December Highlights

This was the most packed month of the year. I'm still recovering from that rush!

We went to see the Chosen's Christmas spechil in theaters as a family. That was fun! I enjoyed the music, but my favorite part was the episode showing another side to the nativity story. I had to run out right after the end of the movie to get to work, but it was 100% worth it. 

We made and decorated a TON of cookies for our annual Christmas cookie party. It was fun to make all the cookies. The party itself was very well attended. I spent most of the party holding one of the most content baby's ever, just chilling out. Best way to spend a party. 

When you live in Texas snowman are few and far between so I bought a fake snowman kit on sale at Hobby Lobby, which turned out to be even more fun then I expected. =)

We managed to squeeze in a trip to the zoo admits all the crazy holiday happenings, which was really fun. My sister and her husband were there on a date and so we got to see them for a bit! 

I was very rushed on gifts this year. I'm not sure how I was always so behind, but Sarah and I had several days at her apartment where we worked on gifts together. I stayed up till midnight more then once working on gifts, and watched several movies with Rebekkah while wrapping them all. I custom painted two boards that took me 16 hours total and I am sincerely hoping that next year is more chill. XD

My family took our annual trip to San Antonio, going to the Alamo Cafe, the missions, and the river walk. The lights in SA are just amazing, so I always enjoy walking around and seeing them. When we got home my brother was switching to nights for his job, so I stayed up late with him and played Wii. 

I got to hand deliver some gifts to kids I babysit, which is always one of my favorite things during the holidays. My mom and I went on a day to deliver gifts before exploring Austins largest library branch which has five glorious floors of books and displays. It is pure heaven for a book lover. They have reading nooks on every floor, a store, restaurant, and a garden on the roof complete with a full sized tree. 

We celebrated Christmas a bit early to acomedate work schedules, and had a lovely day. We do a gift exchange so we don't get inundated with gifts, so that was fun. This was our first year with Scott joining us, so that was awesome. <3 We had a nice meal, and took a long walk before playing some games together. 

I went to Christmas Eve service with my family. I slide in right after I got off work, and then we went and walked around a light display in Round Rock. =) 

My sister gave me a haircut, which is the shortest I've ever had it, but I'm loving some of the things I can do with it! 

I was in my first wreck, and thankfully it was a very small one. Someone pulled into my lane suddenly causing me to rear end them, and thankfully Sarah was right around the corner because I was very shaken up. But the insurance delacred it not my fault, and in the end all I have is a healthy apreachaition for slowing down sooner then I think I need to and a little scratch on the front of my car. 

I took my niece to buy a little bunny. Wow, if you have never held a little bunny, you are missing out cause that thing was CUTE. If I didn't have three dogs and two cats, I would have considered getting one myself. XD

My favorite new read was A Christmas Carol which was both amazing and a bit haunting, but I loved it. My favorite re-read was Live Without You. <3

Finding Father Christmas and Arthurs Chrismas are new favorites. <3 I was unimpressed by The Peanuts Movie, K.C. Undercover, a while I liked Austin and Ally, it lacked really good humor. The Christmas card is always my favorite Christmas movie. <3

How was your month? And Christmas?

A W E A R Y W O R L D

A weary world

I feel that today 

A world on my shoulders 

No way to escape 

Pressed down by the weight 

A weary world 

Trying to do what is best 

Trying to stay safe

Hoping to see loved ones 

A weary world 

Crying over little things 

Trying to fit in sleep 

Wishing for one day of peace 

A weary world 

Not ready to move on 

So much pressure from outside 

So many people asking for money 

Barely pulling by as it is 

A weary world 

We have nothing left to give 

Our funds out drained 

Our energy is depleted 

We have no time left 

But we can inhale 

And do the one thing that doesn’t cost 

It doesn’t demand 

It fills us and gives us peace 

It gives us hope 

It reminds us who is holding us 

And who holds tomorrow 

So we inhale 

And a weary world rejoices 

Because God is with us

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you can find something to rejoice in today, no matter how small. <3 

Sep, Oct, & Nov Highlights

The last three months have been a whirlwind of activity. I have been so busy that I am not going to try to list everything that happened (and I doubt you'd want to read that tome) so these are just some highlights from each month. Hopefully not enough to bore you, and I am just doing the best movie from the month.

