Santa Claus is Watchin’ You!

Santa’s Watching You!

That’s right!  This Santa Claus is watching you!  Isn’t he just the cutest lil Santa that you ever did see?  Well, maybe that’s just my opinion, but he IS available for your Christmas engagements if you’re still Santa-less! 

He was a success at the Flowery Branch Christmas festival this weekend!  He saw kid after kid in his sleigh.

Our friend’s little girl, Lilia, now thinks Santa’s first name is Andy thanks to her mommy’s slip-o-the-tongue infront of Santa.  LOL

I love Santa, yes I do!  I love Santa!  How about you?!

~Melissa

It’s over before you know it…

Can you believe it?  I know I certainly can’t believe it’s already time to go back to work.  We are certainly getting spoiled by getting to spend so much time together over the holiday.  Not only did we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, but the 25th marked 5 wonderful months of Melandy! :0)

We started our Thanksgiving holiday on Tuesday night when I drove to meet Andy, Matt, Toni, and Bobby at Wild Wings in Suwanee after work.  We had fun chowing down on some BOGO wings and watching a few people sing karaoke.  Wednesday, Andy (with minimal help from Matt and me) hung Christmas lights on the porch at his parent’s house, then we cruised by to see Janice Baskin’s SNAZZY new apartment before heading back to my house.  Thanksgiving day, we did the mandatory channel flipping between the two broadcasts of the Macy’s parade to watch the different Broadway/artist performances and Andy gladly shelled pecans while I whipped up my Apple Dandy Salad.

We spent Thursday with my family at my Aunt Linda’s house where we had way too much food and hung out with my soon-to-be-adopted, currently-foster cousin, Jeremiah.  He LOVED Andy and his iPhone.

Melissa and Jeremiah

Andy and J-Man

We ate leftovers for dinner before crashing at my house.  Friday, we hit the stores at lunch time…didn’t buy much, but had fun nonetheless.  We headed back to Andy’s house Friday evening.

Saturday, it was Thanksgiving Tullis style with Andy’s mom’s side of the family.  I got to meet his Granny and Fray Ned.  We played football outside…where I lost a fingernail    Ate way too much yet again and hung out for most of the day in Jefferson!  Then it was back to Suwanee where the UGA/Ga Tech game awaited us.  Thankfully, the dogs pulled it off!  Sunday, it was church and Due Date at the movie theater and now, we’re sitting here on the love seat at my house working on a Christmas present together.

It’s amazing how fast 10 days can go when we’re together and, especially, when we’re off work.  However, the four days we are apart move slower than I don’t know what!  Thursday is Andy’s birthday!  Oh – I forgot – I let him open his present early since I won’t see him Thursday.  He LOVED his iPhone alarm clock – I did good!

That’s it for now, I shall commence dreading going to work.

~Melissa

PS – random funny pic – Andy and the size 19 Nikes we found at Marshall’s!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, readers!  It’s been a while since we posted, but lots has happened since 10.25.10.  We’ve both been sick (he’s kinda over it, I’m still coughing), we’ve been to a hockey game, we’ve been to our last NGHS football game of the year (since they played AWFULLY against Grayson and got knocked out of the playoffs), we’ve performed in yet another 5th Row Dinner Theatre, we saw Harry Potter 7.1, and we’ve successfully made it to the Thanksgiving Holidays!  Well…he has, at least; I have another 10 hours to go.

Paster Tony preached a really great message at Fusion yesterday, and it really made me think.  He talked about how the purpose of Thanksgiving – Thanking God – has been lost.  We took time out of the service to praise God in each of the four ways he instructs us to in the Bible: We sang, We prayed, We gave , and We used a card to write down our testimony of what Fusion’s done in us.  I really took time to stop and think about what I’m thankful for this year.  I’m very thankful for the turn my life has taken.  I’m thankful to have a job.  Of course, I’m thankful for my friends and family, including to the new family that’s come into my life as a packaged deal with my relationship with Andy. 

We are so lucky to have the families that we do, and we cherish that fact.  We’re blessed that they already know each other, get along, and *gasp* like each other!  Each of us fits seamlessly into the other’s family, as if we were pieces of a puzzle that had been missing for the last 25 (and – almost – 28 years). 

We’re looking forward to Thanksgiving Day with my mom’s side of the family, then Saturday with his mom’s family.  Heidi’s birthday is also on Saturday, then we have Andy’s 28th birthday on December 2nd.  As much as he hates to admit it, he’ll finally be in his early late 20s instead of his late mid 20s 

Let us know who’s out there reading!  We love you guys!

~Melissa ♫

Isn’t it Crazy?

