Because I Never Want To Forget

That yesterday, when I woke up on my 26th birthday, this is what awaited me.

I am married to a good, good man.

So Far, I'm Liking It

I am 25 now and have been for a whole day or so.

And it's not all that weird, save the part about being closer now to 30 than I am to 20.

Apart from not being with family this weekend, I couldn't have imagined a more appropriate way to celebrate than to do exactly what I did this weekend. From Friday night until now, I have been lavishly blessed with reminders of all of the good and wonderful things God has given me in the last quarter-century and all that is yet to come.

I can barely put into words everything these last three days have meant to me. And the most astonishing thing is that nothing has been grand or lavish about them. I think it's really the small moments that have left the most lasting impressions...

Laying in a hammock with one of your best friends and reading a timeless and favorite book for the third time, while the sun filters through leaves littering the sky above you. Being out on the water. Sitting around a fire with three people I absolutely love with all of my heart, listening to the flames snap and crackle as the scattered raindrops fall, mixing with them the scent of honeysuckle, viburnum, and smoke. Blowing out the first of two candles placed ever so craftily in a just-perfect S'more. Being able to do what I've come to really love to do here in the last year or so. Receiving messages and calls from people who really, really love and care about me. Opening up handmade cards from afar. Eating not just one but two fabulous birthday dinners with my best man, one of which was at one of our most favorite restaurants around.

These twenty-five years have been very well-spent. It's nice to look back, even on the handful or two (or five) of years I've been around, and to see the patterns - see the places where God has been working all along and continues to do so.

And for everyone who's thought to ask, "So how's it feel to be 25?"

So far, I'm liking it.

I Love Coming Home to Surprises

When I opened the front door with groceries in hand, I immediately smelled something wonderful. Cliff is at Red Cross training for the evening, so I couldn't understand why the apartment would smell like something sweet and chocolaty baking in the oven.

Here's what I found when I made my way to the kitchen:















All of this was on top of a spotless apartment!

And I thought him watching "Private Practice" while I was gone was awesome. Ha!

Genius

If you know me, you know that Molly is one of my best friends, and she has always been one of my most creative friends. Photographic, graphic, media, marketing, crafts... you name it, she does it. And at that, she does it well. And she has helped me a lot (more than she probably knows) to find some new inspiration for my recent creative ventures, both in ideas and in resources.

And guess what she just gave me for Christmas. Well, I hate to break it to you but you'd never guess. This gift is just too genius for anyone to dream up (though, someone did) and genius enough that I'm just... amazed.

Check it out:


How cool is that?!

In case it doesn't make sense, it's all of the keyboard shortcuts on a mac for operating Photoshop. Translated: This will make my life so much better. So much more lovely. So much... sigh... easier.

Thanks, Moll!

Just Because

My husband is such a darling...

A Piece of Cake

Okay, so maybe not - but we did it. And I say we, because I couldn't have dealt with half of the stress of this semester without Cliff and I am sure I added undue stress on him in the meantime. The paper is in, and I am done for the semester. It's Monday, December 17th, and I am finally done.

Meanwhile, I've started to feel like the "big baby" that always emphasizes and whines about how much stuff she has to do. It comes to the point where it's so repetitive, and all my grown-up friends who work real jobs everyday are probably past the point of caring. But that's silly, because this stuff matters and it has been quite a challenge.

It's silly in the same way it's silly for my husband to think he was childish for having a hard time with the fact that he chose to accept our brand new camcorder over trading another guy for an XBOX 360. Over and over again I insisted that he could trade because you could just see how badly he wanted it, but he wouldn't let himself do it. And while it was miserable, seeing him so internally frustrated, I was just so... proud. He didn't take it for a lot of reasons, most of which included it being a drain on our already minimal time together and time with the Lord, as well as having something to capture the memories we have yet to make.

Either way, we were so blessed on Saturday night by Cliff's company. It was a night of great food (the BIGGEST SHRIMP I have ever seen) and good company, as well as a ton of unexpected turns throughout the evening. Every company employee walked away with one of any of these items (digital camera, camcorder, $300 best buy giftcard, iPod touch, xbox 360, nintendo wii, playstation 3, garmin gps system, or a 32" flatscreen television), a $50 giftcard to their choice of a couple of places (include Bonefish - YES!), a Dave Ramsey Show Softshell Jacket, a Lampo ornament, and an extra-large profit sharing check. It was crazy and at one point, felt mildly like a version of Oprah's "favorite things" episode. My favorite part (besides getting dressed up), though, was singing "Silent Night" in a candlelit room of about 400 people. So refreshing...

In other news, we survived all of our festivities for the weekend and are excited for the next two weekends spent with family (especially a long overdue trip home to Virginia Beach).

This week, I am braving the masses and actually doing our Christmas shopping. I always tend to save it for later, and rather enjoy the pace of last-minute shopping. We have managed to buy for three of our nine nieces and nephews and for my mom, so that's a start, right?

Okay, so besides that, I'm reading and while I have a few ideas of what I'd like to take a gander at, I'm open to suggestions. So, if you've got a moment, shoot me a comment and recommend five books you think I should read over break, because the more variation, the better. I plan on revisiting some Donald Miller, maybe a little Elisabeth Elliott, and then the sky's the limit. I'd love to hear your thoughts!