The Holidays, The Weddings, and the Recovery Process

Well, here we are in the midst of the holidays! Christmas, New Years Eve, and tomorrow, New Years Day:) Christmas was great:) We spent Christmas morning with Kyle's parents, and Christmas evening with my parents, brother, uncle and grandpa. It was a neat new way to spend Christmas, and we enjoyed the time with family. The day after Christmas, more family began to arrive in town. It was nice to have some extended family around, as it's rare that we get to see many relatives at once:) On the down side, I spent the day after Christmas sick in bed:( It was a one day thing, but it sure was a lousy way to top off Christmas, haha. Kyle spent that day having a LAN party (or nerd party, as I call it;). He had a lot of fun with that:) And no, he didn't neglect his sick wife all day;) He came up to check on me pretty regularly and brought me water and snacks and such:) He probably looked pretty whipped, to the guys, but he doesn't mind;)
Anyway, as if the holidays aren't normally crazy enough, we decided to throw a couple of weddings into the mix. Our friends Mike and Erica got married December 27th. I was a bridesmaid in their wedding, and Kyle came to enjoy the festivities and support his "frat brother" in their special day:) It was a beautiful wedding, and Erica looked absolutely gorgeous, as always:)
The following day, December 28th, was Kyle's and my rehearsal and rehearsal dinner for our wedding (which Erica was also in - yes, we're a bit crazy, lol). The rehearsal began fairly smoothly, with Pastor Jan guiding us through the order of events, as Rachel, our wedding coordinator, helped us all find our places. The rehearsal didn't exactly go smoothly from beginning to end though. In fact, it became quite an adventure. Rachel is 6 months pregnant. About halfway through the rehearsal, she was suddenly in a horrible amount of pain! She's one tough lady, so that's saying something! Anyone who has been pregnant, or is old enough to have witnessed pregnancies up close, knows that sudden, extreme pain during pregnancy is a scary thing! As she lay down on the chairs in the sanctuary, the guys called her husband, while the women tried to figure out what exactly may be causing the pain. When she rated labor as a 10 and this pain as a 9 on the pain scale, we decided it was time to call the hospital. As we waited for an ambulance, Pastor Jan prayed for her. By the time the ambulance got there, the pain had suddenly stopped, but so had the baby's movement. There was a scary few minutes before she started kicking again, much to our relief. When the paramedics arrived, they took Rachel to the hospital where her husband met her and they made sure that everything was okay. Rachel and the baby are both fine, praise God, and are getting some rest for now. They say every wedding has an interesting story - I suppose that one's ours!
The 29th, the big wedding day, was pretty crazy. By this point we knew that Rachel was okay, but would not be making it to the wedding. Eryn and I got to the church at 8:00 in the morning, to begin decorating. Pastor Tim got there at 8:00 sharp to let us in and help us set up the tables for the reception (Thanks Tim!!). We immediately got to work. Soon my mom showed up and began ironing the folds out of table cloths while Eryn and I started breaking out the decorations. It felt like we were working all day, but within a couple of hours, almost everything was done. Around 10:00am, we started getting ready. Sharon did my hair (Thanks Sharon!) and soon all the bridesmaids (Eryn, Erica, Sharon and Cheryl) and I were ready for pictures. The photographers showed up and we began our formal shots. The photographers were great, and were a lot of fun to work with:) I trust they got a lot of great pictures, which I'll be really excited to see:)
The wedding ceremony went smoothly, though we did get a couple of laughs at little-seen accidents, like me spilling the unity candle wax on my hand (ouch!!), and Eryn's heel getting stuck in my train, haha, but it really went great:) The reception was small but fun:) We had catering from Camille's Cafe, my mom's yummy punch, and of course wedding cake:) We also had some super cute wedding favors - gingerbread bride and groom cookies, made by my wonderful friend Kathy!:) (If you need cookies for parties or something, she is one super baker!)
After it was all over, we were all completely exhausted. I don't think I got a chance to stop for a minute all day! I didn't even want to think about cleaning up! I changed out of my dress, and trudged back into the fellowship hall to see where I should start with tearing things down. There in the fellowship hall was the whole Clark family (some of our guests!) cleaning like crazy! I ended up not even having to lift a finger! I honestly don't know what the church would do without the Clarks. It seems like they are the servants of the church, working and serving wherever they're needed:) Thank you Clarks!!
After the wedding, Kyle's family had a re-reception (lol) at their place. It was a neat little gathering, and I finally got to meet and talk to a lot of his extended family:) We got to laugh and smile through close to a dozen toasts and stories:) After the re-reception, all the 'youngsters' went to Chili's for drinks and appetizers (yes, we had designated drivers even though none of us drank more than one drink). It was a fun evening:)
It was all a ton of fun, but I think it will take me a few days to recuperate from it all! lol. I'm glad we went through with the big wedding, and I can't wait to get the pictures from our photographers!:) That's about all the news we have, though I'm sure I've left out something. The holidays and weddings have all been so crazy that I can't possibly remember it all! But we do have a lot of memories anyway:) Thanks to everyone who contributed to our holidays and our wedding!!!

