A Look Back at 2008

Mat's 1st Marathon


Our 1st niece Kadence is born


Moving in to our 1st home


Matt and Chrissy's Wedding in Nashville (I'm not sure what's up with these guys, but I laugh every time I look at this picture)


Meemaw's 80th birthday


Alaska


Rob and Sarah's Wedding in Oklahoma City


Lots of work on the house


Visit from great friends


Pumpkinfest 2008


Thanksgiving in Galveston (There used to be a sandy beach here, but after Hurricane Ike, the water now comes right up to the rocks.)


And multiple (very merry) Christmas celebrations with our families


What a year it has been! The Lord has blessed us this year, and we are excited to see what He has in store for 2009.

Merry Christmas

This year, Mat and I spent Christmas day in Kingwood with the Kelsos. We had a lot of fun playing games, including a lot of Wii, eating lots of good food and catching up. Mat and I also enjoyed spending time with our niece, Kadence. She is at a really fun age right now, and we enjoyed our time playing with her. She even took her first steps while we were there! What a great Christmas present that was for the family.

One of the presents Mat and I got was a card of Wii points. I didn't know anything about them, but Marilee showed us how to download old school Nintendo games onto our Wii! We spent a lot of time playing Super Mario Brothers 3 and Super Mario World. It has been tons of fun and has brought back lots of childhood memories for both of us.

Later this week, Mat and I are headed out of town again for New Year's and Christmas with my family. Even though our time off has been busy, we are loving all of the time we get to spend with our families.

An Early Christmas Gift

As a teacher, I have been blessed to receive many special gifts from my students and their parents. Today I received an awesome early Christmas present- dinner complete with dessert. We had homemade lasagna, salad, bread, and 2 different chocolate desserts. It was all so delicious. In fact, Mat even said he wanted to sign his own name on the card because he enjoyed it so much. :) It was such a treat to have dinner provided, especially on such a busy week!

Only 2 more days...

Weekend Fun!

My weekend started early this week. I took Friday off with my friend Sarah and spent the day Christmas shopping. It was somewhat productive and a lot of fun! I got to sleep in, eat a normal lunch (and spend more than 20 minutes eating it!), and miss out on some of the craziness that would be found at the mall on the weekend.

Friday night, Mindi, Megan, Kennedy and I went to see the Nutcracker. My family went to see it a few times when I was little, and Mat and I went to see it the night we got engaged. I love going to see the Nutcracker, and it was especially fun to get dressed up and have a night out with the girls! We had a great time, and I think Mindi, Megan and I all enjoyed watching Kennedy's excitement almost as much as we enjoyed watching the ballet!

Saturday, Mat and I laid around and enjoyed being lazy ALL DAY LONG. Well, I take that back. Mat got up and ran 12 miles and then spent the rest of the day being lazy. I just spent the whole day being lazy. So lazy that I didn't even change out of my pjs until 4:30! We spent the day watching movies and playing Wii.

After church on Sunday, Mat and I finished up most of our Christmas shopping. As crazy as it is during this time of year, I love finding the perfect gift for each person on my list. We also headed downtown to look at some Christmas lights with Jeff and Mindi Sunday evening. We saw some light displays that I'm pretty sure you'd only find in Austin...a giant Bevo, milk jugs and whiskey bottles with Christmas lights in them, and even the Austin skyline made out of Christmas lights.

Things that make a great evening...

- A cold front coming through that actually makes it feel like Christmas is around the corner
- Looking out the window to see the Christmas lights on my house and the rain
- Not bringing any school work home to work on (even though I'm probably should have...)
- A cup of hot tea
- Listening to the rain while curled up on the couch in my fleece pjs and slippers

Thanksgiving

Mat and I had a very busy, very happy Thanksgiving! We spent the first part of our break in College Station with my family. I wish I had a picture of this Thanksgiving. There were about 30 of us at my aunt's house- including 5 small children! It was crazy and tons of fun. We had fun as always playing lots of games, eating lots of food and enjoying catching up. It is hard to get us all together, and I am thankful that we are able to do it as often as we do! Here is a picture of most of us last April:

Last year Mat's family rented a beach house in Galveston, and we had so much fun they decided to do it again! On Friday, Mat and I left College Station to meet up with them in Galveston. We had more great food, played with our precious niece Kadence and had a few more games to enjoy- including a family game of Risk. (I watched but did NOT play!) Grammer, Mat's grandmother, took him out of the game first!

Mat and I had a chance to drive around and check out how Galveston is beginning to recover from Ike. Some parts of the island are recovering and rebuilding, but the devastation of the hurricane is still very evident. Last year we spent an afternoon shopping on the Strand in downtown Galveston. It is a street lined with historic buildings and neat shops- including Mat's favorite, La King- the old fashion soda fountain and candy store. This year, the shops were still there, but they were completely empty. Many of the stores had signs saying things about rebuilding and coming back. We're excited to see the Strand back to what it used to be!

We had a great time with our family and were reminded of all of the things we have to be thankful for!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom! Thank you for being such a supportive mother and friend! I love being able to talk "teacher" with you and share our experiences. I don't know how I would have made it through these first few years of teaching without your support and guidance! I love the time that we get to spend together and the conversations we have. I love the example you have set for me in my marriage and in my relationships with others. Most of all, I love the example you have set for me in my Christian walk. Thank you for all that you do for me and for our family. I love you! Happy Birthday!