Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011 Year in Review

This year has flown by and in a lot of ways I am extremely grateful for this, but in other instance it saddens me to think that here we are looking at 2012 and another year of getting older.
January brought a lot of snow and a lot of snow days.  I welcomed the snow and enjoyed every inch of the 8 inches Pontotoc received.  

 February was the month Cullen turned 28 and we celebrated another Super Bowl with our Sunday School class.

March -Faren & Dave got married at Mt. Vernon and it was a month filled with wedding preparations, from bachelorette parties to rehearsals and showers.  Spring break was laid back and spent with friends and family.  
April was a time to celebrate Natalie turning 30 and we loaded up and headed to Nashville.  We celebrated Leslie's birthday in Oxford and spent the rest of the month at baseball games and work.
 May was a time for good byes as I said bye to Pontotoc Elementary and Mary Ann Busby, my second grade teacher retired from teaching.  Cullen spent Memorial Day with our friends in Hunstville and I spent it at the beach with some teachers from school.
In June I became a student again after five years away from Ole Miss.  I moved back on campus and with seven other teachers we began our transformations from teachers to administrators.  Cullen and I celebrated four years together and we celebrated it apart.

 July took Cullen and me to places we thought we would only go on vacation.  We served on a mission team with our church in St. Thomas.  It was a wonderful adventure and we were so blessed by the team and the islanders we worked with.  My cousin, Anna, got married to her high school sweetie, Andrew.  I turned 25 again and we enjoyed a weekend away with friends in Pickwick.  I began my internship and started learning what life was like inside the office at school.

 August brought another Bodock Festival and a time for Jason's band to entertain us.  School got in full swing and Cullen readied himself for Football Season.
 September started the football season for Ole Miss and kept us busy with school and work.  Mom turned 60 and we spent her birthday marveling in Ellie growing into such a big girl with a big personality.
 October was more of the same from September, days filled with football, school, work, and a few parties to dot our weekend calendars.
 November brought my mom back to the University after 38 years to enjoy a football game.  We welcomed family into our homes again for Thanksgiving.  We were able to share stories and make memories.


December- This sweet girl has brought us so much happiness this year.  She has literally grown up before our eyes.  She has become a spunky & sweet little lady.  I think she loves Christmas as much as the rest of the Carter crew does.
2011 was a blessing in many ways and in many way the most trying year yet for the Pollards.  We were blessed more than we deserved and look forward to the coming year to see all that it holds.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas Vacation

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!  I put up four full size trees this year and I loved every day just sitting and looking at them.  My holiday decor has a way of evolving for a number of reasons but one of them being that  I forget some of my things and have to add them as the month drags on.
 In Pollard tradition we spent Christmas Eve night at the Calvary Candlelight service with Cullen's parents and sister.  I believe that this is the fourth year for the tradition and my mother in law just loves having us all there together.  It was nice having Faren and Dave there this year since in years past it has been just Cullen and myself as she and Dave have had work or other obligations.
 I enjoy hearing the carols and Brother David's sweet message and I know that in years to come traditions will change if Cullen and I ever start a family of our own, so I appreciate this small tradition.
 Christmas Day began with breakfast with my mom and then moved to Oxford to celebrate with the Ragon family.  It is always a fast and furious day that holds a lot of laughs, food, and memories.
 Back in Pontotoc we were able to meet up with the Carter clan for dessert and another gift exchange.
 This is my sweet cousin, Jason, in case I haven't said it enough he is my FAVORITE cousin and we have a 'secret' gift exchange every year that frustrates the rest of the family but delights both of us.
 This Christmas was Ellie's second Christmas in Pontotoc.  They alternate each year so it was good to see her at home rather than during a quick trip to Jackson.
 My dad gave me this beauty for Christmas.  It is still at his house now, because I am debating getting a smaller one, and partly because I am scared to death almost of really having a gun of my own.
This sums up Ellie's Pontotoc Christmas experience.  It was princess filled.  She can walk in heels like a champ, she LOVES a crown and thinks that her nails have got to be painted and her lips need to be glossed.  I am one proud aunt that she is obsessed by all things girly.  Especially since 2012 is going to be bringing this baby girl a baby brother.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

