Tree

I gave in. The decorations are on!

Merry Christmas!

Forward

20 days until Christmas....but really more like 11 days for us! I don't even care about the holiday, its the getting to go home part that I care about. The anticipation is nearly killing me. Other things that I look forward to in 11 days: Mike being done with school for an entire month and not having to go to work for a week and a half.

Friday night we went to dinner with some friends at a Mexican restaurant called "Cha Cha's". While we were there I saw across the room, Steve, the COO of the company  that I work for. I didn't think that he saw us, but I proceeded to tell Mike and our friends how nice of a guy he was. For somebody who is considered very important in a company, you don't expect to get much attention. But I remember the first time I met him, he knew my name before I even had to introduce myself, and I thought that was very cool of him. Well as we were finishing our meal, our waiter came and told us that the check had been taken care of by the guy sitting at the end of the bar. It was Steve. I was absolutely amazed. I walked over and said thank you, what felt like a million times, because I just felt so much love for this man. He mentioned he was impressed there wasn't a bunch of alcohol on our tab. For two days now, I have just been amazed by this act of kindness by him. Someone who you just wouldn't think even recognizes you on a daily basis, picks up our check at a restaurant for not only us, but also our two friends, for no reason other than because he wanted to. There really are still some good, kind people in the world. And us not getting a bunch of alcohol may have made an impression on him, but he has no idea the impression that he made on me.

Yay Sooners! Big 12 Champs!

My sister mentioned to me that she wanted me to post a picture of my Christmas tree now that I have it up. Only thing is, I didn't decorate it. I know, totally lame, but because this year we have a much taller tree, I don't have enough ornaments to decorate it, and I haven't bought anymore because I can't make a decision on what I want it to look like. And now I am getting to the point of it really is getting to be too late to decorate since we leave in a week and a half. So for now, my tree sits undecorated. It is pre-lit so we do enjoy having the lights on all day. If there are two things that I require when I am home, it is that the tree lights are on and the my wonderful smelling "Holly Berry" candle is lit. But if I do get around to decorating the tree, I promise to take a picture and post it.

Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving

We had a fabulous weekend of eating shopping and hanging out with two adorable children.

Oh and their parents are pretty cool too. The holiday season is well under way and I have quite of bit of my Christmas shopping done and I am so glad. My tree is up, my house is decorated, I have watched Elf, I have had several cups of hot cocoa, and the radio is playing Christmas music. Now it just needs to snow, and we will be set. Of course, I don't really know how into the snow idea I am. I think as long as there is snow when I go to Utah for Christmas, it doesn't really need to snow here. I sure hope Mother Nature is reading this.

Oh and we did end up taking the camera back, for all those who were dying to know. The camera didn't have an exposed flash, it was one that had to be lifted up when it needed to be used. It didn't pop up on its own though, and that kinda drove me crazy. Maybe I was just looking for a dumb excuse to take back the camera based off of guilt, but either way, we took it back. And I feel much better about having the computer now.

Now its on to finals for Mike, he has about a week until his first final. Which means lots of quiet and alone time for me here at home. I think I am going to pull all my scrapbook stuff back out and set it all up in the 3rd bedroom so that I have my own little work space. And I haven't really scrapbooked since our summer in Utah, so its about time.

But since Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks, I need to do a quick, cheesy list of what I am thankful for. My dear sweet husband definitely tops the list. He is so busy but he always finds time to make me feel special. I love him dearly and even though Oklahoma isn't quite at the top of the places I wanted to live in my lifetime, I would follow him anywhere. I have a fabulous family and wonderful in-laws that are so supportive and loving. Living 1200 miles from them doesn't change the fact that they are always there for us. Our friends here, and our friends in Utah. They understand that with Mike's busy schedule, we may not always be around, but we are always here for you guys, just like you have been for us. My job, that I whine and complain about, is really a very good job. I enjoy what I do, and I am very grateful to have been able to have the opportunity to have gone to school and graduated and still actually like what I do. Of course, the gospel, and the love of my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. I see Their blessings daily and I am grateful for my testimony. My eternal family! Oh what a joy it is to be with my sweet husband, and our children forever. It makes everything we go through here on earth worth it, right? And all the little things like delicious chocolate cake, the smiling faces of a niece and a nephew, a great deal on a new computer, and the lights on a Christmas tree.

