Christmas at the Doggett's Home

Our home is finally ready for Christmas! Justin grew up with a real Christmas tree and I always had an artificial tree. We both decided to get a real tree this year and buy an artificial one after Christmas. We went to a local Farmer's Market and picked out a gorgeous 9 foot Fraser Fir Christmas tree. I enjoyed the experience so much that we have decided to continue this tradition every year. Next year, we are going to go to the actual farm and cut down our tree. Next, we got decorations and began decorating the tree and mantle. We decided to take it easy on the decorations this year, because we were starting from scratch. You can't see Justin's stocking very well but it has his name on it like mine. How have you decorated your home? Post a comment about Christmas or to just give us a Christmas wish. Merry Christmas!

Callie "Belle" Doggett

The newest member of our little family is a precious Yorkshire Terrier named Callie Belle Doggett. We call her Belle, and she is our pride and joy. We bought her from a breeder in Louisville, MS. Belle stole Justin's heart and that is why we chose her out of the other Yorkies. She loves to play and watching her run is the cutest thing in the world. Everyone who meets her just adores her. We took her to my parents house for Thanksgiving and my mom and brother were depressed when she left. Now, we can't wait to pick things out to put in her stocking for Christmas. Her stocking is in the shape of a bone...so cute!
Belle's Favorites:

• Place to sleep- as close as she can to her daddy
• Toy- her bear and pig
• Place to play- when we first got her she loved playing under our table but now she plays all over the place
• Food- her treats called Nature's Recipe
• Moment- when her mommy and daddy come home to play with her
• Place to visit- her grandma's house (she loved it there)
  

Extraordinary Women Conference

As most of you know, I attended the Extraordinary Women Conference at First Baptist Church in Jackson, MS. The conference was amazing! Over 3,300 women came from all over Mississippi to worship God.
Friday night kicked off at seven with a praise band then Chonda Pierce spoke. Chonda is a Christian comedian that opened our eyes to stop judging others and start helping others in need.
Saturday we were up early and at the church before 8 in the morning to see the Children of the World Choir. They were adorable! These children along with millions of others are orphaned due to AIDs. Only 14% of Christians give money to help these children, because of the stigma AIDs has in this world. This was very sad to hear especially because these children did not choose to be orphaned. Then the praise band opened up with several songs. The next speaker, Karen Kingsbury is a best-selling author who had everyone in tears when she read her book "Let Me Hold You Longer." The next speaker was Angela Thomas and she was very inspirational. Thelma Wells was the last speaker. She was great and spoke on how God is the way to success. Finally, Mark Schultz gave an amazing concert. He is a great performer and in Abbi's words, "He is very humble." My favorite song he sang is "I Am." I am posting the lyrics below. Have a great week!

I Am
I AM the Maker of the Heavens
I AM the Bright and Morning Star
I AM the Breath of all Creation
Who always was
And is to come

I AM the One who walked on water
I AM the One who calmed the seas
I AM the Miracles and Wonders
So come and see
And follow Me
You will know

chorus:
I AM the Fount of Living Water
The Risen Son of Man
The Healer of the Broken
And when you cry
I AM your Savior and Redeemer
Who bore the sins of man
The Author and Perfecter
Beginning and the End
I AM

I AM the Spirit deep inside you
I AM the Word upon your heart
I AM the One who even knew you
Before your birth
Before you were

chorus

Bridge:
Before the Earth (I AM)
The universe (I AM)
In every heart (I AM)
Oh, where you are (I AM)
The Lord of Lords (I AM)
The King of Kings (I AM)
The Holy Lamb (I AM)
Above all things

chorus:
Yes, I AM Almighty God, your Father
The Risen Son of Man
The Healer of the Broken
And when you cry
I AM Your Savior and Redeemer
Who bore the sins of man
The Author and Perfecter
Beginning and the End
I AM

Justin's Birthday and more

Yesterday was a special day because it was Justin's 26th birthday! I asked him if he wanted me to cook dinner or go out to eat. Since he had been craving Chili's chips and salsa, he decided to go there. We invited Mike and Sarah our friends/neighbors. Justin got a chicken sandwich with corn on the cob and I got a Caesar chicken pita with french fries. Oh and of course, our favorite, the bottomless chips and salsa. We had a great time! After dinner, Justin and I went home and I watched him play PlayStation 3. Justin's birthday gifts included a black State UnderArmour polo, a State leather wallet, softball pants, blue tooth earpiece for the PlayStation, $100, two pairs of pants, and three work shirts. He was probably the least excited about my gift but he needed more work clothes so that is what he got.
Other news that is going on in our life:

• We got an alarm system
• I passed my comps...Wow, what a relief!
• Justin is going home this weekend
• I am attending the Extraordinary Women Christian conference this weekend

Have a great week!