Isn’t it crazy how Andy and I only seem to blog on Mondays?  That’s because we’re still only getting to see each other three days a week: Friday-Sunday.  Yes, it definitely stinks AND it makes for very long work weeks!  Personally, I’m hoping that this week will be a short one since I’m leaving for a business trip to Covington tomorrow morning and won’t be back until Thursday.  Our college is switching from BANNER to Degree Works and I’m going as the “I know nothing about how Banner was set up, so I can learn all fresh, new stuff about Degree Works” person.  Sounds exciting, right?  Yeah…notsomuch.

Anywho, another fascinating weekend in the life of Melandy.  Our primary goal this weekend was to determine costumes for Ronnie & KaLisa’s Halloween Party next Saturday, so we started Friday at the Halloween Spirit store to get ideas with the intent to go thrift storing afterwards.  Those plans were thwarted, however, when my car battery decided to die in the parking lot.  YAY for Andy buying me jumper cables when it died at Whitewater and YAY for random man seeing us looking all pitiful and giving us a jump!  So, we ended up spending some time in Gainesville Wal-Mart while my battery was replaced, then headed to meet the Chapmans for dinner at Tanner’s before watching NGHS beat the slop out of Mill Creek…Meadow Creek…something creek.  Oh well. 

Saturday, we took my mom to the City of Norcross Birthday Party to see my dad’s new office and stuff.  We swung by Gwinnett Place Honda to get my radio rebooted since it’d died with the battery.  We had a splendiferous lunch at Johnny’s Carino’s, then took Buddy to get all groomed and pampered at Pet’s Mart in preparation for this obedience school graduation tonight.  Saturday ended with a win for the Dawgs and a near-miss concussion for me at the hands of two evil gentlemen (a.k.a. Andy and my dad).  LOL

And last but not least, came Sunday.  It started on an odd note b/c Andy overslept.  You see, we blew a fuse in his house on Saturday w/my hair dryer and his iron, and he had to set the clock when he got home late Saturday night.  Somehow, he managed to set it an hour and 18 minutes BEHIND!  So when he thought it was 8:59, it was actually 10:17!  Needless to say, I had to meet him at church.  Service was awesome at Fusion yesterday, and we’re both looking forward to the power month that Pastor Tony has planned, beginning with a sit down coffee and desserts with him and his wife, Amy, next week.  We had a fabulouso lunch at Chef’s (yummy catfish!) and ran the left overs to my house.  Meanwhile, a little pug looking dog showed up in my front yard and my parents spent most of the day looking for the puppy’s owner (still no response).  We saw Fifth Row Center’s “The Mousetrap” – good show, but weird that it was the first one that neither of us was involved in at all.  Then, we headed to Heidi and Daniel’s house where the boys forced me to watch scary movies while Heidi was still singing at church.  After Heidi’s, we hit up Krystal at 10:30 and had one of our famous car talks til about 12:30AM.

Which brings me to today – October 25 – our 4 month anniversary.  I can’t begin to describe all the changes that have happened in my life over this summer, but I can tell you that all were for the best.  I’m happier than I have ever been and it’s all due to some good-looking redhead  Y’know, you hear all the stories and movies and lovey-dovey things and you just don’t believe them until they happen to you.  Sappy, yes, but true.  It’s amazing to have someone you can tell anything to, that you WANT to know your whole life story, and who wants to hear it in return.  I’m so thankful for Andy everyday and for the family he is a part of.  They already treat me as one of their own and I love spending time with them.  I’m still amazed by how we all just skipped over that awkward stage – my family and his, included.  For the first time in a long time, I’m really looking forward to the holidays for more reasons than just being off of work!

Ok…sappiness over…go back to your normal lives…

~Melissa ♫

Splitting wood, house fires, and cat bathing…

This weekend was a good one but certainly was not long enough. I started off Friday with helping my dad split wood. He’s had a few downed trees that he had cut but would require a ridiculous amount of work to split for fire wood. He rented a 20-ton splitter and Matt came and helped around lunch time and we knocked those trees out quick!! It was work though! In the meantime, Melissa brought us all lunch and then went with my mom to go grocery shopping and to get their toe nails did (some nice girl time!). Friday night we loaded up and went to eat Jack’s BBQ with Aunt Nellene, Lisa (M’s mom), and Mammaw and Pappaw followed by going to Mountain View to watch North beat up on them. Good game!! Saturday, we were pretty lazy until lunch time and then went and picked up Lisa and headed to Dahlonega for Gold Rush. We had fun but there were WAY too many people there! Sunday, we went to church and then to Cracker Barrel for Sunday chicken. We hit the thrift store and finally went for a nap (after watching the Falcons lose). Went for a 5RC meeting and on the way out of the studio we saw a ton of smoke. We ended up behind the fire truck and saw what was burning. It was horrible!! It was a duplex so two families lost it all in the matter of an hour. We hung out there for a few minutes, then headed to M’s to bathe some cats. We used some of Nellene’s knock-out pills and we had fun playing with and bathing some stoned cats!!!! The rest was just hanging out and relaxing. All in all, it was a good chill weekend. I started observing again today to be able to get my required 100 hours of observation time in an elementary school in before student teaching in February. It was fun!! Felt awkward a little but things slowly loosened up and I think its only going to get better and be more enjoyable. Now its back to the grind. Time to push through another week!!! God bless!!!


