a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

sounds like somebody needs to sing a christmas carol...

If you haven't seen the movie Elf, you should. There are enough one-liners to get you through the entire Christmas season.

I've looked forward to our first Christmas for a while. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, I'm extremely sentimental. I'm always looking for some sort of memory in the making. And Christmas is pretty much the perfect time to do that. So, Christmas has crept up more quickly than I expected, and all of the Christmas moments I had imagined have been getting choked out by unemployment, a few common colds, and a crazy work schedule. I've been fighting to make - and enjoy - the memories of our first Christmas. This week, I started to sit back and breathe and talk myself into a little relaxation. I love Christmas and I didn't want to lose sight of that. So we've been experiencing a Christmas extravaganza of sorts. The list includes, but is not limited to:

1. Christmas Movie Marathon: Home Alone, Elf, Polar Express
2. Christmas Candle: Sparkling Cinnamon
3. Christmas Pajamas
4. Apple Cider in my reindeer mug
5. Company Holiday Masque Party
   
6. Nanny Johnson's Christmas China
7. Wrapping presents with the Rat Pack
8. Oh Holy Night on the Christmas Piano CD
   

Get the idea?

I've been merry-ing up our Christmas and intend on doing so for the next week. Join in on the fun, okay?

Christmas with the Castrodales

We promised a tour of our Christmasy home, and here it is...

A before shot: inspecting the Christmas trees...

Our first REAL Christmas tree - full of ornaments from each of our childhoods. And a few new ones that we gave to each other in honor of our first Christmas.


This is what my sweet husband does when he doesn't have a job. After we made our stockings, he wanted to sew yarn on everything in sight...

I think this picture is crooked because I was focusing on the stockings...which are crooked. Oops.



Merry Christmas!

In other news, you remember that Andrew got laid off a little over a month ago, right? He really hasn't had any leads at all, until this week when he got TWO interviews! He's on his way to the second one as we speak. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. It has made this whole situation a lot more bearable. And the Lord is so good to provide for us...again and again and again. Keep your fingers crossed and we'll keep you posted!

giving thanks

I don't even know where to start! Thanksgiving was wonderfully relaxing. We started with a trip to Concord to stay with Andrew's family - complete with parents and a grandmother and aunts and uncles and cousins and Laura - who I all love. Just a lot of eating and laughing. Doesn't get much better than that, does it? Here we are on Thanksgiving day....

And on the day after Thanksgiving, having a late brunch at Waffle House (we all shopped at midnight, so sleeping in was inevitable) From left to right, it's Jeff (Andrew's cousin), Laura (sister), Dixon (cousin), Uncle Patrick, Preston (cousin) and Luke, mid-bite (cousin).

After enjoying our time there, we headed to Youngsville to see my parents and brother. Our delayed Thanksgiving dinner? BBQ Chicken, mac and cheese, potato salad, creamed corn and field peas. Love it!

We settled in back home on Sunday and began the task of dragging Christmas decorations out of the attic. I've been waiting for this since last year when I bought a ton of stuff for 75% off the week after Christmas. And my mother also packed up a box for me, so I was anxious to remember all that I had. I'll wait until I've put the final touches on our house to show you all pictures. We're finishing our homemade stockings and I'd like to put up a wreath so you can get the full effect! Until then, here's a sneak peak...