From Our Home to Yours

Our card this year is much like a time line for our family.  We started the year off with a New Year's party at Shep's house, the Spring brought wedding bells for Cullen's sister and filled our calendar with parties and showers.  Our summer was filled with new experiences as I started my new program and Cullen and I both stepped out of our comfort zone in St. Thomas, and finally the final picture is us headed to the Grove which is how we end each year a fall filled with football.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Paintings

This picture was taken in the Circle this past football season, and I have been wanting to paint a picture of our friends for a while, so one morning I just did it.  I wanted to capture a feeling, a moment in time, that for years to come we could look back at and remember.
 So here it is.  I took a different perspective from the photo so that you could get a feeling of the experience in the Circle, but left our outfits the same.  Not knowing at the time I painted this that the lives of our friends would be very different in the coming months, make this moment in time very important.
 Another idea that came to me while sitting in the office one day at LES was for this painting.  Being the Commodores a lot of word play happens with ADORE and the Dores, so I thought it would be special for the football coaches' wives.
 I made one initially and then had more requested, but I wanted them to be different and special to each person so I added different offerings.

And my final painting in last year was for my mother in law.  She asked me to paint for her and I like I always do put it off.  To me, anyone can paint.  If you think it you can put it in paint and then it is yours. So when people ask me to paint for them I get a little stressed.  I start questioning will they like it, what do they want, what will mean something to them....and then I have to be in the mood to paint.  It is one of my creative quirks...
So I decided that a major happening of this year for the Pollards was the wedding of Faren, so I thought it would be nice for her to have a painting from the wedding.  So I took a picture of Mt. Vernon where the wedding was to take place and the picture below of the six of us and put them together.
This is what I came up with.
I really like how it turned out.  When I paint I expect everyone to like it and to see it like I do, but Cullen was quick to point out what he saw differently than me.  I laughed because I knew I would not make one change and that once I finish it...it is DONE.  
My sister in law I think was confused as to why she didn't get one, and my mother in law liked it so it was a success.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Take Down Training

 My dear friend Ms. Babb has a way of getting me into some pretty crazy things one being hand gun training the last being passive restraint training.  On the Tuesday before Christmas the Lafayette Sheriff's Department held a class to teach us five moves that are approved by the State Department to move or restrain unruly people.
 Let me say that I am unable to say if I will or will not ever use these, but I've been trained and I can now  take down a 300 lb. person....yeah right.
The day left me sore and more worried about my time that I'm about to spend at the high school.
Please Pray

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Happy Holiday

 The day I got out of school for Christmas I headed to Jackson to keep Ellie for the weekend while my brother, Brett, and Kathy went to Natchez.  I was beside myself excited since we had so much fun in November.  Of course she kept me busy with dancing, coloring, and Yo Gabba Gabba
 We also had to stop for ice cream while were shopping and we also needed a happy meal before I left.
Does she not look happy?
I am happy to announce that we had no repeat of the J.Crew incident where the shelf fell on her because other than a Target outing we stayed home. 

Saturday, December 17, 2011

My Internship in Pictures

 Meeting my Mentors
 First Faculty Meeting to be on the "Other Side"
 P-U-R-P-L-E- Purple Day
 Newk's
 Twins
 Paint Party
 Twins
 Like Mother Like Daughter
 This Little Piggy
 Rambling Rolling River Clean UP
 Friday NIght Lights
 Walls

 Wedding
 Retirement
 Fur
 The Lime Green Jacket and TWINS
 Middle School Trio in Red
 Black and White
 Elementary in SeaFoam Green
 Hard Day's Work
 Bring it on Back to Basics
 Twins
 Moving on Up
My High School Desk
Daisypath - Personal pictureDaisypath Anniversary tickers