This post may be a direct reflection of our current lives: boring and uneventful. And sometimes when I post, its more for journaling purposes or to let my mom know what is going on. I know most of you don't care about the dumb little things that I write about. But it's okay because we are happy.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend full of tender family moments and good food.

Now on to Christmas.....!

 

Success

Happy Black Friday! And I hope that everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving yesterday. We sure did. We ate some delicious food, including a decadent chocolate cake (which I will blog about when I upload the picture). We ate and napped and played. It was just a fabulous day. Mike and I started our shopping early at midnight last night at Walmart. We bought a camera, price matching from Office Max. Then home for about 3 hours of sleep and back to Best Buy. We showed up just in time to walk in the door. They only had 5 of the computers that we were hoping to get, but luckily, one of the gentleman who had been in line since 6 pm the night before, was selling off all of his tickets for $25 each. He still had the computer one so we took full advantage. So after purchasing our ticket and standing in line for 2 hours at the Best Buy checkout, we proudly walked out with the computer that we wanted, and we didn't even have to stand outside and freeze in the line like everyone else. Then back home for a quick shower and back out to the mall with Brock and Alli and the kids. We were also searching a bit for some luggage, because our suitcases have just had it and we are convinced that one of these days at the airport, our suitcase will be ripped apart while in the airport workers hands. That would be not good. We found a couple good deals, but I figured we had spent enough money for the day and just couldn't make the jump for the luggage too. We finally made it home and I am running still at 3:00 in the afternoon on only 3 hours of sleep. Wow, I'm awesome. Anyway, I hope that everyone got some fabulous deals today, and that you won't regret those purchases later....(I am already thinking I am going to be taking the camera back.) And now, time for my nap.

Home Alone

There really isn't much to say this time around. I don't have a single picture to post either. So I warn, it could get boring.

Mike spent the weekend in Arkansas at a negotiation competition for law school. His team did good, they won both of their negotiations. Unfortunately, they didn't make it to the final four, but we are just glad its over so now he can just get geared up for finals. People, we are almost half way through our law school experience. I can't believe it! And can I tell you being a law school wife is one of the most difficult things? I keep myself pretty darn busy, and Mike is smarter than the average so he doesn't have to study near as much as some of the other law school students. But I tell you what, its rough. So thank goodness that we are 3 semesters in and only have 3 semesters to go.

So its official. I am a runner again. I didn't think it would happen, but when I walked in the gym that first time this past week, I couldn't help but head for the treadmill instead of the elliptical. And let me tell you, this time around I picked it right back up. It was like riding a bike, my body just didn't forget how to do it. I am already running about an hour straight. Which is a great motivator for me to keep running. And oh how I have missed the treadmill. It is so wonderful to be back.

I did do a little crafting this weekend, but we didn't have enough time to finish it, and the game this weekend is at 2:30, so it'll be two weeks before I complete this one and get a picture posted. Speaking of games, this weekend is the last home game this season, and its very bittersweet. I have really enjoyed going and hanging out with Mike and cheering for our Sooners. OU football is definitely an experience. I am gonna take the video camera to the game on Saturday and record the whole opening before the game starts. Its spectacular.

Not much else is going on in our home here in Oklahoma. Our lives from day to day just don't really change much. I work, clean and run. Mike goes to school, works (2 jobs...crazy), and studies. It seems we keep our lives jam packed with nothingness, but we do seem to have a little fun along the way and make a few memories together.

