Goodbye Christmas 2010, it was nice knowing you

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. We had a great time of fellowship with both our families, and as always managed to get equal time with both. Christmas Eve day was spent with my family, Christmas Eve with Drew's, Christmas morning with my family, Christmas lunch with Drew's and then Christmas night both sides convened at our house. It was pretty hectic, but I feel like we have come up with a pretty good system until the kiddies come along, and then I am sure some adjustments will have to be made.
We ate and ate and ate. We laughed and opened way too many gifts. This year I think Drew did the best he has ever done with my gifts. This is not to say that I am ever unappreciative of anything he gets me, but this year he listened to things I have said along the way, and the listening part makes the great gifts that much more special. I am a coffee lover, but I hate the hassle of making the coffee myself; I also hate emptying the coffee filter after it is all wet and gross. Thus Drew solved my problem and bought me a Keurig. I AM IN LOVE!!! All I have to do is pour in some water, pop in the premeasured cup and in about one minute I am enjoying a little cup of caffeinated heaven. Drew also bought me some earrings I have been eyeing for about 6 months, along with a Vera Bradley wallet. (You can never go wrong with me and Vera.)
My parents bought me a Gypsy to accompany the Cricut they got me last year. This along with the software that Drew's parents bought me are sure to produce hours of crafting bliss. I am going to have to share some of the things I come up with once I have a chance to figure it all out.
My parents also got me three new books. I love, love, love books so any time I get a new one I am super excited. I am currently reading the one called "The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers". For those of you who don't know I am a huge Mr. Rogers fan and am finding the book pretty interesting thus far. The other two books are "America by Heart" by my girl Sarah Palin and "Decision Points" by George W. Bush. Both of those are sure to be good reads.
I got so many other great gifts as well, but I am sure that a run-down of my Christmas gifts is not a good use of your time or mine.
On an unrelated note, for those of you who don't know. My sweet friend Jenna left for a 4 month mission trip to Brasil on Sunday. She would appreciate your prayers, as she not only ministers to the people of Brasil, but ministers to them in a foreign language. She is super sweet and deserving of your prayers.
I plan on giving you a end of the decade blog sometime this week, but until then...Good day!

My Best Christmases

Christmas always conjures up fond memories, in fact, I don’t think I have ever really had a BAD Christmas at all. When I think about some of my best Christmases I automatically think about many a Christmas Eve night spent in the home of my grandparents. My grandparents had 6 children, add 6 spouses and a ton of grandchildren and you get a house full. It was loud to say the least, and most of the time I am not sure anyone really knew what was going on, but we felt love. I remember always looking forward to a gift from Grandma, it meant socks, underwear and a little something picked out just for me. It may not have been the most expensive gift, but it was from her and that made it special.

One of my first Christmas memories that is as clear in my head as the day it happened, is the Christmas that Grandma got her grandfather clock. As I recall it is something that she had always wanted, but as a pastor’s wife couldn’t afford or simply didn’t buy due to practicality. On this particular Christmas my mom and all my aunts and uncles pooled their money and bought one for her. The funny thing is that she never noticed that as all of us were unwrapping our gifts, that there had been no gifts for her. Once all the presents were opened, Grandma was blindfolded, and the big reveal took place. At the time I wondered why she cried, but I now realize that her tears were of gratitude. Gratitude for children who loved their mother, and knowing her, gratitude to God for allowing her to have 6 children when the doctors told her she would have none.

I think my most fond Christmas memory is a somewhat bittersweet one. The Christmas after my pappa died was set to be a very hard one for all of us. I knew it would be especially hard on Grandma. After talking to Mamma, and Mamma talking to Grandma it was decided that Grandma would spend the night with us on Christmas Eve and partake in Christmas morning festivities with us. Thinking back I don’t remember anything I got that year except for a Jewish menorah, candles from the holy land and a book of Jewish festivals that Grandma had compiled over the years. It sounds strange, but I have always had a fascination with God’s chosen people, this was a fascination that Grandma shared. The menorah is still a part of my Holiday decor and sits in a place where it won’t go unnoticed. On that Christmas nothing spectacular happened, I just recall it being a time of sweet fellowship, and perhaps we all appreciated each other a little more knowing that life really is like a vapor. This was our last Christmas with Grandma, and I cherish this special time that I had with her.

I am now in a new phase of my life where Christmas has new meaning. Gifts are my love language, this much I know. So I especially look forward to picking out the perfect gifts for those I love. Having money and being able to buy things for my parents and family brings me so much joy. I realize now, what it was that Grandma felt when she lovingly put together all those Christmas gifts, each one tailored to its recipient. Christmas is my favorite and the memories surrounding this joyous time bring me comfort.

I love Christmas movies

I love Christmas movies, Christmas music and basically everything involving Christmas. My all time favorite Christmas movie is “The Year without a Santa Claus” when I tell people that they normally say “What?” It isn’t the first movie most people think of when they think of Christmas movies, but it is definitely one that should be a part of everyone’s Christmas movie to do list. Here is just a snippet for you…

Merry Christmas Week!

