Christmas at our house!

This Christmas instead of heading down to my parents house to be with my sisters and their husbands, they came to us! Although we missed a few favorite traditions, Tim and I were able to start some of our own, for the very first time. Here are a few pics of the blessed event:

We didn't really have time to go to the tree farm and cut down our own, one of my favorite traditions. So instead we had to settle for an already cut tree, it was from Montana or Wyoming or one of those really cold places where perfect Christmas trees grow. We bought the tree 5hrs before the family made it to our house, 5 days before Christmas, which meant the tree was 50% off; they were practically begging us to buy it. I think we discovered a new Christmas tradition! Figure we'll keep it up until it dies just so the tree can fulfill it's Christmas destiny; maybe we'll make it into a Valentine's day tree or even an Easter tree, we'll see how long it lasts.

The turkey was a daunting task, Tim nor I had ever cooked an animal this large, and we were not quite sure what we where to begin. But as not to appear incompetent or nervous, thus frightening those who would partake of this delicious beast of a creature, we decided to fill the turkey with as many things as possible...carrots, celery, potatoes, pineapples, apples... really any fruit or vegetable we could get our hands on, and then to top it off we soaked it in butter =). It was Tim's first turkey...and it was the best turkey i've ever tasted!!

Our family feasting!

Everyone together for Christmas Eve...I was taking the pic!

Christmas could never be complete without our annual reading of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! (It's Ryan's favorite tradition!)

And Of Course No Christmas is complete without some fun, competitive games!

Finally, Christmas wouldn't be the same without attending our traditional Christmas Eve Service. Although this year, the service was especially important to me as I was honored to lead in the reading of the Christmas story and serve communion to a group a people I have grown to love and cherish. They have become my second family and this church my second home. FCC San Marcos truly exemplify the meaning of Christian generosity and hospitality.


So from our family to yours, we hope you had a very Merry Christmas, and a New Year filled with all the best hopes and dreams that life can offer!

Blessings and Peace

A glimpse of 2008...

A glimpse of 2008...

Hello Family and Friends, this is completely new for me, but I figured it's high time we joined the blogger world! 2008 has been a remarkable year for Tim and I; full of new friends, new destinations, and lots of exciting changes! We've spent the last two and a half years here in San Antonio, TX, and of course since Texas is my home state (mini-country) I've been in-love! Tim is finishing his doctorate in Physical Therapy, and will graduate in March '09. He has really enjoyed the program, the professors, of course the students, and he's learning to endure his internship =). I just graduated with my Master's of Divinity; three very long years in coming, but I already miss the insightful wisdom from my teachers and friends.

God has blessed us in so many ways, and each new day seems to be filled with new miracles and new opportunities to invest our lives in the people we encounter along the journey. What a joy it has been to serve as the associate minister at First Christian Church in San Marcos for the past seven months. We have met some life-long friends that I hope we'll continue to see years down the road.

Our time here in Texas is slowly coming to an end, and the moments I get to spend with my family are becoming more precious and important than ever. Luckily, our new destination helps to ease the sting of leaving behind my family and homeland, because in three short months we will be moving to Hawaii!!

From the moment I met Tim, our life together has always been an adventure, a journey, something new and exciting. I think maybe God always intended our lives to be that way, always surprising us with the new and unexpected, even if the new seems bad at times (or really is bad) something unexpected always seems to blossom out of it...well, at least that's been my experience.

So here's to our life, some days it's a walk in the park, others it's a trial to make it through, but it's our life and I wouldn't trade it for the world.