Eat Good, Workout Hard

Happy Halloween everybody! I hope that you are all having a great day. Except its Sunday so pretty much everyone has already celebrated their Halloween. Except here in Norman where the world revolves around football and because there was a game last night, trick-or-treaters are supposed to go out tonight. The rest of the state did their trick-or-treating last night but not Norman. So I hope we don't get any trick-or-treaters because I didn't buy a single bag of candy. I think only one kid came last year so I didn't want to end up with leftover candy, because we all know what happens when I have sweets laying around the house....I eat them. Friday night Mike and I went to a little pumpkin patch, if you can call it that. The pumpkin patches around here aren't like the ones that we are normally familiar with. To actually go to a pumpkin patch and pick out your pumpkin, you have to pay like an $8 admission fee because they have like activities and stuff that you can do. And I am not even sure if that includes the price of the pumpkin. Well I wasn't feeling like I wanted to spend that much money just to go pick out a pumpkin so we just go to this little church yard where they sell pumpkins. We went to the same place last year. Except this year, we waited way too late in the season to go and all the nasty pumpkins were left, which was kind of what I expected, so we didn't even buy pumpkins but at least we got a picture.

No craft this weekend, and with Mike spending the majority of the day at the school preparing for next weeks competition, I was able to go to the mall and to Hobby Lobby and just walk around and enjoy some alone time. Not that I need alone time, I have plenty of that. But shopping is always great to make the time go by.

Saturday nights game against Colorado didn't start until 8:15 at night. We don't really know why, but because it was Halloween weekend, plus an easy OU win, plus it was such a late game, there was a bit of a lighter crowd. It was so nice. Thank goodness the drunk people in front of us only lasted through the 1st quarter. I can't stand drunk college students. OU won 43-10. Only one more home game left for us to go to this season.....bittersweet.

My gym pass paid in full by my work starts tomorrow. I will be a full fledged member of our local YMCA. I am so looking forward to it. I may actually start running again. Mike and I ran from the stadium to the car last night, and I actually kinda missed it. Plus we all know treadmill running is much easier on the knees, so we'll see how that goes.

 

Will

Why do such awful things happen to the most wonderful people? And why do the great things happen to those who don't deserve it? My dear sweet friend gave birth to her twin boys on Monday morning at 23 weeks. She had an hour with Benson and Lincoln before they returned home to our Heavenly Father. She is so strong. I can't imagine what she is going through.

Haven't you always wondered why things like this happen? What is it that God is trying to teach us? In 5 years will we look back and understand why we had to go through so much turmoil, or will we always wonder, even when such trials have passed, why we had to experience such pain? I don't know why God does things the way he does. But I was once taught by an old friend, do not pray for things to go your way, pray that the Lord's will may also become your own, that you may better understand the things that occur in your life.

I have a good life. I have a wonderful husband, a nice home, a good job, and supportive family and friends. Things definitely don't always go my way. Some days it seems like things never go my way. But who is to say that my way is the right way. Maybe we all just need to get on our knees and ask our Father what it is that He wants us to do, be the instrument.

"To Everything There Is A Season..."

Bad bad weekend for sports.

OU....how could you let us down like that? Horrible defense and not much better of an offense. You were #1 in the nation and you choked. Lame.

Yankees. Seriously? You let the Rangers go the the World Series. And quite easily I should add. Lame.

Mike finished up his first competition this week. This one was the Moot Court competition, the same type of competition he competed in last year. As always, he did great. His team made it into the top 8 and he personally won 4th place for the speaker award. Amazing. As always.

Saturday means another craft down. Yesterday we decided to use up some of the wood that we had leftover from last week's craft and create a Thanksgiving decoration. Andrea and I went our own route and both ideas turned out so adorable. Our friend Karen joined in the festivities yesterday and made the Christmas Countdown craft that we did last week. Hers turned out great! We had a lot of fun and, as always, I am looking forward to next Saturday!

