Down South

So we went to Beaufort last week.
Our "Christmas" visit. 

They were having terrible weather (totally unedited)

 I mean, really. We had to adopt a "grin and bear it" attitude because it was just so awful the entire time.

We went Christmas tree shopping at Lowe's (where else?)

My sister and I

Carson can't stand the sunshine. He likes it but his eyes don't. So here he is shielding his eyes. 

And Becca's saluting. 

You can tell that this is a genuine smile

The Normans and the Bays

Fathers...

Brothers...

Christmas balls...

 We went to Night on the Town in Downtown Beaufort. Saw TONS of people we knew. 

So fun. 

And it was on Bay Street so we had to get a picture.

The tree

On the way to Waycross... we watched this.

Sunday night we had a bonfire. The Mansells came and brought two several-hours-old goats! 

Have you ever hosted goats at your bonfire?

On Monday we went to Grandmama and Granddaddy's house. Becca's babysittee came as well.

We went to the beach. 

Aren't my grandparents so good looking?

To the lighthouse

And of course we had to be a little corny

Grandmama and I in our hats

Caught mid-air

Brodie and Granmama

New treats to try

Our gifts to give 

(theirs to us are going to be mailed)

Love this progression... admiration

...breakable ornament

Family picture attempts.

The picture we "usually" get. Minus Daisy (the other dog) and plus Carson.

Dad's new straw glasses

Scott's five-fingers

Cutting the top of our wedding cake early (because we won't be there in May)

We broke our pre-wedding agreement to abstain from the creaming with frosting. 

River Street in Savannah, Georgia

Sitting on Santa's lap

 A neat looking alley that Carson suggested we take a picture in :)

And just for fun... something we passed on our drive home, once in Washington again.

Applications

I just submitted my application to Moody.

To what? To... wait... what?

That's right. I just applied to Moody for the third time. My reference forms are filled out and ready to be mailed. If it sounds silly, I'm right there with ya. But as it turned out, since I didn't enroll in classes by a certain date, I became discontinued as a student. Which in layman's terms means booted out.

And as it turns out, I found this little fact out about a week after I was...ahem...booted. When I decided to register for a couple of classes for next semester.

Here's the plan (and it's always changing so you never know)... I will hopefully be accepted to Moody again (I'm not really worried, although I've been pretty certain of getting in before and that didn't pan out). If that's the case, I will take two classes on Tuesdays this coming Spring semester and continue to work full-time. During the summer, I will take a few classes online. Next Fall, I will return to school full-time. Carson will be graduated by that time and will begin to work full-time (we're flip-flopping, see?). I will probably graduate May of 2012. This is a year later than it "should have been" but that's okay. Most of my friends here will graduate then anyway (remember, I came here when I was a sophomore) so I'm kind of happy about it.

That's the "plan". Said in that way because, as you know... our plans aren't really our own. And life has shown me to have faith in God, not me or my plans.

Decking our Halls

On our way back from the West side on Wednesday, we picked out a tree

The decision process was literally like 2 minutes, and we gave up the cutting down idea and just bought one

So no pictures. 

That night, we unpacked and decorated. It was a big, huge mess. But it's finished!

The windows are decked in colored lights

 The Christmas tree collection is displayed in lights

(and a wonderful friend gave me the candle I wanted... it smells like Christmas!)

Things are hung and displayed

Even the kitchen is feeling the merriment

Love this Christmas garland!

The tree is more fully decorated, thanks to Target clearance ornaments last year

(and to the left are presents awaiting gift wrap)

It's so bright and festive

And we decided to begin a tradition of collecting ornaments from places we visit.

Displaying wooden shoes from my trip to the Netherlands

And a pretty ball from when I went to China

One of the ornaments I made to decorate my huge and bare tree last year

The park ranger Carson's mom gave me got a ribbon and became an ornament

The ornament we got on our honeymoon

And the room as a whole, minus the other two decorated living room windows

Yikes, what a mess!

The stockings, hung by the sign with care

And my lovely glass bowl, showing off some extra ornaments.

the ghost of Christmas past

Carson and I did a survey once that asked "What do you talk about the most?"

He replied that I talked about the past and pictures.

And I've got to say, he's got me pegged. I talk about the past a lot. Which is absolutely no surprise to the readers of this blog. "Remember the time we...?" "One time I..." or "Look at this! It was taken the day we..."

For so many reasons, I enjoy thinking about what was. What used to be, how things were, and how they've changed.

Nearly two years ago, I wrote a post entitled, "I Would Have Laughed", based on how things had changed in the two years since my high school graduation. The day I wrote that post was the day that Carson and I started our relationship, though I was coy about that on my blog.

Now, nothing like that is happening today. Nothing spectacular, nothing shocking. Just a normal day of thinking back.

But I do think it's funny... 

That I'm in an apartment near downtown Spokane.
Where I live with a boy.
That I'm married to that boy.
That I decided not to be in Chicago after all.
That I don't regret that.
That I don't hate the idea of marriage.
(I didn't hate it before; I was just opposed to pursuing it and totally content being single)
That I can drive decently in snow.
That I work at a daycare.
That I have dishes and house things of my very own.

I am thankful for these things.
Still surprised by them sometimes.
The surprises, the things I didn't think I'd be doing... those have been wonderful things. Each year I can honestly say has been better than before. Not because I'm here or because of being married or because of anything but God Himself.

And I'm glad that though things change, that never has.

christmas cards

Don't you just LOVE receiving Christmas cards? I know I do. Whether they're handmade, mass-produced, or just a postcard, it's always so fun to get Christmas cards in the mail. 

My favorite cards are the ones with pictures. I love pictures; my fridge is a tribute to this fact. I'll keep them up forever, pray for the people, admire the picture... I just love them. 

Shutterfly has so many picture Christmas cards this year. I guess they do every year, but this year I've paid attention. I've printed photo books for my girls there forever, gotten prints from them... I love it. Also, the shipping is lightening-fast. We ordered our wedding guestbook with pictures of us growing up through Shutterfly on a Monday and when I'd flown in to my parent's home on Thursday, it was there. I didn't even expedite. Crazy. 

Anyway, Christmas cards! I'm going to order some, just have to decide! 

Here are some designs I'm liking: 

I love the black and white photo with the colored words

 And I like this one for the modern and traditional font mix. I like lettering

And this one because the plaid is adorable. And I really like that script font. 

Shutterfly has more photo Christmas cards here. 

They also have calendars, invitations, thank you cards, regular Christmas cards and photo books. Seriously, check it out. 

Ps - Shutterfly is doing a promotion for bloggers. If you blog about the cards, you can get 50 free cards (which is why I've been stalking their site). Do it! Here