~Andy

Great time had by all this weekend. Started off Friday with a trip with Melissa and  Melissa’s mom, Lisa, to Mule Camp in good ol’ G-ville. Had fun perusing booths of creative junk that no one really needs but is fun to look at. Plus my favorite part of any fall festival or fair is the amazing smells of food cooking and boiled peanuts and all the other scents that all jumble together. Friday evening, we had wedding rehearsal at the Bradford House in Flowery Branch for Leisel and Jared. I worked with Leisel (and her mom, Chantal) for several years at Lanier Academy where we all became partial to one another. When she was getting ready to marry Jared, she asked if I would officiate and I was completely honored. So after rehearsal Friday we went and watched a great game of North Gwinnett v. Norcross. Both teams came in with huge records and it seemed it would be a close game but North just blew them away!!! (Totally fun to watch!)

Everything culminated into Saturday though. A friend of Melissa’s dad sold us his UGA tickets so we loaded up early and headed to Athens. After good biscuits and gravy at a hole-in-the-wall in Statham, we headed on into town. Went to the Dawg Walk and Tate Student Center and the Bookstore before the game and then watched the Dawgs handle the Vols. Go Dawgs, Sic ‘Em!!! Then walked around campus to the Chapel bell and the Arch. Finally, dinner at DePalma’s (great chicken and olive calzone!!!) and a stop by Heather’s (Melissa’s Mini-Me) house. We finished the evening soaking in the hot tub. Great day!!! I’ve attached some pictures below.

Finally, Sunday we went to church and then I officiated the wedding. I wish Leisel and Jared all the best!! Congratulations, yall!! Had a good time doing the wedding. Then helped Rodney (Melissa’s dad) and Luther (and Melissa, Lisa, Robin and Sue…Buddy too!) clean up and cover the pool for the winter. Finished off last night with a 5RC volunteer meeting. It was a great weekend!! We had an awesome time and got some good pictures from Athens and the wedding and just really had a great weekend!! Go Dawgs!!!

~Andy

Thru Thick and Thin

Thru thick and thin we support our Bulldogs…even tho they don’t really deserve it this season!  AND on Saturday, Andy and I are supporting them in person!  I haven’t been to a regular season UGA game since I graduated in 2007.  It’s going to be fun to show Andy around the old stomping grounds.  We did the “let’s show Melissa where all Andy’s lived” tour on Sunday, so it’s my turn this weekend when we see the Dawgs battle the Vols and maybe (hopefully…please?) win! 

We had a great weekend last weekend – we went to several fall festivals and yardsales and to Jaemore for some boiled peanuts.  Andy joined my dad’s side of the family for a cookout at Katrina and Matt’s house.  And we saw GTA’s The Briar Patch on Sunday before finishing off the weekend with a little Kohl’s shopping, Home Depot browsing, Moe’s eating, and Heidi’s house lounging. 

Now, will anyone reading this please join me in giving Andy a hard time?  He was the one wanting to blog and who’s doing all the blogging?  Let’s see how long it takes him to respond to this post.  Granted, he probably isn’t up yet since he’s now working til 1 or 2 AM, but let’s start the count now at 9:22 AM!

PS – If you click the photo link in the last post, you can also see all of our Panama City Beach pictures by going to that folder inside the Photobucket.

Love,
~Melissa ♫

Life's a Beach

Sunset over Pensacola, FL

This is what we were looking at just over a week ago and, unfortunately, now it’s back to the real world!

We had a great time at Navarre Beach with Andy’s parents.  It was another short trip, but well worth it!  The water and beach were gorgeous on our first day, then the seawood rolled in, but great company and good food prevailed. 

