The Holidays have been a little different for us the last couple of years since moving 1500 miles from our families. Last year we spent Thanksgiving alone and had steak. Talk about a quiet Holiday. We were lucky enough to be able to go to OK this year for Thanksgiving, but working for a church…Christmas is never a good time for us to get away. 

My parents will taking the trip out to Cali again this year for Christmas, and B’s parents will be here the week after Christmas.  I’m so thankful for parents who care enough to make the trip out to spend Christmas with us! Although I’m sure this Christmas will be consumed with planning for Baby Girl & setting up her nursery…I’m fine with that! I am looking forward to next year and all it will bring with a little one crawling around trying to pull down the Christmas tree and being more excited about the boxes her gifts come in than her actual gifts.

The mother-in-law blogged about Christmas Traditions and wanting to start some new ones with a new generation coming. I agree!  I loved Christmas as a kid (and still do!) and always looked forward to the fun traditions with my family. I want Christmas to be a wonderful time for our kids, and start some traditions that we can pass on to our kiddos.

What are some traditions that you and your family do?

What are some things your grandparents did/do for you, or you do for your grandkids?

Welp it’s officially been a year. We love this state.

LOVE IT.

Can’t beat the beautiful weather, the beaches, the yummy frozen yogurt on every corner.  Our dog, Jack Bauer James, loves it too. His allergies cleared up when we arrived in CA.

After Brook and I got married we fell into the statistic of people who gain weight after marriage.  Yikes.  When I look back at pictures of us from when we left Texas, I cringe just a bit.  But once we arrived, we decided to jump into the healthy California lifestyle.  Brook dropped around 35 pounds, and I lost 15! Of course then I got pregnant and have gained all that back! 

  
 FAT  (Nov. ’08)                          SKINNY (June ’09)

So thank you California for helping us get healthy again. My husband is SEXY!!!!!!

 A year ago today we said goodbye to our first home at 9200 Nightingale Drive.  It was hard to say goodbye to our home that we started out in, but we looked forward to what God had ahead for us in our move to California.

We were never big fans of Texas, but we loved our church and our friends. Not a day goes by that we don’t think of Todd & Wendy and wish they still lived down the street from us! Especially now that we both preggers!

I can’t believe how fast this year has flown by and all that has happened and God has blessed us with.  We pulled out of Texas the morning of November 17, 2008 not knowing what was ahead.  Now I look back and am amazed at how the blessings poured out over the past year.  It hasn’t always been easy, but we have been following the path God has laid out for us and it’s been the best thing for us!

Biggest blessing of all…losing all that weight! Yikes we are HUGE in these pictures!

Cheers to a year in California! Many more to come??

5 things I’m thankful for this year:

1. My amazing husband! I absolutely love being married to him! I can’t imagine it being any better than this!

2. Our awesome dog, Jack Bauer.  What a cool pup.

3. My wonderful family and inlaws. How blessed I am to have such great people that love us so much!

4a. Sunsets on the beach.  And the fact that we get to see them everyday!

4b. Palm trees.  And the fact that we get to see them everyday!

5. Knowing that God is in control of our futures and that He is taking care of us right now!

Brook and I had a great Thanksgiving together.  Being out in Cali and not getting to spend it with our families was a little weird, but we enjoyed the day together and made some yummy steaks and all our favorites! Can’t beat that.  Well, actually my dad’s dressing would beat that. Maybe next year!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

So we leave for California in 6 days! WOW! We have been packing up the house and fulfilling the demands of our buyer.  Lots to do but it’s going quickly so that’s a relief! We are so excited to have our families come visit us this weekend and celebrate an early Thanksgiving.  It’s still a little crazy thinking how a week from today we’ll be in California!

We have a complete peace about this move, and although I know it is what God has for us, its still hard to walk into something with blind faith.  I was reading in Acts 22, the story of where God blinded Saul.  Saul asked what he was to do, and God told him to “Go and once he was there He would tell him what He had for him.” It was not the path that Saul had planned for himself, but what God had for him was better.

I feel like God is telling us to go, and will reveal it to us when we are there.  Whether that is a great job, or just a fresh start.  Maybe it will be a great experience for us, and a great time for our marriage.  It might be more hard times, and only another step in the road that we are supposed to take.  Whatever it may be though, I’m excited and grateful for the blessings He’s given us to allow us this opportunity.

Please keep praying for us that all goes smoothly in the next few days as we continue to pack and prepare to leave!!