Randy and Lynsi's Christmas Vacation

This would be better pictured if I was tech-savvy and had a map of our travels to describe this Christmas vacation of ours, but here it goes:
As of Saturday morning after the night of my school's Christmas party (and after trying out our new toaster/egg poacher combo for breakfast) Randy and I set off for some much needed family time. First stop: Nashville (to do one of the Hartman Christmas traditions and spend time with the Tucker Christmas..well, dinner and gifts at least). Second stop: Louisville to see Randy's oldest brother, Dan, and his wife, Jenna, and our adorable nephew, Luke. Danny is a first year family practice resident so didn't have fun work hours around the holidays. Third stop: Dayton for Mamaw's 80th birthday. This was such a memorable time which I'll share more later. Fourth stop: Granville for time with D & P and amazingly enough, lots of snow! Fifth stop: Back to Nashville to pick up Jack, who enjoyed being with the other cats waaaaay too much and might start hating Randy and I. Finally, back to Memphis for New Years.

Our little Hartman family on Stocking Night...Jack's eyes got a crazy red-eye fix!

Catnip!

Although Christmas was a little unconventional this year with so much traveling and flip-flopping from one place to the next, we found that (this Christmas especially), it's not as much about what you do, but who you spend it with. We are lucky to have the ability to see both sides of the family almost every holiday even though we technically switch every other one to keep things even. The time in Nashville was short, but packed with lots of fun. We got to see Randy's uncle who lives in Colorado, his grandma, grandpa, and cousins, and then we got to spend time with my (immediate) family for dinner, talking about how in just a few days Jodi and Matthew would be Cincinnati-ians.

Family Boys: Grayden, Luke, Isaiah

Cousins Luke and Grayden

Daddy's Girls on Tucker Christmas

Starbucks with old friends

Gift swap with Lipscomb girls.

Louisville was bonding time. We miss seeing the Hartman brothers and sisters so much, and although Danny had to work more than he would have liked, we still got plenty of time to spend with them. And I made a quick bond with Little Luke and taught him how to stick out his tongue and funny stuff like that, which his mom told him was "only for Aunt Lynsi". We were there from Monday to Saturday, and Randy's parents got there Wednesday night and we went to Macaroni Grill and watched Love Actually. On Christmas day, we thought Danny had to work until 5:30, but a Christmas miracle happened and he got to come home at 9 am! Rob and Jen (Randy's older brother and his wife) and their cute, talkin' son, Grayden came on Christmas day and we opened presents before sharing a Christmas meal together.Saturday was Mamaw's 80th birthday. That's Randy's grandma, who is about as sweet and tough as they come. We were so happy to be part of her memorable day. Randy's grandpa (on his dad's side) also turned 80 this year, and it is so amazing how healthy, happy, and active they both still are. While in Louisville, we found out what to do for Mamaw's big day. We bought her 80 different colored (mostly pink) roses and tied a different memory/reason we love mamaw to each rose with ribbon. What was best, though, was the presentation of them. She did not know she would have all her grandsons together (cousins Curry and Ryan made it as well) and that alone was enough for her, so by the time we brought in the roses and the great grandsons with "mamaw's boys" t-shirts, the tears started flowing! It was beautiful. That evening we all went to dinner at the Chop House and celebrated 80 years of a wonderful life.

100 roses...80 for Mamaw.

Soaking it all in...reading all the memories and reasons we love her.

Mamaw's boys!

Granville was good relaxing time for just us and the folks. We got to visit with some great family friends, Brenda and Brian, and go to Easton (my most favorite mall ever, located in Columbus) to see Avatar in 3D. We wouldn't travel to Granville without eating at our three favorite Ohio spots: Donatos, Skyline, and Chipotle, and yes, we had them all! Best part? the SNOW!!! It always snows after I leave Granville, but we got it this time, and boy was it pretty. Randy and I enjoyed some time making snow angels, having a snowball fight, and sledding down a hill with a plastic baby pool! Oh, how I love snow!

First time I didn't bring snow clothes, it snowed!

The best pictures are not on the post, because my camera died. I will share if I get them soon, but the day after the first snow, there was MORE snow! This time we wanted to do it big, so Randy and I went to his friend, Matt's house, and just barged through like we were part of the family. After all waking up, Matt and his girlfriend, Lorrie, and Randy and I took boogie boards and went to a really good hill on a golf course. When Randy took the first run, he went so far he crashed head first into a bunch of cat tails surrounding a pond that, although looked frozen, probably would have been a disaster. We had so much fun, and sledded for far too long for my Tennessee bones, they just couldn't take all the cold (I almost passed out, how embarrassing!). The boys got creative and used the boogie boards as snowboards and had some major blowouts, and we had double decker races where we not only had to be the first ones down, but then had to get off and run to the finish line! The whole day was just about perfect. I asked for sledding, and boy did I get sledding.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Coming Soon: 2009 Highlights

He's Stuck!

