It's a Weinerful Life

If our lives weren't crazy enough, we decided to throw in a puppy to the madness! Introducing Lexie Lou Moots...weighing in at 1 pound with redish gray hair and big brown eyes, she is totally stealing our hearts!

We had an unbelievable Christmas. I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful our families are and how much fun we had just hanging out with loved ones! We spent Christmas eve with Christian's family and let me just tell you...they are a hoot! We wore pajamas all day which I think should be something we do 365 days a year.


Christian had to work on Christmas so I spent the day with my family! My brother and sis got a puppy as well, they got an Old English Bulldog named Jersey! This little puppy has more wardrobes than I do...she even has pajamas!!! Isn't she adorable?? My brother said that English Bulldogs are very gassy...like clear-the-room kinda gassy, but hopefully little Jersey will mind her manners...at least when I am over there!!!

I hope each and everyone of you had a wonderful Christmas. Let us not forget that Jesus is the reason we celebrate, for without Him, we would be nothing.

Just when I think...

Just when I think I am making progress in teaching my hubby to be romantic and charming...
He pulls me close, embracing me gently in his arms...and burps in my ear.

Just when I think my hubby is learning good grocery shopping skills...
He calls me at work and tells me he is going to Wal-mart to get soup and milk and wanted to know if I needed anything. Later, I received a call from him and he was so giddy because he couldn't believe what all he had bought at Wal-mart for only $11.00. "Baby, I got relish, eggs, a Christmas wreath, a bow and tuna for only 11.00, isn't that awesome?" To which I reply "that is great babe, but what about the milk and soap?" On the other end of the phone I hear "aw crap."

Just when I think my hubby really knows me, that he really is learning all there is to know about his new, wonderful wife...
He out of the blue says to me, "hey babe, I didn't know you used a blow dryer" I stop what I am doing to make sure I heard him correctly. Was my husband, the man who gets ready with me in the mornings, in the same cotton picking bathroom, really asking me if I used a blow dryer. Let me just pause to inform you that I blow dry my hair every stinking day. Same routine. Wash. Blow dry. Straighten. Never fails. I reply calmly, "what do you mean sweetie?" He says, "I just never knew you blow dried your hair." Has this man been living in the same house with me these last 3 months? Being the calm, cool wife that I am, I just replied gently, "yes baby, I use a blow dryer." His response... "huh, I didn't know that".

Just when I think my precious spouse is reducing his stubborn streak...
While shopping for a gift for Christmas, Christian goes to Academy Sports. He finds the gift that he is looking for and proceeds to find the price. Without any luck in finding the price, instead of doing what you would think would be the correct response in finding a salesman, or even bringing the product up to the register for a price scan...my hubs decides he will exit the store, get in his car and drive 30 minutes across town to another sporting store, and purchase the same exact gift over there. His response..."I shouldn't have to search for a price tag, I sure showed them, didn't I baby?" Oh yes love, you sure showed them who was the boss.

Just when I think this boy is driving me crazy...
He flashes that beautiful smile at me, my heart melts, and I realize that I have the most amazing, sweet, precious husband in the world and I couldn't love him anymore than I already do.

Who Dat??

I am by no means a football fan. In fact, during most games, I can be found on the laptop, reading a magazine or even snoozing. However, lately I have found myself really enjoying watching the Saints play! Last night I even surprised Christian by saying "we are gonna see Drew Brees and Tom Brady go at it on the court...I mean field tonight." I had to pick the poor boy up off the floor after that amazing statement. So, even though I have no clue about professional sports...I do find myself enjoying watching the Saints...11-0...pretty good if you ask me.

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving!

My My loved my macaroni and cheese!

Little Ms. Photogenic (however not for long...see post below)

Our first Christmas tree!! It is so cute, just don't look at the backside.
And last but not least, here is my amazing hubby in front of our house. He was bound and determined to be the first people in the neighborhood to have Christmas decorations up...and let me tell you, I still think we are the only ones with lights up! Here he is acting tough...he will probably shoot me for posting this picture, but I thought it was funny!!

P.S.- Happy Birthday to Mr. Kelly McGovern...thanks for reading!!

The progression of a smile

We all know taking pictures can be a challenge...

First there is the "I'm sick of pictures, I am not smiling, it's too cold and I'm gonna pout." pose.

