Family Christmas

Well, after all the waiting and anticipation for Christmas it has come and gone, as usual. It always seems to go so quickly and all we're left with is memories, pictures, and some cool gifts!! Christmas turned out to be everything I was hoping for this year. I have been slightly home sick, so it was wonderful to be spending this special holiday with my family. We laughed, played, ate too much, and rejoiced in the true meaning of the day.

We were so blessed this year, and have decided from now on we are scaling back and perhaps we will travel over the holiday... I'm thinking Paris for next Christmas!!! Here are a few pictures of the day, enjoy!!

Best Santa Claus ever!!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Rocky Mountain Christmas morning.

TREE!!!

Our 1st Married Christmas!!

Pie....mmmmm.....

The Roast Beast. :)

My Country Home

I have made it home for Christmas at last!! Although this is now technically my parents home, it has all the familiar feelings of Christmas, that make me so very happy. Even now as I write this, the fire is going, snow is falling outside, and I am halfway through a great book.

I don't have much exciting news to write about, and I will do a longer update with pictures about Christmas morning later, but I wanted to add some thoughts. All I am thinking right now comes down to one important note: God has blessed me with Grace upon Grace. The more I read about Him, the more I thirst for knowledge of Him. He is opening my eyes and heart like never before. I am learning to trust Him in all parts of my life, and to be thankful for all He has blessed me with. A doting and loving husband, who I love with all my heart. A family that surrounds me with love and will always stand by me. Friends who are there whenever I need support or help. And more worldly gifts, including all those currently wrapped and under my tree, than anyone ever deserves.

Thank you God for all you have blessed me with, and thank you for the gift of love, Your Son, whom you sent to us two thousand years ago...

Anxiously Awaiting Christmas

I am getting so excited for Christmas that I can hardly stand it. This is my last week of work before "Christmas Break", which is much shorter now that college is over. I am still getting 17 days off though...thanks to the amazing company I work for giving us so many holidays. It is slow around the office now, so if I can just make it through the week then I'll be FREE!!!

This weekend Doug & Donna are coming to visit us and see our new house!! They will be the last of our parents to see it & we are really excited to do Christmas with them. Then we will head north to Colorado where we will spend Christmas & New Year's with my family in our winter wonderland!! It can be more like dreary frigid hell, depending on how long my dad has to spend on the tractor to get us plowed out of the driveway... However, I'm hopeful it will just be a beautiful peaceful time with softly falling snowflakes.

Ok, so this is my perfect Christmas morning, the way I envision it:

I wake up at like 7am, go wake up my little brother (we still act like we're 7 on Christmas, we can't help it...), then we go wake up my parents. Everyone eventually get's out of bed, we all pad out to the living room to see what Santa has left in our stockings!! After the initial excitement, we brew some coffee, and indulge in a slice of warm cranberry banana bread as we sit by the fire, the tree glowing with lights & presents, and we watch the early morning snow fall softly to the ground. We all take a moment to thank God for the gift of his Son, and remember the true meaning of Christmas. Then everyone gathers around the tree, more coffee in hand, and we begin to open gifts. Everyone opens them one at a time, so we can all admire the gifts and enjoy the look of delight on each others face. After all the gifts are opened, we spend the day relaxing in our PJ's, playing with all our new stuff, playing 42 (in honor of Pap), and preparing the Christmas feast which is, of course, prime rib. The best part of the day is the spirit (& Christmas music) that fills the air, and the togetherness of family.

Hmmm...now that I'm back from dreamland I best get to work. It's only a 10 days till Christmas!! It's such a wonderful time of year. This year I feel extremely blessed to be going home to spend it with my family. I'm even more blessed to spend 2 weeks in Colorado and get to catch up with some friends too!! I'm just so excited I can't stop smiling :)

Oklahoma Snow!!!

Dwyatt and I drove home from work this evening in the first snow of the season!! I am told snow is rare around here so I tried to take full advantage of it. When I got home I threw on my hat and Uggs & went out to snap a couple pictures... I have posted them below :)

I also finally posted a few of our Christmas decorations. I am absolutely loving our tree this season. It fills the house with the aroma of fresh pine & it's so friendly and inviting, I love turning the lights on every evening. It even has some presents under it now so that makes it all that more exciting...especially since they are for me!!

So it looks like we are in for a cold evening of wind and snow flurries here this evening. Perfect night to curl up by the fire with some hot chocolate, a good book, and a loving husband...

Snow on our house!!!

Enough snow to make a footprint...

Christmas berries on one of our bushes in the yard...

My wreath... isn't it pretty??

Mom & Dad sent me a Christmas cactus...I have never seen so many blooms!!!

A close-up of one of my Poinsettias.

Our beautiful tree!!!

The Spirit of the Season

I am sitting at my desk, my space heater warming my feet, and out my neighbors window I can see all the tree tops losing their brown leaves and the cold overcast sky. It's actually getting cold in Oklahoma City!! It makes me sad actually because it's cold for no reason. At least in Colorado they get snow, so that makes the cold actually useful for something. I am already dreaming of a perfect White Christmas with my family.

I have been really enjoying this Christmas season so far. Over the past few months I have been working on improving my personal relationship with God. I have always been a Christian, I just felt a little out of touch with him recently. I have been reading my Bible, talking to Him more often, and just trying to open my heart. It's amazing how much you can feel His presence when you just take the time to look around and pay attention. He really is in control, even in this crazy and confusing world. I feel like I can feel Him all around me, and I glow from the inside out whenever I think about all the beauty he has placed in this world.

I have also been re-reading the Left Behind series of books that came out in the late 90's. I never finished the 12 book series so I had to start back at the beginning. I have read a book a week & am now on #8. They are amazing books, I would highly recommend them. They are fun, fast paced fiction, yet they help you put your heart & mind in the right place.

I have also thoroughly enjoyed decorating my home for the first time. Our tree is beautiful, and already full of memories thanks to my wonderful family. My Mom had a tradition for my brother and I where we got an ornament every year and when we moved away we could take them with us to start our own trees. Well let me just say that I have just discovered how precious that tradition really is. It's hard to be away from home, and it all seems so unfamiliar, but those ornaments made me so happy. They have a lifetime of memories already attached to them and that means more than all our newly purchased decorations combined.

Dwyatt is also still decorating the outside of the house. He loves doing that, so we are taking on quite an elaborate deal for our first year. It's going to look amazing when we're through & I promise I'll post some pictures when we are all done!!

Here is one pic of the OKC Botanical Gardens all decked out in lights...