So, no one is going to think this is as funny as I did when Randy showed me what he did while I was sound asleep. Jack has found a hole in the kitchen (our friends Russ and Heather warned us about this a while ago) and he loves getting back behind the cabinets and dishwasher. When I unload the dishwasher, a paw will randomly pop out and tap my foot.

Well, this video captures Jack coming out of the hole...or at least trying to...he is alllllmooost too big for it, and after spending a week getting fattened up at the Tucker household over the holidays, he might seriously get stuck. Anybody know how to disassemble kitchen cabinets incase that happens?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Merry Christmas, everyone! A little early, I know, but I can tell you right now that I will be much too busy enjoying family time in the upcoming weeks to write anything on this blog. Thus, there will be a very long post after the holidays for those of you that can bear it.

This is Randy and I's 2nd Christmas in Memphis, and I got a few more decorations this year. It isn't quite a winter wonderland, but it gives the intended festive vibe. The story to go with decorations goes like this...

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree....(forgetfulness)

A week or so ago I talked Randy into doing decorations complete with music, baking, etc. which was a difficult feat considering he was deep in study mode. He agreed to go get the decorations out on the deck and came back with nothing...A call later, we realized I had left them in Nashville last year and INTENDED on getting them on Thanksgiving! oops. Luckily, my aunt was coming from Nashville to Memphis and brought them.

These are a few of my favorite things...about Christmas:

*Baking: I spent all day yesterday making toffee bars, mint brownies, and a brownie mocha trifle...mmmm. I also went to a Holiday Treats Exchange and have a box full of goodies for the whole week. The bad part? My clothes are tight....TOO tight!

*Family: I get to spend Christmas with so much family and I cannot wait to see them all! Randy and I are spending the most time with Danny, Jenna, and Luke in Louisville. I've also enjoyed time with my Memphis family and Church family. We decorated Christmas cookies with the Burundi girls last night which was the biggest mess I've ever seen, and then spent the night playing games and laughing..laughing..laughing.

*Cheese: Both in the ball form (I loooooove cheese balls) and in the cheesy Christmas way...aka the Singing Christmas Tree at Bellevue Baptist. It is equivalent to a Broadway performance in a megachurch. Ridiculous? Yes...but amazing.

*Shopping: Most got done on Black Friday and online, but I got to go shopping for my angel through school, a 1st grader in Memphis and loooooved it.

*Music: I've lately called Randy the Christmas Killer because he complains about the Christmas music in my car...

*Lights!

*Movies: Favorites are It's A Wonderful Life and Elf...also love Home Alone.

*Fire: We made our first fire the other night when we had friends over. I don't know who loved it more...Jack or me....probably Jack!

*Time Off!: Randy is already done (the worst is over) and I will be done after this week. Pheeww!

Jack in his ski vest. Sadly, I couldn't get much better shots of him because he hates it so much!

Believe!! And our lone ornament, which reads "The Hartmans 2008"...we will get a tree one day when we have a house and more room for our cat to roam and not try to climb it!

Christmas Card ribbon...some are old and some are new!

Candy cane centerpiece with snow-filled martini glasses! Yes, I am aware that I need a runner to complete it, but because I have a beast of a cat who pulls at all fabrics, this must do for now.

And last but not least, for those of you that have never seen It's A Wonderful Life, click on this link to watch the Tucker version...with me having the best line: "Look daddy...every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings"...now how did my aunt Sandi know to put me as that character?!

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/jrrW00sT9d3ktckj

It's Official!

Jodi and Matthew (my sister and brother-in-law) have big news....

They're moving! What did you think it'd be? :)

Yup, the Nashville lifers are moving up north to Cincinnati, Ohio due to Matthew's promotion at work. There are two things funny about this: the first is that everyone in my family gave me a hard time for marrying a "northerner" from Ohio, and now Jodi and Matthew are becoming Yankees. I guess Cincinnati is still kinda in the neutral zone, but still, now we are not the only ones with an Ohio connection.

The other funny thing is how soon they have to move...December 29th!