Then in the background you hear "Adlee, if you don't smile, I'm gonna take you into the back and you won't be smiling for a really long time."



That brings us to picture number 2, the "oh no, I know what that means and I don't wanna sore bottom" pose.



So finally there is the "fine, I'll smile, but it's gonna be forced, painful and fake, and it ain't gonna be pretty!" pose.

Oh well...maybe we will have better luck next year!!

Blessings Abound!

This Thanksgiving, I have so much to be thankful for, so many wonderful blessings have been bestowed upon me this year and I give all the praise and glory to my faithful God.

Here are just a few of the many things I am thankful for this year...

T- Truth. I am thankful for the truth of God's word and the safety in knowing He is a God that never fails. I am thankful for the truth that He is a saving God and He loves me like crazy.
H- Husbands. Well...let me rephrase that...husband...singular, not plural. I am so thankful for my amazing, supportive, handsome, Godly hubby who loves me no matter how much I suck at cooking, how many times I turn his white clothes... blue, or even if I start crying for no particular reason, he still loves me.
A- A little beagle named Lillie Belle. I adore this puppy. She is little Miss Personality and she has totally stolen my heart.
N- New family. Christian and I are so blessed to have such wonderful families and we have both been overjoyed at the privilege of joining new families. I could not have handpicked a more perfect family to join!
K- Kids- I am so thankful for the precious nieces and nephew that I have in my life. They make my days sweeter and much more fun. They remind me that life is meant to be fun and simple. Not to mention that they are the cutest dang things you ever did see. Oh and I am also thankful the Lord has not given us any kids...yet. All in due time, but at this moment in our lives, we are thrilled to be kid-free!!!!!
S- Soda. I know...cheesy...but seriously, I love diet coke. I drink one everyday and I know it's bad for me, but I don't care. I love it.
G- God. Without Him, I would be nothing. Without Him, I would be in bondage and living a life with no meaning. Thank you Lord, for saving, delivering and loving me.
I- Image Advertising- What a blessing it has been for me to be able to pursue my dreams and have my own business. It is a dream come true. I love what I am doing and I am living in my "sweet spot" as Max Lucado would say. (If you have never read the book "The Cure for The Common Life", I would highly recommend it)
V- Very incredible family. I love my mom and dad more than words could ever express and even though I am married and out of the house, I still love coming home and just hanging out with them...and sometimes stealing their food.
I- Internet- What a blessing it has been to re-connect with friends and family through facebook and other media outlets. I never thought I would see the day where my maw maw was on Facebook. Yep...these are crazy times we are living in. Having the Internet has allowed me to earn a living as well as provided many fun, new, exciting opportunities...like blogging!!
N- Naps- Now come on...who doesn't love a good nap? Go on...raise your hand.
G- Girlfriends- When a girl has good girlfriends who truly understand each other...the world is a much better place. I have those girlfriends and now more than ever, I realize the value and importance of friends. Here's to my girls who accept me for my quirks and craziness and still call me friend!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Sticky-Note Saturday

My dreams have come true...

I don't know if I have ever mentioned my brother on my blog, but let me pause for a moment and mention the amazing brother that I have. Even as children, Brandon and I had a special relationship, sure we fought and argued, but he loved me like crazy. He was extremely protective of me and always wanted the best for his little sister.

While I was in college, Brandon start a real estate company and asked me to come work for him as an office assistant. I eagerly accepted, excited to get to work with my brother! After a few months at the real estate office, I began toying with flyers and brochures for the company. From there things just kinda took off. I began to be given more responsibility regarding advertising and marketing, getting to design websites, brochures and even billboards.

That Christmas, as a gift, my brother presented me with the best gift ever...he gave me my business. He was so confident in me and my abilities that he purchased an LLC for me, named my business and set me up with a real company...I mean, I even have a tax ID number! My new business was formed...

Image Advertising, LLC was formed in December of 2007. I immediately began to see great outcomes in my business and really enjoyed doing it as a side job for extra income.

I was never able to work on my designs full time because I was single and supporting myself alone, so I needed a consistent, weekly paycheck, something that self-employed people don't always have the luxury of having.