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

I love Christmas! It is my absolute favorite time of year and this is why:

1. We celebrate Jesus being born. (I love hearing the Charlie Brown recitation of Luke 2)

2. Spending time with family.

3. Giving and getting gifts (It’s my love language)

4. Glitter

5. The fun songs

6. A Year Without a Santa Claus (My absolute FAVORITE Christmas movie, if you haven’t seen it, CHANGE THAT!!)

7. A SCHOOL BREAK (Can I get an AMEN from my College folk?)

8. Apple Cinnamon Candles

9. Decorative sweaters (I secretly long to be 65 so I can justify buying one.)

10. Fun ornaments (Always a go to gift for this girl)

Those are my top ten! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!!  

EXAM TIME!!!!

Yes folks it is that time again. The time that strikes fear in the hearts of college students everywhere…EXAMS! I am lucky this time around and only have 3, but those three have the potential to make or break me. I am not teetering on the edge of a D or an F. But that line between A and B can be about as scary. Not because I am concerned with perfection, yes an A would be prove my intellectual prowess, but it is not a must. It would however help my sad little GPA that suffered slightly after that unfortunate Math incident. I still am not sure how solving a quadratic equation will benefit me, but I did it (not accurately) and it is over. Now I am faced with the prospect of writing a paper on Iwo Jima and the atomic bomb (a very cheery subject for Christmas right?) , a Research Methods exam (insert a look of terror here), a Reporting exam (that happens to be open book, insert eye roll for teachers who don’t teach) and my Spanish exam (Me no gusta Espanol)

So with all that on  my plate it is safe to say this may be my last blog post until exams are over,but don’t be surprised if I slip in a fast one on you…I need an outlet right?

More random than normal

So this post may or may not be long and may or may not make much sense. I plan on making this a wrap up of my vacation along with some other random thoughts for you. If you read a sentence and think, Kimberly is losing her mind, it is because A) my mind is full of end of semester things accompanied by my Christmas to do list and B) I am all jacked up on Dayquil and Starbucks. (Deadly combination I know).

To begin, I guess I will fill you in on the end of our Thanksgiving vacation. Drew arrived late Wednesday night and of course Thursday was Thanksgiving. We had a great day just relaxing, eating WAY too much and enjoying the scenery around our cabin.

On Friday, we had quite an interesting day traveling up and down a winding mountain. I don’t think any amount of me explaining this experience could accurately portray to you the events of that day. The destination was Catalloochie Valley aka Maggie Valley… the road to said destination was curvy and winding and seemingly never ending. Who ever thought a ONE LANE ROAD on a mountain was a good idea was not very bright. With every turn around the mountain, I am pretty sure my dad gained one or two new gray hairs. Once we reached the Valley, we saw some amazing scenery and a herd of elk. Now elk are not indigenous to the Valley in case you were wondering, but once placed there the herd seems to have thrived. It was truly amazing to see.

Saturday, we spent the day in Gatlinburg. It was just a great day of spending time with my family. Of course Sunday we headed back to reality and enjoyed perhaps the longest trip home EVER. We took “the scenic route” which resulted in me sitting in a car for about 9 hours…on the bright side I got a nap and finished an entire book for school. About the time we reached the Summit in Birmingham I was in dire need of some coffee. Thus a trip to Starbucks ensued. Let me just say I believe I received a dose of about triple the amount of normal caffeine. I felt like the Target lady, and upon reaching our house at about 6, Drew and I picked up Daisy from her Uncle Randall’s house and then came home where I proceeded in Christmas decorating extravaganza 2010.

I wish that I had some of that energy now. It seems that somewhere between Tennessee and Sweet Home Alabama I picked up a horrid cold. This is not welcomed at any other time, but especially not when I have exams to study for and papers to write. Why does sickness cloud your head so?

On another note, I made myself come to school today…WHY IS THERE A DJ IN THE CAFETERIA?!?!?!!! AUM is not a club, and some people actually go to college to learn and study, not to booty dance in footie pajamas. ( Yes, I did see this happen today.) The music is so loud that presently I am sitting in the area in front of the computer lab, people have closed not only the doors to the cafeteria, but also the doors leading to the cafeteria hallway and I can still clearly hear Katie Perry singing about California girls. Almost every person coming from that room has commented on how loud and inappropriate it is, so my question is WHY IS IT HAPPENING?

(On a side note specifically for Jenna Sanders I saw Mr. Byrd our principal from Victory in the caf. He is here attending a tax seminar and I am pretty sure the music may be the reason his head was as red as Santa’s suit. He smiled cordially and proceeded to ask me if this was normal for AUM…I replied “No, I have no idea what this is, please don’t judge AUM for the poor judgment of a select few. I also pictured Bobby Utley (crazy chapel evangelist guy) hitting the pulpit and telling me I am condemned for choosing AUM in my collegiate endeavors over the sacred PCC.)    

SO now that I have sufficiently written WAY too much I will close for now. If you loved me enough to read all of this thanks, and I love you too.