Our Valentine Christmas

Merry Christmas! We certainly have felt loved this holiday season. And we have enjoyed many fun and festive activities. We went ice skating with friends, picked out a Christmas tree at Mr. Wizard's frozen custard (see below), went to a Mannheim Steamroller concert at the fabulous Fox Theater, made gingerbread houses with the Gertsches and the Newmans (see below), attended a holiday party at the cozy Biehl home, shot some holiday breeze with Adam, Brain, Laurel, Ben and Liza around the Allen's fake tree with real pinecones, and trimmed our home with evergreen and poinsetta (my sister, Laurel, says we are the winners because we weren't too lazy to decorate this year...implying...). I also enjoyed a lovely evening with girlfriends while Mark was interviewing at UCSD. Some of my new girlfriends came over and we had holiday treats and watched "Meet Me in St. Louis." Being locals, we all had an especial appreciation for the beginning of the trolley scene when they take the "Skinker" sign off the trolley. And a special thanks to the enrichment leaders in the Lindell ward for the holiday enrichment activity. I learned how to make the big red bow in the center of my evergreen and poinsetta garland (see below). THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has helped make our St. Louis Christmas so wonderful. The very best part has been the love and the friendships. I can't believe how lonely I was just a couple months ago. The last month has been a very, very happy one for me and it is because of everyone who has made Mark and I feel loved and appreciated. I hope you enjoy the following visual snippets of our fantastic holiday festivities:

Here you see a couple pictures I took for our Christmas cards (sorry if you didn't get one this year...I was forced to stick to a family only policy because of all of the fun I've been having and my compulsive need to design my own cards). I'm sure I looked silly to all the passersby on Wydown, running to and from my tripod in short sleeves in the freezing cold.



And here you can see some of our festive trimmings. Notice the Mexican nativity (I love it!), the bow I made at enrichment, and our lovely Christmas tree in three different lighting scenarios.





Gingerbread houses! We had so much fun. (I stole the pictures from Chelsea and Kevin's blog.) Pictured first are Jillian, Chelsea, and Kevin Gertsch. Then Blake and Marie Newman. And finally, US!




Since we are leaving for Colorado and Columbus, on Friday the 19th at 5 pm (YAY!!!), we decided to open our presents to each other on Monday. (Family Home Evening!) Laurel is staying with us this week, so she enjoyed the festivities with us and took some much appreciated documentary photographs. First you see Mark, fake-grumpy because he had to wait for me to do all kinds of chores before I was "ready." Then you see our before picture. And then, the after picture. If you look closely you will see that I got "Dance, Dance, Revolution Universe 3!" FUN! If you like to dance-dance, you should let me know and I will arrange a dance-dancing party. Don't worry, we aren't very good.




And finally...drumroll please...the highlight of our first 2008 Christmas post...

...We've elfed ourselves!! Thanks to jET for the idea. And thanks to OfficeMax and Jib Jab for making it all possible. Seriously, this is hilarious, so if you have trouble loading the video, be persistent.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
p.s. We can't wait to see you fam 1 and fam 2!

We're famousish!!

...or maybe just pretty. But pretty is something, yes? Check out our wedding photographer's website: www.jrgeoffrion.com

You will see us in the intro, and then, on his main page, we are the main image. Also, if you scroll over "Information"-"Contact Form" you will see us again. Really, though, the American Gothic idea was a stroke of genius which, since JR is a genius, is unsurprising. Go there (www.jrgeoffrion.com) and you will see.

Photography

Here is some proof that I still use my camera:

Thanksgiving!!

Mark and I met my parents and Meara and Lucien in Keokuk for Thanksgiving. Mark was awesome and made a big festive dinner. He even made some gluten free dishes to accommodate our guests. Below are some pictures from our Thanksgiving weekend:



Mark wearing my sunglasses 'cause he forgot his. Nice, huh?



And, as always, the river...



...was beautiful; so...



...eat your heart out, Jessie!!!



On the way (ok not really "on the way"), but as we were leaving town, we went to Rutledge, Missouri, to shop at the Mennonite dry goods store there. It is awesome!! We love it. That cart full of goodies was part of my birthday celebration.



When we got home we did a "holiday puzzle." For me, anytime is a good time to do a puzzle. For Mark, the holidays are a particularly good time to do a puzzle. So, in keeping with his, and to begin our new tradition, we did a "holiday puzzle." (Note: this specific puzzle is also considered a "holiday puzzle" because Mark gave it to me for Christmas last year, and, as we all know, Christmas is a holiday.)



On Sunday morning, we woke up to our first SNOW!!! We had a few flurries earlier, but this was the first time that flakes of snow collected themselves on flat surfaces and remained there for long enough to take a picture. What you see above is the view from our kitchen window...lovely.



AND...since I am the coolest wife EVER, Mark got a pre-Christmas present! And XBOX 360 elite!!!...yea!!!! All in all, it was a pretty great Thanksgiving break. Thanks to Mom, Dad, Meara, Lucien, Joan and Co., the xbox, snow, the "holiday puzzle," Rutledge Dry Goods, the kitchen window, my sunglasses, and the mighty Mississippi (whew...) for making it all happen.

Family Home Evening

First, the confession. Mark and I, although we by default spend Monday evenings together, think ourselves in awkward circumstances for the whole FHE package, i.e. song, prayer, lesson, activity, treat, prayer. But, the last few Mondays have looked a bit more like traditional FHEs, and so we share...

Two weeks ago, a couple in the ward invited us and some others to go ice skating in Forest Park and then to enjoy games and hot chocolate at their apartment. There wasn't a lesson or prayer, but when we received the invite, it was to a "combined FHE." It was nice to have people think of us for a gathering of that sort. We just might be making friends. Wish us luck.

Last week, Mark needed to deliver turkeys to some families in the ward. So, he invited me along and we made an FHE out of it. Again, there wasn't a lesson or prayer, but we did find ourselves at the Bishop's house, which makes it an official Monday-night church activity, which (by default) makes it FHE. Right? Do you follow my logic? Anyway, it was nice to get out and serve people. We heartily recommend it.

This week, Mark and I went to Mr. Wizard's frozen custard and bought...a Christmas tree!! You thought I was going to say frozen custard. You were wrong. No frozen custard for us. We have $50 riding on Mark's ability to attain and maintain a certain physique and it's almost time to pay the piper. But we weren't even distracted by the custard. We were way too excited about our Christmas tree! (...stay tuned for pictures of our tree...TRIMMED!)

Below are some pictures from ice skating:




(From left: Mark and Careen, Amy and Elliott, Danelle and Adam)