After meeting and falling in love with the man of my dreams, it never really occurred to me that doing my graphic design full time would be an option. However, with Christan working weird hours at the ER, it was vital for our marriage that we do something different. So after much prayer, we decided that I would stay home and pursue my business full time...and let me tell you, God is faithful. He has blessed my business beyond measure and continues to amaze us with his abundance of opportunities.

Just last week, I launched a new portfolio website so that others can get a more visual idea of some of the things I do.

So...really long story short, I wanted to share it with many of you who have asked what sort of work I do. Feel free to check me out at www.designsbyimage.com

God is faithful and I can see now, looking back, how each step...each person played a role in getting me where I am today. I am so blessed...in fact I am one stinking blessed chick!

Rice Crispies and Chocolate Milk

Saturday we had the privilege of having family and friends over to watch the LSU/Alabama game (I think we played Alabama, though now I am questioning myself...shows you how much of the game I watched!) Anyway, we had a wonderful time and enjoyed some of Christian's delicious gumbo! After the game, we watched our niece and nephew for a few hours while their mom and dad went to eat. Whew...can I just say they are the cutest things ever! So sweet and well behaved. Not to mention little charmers. I don't think the words "no" ever came out of my mouth. As you can see here, I gave Angelle Rice Crispy Treat Cereal and chocolate milk for dinner. I am sure her mom would not consider that a healthy and balanced meal, however that is what she wanted and she just batted those beautiful eyes and bam...there it is on the counter! Plus, it was an added bonus when she was blowing huge bubbles in her chocolate milk and when I didn't give her the expected lecture she sweetly proclaimed..."you are gonna make a great mommy someday."

Well...after wiping the tears from my eyes I proceeded to ask her if she wanted a pony or a new car!

I am so in love with my new family. It is such a blessing to have an incredible extended family on both sides. We are so blessed.

Oh and by the way...no kiddos for us for like 5 more years. Just in case you were wondering if all this babysitting made me have baby fever...nope.

Men are not like Women

Forgive me as I have been crazy busy lately getting my business up and running! I have been working like a mad woman just trying to get situated! What a blessing it is to be able to work from home, although sometimes I look up and it's 2:30 in the afternoon and I haven't even brushed my teeth!!!! Um...yes, I am working on improving my time management skills to incorporate dental hygiene!

Married life is absolutely wonderful. I told my mom the other day that I have never been happier! We are settling in nicely and working through the minor bumps along the way. I will tell you this...men are totally different than women.

I know...major discovery, but really we are like two different creatures. Let me give you a few examples...

1.) Food- I am amazed at the amount of food these creatures, I mean, men can consume. I swear, I used to be able to keep my monthly grocery bill at like $100.00 a month, and now it is like $400.00 a month. Now, if I am doing my math correctly, we quadrupled the amount of food coming in, but only added one person.

2.) Carefreeness- (yes I think I just made that word up) my hubby seems to get more hyper the later in the evening it gets. I mean it's like the moment it gets dark, his inner child comes roaring out. He wants to wrestle, jump on furniture, and just do random crazy things! I swear, it's so funny because I am ready for bed but I feel like my child, I mean, hubby is outta control!

3.) Sports- My dad was never really obsessive about sports. I mean, he liked them, he just didn't get engrossed in them. So my any-sport-takes-his-undivded-attention-husband came somewhat as a shock to me. I guess I never realized the magnitude or grave importance of sports. I can guarantee that when a football game is on, no matter what I do, I will not be noticed. I can move furniture, bang on pots and pans, or start a fire... and I will not be noticed. Nope...it's like he inserts himself in a glass bubble and for those few hours...life on the outside doesn't exsist.

Now let me be the first to say that each of these discoveries... has made me a better person. Let me explain...

1.) Food- I am learning to eat more varieties of food and I am learning that the world does not only offer turkey sandwiches. I give Mr. Moots credit for expanding my views on food and teaching me that "new" isn't always a bad thing. Christian is tenderly encouraging me to try new things and branch out when it comes to food. Although I do draw the line (alot) ...fried alligator?? um no thank you.

2.) Carefreeness- who says reverting to your inner child is a bad thing? Sometimes it is fun to throw off your shoes and just enjoy the moment. It's okay to run in the rain or jump on the bed. Oh by the way, that was totally not me who was begging Christian to play Hide and Go Seek in the Dark the other night!

3.) Sports- all I can say about this is... I am learning to tolerate the madness.

