A Wonderful Christmas

A Merry Christmas to all...

Matthew is finally ready for Mt. Washington, a true Mountain Man.
And I am trying my best to become the best mountain wife possible.

Matthew and I wanted to wish you all a most Merry Christmas! May you remember Christ, the greatest gift of all, our saviour and redeemer.

Cinnamon Rolls Gallor

A Christmas Tea

Virginian wilderness

The Nativity

The Nutcracker

This past weekend we had the pleasure of going to see the Nutcracker with Matthew's Momom, a family tradition that started when he was just a little one. The production was put on by a local ballet company, and it was the cutest thing watching these little girls come out and dancing their hearts out, they were trying so hard. It really was a lovely production, and brought back lots of memories from when I was a little girl. My dream, from as young as I can remember, was to become a professional ballerina, I absolutly loved every thing about ballet. I remember being at productions just like the Nutcracker, and watching the older girls dance from behind the curtains, I would stand there in awe of how beautifully graceful they were. After my family moved to Japan, we just couldn't afford the exorbidant amounts that lessons would have cost. All that to say, sunday was such a fun time with Matthew's family, and I am so glad we were able to go. Matthew's Momom also made it a tradition to give him a Nutcracker every year for christmas (until he turned 13)! He has a wonderful collection, and this year for the first time, I got a Nutcraker of my very own. Thank you Momom, we love you!

Work Party!

This past saturday night I had my work Christmas party at Kyoto, a Japanese steak house. Interesting because we actually went to Kyoto last year for Matthew's work party! It was such a fun night, with absolutely wonderful food, it was so so good. For some of my work mates it was their first time to go to a Japanese steak house, so it was lots of fun watching their reactions to all the tricks and firey explosions. The chefs really are quite talented. They have to practice alot, and while I used to waitress there with Sara-Beth, we looked forward to those nights when the chefs would practice, as it meant we got to eat all their 'practice' food! yummy! It really was a GREAT night, and Matthew and I felt blessed to have been invited there 2 years in a row. :: Notice Matthew's growing beard! Him and his brother are growing beards in preparation for our upcomming trip to New Hampshire. I personally think he looks quite good with one, although I'm not to keen on the prickliness. ::

Winter...

Is it here to stay this time? I hope that this crazy weather would make up it's mind and decide to stay. Never the less, I am enjoy the bare beauty of winter. I love the bare trees, and their silhouettes against a colorful sunset. This picture was taken by my talent husband!

SURPRISE!

This past monday, the 4th of December, was Tabitha's birthday. So we gathered together and threw her a surprise party! What a blast! We had so many people all squished into Sara and Eric's house, lots of yummy food, and small mountain of presents... all waiting for the birthday girl to arrive. It was a huge success, as she had no idea, and was completly taken by surprise. What I enjoyed most was watching her through out the night, she did not stop smiling the whole night. She was glowing. Being apart of a surprise party is such great fun, especially for such a good friend. Happy Birthday Tabitha, we love you so much!

Our first Christmas tree!

This is not the first year we have been to this beautiful tree farm, we went last year with matthew's family to pick out their tree, but the first year to pick out our very own. We found a perfect tree, not too big and not too little, a nice midium sized one full and green. I'll post a photo of it once we have it all decorated.
My wonderful husband cutting down our tree! It was down in no time.
This tree farm really is like nothing else I've ever experienced. They have this cute little spring house all decorated for christmas, with a tree covered in ornaments. You are welcomed in with warm hot choclate, a burning fire, and an offer to pick an ornament off the tree! While you are enjoying your hot chocolate and deciding on which ornament to take home, they have picked up your tree, bundled it up with netting, and tied it on to the top of your car, already to go!
Jane, Sarah, and I enjoying our hot chocolate. When we got to the farm we realised we had all dressed in red and green, perfect for a christmas photo together! What a fun day.

A feast of all sorts!

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Matthew and I, along with many other family members, joined the Chases to celerbrate Thanksgiving one last time. (We had four dinners total!) It really was a feast of all sorts, as we got to enjoy the wonderful company of so many, delicious food, and lots of fun games, indoors and out! Matthew and I arrived early in the morning just in time to eat breakfast with some out of town cousins, such a treat to see people whom you love and miss, we didn't leave until late that night. (watching a nail biting game of football and playing Oh Hell!) Our camera was set on a wierd setting so this is one of the only photos that turned out... so sad. It really was such a wonderfully enjoyable day, I can't help but be thankful for this amazing family that God has blessed us with.

At the Harmans.

This year we were blessed to spend Thanksgiving with both sides of Matthew's Grandparents. Here is a lovely photo of Matthews Popop, he normally doesn't wear hats like this, so he got a real kick out of wearing Matthew's. It was a special time to be with 'Momom and Popop' as we don't see them too often. We are so thankful that the Lord has sustained them through many trials this past year, it was a blessing to have them with us.

Lots of friends :: 24 to be exact ::

A few days before Thanksgiving Matthew and I gathered with a bunch of friends to celerbrate Thanksgiving. We all brought different dishes and with 24 people, we managed to come up with quite a feast! It was so fabulous to be with all these precious friends of ours, God has truly blessed us to overflowing. We are so thankful for these friends that He has placed in our lives, you are all such a blessing to us, and we praise God for you in our lives.

Laughter!

I really wanted to include this photo because it shows so well the sort of night we all had together. It was full of laughter! At one point I had tears streaming down my face, I havn't laughted like that in a long time. We all had such a great time, good food, great company and some hilarious performances by many. Please specifically note Eric in the back, he has a great laugh, and as you can see here, he is really tickled about something...