Part 4 - Back to Texas!

We left Alexandria early on Friday morning in order to get back to Clear Lake before noon. My niece Brittany was leaving Clear Lake to visit her dad in Dallas for Christmas at 2:00pm, so we wanted to get back home as soon as we could in order to have Christmas lunch and open presents together before Brittany and Michelle had to leave. My twin sister Megan flew in from L.A. on Christmas Eve and everyone was very kind to wait until we got back on Friday to open presents, so that we could all open them together.

We had lunch - Schlotszky's sandwiches (a family tradition) and an assortment of chips and delicious dips - and then opened presents. I love opening presents with my family. We have always opened presents the same way for as long as I can remember. A few family members distribute all of the gifts, and then we go around in a circle and each open one gift at a time. This prolongs the gift opening experience, and lets you see everyone's reaction to their gifts. We received (and hopefully gave!) wonderful gifts and both Santa and my family were too generous to us, as always.

After lunch and presents, we had a little bit of time to play with Brittany before she left. Michelle got her a pogo stick for Christmas and boy can that girl pogo. She pogo'd 80 times in a row! I could only get 8 in a row before losing control and jumping off.Me + pogo stick = a bad idea

We also played with Pod, Megan's semi-sweet Chihuaha.

Santa brought Brittany a Wii for Christmas and after she left for Dallas, we took over the Wii. Wii boxing and golf is very addicting. A few rounds of boxing:

Megan, throwing it down

Chad, with fists of fury

Not sure if this is a swing, a pose, or a dance move

I have a hilarious video of my dad boxing, but for his sake, I will not post it here. Although it is pretty impressive...so it may just have to be premiered at some point!

On Saturday, my parents took Chad, Megan and me down through Seabrook and Galveston to see some of the devastation from Hurricane Ike. It was really unbelievable. Some homes on the waterfront in Seabrook fared ok, but some homes were taken down to their studs and some were even taken completely off of their foundations. My parents live about 2 miles from Clear Lake, which feeds directly into Galveston Bay. So when the hurricane hit Galveston, the storm surge roared from the coast into the bay, and subsequently into Clear Lake. Galveston island did not fair so well, as it took a direct hit from Ike.

Here is a building that was on the Seawall and was taken down to its studs in the storm.

We also went down to the Strand, the historic downtown area of Galveston. We went on a nice Saturday afternoon and it was like a ghost town.I kept telling Chad how vibrant the Strand used to be - on a nice Saturday afternoon people would be shoulder to shoulder on the streets visiting the tourist shops, local markets, restaurants, etc. So many of the businesses in Galveston are still closed and that was a strange sight.

On Sunday, we relaxed and had a good lunch at Double Dave's Pizza, visited On the Run to scope out some new running shoes, and went to Borders to look for a 2009 Moleskine planner. Then we went home to get things packed and ready to go to the airport. We had such a great time in Clear Lake and it was hard to leave. It is always hard to leave home.

We left for the airport at 4:30pm, arrived at 5:30pm and flew out at 7:45pm. We landed in Lexington about 11:30pm and I was exhausted. Our good friends Justin and Charis picked us up and delivered us home. It was kind of strange to be back in Kentucky. We were away for 10 days, and it was just long enough to make things feel kind of surreal when we got back - like, is this really my house? kind of surreal. Since we got in so late on Sunday, we weren't able to pick Emma up until Monday morning. I was at the kennel when the doors opened and was jumping for joy to pick up my baby. I brought her home and we gave her her Christmas toys and treats, and then we crashed for a two-hour nap.

The end!

Part 3 - Alexandria, LA cont.

We had a great time in Natchitoches on Monday evening, and then on Tuesday morning, Mrs. Suzy, Payton and I drove to Natchez, Mississippi to pick up Chad's grandmother, Mae. Her husband, Pop, was put into a nursing home about one year ago, so we were glad that we could see her and that she didn't have to spend Christmas in an empty house. On Christmas Eve we did some last minute shopping and went to the Christmas Eve service at Calvary Baptist church, where Chad's dad, Mr. David, is the pastor. It was a beautiful service and it ends each year by each family coming forward to light a candle on a huge candle tree that sits at the front of the sanctuary. Mr. David called us down first and Mae lit the candle for us. It was the first time that she had ever been to the Christmas Eve service at Calvary, so that was neat.

After the service, we drove over to Pineville to drive through Central Louisiana State hospital, an in-patient facility for mental health services. Every year they put out tons and tons of Christmas decorations - all hand-carved and painted by patients. It really is something to see! Unfortunately, I didn't bring the camera so I don't have any pictures. Chad's parents have been taking them to see these decorations since they were little kids, so it was neat to get to drive through and see them with Chad and his family.