Not Mom Monday

Allow me to introduce you to my favorite person ever…my lovely mother, Kim Craft. Ole Kim is one-of-a-kind and I promise you will never meet anyone like her even if you searched the world over.
I decided since I have been the source of so many “Not me Mondays”, that I should step aside and allow my precious mother the spotlight…and let me tell you, I had absolutely no problems coming up with a few good “Not me’s” for her.

If you haven’t met my mother, you are missing out…she looks just like me and could actually pass for my sister. My mother is the sweetest, kindest, most giving person I know…she is also the most forgetful, crazy, sometimes absent-minded person I know as well. Allow me to give you a few examples…Hold onto your seat cause this is Not me Monday…mom style.

While at a friend’s house, who happened to have a young baby, my mother did not loudly proclaim, “How are you enjoying your new Bimbo, My son has a bimbo too, and he loves it” The sweet couple did not turn red in the face until finally realizing my mother was referring to their baby’s Bumbo chair. Nope, she would never confuse the names of a child’s chair and a promiscuous woman.

On the day of my wedding, my dear mother most certainly did not stop at an elderly lady’s home to visit, for just a moment, get out of the car and begin walking towards her front door. She did not turn around in horror and realize that she had somehow forgot to not only turn the car off, but she forgot to put the dang thing in park. Nope…please don’t picture my mother chasing after the vacant car in hopes of stopping it before it hit a tree, person or house. Bless her heart, she did not have a sore arm for like 3 weeks from diving into her moving car. Can you image if we had to cancel my wedding because my mother ran over herself!!!!

And lastly, it was not my mother who planned a party for my grandfather’s 91st birthday with all of his Sunday School class and decide that it would be fun and entertaining to bring her hand bells for all the party guests to play a song together. Let me just pause here and say that none of these guests were under the age of 75! Anyway, my mother didn’t proceed to pass out colored hand bells to each guest and then explain to them that when she showed their color up on the card, they should ring their bell vigorously. She did not hit play on her cd player and out blasts “Oh Holy Night”…such perfect birthday party music. I, without a doubt, did not see numerous guests turning off their hearing aids in hopes of drowning out the madness. Nope…it wasn’t complete chaos as these sweet party guests leaned forward and squinted profusely, trying their best to figure out if their color was being shown. I did not see numerous little ladies just ring their bells throughout the whole song! Oh my…if only you could have been a fly on the wall. But really…that whole scenario so did not happen in our family…nope…we have normal birthday parties with no Christmas-hand bell-concerts.

Oh the laughter my mom has provided for us. She is so loved and I couldn’t imagine life without her joy and spontaneity…her zest for life is a blessing to us all. I love you mom...you keep me laughing!

My home away from home...

It’s not a secret that I adore Target. I find myself at Target at least three or four times a week. I can tell you exactly what isle you will find any given item. I am familiar with most of the regular cashiers, in fact, we usually have friendly conversations while checking out. I notice when new displays at the end of the isle are out and I get overly excited when I see new products. The lady at the deli knows exactly what I am going to get without even asking. I know that on Saturdays at noon there will be 2 or 3 vendors at the end of the isle giving away free samples. Did I mention that I love Target? I mean seriously, is there anything you can’t find there? Where else can I get fruit, deli meat, ice cream, a filing cabinet, printer ink, a garden hose, a prescription and new underwear all under the same roof?

I swear, sometimes I think my car just pulls itself into Target when in reality; I don’t need a cotton picking thing from there. And somehow, I can manage to leave with $50.00 worth of stuff I didn’t know I needed. Lately I have also found myself in other stores, not buying a thing, because I say to myself “oh, I can find this exact thing at Target for cheaper.” Not to mention I almost peed on myself when I saw a two story Target in New Orleans!! I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

As much as I love Target, my hubby hates it equally as much. He hates the long lines, the fact that he can NEVER find me (I can’t tell you how many times that boy calls me in the store and says “where you at…I have been looking all over for you”?), the endless choices of products and most of all…the fact that 90% of our income is delivered straight to Target!


We are seriously going to have to think about purchasing some stock from Target.

Yes, Target is a wonderful place…it’s like my home away from home!

This was on a door at Target....I thought it was funny. I may love Target, but I never claimed they were the brightest star in the galaxy.

