WILW

I'm linking up to Jamie's weekly "What I'm Loving Wednesday" post.

This week I'm loving that although I had to come back to work it's only a three day work week!

I'm loving that I get to see my mission friends tonight.  We had a combined church service last Wednesday night, so it has been two weeks since we have been together.


I'm loving that we had an amazing Christmas.  It seems like this year more and more people realized the true celebration.

I'm loving that this past week I got my week off in August approved to go on our mission trip.  The youth are going to Waterbury, Vermont.  Since I went two years ago with an adult group from our church, Jana and Michael have asked me to go again and I could not be more excited.  It is something I really struggled with because I know that God wants me to go there this summer, but August is also the absolute worst time to take off.  I am thankful that the Lord gave me the strength and patients to let things work out like they did.

I'm loving the Words with Friends app on my iPhone.  I am now addicted.


I'm loving that I got to spend time with quite a few of my friends from college.


I'm loving these finds that I found on Pinterest.














Hope ya'll have a fabulous Wednesday.  I'm too excited I only have one more day of work this week!

Christmas Recap

I hope ya'll had a wonderful Christmas!  My whole extended family agrees that this was the best Christmas yet.

I have been pretty busy, but I have enjoyed every moment.

We baked...

Wrapped....

Went Christmas caroling with the youth and then helped at their Christmas party...

I had to get a photo since we were all color coordinated.

Ate amazing food...

Got a TON for Christmas...

    

All of these along with so many new clothes I now have to clean out the closet for space.  

Also got a few charms for the Pandora Bracelet.  (seriously was not expecting all of this!)

Enjoyed spending time with my family...

(Somehow I managed to not get one photo with any of my family.  I know terrible!)

Got to catch up with old friends..

And got to cross off one more thing from the Bucket List.

I'll post more later this week about the Bucket List and catching up with friends along with some photos.

Top 5 Tuesday: 2011

Today I'm linking up with http://www.j-peachy.blogspot.com/  for Top 5 Tuesday! This week's topic is the top picks of 2011.

1. Movie

The Help

2. TV Show

Two Broke Girls

3. Song

This one is pretty hard considering I listen to alot of music and alot of different genres.

Jason Aldean - Tattoos on this Town

4. Thing That Happened

Organizing and Prioritizing my Life

I really feel that I have grown up alot this year.  I am starting to really think long term with decisions in my life. My priorities have really shifted.  I don't feel like I chose to shift them or that I made myself change, its just one of those things that happens and one day you realize and think wow...I have changed.  I think that may have something to do with hitting the big "25" this year!

5. Christmas Present

My favorite Christmas present this year was my new Mountain Hardwear Fleece. 

I originally received my first Mountain Hardwear Monkey Fleece my senior year of college.  Almost 4 years ago! (wow)  Since then I have received several other fleeces including a cute pink and brown North Face Denali Jacket, but none of them have compared to this one.  I have shamelessly continued to wear this thing despite its worn appearance.  So for Christmas this year I included a brand new one on my list, same color, same size.

Girls Night Out

So Wednesday night I got together with two of my good friends from college.  We all try to get together around the holidays to exchange gifts, have dinner, and catch up on life.  I honestly don't know how I would have made it through college without either or these ladies in my life.  We have made so many memories together!

Amanda (which refused to be photographed) is one of my former college roommates who lives only an hour away.  We meet up every month or two for dinner and to catch up.  She recently got engaged, so I love hearing all her details of planning her wedding for next December.

Kendra and I met through the Student Government Association at Appalachian State University when she was a freshman and I was a sophomore.

I found this photo the other day and can't believe how much we have changed.

One of my absolutely favorite photos of us!  So much fun.

Kendra is married to Curtis who is currently serving our country as a Marine.  They are getting ready to move to California so this annual get together was very special.  When I say they are getting ready to move to Cali I mean like pulling out of the driveway on Monday! 

We ended up meeting at Olive Garden in Hickory at about 6:00 and almost shut the place down.  I love that no matter how long it has been since we have hung out or seen each other, I pick up at the exact place I left off with them.  I truly do cherish them as friends and I have no doubt in my mind that we will continue to stay in touch as our paths change.