It's been awhile...

It's been awhile since I last blogged, so I thought it was about time. Kyle finished up the fall quarter at school last week and passed his classes with flying colors:) To celebrate the end of the quarter (and to get me to quit nagging for a date perhaps) we went out to Chomps, a sushi place in Fullerton, and got way more food than we could eat! We ended up with about 6 pounds of leftovers, haha, but they didn't last long;) They served as a yummy lunch later!;) After our date night we drove to Lancaster and spent the weekend with my parents:) It was fun:) We helped them decorate their Christmas tree, and eat some of the goodies my mom made (which was a ton!):) It was a busy weekend, as all the last minute wedding details are coming together, but it was fun:) This week is our last week of work until 2008!! Kyle got nearly full-time hours at The Coffee Bean, as many of the student employees went home as soon as school got out for the holidays. So he's been working nearly full time this week. I've been working, as well as working on a sort of project we've started: assisting my memory! I have always been a bit easily distracted, but lately I've been down right absent minded! So this past weekend I bought a "brain" as I call it - it's really just a planner/organizer, but I've been carrying it everywhere with me and writing everything down! When I think of something I need to do, I write it down on the to-do list for the day that I should do it. When I'm given a phone number, it goes in the address book. When I make a purchase, the receipts go in there (it also serves as a wallet). And every day I've got it with me so that my to-do lists are never far. So far it has worked pretty well! My favorite part about it though is that the front cover is a picture frame, so I can carry Kyle's picture with me everywhere;) It's really handy, having my calendar, to-do lists, note pad, address book, check book, bank cards, credit cards, IDs, insurance cards, etc all in one place. The thing now is, I gotta keep track of this thing! lol. Hopefully my absent-mindedness won't result in (literally) losing my brain!;) Anyway...I do still have a couple more things on my to-do list for today, so I ought to do them;)

Date Night!!!

Tonight is Date Night for me and Kyle! I can't wait :-D

Fable:)

Kyle and I have started gaming together:) We've been playing a computer game called "Fable". It's a neat game!:) You begin the game as a boy, faced with a dillema: You have no money, and need to get your sister a birthday present. From this point on, pretty much everything you do is a moral decision. Your dad offers you the opportunity to earn money for a present by doing good deeds around the village. Of course, you could skip the good deeds and go steal a present. Either way, that evening, bandits attack your village, killing most of the towns people, and kidnapping your sister. Soon after, you meet a man who takes you to "the Hero's Guild" where you are taught how to fight. Once you graduate from training, you are sent out into the world of Albion. It is up to you whether the life you then lead is one of good or evil. Each quest you take increases your skills. Each decision you make shapes your character. Each action you take changes your reputation, and as you grow up, your fame grows as well. Ultimately, your goal may be good or evil: find your sister, or seek revenge. Your character changes in ability and appearance, depending on your experiences, your choices, and how you develop your skills. Even your appearance begins to match your moral character as you make your way through Albion, growing from a boy into a man - some kind of man...it's up to the gamer;)
Anyway...it's a lot of fun, and Kyle and I have enjoyed playing it together:) He does the actual playing, but I watch and help a little bit...it's a lot of fun, and is apparently one of his interests that he never expected his wife to get into, or even halfway understand, haha. The few guyfriends of mine who have found out that I play computer games with Kyle say, "That's so cool! Man, most girls think gaming is dumb or something!" Honestly, for me it depends on the game. I like killing monsters. I don't like war games. I like games where you "grow up" within the game. I like quests, fantasy settings, swords, cool outfits that resemble renaissance attire, etc...I doubt Kyle could get me to play 'Call of Duty' with him. But given the right game, I can have fun with it:) And so far we've had a lot of fun with Fable:) And, yes...we're going to be a good guy;)

