So after we woke up it was just hang out time upstairs...mom cooked her eggs benedict, i woke ernesto up, we all ate, and then headed over to the tree to divie up the gifts. I got my FAVE perfume "origins Ginger Essence" which is fab cuz its really the only scent ill wear everyday...simple, not too strong, earthy, delicious, i love it. Reese's aunt patty bought it for me last year for christmas ( i knew nothing about this delicious scent prior to her exposing it to me) and ive been hooked ever since. I love it so much ill give myself a quick spritz before i go to bed cuz it soothes me..LOVE. IT.
Other gifts were movies (GEEKED about Despicable Me), clothes, boots, the classic and amazing stocking stuffers (including a hedgehog popping out of the top of my stocking...we r totally normal around here lol), gift card for mani/pedi (yea baby), wall art of the tree of life (so beautiful), some books about the zone diet (reese and i are trying this new diet...alot of crossfitters/athletes/people who really care about their health follow this diet), and a coupon for a hot date with my hubby :) We did an in-town get away recently and i loved it so much, so this was a coupon for another! But ya know...maybe we'll switch it up and do our date night get away in Cincinnati in one of the hotels on the river :)
After gift giving/opening we brought the gingerbread cookies downstairs with mom's homemade frosting and decorated the little boogers while watching X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While reese and i were shopping for our fam we fell upon the x-men trilogy and OBVIOUSLY couldnt resist! So we watched Wolverine while sipping on Moscato and decorating gingerbread cookies. Mom and ernesto kept talking during the movie and then wanted to ask what just happened...UNCOOL folks...UNCOOL. I guess ill still love em tho lol. Now its the Lakers vs Miami game while i blog, and reese splits his time between playing Call of Duty and reading our "first 90 days of marriage" book that our friends debbie and josh got us for the wedding. It's ligitmately a great book! Real, down to earth, not cheesy, and great principles for a strong marriage foundation. Mom's upstairs beasting it cooking filet mignon for din din...shes monster a swear (which is a compliment)...i aspire to cook like her one day. For some reason its just hard for me to cook when im here at the house...maybe its cuz i just feel like when ur here mom cooks...i means she loves to do it, shes amazing at it, and usually when u try to help out she ends up taking over (lovingly lol) so i just kind of watch instead haha. I can relate tho...once u do something a certain way for so long its hard to watch and let somebody else do it another way...especially in YOUR house haha. So i cant hate lol. My help comes at clean up time. And eventually ill become a better cook...just all takes time and practice...I feel like once reese and i move out of the parental's basement that we've turned into an apt I will take charge more and really start getting in the groove of cooking.
Anyhoots...back to Christmas before i go in-depth on a whole new subject lol. We will eat dinner here in a bit and then plan on watching Despicable Me while eating popcorn and snuggling. Awesome. lol.
Other key parts of this christmas season:
Last Saturday I went nuts attempting to shop at the mall with the mass crowds and numerous ill mannered individuals. I felt rather scrooge like. And it made me sad. But yesterday all the TRUE Christmas spirit really set in ...starting with getting off work at 11am versus 730pm! Early Christmas present indeed!
On the 22nd we headed down to Cincinnati for a day with family and friends. We went to the show "Awaited" at our cincinnati home church, Crossroads. GOSH do i miss that church and the community. The show was amazing per the usual. The hot chocolate was as delicious as ever...and i REALLY wish i could be a part of that show! Everytime im at Crossroads i feel so overwhelmed with God's spirit...i feel so at peace, at home, and I just like THIS is where i feel renewed. I really would move back to Cincinnati SOLELY for Crossroads and the spiritual growth we experience(d) there...we wont be buying a house for about 2 years according to our master savings plan, but when we do is when we will make the final decision of whether we will buy in cincinnati or indy. A LOT of prayer and keeping spirits/ears open to His plan will be vital.
