Christmas Recap.

My Christmas was better than I ever could have imagined. We spend Christmas Eve with family friends. We went over there and had a big lunch, exchanged presents, played some games and then headed off to church. Christmas Eve service is probably my second favorite of the year after Good Friday, there is such a sense of peace and calm, absolutely amazing. 

This year I decided to start a married tradition of drinking champagne with our toasting flutes from our wedding and opening our presents to each other on Christmas Eve. It was great to have that time to ourselves and have those moments. I can see them being even more special as we get older and have kids and the alone time doesn't happen as often. I get so excited thinking about how our Christmases

On Christmas morning we spent the day with my Mom's family. Each year we get matching PJ's and this year we went with snowflakes.

One of the gifts that I was most excited for was tickets to the Pacific Rim Championships for gymnastics. I'm a big gymnastics fan (even though I never did gymnastics) and I watch all of the meets online and follow all of the National Team on social media. This is an event that is happening in my state and gymnasts from all over the world will be there. I'm super excited to be able to see these athletes competing in person just a few months before some of them will be at the Olympics.

I also gone a ton of other awesome presents, cute sweaters, booties, earrings, and a bunch of stuff for our apartment/future house. I am so blessed to have been able to spend this day with my amazing family and be given so many wonderful gifts. I hope everyone else had just as wonderful of a Christmas! 

Weekending: Winter Break is here!

We have reached winter break, can I get a hallelujah?

Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating and while we were supposed to travel to my in-laws on Friday after school, we had to wait until Saturday morning because the mountain pass was closed. It opened on Saturday, but the roads were super snowy and it was a terrifying drive. Thankfully we made it here safely.

I did some last minute shopping with my sister in law and picked up a few stocking stuffers for C. I am trying really hard to make our first married Christmas a memorable one and I think it's going to be great.

Today we are celebrating with his family and exchanging gifts. I love all of the things that we got them and I can't wait to see them open them all. It's been a relaxing few days here with his family, but I'm excited to go home to our apartment and enjoy the last day before Christmas! We have a full Christmas Eve and Christmas day, so I am excited for the festivities to begin!

Linking up with Meghan! 

Christmas Card Reveal 2015

Last year I saw so many awesome Christmas cards and I made the decision that this year I would make sure we got really good ones. I had been planning to go with MINTED and even though I told myself that I could splurge on them, when the time came to buy them I just couldn't justify it.

We ended up ordering them from Snapfish after a free trial where we got to order 5 cards.

 I liked the quality so I ended up ordered all of ours from there. I got a white back so that I could write a personal message on the ones that I wanted to, and I paid to get our address printed on the envelope. We changed the design and this was our final product. 

It was so much fun sending these out and hearing from friends and family as they received them. I love Christmas and I look forward to making sending Christmas cards a tradition. This is our first year, but you can bet that next year we will be doing it again! :)

Linking up with Mary and Macy! 

Weekending: On the go.

This weekend flew by, typical! It was a little too packed for my liking, but I made it through and managed to take a nap on Sunday afternoon.

Friday night we went to my Aunt's house to celebrate my Grandad's birthday. He's 82, I love him so much. This was him being goofy. 

On Saturday, C and I slept in until 10:30! I couldn't believe it. I don't even remember the last time I slept that late. It was glorious. I had a lazy morning cleaning our apartment, shopping, and wrapping Christmas presents. 

Saturday night was our staff christmas party. I have an awesome staff and we had a blast relaxing, chatting, and doing things outside of school. It's so nice to get away and not be surrounded by students and stress. It was a lot of fun. 

Sunday after church we had a work day at the student farm. I had some quality time with my lambs and pigs. :) 

We went to lunch with my college roommates at the Cheesecake Factory. YUM! It's always good catching up with these girls who I spent every day with for two years. I am blessed to have friends as good as them. 

I took a nap Sunday afternoon && just relaxed to get ready for this week. I only have one night meeting so that means it will be a lot easier than last week.  Two weeks until break! 

Linking up with Meghan!

My Christmas List.

We are only 20 days from Christmas, can anyone believe it?! I have put together a few of the things that I am hoping to find under the Christmas tree. I also love gifts that are totally out of the blue and surprising so I am looking forward to those as well. :) 

Phone case

I got a new iPhone 6S a couple of weeks ago (thanks, hubby!) and now I would love a new case to go with it. Right now I have an otter box which isn't very stylish, but it will protect my phone. I'd love some pretty ones to alternate it with. 

Make up Brushes 

I am not good at buying things for myself, especially make up brushes which can be so darn expensive! I asked my mom for some and I  know she's been shopping at ULTA so hopefully I will be getting some. 

New TOMS 

These are my favorite for work when I want something comfy, but also a little dressy. I have black glitter ones that are pretty worn out now so I would love some gold ones which work perfectly for our school spirit days when we wear purple and gold. 

