I’ve had a pretty awesome Christmas, what! Cinnamon rolls, bacon, giving and receiving presents, relaxing and reading in my room with Maryanne and Laura, playing epic Monopoly(of which I was the champion!!), playing brutal Spades games(of which me and Katharyn SHOULD have been the champions), best-meal-ever-lasagna, more goofing off with sisters, enjoying the company of the best family EVER, and relaxing in the goodness of the LORD Almighty. ‘nough said? Yes.
Month: December 2009
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the LORD through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the LORD commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called his name Jesus.
-Matthew 1:18-25
How good is our God. All praise to the LORD of the universe, who sent His Son that we might have life abundantly!!! Amen!!
Don’t have time for a long entry now…just wanted to say that being back in Florida with the fam is pretty awesome!!!! Been eating sumptuous meals, relaxing on the couch with the sisters, playing cards(and winning – me and Maryanne dominate at Spades, just sayin’), watching crazy movies(Vertigo with Jimmy Stewart…awesomeness), playing mini-golf all day long, proof-reading my little sisters’ stories they’re writing…yep, pretty much just good times. And now about to go to Panera for lunch with Katharyn…YES. Hope everyone is having as relaxing and sweet a Christmas break as me!!!! Alright, signing off.
GUESS WHAT.
It is cold here. Like…in the 40s!!! It was great walking to the gym and feeling the wintry air blowing around me!! And driving home was simply marvelous…the clouds hung heavy in the sky, so still they seemed to be painted onto the roof of the world, and yet the deep purple swirls and dark grey tendrils and light blue dapples were more beautiful than a painting could ever be. And as I drove over the highway the sun appeared and light dropped from the reaches of the heavens and dripped onto the clouds like butter on popcorn, bathing the sky in a heavenly golden glow and dwarfing all the nearby buildings of concrete and steel in the magnificence of the setting of the sun.
Oh, what a beautiful day.
I’m listening to the rain softly come down outside my window as I sit inside nice and warm and eat my peach yogurt in sweet contentment. Just got home from work a few minutes ago and so nice to unwind and relax…and I thought that it has been a while since I’ve done a proper update…so here we go!!
I wish I had time to write about everything that’s happened since my last update, but that would probably take all night and then I wouldn’t have any dinner and I would be very sad. So this will just cover this past week! In which…Thanksgiving happened!! This past summer, I was trying to decided if I would travel to Tampa or not for Thanksgiving, but I finally came to the conclusion that I would miss my family too much…and thus would have to come home(sorry Deanna!!). So on Wednesday night I drove from work to the airport and flew back to wonderful Florida!!! Dad and Maryanne and Laura picked me up at the airport and we went home!!! It was such an extreme joy seeing everyone again…and being able to relax at home and sleep in my old bed! Wednesday night I probably should have gone to bed early…but nah. Stayed up talking to the fam for a while and even after the parents went to bed, stayed up with Maryanne and Laura just talking and reliving old times…and enjoying the goodness of the LORD in giving me such a family of awesomeness!!
Next day(oh dear, we are going to be here for a while, aren’t we?) was Thanksgiving!! I slept in really late and then had coffee with the fam and pretty much just enjoyed the Tampa morning…and then came afternoon, in which we went over to Steve and Vickie’s for Thanksgiving!! As always, it was such sweet times being with them…we took a bunch of pictures early on(I think me and Maryanne and Laura MAY have gotten one or two good ones of the three of us…) and played with the dog in the backyard before having dinner. Dinner was abundant and glorious and supremely delicious: tender turkey, buttery potatoes, my favorite stuffing, black and green olives, mouth-watering asparagus….and the list goes on and on…and of course the decadent pumpkin and cherry and pecan pies came later. But of course, the food wasn’t the best part. The best part was being with my family and relaxing in the goodness of the LORD together. And truly, I can’t explain it any better than that.
Friday started off a bit early as I woke up and drove towards Dunedin….for what purpose you may ask?? Well, Shari was in town!! We knew we were near each other so we decided what could be more perfect than a breakfast together?? We met at First Watch and had the most awesome time hanging out…I have to say, I let my food linger way too long as it was so much more fun to catch up with Shar and just enjoy her company…I do so enjoy being able to talk and relax with good friends!! Sadly, time flowed by far too quickly and we soon had to part ways…as I had shopping to do! Well, not really. But I’d planned to take my sisters to the mall, so to the mall we went! I didn’t buy anything, but it was fun just to walk around and see the massive throng of people in pursuit of happiness. Actually, did I say fun? It was actually kind of depressing…just knowing that the pleasures of this world are so fleeting and can never truly satisfy the hole in our souls. And knowing that those who are blind chase after the joys of this world because they are lost and know nothing else. Or no One else. Because only Jesus can truly satisfy. And He satisfies truly!
And now to get back to the narrative, after our mall adventure, we all went and got a Christmas tree! That night was spent relaxing with the family and enjoying some yummy apple pie. We had to go to bed a bit early because the next day…an adventure was in store!!
The next morning, me and Maryanne got up early and made the journey to the land of the Gators…to Gainesville I returned!! Since it was the day of the Gators/Noles game, the traffic was horrendously slow…and it took us about four hours to make the normally two hour trip. Upon arriving, we drove around Gainesville picking up our tickets(yay Laura K for giving me hers!!!!!) and finally we entered the Swamp in eager anticipation of the game to come!! It was Tim Tebow’s last game and everyone was both mournful(over his loss) and exultant(over his magnificent career!). It always seems a bit weird to me how much praise and adulation people can heap onto one man(the flashbulbs from the cameras on his last drive…wow, it was like a horde of fireflies in a perfectly dark night!!) and ignore the God who made him so…but that’s how it is. Me and Maryanne sat in the RUF block where we found Cindy and later Dream and David and Katie!! Again, so amazingly awesome to see good friends after long separations!! The game was triumphant, as predicted(Gators 37, Noles 10!!) and while I enjoyed watching the game and enjoying the domination of the Gator Nation, I enjoyed even more being with Maryanne and friends. Truly, I wonder why I doubt the goodness of the LORD at times, when I see what amazing friends and family He has given to me on this earth!! And after bidding farewell to everyone in Gainesville, I made the drive back to Tampa, arriving home exhausted but happy.
And as I am now getting VERY hungry, Sunday sadly won’t get too long of a paragraph. Church was so sweet – again, seeing everyone and talking and sharing my life in Houston with the Tampa gang! After church, went home where Dad made pork chops and potatoes and green beans and we feasted on that as I enjoyed my last meal with my mom and dad for some time…
After some yard work and last-minute packing, I was off to the Tampa airport!!
It was kind of hard coming back to work on Monday morning, but I am truly grateful for my job. I just miss my family and friends…and though I sometimes wish they could all be in Houston with me…that’s not the way things are! And so I know there are awesome people and things here in Houston that I’ve been blessed with…and I rejoice. And I know that weather I’m in Tampa or Houston…I have no fear of the future or doubt for the present or shame of the past…because the LORD is my God. And He is always with me. And in that exultant note…farewell all!!! I hope all of your Thanksgivings were as blessed and awesomely magnificent as mine!!!!
Ok.
Dinner time.
Something Weird 