SEPTEMBER 

I decided to get my covid vaccine for some personal reasons, so at the beginning of September, I got my second shot. I spent a few days curled up on the couch, watching old movies and recovering after that but it was 100% worth it. 

As we prepped for Sarah and Scott's wedding there was a last-minute rush of getting family time in. We watched us siblings' favorite movie together, had a girls night watching Sight and Sounds Queen Ester, and had dinner at our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. 

We had a lovely rehearsal dinner with both family's, plus the pastor's family. We walked through the ceremony, got our ques down, and then ate a meal together. The day of the wedding was honestly not as hectic as I thought it would be. The wedding was at two, and my mom and Sarah went to finish prepping the venue early in the morning. I went a little later, grabbing Macdonalds on my way with my brother. We helped prep, then while Sarah went over to a hotel to get ready, the bridesmaids stayed behind and did our hair. We all crammed in a microscopic hotel room to get ready but somehow managed it in time. I'm not going to lie and say everything about it was perfect. There were some ugly tears shed that day, but in light of the result, they were worth it. We managed to be ready on time, and I was the first one to walk up. I cried such happy tears seeing Sarah walk up the aisle and marry her best friend. When it came time to exchange rings, the best man realized he had forgotten the ring, so Scott had to run to the side room and get it. XD The reception was gratefully short, and we then sent them off on a two-week honeymoon. The rest of us stayed, cleaned up, then shared a meal at Whataburger with friends. It was a very long day, but also delightful.

At the rehearsal. <3

We had planned to go on a short overnight stay at the beach after the wedding, but a hurricane hit the coast the day before we planned to leave, so we had to call it off, instead going to see my sister Rose off to her first Missions trip in Panama. It was good to see her before she left for two months. 

My oldest sister Nicole and her family (husband and two daughters), moved in right next to us, and their house arrived at the end of September. It's a fixer-upper, but it's darling. We started work on prepping it then.

I got the chance to watch Big Hero 6 and was surprised how much I loved it. I'm not big into superheroes, but the family-like dynamic of them, and the heart-wrenching plot got me.

All of these were re-reads except 60 days of happiness and I LOVED that. Resistance was my favorite re-read. 

OCTOBER 

My sister and family moved down! While this is a huge adjustment (We've never lived so close!) I have been so blessed to have family so close. My nieces are fairly close in age to me, so it's been awesome to get to hang out with them more. We introduced them to our favorite laser tag arena already. 

The co-op where my sister and I work at had a nature walk. Since I live in the country, this wasn't particularly amazing in of itself, but it was so much fun to see the kids encountering things they don't normally. We helped corral the five and under class and it was a delightful handful. We had to keep several kids from jumping in the creek, and several more were acutely disappointed we didn't see a snake. I love kids. =) <3 

Stiring paint for Rose's room.

In true fall tradition, we went to a pumpkin patch. Actually, I went twice, once with my family, and once with my friend Hannah. I got a couple little tiny pumpkins and tried my hand at painting one of them, which was really fun. I hadn't done that in about seven years, so it was reliving some happy memories. I also made paper pumpkins, which was really fun! 

We went to the beach for the day and it was one of the most relaxing days I've had in a long time. We just set up chairs, read, and flew kits. We had a picnic next to the beach and caught sight of a dolphin! The day ended when I was on my phone to much and nearly puked on the side of the road, but every good day has its downsides. ;P 

My family all pitched in and we filled two Operation Christmas Child boxes and that was a blast! I hadn't been a part of that for the last year, so it was awesome getting back into it and choosing gifts for the kids. 

Keep Holding On was my favorite new read (it was very Hallmark-esk) and Behold was my favorite re-read. 