I didn't sleep very well while we were out of town. I had these strange bouts of insomnia each night where I would wake up about 2:00am and then fall back to sleep around 5:00am. I think it was because I didn't have my little Emma to snuggle with - she's my usual sleeping pill! So on Christmas Eve, Mrs. Suzy gave me a sleeping pill and I was out like a light from 10:00pm - 7:00am. Things were a little fuzzy the next morning, but it was nice to get a solid night's sleep!

I love spending time with Chad's family. I love everyone in his family dearly and we always have such a great time when we are in Alexandria. But on Christmas day I felt really torn - I loved being with Chad's family and didn't want to leave them, but I also wanted to be with my family. But I knew that we would be driving to Clear Lake the next day, so that made things easier. Since we have been married, we have alternated back and forth as to which family we are with on Christmas day. Luckily, we have been able to go home for long enough stretches of time in late December/early January to where we are able to see both families. This is one of the reasons I am looking forward to moving back down south after seminary, so that we can see our immediate families more often, and also see our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins more often as well.

A few pictures from Christmas day:Miles, Payton and Jay's 3-year-old German Shepard, gets
in the Christmas spirit with a red bow.

Dana, the Brooks' family dog, also in the Christmas spirit.

Mr. David, looking good in his new leather Harley jacket. He got a Harley Sportster
a little over a year ago, and now he is obsessed with all things Harley...

...so when Chad and I found this little leather Harley Davidson cap for dogs at
Petsmart, we knew it would make a perfect gift for Dana!

Now, back to Houston for part 4!

Part 2 - Alexandria, LA

After spending a couple of days with my family, we headed 4 hours east to spend Christmas with Chad's family in central Louisiana. Santa came a little early and brought me a gift certificate to Run Wild, a great local running and triathlon store in Alexandria. I lucked out and found some great deals on triathlon gear. I was able to get a Sugoi tri top and shorts for only $20 each - now that's a bargain. Granted, the shirt says "Groovy Girls Tri" all over it, but for that price I didn't really care what it said. I also got a swim cap and goggles and some cushioned Asics socks.

On Monday evening, we headed 45 minutes north to Natchitoches (pronounced Nack-uh-desh), LA. This is a really cute town - its big claim to fame is that Steel Magnolias was filmed here. Every Christmas season, they have a "lights festival." The town decorates the entire downtown area and all along the riverfront. Each Saturday in December they have a big fireworks show at the riverfront and boy is it crowded. People come from all over the state to the see the Natchitoches lights. We go there every year with Chad's family and I love it! Since we went on a Monday this year it wasn't very crowded at all. Chad's sister Payton and her husband Jay drove down from Shreveport to meet us for dinner and a stroll along the riverfront.

This picture doesn't really do the town any justice, but it is a picture of a decorated bridge. Each support piece of the bridge was also decorated and the lights were synchronized to music.

Chad's mom and dad, enjoying a funnel cake and hot chocolate.

Payton, Mrs. Suzy, and myself

Jay and Payton

Enjoying some hot chocolate - it was pretty cold that night!

Me and Chad

Houston, TX Part 1

Chad and I flew into my hometown of Houston, TX on Friday, December 19th. We stayed in Clear Lake with my family until Sunday afternoon, then we headed east to Alexandria, LA to spend the week with Chad's family. On the Friday after Christmas, we drove back to Clear Lake to celebrate Christmas with my family. Then on Sunday night, we flew back to Kentucky. It was such a great trip - we always enjoying getting to spend time with our families as we live so far away.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Chad and I got a great digital camera from my parents. Here are a few pictures from our Christmas adventures at home in the south!












We went to Joe's Bar-B-Q in Alvin, TX on our first Saturday home. My parent's love this place - the last time they were there they saw Dusty Rhodes from ZZ Top eating some barbecue. Chad was really hoping that he would be there when we went, but alas, we didn't see any members of ZZ Top. I was kind of hoping we would see Nolan Ryan (Alvin is his hometown) but we didn't see him either. I'm not a huge barbecue fan, but I love this place because they have a pretty varied menu that includes hamburgers, chicken fried steak (my choice for the night), loaded baked potatoes, etc.















Me, Chad and my dad - enjoying Joe's.















My sister Michelle, my niece Brittany (wiping off a kiss on her cheek from my mom) and my mom at Joe's.