We dove for seashells and had an impromptu anniversary celebration for Toni and Bobby’s 30th anniversary!  AND..we have pictures: http://s925.photobucket.com/albums/ad96/achappy1101/Navarre%202010/

Back in the real world, we’ve continued our string of NGHS and UGA football games.  Last Saturday, we worked in the new studio for Fifth Row Center!  (see our links page)  The space is looking awesome and almost ready for classes and rehearsal.  I (Melissa) will be directing a children’s Christmas play-that is yet to be determined-there soon! 

What else?  Oh – Happy Birthdays to our lil buddies Ethan and Mitchell, and to my mom, Lisa!

~Melissa

We're Going to the Beach!

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

It’s hump day again!! Had a great weekend this past!!! We went to Sun and Ski and got me some new Toms and Melissa some new Tiva flip flops. We also went to the football game and watched North beat Crenshaw from Los Angeles. It was awesome! North rocks this year. Saturday was a fun day of relaxing, watching the Dawgs looking really good, and playing at the pool. Went to the Beck family’s favorite dive, John’s BBQ, for BBQ and catfish with Mammaw, Pappaw, Nell, Luther, and the folks. Sunday was church @ Fusion, The Islands with Kira, Chris, Scot, Donna, and Heidi (and all the respective young’uns), and a movie with Matt. Monday consisted of attempting to have a Labor-free Labor Day!!! We literally did nothing but relax and play in the pool.

So here we are back to work for the week but this weekend we get the awesome privilege of a spontaneous trip with my parents to Navarre Beach for the weekend! They are going for their anniversary and it just sorta worked out that we can make it down for the weekend. We are both super stoked!!! Melissa and I both are huge beach bums and love the atmosphere and relaxation and just being together at the beach. Y’all don’t get jealous! I’m thankful that my parents are willing  to let us come. We will keep y’all posted on our weekend adventure. I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!!!

~Andy

It's Official!

Sam Harris it isn’t – BUDDY it is!  Here he is!  The newest, official member of the family!  Shortly after I posted Friday, they called and told us to come pick him up. 

He’s adjusting well to everything but the poor cats; they’ve retreated to the bedroom since Friday night.

Ah well, just letting everyone know it’s official!  Oh…and it isn’t Samantha Harris that’s on the travel channel…that’s Samantha Brown.  Samantha Harris hosted Dancing with the Stars, so that theory went out the window.

In other news, Andy and I had a pretty great weekend!  We hit Ippolitos with Kira Friday night and visited our buddy, Daniel, at the fire station.  Saturday, we hung out with Andy’s parents at the North Gwinnett Football game – Go Bulldogs!  (They won, FYI)  And Sunday, we went to two church services, saw Smoke on the Mountain at the GA Mountain Center, and ended the day with a little hanging out time at the Moore’s house. 

Sadly, the weekend’s over, but there’re only 3 more days til an extra long weekend!

Sam-Harris

This is Sam-Harris.  He’s a one year old, border collie mix that a friend of a friend found on the side of the road.  He’s a cutie right?  Well, backstory…here we go.  My family had to put our 14 year old dog, Jodie, to sleep on August 3rd.  We put her twin brother, Buster, down May 1st of 2009 and now we have an empty house.  We weren’t planning on getting another dog so soon, but my mom is lonely, especially with fall coming up.  My dad is a deer hunter on Saturdays and a high school football official on Fridays and I’m gone with Andy a lot, so she’s by herself.

Sam Harris seems to be a little skiddish but very ready and willing to learn.  We visited him in the vet that’s boarding him while the finder places him in a home.  He’s definitely still in the puppy stage, but he could be a new member of our family as early as this weekend!  So…we wait…I’m really thinking she named him after Samantha Harris from the Travel Channel.  She found him roaming the streets, so it would make sense.

I’m undecided as to whether or not we really NEED a dog right now…I’m hoping it will be for the better for her if nothing else.  We’re also hoping he’ll like the water and the swimming pool if he does get to come and live with us! 

That’s the news for now!  On tap for this weekend?  Football tomorrow and a play on Sunday, otherwise, we’re kind of unscheduled for once.  Andy’s taking this to his advantage in that he’s taking a nap as we speak!  He said give him 20 minutes, but I’m nice, so I’ve given him an hour!

~Melissa

Welcome All

Welcome to our brand spanking new blog!! Melissa and I are just two normal people who through the grace of God and good timing were brought together in this wonderful thing called life. I hope this can be a place to publish our life, our adventure, our journey God is leading us on. Visit often! Stay as long as you’d like! Share your thoughts, feelings, loves, pains, joys, and disappointments. One day I hope we can all look back, possibly here in this space, and laugh and reminiscence at where we’ve been. Come on. Join us…

~Andy