Yesterday, my office had it's annual Christmas lunch at PFChangs. We all had a great lunch and a good time! One of the "activities" during lunch actually required some pre-work on all of our parts. The activity was to describe in a couple words or a sentence every person in the office. It was tough to find a few extra minutes to jot down a few thoughts about my co-workers as we are all so busy right now, but we all participated and found that it was worth the effort. I just had to share some of the descriptions of me...

1 - Willing to go the extra mile
2 - Delightful
3 - Southern Charm
4 - Southern Firecracker
5 - Dedicated
6 - Fun-loving, Very Smart, Kind-hearted
7 - Energetic
8 - Professional (seriously??)
9 - World Traveler, Good Southern Girl, Involved in Community
10 - Organized, Quietly funny (me? funny?...an oxymoron)
11 - Mississippi Mafia (this is one that made me laugh out loud several times!)
12 - Southern through and through
13 - Vertically challenged (no duh!)
14 - Focused and Energetic
15 - Giving

What this activity taught me was that when you work with people day in and day out, it's very easy to forget to encourage them and tell them what you like about them. I (along with a lot of others) work in an environment where it's more common to focus on what you don't do or didn't do correctly, than the positives. We all had a good time laughing together and enjoying the positive words. I encourage you to exercise an activity of telling others what you like about them!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Season!

Merry Christmas everyone! As I look back over the year, it's hard to believe all that has happened in the last 12 months! Our family has had a very active year and is one that we'll never forget. We've been blessed beyond what we deserve. This time last year, we were overjoyed with the birth of the first granddaughter, Callie. This year, we are so happy to have another baby to celebrate over, granddaughter #2, Emma. Having babies around really make the Christmas season more alive and fun. During Thanksgiving, Mom decided that she wanted to send picture Christmas cards with her Granddaughters on them (only...). So, we dressed them up and staged a set. We (the adults) had so much fun! Callie is such a funny little girl...she's always laughing and is such a ham! Her personality is in full swing. Emma is just 2 months old, but she is full of personality already! This girl knows what she likes and isn't afraid to let you know.

Here are a couple of shots of our Christmas photo shoot:

Callie loves playing and making other laugh with her. In this picture she is trying to dance on a bench outside. There was music playing and she just couldn't sit still!

Emma is a girl that knows what she likes! In this picture, she was telling us that she did NOT like the hat (even though we thought it completed her outfit and that she needed to wear it....in the end, she won)

Callie is already entertaining Emma. Emma isn't quite sure what to think of her cousin, but she's trying to keep up...

I had NOT A CLUE how difficult it was to get a good picture of 2 babies! At the end of the hour long photo shoot, there were 2 pictures that we were pleased with enough to feel like we were successful. So...here's little Sue and little Elliott:

Good picture #1:

Good picture #2:

This is an ornament on Sarah's tree. I just liked it and the way this picture turned out.

Every year my Grandaddy Joseph's side of the family goes to Lake Bruin for Thanksgiving. We (the entire Joseph family) has been doing this for 12 years! We all look forward to it every year. If we do not get to see each other throughout the year, we are guaranteed to catch up over Thanksgiving. The house is old and big. The women sleep on one side and the men on the other. Kids just fall where they may. On Thursday evening as the sun started to set, we were outside by the bonfire. I noticed how pretty the sun had made the horizon over the water and old boat houses. I happened to have my camera and snapped this picture. I love it...I've watched the sun set for years, but never had taken a picture of it...

Here is the Joseph family that was at the lake this year. We are always missing a few, but we've learned that you have to get the picture when MOST everyone is available! It's so fun to go back through the years and see the SAME picture year after year. Kids grow up, the "young'uns" are now the "old'uns" and some have even gone to meet Jesus. Family. What a journey!