If I was living in Nashville right now I am sure I would be sad and upset that they were moving away, but I cannot wait to visit them in the nasty Cinci- Skyline chili, Chipotle, Reds games, Kings Island, the Beach, H&M, Ikea, and the best part is that Randy has family there too so we can have more reasons to visit both! I am not so sure that my mom and dad are quite as excited about the move as I am considering this will be the first time they won't have at least one daughter living in Nashville. Still, I am very happy for them and think it will be a great growing time for them to just be away (with Paris and Achilles of course) and focus on each other.

Although it will be hard for them to be away from friends and family (like it was for us a year and a half ago), I know that there is plenty of life just waiting in Ohio...and because they have such better shopping than we do, I know that Jodi will handle the move just fine!

Thanksgiving Highlights

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."- Psalm 107:1

This was our year to be in Nashville for Thanksgiving, and we got into town late Tuesday night. Wednesday I went and visited some old friends where I used to work, All Fired Up. That night, my mom and dad took Randy and I to Blue Coast Burrito...yummy fish tacos!

Thursday I helped (well a little bit) cook. The Tuckers took two turkeys, two casseroles, two pies, and fruit salad! And that was about 1/5 or less of the total amount of food we had! Randy and I got sent home with a honey baked ham so I'm not complaining!

Jack and I ready to cook. Yes, that is a turkey apron!

The family (minus Jodi and Matthew) :(

Happy Thanksgiving! Hard to believe Randy and I got engaged almost exactly two years from this date! Always will be an extra special holiday for that reason.

My parents looking good in brown.

My cousins have taken this picture ever since the youngest was like 3 years old. Oh, memories!

The following day, Randy and I did BLACK FRIDAY shopping. We have now for every year that we have been engaged/married. After waking up at 4:10, I dropped Randy off at WalMart and drove myself to Target. After being successful and getting two lattes from Starbucks, I realized I didn't have my cell phone...and was about to enter only the single worst place to find someone...WalMart! As I walked in with two grande Starbucks cups, prepared to have Randy called on the intercom, he is the first face I see! Phew! We went on to Cool Springs and did a lot more shopping before getting grumpy and going home...luckily we had a nice warm breakfast waiting for us when we got there!

At 2 o'clock that day was a Hartman celebration. Luke had his 1st birthday party in Hendersonville! He actually turned 1 on Nov. 11th, but his party was when everyone could be together. He was as happy as could be and loooving the attention! Happy Birthday, Luke!

Luke at his birthday party!

Grayden at the birthday party with balloons tied to his right leg.

Luke eating his dairy-free cake with Grayden staring from afar.

Birthday boy in green--all over! His daddy got the memo and wore green, too!

Luke opening his gift from Uncle Randy and Aunt Lynsi--LEGOS! (What else could a boy possibly want?)

Aside from LEGOS, every boy needs a snazzy red car.

Hartman Sisters.

Hartman brothers...Danny, Robby, Randy

Us with our precious nephews...aren't they handsome?!

Grayden eating his 2nd cupcake...notice the green icing on his shirt from the 1st.

3 generations of Hartman right there.

That night we had a chili supper with the Tuckers and Wileys and then went to see The Blind Side as a family. Definitely enjoyed the movie, especially since it is based on a kid out of Memphis. Saturday was spent in Cookeville visiting all the grandparents, Mac and Lulu both being in the nursing home but had a great visit nonetheless. We brought a smile to my Lulu's face which makes the whole trip worth it! After picking up my Pa and checking out the renovations on his house, we went up the mountains to Rocky Point Tree Farm and picked out a Christmas tree. It is a sentimental tradition for me to be my daddy's little helper with the Christmas tree, so it made both of us very happy to saw down a tree together. We were also the SUV with the tree on top making everyone on the interstate get into the Christmas spirit!

Today we left and came home to Memphis, although the cats became the best of buds and Jack showed no hurry to get back to his bachelor-style living in Memphis. They were like crazed cousins soaking up every minute together!

Oh yeah, did I mention we watched LOTS of football?

During the holidays and always, there is so much to be thankful for!

"It's 3 AM.."

On Sunday night, well really Monday morning at 3 a.m., Randy's parents, D & P came to visit us! Now, being the breadwinner and the one who slaves away for my student of a husband (haha, I love saying that because I know I don't have too much longer to use it against him!) I had to teach the next two days. Fortunately, Randy was off and got to be the host. As his dad said, "You know your youngest son is all grown up when he stays up to let you in and cooks you breakfast when you wake up!" Randy cooked banana nut pancakes the first day and biscuits, eggs and sausage the next day. What did I eat? Cereal and cookies!! Poor, pitiful, me! I got some visiting time in with them, but the most important thing is that Randy got the most time with his parents, and they finally got to see our apartment and meet their furry grandson, Jack. One of the big reasons for their visit was to see their dear friend and former preacher, David, who has recently received a liver transplant and is recovering in Memphis. They were so happy to see him and offer both him and his wife some encouragement from the Southgate home. Monday night we took them to, where else?, Central BBQ, where I used a coupon from my besties website, Where the Locals Eat. After satisfying our tummies, we drove by Graceland because the Hartmans heard the Christmas lights were up. As we pulled up to Elvis' home on Elvis Presley Boulevard, the whole car was doing our best Elvis impressions.