So BEFORE Awaited we went to his Nana and Grandpa's to visit and to our *SURPRISE* aunt patty, karen, and cousins josie, ethan, and lydia were all there too! How awesome. Patty just made FRESH homemade bread (WOW amazing) and we all sat around chatting it up. Then after awaited we headed to the in-laws for dinner and gift exchange. A very fun-filled family/friend day indeed :)
Other christmas 2010 key points:
-ate too many spritzer cookies...they get me EVERYTIME...sometimes i wish my mom wasnt such a good cook/baker lol. Literally felt NAUSEOUS last night i ate so many. This whole zone diet is gona take A LOT of discipline...i have such a hard time when sweets are staring at me ....
-it was our *first* Christmas as *married folk* :) I can't thank God enough for the gift he gave me as my husband and for the marriage we have started building WAY before the wedding and we continue to make a conscious effort to work on everyday. One of my main goals in life is to be the best wife ever and have the best marriage ever because this marriage and this man mean so much to me. I'm lucky enough to have a husband who makes our marriage a priority as well and wants what i want just as bad...i have so much hope for us, our marriage, and our future solely because we view our marriage and treat our marriage like the most important thing in our life (second only to our Creator and match maker :) I consider myself the luckiest lady alive. And i really dont think im living in la-la land fantasizing about this perfect marriage and perfect world...im WAY too realistic and flawed to believe in THAT...what i KNOW is that we are both imperfect people...and thus we both have to always make the effort to work on ourselves and our marriage...my Aunt Jill puts it so well.."our goal is to get our spouse to heaven"...we love one another SO much as to help them become who God created them to be...not in a judgmental manner or as a disciplinary action...but lovingly help one another grow closer to God and as we grow closer to God we grow closer to love and thus our marriage and us as individuals just continue to get better and better. Not a bad plan now, is it?!?! But there i go again with getting off the simple topic of "christmas 2010" hahahaa
-we BOTH finished the stockings we were making one another...i think we both surprised ourselves at how crafty we could be! With the help of Mama Martin we got things goin and picked up on the sewing and stitching pretty fast! We put "momma" and "papa" for our names...not bc we have kids now (other than berfie of course lol)...but bc we will...and honestly, even if God's plan is different and we end up without kids he is still the father of our relationship and im the mother.. so cant go wrong. I'm gonna go shopping for more stocking kits here soon tho so we can start on our future kids' stockings hahaha...just so we can get a good head start and dont have to rush when the future little boogers grace us with their presence :)
-This Christmas was without Awahito...the house most definitely hasnt been the same without him...we got to talk to him today for that good 20 minute phone call so atleast we got that. His spirits sounded up which always lifts us up as well...but missing him at home is there regardless. Ready for him to be home in January. Praying its all uphill for him from now on...thinking of all those celebrating Christmas alone or without family...praying they would, too, find peace of mind and joy of heart...wherever they may be.
- ive been thinking ALOT about the families and individuals who will spend Christmas remembering the loss of a loved one...with the tragic loss of one of my young co-workers this september still fresh in my mind my heart just pours out to all those who spend their holidays remembering the holidays past which included their lost loved ones. I think of my niece Ny'Shawn and her mother+family and how bittersweet the holidays must always be. I always think of my Grandpa's around the holiday but i unfortunately didnt ever really get to spend too much time with my grandpa eastman, and while i spent alot of time with my grandpa kovatch he was ready to go meet his creator and was happy looking back on the life he lived so its easier for me to do the same. It's the tragic loss of a loved one that gets me...especially around the holiday season. But those loved ones lost get to spend Christmas in the best seat in the house...with their heavenly Father. I know Ny'Shawn is dancing around with the angels now :)
Anyhoots! All in all its been a great Christmas...good time of reflection...good time thinking of future christmases especially when reese and i are in our own place and start our own traditions with our kids...good time to relax for a solid day since i didnt have to work...and an unfortunate display of lack of control when it comes to baked goods. How sad. Poor cholesterol. And MAN am i gona feel it next time at crossfit. EEK!
Thank you God for loving us so much as to give us your son to teach us about you and to display for us what love REALLY is...O come let us adore Him...
ps. one of my FAVORITE versuses from a favorite christmas song, Oh holy night...