A Christmasy Survey:)

1. How many Christmases have you celebrated?
20:) This year will be my 21st Christmas:)

2. How many different places have you spent Christmas at?
Well my first few Christmases were spent at the old house, and all the ones since then were spent at my parents' house. This year, I'm not really sure where Christmas will be spent!

3. When does "Christmas" start?
the day after Thanksgiving! (I used to say the day after Halloween, haha, but I've managed to push it back a little ways, so as to focus on one holiday at a time;)

4. When does "Christmas" end?
New Years Eve, cause then we're celebrating New Years! lol

5. Ever had a white Christmas?
Not that I know of :(

6. Ever NOT had a white Christmas?
Yep, all of 'em that I remember :-/

7. Has it ever been really warm on Christmas?
Yeah, one year I got a new sweater, and a new bike...I insisted on wearing my new sweater while I tried out my new bike, and ended up soaked in sweat :-p Pretty lame Christmas weather! lol

8. What's the coldest it's been on Christmas in your town?
Well, in the town I spent all my Christmases in? It may have gotten down to like 15-20*F. In the town I'm living in now, it might have gotten down to 40*F but I highly doubt it.

9. Do you remember specific Christmas presents from past years?
not many of them, but a few...like that sweater and bike, lol. That was when I was like...10 yrs old. And I remember that Kyle gave me a promise ring last Christmas:) It's crazy for me to think, last year he gave me a promise ring, saying we would get engaged/married one day, and this Christmas, the very next one, we'll already have been married for 6 months!

10. Is there anything specific that gets you in the Christmas spirit?
Christmas music, hot cocoa, seeing houses all decorated up with Christmas lights, the smell of Christmas trees, the smell/taste of peppermint, seeing the church all decked out with Christmas decorations, seeing all the Christmas ornaments and lights and such that the stores all bust out......etc:)

11. Do you like hot cocoa?
oh yes!

12. Do you like egg-nog?
eh, not so much

13. Do you like candy canes?
I like to use them to stir my hot cocoa so they give it a minty flavor! But I don't like eating them.

14. What are your favorite Christmas colors?
I like all of them in the right combinations:) Red and green and gold look really elegant together:) Red and green and silver look really happy together:) White, ice blue, silver and navy blue look nice and cold! *shivers*:) Silver, white and glitter look nice and snowy:) Green, maroon and brown look like a Christmasy mountain cabin:) and I love them all!!!

15. What is your favorite thing to find in your stocking?
Hair clips! lol. I go through those things so fast, so Santa has to bring me lots of those;) And they make good stocking stuffers:)

16. Do you like playing in the snow?
Actually, I really prefer walking in it:) Snow is really romantic:) I prefer to leave it as untouched as possible, while still getting out and enjoying it:) So a nice walk in the snow is perfect:) All you leave is footprints, and I think it's so cute to see two pairs of footprints in the snow!:-D hehe

17. What is your favorite Christmas candy?
Ooh, gosh...I would have to say mint chocolate truffles:)

18. What do you think is the best gift you've ever given someone?
I knit Kyle a blanket last year:) It isn't the most perfect blanket, but it is special anyway, and he loves it:)