The only photo of the night.

Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer

As promised I told you earlier this week that I was in our youth and children's play at church.  I didn't include the details of what I played...

Here is a photo of me and my sister.  She did an awesome job of directing the play!

Yes, I was the granny.  For the play, it was pretty simple.  We pretended that all the youth and children were my children and grandchildren and we "shared" with the congregation our tradition of the Christmas story.  It was of course accompanied with singing.  I know through the scripture and our songs that the gospel was clearly presented.  I could feel God's presence as we were on that stage and hope we planted a seed in someone's heart.  I think the kids really enjoyed it!  I mean come on, what kid wouldn't want to be able to wear their pajamas on stage at church?

Finished up my last day of work (we got to leave early) and excited to start my Christmas break!
Only 3 days til Christmas!

My Favorite Things of Christmas

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?  Hot Chocolate with marshmallows of course.  Confession...I have never tried Egg Nog.  I can't bring myself to even taste it.  The thought alone is enough to not touch it!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?  Santa use to leave things out so that my sister and I could discover them Christmas morning.  We even have been on scavenger hunts to find our presents, but now Santa wraps everything.  I'm pretty sure its because I can't stand the excitement of not knowing what I am receiving.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?  I prefer white or clear.  I think the clear lights make everything look elegant.  It is a must for our family tree since we have a certain color scheme.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope.  Not necessary!

5. When do you put your decorations up?  We usually try to put them up as soon after Thanksgiving as possible, but sometimes that just doesn't happen.  As long as they are up and we can enjoy them Christmas day, I'm a happy girl!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Gosh, this one is hard.  I would say my favorite dish (it's not so much holiday) is my grandma's mashed potatoes which my grandpa has continued to perfect since my grandma is no longer with us.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?  One of my favorite Christmas memories as a child is my sister freaking me out about this "elf" she saw.  She said he was standing in our doorway of our bedroom that we shared at the time making sure we were asleep.  We still laugh about this today!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?  The truth about Santa?  What are you talking about?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?  Yes.  It's a tradition in my family to go over to my grandpa's house every Christmas Eve where we have a meal and then exchange presents with him.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?  We use clear lights, then every year since we were born we were given a dated ornament from my parents that was a Precious Moments so those are always on there, then we continue to use white twirly twigs and white and blue decorations to finish it out.

                       

11. Snow!  Love it or Dread it?  I love snow, but now that I am older and have to go into work even if schools are called off I dread the ice and danger that comes with it.  I am still like a kid though, wanting to play in it!

 These are a few photos from last winter.  I love playing in the snow with Jana and the Eaker girls!

12. Can you ice skate?  I try, but last time I went ice skating in college at the outdoor rink at Appalachian Ski Mountain I'm pretty sure I left my tail on the ice.  I fell...hard.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?  Honestly I think every year I had a different favorite gift.  It was that one thing that you just had that was on the top of your list.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?  Christ and celebrating his birth!

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?  It would absolutely have to be my Aunt Sue's peanut butter wreaths.  Those things are to die for!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?  I think my favorite tradition is that we all gather at my mom's house to open gifts as a family.  It's the one tradition that even though my sister is married and they have their own house or my parents have divorced we still all come together to continue this.

17. What tops your tree?  A Precious Moments angel

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving?  I prefer giving, but receiving is nice too.  I think I just love the idea of lighting up someones face when they unwrap their present or the feeling I get when I'm so excited to find out what that person got me.

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum?  I like them, but don't really eat them.

20. Favorite Christmas show?  I love the Santa Clause Movies and I think Prep and Landing cartoons are cute too!

      

21. Saddest Christmas Song?  Christmas Shoes by Newsong.  It makes me tear up everytime I hear it.

22. What is your favorite Christmas song?  He Made a Way In a Manger.  Click here to hear the song.  This song was one of the songs we performed in the Christmas play at church and I absolutely love it!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday before Christmas y'all!

I'm linking up to Jamie's weekly "What I'm Loving Wednesday" post.

This week I'm loving that I have one, count it, one more day of work before I begin my much needed four-day Christmas break!