Change is upon us...

Did you know… You will spend over 1/3 of your life working. That includes the time you spend at work, as well as all the time you spend preparing for it, looking for it, commuting to it and recovering from it on the weekend.

Side note: Did you know…In a lifetime, the average American will spend:

Six months sitting at stoplights,

eight months opening junk mail,

one year looking for misplaced objects,

two years unsuccessfully returning phone calls,

and seven years waiting in line.

(I would say I will probably spend 10 years waiting in line, I don’t know about you, but I ALWAYS pick the worst lines, they may seem like they are a good choice but it never fails that I am stuck behind some lady who forgot a few items so sends her son to “run and get them” while checking out, or the old man who cannot figure out how to work the credit card machine, or someone (like my mother) who still insists on writing out checks for payment!) Sorry…got a little winded there…

Anyway...back on track...I say all this to announce a career change for the Moot's Family!

After much prayer and council from loved ones, Christian and I have decided for me to quit my 8-5 job (even though it is an incredible job, with wonderful people) and begin pursuing my passion of doing graphic design work, full time from home. I have done design in the past on a more part time basis and really loved it, however; I am so excited to have the opportunity to go at it full time. My company name is Image Advertising, LLC and I am so pumped to start growing my business again.

Working from home will enable me to be with my sweet hubby more often and allow us to really put a lot of time and energy into our relationship.

God is so faithful and He continues to amaze us with His goodness, His love and His incredible blessings.

Oh and since this has been a post all about work...I thought you might enjoy a little work related humor...

Not Me Monday!

Are you feeling guilty for sending a birthday card to a relative over two months late? Hope no one saw you when you ran in the grocery store without a bra on? Overcome with embarrassment when realized you had two different shoes on? Well don’t be! Not Me Monday is designed to get those imperfections off your chest and reveal a few moments you’d rather forget. It is oh so refreshing!

This week I most certainly did not order some business cards for my graphic design company and then be notified by my sweet, loving hubby that I had put the wrong phone number. Do you really believe that I would advertise my company to hundreds of people using the wrong contact number? No way, I would never forget my own phone number.

Word around here is that I brought my three year old niece to get donuts on Saturday, and upon realizing that the donut place was out of sprinkled donuts (which is the ONLY donut Adlee Shay will eat) I did not beg and plead loudly with the donut lady (who barely spoke English) to please make an exception and just sprinkle some dang sprinkles over a chocolate donut. It was totally not me who was frantically gesturing to the foreign worker as to how easy it would be to just dip the chocolate covered donut into the sprinkles! It is so not true that we left the donut store with not 1, but 3 custom, hand dipped, sprinkled donuts made especially for Adlee! And no, it is not me who will never show my face in that donut store again.

Oh my, that seems to be enough sharing time for now! Until Next Monday!!!

Bed Buying 101

Married life is wonderful…we are having a blast getting to hangout together 24/7! We have been so busy getting settled in, washing clothes, hanging pictures, writing thank you notes, cleaning, cooking, shopping, and just enjoying being a married couple!

We have even made a few big purchases for our house. A few weeks ago we purchased some patio furniture because we spent so much time on the honeymoon out on our patio reading, talking and napping that we thought we would re-create that ambiance on our back patio. Well…we have been out there once in the last few weeks…staring at the bricks of your neighbors house doesn’t quite have the same peaceful, relaxing feel like staring at a beautiful blue ocean. Perhaps we could put a huge poster of a beach on the bricks and get a sound machine that makes wave noises.

We also purchased a new bed!! My bed was a little too feminine for Christian’s taste so we agreed on something more manly. We got an excellent deal and boy, you should have seen me haggling with the furniture dealer. After much back and forth, I got him down a whopping $21.00. Yes indeed, I should audition for “Let’s Make a Deal”.

Anyway, we put the feminine bed on Craigslist in hopes of selling it quickly to get it out of our garage. We received tons of inquires, and one gentleman in particular was rather persistent in his obtaining our bed. He called numerous times to ask questions and then made the trip to our house to take a look at it and purchase it if he liked it. Let me just say, you would have thought he was purchasing a new, $30,000 car instead of an $80 bed. This dude looked this bed over for like half an hour…he wanted to know where we got it, how much we paid, who manufactured it, how long we had it, did we ever jump on the bed, have we treated it kindly, had it been near any water or flooding, had it ever been exposed to fire or smoke, had we ever experienced any squeaking or noises from the bed, was it real bronze or painted, did we think it would match his daughters taupe paint color…I mean seriously…I just wanted him to tell him “dude…it’s an 80.00 bed…I don’t write a monthly report on the status of my bedroom furniture, just take the bed and go…just stop asking us questions”!

