Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

At 5 a.m. tomorrow morning, I will jump into my Dad's minivan with a liveliness that no normal human should have at that hour. This unnatural energy will come from the overwhelming excitement about being in Minnesota with my lovely boyfriend, TOMORROW.

a pretty good example of how I'm feeling right now

It didn't hit me until yesterday that I'm actually going to be in that lovely winter wonderland so I feel a little unprepared. Last time I was there it had been 2 and a half months since Jake and I had seen each other, so I basically had the countdown memorized and was practically ticking off the minutes. This time, we only had a few short weeks in between, but I'm definitely more than ready to see him again. 

The only thing that could get me down right now is packing. I'm not the greatest at it. I think too hard.

This chaos is my bedroom and my suitcase. I think I just need to throw in the last few things and call it a night. 

I'm so excited for this lovely week long vacay with friends and boyfriends.

Muppets and Brunch

Merry Christmas to all who may read this today. The fam did the usual traditions of brunch, present opening, and the Muppets Christmas Carol. Sadly, it seems that only us sisters really like that movie, and we got overruled half way through the movie and it switched to Toy Story 3. My nephews were so cute opening their presents. Landon opened each present with skill, tenacity, and a hunger to own all of the cool games out there for his new Nintendo DS. Evan was a slow opener, easily distracted, but still did a few victory dances when he got something he was really looking forward to. Colton was oblivious, and ended up playing with a plastic cup and whatever his older cousins let lay on the floor for longer than a minute. I had fun writing up clues last night so that the little ones had to go on a scavenger hunt to find their gifts. All in all it was a lovely day and I'm so thankful for my family.

 Bing Crosby CD, Valley of Vision book, Pilates kit :) Quite the assortment!

But, if I leave it just at that, this is a pretty dissatisfying holiday. It's amazing how everything we pack into this "Holiday Season" seems to drown out any extra time or energy we could put towards the real meaning of this time. The weeks leading up to Christmas are called advent because it is meant to be a greatly anticipated arrival or coming. No, not the arrival of time off, good food, presents, or even time with family. We're meant to ponder, ruminate, meditate (whichever word you want to use) on the incredible thing that happened in history some 2,000 years ago. Not just the quaint story of a manger and shepherds and angels, but of the unbelievable grace and mercy God showed us in the humility of becoming like the creatures He formed. His coming is what set me free! His coming is what brings me hope! His coming makes me look to His return! This is way more than cookies, Home Alone 2, and decorations. This is the long awaited Messiah, the desire of the nations, the Savior of the World. This day doesn't feel so empty when I remember this. I'm grateful for what I have and I love to enjoy sweet memories with family, but I try to steer clear of allowing indulgence and comfort to cloud the stunning reality of Christmas.

Food for thought

Brief and somewhat random update, I'm thinking about making some drastic changes to my eating habits. The thought has crossed my mind quite a few times over the past couple of years, but after watching a Dr. Oz episode on obesogens (terrible sounding word right??) I feel even more desperate to take the plunge. Dairy products and I just don't get a long. We've had a rocky relationship, and for some reason I keep ignoring the abuse I receive and run back to all of that lovely lactose with open arms (and mouth). It's bad. I feel terrible after I eat just about anything dairy. I have little lactose pills I can take with my first bite, but I too often forget to take one or don't have any on hand. And that's not all, meat and I are barely even acquaintances anymore. We've drifted apart over time, and now that I know all of the terrible little secrets that lie inside of these packaged and processed beasts, I think it's time to call it quits. Wow. Am I really saying what I think I'm saying?!! That would be a major change in my diet, but I feel like my tummy would be thankful for it. Anyways, that's something I'm chewing on right now (har har).

In exactly one week I will be in Minnesota again for yet another wedding. I must say that my Austria team wasted no time in getting hitched and hooked up once we touched down in the homeland. I'm looking forward to spending New Years with lots of loved ones and getting to spend some much needed quality time with Jake and his family. After I come back, Jake and I will be starting our separate internships meaning that we will only converse through written mail for about 3 months! It's going to be challenging, but we're so excited to see what God has in store for us.

Merry Cliffmas!

I know I know... I'm a baseball dork. But seriously, the thought of the Phillies being really awesome another year due to their new arrival of Cliff Lee is extremely exciting.

4 aces with lovely faces

Take me out to the ball game....!!

The Christmas Story

If this doesn't get you a little excited for Christmas, I don't know what will.


Please enjoy this video my Jacob sent me :)

Goin' to Minnesota in my mind

I visited Minnesota for 5 days to see some friends get married, visit my boyfriend, and reconnect with other wonderful people. It was really cold, but definitely worth it. Jake and I did all sorts of fun things like bowling, ice skating, sushi eating, and going to the Holidazzle parade. I was able to see most of my Austria team and we spent a lot of time reminiscing and laughing about all of the adventures we journeyed through together. I didn't take near enough pictures, so I'll have to make sure to take a lot more next time.