I'm loving it's only four days until Christmas!

I'm loving that I get to see these ladies tonight!  These girls I have known since my first years in college and we have been making it a point to get together around Christmas ever since.

I'm loving that I have all my presents wrapped so far.  (I still have one left to buy!)

I'm loving that Christmas falls on a Sunday.  I know that some people might view that as an inconvenience, but what better way to celebrate the birth of our King then to be in God's house worshiping him with all my church family!

Something to Ponder...

Productive Weekend

I am so proud of myself for having such a productive weekend.  This weekend I wrapped almost all the presents that I have ready and they are now underneath a completely decorated tree!  I was able to finally meet up with Rici long enough to cut her hair and give little Teagan a trim.  We finished shopping for our adopted family this weekend and our Christmas play at church was a huge success.  I loved playing a special role.  (I’ll post more about this one with photos later this week.)

As I was preparing my Sunday School lesson for my 1^st graders I realized something.  As the shepherds were in the field and the angel came before them that was the ONLY sign they had of this king and of this promise.  Think about what we have today.  We have the entire bible, cover to cover.  We have the promise that Jesus came and was born to the virgin Mary, that he died on the cross for our sins, and that he rose.  Why would we not believe that he is coming back one day?  Why do people not believe in Jesus?  And what kind of faith did those shepherd have to simply believe and trust the angel?

This week is going to be busy, but I am excited that I get to have dinner with two of my college friends, I get a day off this week, and Christmas is almost here!

Weekend Recap...

On Friday I was determined that my Christmas shopping would be completed this weekend.  I cannot handle how busy it gets the week and especially the day before Christmas!  It seems like I always try to avoid getting caught up in that madness and every year I end up needing to run get something.  So Friday I met my mom after work and we set out to finish our shopping together.  After hitting up a few stores we ended up calling it a night. 

So of course we decided to take my sister along and head back out for more shopping on Saturday.  It's kind of crazy because I usually love shopping.  No matter who it is for I love the going around shopping for deals and finding different pieces to make an outfit, but I just haven't been feeling it lately.  I'm thinking it is because of all of the rush that goes on this time of year.  I wished people would really contemplate why we celebrate Christmas.

I began thinking on Saturday, if people do not celebrate Christmas for the birth of Christ what do they think Christmas is all about?  As I pondered this question I then began to feel convicted.  As a Christian I should be focusing my attention on the true meaning of Christmas…Christ our Savior’s birth.  I shouldn’t worry if Aunt so and so likes what I plan on giving her or if all cousin’s gifts are equal.  I should be praising God for fulfilling the promise of Jesus’ birth. 

So I’m challenging each of you to really celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

On Sunday after church my sister, mom and I hosted a baby shower for Kyra Mae.  Kyra is the daughter of one of our family’s close friends, Rici.  Rici grew up with us through church and gymnastics.  We always referred to each other as cousins!  I am so thankful I get to be a part of her little girls lives.

Here are some photos from the shower.  I attempted my very first diaper cake.  I think it worked out pretty well.

 The finished diaper cake.

 Kyra, Rici's former neighbors, and Teagan

Jana did so well with those pom balls.

Teagan with Santa

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm linking up to Jamie's weekly "What I'm Loving Wednesday" post. This week...

This week I'm loving that I am finally starting to feel better.  I made myself go to the doctor on Monday and have since been feeling much better.

www.people-clipart.com

I'm loving that L and I started week 2 last night of the Couch to 5K program and successfully completed it.

I'm loving that we are close to the weekend.  I feel like I have got to force myself to start wrapping presents and finish my shopping, but it just does not feel like Christmas when its 60 degrees outside!

I'm loving that I get to see the Reid family as we host a shower on Sunday for our childhood friend Rici and her new little girl Kyra.  Of course big sister Teagan will be there too.  I have missed not seeing these guys since Rici had Kyra.

http://andbabysproutmakesthree.blogspot.com/

I'm loving that I get to see all my preschoolers and kindergartners tonight at church.  I'm excited that we will be making Lottie Moon Christmas banks tonight.  I can't wait to share more with them about missions and Lottie Moon!