So he decides, after 45 minutes of interrogation, to load up the bed and take it home. Christian then spends another half an hour helping the guy disassemble the bed further and squeeze it into his Hummer…yes the guy drives a hummer…yet you would think this $80.00 bed was the biggest purchase he had made all year.

Finally, after like an hour of dealing with this precious buyer, he leaves. Christian has to take a shower from the hard labor and I need a nap. Seriously…we should have just put it on the side of the road with a sign that said “free to a good home, just take it…don’t ask questions.”

Not Me Monday-Honeymoon Style

Welcome to the first “Not ME Monday” written exclusively by Mrs. Moots! That is right…I am now a full fledged married woman! And let me tell you, I am loving every minute of being married!

I really thought that after the wedding I would stop doing all those “unfortunate accidents”. However, I still seem to be doing some pretty crazy stuff! I think I have like a year grace period as a newlywed to do crazy, off the wall things and still get away with it!

Let me just say, my absent-mindness (is that a word) knows no geographical boundaries. Apparently being in Jamaica doesn’t make me exempt from stupidity.

I did NOT go to a gourmet-authentic-Jamaican food buffet on the beach, complete with 15 tables full of unique varieties of Jamaican pork, chicken, beef, cheese, vegetables, and proceed to eat 5 dinner rolls as my complete meal. Nope, I did not browse over all those tables of food and not find one cotton picking thing that I wanted. I did not fill my plate with yummy dinner rolls and butter. Nope, that wasn’t me inhaling bread and butter.

Please, I am begging you, don’t believe that it was me who fell asleep on my honeymoon almost every night at 9:15. No sir, I was living it up in Jamaica, enjoying the festive night life…Not out like a log before 9:30 pm.

Word around here is, that I asked a waiter at one of the restaurants if a-la-carte meant we were brought a cart filled with food and were able to choose whatever we wanted from that cart? However, that rumor would be false. I know what a-la-carte means and even if I didn’t, I would never blurt out such an ignorant question.

I beg you people…please don’t believe that I could do any of these things.

Welcome to Paradise!

I have come to the conclusion that life is much more simple and easy going in Jamaica. I mean, I could ask anything and the response was always “no problem mon!” I swear, I could have asked for a complimentary trip to the moon and I think they would have found a way to provide that for me.

Now, I know many of my faithful readers lost many nights of sleep worrying about me and my diet coke situation. However, the Diet Pepsi in Jamaica was not too bad…different but not bad. Somehow, I managed to sneak 6 bottles of diet coke in my luggage without Mr. Moots freaking out, so I was a very happy camper!

Our resort was absolutely amazing! We had a room right on the beach and our views were breathtaking. The resort itself was very simple, not a lot of bells and whistles, but it allowed you to focus on the beauty around you.
The resort had 7 restaurants and we tried 6 of them and all were very tasty. I wasn’t too fond of the exotic food, but I did manage to always find something to fill me up! They had this banana sundae that was to die for. Truly, it was amazing! I ate 2 bowls each night! Nothing better than banana sundaes on the beach!The beach was absolutely incredible. Crystal clear waters, soft sand and lots of sunshine. We snorkeled three times and really enjoyed those trips to the coral reefs. We savored every minute of the relaxation and freedom to do nothing at all!

We also took an excursion to the mountains to experience some ziplining! The ride up there was horrible and I was almost in tears, but the ziplining was incredible and worth the bus ride from hell

This is me getting caught blogging on my honeymoon! Oh the horror!
We have been setting money aside for another trip to Disney, but I think we may have to start an additional fund for another trip to Jamaica.

Yeah mon, it was a honeymoon in paradise!

Are women born this way?

My sweet boss showed this to me and we were dying laughing! I just had to share it with you!

always to be cherished

an anxious groom...

adoring mothers...

incredibly adorable babies

Alluring touches of elegance

an amazing day that will always be cherished.