Christmas Busyness

It feels like such a long time since I've written, but I'm sure you all know how busy the Christmas season is :) Here's a few things we've done since I wrote last time:

-Had our young adult group Christmas party (there were 27 people in our house!)
-Went across state for two family Christmas'
-Spent time with my brother and his girlfriend who live in Missouri
-Spent Christmas with two sides of family
-Been in the ER here, and a hospital two hours south

It has been interesting to say the least, but life throws all kinds of things at us, and we're used to that :) Both family Christmas' across state were wonderful. We got to see at least fifty people from my family, and my brother and his girlfriend were able to come to both parties this year. They come from Missouri every year, and because the parties were so close to Christmas, this year they were already here. It was great to see everyone and the family time was much needed.

The young adult group Christmas party was a lot of fun. We did a traditional dinner (there was absolutely no counter space left after everything was set out - and I have a lot of counters!) and a 'gift grab.' Everyone brought a dish to pass and white elephant gift. We ate (so much food..) and then we drew numbers to pick the gifts. There was stealing of gifts, shenanigans, and lots of commotion, but it was fun. It was a late night though, and we both had to work the next morning so it was quite exhausting.

Christmas here was fun. We spent Christmas Eve day with my family, and went to the service at night with Caleb's family and then opened gifts with them. Christmas morning was at my parents', dinner at his parents, and then we ended the night at my parents with a bunch of games before we came home and did gifts with each other. It was hectic and long, but it was a great Christmas day and we were able to spend time with lots of family.

The day after Christmas we had to work, but I went out to my parents for dinner. We ended up in the ER with my great grandma, and then got transferred to a bigger city. After many tests they confirmed it was a stroke. If you could please pray for her that would be greatly appreciated. She's 95, and has always been a fighter, but she could use a few prayer warriors to think about her.

As for me, I sit on my couch on a perfectly good Sunday morning, sick. I've been fighting something off since last weekend and it finally caught up to me. I'm not super sick, but my throat is irritated and I keep coughing up phlegm.. and just guessing, but thats probably the last thing people sitting next to me in a pew want to be around. So, I'll listen to the service on the radio. I was looking forward to the service though. I was supposed to be on praise team, and our friend - the youth pastor at our church - was given the opportunity to preach. He's so excited, and we're excited to see what he has to say. I just wish I could be there to see it,.. the radio is great, but I'm too fidgety to just sit so we'll see what happens.

Well, thats all for now. I hope your Christmas season was great, and you enjoyed celebrating the Saviors birth. Just remember that regardless of the season, we can always celebrate.

Merry Christmas Everyone! 

A Little Bit..

...of Christmas cheer! And it's not even December yet!

I'm one of those people who refuse to decorate for Christmas or play Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. Why? Because I think it takes away from the season of thanksgiving we ought to enjoy before we focus on our Savior's birth.

Well, I had to work today, so we couldn't go away for the sales, we just stayed here in town. Caleb hit the stores yesterday morning, then we took my sister (she had never been frenzy shopping before) and hit the 8pm, 10pm, and then there were midnight, 5am and 6am sales. I didn't get to go to all of them, but we got a LOT of stuff, and a lot of it was Christmas gifts. Needless to say, it looked like a bomb went off in our house. To top it off, while I was at work, everyone else started wrapping gifts, and when I got home we put the tree up, wrapped more gifts, and I put up my nativity. I love the willow tree pieces, and this nativity is so beautiful! Anyway, our house is full of stuff right now and most counter and table tops are lacking any clear space. Oh darn.. ;)

How was your Thanksgiving? We had two dinners, within two hours. Busting? Absolutely. Everything was delicious, of course, and even though the second dinner was at 2pm, I wasn't hungry for the rest of the day. It was great to be family and laugh and relax, and we're thankful that we were able to see so many people.

Next on our agenda is a trip across state to my hometown. We haven't been there since July (which I think is the longest since I've moved here). We're really excited to get to see even more family and have a four day weekend. I'm sure it'll fly by, but we're so glad we get to make the trip. I miss everyone so much, and this visit is long overdue.

No promises, but I'll try to write again soon. Enjoy the beginning of your Christmas season!

Recap - 2011

Hellooo blogworld! Life has been crazy lately, hence me not writing. Well, this morning I have time, only because of my wonderful husband. Listen to what he had up his sleeve: this weekend is the family Christmas on my mom's side, so we had planned on coming to this side of the state for the weekend. A few days ago, Caleb told me he had a proposition. Naturally I asked what it was, and he said that if he got a certain amount done on the house, we could leave a day early, and he would have a surprise. Needless to say he got the stuff done at the house that he wanted to, and yesterday we left town around 1:30. What was my surprise? Two days of shopping at the Birch Run Outlet Mall, and an overnight stay at the hotel on the complex. So, right now, I'm sitting on a king size bed, and sipping hot tea in comfy clothes writing to you all, and Caleb is reading a book in the jacuzi tub in our room. Not going to lie, I feel like a princess =) We shopped last night, so after we get ready and check out of this hotel, we've got more shopping to do and then we will head out to see my family. This weekend is off to a great start!

