Christmas Day

Joe was really excited for Christmas this year. We had fun buying and secretly wrapping each others gifts. Wednesday before Christmas we went to the dollar store to buy things for each others stockings. We had a six dollar limit! It was fun trying to dodge one another, and hard to try and find something the other might actually like. When we got home Joe told me that I had better fill his stocking in the night like Santa. I told him I would if I woke up in the night. So, Christmas morning came and I hear Joe wake up and go in the bathroom. My eyes flew open and I jumped out of bed because I hadn't woken up in the night and filled his stocking. I grabbed the bag of stuff and ran out into the living room. Sure enough, there was my stocking all filled and placed on the coffee table. I was hurrying so quickly to fill it before he got out of the bathroom, but I was too slow. The next thing I hear is Joe jokingly but loudly telling me from the doorway "Yeah... My stocking isn't filled! YOU'RE A FAKE SANTA!!!!" and he shut the bedroom door! I busted up laughing and he was laughing too when I ran in our room to apologize. I will have to be better next year. I guess I will have to set an alarm or something. He made us a wonderful breakfast and we read the Christmas story in Luke and then opened our presents.

Dont mind my hair=) I showered and got my hair dried and curled, and then
Joe couldn't wait any longer!

My dad got Joe a shagbag to pick up his golf balls when he practices putting.

My mom got all the girls these hoodies in different colors from American Eagle.

• Every year the kids and their spouses all put their names in a bowl and draw names for the Christmas gift exchange. My sister had me, so she had to send it to Texas. She got me these really cute bands for my interchangeable watch, The Forgotten Carols video, and some yummy chocolates. Thanks Tiff!

Our First Christmas

Well, It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone. Joe and I were able to spend our first christmas together. We talked about how weird it is to think back to last Christmas, and know that we hadn't even crossed paths. We met, dated, got engaged, and were married.....all within the last year. We have both truly been blessed this past year. I feel so blessed to have found Joe. It took me many more years than the rest of my siblings, but I am so thankful that he finally walked into my life. I had so much fun with him this Christmas season. We went Wednesday evening to look at Christmas lights, and we had so much fun blasting the music and singing along to our favorite Christmas songs. We both laughed so hard when we passed this in someone's yard! Instead of the regular "Ho! ho! ho!" it was......

We were able to see some homes that were decorated really nicely. I didn't take too many pictures but here was one that I got a picture of.

Christmas Eve Joe made a request that I make a special Christmas dinner since we would be in Palestine for Christmas day. We were both craving turkey so we made our first turkey with all the fixins'! We did end up having a little argument over if we were going to put the stuffing in the turkey (like he grew up with) or just making it and leaving it on the stovetop (like I grew up with). We ended up making it both ways, and we both tried each others'. I will admit that his was very good.=) All in all we had fun and were able to share a great meal together.

After dinner Joe was so excited for us to open our Christmas Eve gifts.

He bought us some really nice bathrobes. It is one of the softest
things I have ever felt!

Mom and Dad's trip to Houston

Mom and Dad came to Houston a few weeks ago for the open house and we had so much fun. Joe was quite the little tour guide and had a lot to tell them about Houston. He took us all over town to different attractions and made sure that mom and dad got to experience some good eatin'! The first night we took them to Lupe Tortilla for mexican food and mom couldn't stop eating the chips, salsa, and charro beans. She had never had those kind of beans before and she loved them! We had the best fajitas, and they seemed to really enjoy it. With dad and beans, we did kinda pay for it a little afterwards though=) The next day was filled with fun! We took them to the Galleria Mall. Its HUGE!!! It has three levels, an ice skating rink inside, and a running track on the top! We stopped to take a picture near the ice skating rink in front of the gigantic christmas tree!

Mom and Joe had fun with this smart car

I almost forgot that dad had asked Joe their first night here if it ever snows and he told him rarely, and it doesn't usually stick when it does. Well, the next morning we woke up to a blizzard!!! It made me feel right at home! Mom and dad couldn't get over it. They said they brought it with them=) Joe couldn't get over it either.

After the mall, we went to see "The Blindside" (which is a really great movie) and then we took them to the aquarium downtown for dinner. The food was outstanding. Dad said that was his favorite meal while they were here. Needless to say, it was a little weird eating seafood, and watching fish swim in a huge aquarium right in front of us=)

We went through the exhibits they had at the aquarium, which was really fun. Joe's favorite were the jellyfish. Besides fish they also had spiders, birds, snakes, and a white tiger. We were all intrigued, and we had a lot of fun!

