Back to the Fyootcha!

So I figured to commemorate the last months of this blog’s existence, I’d go back to the theme I started out with. Sweet memories. Or something like that.

This Christmas break was just awesome. Got spoiled with all the lovely gifts from my family, the future in-laws, and Jenn. Got the LEGO Grand Carousel, a safety razor shaving kit from Jenn (I am all that is man), some killer binoculars with a built-in digital camera, assorted gift cards, and some very comfy slippers, among other things. I got Jenn the Eternal Love Cross pendant from James Avery, and she wears it every day now. It looks amazing on her. Oh, and we got a Wii! And Jenn got Wii Fit+ and that Jenny McCarthy workout game that comes with a camera that watches to make sure you’re doing the exercises right. Kinda creepy, but it should be fun. Haha!

One of the best things about Christmas this year, hands down, was that we finally got a White Christmas!

It snowed like the dickens on Christmas Eve. Like, blowing sideways and prohibiting your vision… dickens. Yeah, anyway, it calmed down overnight, but it was still BEAUTIFUL for Christmas Day. That was such an awesome treat. Wish it would snow again, as cold as it is outside. We’re supposed to see the coldest temperatures in a loooooong time around here starting tomorrow night. Like, wind chills around 0 degrees in the evenings. Yay!

We went to City Streets in Sundance Square for New Year’s Eve. It was fun to do some dancing with Jenn (and Misty made a friend that she danced with all night, hehe). And at midnight, Jenn and I looked at each other and said, “Now we can finally say ‘We’re getting married this year!'” LOL

Speaking of that, we got the tuxes picked out for me, the groomsmen, the dads, and the ringbearers. They look pretty dang slick, I can’t wait to see how we all look together. Along with that, over the holiday, Jenn’s also been working on some paper mache letters for a couple of the tables at the reception. She has some that spell out “WE DO” for the cake table, and “love is sweet” for our candy buffet table. They look really pretty, she’s done an excellent job with them.

Got some pretty big stuff ahead of me in the next couple months. Not only am I applying to graduate, but I’m going to be taking the TExES on February 6th. For those of you who don’t know, that’s the state certification exam that all Texas teachers have to take. And I’m taking it a month from tomorrow. Whoa! Talk about surreal, huh? I can’t believe I’m finally at this point. I get butterflies thinking about it. After ten years of jackin’ around and not knowing what to do with my life, I’m finally about to step into not only married life, but a full-on professional life. I think I may go get some of those paper mache letters, spell out “paraprofessional” with them, and burn them in a celebratory bonfire. 🙂

Anyway, say a prayer for us. These five months leading up to graduation and the wedding are going to be completely crazy, and Jenn and I are gonna need all the support we can get.

Oh, and we saw Sherlock Holmes. Frickin’ SWEET movie. I so want the soundtrack.

Ho ho ho.

Been real busy this month! Biggest thing was probably wrapping up my next-to-last semester of college. One more semester, and then I’ll be done forever. 🙂 I’ve been enjoying this past week of not having to go to school in the evenings. It’s nice to be able to relax with Jenn, eat dinner at a normal time, and just generally not having a whole lot to do. Makes me look forward to being done with school even more.

Can’t believe Christmas is just over a week away. We had our Christmas program at church last Saturday. Jenn had an awesome solo right at the beginning, when the choir sang “Joy To The World.” Erin and Kevin had an amazing duet during “Ring The Bells,” which made Jenn and me even more impossibly excited about having them sing at our wedding. Click on the picture below if you’d like to see all the pictures I took:

We had the choir Christmas party at church last night. We watched the DVD of the Christmas program, ate several different varieties of cheese log (Jenn’s is SO my favorite), and then went caroling through the neighborhood behind the church, which was cold but quite fun! The only part I was sad about was the party was basically over soon as we got back. I wish we could have all sat around just a little bit longer and had some laughs. Though we did get to have plenty of that at our Refuge Christmas party, which was a total blastie blast.

Once I’m done here at work today, I’m heading up to the FLC at church to help Matt setup his blog that he wants to start. I tried to convince him that if he wanted to connect with his Youth, he needed to call it “Kilo 4 Christ” (his last name is Killough). But he said that was a loser name. Hey, if the shoe fits. O SNAP. Anyhoo, after that, Jenn and I are going to ol’ Arlington High School to see their Christmas orchestra concert. I am SO excited we’re going, I haven’t been to my old high school in several years. And the Symphony orchestra does Sleigh Ride every Christmas, so I can’t wait to see that again. The memories, they will be a-floodin’ back into my noggin, I tell you what.

Can’t wait for Christmas Eve/Day. Jenn and I are going with my family down to West to see my grandparents on Christmas Eve. Then we gotta fly back here pretty quick after lunch so we can get ready for the Christmas Eve service at church, because Jenn and I (with the assistance of the epically talented Dr. Gordon Page) will be doing “O Holy Night.” I am very excited about that, I haven’t played a candlelight service in several years, at least not since I was going to St. Andrew’s UMC. Anyway, once all that’s done, we’ll spend Christmas day with Jenn’s family, which is always a treat. 🙂

So what are your plans for Christmas? Got anything big planned, or are you just staying home for the holidays?

