I Got Tagged!

1. Four places I go

*Work
*Church
*My mom's house
*The bank to make thirty-one deposits ;)

2. Four favorite smells

*My husband's cologne
*My house when we are doing laundry
*Baby lotion on my kids at work
*My hair with professional products in it after I get my hair done

3. Four favorite movies/TV shows

*Elf
*Life As We Know I (My new current favorite)
*Desperate Housewives
*Grey's Anatomy

4. Four Recommendations

*Pray all the time about everything!
*Make your house smell good somehow!
*Save money for big things if possible--it makes buying them so much easier!
*Go to church :)

I tag: Meagan Martin, Sarah Coleman, Heather Harvey and Shannon Finley!

A Look Back!

In 2010, I....



Had my last club banquet!









Took my amazing bridal portraits!














Had wedding showers where Steven and I were blessed beyond belief!!














Graduated college!!

















Helped Steven re-do our bathroom in our first home



















Had a super fun personal shower!












Got MARRIED to my best friend and am so thankful for the blessing he is to me :)













Offically became Mr. and Mrs. Steven and Laura Caruthers
















Became acquainted with Dum Dum





















Ate a hot dog in central park!















Saw Wicked in NYC and thought it was incredible!



















Climbed nearly 400 steps to the crown of the Statue of Liberty




















Got our first dog, Charlie (he has since lost most of his hair via my choice)
















Bought our first house that we LOVE!!















Got a job that I love, where I get to teach and guide infants! What a blessing it is!!

















And ended the year with our first Christmas :)



















2010 has been such a wonderful year for us and we are SO excited to see what 2011 brings; God has blessed us more than we could have EVER imagined and we can't wait to see what he brings our way this year.
Happy 2011!!

Got Jewels?

I love moments like these--absolute precious!!

Oh Christmas Tree.....

Our first Christmas tree!

I am very proud and excited with how it turned out; we got a really good deal on it at Sam's! It's made out of homemade ornaments between Steven and I (we started the tradition of making an ornament for each other 2 years ago) and ornaments from when we were growing up, along with gifts from others. It's next to our awesome electric fireplace--a Christmas gift that we love!














Our stockings--courtesy of Pier 1! They were well worth the high dollar price I paid for them because I love them!














My barbie Christmas tree that's in my first and nicer/less casual living room--I collect barbie ornaments and loved making this tree! I know you can't tell in the picture, but it has bright pink lights! :)















My "catch all" table--where keys and bills go. I am also thrilled with how the decorations turned out for this!











And last but not least, Steven's Star Wars tree :) I had to compromise somewhere for my barbie tree, right? I actually like it--it's in our bedroom and is really fun to look at!















Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Prayers!

Please say a prayer for this precious baby from my class at work, Reese!

She has a lot of things going on with her and needs strength and needs for her body to work the way the doctors are trying to get it to work (without going into detail).

Please take a minute to say a prayer for her; prayer is the most powerful thing we have, and fortunately is much more powerful that our fears or the doctors caring and nurses caring for her.

She has a beautiful smile that is contagious and she deserves to share it with everyone she can. Her parents need strength and support as well, so pray for them to have patience and be encouraged with the progress that Reese can make and is making.

"God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good!"

Being Domestic

For the first time since my wedding, I actually spent time focusing on cooking and thoroughly enjoyed it! I realized the value of some of the wedding gifts I got, such as my amazing pampered chef chopper and I was successful at making my first pumpkin pie! It was surprisingly delicious and I felt like it was a pretty big accomplishment for myself--I even made a sweet potato casserole from a recipe from Steven's family.

Steven and I had no intention to wake up and shop today; but his mom called us at 5:43 and after that we couldn't go back to sleep. So, we got up and dressed, went to Target and got the $3.99 movie I wanted---The Blind Side. Then we got McDonalds breakfast, got back in bed and slept until 11:00. Worth it? Yes. We felt completely crazy but aren't spontaneous moments like that worth living for?

I realized lately that I have so much to be thankful for...so! Though it's a very tiny list, here's to being thankful for:

*The ability to choose on God for all my needs and desires
*A loving husband
*A job to provide for our needs
*A house to live in and enjoy!
*A job that makes me smile every day
*The means to be warm when it's cold outside!
*Loving in-laws
*Christmas decorations
*Flannel sheets on my bed
*Cinnamon smells that fill my house thanks to Scentsy
*Running water
*A mom to enjoy doing things with and have a good relationship with



The list could go on and on!
Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving!

Loves of my Life..

I decided to make this post all about the current "loves" of my life. I don't have exciting things to blog about, being that I only have a dog. He's not that great..so! Here is a solution for now:)
*As seen above*....I love baby fingers that can point and illustrate the ability to grow!

I love moments of laughter in my classroom!!



I love moments of learning...


I love, love, love NYC and miss it dearly! Wonderful choice for a honeymoon....This was most definitely one of better moments thus far in life :)
I love my best friends! Miss the ones I don't see nearly enough!!

I love, LOVE my husband. He makes me laugh like no other--as see in many of our wedding photos!! Being married is the best thing and going home to him everyday is the best end to my day!


There are so many blessings in life; go count them!!