we have had a busy couple of weeks, so i am just now getting to update the blog. and i'm doing it all at once, so bear with me - there are a ton of pictures on this post. first up, we've got some pictures from the rayner family reunion in starkville two weekends ago. i had to steal some pictures from ginger's blog. thanks ging!
the whole family. back row: freddy, betty sue ("B"), craig, angela, pat, chris
seated: patty, mamaw, me, laurel, ginger, warner
front row: cole and sydney
laurel in an ooooold state jersey. go dawgs.
ginger and warner
it was so cold! thanks, chris, for bringing us a heater. mamaw certainly appreciated it.
we basically had a whole section to ourselves. patty was able to get away from the cowbells to give laurel a (very short) nap. thanks, kissy!
little girl was happy ALL day. what a trooper!
AND, the bulldogs won. icing on the cake. we had a wonderful weekend in starkville. can't wait til next year!
then sunday the stomach bug attacked. poor little angel!
if she wasn't asleep, she was cuddling. soooo sweet!
tuesday morning we got a visit from B and mamaw, craig, angela, sydney, and cole. we loved getting to spend some more time with them.
tuesday night we flew to texas to spend thanksgiving at patty and freddy's house. wednesday morning, i woke up with the dreaded stomach bug. 12 hours later, pat was down. friday - patty got it, sunday - chris got it! nevertheless, we had a great time visiting with our family. thank you, patty and freddy, for loving us and taking such good care of us.
this must've been friday, because i'm wearing red, and everybody else is wearing maroon and white. i think i had a better day than they did. go rebs!
Christmas came early at kissy and buddy's house. warner was SO cute opening all of his gifts.
tired (sick? sad over football game?) daddies
warner and laurel "played" so well together
see? this exersaucer is wonderful. warner would say "gibson, put baby laurel in the hole!"
beauties
warner and laurel love the wagon buddy and kissy got for them
"cheese!!"
happy girl
we tried to go to some outdoor festival to see santa, but it was cold and raining, so we ended up at the mall. patty got these christmas outfits for warner and laurel.
at first, laurel just sat and stared at santa.
i should've just gotten out of the way and let them snap a photo.
warner wanted NO PART of that man. then laurel figured out that she should be scared of him, too. so we didn't get the picture we wanted. oh well -- i think we got some pretty good memory shots!
and some precious ones of them in their outfits. warner LOVES baby laurel!
the last few pics came from ginger's blog, too. thanks lil roo!
going to church sunday morning
at church. laurel adores warner. look how she's watching him!
here is laurel opening her christmas presents from kissy and buddy. how cute is that hat?
that daddy is a goner
i love this video. thank you, kissy and buddy, for all of the incredible gifts!
back home. little bit is learning to hold her bottle by herself.
yep, on december 4th, our little one turned 10 months. i cannot believe it!
hey baby!! we love you so much. you light up our lives and we treasure every moment with you! thank you, Jesus...
our brother and friend in uganda, pastor johnson enamu (shown here on the left with another friend, pastor james), was ordained as a pastor a couple of weeks ago. we are so proud of him and so thankful for his friendship. our lives have been richly blessed by him and his family. thank you, Lord, for this servant of yours. 
please don't forget to pray for and praise God for our brothers and sisters across the globe.
B and mamaw came to hattiesburg to babysit one night and brought laurel her christmas presents.
i love my new blanket! thank you B and mamaw!
i'm supposed to eat this, right? EVERYTHING goes straight to my mouth these days...
last week pat and i spent a couple of nights in greenwood, ms, as a christmas gift from my parents. wednesday night we went to a cooking class at the viking cooking school. we had such a great time. here is pat with our new friends j wes and ines, after a night of cooking and eating together.
thursday we made it over to clarksdale to see ginger, chris, warner, and patty. here is warner opening our christmas gift to him.
isn't he the cutest engineer in training you've ever seen?
pat's new favorite place - turn row books in greenwood. notice the beard and longish hair - this military man is in heaven with several weeks off during the holidays.
this weekend we were in birmingham for my cousins' debutante ball. unfortunately, this is the only shot i got all weekend -- my mom, me, and one of my sisters-in-law, barbara. i had to include it, though, b'c barbara actually has her eyes open. good job, barbs! 
