The Garrison Family: Home for the Holidays

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Home for the Holidays

For Christmas 2006, Matt and I were very fortunate to get to come home to see both sides of our family. We started the trip by visiting my parents and family in Tennessee. My brother, Matt arrived a few days after we arrived, so we had a blast telling stories with him and spending time together. Then, on Christmas Eve, Brent, Julie, and Maura made it into town. They were in Colorado the week before Ch

ristmas and got stuck due to the huge

snowstorm. After renting a car and driving for over 20 hours straight, the tired Allen family finally arrived. We had to head out to Texas on Christmas Eve afternoon, so we only got to spend a few hours with them (and playing with Maura), but we were so thrilled that we were able to even see them due to the bad weather circumstances. The other days were filled with last minute Christmas s

hopping, trips to Starbucks, and get togethers with my

grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles. Not to mention, lots of time playing with my parent's new puppy, Lucy, the cat, Iddy, and Maggie, our bulldog. Here are some pictures of Lucy and Maggie.

On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Matt and I jumped on a flight headed south to

Texas to visit the Garrison family. After Matt left me inside the airport terminal,

(Casey was able to find me) we headed home to see Mom G...and of course, we had to stop at Sonic on the way home. The following week was filled with a great Christmas morning, fun times playing with Micah, and a Christmas lunch with some of Matt's extended family down in Duncanville. Matt and I had a fantastic time seeing everyone and getting to spend some quality time in Texas. We already miss the brisket! Here are some pics of Matt and Micah on Christmas morning...Micah loved Matt's crocs and Dad G's glasses!

For New Year's Eve, Matt and I met up with ou

r best friends from Germany, Paul and Janna, at none other than Billy Bob's Texas in Ft. Worth. Paul and Janna (along with her twin brothers, Brady and Chandler, their wives, and a few other friends) and the two of us went to dinner at Joe T. Garcia's and then headed over to Billy Bob's for the Jack Ingram concert. We had a great time hanging out for the last time with the Willingham's...so much so that I cried the whole drive back to Matt's parent's house. Paul and Janna

moved to Phoenix, Arizona, a few days after the concert, so we had to say our 'see you soons' in the parking lot of the hotel. These are some pictures from New Year's Eve. The one on the top right is of the whole gang and the one on the far left is of Matt and Wyatt at the Flying Saucer down on Sundance Square in Ft. Worth. The rest are from inside Billy Bob's during the concert. In addition to seeing Jack Ingram at Billy Bob's,

we were also able to meet up with Aunt Chop during the concert. It was great seeing her there and also at her ranch in Argyle (Amy had to go visit Turbo, her bull terrier!). Here's a picture of the three of us.

It's been really hard without Paul and Janna around, as Janna has been my best friend here...but we're hoping to move to Vegas this year (it's only a 4 hr drive from Phoenix), so God willing, we'll be close to them once again. Here's a picture of Janna and me from the concert. I think it was taken a little bit before we rang in the new year.

On our way back to Germany after having a wonderful Christmas, Matt and I stopped through New York City for a few days. Matt's parents went to the Big Apple with us, so it was great to get to spend a little more time with them while in the States. In New York, the four of us got to go see the Broadway musical, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," eat at all of our favorite restaurants, and sight see the whole island. Needless to say, we had a great time.

Thank you to everyone back home for making our trip home so great!

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About Us...

Matt and I met on April 14, 2001 in Glendale, Arizona. I was in college at Pepperdine University and he was in F-16 pilot training at Luke AFB. We met through my brother, Matt (Goat), who was also going through pilot training at Luke. The two Matts met their freshman year at the Air Force Academy where they were assigned to the same squadron and lived next door to one another. Despite Matt being friends with my brother since 1995, we had never met one another before 2001. I fell in love with Matt at first sight and he fell in love with me shortly thereafter. We were married on October 4, 2003 in the Cadet Chapel at the U.S. Air Force Academy-it seemed only fitting. God has blessed us with almost 5 busy, exciting, and wonderful years of marriage. In that time, we have lived in 3 states, 2 countries, run in over 20 races (combined) in 6 different countries and 5 different states, traveled to almost 30 different countries, and have have been blessed with the most precious and beautiful little girls.

Ava Holt was born at 3:05 AM on November 1, 2007. At 2 weeks early, she weighed in at 7 pounds, 11.4 ounces and was 20 inches long. Ava Holt is a dramatic yet easy going little soul. She loves attention and is always happy. She is incredibly observant, freakishly strong, very independent, and a very fast learner. Her curiosity fuels her day, as she fills her hours getting into anything and everything under 5 feet in height. As much as she loves me, she loves her Daddy even more. She is the epitome of a 'Daddy's Girl' and the highlight of her day is when Matt gets home and she gets to perform, laugh, and squeal for him. Then, when her Daddy gets in her way, her favorite person in the world is her baby sister, Myla Grace. From the moment she met Myla Grace at the hospital on the day we came home from the hospital, she was smitten. There wasn't a jealous bone in her body, only pure love. We are beyond blessed to have the miracle of Ava Holt in our lives. Oh, and did I mention that 'You Are My Sunshine' is her FAVORITE song? The apple didn't fall far from the tree, as it's mine too.

Sweet Myla Grace was born at 5:04 PM on December 2, 2009. At 3 weeks early, she weighed in at 7 lbs, 0.4 ounces and was 19 inches long. Myla Grace is so disgustingly sweet. She is our cuddly little one who prefers to be carried and or held when at all possible. While sweet and cuddly, she also loves to destroy, dismantle, and disassemble most things within her reach...all while flashing the most precious of smiles. And through all of her sweetness, she has the uncanny ability to make you laugh all day long. Maybe it's the mullet she's had since birth, the gummy grin (which is starting to blossom with teeth), or her serious smirks, but whatever it is, we can't get enough. Although Myla Grace was a complete surprise, we can't imagine life without her. She is absolutely Ava's little buddy (whom Ava affectionately calls, 'the little one,' 'Mywa Grace,' and 'Mah-la.'), Amy's cuddle bug, Matt's giggling partner, and the most beautiful little blessing.

Harper Lee was born at 3:28 PM on May 31, 2013. Also arriving 3 weeks early, Harper weighed in at a hefty 6 lbs, 15 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. From the moment she entered this world, Harper has been the happiest, calmest, smiley-est {if that's even a word}, sweetest, and easiest baby we've ever had. She NEVER cries and is so incredibly easy going...to the point that I thought something was wrong with her. And unlike her big sisters, Harper has always been on the tiny side of small. After several rounds of tests when she was 6-months old to make sure she didn't have any development or growth problems, the Doctors came to the conclusion that she is just going to be "petite." So despite being in the 5th percentile for her age, our precious Harper girl is absolutely perfect as the tiny little package that she is. Oh, and did I mention that she is the BEST eater in our family? This sweet girl can mow through food like a 10yr old! I am a believer in miracles and Harper further confirms my faith. Her existence is a pure miracle (not to mention an ultimate surprise) and we thank God all the time for giving her to us. We thought our hearts were complete but we had no idea how big of holes we had until she joined our lives. Her laughter, giggles, rambling babbles, smiles, and 2-finger sucking are constant reminders that we are recipients of so much undeserved grace. At 21-months old, Harper's favorite things are cats (she calls them "nows"--her way of saying meow), dogs ("uf-ufs"), Ava ("aw-buh"), and balloons ("boons").