Christmas!!!

That's right folks, we're only 25 days away from Christmas!

The tree is up and it looks quite lovely! We were able to get a real tree this year and it smells so good :)

We were able to get ornaments and lights from Ms. Manley (one of my education professors) and that saved us some money, but Christmas stuff is still a little pricey!! We figured its ok though, because you really only have to buy ornaments, stocking, etc., once and then you're pretty much covered for....well, forever. :)

I haven't taken real pictures yet because I keep adding things, but here's what it looked like a few days ago (from my phone)!

Its so fun to get ready for Christmas with Britt! We've fallen asleep to The Grinch the past two nights and I'm headed to the library today to go pick up all the other Christmas movies I can find! :)

We also started to come up with some possible "Christmas Traditions" for our very first Christmas together. In my family, we used to make Ritz peanut butter crackers dipped in chocolate, so that's a definite tradition that we'll keep! Britt wants to watch a Christmas movie every day (or as much as possible) leading up to Christmas, so that's added to the "new-tradition" list too! We watched Polar Express a few days ago (my first time watching it all the way through) and I really liked it!

We just have a few weeks of school left and then Christmas will be here before I know it!

What traditions will you have this year??

Grace and Peace

I don't know what's going on this month. It's seriously been a whirlwind! Other than a few brief nights of visiting with friends, most days/nights are filled with lots and LOTS of homework. (I'm paying for this to be my life right now???)

The highlight of my week is definitely going to church. Britt and I have been so blessed to be a part of The Village Church...and at the end of a very hard week, it's so refreshing to walk into a loving community and just worship in the presence of Christ together. However, the past 2 weeks we've been SLAMMED with homework and haven't been able to attend. I really hate that this has happened. Maybe its the combination of both Britt and I working 25-30 hours each week, taking 15-18 hours of school, and getting home for the first time anywhere between 7:30-9pm, or maybe it's poor time management (blogging, face-booking, and Pintrest are my worst enemies!). Either way, it makes me sad that we've had to miss church.

Missing church for 2 weeks makes my heart feel distant from Christ. I play worship music, I listen to the previous week's podcast, pray, and read my Bible...but there's just something so special and intimate of being in a room full of believers, affirming our faith in Christ, being reminding of redemption, salvation, and grace that covers a multitude of sin. (Wow- I'm tearing up just thinking about how incredible our Creator really is!)

I guess there's no real topic/reason for this blog other than to let you know that I'm a real person who deals with real things. I know you guys know what I mean. There's a closeness with Christ that disappears when you are out of church for a while. If you have a home church, I would encourage you to go as often as possible and get plugged in with serving somewhere. If you don't have a home church, or aren't a believer (and you live near me) please come with us to church! I KNOW you will love it. Who doesn't like hearing that they were intentionally created, that they are loved unconditionally, and that the very same God who created us, would give his son so that we may be saved through Him, and be able to live a full, abundant life with Christ here and for eternity.

Love you friends....

Grace and Peace,
Brittany

You sneaky little lady!!!

First and foremost, IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!! (Thanksgiving is just an eating holiday, so although I am grateful we get off school/work for it, it doesn't count for anything in my book. Also, you don't usually hear stores/radios/walkman's playing "Thanksgiving tunes" throughout the months of November-Jan like you do with Christmas songs!! Am I right?)

Let's get back on track folks,
It's almost Christmas and decorations are already lining the aisles of my sweet, filthy Wal*Mart. Beautiful ornaments, Santa hats, and poinsettias are staring me in the face, begging to be bought. BUT! Alas, I am waiting patiently for them to go on sale, and for Thanksgiving to come and go so I don't feel weird about buying Christmas stuff so early! Ahh......this is going to be a great Christmas! :) (First one as a married couple..holla!!!)

So yesterday I saw a "Bag Sale" sign out at the thrift store across the street from me...It read "BAG SALE: Wed-Sat". Then and there, the wheels in my mind began to turn just thinking of all the AWESOME stuff I could potentially find! I had missed the last bag sale they had and some very cool, vintage-y candlesticks were picked up before I could get there. I had been eyeing them all week and was waiting for the bag sale so it would be a little cheaper to buy them, but someone got to them before me....such a bummer!

  BUT! I was prepared today! Britt gave me some extra cash he had and I headed over to the store...I was determined to get the most out of my money! I walk in, and the lady at the counter says, "Grab a bag, you can fill it with anything you'd like!". (Thank you, kind greeter.) I found the coolest stuff! LOTS AND LOTS of Christmas gift-bags. TONS of cool yarn, some cute glass napkin holders (that could definitely make a pretty Christmas present), some pants for Britt, a Christmas snow-man mug, and a cute sweater for me. As I walk up to the counter I see a little hand-written sign that says, "BAG SALE: Clothes Only!". 


YEAH!!! I KNOW RIGHT!!!

In my mind, I'm going crazy. WHAT??? I JUST SPENT 30 MINUTES DIGGING THROUGH OLD DONATED STINKY STUFF AND YOU SAID ANYTHING I'D LIKE CAN GO IN THE BAG!!!


I looked down at my bag of treasure junk, and was filled with disappointment. I asked one last time (in my saddest voice) if it was really clothes only, and after seeing a sweet head-nod that only 80 year old women can do in a way that would calm any person down, I set the bag next to the counter and told her I had yarn, mugs, and another things too. 

I didn't need any of that stuff, but I still walked out of that stinky old thrift shop with my tail between my legs and my head hung low. 


What a sneaky little lady, right?! Moral of the story, know the fine print of a bag sale before you go rummaging through a store! :)