 

I heard some awful news on Friday about one of my best friends back in Utah. She is pregnant with twins and on Wednesday afternoon she went into pre-term labor at 22 weeks. Things are not looking good for the babies. When I got the chance to talk to her on Friday night, she sounded exhausted but amazingly, she seemed very calm. Please pray for my sweet friend, she could absolutely use all the prayers she can get. She is such a strong person and I know she'll make it through this. Just another of our Heavenly Father's crazy ways of teaching us a little bit more about ourselves.

Michael's has started putting out there Christmas merchandise again. So I started scouting the place out at least a couple times a week waiting for my candle to appear. And on Saturday...it did! And I even had a 40% off coupon on hand. So yes, if you were to walk into my house, right now for instance, it already smells like Christmas. I seriously wait all year for this candle to come out. For all who are interested, the scent is "Holly Berry" and the brand is Ashland. I am pretty sure this candle is sold exclusively at Michael's but it is worth tracking down. And the best part about it....regular price its only $5.99 for the largest size! And thats if you ever pay full price. Usually they are on some sort of sale or you can at least find a coupon for it. Get one. I totally recommend it.

4

4 years ago today was our first date. It was Friday the 13th....but it seemed to work out pretty well for us. For all who are interested, we went to dinner and then to a corn maze.

4 years ago tomorrow (so I don't have to do a separate post tomorrow) we had what some would call a "DTR" (define the relationship) and became an official couple.

Yep, this may sound retarded to some that I remember these dates. I actually quizzed Mike last night on these dates along with what I was wearing on each day between Oct. 10-14, but he couldn't remember. I still haven't quite figured out why I can remember. But anyway, these days are special to me.

And for all who are curious, our first kiss was on Oct. 26th.

I love my Michael. And I am so grateful for the month of October in 2006. He changed my life completely. I knew it the moment I told him to be Peter Pan that Halloween, and he did. Tights and all.

Love you babe.

Us

 Look at these super cute Halloween Candy Corn Wreath's that we made! My friend Andrea and I glued and glued for over 2 hours to get these wreaths done but I am so happy with the final product. I hung it on my front door, and it looks great, but the picture that you get to see is flipped because that is what happened when I uploaded it. I, once again, couldn't get it to flip right. If anyone else has figured out how to get this fixed, please let me know. Its only the pictures that have no people in them, so I am betting its some facial recognition thing. Anyway, super fun wreath to make. The link for how to do it is right here.

Today I created a new tradition. Well first off, happy 4 year anniversary to Mike today who got home from his mission on October 10, 2006! (Also today is our 4 year anniversary for holding hands for the first time. Yes, Mike held my hand the day he got home from his mission, for the first time ever. It scared the heck out of me. That's a different story for a different day.) Anyway, two of Mike's favorite foods from the mission were Patacones, which are friend plantains, and what he calls "immigration hot dogs" because the vendor that sold these hot dogs was outside the immigration building in Panama. When we visited Panama in 2008, I had the pleasure of trying both and both were just as delicious as he described. So today, guess what we had for dinner? Yep, patacones and immigration hot dogs. The hot dogs are actually a kind of hot dog that is popular in Colombia, and it has pineapple sauce, coleslaw, and crushed potato chips on it, along with the typical hot dog toppings. And I think dinner was a success! Mike seemed to enjoy it anyway. After dinner he said, "You realize what you have done right?" I actually had no idea what I had done. He said, "You have created a tradition. Now every year on October 10th this is what we have to have for dinner. Even when we have kids." Yay, I love new traditions! Here are the links for the Patacones and Colombian Hot Dogs.

Cheesy I know, but we love our new carpet. And this is right after we got it in. We love it.

I became an official employee at my job on October 4th. I was supposed to be on contract until November 30th, but they must have decided that they just really love me. But that means that I will get benefits soon! I am so excited!

And look how cute we are!

I love my siblings. Miss you guys.