game, all of the extended family left and the more immediate family gave out our secret Santa gifts. (We drew names at Thanksgiving) Rachael got my name and got me the newest Nicholas Sparks book! Ethan got Wes's name and he got him "The Hangover" movie...which is quite hilarious. After we had all exchanged gifts, Wes asked his mom if we could open one of our Christmas gifts. She agreed and Wes opened his American Patriot's Bible and I opened my really cool plastic cake plate/cupcake/petit four holder. We then left for our long trek back to E-town.

Christmas Day: So this year Wes got 1 hour of sleep...HAHA! He was TOO excited to sleep! We went to bed at about 1:30am and Wes woke up and tried to get me up at 2:30am...TRIED being the key word. It was to no avail. I finally agreed to roll myself out of the warm bed at about 5:30am. When I came out into the living room, I found that Wes had already gone through his stocking...HAHA! We took turns back and forth opening presents from each other. Wes got a Burger King Kid's Toy (a joke from me), Magellan coffee mugs and thermos, a reversible belt, black dress shoes, a wind suit, Twilight the movie, Tiger Woods PGA Tour (yeh...I know...), a baseball glove, candy, and a card. Wes gave me Wii Fit! (which was a total surprise because he kept telling me he couldn't get me one), a Cool Pix touch screen camera, Breaking Dawn (the last Twilight book), an Edward bookmark, a Starbucks card, two shirts, a cami, a scarf, Up the movie, my favorite Russell Stover chocolate covered marshmallow Santas, a memory card for my camera, and a card. After I was done opening my gifts, Wes said to look in the tree. There was an envelope with "To:Nikki From: SANTA" written on it. He told me to open it. To my surprise it was two tickets to Jeff Dunham the NEXT day! I was so pumped about all my awesome gifts! After we opened our presents, my dad and grandmother came down. We exchanged gifts with them. My dad got us a DVD player and Mammaw gave us money and candy. We gave my dad a Columbia jacket which actually surprised him! (Usually I give away his presents too easily because he can read me like a book!) We gave Mammaw a Burt's Bees nail set and my dad gave her a Snuggie! After my dad and grandmother left, Wes and I made the trek back to Weogufka for the annual Christmas Breakfast at Sunshine's (Wes's gma). We had yummy waffles, bacon, biscuits, gravy, and eggs. It was great! After we ate and sat around and talked for a while, Wes and I went to his parent's house to open our gifts from them. Wes got a leather jacket, three nice button-up shirts, gift cards to restaurants, WalMart giftcard, JC Penny gift card, Columbia jacket, small flashlight, and candy. I got a COACH purse!!!!, a cute teacher bag, a zebra jewelry holder, "D" coasters, a CUTE apron with an "N" on it, a black and leopard poncho, a WalMart gift card, and Twizzlers! I was WAY TOO spoiled this Christmas! I must have been a REALLY GOOD girl this year! Not only was I spoiled by gifts, but by family who love me very much! I was just overflowing with blessings! After we left the Dunsieth's we came home and took a nap! After our nap, we went up to my grandmother's and ate lunch. We had a great time sitting around talking and visiting with my family. Wes fell asleep after a while...it seems to be tradition for him, lol and we went home to take another nap. After napping some, we got up and played the Wii Fit for a few hours. It is SO fun!!!

Ok, so in a nutshell, I had an AWESOME Christmas!! The reason for the season is God's gifts to us. I think some people get too wrapped up in how gifts are not the reason...but if you think about it, I feel like it's a good representation. God GAVE and we RECEIVED. I LOVE giving gifts at Christmas! Just as God GAVE Christ to us. I also don't mind receiving gifts. Just as God wants us to RECEIVE Christ into our lives and our hearts. I am beyond blessed and so happy for such a WONDERFUL, big family!

A Little Innocent Fun...

Just to elaborate on my Twilight obsession............. ;)

PC Beach Trip

This past weekend we went to Panama City with my best friend, Angela, and her boyfriend, Tim. We had sooo much fun! Even though it rained half the time we were there, we had a blast! We rode on the golf cart to the beach, went out to eat, went shopping, played cards, watched movies, cooked, and just hung out. It was a great time! The only downside was when we were taking pictures out on the beach, Wes lost his wedding ring. :( We looked for HOURS and never found it! That really stunk, but we had a great time overall. It was great to get away and spend some time with great friends! :)

I'm getting so excited about Christmas approaching. :) Under our tree is quite full with presents! I LOVE shopping for others and giving presents at Christmas time! It is my favorite part! This year, we bought a real Christmas tree. It smells so good! I think it was worth it! Here is a pic of our pretty tree. :) I wanted a classy tree this year and not a tacky one like we usually have. LOL.

