Memories

So first off I wanted to show you some of our cute decorations that we got as a gift from Scott's mom.  They're so cute! Here's a pic:

I love how all the words look like a Christmas Tree! And you can't tell from the pic but it's all sparkly!  Love it! Thanks Marie!

Ok now to tell you what we've been up to this week.  Well, Scott has been really working hard with getting all his stuff done before the end of the semester.  I can't believe how quickly it's gone!  Really, I don't remember ever having a semester fly by that quickly!  Hopefully the rest of them go by this quickly though, because that means Scott will have his degree before I can even think about it.  How nice would that be?!? Haha!

As for me, I've just been holding it down at work and then coming home and making yummy food.  I have been dealing with a craving for oatmeal cookies that I have yet to satisfy. :) If anyone (aka Mom) has a good recipe, please send it to me!  I'm really loving trying out new recipes and baking things.  I don't get to do as much as I'd like, but all that I've tried has been really delicious.  I'll admit to giving myself a few pats on the back.  I never knew how good it would make me feel to hear Scott say that he'd rather have a meal that I've prepared than go out to a restaurant like Texas Roadhouse because my food is better!  haha!  I think he's exaggerating there, but he was completely serious.  Little sweetie!

Other than that, I've been having a lot of memories come to mind that have made me laugh, cry, want to dance, or just feel good.  Like I checked out the soundtrack from the movie "A Little Princess," I absolutely love that movie!  And on the soundtrack there's the music for when we meet Ms. Minchin for the first time and she floats down the stairs while saying, "Captain Crew, how delighted we are to meet you."  My family can testify to how I love to pretend to gently descend any long or short staircase while imitating her.  It's seriously so much fun! Try it!  Seriously!

Then, I also pulled out some old letters that friends and family sent to me while I was in Chile.  It's so great to read thru them again and remember what we were all going through during that time.  My favorite was the letter where my mom recounted a basketball game that my sister played in where she had to shoot a free throw, totally air balled it, and then my brother's making fools out of themselves as they cracked up about it.  Such good times!  Oh and then there are the letters from my brother where everything is "so stinkin' amazing!"  I swear he said that in every letter he wrote home!  I even found a few random ones from my brother-in-law when he was in Zimbabwe that my mom forwarded to me.  It's so much fun to read them all!
It made me really want to speak Spanish though.  Especially around Christmas, I find myself wanting to speak Spanish, sing the Christmas carols in Spanish, just do everything in Spanish.  I think it's because I was in Chile for two Christmases and I remember singing the hymns sooooooo much because everyone there thought we sang so well.  I swear I never felt more confident in my vocal abilities than I did there.  Maybe that was why I was willing to sing in church when Travis came home! haha!

Next memory: family dance parties on the wood floors in Virginia and North Carolina.  We had such a good time with those slick floors!  Oh, and part of this is also the memory of "model walking" to the song found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4i6P7WcbP4 .  Man we could stomp it out!  Kristi and Jamie, we may need to have a challenge when we all are together at Christmas!  We'll see if the sister-in-laws can hold their own! haha!  Just kidding Rachel, Alise, and Tammy; I'm sure you can walk it out. 

So my little walk down memory lane this week has been lots of fun. Hope you guys can have your own memory adventure at some point this holiday season!  Love you all and thanks for contributing to all of my memories!