one must have a mind of winter.

Fall is fading and winter is quickly approaching. It blows my mind to think that 2010 is almost over. So many wonderful and life-changing things have happened to me this year, all of which make me that much more excited for the blessings that 2011 is sure to bring.

November is my second favorite month, and I am so sad to see it come and go so fast. Over these past thirty days, I have settled into my first full-time job, celebrated the life of three of the most important people in my life, struggled with self-doubt and uncertainty, watched all the leaves turn from green to orange to red to brown, ate more food in a single day than I ever thought was possible [and reminisce about how I say the same thing every year], spent countless hours planning the day I become Mrs. Troy Jerome Bargeron, been surprised by some of my sweet friends on different occasions, and done so many other things that brought smiles to my face and tears to my eyes. November, you've been so good to me.

Since I mentioned that November was my second favorite month, I'm sure you're wondering [or maybe you're not] what's at the tip top of my list. Welp, that's an easy one. It's more special to me than any other month of the whole year, including my birthday month, which is quite impressive. Oh, December, you are by far the best. You bring inspiration and hope and wonder and endless amounts of giving and you prepare us for new beginnings. I love December for so many reasons, but my very favorite reason is simply the togetherness it brings. Cozied up on the couch watching Christmas movies, admiring the beautifully decorated tree, the glow given off by all the lights, the presents hidden in closets and under the bed until it's time to wrap them and place them under the tree, spending money that you may or may not have just to make sure all the people you love have smiles on their faces, listening to Christmas music all month long with no exceptions, driving around town just to admire all the beautifully lit houses. I just love it all. Every single thing about it, freezing temperatures and all.

So to you, November, I say thank you for your brilliant colors, your chilly air, and for giving me the opportunity to break out my pea coats for the first time since February. And to you, December, I welcome you with a big heart and two long arms open wide. I even chose you to be the one to host my very first bridal shower. Now do you believe me that you're my favorite? :)

"At Christmas I no more desire a rose than wish a snow in May’s new-fangled mirth;  but like of each thing that in season grows."
-William Shakespeare

“May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope, the spirit of Christmas which is peace, and the heart of Christmas which is love."
-Ada V. Hendricks

I just like smiling. smiling's my favorite.

*First we'll make snow angels for two hours, then we'll go ice skating, then we'll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookie-dough as fast as we can, and then we'll snuggle.

*We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.

*The best way to spread Christmas Cheer, is singing loud for all to hear.

*Have you seen these toilets? They're GINORMOUS!

*I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!

thank you, Buddy the Elf, for being such an inspiration to us all.

I am SO ready for Christmas!

I am also still awestruck at how beautiful my left hand is because of my newest (and most prized) piece of jewelry. I mean, seriously, have you ever seen something so beautiful? My Teesh is way too good to me. :)

I am thankful.

for seeing Angie in this sweatshirt during rival week. this helped ease the loss more than she knows.

for this precious family. there aren't many people I love more than the Thorntons. :)

for my daddy and his hopeless sense of fashion.

for family time that seems to happen less and less as you get older.

for my silly uncle who make me laugh and loves me more than most.

for my baby sister and best friend who is the peanut to my butter.

for late-night runs to Hillcrest hospital to feed Jessica. aaaaaaaand for footie pajamas and all the happiness they bring.

for shopping til we drop on Black Friday.

for my best friend not bestie and the past five years of her being there for me through thick and thin.

for great friends and great fellowship.

for a handsome boy I can always be silly with.

for my precious Cait Cait who I am certain will be by my side until I die.

for Nick stealing such an incredible girl's heart so I could have a reeeeeally great friend.

for my main squeeze, the one and only, David Brooks.

for high school friends who have become more like family.

for seeing Steve Spurrier in orange.

for being raised in the south and, therefore, most comfortable in cowboy boots.

for running into middle school friends soon-to-be brides, both in the same. I can't wait for your big day, Sambug!

for the feeling I get every single time I step into this stadium. goodness, I love this place.

for night games and cold weather and staying warm by cuddling with a tall, handsome fella.

for getting our tree all ready for Santa Claus.

for Christmas stocking ready and waiting to be stuffed.

for camera effects that keep Will and I occupied for hours and laugh until we cry.

for my favorite Christmas movie, The Polar Express, which is also set up underneath our tree.

I could go on and on with all the things that I am thankful for, but we would be here 'til kingdom come before I finished. I am thankful for fall weather and colorful leaves and wonderful friends and lazy days and smiling faces and true love and freedom and clean sheets and football and sweet tea and waking up every morning with a chance to start over again and hope and being surprised and eating sweet treats and my incredible family that was made just for me and so many other things. More than anything, though, I am thankful that I get to live on this earth with one sole purpose: to love Jesus with everything inside of me. Because when I love Jesus like I've been called to, I always love everything else in my life and in this world exponentially more than I do when I don't.