Booties! 

These are one of the things I always thought I would never be able to pull off but surprise, I can and I love them. I'm hoping for another pair this year. 

There really isn't much else that I am hoping for. Clothes are always great, scarves, accessories, etc. and I am not picky about those. I honestly have so much 'stuff' and am so blessed that I really don't need anything. I am hoping for a lovely Christmas with my family, that everyone is in good health, and that we have another great holiday filled with laughter and joy. 

What is on the top of your Christmas list? 

Friday Favorites: December!

Happy Friday! Can anyone believe it's already December? I know that I can't. This year has been flying by and while I've been in the Christmas mood for a while, now it's actually Christmas time! 

Favorite Song: I have been playing Christmas Pandora in my classroom and this song came on which I really enjoyed. It's fun and upbeat, plus she has a wonderful voice. 

Favorite new clothing item: I just bought this top to wear to my staff Christmas party on Saturday. I'm going to pair it with leggings and booties, I'm excited. I love the color and the little bit of sparkle! 

Favorite thing about this week: All of my black friday orders are starting to arrive. I am amazed at how fast things are arriving, I love it! 

Favorite Verse

Two weeks until Winter Break! 

This week has been so busy and work continues to be stressful and overwhelming, but I feel like I have a good handle on things until at least break. I can use that time to get myself together and make a plan for the spring. I hate feeling like I'm stretched so thin that I don't really do a good job at anything. Hopefully that won't last much longer. Thank goodness for this weekend. I don't think I would be able to keep my sanity without them. 

Linking up with Amanda!

Weekending: Black Friday & Holiday Decor!

We had a great holiday weekend! We went to my in-laws for Thanksgiving and had a relaxing day and delicious dinner. Thanksgiving night I went out with my sister in law for some Black Friday shopping and I got everything on my list! I was so happy with all of the great deals that I got and all of the gifts I was able to buy.

Friday was the Apple Cup, our huge rivalry football game. We went to a restaurant to watch it with some of our friends from college who live in my husbands home town. Our quarterback was injured at the last game so our back-up stared and it was ugly. Probably the worst game of the season which totally ruined the day. Such a disappointment. Thank goodness we have a bowl game to look forward to.

Saturday we drove back home and went to my mom's to visit with my brother who is home from grad school, have dinner with the family, and decorate my mom's house for Christmas. Even since we moved out we try to come together to decorate with my mom and keep the tradition alive so I was glad that we were able to again this year. 

Sunday after church we came home and set up our Christmas decorations! We still have a ways to go, but I am most excited about our new nativity.

Linking up with Meghan!

Have a great week! 

Weekending: Solo & Sick

My husband was out of town this weekend so that meant time for me to rest and try to sick this sickness I have had all week. After school on Friday I had to move the piglets from our school barn to the student farm and get them all settled there. 

I was home by 5pm and I showered and curled up on the couch which is where I spent the evening. I watched Hunger Games and was planning future vacations. I check prices and plan our vacations in my head way too often. Our next trip will be Vegas for 4 days over spring break and I can't wait. I'm ready to book it so that I can stop obsessing over hotels and plane tickets. Then I'll just focus on the fun stuff, like what we should do when we get there. 

Saturday morning I woke up, still sick, but not sick enough to stop me from shopping. My best friend and I hit the mall and I got some great Christmas presents. I mostly bought things for my hubby, but also got a sweater for my aunt and a photo album for my in-laws. Then I came home and wrapped all of the Christmas presents we have so far. There's actually quite a few! I still have a list of things I want to buy, but I am very happy with my progress so far. 

Sunday morning I went to church and then I went to my mom's house. We were off for some more Christmas shopping! I love hanging out with my mom and shopping is our favorite thing to do together. I got a few more gifts and we got our Christmas PJ's. 

I came home and relaxed the rest of the evening. Did my husband's laundry and cleaned up a little bit. It's a short week (thank goodness), but we are going out of town for Thanksgiving so I want everything to be put together so we don't have to come home to a mess. Here's to hoping this is an easier week. 

Linking up with Meghan!

Weekending:

I can't believe another weekend is over, they seriously fly by! 

Friday night I just relaxed at home and did some online shopping. I was thinking about going to our first playoff game for the school I teach at but it was raining so I didn't feel like freezing out there. They won so maybe I'll go this week and hope for no rain. 

Saturday morning my best friend and I went shopping. I got a few Christmas gifts which was exciting. Bath and body works had their candles on sale so I had to buy a few as gifts. They are my fav. Hopefully the people I got them for like them just as much. 

Saturday afternoon I joined C for the last marching band competition of the year. I think we went to about 6 this year, that's a lot of marching band! It was cold and rainy but thankfully we were covered, I felt bad for those kids. It is amazing to see what they accomplish though, there were some awesome shows. 

