The past eight to ten weeks has just flown by. In the non profit world, the last quarter of the year, is typically the busiest. It is when most people give their last tax deductible donation or want to get their time and volunteer. Rest assured, the Mission is no exception! We hit the ground running in November and hardly have had time to look up since, even though we are almost half way through January!
I had to work Thanksgiving Day, so David went with me to the Mission to help get the volunteers squared away and make sure the serving of nearly 1500 people went off without a hitch. Afterwards, we drove from Shreveport to Rayville, which is about 20 minutes on the east of Monroe. My Great Aunt Lennis turned 90 the day before Thanksgiving. All of the family came in Thanksgiving Day and had a birthday party for her. It was a great time and we couldn't have asked for a better way to spend Thanksgiving Day. Below is a picture of myself, Aunt Lennis and David.
A couple of days later, on December 2, 2010 David and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary! We actually went to David's work Christmas party that evening and had a great time. :) David had a gorgeous display of flowers delivered to me at work. To celebrate, we went and enjoyed an evening together eating sushi and Christmas shopping. Overall it was a low key anniversary, but it was perfect. I couldn't imagine celebrating any other way! I can't believe it has already been 4 years since we said, "I Do". It seems just yesterday I was planning our wedding! Crazy. This is a picture from our evening out.
In the middle of December, one thing I wanted to do last year and we never got the opportunity to, was go and see the Christmas lights in Natchitoches, Louisiana. We decided to not only go this year, but to make a Saturday of it. Aunt Char joined us. We started the day stopping for lunch in Shreveport, and taking Aunt Char to one of our favorite places to eat, Newk's. From there we headed down to Natchitoches. Even though we got there several hours before we could even see the Christmas lights, we had plenty of time to kill shopping!:) All three of us, absolutely loved walking through the different shops. David and I did some much needed Christmas shopping and really enjoyed the window displays too! For dinner we had to stop by this amazing 'home cooking' cajun food restaurant. It is to die for! Below is a picture of myself, Aunt Char and David at dinner. It was a wonderful day, and once the Christmas lights were on, they were amazing, complete with fake snow. :) I definitely think spending a day down in Natchitoches to shop and see the Christmas lights will become an annual thing!
Before we knew it, we were heading home to Dallas for Christmas! We didn't have much time in Dallas and yet had a jammed packed schedule to try to squeeze everyone in. One of the highlights of the trip was getting to spend the evening with some old friends I grew up with from church. I love that even though we don't get to see everyone all the time, when we do get together, it is as though we have never missed a beat! I treasure each one of these people so much. Each one of us is so completely different, and yet we all have something to offer. It is incredible to see how amazing everyone has turned out and to get to touch base and see where they hope to go in the future. I love each one of you so much. :)
Probably my most favorite evening of the entire year, is Christmas Eve. I absolutely LOVE the Christmas Eve Candle lit service. I don't know what it is about everyone singing as an entire church Peace, Peace, Peace and Silent Night and holding up candles in the darkness, but to me there is nothing more special. I know Christ, and I know Christ is in that place at that very moment. :) This was David and I before heading to the service.
After getting back from Dallas and spending a wonderful Christmas with lots of family and friends, we were headed to Indiana to see my grandparents. They aren't getting any younger, and well at this point, we are trying to spend as much time with them as possible. I absolutely love my grandparents and only wish we lived closer. We started our 12 hour drive after work on Wednesday and stayed the night in Stuggart, Arkansas. We have never driven to Ramsey directly from Arcadia, so I googled directions. Naturally, Google had us traveling back roads all the way through Arkansas. Just a word to the wise, Arkansas sucks at having road signs! We were taking the one way roads slow, knowing that deer being out and on the roads was a huge possibility. Never the less, we hit a deer! We weren't hurt, and thank God our jeep wasn't either, but I am almost positive the deer didn't get such a great outcome. :( Anyway, we had a good night sleep at our hotel and drove the majority of the next day. Once we arrived, we really enjoyed ourselves! We ran errands, cooked, laughed, told stories and cooked some more. I made three different chicken dishes that Gramps and Granny could freeze and have whenever they felt like it. I also made several dozen chocolate chip cookies (Gramps's favorite!) and made some Magic Bar candy. The Magic Bar has become a new favorite holiday candy treat for me to make, simply because it is so easy! It is just a layered cookie, pop it in the oven and let cool. Done! :) Ironically, I don't care for the candy, because it is too sweet, but everyone else who has tasted it, LOVES it! :) Below are pictures of myself with Granny and the other with Gramps. I dearly love them and we had a wonderful visit. We can't wait to go back in July for the family reunion. Love y'all!
Finally, that brings me to HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! David and I spent New Year's Eve celebrating at one of my second cousin's house in Corydon, Indiana. It was a great time of laughter and fellowship. We even got to learn some of the family secrets and some 'dirt' on my dad, when he was growing up! :) I couldn't think of a better way to bring in the New Year, than with family.
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