Each year the Gaylord Opryland creates a a village of ICE. This year, for the 50th anniversary of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, they froze the Grinch. 2 million pounds of ice were used to create a village of the Grinch and Who-Ville. The marketing for this is amazing-- and I am such a sucker for marketing ploys. Today we went to ICE and WOW was it cold. The building that ICE is in must be kept between 9 and 12 degrees to keep all of the ice frozen. We had such a great time and were glad to return to the car. When we walked into the 45 degree raining weather outside, it felt like a warm spring day. If you ever have the opportunity to go to ICE in future years, you should go. However, do not stand in line to ride the slide-- it's a let down according to Josh and Bran.......
Today is a great day in the life of the world--
For the last two weeks my parents so graciously allowed Slugger to stay with them while I:
- finished my last week of blocking in West Point
-started and fininshed packing my apartment
-moved everything out of my apartment
-spent time with Jordan in Collierville
-spent the weekend in Starkville with the Abrahams
AND....finished my (and some of Mom's) Christmas shopping.
I was so glad that they so willingly allowed him to spend two weeks with them, but I was very ready to see little guy. Saturday morning I woke up and I wanted to take him for a walk so bad. Needless to say, when I arrived in Columbia on Monday afternoon I was so glad to see him. Well he, on the other hand, was not glad to see me. I'm not sure if he was mad at me becuase I left him for so long, or if he was just having so much fun playing with Otto, but he did not want anything to do with me. I was a bit upset at first-- but then quickly realized that he is only a dog and he would come around. In the past few days he has finally decided to show me some attention-- he's back to himself. These are some precious pictures that I took yesterday-- one is him laying on Mom and she is holding his treat as he chews on it-- you can see her hand in the bottom of the picture. The others are of his favorite place, on top of a pillow-- he makes himself fit on any available size.
What a great day to celebrate such a special woman! Today is the celebration of my mom's birth and there is no other woman who has had such a positive impact in my life. What a special lady I have been given to privilege to call MOM!! Hope you have a great day-- I love you!!
This has been a week full of driving to and fro. Sunday afternoon we packed all of my things in my apartment in Starkville and moved them to Tupelo. I am storing all of my things for now, until I can move them into "Josh's" house, in a climate control unit. Most things are in the unit but the majority of my clothes are in my car. Jase and Bran were gracious enough to loan us some man hours to load the large things-- right in the middle of studying for finals-- thanks you two!! Josh, Mom, and I got everything else packed up and the apartment cleaned. Monday afternoon I headed up to Collierville, Tn, to stay with Jordan while she was recuperating from her surgery. The top left photo is a picture of Jack, Jordan and Saunders' dog. He is so sweet and even climbed in the bed with me one night!! Jordan is well on her way to recovery and she is such a brave and strong individual. Keep getting better Jo-- I had a great time with you!!
Saturday was a great day!! Josh and I spent the day lunching and doing a little Christmas shopping in Jackson. My family had the "Murff Family Christmas" on Saturday afternoon and then Saturday night was our ornament shower at the North Bay Clubhouse in Madison. We had a great turn out with lots of family and friends from all different stages of our lives. We received many ornaments and other Christmas decorations----they are all beautiful. We are going to wait to put up a large Christmas tree and use the ornaments and decorations next year after we are married. My aunt and cousin truly out did themselves and everything was beautiful. The clubhouse was beautifully decorated, the food was great, and the fellowship was outstanding as well. Thank you Aunt Nancy and Kristen for all your hard work and the spectacular Ornament Shower!! 
Above you see my new toy. I have been wanting a "BIG" camera and I have been saving my money for a while. After this weekend in Columbia with Jordan and her BIG camera, I had to bite the bullet and make the purchase. I saw the difference in the photo quality of my point and shoot camera and her big camera. We went to Ritz Camera on Saturday and I found a package deal for a Nikon D40 with 2 lenses. I ordered it from B&H Camera on Sunday and it arrived at my Mom's house yesterday. I will get it from her this weekend and the next pictures I post will be taken with the new camera!!
This weekend Jordan and Saunders met Josh and I at my parent's house in Columbia, Tn. Friday night we had a great meal of steaks and enjoyed visiting! Saturday the girls headed out for shopping while the men stayed home (with Duke, Otto, Slugger, and Jack) to watch football. After fighting traffic for almost an hour, Mom, Nana, Jordan and I arrived at the Grand Ole Opry and saw the fabulous Rockette Christmas Spectacular. It was well worth the fight and when we returned to the house, there was a great surprise waiting. The men had been hard at work decorating Mom and Dad's house with 4 wreaths and some spot lights while we were away. It was a great weekend and I hope we can do it again soon! 