I am SO excited that this semester is OVER! I will miss the kiddos at the preschool, but I am PSYCHED that this is my last real semester. Next semester is internship at Wetumpka and then it's graduation! Whoo Hoo! I can't believe I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now! So far I have one A. I am hoping that the rest of my grades are As too and it will raise my GPA! :)

I hope everyone is having a great Christmas season!
God Bless!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

I haven't written since our 1 Year anniversary, so I thought I would today to update everyone. Our little escape to the woods was nice. The weather, on the other hand, was not so nice. We stayed inside more than we had anticipated, but it was still a nice get-away. Hopefully next year we can go on a more romantic adventure. Camping was less romantic than I had hoped...haha! Don't get me wrong, we had a great time...it was just not what we had anticipated. Either way, it was very nice to get away :)

I CANNOT believe Christmas is just around the corner! This year has FLOWN by! Wes and I have been married a YEAR now! Unbelievable! AND once again, it's Christmas time again. We've started a lot of our shopping, decorated some, and wrapped some. I do love this time of year, although it is definitely more of Wes's favorite time. We've talked about getting a real tree this year and may get one this weekend. I love the smell of real trees! We have also ordered Christmas cards! (Something I have never done.) I can't wait to receive them in the mail soon! I love buying for others. I think that is more fun to me than actually receiving. I wish we had millions so I could buy everyone something! :)

Well...the fever has finally hit me...the Twilight fever. I told myself that I would not conform into the hysteria, but it is TOO late! After seeing New Moon this past Sunday, I AM HOOKED! I started the first book, Twilight, Sunday night and finished it last night. I am starting New Moon today! Gosh, these are some awesome books! I was so skeptical, but now I see what all the craze is about! I find myself hoping that there are really vampires out there...haha! SO, my advice is that, if you have not experienced the Twilight saga yourself, then don't knock it! ;)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful time preparing for Christmas!
Until next time,
Bella...I mean...Nikki...

Update on Wes and Life

As most of you know, Wes had a seizure episode back in October. The ER put him on seizure meds and he has been waiting for his appointment. He finally had his appointment on the 11th of this month. To our surprise, the neurologist took Wes off the seizure medication. She said that he did not have a major seizure. She said it was more like tremors. Also, to our surprise, she attributed the disoriented manner to perhaps a heart condition! Wes is a big fella, but he has a VERY low heart rate--about 50. The doctor believes his heart is not pumping out enough blood and therefore, not enough to his brain which can lead to blackouts or being disoriented. So, it looks as if Wes may be going to a cardiologist soon. PLEASE keep him in your prayers. We are just ready to have some concrete answers.

I cannot believe Wes and I have almost been married for a whole YEAR! (the 22nd) We have been through a lot, but he is the perfect man for me. God really knew what he was doing when He put us together. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man as my husband. Well, we HAD planned on going on a cruise for our anniversary, but as you all know, life happens. And when it rains, it pours. All kinds of bills came in at one time, and we are now unable to go. We also looked into going to Savannah, GA, but we felt like it would be too much as well. SO, we have now decided to borrow his parent's camper and go camping at Mt. Cheaha (in pics). HAHA! Honestly, I just want to get away and spend some quality time with my husband. Even if we were in a lean-to, HAHAHAA! (that's an inside joke) I am excited for us to get away from all the stresses we have here and go spend about 5 days in God's beautiful creation together. We'll probably take our chihuahua, Pete, go hiking, build a camp fire, and just spend some great time together. As long as I'm away with him, it will be great! :) Well, I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanks for reading!

Our Little Poppyseed

The purpose of this blog is to be open and honest about married life and life in general. Sometimes that is hard to do. My goal is to show others what "normal" is and maybe what to expect and just see an honest representation of marriage and life. Maybe this blog will help others going through the same things. Every relationship is different and every situation is different. It is also a type of diary for me. With that said, here is our present situation...

I have been feeling "funny" all month long. I have been cramping, nauseous, moody, craving weird stuff, very tired, and having a metallic taste in my mouth. Wes kept saying I was pregnant. I tried to wait and just see, but curiosity got the best of me.

So...I took a pregnancy test Thursday and this is what I saw [left picture]...do you see the very light left line? It was much clearer in person. If that wasn't clear enough, I took another test Friday at about 12:30 am...[right picture]. It clearly says "YES+". Wes and I had so many emotions running through our heads. We were excited, scared, worried, happy, freaking out...you name it. We didn't tell anyone because we wanted to make sure. We looked up the growth chart on the internet and found that I was about 4 weeks pregnant and it was about the size of a poppy seed and looked like the pic up top. The cells were joining together to make a baby. Very exciting. We both put a hand on my stomach and prayed for God's will. Later on Friday, I took another test and it said "NO-". I was very confused. I took another and only really saw one line. We were both very confused. We looked it up and knew that HCG levels could fluctuate so we just prayed. Even though we were NOT trying and were freaking out, we were trusting God to do His will. Yesterday, I found out that I lost it. It was a "chemical pregnancy"...which means a very early miscarriage. Click here to learn more about chemical pregnancies. I was upset, but trying to be strong. As the day continued I became MUCH more emotional. It was so much harder than I thought it would be. Even though I only knew a day that we were pregnant, I loved that little poppy seed with all my heart; we both did. Even though we were NOT trying whatsoever, we are both very heartbroken that our tiny child did not make it. This happens often and I would never had known that I was pregnant if I had not taken a pregnancy test. We are both trusting God and just trying to get through this little sad patch in our lives. It's an odd feeling. Even though we were only "parents" for a day, we feel like something is missing now. Please just say a prayer for us. We will be fine, it's just an odd time for us right now.