Friday, December 31, 2010

2010 In Pictures!

This is always a blog I enjoy doing! It's so fun to look over the past years worth of pictures!

This about sums up Janary....We had record amounts of snow and our house really doesn't stay that warm! So we spent a lot of time watching movies and snuggling up with the dogs!!


February: The Messenger boys arrived!! These are the twins I now watch once a week. I forget how tiny they were!!
March: Allison and Elijah came for a visit! It was great having them here and we fit lots of shopping, eating and museums in!
April: We took an unplanned visit to Missouri and totally suprised our families for Easter!
May: They glorious sun started shining again and we quickly started up Volleyball!

June: Camp Rainbow 2010!!

July: I got to visit Erin in Colorado as she welcomed Baby Faye into the world!

August: We went back to Missouri for our cousin Jason's wedding!


September: Nicole and Greg came for a visit and we all headed to Dc!



October: We discovered we were pregnant!! Then we managed to keep it from our families for an entire month! (yes, the picture is sideways, but I can't get it to turn!)


November: We headed back to Missouri with our big news! And Allison hosted Thanksgiving, when Tyler serenaded us!


December: We got to see our beautiful baby for the first time!! Even though we don't know the sex, it was so wonderful to see it!

We've definately had a wonderful, full year!! We're so excited to see what this year brings! Happy New Year from The Lius!!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Christmas Eve Catch up!

I was lazy and didn't blog the entire time I was visiting Missouri! Sorry about that! However, that means you get to read lots of Christmas catch up posts this week!! Our festivities start at my mom's on Christmas Eve morning.Elijah is the only one small enough to crawl under the tree and get all the presents that were shoved back there!
Lexi with her Star Trek gameboy game.
He was pretty excited to get his pillow pet from us!!
An early morning shot of Lij and I partaking of his stocking candy!
That evening we headed over to Chris' Aunt's house for dinner and presents. Somehow, we didn't get a lot of pictures, but here's on of Jason and his family opening some gifts

As usual, we had a great day, and were blessed with lots of gifts!! There will be plenty more Christmas posts to come!!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Things I Love About Winter!

It's been snowing here for about a week. Luckily, the last few days have actually been warmer, but that will all change tonight! So in hopes of staying positive about all the winter weather, I though I'd post a few of the things I love about winter time!

Hot chocolate, of course!! Specifically Seattle's Best hot chocolate. If you havent tried it there yet, you need to! Right. Now.

Snow. Yes, I said it! I do love snow, and how a heavy coating makes everything look so magical! However, I tend to tire of it shortly after Christmas.



Of course, the best part of winter is Christmas!! I love every bit of it-family gatherings, baking, gift giving-all of it!!

And finally, shopping. I realize I can do this anytime. But it's so much more fun around Christmas when everythink is decorated!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Baby's First Picture!!

Here's a few of our sonogram pictures from yesterday. No, we didn't find out what we're having yet, but we will!! I'm only 13 weeks along, so they can't tell what it is yet. But we think baby is pretty darn cute already!





Saturday, December 4, 2010

It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year!!

I love Christmas time!! I love cooking and decorating and spending time with our families. We have so many traditions with all our families! I just love it!! Here's some pics of our Christmas decorating in Missouri. Chris working hard on our house lights.

I handled all the indoor decorations!

Our finished tree!
And the outside of the house! We also stopped by my mom's for her birthday and got in on the decorating as well!!
We also put up our tree here in West Virginia, but I haven't uploaded those pics yet, so I'll post those soon!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Thanksgiving In Missouri

Here's a few pics from our Thanksgiving celebrations in Missouri. We started with lunch at my sister Allison's house. It was her first year hosting Thanksgiving, and she did a great job!! All the food was wonderful! Then, for dinner we headed over to Chris' mom's house. It was wonderful as well, however I apparently slacked on the picture taking over there...oops!!

Chris and I at Thanksgiving lunch.


The night before Thanksgiving Elijah came over to play some Sega so Allison could get some things done around the house!


Tyler serenading the boys after lunch at Allison's place.

Elijah and Chris playing the Wii at Jennifers. Elijah is quite the pro!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Big News From the Lius

I realize I haven't blogged in over a month....I'm pretty sure that's my longest break ever. However, I'm back now and I promise I'll be better now!! In hopes of bribing your forgiveness and catching your attention again; we have some big news:

We're PREGNANT!! As most of you know, this will be our first, and we couldn't be happier! I'm 12 weeks along now and due June 12, 2011.

We came home to Missouri for Thanksgiving to suprise all our family with the big news. As expected, they are all extactic!!

I promise to keep the updates coming now. And I'll soon post pictures from our trip home to Missouri!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Chili Fest 2010: West Virginia Edition

Last weekend Chili fest 2010 was held. You may remember that chili fest is one of Chris' family traditions. We started chili fest here last year and it was a huge hit. We had it a little early this year, but everyone was so excited and anxious for it that we went for it! That's just some of the chili...we had 9 pots in all!!
We got all professional this year and even judged the chili and announced a winner. I think Chad is getting bossy here!

The poor judges.....there was so much chili!!


Sarah was pretty excited to get to the eating part!



It was a great night filled with all different types of chili! However in the end, there can be only one winner and the winner this year was Natasha!! Somehow, I forgot to get a picture with her and her award...oops!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

A Day in the Mountains

Yesterday we decided to head out to Seneca to see how much the leaves have changed. So we packed up and spent the day in the mountains with some great friends! We ended up with several unplanned stops, but it was a fun-filled day!
Our first stop was The Sinks...an area known for their sink holes. We stopped by to look at a cave.
We waded in a little. Some of the guys when on in, but their flashlights weren't bright enough to get me into a dark unknown cave!! However, we may re-visit next weekend with all the right gear and actually go explore it!The view from the mouth of the cave....love it!
Our next stop was Spruce Nobs. The scenery was gorgeous!! The leave had really started to change beautiful colors!
Ben, our tour guide, telling us that was the highest poin of West Virginia....he's a compulsive liar!
My handsome hubby and I at the true highest point of West Virginia!
After a minor incident when our caravan got seperated with no cell service (seriously, how did we do road trips without cell phones??), we made it to Seneca Rock. We ate at a great little resturant then headed up the trail!
Taking in the view at the top!Chris, me, Chad, and Ben...the only ones of the group that made it clear to the top!After our full day we headed to the Purple Fiddle for a concert and baklava. The Purple Fiddle was a great little hippy coffee shop. I definately plan on visiting this quaint little town again during the daytime! The concert was not the best, however I highly recommend the baklava!