I hope I never forget to be thankful for all of the blessings I've been given. There is no doubt that I have way more than I deserve.

"But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. May those who long for your saving help always say, 'The Lord is great!" -Psalm 70:4

"For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer." -1 Timothy 4:4-5

dear Christmas, I am SO ready for you to be here. hurry please! love, Anna.

Christmas is my most favorite time of year. Hands down. I literally daydream about decorations and the tree and what presents I’m going to buy and sometimes I even play a little Christmas music to ease my mind…even if it’s only February. I have a lot of favorite traditions for the holiday season, but there is one that will always be at the very tip top of my list: Christmas cards! I love coming home from a long day and finding a card waiting on the mantle just for me. Not only that, but it also tickles me to death to sit down for hours and make sure that all of the most important people in my life know that I hope they have the merriest Christmas they’ve ever had. I love it when people let me know they’re thinking about me, and I, in turn, find it so exciting to pass that love back to them.

This year, instead of doing my traditional Christmas cards, I thought it would be a super fun to do something of Teesh and me together, and since pictures make me happier than any other material object, what better way to embrace this season of preparation of marriage than to send out some of our favorites from over the years to our family and closest friends? I can’t wait to get them ordered and sent out with every ounce of our love sent along with them!

Shutterfly was the obvious choice for cards. I’ve ordered several things from them over the past few years, and I’m pretty sure that they will be the source for all of our future Christmas cards, starting with this year’s! They have such a HUGE selection to choose from and, honestly, it’s hard to pick a favorite because they’re all so stinkin’ cute. Here are some of my top choices:

See a theme? :) I love bright colors and fun fonts and lots of room to add different pictures and snowmen and Christmas trees. I don't know which one I am going to pick when it's all said and done, but one thing's for sure...no matter which one we decide to go with, I'm going to L-O-V-E it and probably keep a few for myself...just because!

Our engagement pictures will definitely play a role on our card, too, which makes me UBER happy. As a gift to me right after we got engaged, Teesh took all the pictures from our engagement and the party afterwards and compiled them into a photobook, which he designed and purchased through Shutterfly. Angie [my future mother-in-law] also had a photobook of us awaiting our arrival at the party on the night we got engaged, and that was also a Shutterfly creation. They're my favorite books to flip through, and Shutterfly did an INCREDIBLE job on making sure the quality of both books were exceptional. I can't wait to see how great our cards turn out to be!

In addition to Christmas cards, Shutterfly also provides opportunities for you to make calendars, coffee mugs, and invitations to holiday parties. You can click on the links to see some of my favorites!

I am SO excited that Christmas is right around the corner, closely following Thanksgiving [which is TOMORROW!], and I'm aaaaaaalso pumped that Shutterfly is getting into the Christmas spirit right along with me! T-minus 30 days. YAY!

a weekend celebration for Teesh's twenty-second year.

 family dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse. yummmmmmmmmmy!

 after dinner, we met Gable, Stephen, and Carson at the Union to do some bowling & they already had our names programmed for us. aren't they presh? :)

 getcha game face on.

 I L-O-V-E-D that they programmed him as Teesh! made my whole night!

the handsome fellas I got to spend Friday night with.

how is this the only picture I took of us on his birthday? I am so ashamed.

 Saturday night celebration: Frankie's!

 look who decided to join us.

 we took Brad & Keith's advice & started a band. Melly on the electric, Wilber on the bass, and me on vocals.

 I can feel the love, can't you?

my favorite fall leaf color. mmmmm, warms my heart.

 they love it when I make them take pictures like this.

 a hole-in-one for the birthday boy!

 aaaaaand another one!

 I even got one. [p.s. that never happens]

notice how we're all jumping? yeah, they loved me making them do that, too! :-P

 what's a trip to Frankie's without a round of minigolf? so much fun to spend time with family!

Zack even stopped by to hang out with us for a while!

 I wuv you, wittle brudder.

 Bobcats vs. Celtics. and who do you think won? refer to the picture below.

 that's right, ladies and gentlemen. I SKUNKED him.

 I guess this game was pretty popular for our gang.

skeeball: the ultimate arcade game! that'll never change.

we all got these handy dandy eye patches for one ticket a piece. ARGHHHHHHH!

 sibling love. we missed our other boys though!

 match made in heaven, don'tcha think? I doooooooo. :)

can't do anything with these two boys when they get together.

This was the first birthday I got to call him my fancy, and it'll be the last. The next time November 19th rolls around, he'll be my HUSBAND. YIPPEEEEEEEEEEE! I can't believe that the first birthday I ever celebrated with him was his fifteenth, and he's already twenty two. He fills my life with so many unbelievable blessings, most of which he isn't even aware of.


This is definitely going to be the best year yet. Hellooooo to another 365 days of being in love with the most amazing man I've ever known. I can't wait to see how this year unfolds, for him and for us. :)