Good For The Soul

I know I sound like the rest of the world, but December gets so crazy and busy, and at some point things start to feel out of control. Amongst the craziness, there have been some peaceful moments that have been really really good for my soul. 

Christmas Lights: Last Saturday, Jordan was still in super study mode and spent the entire day at the library. I spent the day at home having a quiet productive day. I fixed steak for dinner (nearly smoked our entire home). After dinner, we fixed hot cacao, got in the car, turned on 105.7, and drove around Greenwood getting lost and looking at Christmas lights. For a few hours, we forgot about Jordan's impending final and had so much fun. Moments like this make me so thankful for marriage and the happiness it brings to my life.  💗

There were some amazing houses around Greenwood. People are serious about their lights. 

All The Treats: My patients. Oh my heart. Every year I am floored by the amount of treats that our patients bring us during Christmas time. We're talking cookies, cakes, breads, candies...all of that on top of the usual catering that we get daily. The majority of our patient population is incredibly poor, and while it doesn't make any sense, it seems like the poorer the patient, the nicer the gift they bring. I am humbled, daily. I'm so grateful to take care of these sweet sweet people. 

This was one of the cards that accompnied a gift, and naturally, I love it! 

Small Group Christmas: For the 3rd year in a row, we had a hilarious Christmas party. Each year, our friendship grows sweeter and our parties grow funnier. Brit and Corey hosted. We had apps and drinks, did a gift exchange, and played hilarious games. The USB sea salt lamp will always be a good memory, and the accent game still has me laughing. So so thankful for this amazing group of people.

RIP 11/17

The Last Warm Day: The last warm day of the year happened on November 17th. I ditched my regularly planned workout for a long walk outside. I walked and walked until it was completely dark. It was amazing, and I'm being extremely dramatic about not having nights like this anymore. 

Punch Bowl Social: We don't "go out." We don't do parties or partying. 2 beers is wild for us. I love our life, but I'm glad we have friends to keep us current. At the suggestion of Brittany, we had a night "out" aka we stayed out until 11:30 and we took and Uber, so crazy(i'm being sarcastic, of course.) Punch Bowl is a new, fun, and way trendy. We ordered dinner and played pictionary. It was a ton of fun, and we're so grateful for our small group people.  

 Reminders: This was in a stall in the bathroom at church. We all need this reminder from time to time.

Ellie Jo: She's getting so big, and has a personality that's even bigger. Love that girl 

Up From the Grave: After a short stent with a "kitty wheelchair"...yes you read that right, the cat had a freaking wheelchair, Cleo is walking again. I don't understand it, but somehow, after 3 months of being paralyzed...our family cat is walking again. Cue Whitney Houston's "Miracle"...

Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. After 15 years of being "overweight," I finally realized that I never truly enjoy "eating" holidays. I always overeat, get anxious, act withdrawn, eat more...cycle continues until the food is gone...and the leftovers. I tried to think about this, make a plan, and not repeat the cycle. It worked out ok. I definitely had slip-ups, but overall, things went better than usual. 

Aaannnnnnnyyyy waayyyyyy... on a lighter note...we spent Thanksgiving day with the Burch side of the family. Most of the family was able to make it, and Jordan had the day off-which was the best part. 

On the Saturday after, we spent the day at the Bushnells. The boys played a ton of football, we watched a lot of football, and ate a ton of food. Carole always makes a tooooon of food, and it's always delicious. I'm still thinking about the coconut cream pie that Danny made.

Elie's standing and noise making was the highlight of our day. 

 Christmas Is Here: We made our annual trip to Phillip's to get our tree. We finally got a "smaller" tree that didn't destroy our apartment. Per the usual, I love our apartment at Christmas. I love the glow of the lights, and how homey it makes our place feel.

Jordan and I have both been struggling with the super materialism of the Christmas season this year. The huge amount of gifts, and amounts that we spend of "stuff" has started to bother us. We're still spending a bazillion dollars on everyone, but trying to be more intentional about the gifts we give. Anyway, Merry Christmas...here's to a crazy season.