NOVEMBER 

I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo, and it started off as one of the easiest times I'd ever done it, it was only a matter of finding time, then the words flowed like magic. Then came mid-month and I wasn't able to write for six days. Then so many things got in my way I wasn't able to ever really catch up and ended up writing ten thousand words in the last three days of NaNo, but I made it with an hour and a half to spare and I really like some of the stories I wrote (I wrote one novella, and a few short stories) 

I cough a cold that was being passed around our church, thankfully it wasn't serious, it just stuck with me for a while. Since I couldn't go to work or anything, I spent a good amount of time writing, a lot watching mystery movies with my dad, and some reading. 

The highlight of my whole month was getting to go meet my best friend, Kate in person for her wedding. my flight into AZ was delayed five times and my bag was delayed also, and I nearly cried with relief after twenty-two hours of being awake when I was finally able to sleep. The next day I got to meet Kate in person!! The day of the wedding was super fun, the only kind of stressed thing being I decided I really needed to steam my dress thirty minutes before the photos started (Being in a suitcase was not kind to it), but with the help of some of the other bridesmaids, we did it! It was awesome getting to carry Joshua's ring and the vows, and just to stand with Kate on that day. It was beautiful, and the reception was fun. I fumbled through my speech, ate an amazing amount of Pocky and crackers, and helped decorate their car for the sendoff. I was sad to go home so soon the next day, but my flight home was uneventful. The day I got home we had our first family meal with all of us home since the wedding. 

Kate and I at her wedding. <3 

My friend Hannah and I got to meet up and do a writing session in person, which was fantastic! I haven't gotten the chance to write with other writers much, so I enjoyed the opportunity. 

Our family had a very low-key Thanksgiving, just a nice meal, and some family time sitting around talking. Later that week we decorated for Christmas. <3 

Per our family tradition, the day after Thanksgiving we walked around Fredericksburg, an adorable town with lots of unique little shops. We found some of my cousin Liza's artwork, which was epic, and did a lot of window shopping.  

I got to watch the new Signed, Sealed Delivered movie The Vows We Made and while it was;t my favorite SSD movie, I did love it! I'm always happy for more of these characters. <3

Brought to Book and Snuffed out were my only new reads of the month, and they were awesome! Wren was my favorite re-read. 

I hope y'all enjoyed this massive amount of highlights! I have missed being here more often. Please, tell me some highlights from the last few months for you! 

R E J O I C I N G

 We have had a time to mourn 

A time to weep 

A time to be sad over all we’ve lost 

We’ve had a time to search 

And a time to turn away 

We’ve had our days of sorrow 

And our days of doubt 

But a new day is dawning 

And it’s time to move on 

It’s time to mend 

It’s time to embrace 

It’s time to choose peace 

And to look for healing 

It’s time to move on 

And let go 

And start waking up each day 

Rejoicing 

`

And We're back on the Air

Hello everyone! It's nice to be back. It's been two months and wow, the time has flown by on my end. I would love to give you an update on all the things that have happened, but most of that will have to wait for a giant highlight at the end of the month (yeah, it's going to be three month's of highlights. O.o) 

As you might be able to tell, I still haven't found time to re-do the blog as I've been promising myself I would for the last year, but I'm trying to be okay with that. Right after I took my break, my sister Sarah got married, and another sister left on a two-month missions trip, then another sister moved in next to us with her family. Needless to say, the amount of change in my life these last two months has been overwhelming. I'd love to say I've handled it great, but I haven't. I've been busy trying to find a balance in my schedule. So for right now, I'm learning how to balance work, spending time with family, and my own projects. For the time that means I'll only be posting every other week. I need to ease back into this so I don't burn myself out! =)

At the moment I'm working on NaNo, which I have just been writing a random assortment of stories for, but I've been enjoying it. I haven't written much of anything since July, so it's good to be getting back into the swing of it. 

And of course the thing I'm most excited about is one of my best friends in the whole world is getting married tomorrow. O.o I'm in Arizona right now for the wedding, and am SO excited!!!

So, I'm all ears, tell me what y'all have been up to! I've missed chatting with y'all. <3