Married Christmas

We have been looking forward to our first married Christmas for awhile and now it has come and gone.  We had a wonderful eve and Christmas day together and with both of our families.  On Christmas Eve we went to Elevation Church's always awesome Christmas service with both of our families.  The service was complete with break dancing, light shows, and some amazing worship.  Following church we went to one of Brandon's friends traditional get-together and then it was off to the Frick's house for Christmas with my extended family.  We had a great Christmas Eve and were anticipating our first Christmas morning together.  Over the past few days we have had to negotiate our very different traditions including a very detailed conversation on how to both stuff and open stockings.  Brandon always had his stocking stuffers wrapped.  Well, Santa never wrapped mine.  Also, he opens his stocking last, we always did it first thing.  Furthermore, he always took the stocking down and over to the couch to unpack it while I stood at the fireplace to sift through the goodies.  It is very interesting how engraved these small Christmas details become and we don't think there is any other way of doing things.  We began our Christmas morning with Brandon's famous french toast then proceeded to opening our stockings.  We continued on to gifts and enjoying what each had thoughtfully bought for the other.  Charleigh even enjoyed her presents and some special food for Christmas morning.  After our morning together we headed to the Brown house to have Christmas with Brandon's family where we had some delicious appetizers and lots of gifts.  Last, we went to my family's house to celebrate with them with a steak dinner.  We even had a white Christmas for the last two hours.  Both of our families spoiled us and showered us with too many presents.  We are grateful to have such blessings in our lives.  Christmas truly is a season to be grateful and to practice the gratitude that Christ commands we all have.  The greatest blessing we are able to share; however, is the birth of our savior who was the greatest Christmas gift known to man.  As I watch the beautiful snow continue to fall outside my window, I am thankful to have a loving God who sacrificed so much so that I may enjoy this wonderful season with a sweet and loving husband and generous families.  Merry Christmas everyone!  We hope yours was as special as ours.

Deck the Halls

I love this time of year and decorating has always been one of the highlights of the season.  Being in a new home with a new husband makes it even more exciting.  Sharing our first Christmas season together has been a joy so far and I can't wait to share all the excitement that the season brings with my best friend, husband, and love of my life.  It is so cute to watch him get excited about stockings, Christmas cookies, tree toppers, and lights.  Our apartment is a work in progress when it comes to general decor, but the Christmas decorating came easy to us and definitely spruces up the space.  It warms my heart to be able to cuddle in the dark with the tree lights sparkling in the background.  This time of year brings out the child in all of us and we get to share that with one another.  I am so blessed to have my best friend as my husband who enjoys spending the most wonderful time of the year with me.  

Our Front Door

Our Porch

Our First Christmas Tree

Ornaments We Bought Together

Stockings and Cute hangers (even one for Charleigh)

Dining Room Table

M&M Christmas Cookies

Thankful

Thanksgiving 2010 has come and gone, our first Thanksgiving as a married couple.  Brandon and I got to indulge in 3 Thanksgiving feasts and enjoyed cooking our first Thanksgiving foods together.  For the first meal we went to my parents' house to enjoy time with my grandma, uncles, aunt, and cousin from my dad's side.  We decided to take mashed potato casserole and my now famous pumpkin cake.  We used the new stand mixer to make all of our dishes and it was amazing!  It made cooking so much faster and easier.  Thanks Mom and Dad for the wedding gift!  My grandma, who suffers from Alzheimer's, was able to attend the holiday with us and I am thankful that she was coherent and able to enjoy the festivities.  After stuffing ourselves with delicious comfort foods, we quickly went home to finish the dishes for the next meal.  For this one, we made buffalo chicken dip, creamed corn with blue cheese and bacon, and pecan pie.  On full stomachs, we headed to Brandon's uncle's house for their annual Thanksgiving party.  This was the largest the party as ever been with about 60 people and babies.  It was quite crowded, but it was good to see Brandon's cousins and other family members.  Luckily, we had a day to rest before we had the third Thanksgiving with Brandon's mom and sister.  Saturday night we enjoyed a quiet meal with his family for our third and final meal.  Now we just need to focus on finishing the mountain of leftovers his mom sent home with us.  I guess it's ham, turkey, and fixins for the rest of the week!  We hope everyone had a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving.  We are thankful for all of you! 

Ten things I am thankful for:

1. My hubby who loves me unconditionally

2. My family and getting to spend time with my sister

3. A break from school

4. Photos and memories

5. Taylor Swift's new album

6. A warm bed to sleep in at night

7. delicious food to enjoy, especially dessert

8. My cat Charleigh and "my parents" dog Izzy (still consider her mine)

9. The opportunity to get a good education

10. Elevation church where I can worship freely

Brandon cutting potatoes for the casserole

   

Charleigh enjoying the grocery bags

 

 Izzy really wanted some turkey

My sister, Melissa, and I

Our First Thanksgiving

Fridge full of leftovers

Wolfpack in the House!!!!!!!

For the fourth year in a row the wonderful Wolfpack have taken it to those tarholes!  What a joyous occasion it is when the Pack take out those bow tie wearing, searsucking, trust fund loving, overly obnoxious crap balls known as the Carowhina Tarholes.  Brandon and I watched the game at my parents house, which is notorious for its bad juju when it comes to viewing the games; hence the results of watching the ECU and Clemson games there.  Reluctantly, we agreed to give it another chance.  The game started off rocky,but I found the solution to overcome the bad luck in the house.  By the end of the game the Frick's and the Brown's were all on the floor watching the game.  I started the trend and lo and behold T.J. Graham runs it back for a TD! haha!  The rest of the family followed suit and sent the good juju to the Pack for the big W!  There is little I love more than a Wolfpack taking out a ram. Next stop...Maryland for a shot at the ACC Championship game in Charlotte!  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the News & Observer.

For all my Wolfpack family out there: Some Highlights

Charleigh Brown

Meet the newest edition to the Brown Family!  On Saturday we went to the pound and rescued this sweet kitten.  She is a 2.5 month old gray tabby and is full of life and personality.  We really want a dog eventually, but right now a cat is a better fit for our lifestyle and for our apartment.  Brandon always wanted to name her Charleigh, but I was not so sure.  Of course we are both very indecisive so we went with the easiest way possible.  We put all of the names we were considering into a bowl and drew.  We narrowed it down to four names and then drew again and the first one to be pulled twice was the winner.  Lo and behold, Charleigh came out, so it must have been meant to be.  She is affectionately Charleigh Brown or Charleigh B.  She is spoiled already and is a lot of fun.