A not-so-subtle request I received from my niece, shortly before we left for Alexandria. We were talking about babies in general and she gave me this note - it says "Have a darn baby named after me! Mrs. Onion Pance (pants)." She drew a picture of a baby, but I thought it looked like an onion, so she started calling me Mrs. Onion Pants. It was kind of strange, but pretty funny.

Up next, part 2 of our trip - Alexandria, LA.

New Year Additions and Plans

Our friends, the Heron's, gave birth to their second beautiful daughter around 6:30am on New Year's Eve - welcome to the world Eloise!

Pictures and posts about Eloise and her big sister, Margot, can be found at Jason's blog at www.likethebird.blogspot.com

Having two weeks off from work has turned me into an absolute slug. I can't seem to get motivated to do anything! We were out of town and traveling for the first week, and it seems like I've spent this second week recuperating from our travels. I am really looking forward to getting back to work and getting into a consistent routine again. I am also excited about beginning my spring marathon and sprint triathlon training program on Monday, January 5th. My sister (her new blog can be found at www.texascrossfitter.blogspot.com) has started utilizing CrossFit workouts into her workout schedule. These are really intense workouts, but seem to be great for building endurance, strength, stamina and muscle tone. I am going to try and incorporate some of these workouts into my training this spring as well. I'm also hoping to pick up my rate of blogging as my training picks back up.

I'm really excited about training for a sprint triathlon. I've always said that I wanted to do triathlons, but I didn't have a bike and I didn't know how to swim. Well, now I have a great Specialized road bike and access to a heated indoor pool...so I don't really have any excuses any more to not do a triathlon. I think training for the Derby Festival marathon and the sprint triathlon at the same time will work well - the biking and swimming will help with my endurance and hopefully keep me from getting burnt out on running. The tricky part for me will be figuring out how I can run a long and steady pace for the marathon, and a fast pace for the triathlon's 5k. I'm hoping the speedwork I've incorporated into my marathon training will serve to help me in both the marathon and triathlon.

Chad and I had a wonderful Christmas with both of our families. My parents got us a gift that just keeps on giving - a great new digital camera! I am in love with it and we took so many pictures while we were in Houston, TX and Alexandria, LA for Christmas. I am going to be posting the pictures soon - it will probably take 3 or 4 posts to get them all on here! I'm hoping to get all of the pictures posted by the end of this weekend.

Happy new year!

Cutest.Thing.Ever.

This YouTube video is the cutest thing I have ever seen. Get it, Snoopy!

(Thanks to Kat & Rob for the find!)

Christmas in Wilmore

For the past two years, my early December weekends have not included Christmas shopping, Christmas decorating, or Christmas partying. No, the early winter nights for the past two years have included a never ending playlist of Johnny Mathis, Sesame Street, Celtic Woman, Elvis, Bob the Builder, Andre Rieu, and Wayne Dyer. Winter time means pledge time at most public television stations, and such was my life at KET. For the past two years, December has meant 70 hour work weeks, unbelievable stress, and sky-rocketing blood pressure. Last year, I literally thought that I had experienced a stress-induced stroke (if those are even possible).

However, as Charles Wesley so eloquently wrote in his hymn And Can it Be - "my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and left KET*". Since I am no longer at KET, I have the great joy of experiencing all that our community has to offer during the Christmas season.

One thing that the city of Wilmore offers each year is an "Old Fashioned Musical Christmas". It is always held the 1st weekend of December and provides the community with well, an old fashioned musical Christmas. I was able to find a link to all of the festivities: http://wilmore.org/events/2008_Christmas.htm. This will be the 20th year for this festival, which I think is pretty impressive.

Growing up, my parents would always take us to "Dickens on the Strand" in Galveston, TX, which is also always held on the 1st weekend in December. I am really happy to see that they will be holding the event this weekend, despite the recent devestation from Hurricane Ike. I absolutley loved Dickens on the Strand and the festive atmosphere, and I am looking forward to being able to experience that tomorrow, even if only in a small way. I hope to bring our camera, and/or convince a friend who has a really nice camera (hint, hint one of you Strebecks) to take some photos of the evening. Hopefully I can then post them here!

I want to apologize for the lack of posting on the blog lateley. Life has been hectic and busy this fall and I have let several things slide, mainly blogging and running. Oddly enough, these are two of the things that I enjoy most! So I am going to try and get back on track with both. I will let that statement serve as an early New Year's resolution.

To quote Paula Deen, I wish you love and best dishes throughout this Christmas season.

*I made a slight edit to the lyrics. I know this is probably sacreligous, and for that I apolgize.