There were stingrays (minus the barb) and little sharks in here that you could touch. We actually got mom to do it! Who said a little peer pressure isn't good?=) ha ha! She was a good sport about it, but she only wanted to touch the stingrays.

Joe was mesmerized! Just like a child.

So was I=)

I guess he didn't realize there were already arms on the scuba diver, or he's just trying to show off his muscles=) ha ha!
Saturday we headed to Palestine for the Open House. Sharon and Bob did such a great job. It was beautifully done, and we enjoyed visiting with everyone that came. These are some of Joe's friends.
This was the buffet table. They served cheeses, veggies and dip, grapes, nuts, stuffed mushrooms, meatballs, kolaches, desserts, and the best drink made from white grape juice and ginger ale.
This is Bob and Sharon's house in Palestine. It's the house Joe helped his dad build. It is beautiful!
On our way home we stopped at a Korean restaurant for dinner. We ordered the meat (which comes sliced really thin) and then we cooked it on that grill inside the middle of the table. They bring all sorts of sides (all the little bowls) like seaweed, potato chunks, tofu, spinach, cabbage, and many other things. We had them refill the sides because dad wasn't full yet. He tried everything and seemed to enjoy the meal. They got to experience all different sorts of foods while here. The best thing was that when they brought the check mom asked if we got a fortune cookie!!! Wrong restaurant! It wasn't Chinese!=) The waitress said "excuse me?" and Joe and I were quick to say "Nothing!" Joe was so embarrassed, but dad and I had a chuckle! Ha ha!

Home Sweet Home!

Many of our family and friends have been asking to see pictures of our apartment. So, I woke up this morning and was able to get my cleaning done, as I went around to each room in our apartment and took pictures. The best part is that my cleaning is now done, and I'm able to show you where we live!=) We have the basic necessities, and little by little we will continue to decorate and hang things on the walls. Taking pictures really helped me see just how bare our walls really are. We are still waiting for our cd of pictures of the wedding, but we should be getting that soon, and we'll have more pictures to hang! Well, here's a little tour of where Joe and I call home.

This is our front door and coat closet. When you enter the apartment, right in front of you is the dining area.

Right about where I'm standing is a computer cranny.

computer cranny

This is what you see when you walk

through the front door.We have that entire wall where the table is to decorate. Any ideas?

When you walk through the dining area, we have our living room area on the left, and our kitchen to the right.

We got Joe his recliner while mom and dad were here....from Costco=) He loves sitting in that chair.

Here's our first Christmas tree together. We never used bows on our tree growing up, but Joe was sweet about buying them and showing me how his family used to decorate with bows. We also discovered LED lit ribbon and tree topper bow. I couldn't capture the full effect in a picture, but it's really pretty.

It's a pretty spacious kitchen. Just perfect for cooking for two, and a few guests at times=)

Past the kitchen is our bedroom

This is my dresser. I love the big mirror, and believe it or not, every single drawer is filled! This is at the foot of our bed. Joe's dresser is in our closet.

The door right there in front is the entrance of our bedroom, then we have our closet, and bathroom.

I need some sort of art or something over the towel rack, but I love the brown and green together in our bathroom! The green is richer in person.

Both of our bathrooms have these big garden tubs to shower in (or take a bath=)).

I love them!

This is our closet. Not as big as my last one... but I managed to fit most everything. There's also a little cranny on the left that has Joe's dresser.

Ok, so now I'm standing back at the front door. Instead of heading straight, (into the dining area) to the left is this hallway. Those doors on the right are where the washer and dryer are. The door on the left is the guest bathroom, and straight ahead is the guest bedroom.

I love this bathroom. I love the art above the toilet that Aunt Vicki got us, and I just love the colors together. I originally bought a red shower curtain to go in here, but it just didn't look right. Joe had to let me do the decorating on my own because he got frustrated at the stores when I would take forever to decide what I wanted. And, I would buy things (like the red shower curtain) and when I put it all together, decide I didn't like it and I would return it and try again. It gave me something to do though, and I love how it turned out.

This is the guest bedroom.

This is the foot of the bed. Guests even get their own little Christmas tree=)

Now you've seen where we live! We hope that many of you will get to see it in person. Your room is waiting=)