Our Jack-O-Lanterns

Carving Pumpkins

We decided to carve pumpkins tonight! I was very excited because Justin had never carved one. I went to Kroger and bought two good size ones. I wanted to make this activity something fun for the both of us! Therefore, when Justin had the idea to make his an MSU themed one, I was thrilled with his great idea. He was nervous about his drawing skills so he asked me to draw his design for him. I decided to make mine a traditional Jack-O-Lantern.
When we finished, he was unsure about his showing up, but I told him to be patient and he will see outside. We went outside and lit our candles and the smile on his face was priceless. He was so excited about our pumpkins and told me that he had a lot of fun. We both stood outside hoping that one of our neighbors or someone would drive by and admire our creations. We want to continue this tradition and one day make Jack-O-Lanterns with our children.
Well, that is all for now! We hope you all enjoy our pictures. Happy Halloween!

Our Bedroom and Bathroom

Our Living Room

Justin wanted to make sure that I got a picture of our (his) TV. We get more compliments on that TV!

Guest Bedroom and Guest Bathroom

Our Office/State Room, Front Entrance, and Green/Christmas Tree Room

Our Kitchen

Our New Home

My Family's Visit to our new home

The Five Love Languages

When we first got married, Abbi and Joel Oakley gave us Gary Chapman's book The Five Love Languages. Let me just say that this book changed our lives forever. If you are dating, married, a mother, father, sister, brother, or have any kind of relationship/friendship, we recommend this book to you.
The book explains how every person male or female speaks a different love language. In order for us to communicate and carry a relationship, we must understand and learn how to speak each others love language. I will admit that at first we were skeptical of this books impact. We were unsure of what this book could do for a newly married couple. This book is usually the last resource a couple turns to before divorce. However, we both gave it a chance and ended up loving every page the book had to offer. I was worried about Justin not enjoying it, but he liked it just as much if not more than I did. Gary Chapman puts the words in more of a male perspective so the male reader can relate to the material. Women can relate to the material because we are concerned with being loved and feeling loved, whereas men primarily want to be respected.
If you want a great book to read or know of a couple getting married, we recommend this book! If you have read this book or any other great book, please feel free to add comments to this post. Now, we are reading Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti by Bill and Pam Farrel.

Pictures of our nieces, nephews, and Justin playing softball

Weekend and Our Sunday Night Visitor

Friday night, we spent a quiet evening at home. Justin had just finished his third section of the CPA and was exhausted from studying all week. I made my homemade spaghetti and we watched Criminal Minds. Our niece, Anna K. was celebrating her first birthday so I made a jalepeno and corn dip that night to take to her birthday/tailgate.
Saturday morning, we got up and decided to grab Chick-Fil-A before heading to Starkville. We wer late for the birthday because we forgot to grab Anna K's birthday gift. The birthday/tailgate went well. We got to see our family, Mrs. Fredna, Mr. Teddy, Kimberly, Bob, Jason, Laura, and our nephews and nieces. For halloween, Conner is going to be a skeleton, Owen is going to be the tin man, Harper is going to be a Southern Bell, and I am not sure about Anna K. I will try to get pictures and post them! The game was cold and we played terrible as usual! I just wish one year we would have a good team. When we got home, Justin read the sports forums about Croom. I think he responded to one but I am not sure. He is really disapointed in State this year, and he was not the same at the game on Saturday. He just was not as in to it as he used to be. For his sake, I hope something changes with our team!
On Sunday night, I was walking by our big window and spotted a mysterious car outside our home. I got Justin to pause his game of PlayStation 3 to see if his 20-20 vision could get the car's license plate number. I flipped on our front porch light and the vehicle started and the driver drove off to the back of our neighborhood. If anyone has been to our home, they know that this traveler was not lost and should not have been outside our home. We live in the back of our neighborhood and it takes some searching to find our home. We walked to our police officer neighbor's home to report the crazy car. He called it in and then told us that it is rumored that the previous owners were drug dealers.
Wow! Are we not the luckiest people ever?!?! Anyways, I called ADT to get an estimate on an alarm system. Hopefully, the mysterious car got the hint and will not be back. The police officer said the person probably saw my fall festive decorations and was scoping out our home to determine if the druggies still lived there or if someone else resides there. Thank the Lord for fall decor! I knew I loved my fall flag for more reasons than the fact that it is just beautiful!