Bittersweet Symphony

Shane and I were so blessed to be able to visit his parents this past week for Thanksgiving. It was the first time we had visited them at their home in Oceanside since we were married, and the visit definitely felt overdue. Upon our return Shane expressed how he hated to leave his parents, and we both reflected on how hard it is to live far from our families, and how much we desired to just be able to live normal life near them, so that every visit didn't have to be a big event that usually ends in disappointment due to the reality that the next one won't be for a while.  It shouldn't really shock me anymore that the majority of life, if not all of it, is bittersweet in nature. The Joy of visiting family turns into heartache when you have leave,  new beginnings mean something is coming to an end, and so on and so forth. As hard as it can be I have to constantly be giving thanks for where I am at and the blessings the Lord has given me today, because even though, for all of us, we find our different challenges at each juncture in our journey, I know I will look back and miss this time with all its bittersweetness, so why not appreciate it in the moment instead of in hindsight for once?

Shane and I definitely regret not taking enough pictures during our visit, but here are a few we DID take!

 Brad, waiting in anticipation before we entered Disneyland! 

 Dad scoping out the scene.

 Being dorks, a.k.a. ourselves. 

 Check out the little old woman behind me. Yes, the one wolfing down a giant pickle. She and her family had 3 giant pickles and were just passing them around taking bites off them. It was so ridiculous-As you can imagine I really enjoyed standing behind them in line for 30 minutes. 

 Waiting for the Safari! 

 He loves me. 

 Waiting for Buzz Lightyear

 We had to take this one for Gideon : ) 

Shane and his Pops

 A robotics show that kind of creeped me out, can you say irobot? 

 After the Christmas parade we got in line for "It's a small world"

 Mom and Dad enjoying the boat ride through the festive tunnel

 Shane took about 20 pictures in the Decked out tunnel of singing Dolls : ) 

 Happy Holidays! 

 I must say the castle looked pretty incredible all lit up. 

 We had a magical experience : ) and slept hard that night for sure! 

 Thanksgiving day Shane's parents (okay mostly his Mom : ) ) Slaved over the stove to put together a wonderful meal. 

 Teamwork!!!

 Brad's Pre Thanksgiving Nap

 We enjoyed visiting with Coach G, Linda, and their newest addition, Ezra in the a.m. before gearing up for the afternoon meal!

We had a lot to be thankful for and wish these gatherings around the table could happen more often. 

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After returning Friday night, my body was completely confused since it had just begun to adjust to the 3 hour time difference in California. So after unpacking, I caught a second wind and decided I couldn't wait to start doing Christmas decorating!!!

Welcome to the "Christmatized" 1005. 

 At first I thought I would just unpack boxes, but I couldn't resist. 

 I love these little salt and pepper shakers from my mom.

 Nativity set from Mom Woodward.

 Entry Way

 Our Nativity set and Advent Calendar filled with candy & ready for the countdown.

 Shane setting up the tree. 

 Our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree!

 As crazy as it sounds, I really wanted to decorate the T.V. cabinet, and Shane and I found the perfect addition to give it a Holiday touch! (P.S. yes that is Home Alone on the T.V. in the background, a Christmas Classic)

We found a USB powered mini Christmas Tree that is the perfect size for our little bride and groom :) Its connected to the T.V. so it only turns on when the T.V. is on. Ridiculous-YES, Do I love it- OF COURSE!!!

I love the Christmas Season and can't wait to enjoy it these next few weeks as we finish up the semester and gear up to travel up to Chicago to see my family!

That's all for now! Craft Blog to follow soon! 

-M.W. 

iMovie Practice Round

Shane and I recently bought a macbook and I have really wanted to peruse some of the programs and figure out their ins and outs. On the plane ride over to San Diego I decided to give the iMovie program a shot by piecing together some video clips I took of Gideon on my visit to Chicago a couple weeks ago.

Below is the youtube link if you want to check it out.

Gideon 2 Years

-M.W.

Pre Thanksgiving Thankfulness

Last weekend I packed up my things and rushed home from work to jump on a plane headed for Chicago to visit my family. Shane and my parents treated me to this Fall Retreat as a birthday present this year, knowing that after our Fourth of July visit, I wouldn't be seeing them until Christmas : (

After a long day at work, a delayed flight, and finding my way into O'hare through some basement door after being let off on the tarmac, I finally met my parents and headed back to Dundee!

My dad couldn't help but stop at Johnny's Beef on the way back, we made it there just in time before closing.

It was so good to be with my family and meet the newest addition! (William Richard Gehrig-Racquel and Byron's new baby boy!)

My visit, was short, but it was also sweet, and made me look forward all the more to when I will visit in December WITH Shane : )

Below are a few pictures from my visit.

 Sweet Little William

 Gideon admiring his cute little brother-it's adorable to see him kiss and hug him all the time.

 Me and my nephews : ) 

Gideon playing in his tunnel.

The first time Gideon sat completely still during a hair cut-I take all the credit : ) 

Nicole and me in a rare moment of sitting down during a busy day of baking and cooking!

 The men standing around talking. . . not sure why someone is sleeping in the middle of the floor....

 Gideon and I hanging out on Friday night.

Trying to make a "crazy face"

 The Gamers

 Me and Mom

Nicole and Gideon Saturday Afternoon

Here are a couple videos of Gideon and his non stop energy!!!!

It was so good to see them all and I can't wait to be with them again next month!!!!!!!

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This summer my mother-in-law so sweetly thought of me and bought me this cupcake pan. If you can't tell from the picture, it is rigged with silicone knobs that create a hole in the middle of each cupcake so you can  fill them! 

 It's taken me until the Fall to actually try it out! 

I decided to try and come up with a good Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice cupcake. 

 Post Baking

I filled each one with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. . . 

Not the best looking- but after topping them with cream cheese frosting and a dash of nutmeg-they were moist and delicious!

Another fall treat I cannot resist is carmel apples! I had purchased a few from the grocery store that were awful!!! I broke down and decided we needed to make some of our own.

 Okay...so I didn't make my own carmel....but a working girl's gotta take shortcuts once and a while!

YUM! 

The Fall is at its peak here in Georgia-and although my allergies are killing me! It is beautiful to behold.

In one week we jump on a plane headed to see Shane's parents in Oceanside, Ca, and we look forward to our first visit out there as a married couple!

-M.W.