Rocking around the Christmas Elk...

If you know my husband, you know that he is an avid hunter. He doesn't discriminate. He hunts them all. Ducks, deer, turkeys. You name it. He probably hunts it. This is why we have animals in our house. I know that a lot of women would totally not have any of that, and that's okay, but this is my husband's hobby and I respect that. Plus, they are mostly in one area of our house : )

Anyway, since college, Trey has had an elk that he mounted when he shot it in Utah with his dad. His name is Moe. He has become part of the family and everyone who visits our house is amazed by Moe. I would almost miss him if he was not a part of our family.

Since we go home for Christmas (Hallelujah!!!) we do not get a Christmas tree. We would put up a Christmas tree if it was up to me because I would be hightailing myself to the nearest Wal-Mart and picking up a fake tree. My husband, on the other hand, always wants a real tree. He says they smell better. Ummm... that is why you get an evergreen scented candle!?! So, instead of getting a tree for the house, I just decorate Moe. Yes, I decorate our stuffed elk. I mean, can you blame me? The answer would be no to that question.

For your enjoyment, I present to you Moe the Christmas Elk.

 Moe in all his glory. You know, just chillin' like a villain.

 I guess that I should have started a fire in our fireplace to make this picture 10x better, but it is 83 degrees in Central Florida, so that will not be happening. Just pretend there is a pretty one in there. #notintosweatingforapicture

 Look at those monogrammed stockings. #southerngirlproblems

 This picture is from last year. It almost made the Christmas card, but lost out to the picture below. 

Oh yes, we did. My husband won last year with the Christmas card. And yes, we did put Moe's name on the Christmas card. This year, he did not win. Moe did not make the card. He got his 15 minutes of fame last year.

Making a List, but not checking it twice...

If you know me, you know that Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. If you really know me, you know that Christmas time also gives me high anxiety. I love Christmas lights, carols, and spending time with my favorite people. I absolutely hate shopping for presents when I don't know what people want, Christmas shopping traffic, and crowds at the mall. It seriously gives me a panic attack. That is why you will never find me Black Friday shopping in the early morning. Just typing that makes my heart rate skyrocket.

In all of my crazy anxiety seriousness, I really do love Christmas. So, I have decided to compile some ideas that I want to do this Christmas. If my completing of this list is anything like my blogging, I probably won't even check one thing off. Let's hope that is not the case : )


Christmas To Do:

1. Watch " How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Okay, so I have already done this, but I just really wanted one thing to go ahead and cross off the list. Sometimes, I write things on my to-do lists that I have already done, just so I have something to cross off. I know that some of you do that too. Don't lie.

2. Go get hot chocolate and ride around looking at Christmas Lights. I hope to do this with my family in Tennessee because if we try and do this in Florida, we can not drink hot chocolate. We will need something with ice because it is not cold. at. all.

3. Make Christmas Cookies. Probably going to do this with my mom, my sister, and her kids. Here's to hoping that my niece makes more cookies this year than just eating more of the raw dough. #sheishermothersdaughter

4. Get all of my Christmas shopping finished before the week of Christmas. I should be able to do this. I think I can. I think I can.

5. Have our Community Group Christmas get-together. We will be doing this sometime this week, so it should help to kickstart Christmas  : )

*Also, I have started the She Reads Truth Advent: Emmaunuel, God with us study plan. If you are looking for a study to prepare your heart for the reason of the Christmas season, you should check out this study.

Throwback Thursday: Christmas Edition. For your enjoyment:

 Because nothing says "Merry Christmas" quite like sitting in a wooden sled with an ugly and huge teddy bear. My mom sure did love a good matching outfit for her girls, complete with sponge rolled curls and headbands : )

I am fully aware that I had a huge head as a baby. I mean, I still do. Yet, I think that my head is normal size, it just looks ginormous because Amanda has a small head. We have always said she has a pea size head because every hat she tries on just swallows her head. Love you sweet sister.

Peer pressure from my sister made me write this post...

I have thought about deleting this blog multiple times. I don't ever remember to update, or if I do update, it has been a half a year since my last post. I just keep reminding myself that I will one day look back at this and be happy I did it. Whatever.

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Since my sister actually took the time to update her blog, and she made me feel bad for not updating mine, I figured I should too. I hate peer pressure.