19. How do you wrap presents (bags? boxes? bows? quick jobs? fancy jobs?)??
I carefully select the prettiest wrapping paper I can find that seems to suit the recipient's personality (yes, I buy a lot of different kinds of very expensive wrapping paper :-.. lol but I love it). Then I find some 3" wide, wired ribbon that goes well with the wrapping paper. I take the present and wrapping stuff home. I hand make a to-from tag to match the wrapping paper and ribbon. I wrap the present as neatly as I can. Then I make a big bow out of the ribbon, wrap a piece of ribbon around the present, and put the bow on top, with the to-from tag sticking out from underneath the bow. *sigh* Yes, I am extremely obsessed with wrapping...believe it or not, I'm not that picky about presentation. I'll throw the present to the person if they're not right next to me. But it has to be PRETTY, lol

20. Do you send out Christmas cards?
I'm not sure if we're going to get to this year, but I do hope to. It's getting pretty close though, and I would hate for people to get them late...

21. Do you write a Christmas letter, to update your friends and relatives about the past year?
My family always did, and I plan to continue that, but like I said, I'm not sure if we'll get to this year. This holiday season is going to be one big heck of a mess...and enjoyable mess, but...if I live through it, I will feel invincible for the rest of my life.

22. Do you bake goodies around Christmas time? What kind?
Oh yes! Pumpkin pie, sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, rice crispy treats, fudge...THE WORKS!!!

23. Do you gain weight around the holidays?
I never did in years past, but I think my metabolism may be slowing down to what is about normal for adults...so I probably will this year....okay, so I already have a LITTLE bit

24. Do you make a new years resolution to burn it off?
lol, no

25. Have you ever gone sledding?
yep!

26. Have you ever been injured in a snowball fight?
not seriously, but enough to make my cry and kick my brother

27. What goes on top of your Christmas tree?
a star shaped cookie cutter with white and gold pipe cleaners wrapped around it, haha

28. Do you use a tree skirt?
Sort of...my big red blanket is our tree skirt this year, lol. And it actually looks pretty, except that I keep wanting to crawl under the tree and sleep, lol. That blanket is so comfy! (lol, thanks Josh)

29. What is the most expensive present you've given someone?
Uhm...I helped Ryan buy a really nice guitar...

30. What is the most personal gift you've given someone?
probably the blanket I knit for Kyle...I spent a lot of time on that.

31. What is the most personal gift you've ever received for Christmas?
definitely the promise ring Kyle gave me last year...mainly the promise that went along with it, but...also, he put a lot of thought into picking it out...well...he asked Eryn a hundred times if I would like it, lol.

32. What type of Christmas tree does your family usually get?
well, all growing up I think we got Douglas Firs, but of course this year is different, lol...me and Kyle got a hand-me-down fake tree from Tim and Sharon! hehe:-D

33. When you were little, what time would you wake up Christmas morning?
usually around 4:30 or 5:00am34. Now what time do you wake up on Christmas morning?I don't know, 8:00 or so?

35. Do you open presents or stockings first?
My brother and I always got to open our stockings while we waited for my parents to get up. Then once everyone was awake and Dad had his coffee ready, lol, we'd all open presents:)

36. What does your stocking look like?
My mommy cross-stitched it:) It's cute:)

37. When you were little, did you fall asleep halfway through Christmas after being so excited all morning?
haha yeah

38. Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe?
No :(

39. Did your parents ever take to to sit on Santa's lap for pictures and to tell him what you wanted for Christmas?
yes and I screamed bloody murder instead lol

40. Are there any Christmas songs that you really don't like?
yeah, "We Wish You A Merry Christmas," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," "Jingle Bells," and..."Away in a Manger" is pretty annoying to me but I'm not sure why

41. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Carol of the Bells, Emmanuel, and this instrumental medley of Carol of the Bells and Silver Bells...by far the best instrumental music I have ever heard.

42. What are some Christmas traditions you want to carry on to do with your spouse and kids?
Christmas Eve service at church, Christmas tree shopping, decorating the tree together, driving around town to look at peoples' Christmas lights, making Christmas goodies together....

43. Do you get your shopping done early, or wait till the last minute?
Neither really, I do a little here and a little there...

44. If you could have ANYTHING for Christmas this year, no matter the costs (short term and long term costs included) what would you want?
A house somewhere near a good school that needs a high school algebra and geometry teacher, in a green, spacious part of the country

45. Do you know what you will want NEXT Christmas?
haha, yes, I think at that point I'll be wanting to start trying for Baby #1, lol. But we'll see. Maybe we'll wait a bit longer than that...

