Yes, Blogworld, we braved the loooooong drive to Tejas. We stayed the night in Memphis at the lavish Ramada Inn to break up the drive at least somewhat. Nevertheless, from start to finish, two best friends (me & Kev that is) with 800 miles traveled, the snack bag eaten (no meal pitstops for this frugal pair!), one book-on-tape enjoyed (well, kind of enjoyed...), lots of Christmas carols sung (over and over again), and we arrived in Denton at Kevin's parent's house. We enjoyed dinner with the parents and Kevin's sister Robyn's family that was not able to join us in Spokane.
The next morning we headed to Arlington to see the precious Gerlt family. It was so refreshing just to be in their home again and to meet newest addition to the Gerlt family.
Then we headed to Austin to meet up with my parents for Christmas. As we have for every Christmas I can remember, we headed to Houston to join our extended family. Here are our favorite Christmas memories of '06:
Whoonu! Thanks to sister Shannon who brought this delightful game to Spokane, we too had lots of laughs on this side of the family. It was especially fun since my darling granny could join us in the festivities. Just don't try to change the rules. Though you might think it would confuse granny, it really just confuses my PhD mother.
Moose Meat! It has turned into a yearly tradition to receive Moose Munch popcorn from my aunt & uncle in Oklahoma. Though I think it's intended for the entire family, you have to make sure and get at it before mom does.
Mark & Val...sort of! Mark & Valerie weren't able to join us from New Jersey this year. Being the technically savvy people that we are, we scheduled a conference call Christmas so we could open our gifts together. My sweet husband had to work the 27th so he left from Houston to brave the drive back to Louisville...alone! He let me stay behind so I could spend some more time with my family & friends. Here is my showcase of my lovely friends I got to see:
Mama Ambs! Elijah is getting bigger and bigger! I absolutely love watching Amber as a mother and was so thankful to get to spend so much time with her. If only Louisville & Austin were closer!
Holly's in college! I've know this sweet girl since she was in eighth grade, and now she's in college. It's hard to believe!
Andrea's engaged! Though only for a short bit, I got to meet up with my dear friend Andrea Carney. We were roomies in China in 2004, and now she's engaged! Maybe I'll get to see her on the big day...
The One & Only...Ashley Marshall! A trip to Texas just wouldn't be complete without my fearless companion. Ashley was kind enough to be my date to a wedding when Kevin was absent.
Mrs. Sarah Patrick! Sarah was my roommate the last year of college, and now she's married. I was so thankful to be able to attend and was encouraged by how Scripture saturated their entire wedding was. Plus there were lots of fun friends to see. Derek & Sarah~ May your marriage be used to the end goal of not only happiness but primarily holiness.
And then back to reality. Back to Louisville. Back to work. Back to my husband. So fun. What a trip!