Agradecido.

Can you believe it’s that time of year already? I’m off for the rest of the week after today, so this’ll be it until Monday. Jenn and I are spending Turkey Day at Aunt Martha’s house, then we’re going with my mom down to the Hill Country, and Jenn’s going to meet Mom’s side of the family for the first time ever. Very exciting!

As we take the time to celebrate this wonderful holiday full of family, friends, and the best food in the universe, don’t forget to count your blessings and be thankful for what you have in your life. In these turbulent times, it’s more important than ever to remember that while there’s a lot we don’t have, there’s plenty more that we DO have.

I am thankful for the Heavenly Father above, and his son who was sent to die for our sins, both of whom I would be completely lost without.

I am thankful for my beautiful and amazing fiance, who I’ll be marrying in just a little over six months and spending the rest of my life with.

I am thankful for my awesome parents, who have been there for me more times than I can count.

I am thankful for my excellent friends, who bring so much laughter into my life.

I am thankful for my job, which allows me to earn the money I need to pay my bills.

I am thankful for my college education, which I will be completing in the Spring so I can earn MORE than the money I need to pay my bills. 🙂

I am thankful for you, friend. Thank you for reading my quaint little ol’ blog whenever you get a chance. I’m not exactly bringing in massive amounts of traffic here, but I know I have a dedicated few who enjoy reading my blog as much as y’all can. And that’s all I need.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, my dear friends. I hope you are able to enjoy it as much as I will. And when it’s over with, let’s all celebrate that magical time of year where we dust off the Christmas albums and listen to them until our ears bleed. Ha!

So what are you up to this week? Travel plans? Eating plans? Sleeping plans?

I know, it’s a little early.

So, this was a nice weekend. Went to choir practice on Saturday morning with Jenn. I don’t think I’m going to sing in the Christmas pageant, but it was still fun to hang out and hear everyone sing. It’s sounding fantastic, I cannot wait for the holidays. 🙂

On that note, I was talking to Jenn about this on Saturday afternoon, and I think it’s true. I think people REALLY need to get Christmas’d up this year. The way the country is going lately, we are in such a deep state of depression, and we need some holiday spirit up in this joint. Now, I’m not talking about presents. This is definitely going to be a lean Christmas this year, that’s a fact. I’m talking about everything else. Christmas trees, Christmas music, Christmas smells, Christmas sounds, Christmas specials on TV… You know, the blitz that always really starts the weekend after Thanksgiving. Not the Black Friday aspect, but the seasonal aspect. Just the feeling of the holiday season. You know, that warm and cozy feeling! It’s something I’ve just been craving lately, personally, and I think a lot of people feel the same way and don’t realize it.

Along that line, I’ve noticed in recent years since I’ve really dedicated my life to Christ, that warm and cozy feeling is even better. Something changes in you when you get saved (well, a lot of things change in you, but that’s not the point), and in the weeks leading up to December 25th (yes, I know that’s not necessarily his REAL birthday…), if you let it in, that awesome feeling you get knowing that you’re preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus is one of the most comforting and wonderful feelings you’ll ever experience in this life. I remember watching “The Nativity Story” with Jenn last year for the first time. I never got to see it when it came out in theaters, and she has it on DVD. Anyway, THAT is an awesome movie. If you ever get a chance, watch it. The way they act out the story is just fantastic, especially the birth of Jesus at the end of the movie. It’s some of the most moving stuff I’ve seen on film, and it’s definitely something we’ll be watching every Christmas now.

Anyway, long story short, I think we’re all going to benefit from having a sweet little Christmas this year. Focus on your family, your friends, and Jesus. This year is as good a time as ever to start doing so, if you haven’t yet. We’re all blessed in so many little (and big) ways, and given the nature of the world right now, we should be grateful for all that we have.

… Man, I guess that was weighing heavier on my heart than I thought it was. It’s not even Halloween yet! LOL

Anyway, back to Saturday. Fun day. Okay, got it. After we went to choir practice, Jenn had a dentist appointment, and then we went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to create a wedding registry there. We ended up spending at least three hours there working on our registry. It’s definitely our biggest one yet, but it’s mostly made up of little things, like, towels, picture frames, and kitchen utensils. Lots of cool stuff. 🙂

Jenn sang Revelation Song in church on Sunday. It was absolutely amazing. Folks were kidding around with me about the performance after church, though. The way the orchestra is setup on stage, I sit directly behind where the preacher stands at the pulpit. So as a result, when Jenn was standing there singing, I was sitting right behind her. And I was mouthing the words to the song the entire time. LOL! I wasn’t the only one, there were many folks in the congregation doing the same thing. But since I’m her fiance, and we were BOTH on camera at the time, I was the one who was given heck about it. Haha!

Next weekend, we’re going to try again to have the big tent service out on the new property. There’s rain in the forecast for a couple days this week, so I can’t say I’m fully confident it’s gonna work out. I really hope it does, though, because this time we’ll also be celebrating our first Sunday with our new music minister. Seems to me like that’s some good timing, so hopefully it’ll work out and the field will be nice and dry(ish) for Sunday. Here’s hoping!