Sunday morning we had a student farm clean up for FFA. Our chapter is fortunate enough to have an area that the students can keep their animals since most of them don't have space at their houses since they live in town or on neighborhoods. A great group showed up and we did a ton of work. It was stinky and dirty, but we are now ready for all of the animals in a few weeks. 

Sunday night we went to my mom's for dinner. Nothing beats my mom's home cooking and it was great to be able to go over there and hang out. I love my mom and even though we live really close sometimes we get busy and don't get to see each other as often. I'm glad we went over there tonight. 

Another week ahead of us! This one is looking pretty easy so fingers crossed! Happy Monday! 

Linking up with Meghan!

Hello, November.

I can't believe October is already over, I knew that it would be quick since I was so busy, but it still flew by. 

Now that it's November all that I can think about is CHRISTMAS! It is my favorite holiday by a mile and now I feel like I can start Christmas shopping and putting a little more thought into it since it's not that far away. I have a couple presents already and I don't even feel bad about it. I like spreading out the shopping so I don't feel like I'm spending a ton of money at one time. 

I spent the last week in Kentucky at the National FFA Convention and it was a blast. The best part of these trips is watching these students experience new things and having once in a lifetime experiences. We ate a lot of delicious food, saw some great sights like Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger Factory, and got to go to a Maddie and Tae + Jake Owen concert. It was fabulous. 

My goals for this month:

1. Be able to run 3 miles without stopping. (I ran my 5k in October, but it wasn't great and I am running another one in December)

2. Bake pumpkin muffins 

3. Spend more time reading my Bible, make it a daily habit 

Back to reality tomorrow. I'm excited to see all of my students again and get back into the swing of things. Along with counting down to Christmas, I may or may not be counting down to winter break... :) 

Weekend && Christmas Recap

I'm sitting here in my living room looking at a mess of gifts that we brought home yesterday and it's impossible not to smile and also feel completely overwhelmed. My mom goes crazy with gift giving, I think it's her love language, and I love her for it because it's mine too. Here's a glimpse into what our holiday looked like.

Christmas Eve
We went over to my aunt's for a small dinner with just my immediate family, aunt, and grandad. We had some delicious pork and hung out for a little bit. After that we went to church which is always my favorite part of the night. Almost all of our small group was there, plus some of my moms friends and a few people I knew from work. It is so nice to feel so familiar and at home at church, which I really do. We had a wonderful candle light service and it was so special. I felt so connected to Jesus at that moment which is exactly what I wanted.

After church C and I went back to my moms and watched Elf with my mom, her boyfriend, and my little brother. It was so nice to just be at home, relaxing, and watching movies. We stayed at my moms that night so that we were ready for Christmas morning!

Christmas
We always have a huge traditional breakfast at my Grandad's house where it is the boys job to cook for the girls. We were over at 8am for C to do his job, and we ate at exactly 8:30. It's one of those things that has never changed in my life and I love it. We eat a ton of food because then we don't eat again until dinner.

We opened presents from my Grandad and Aunt at his house and that lasted a couple of hours. There is a lot of laughing and chatting in between and we open one at a time so that we can all watch each other.

We headed back to my moms house (they live a block away) and waited for my Grandad and Aunt to join us for present opening round 2. Like I mentioned, my mom goes a little crazy. We started opening presents at 12:45 ish, had to break for an AMAZING dinner around 3, and then got back to it and didn't finished until after 5. Talk about a marathon.

This is everything that I received an C has a pile equally as large. I am most excited for my nativity and am considering putting it up for a couple of days just so I can look at how beautiful it is.  I also got a ton of work shirts which I am excited for becuase I have been so tired of my clothes. My mom got me a few things for the wedding, those cocktail napkins, an engraved cake set, and the silver present is our card box. My mom's boyfriend got us a luggage set which didn't make the picture, which we can use for our honeymoon.

We almost couldn't fit it all in C's car it was that much. Their generosity was overwhelming. It was such a fun and perfect day with my family. My job today is to find homes for all of these wonderful gifts and then head back to my Grandad's for our final Christmas meal, Boxing Day dinner.

Saturday
We had one of those days where you literally don't leave the house. We had a lot of cleaning to do and organizing so we put away all of the gifts and cleaned our apartment. Then C and I spent a lot of time relaxing on the couch and enjoying the time off.

Sunday
The day started with church and grocery shopping, then we went and signed up for the gym! I've been needing to and I am really excited to get back in shape. I have 7 months until wedding day so it's time to get serious. I'm going to zumba this morning. :)

We watched the Seahawks game at my mom's with my brother and then had a lazy night at home. It was a perfect, relaxing weekend!

Linking up with the ladies below. :)