Tuesday, they picked me up after a day spent at the apartment eating whatever was in the fridge (it paiiiins me that I couldn't have been there to whip them up something...instead, Randy got rid of what would go bad over the holidays). Phyllis rode with me while Randy rode with D and after stopping to eat at Steak and Shake and drawing on the placemats, we both went our seperate ways.

Luckily, we get to see them again on Friday for our nephews 1st BIRTHDAY party!

Now.....on to Turkey!

Oh, I almost forgot the best part. Being in a one bedroom apartment, the in-laws had to sleep on a blow-up mattress. I did my best making it look like a real, comfy bed and even put miniature candy bars on their pillows. Well, apparently it lost some air during the night and when D got up, he made P fall off....what's even funnier is when he got back ON, he sent her flying in the air. When she woke up? The bed had filled up around her and she had to cry for help from the boys. I wasn't there...but them telling the story is pretty priceless!

The Perfect Weekend

Although the point of a weekend is to rest from a hard week's worth, a weekend usually gets packed full of things you "havvvve" to do...things that might be absolutely worth the work but leave you wondering where your weekend went. Luckily, I have had the (almost) perfect weekend. Nothing is completely perfect, right?

Friday night Randy took me to Bhan Thai, one of our favorite restaurants here in Memphis that is locally owned and inside of an old Bungalow home that still has so much of the charm left in it, both inside and out. The best thing about the night was that he suggested it on Wednesday without me saying I wanted to go...or even needed a date for that matter. After the (delicious) dinner we went to Davis Kidd and browsed books and caught up on magazine reading. On the way home? The limited time only dark chocolate java chiller from Sonic. See! I told you- the perfect weekend! We started a movie too...but of course I fell asleep.

Saturday was spent on the couch...maybe a little cleaning here and there, but mostly on the couch watching the Ohio State/Michigan game in which the Buckeyes won and became the Big 10 Champs! Oh, and I made homemade bread for us to munch on. That plus the chocolate covered almonds I bought at school made for two very guilty pleasures. We also went to Sam's on Saturday which was, no joke--Holiday Sampler Day! Dinner that night was tortellini and what made it the icing on the cake was that we had too much and began tossing it up high in the air, one tortellini at a time, to see who could catch it in their mouth first. I succeeded first, but only because Randy had a better throw. Because Jack sits with us at each meal, we wondered what he would do if he got his own chance. I threw the tortellini in the air and as it came down and Jack looked up, it hit him square on the nose and bounced off onto the table! We laughed til we cried!

Today was church and now cleaning all day. I know this part is going to nearly give my mother a stroke, but cleaning is probably my favorite way to spend a Sunday! Hopefully there are many more relaxing weekends like this one in my future!

Outside of Bhan Thai- they already have their Christmas lights up!

The boys watching the game. Go Buckeyes!

Welcomed Guests

This past weekend, the Hartman abode at Mud Island was more like the Hartman Hotel. My wonderful, amazing, artistic, best-in-the world dad (can you tell I'm trying to suck up because he did me such a favor?) came to my school to do demonstrations on the potters wheel all morning. He got in town Thursday night and we (yes, WE...Randy helps with the mexican meals) cooked him our homemade tortillas which we are quickly making famous! ha! After a big mexican feast and some brownies, we all sat down on the couch for the best TV night of the week: the Office and Flashforward.

Friday morning we drove out to Arlington for our big DAY of CLAY. It started out with CLICK (Christ Living in Christian Kids) where we got to eat some donuts and the students were able to watch my dad create a vase from a ball of clay, talking about how He is the potter and we are the clay and to make something beautiful out of our lives, God must first have complete control and our lives must be centered and our hearts opened up. I was so glad the students were able to hear such a memorable and powerful message.

Next were the three classes he did the same clay demo for (except he was supposed to leave out the whole message part and stick with art....by the last class he started getting into Jesus talk and as much as I know the kids needed to hear it, I had to remind him that too much of that would get me fired at a public school). Below are the pictures of him on the wheel in front of about 60-70 middle schoolers.

Hard at work making mugs and handles.

Not a great picture, but this shows the cool video image of what was going on. Technology never ceases to amaze me!