Well, summer has come and gone, even though you wouldn't be able to tell in Central Florida because it is still 83 degrees in December. My family came to visit Disney in September and we spent the week together. My mom came back in October to have some girl time while Trey was traveling out of town. We have also celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving. Enjoy the pictures below and pretend that I actually updated on time and that some of the pictures aren't 3 months old. Okay, thanks.

 Sister looks pumped. Brother looks angry. Probably because this was like the 983405979845 picture we made him take. that. day.

 i pretty much spent the whole time loving on this dude, aka best week ever.

 i am almost 99.9% sure that our mom made us take this picture.

 We went to Gainesville for the UT/UF game to see the Vols lose play. I can only imagine how annoying Rocky Top is to VOLhaters because the Gator Chomp makes me want to pull out my hair, one strand at a time. Vol for Life.

 We went to a Halloween Costume Party and my husband insisted on wearing the purple leisure suit. If you can't beat them, you go to Marshalls and find an ugly jumpsuit that should not be for sale in 2013, and you buy it. #gross

 Someone won "Most Crafty" and thought he was hott stuff.

P.S. he still has that stupid ribbon hanging in his closet.

Puhhhhlllleeeassseee.

 My mom came and visited for a whole week and it was amazing. She is the best. Period.

 We woke Thanksgiving morning and the high was 62 for the day. When it gets below 70 in Central Florida, people think you should be bundled up, sitting by a fire, and drinking something hot, so naturally, we did just that. I know. We are pathetic.

 We didn't go home for Thanksgiving for the first time. It was super sad. I may or may not have started crying while watching the "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade." We still had a fun day with yummy food, napping, and facetiming all our family.

Thankful for this man and our first Thanksgiving by ourselves. Yes, he is wearing insulated overalls and socks with his chacos. We just stayed at home that day. You know I would not let him go out of the house wearing socks and sandals. 

Hopefully, I will post again before next Thanksgiving : )

I'll be there for you...

You must sing the "Friends" theme song while reading this post. Do it. It makes it more fun. Promise.

I have the greatest friends. The Lord has truly blessed me with amazing women in my life. I have sweet friends all the way from Kindergarten to brand new friends here in Florida.

Although I love all my friends, I hold a very special place in my heart for 4 dear college friends. I could not have made it through my four years of college without these women. I lived in the sorority dorm with these women. I ate almost every meal with these women. I laughed and cried with these women. I talked about Trey with these women. I walked down the aisle to Trey and stood with these women. They are so very special to me.

Every year or year and a half, we try to see each other. We live all over the country and it is hard to make our schedules work. This year, we were all able to meet up in Tennessee at a lakehouse. We did absolutely nothing and it was perfect. The highlight of the weekend was when Meghan and Meagan told us they are expecting babies in October. They are due one week apart and both are having sweet little boys : ) I am so excited that our little crew is growing with more babies!!!

Love all of you soooo much!!!

Anna's reaction to Meghan and Meagan's Big News: )

The only boy, sweet little Judson, invited to the girls weekend: )

The Crew: Meagan, Meghan, Anna, Me, Jessica, and Judson.

We can't wait to add two more babies to this crew : )

So, I haven't blogged in seven months and I have a new nephew...

This is just my style. I don't blog in 7 months and a lot of stuff happens. We have had Thanksgiving, Christmas, a lot of other holidays, and my sister had a new baby. One day I will stay on top of things. Yeah, right.

So, back at Thanksgiving, my sister announced that she was having a new baby, making me an aunt for the third time. To say that I was excited would be an understatement. I love kids. I especially love kids that are related to me and call me Aunt Jen.

The night that the kids told my grandparents. They were just a little excited.

Since I completely stopped blogging and missed all holidays for seven months, here is our Christmas card for 2012. Yes, our stuffed elk is in the picture. My husband won this year. 

The Marlin Crew-Christmas 2012

Amanda went into labor on May 13th and I was in Florida. Thank goodness for Facetime. I got to meet this little guy over a phone. 

Robert Alison Pilkinton is perfect. Like for real. Yes, he is the prettiest baby every. Totally not biased at all.

I was able to fly up to Tennessee on the same day that little Rob was born to enjoy his sweetness. I stayed for over a week just to soak it all in. I am completely in love with the little guy. We are so blessed.