Overall, we've been crazy busy. There's work on the house to do, we had to move out of the other house, stuff at church, work, Christmas activities, etc. Last week we took the youth group shopping, the Tweens swimming, and this week, we were going to take the youth group ice skating, but due to the power outage scheduled (that we were never told about.. haha) that fell through. Instead, we had everyone come to the church for dodgeball tournaments, playing on the wii, games, and snacks, and the afternoon turned out great. They say one of the most important things in ministry is the ability to be flexible, and over the past few months I've been learning more and more about that truth. I had never thought about the application of it before, but someone in our staff meeting the other day mentioned that us being flexible allows God to do what HE needs to do in us and our students, regardless if that is what we had planned. Besides, who are we to stand in His way..?

Our first Christmas together was great. It was busy, but we're used to the business of life, so that part didn't surprise us. Christmas eve day was spent at my parents house for me, as my brother from Missouri was here. It was fun for all five of us to be together again. Later that night, my family and Caleb's family all attended the Christmas eve service at our church, which was a good time. Then Caleb and I went to his parents to open gifts and didn't get home until after midnight. We opened our gifts to each other, and turned in about 2:30am. Christmas morning came early, and we headed to my parents to open gifts at 7am. After that, we were at church by 9:30am, and ate dinner at Caleb's parents' at 1pm. Then to my grandpa's for Christmas dinner at 3:30pm. We got home around 8pm and were spent.

So, sitting here in this hotel room, with the whole weekend ahead of me, I'm thankful for the opportunities to do everything I have been able to do. See my family, spend time with my husband, and in Caleb's words; "have some R&R" (which, I figured out means rest and relaxation). It has been a busy year, but a good year, and I can't wait to see what God has planned for us for this year. As we finish out the year, we reflect on a few of the big things; our wedding and life started together, purchasing a house (without debt!), traveling to Seattle, our ministry involvement, getting to spend time with family... we are blessed beyond measure and very thankful. There are so many other things big and small that have happened, I don't mean to exclude them, but I just can't write the whole list here. I hope you take some time to think back about this year, what you're thankful for, and start preparing your mind for the coming year. Don't forget to count your blessings.

I hope your Christmas, New Year, and any other holiday you celebrate, is a time of blessing for you and your family. To God be the glory!

Concerts, Family, and Christmas

I don't have much time today, so I'll keep it short and sweet!

I'm pretty behind in my posts this month. But I'm pretty behind in everything this month is seems. Less than a week from Christmas, my shopping is far from done, we don't know what we're doing with the families yet, etc., but we DO get to see my brother and his girlfriend! They're coming up from Missouri, and we can't wait! We also get to see some of Caleb's family from Seattle and Kentucky around Christmas. Then it's a family Christmas on my mom's side over new years, and then we get to fly out to Washington D.C. for a weekend to take part in the baptism ceremony of a cousin's son because we were asked to be godparents. Busy busy! We also just got back from the other side of the state for a Christmas party on my dad's side. Loads of fun!

Grandpa as Santa, handing out gifts

Something else we've recently done is hosted a concert at our church. The band 33 Miles and Master Illusionist Harris 111 joined us to celebrate their Christmas tour. It was a great night and they put on a fantastic show. It was also a great outreach event for our church, as the gospel was shared. Anyway, here are a few pictures.

 Very blurry, but this is all of us girls with Harris 111

My sis, her friend and I with Jason and Chris (33 Miles)

Me with the guitarist - he's from the band Pocket Full of Rocks 

Me with the drummer - he's also from the band Pocket Full of Rocks

P.S. Happy 25th Birthday to my wonderful brother! Love ya!

Coming up this week: we're taking the youth group shopping for a day up north, we're taking the Tweens to the college to swim and play in the rec room, and all the Christmas stuff that I can't remember. Like I said, busy busy. So, if I'm not back before then,

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It's Beginning to Look...

...a lot like Christmas in the Nordine household!

Today I had time to wrap a few gifts, put some bows on our tree, and get a tree skirt..

..And make cookies! 

Caleb got home about a minute after I dropped the last cookie onto the wax paper and as I turned around to do something the thought occurred to me that I should probably tell him they're not ready yet. As I turned to tell him, I saw his finger in his mouth, chocolate on his lip, an empty spot on the paper where  a cookie used to be, and a guilty look on his face.. complete with a mischievous smile =] Life is good.