Christmas Parties

Ben and I have gone to 2 Christmas parties this week. The first was at Ben's friend Kyle's house.

He works with Kyle at Chili's, and pretty much every person there was from Chili's. So Ben knew everyone and I only knew a couple people. We ate some yummy food and I met a girl who works with Ben that we plan to hang out with soon, along with her husband, and possibly their kids. We also offered to babysit for them...good practice for someday down the road...way way down the road! :)

Last night we went to the Christmas party that the CFO of E.ON has every year at his house for those who work under him at the company. So this was Ben's turn to not know anyone at the party! I've gone to the party the last 2 years, but Ben has always had to work. This year, I made sure he asked off and was able to go. There was a ton of good food and desserts, a cheese tray in the living room, and this beautiful spread of sushi:

This picture is even after a lot of people (including us) had already eaten some! I knew from years past that there is always a lot of sushi left over, so I told Ben to eat up! We ate sooo much sushi, and at the end of the night, there was still a bunch left! We ate a few more pieces right before leaving. :) We played some ping pong and I got to introduce Ben to tons of people from work. It was a great party!

First Christmas Present!

Jenn went to Chicago last weekend with her sister-in-law Holly and bought me this cute little wine coaster!

Isn't it adorable? It is clearly a reindeer, and yet I told Jenn my first thought was that it looked like the ghost dog "Zero" in the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Jenn said someone else told her it looked like a bunny! Ha. But no- he is one cute little reindeer and I love him!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I finally got all my Christmas decorations up last week, but am just now getting around to posting some pictures. First of all, let me say that I did every bit myself, including carrying all this up from the basement, and the Christmas tree! (Ben would have done this, but I was ready to get started one night and Ben was at work):

After many days of doing a little here and there, it finally looks like Christmas in here!

Living Room

Reindeer Stocking Holder

Fleece blanket and Christmas pillow

First Floor Bathroom Mat

First Floor Bathroom Towels

Nativity (on the small table in the kitchen)

Kitchen Christmas Tree (a new decoration this year!)

Christmas tins (I have stuff like this on top of all the cabinets)

Christmas kitchen towels

Salt and Pepper Shakers (2 sets, but I keep them all together!)

China cabinet (I just added Christmas stuff, but really it needs to be organized...maybe I'll do that some other day when I get motivated)

Dining room table centerpiece

Biggest present ever!!

Let's see an upclose on who that present is for:

Dad, I'll give you a hint: I know how much you love giving, so really it is a present for me and Ben, and you get to put it down on the floors!! :)

Entry hall

Railing of second floor balcony

Mantle with Christmas village

I'm not sure which was more work, decorating all that or making this blog post!

Sushi Dinner for Wes

Last Thursday was my brother Wes's birthday. He and Leslie, Jenn and Scott, and I (Ben had to work) celebrated by getting sushi at Sakura Blue. It was delicious!

Looking at this picture, it sort of looks gross to me- ha- but it tasted awesome! I had 2 different types- tuna with avocado, and salmon with cream cheese. Yum!

Wes and Leslie

Is that flower in her hair not the cutest thing ever?? I made her turn a little so I could get a better picture of it. I must get one!

Jenn and Scott

After dinner, we all went to Wes and Leslie's new house. It was decorated so cute for Christmas! Wish I had gotten pictures, but everything was beautiful, from the tree to the tablescape!

Happy Birthday, Wes! Had a great time!

Eight Years Ago...

Eight years ago today, Ben and I went on our first date! Our parents dropped us off at the St. Matthew's Mall, and we walked around all night without going in any stores! He gave me a rose when I first walked up- what a sweetie! He bought me Sbarro's in the food court and a cookie from the Great American Cookie Factory. While eating our cookies, he told me I was so beautiful it was killing him. :) He also turned bright red seconds later! Even then, my heart was forming a spot just for Ben, and I could tell we had something special- it sounds crazy, but it's true. We fell in love so young, knowing so early we were meant to be together. A lot of people thought we were crazy when we decided to get married young, too, but me and Ben knew...we knew all along it was the perfect path for us. We knew we were better together than apart, that what we had was more than a "fling"- our love was deep, it was Christ-centered, it was sincere, it was a conscious decision, it was an exciting decision. I praise God every single day- every one- for bringing Ben into my life. I praise God for giving us such a special love, for allowing us to be each other's first and only love, for bringing us together at such a young age. I praise God for the passion that Ben brings to our marriage, his devotion to me, and his desire for our marriage to be all that it can be. I praise God for these eight years Ben and I have had together. I praise God for the places we have seen together. I praise God!

Thanksgiving Run-down

Thanksgiving stretched over 2 days for me, along with a busy weekend. Here is a run-down of what I did.

Thursday: Started off with making myself (Ben had already run out to do a few errands by the time I woke up) a decent breakfast (scrambled eggs with cheese and hot sauce) to get my metabolism going, but not too heavy, so I'd be good and hungry for lunch.

Went to my aunt Tammy's house for a feast with a lot of my cousins, aunts and uncles, my grandpa, my parents, and a few close family friends.

The Feast

My mom and I

My cousin Jason, Ben, and I

Our friend Liz and my cousin Amanda

While waiting for our food to settle before going for round 2 later in the evening, we started Christmas a little early and made gingerbread houses. Gingerbread houses are a Christmas tradition for our family!

Ben's park (we ran out of graham crackers for him to make an actual house with- he gave up on it after a few minutes though)

My cousin Ryan's "Nike Factory"

My cousin Jason's house (again, graham cracker shortage so just a small house- love that it has an address on the front!)

Our friend Liz and her house

My house and I

Back of my house

My cousin Haylee's house (after monsters attacked it, she said)

My mom's house

Besides the gingerbread houses, we also played the piano, played some video games, and just lounged around and enjoyed good company.

Great way to spend Thanksgiving!

Friday: We went to my parents' house for lunch with them and Jenn, Scott, Wes, and Leslie. Another gourmet feast!

And a cute little tablescape!

Didn't get a lot of pictures on Friday, but after lunch we played Balderdash, drank eggnog, and ate dessert.

My parents left the next day for a cruise, so we got to split all the leftovers amongst the kids (although they would have done that anyway without the cruise!). Yum!

Went home around 5 so Ben could go to work and I could study for the GMAT on Saturday. Took a practice test at home, did decent, but was not feeling overly-confident about taking the real thing.

Saturday: Went to a testing center and took the GMAT from noon until 3:15. Ended up with a 610, even higher than I expected, especially since I felt like I was doing terrible! All I needed to get to apply for grad school at IUS was a 450, so I'm happy with that score!

After a mentally exhausting afternoon, I lounged for a while and wrote my application essay for IUS. Later, I went to my friend Ashley's parents house to meet up with Ashley and her mom and plan the Bible Bowl Christmas party we're having a week from Monday during practice.

Sunday: Church, lunch, and blogging! Ben is doing some yard work before going to work tonight. I plan on cleaning up the house and then starting the Christmas decorating finally! Of course, there will be lots of pictures to follow on that!

This Thanksgiving and weekend was great and I am again reminded of how blessed I am! Wonderful family and friends, a loving husband, a warm home and an abundance of great food. God continues to provide for us and we are so thankful!