TA-DA! One of the finished products.

So my dad was supposed to leave at lunch to go meet a friend, but since he couldn't get a hold of his buddy, he decided he'd stay and watch me teach. Talk about pressure! My dad was watching me do what he has done for 28 years. It ended up going well and was such an honor to have him with me all day. Some embarrassing little moments of the day: my 7th grade students walked in and asked if he was my husband. My response? My husband has much more hair than this! Also, after 28 years in a private school setting, it definitely shows! His cell phone rang during class not once, but twice, and after a sigh of relief from all my students realizing it wasn't their own cell phone and they were not about to get written up, my dad would answer and at one time even shouted "SQUIBBY!" (apparently a nickname for his college buddy). At the end of the day, I was so glad my students were able to see me in my element with my pops, and the immediate effect he had on some of those boys was priceless.

Our next visitor was one of my besties from 4th grade, Michelle. I was so excited for Michelle to visit, and also exhausted from the long couple of days I had just had! When she arrived, the three of us (3 was kinda the magic number for the weekend considering Randy tagged along for a lot of it, and Michelle didn't seem to mind) went to our favorite little deli, Young Avenue, and then just vegged out on the couch. Saturday we went on a walk (a newfound tradition with any guests that visit) along the river and then shopping and sightseeing Memphis. That night we cooked some yummy dinner, almost burnt down the apartment making bruschetta, had some red wine, and baked (and ate!) delicious gooey chocolate pie cups. Then, Michelle and Randy played tennis while I was ball girl...haha.

Sunday....rest.

Have I mentioned how blessed I am with an amazing family and group of friends? :)

Little Tidbits

Over a week has gone by since my last post, and a lot has happened. Trying to keep a somewhat short post, I'll highlight the important tidbits from the last several days...

Halloween:

Halloween weekend was a big study weekend for Randy, so I carpooled with two of my Memphis friends, Julie (who was headed to Chattanooga) and Kayla (who was headed to Kingston). I got dropped off in Nashville on Friday night, which also happened to be my mom's bIrThDaY!! I missed out on the steaks but made it for the best part....cake! We gave my mom her presents and spent some time just hanging out with each other. The next morning I went to Puffy Muffin with some of my besties, and then got to go see the adorable nephews, Grayden and Luke, at Rob and Jen's house. Grayden was a pirate (argggg) and Luke was a turtle. They didn't seem too into their costumes or playing with each other a lot, but boy were they cute! I also got to see my two sister-in-laws and we always have fun together...especially when the boys aren't around! Randy and I wish so badly that we could see them all more, but hopefully we can all spend more time together in the future.

Fights:

One of the schools I teach at (which will remain nameless) had four, yes four, fights on Tuesday. The school was in a lockdown and the cops had to come and take away two of the students off to juvenile jail. The students recapping the event is quite dramatic and scary. Luckily, I was at the other school that day and missed out on all the action.

Jack:

No redbox dvd yet, but I did realize that Jack stole a piece of pizza from the top of the stove. Who knows what all we'll find when we move out of this apartment!

Hunting:

Randy...a hunter? It's true! Randy and his friend Josh (who has hunted for most of his life) went hunting on Saturday which was the first open day. He woke up at 4:30 am, dressed in camo from head to toe with a bright orange hat, and spent the entire morning at Shelby Forrest. When I asked how it was, he said "We saw a buck". That doesn't sound like a lot of success to me, but apparently it is (Josh hadn't seen a buck all of last year). If it wasn't muzzle loading we might have lots of venison to dish out, but no such luck. They said they didn't hear a single shot all morning. Those crazy boys are going back on Monday, so we'll see if we ever get our meat!

Girls Night:

I bet nobody else spent their Saturday night at a bonfire playing games and singing swahili songs with eight Burundi girls, all of whom are sisters. The girls from our house church got together for a cookout and had burgers, chips, and made yummy smores in a friends backyard. One other girl and I were trying to keep the fire burning when the Burundis walked up and took over....in about 2 minutes they had a blazing fire going, then proceeded to tell us how its done in Africa and fired some corn on the cob straight from the fire. Later in the night we played goofy games like a jello slurping relay race, an over-under relay, and Ships in the Ocean. Then the girls taught us an African game called meat and rice, which didn't make too much sense but was fun nonetheless. We then sat around the fire singing songs and then walked all eight girls home while they were still hyped up on leftover Halloween candy. It was a night filled with silly but fun games and great bonds formed between two cultures.

They sang my favorite Swahili song, and I got some of it on camera to share, but I stayed on the fire so they wouldn't know I was taping them and get embarrassed.