46. Have you ever been to a Christmas party?
No, but the office Christmas party is this thursday and I MIGHT go...

47. Have you ever thrown a Christmas party?
No

48. Have you ever been in a Christmas play/program?
Yep, at least a dozen!

49. Do you know the story behind the candy cane?
I've heard lots of stories...no clue which one's true, and don't really care, lol

50. Why do you celebrate Christmas?
Honestly?...because it just sort of happens...

51. What is the meaning of Christmas?
*sigh*...it's a gigantic, multi-national birthday party where most of the party guests don't even know whose birthday it is...

52. Do you say, "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays"?
Merry CHRISTmas!

53. What is your favorite Christmas smell?
oh gosh, I don't know...Christmas trees, peppermint, hot cocoa, fires, cinnamon, chocolate, pies, turkey, scotch tape, wrapping paper, dusty Christmas decorations, freshly chopped firewood.....

54. What is your favorite Christmas flavor?
hot cocoa, peppermint, sugar cookies, rice crispy treats...

55. How is this Christmas going to be special?
It's my first Christmas with my wonderful husband!:)

Bye Bye Cozy Sac

Well, Kyle and I recently decided that our big brown bean-bag sofa just wasn't really cutting it, for our little apartment. It took up a lot of space, and as comfy as it was, it hardly got used at all. So yesterday Kyle and I posted an ad on CraigsList, hoping to sell our cozy-sac. We figured we'd try to get $100 for it, since we bought it for about $200. I thought we might have to lower the price before anyone would buy it, but this morning someone had already e-mailed us, asking if it was still available! Wow, lol. Kyle e-mailed her back and said that it was still available, and gave her our phone number in case she wanted to further contact us. Within an hour, she and her husband came by to take a look at it, and it was gone. I didn't realize things could sell that quickly on CraigsList! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, lol. We found our apartment on CraigsList;) Anyway, now we have "a lot" of space in our "living room":) Our Christmas tree now lives by the window, for all to see:) rather than next to the bed, for Kyle to get poked by when he gets out of bed, haha. The down side is, how we are nearly seatless. lol. We have the dining room table, and Kyle's computer desk, but nowhere to kick back, except the bed. But oh it is so nice to have some space:) We're not sure what will go in the "living room" now, but we're keeping our options open. In the mean time I suppose the Christmas tree and the coffee table can get better acquainted, haha.

Christmas Decorating!:)

Last night Kyle and I finally finished decorating our tree!:) We went to Target, got more lights, grabbed a pizza on the way home, and had a tree decorating party (well, as party-like as two people at home can be?). Oh and we enjoyed some hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps while we decorated:) (If you haven't tried that before, do!;) It was a lot of fun:) Our tree isn't exactly homey looking, as we have only store-bought ornaments, but it is still pretty:) Anyway, here are some pictures from our Christmas decorating night(s):) I couldn't get a very good picture of the whole tree, decorated, but...*sigh* oh well...here they are:)

Getting Ready For Christmas

Well, it's that time of year again:) Time to start putting up decorations, fighting through the crowded malls, decorating Christmas trees....and it's our first time doing all this together:) And it's been a bit of an adventure...or maybe a comedy. I guess it's a little bit of both;) It's been an adventure seeing what little quirks, ideas, and traditions we each carry over from our families into our family. And it's been a comedy trying to get all the decorations up - we have no time! But we both love Christmas, so we do a little decorating when we can...this is why our tree is put together, and halfway covered in lights. Maybe by Christmas it will be fully decorated, haha. We're planning to go buy another string of lights tomorrow, and finish decorating the tree. Tonight I'll be putting some lights in our front window:) I also have a mini tree partially decorated, and awaiting some ribbon or garland of some sort, which we'll hopefully be able to get when we get our second string of lights! haha, So we're slowly getting ready for Christmas:) I'll take pictures of everything and hopefully post them this weekend, after our decorations are complete;) I can't wait to see our little apartment all Christmas-ed up! :-D