Christmas Fun

We had our office Christmas party last night at this fancy restaurant called Vincenzo's. We had our own private room & Mr. Vincenzo himself came to pay us a visit. It was fun to be able to dress up and hang out downtown with my friends from work. Plus I had the best looking date!










The highlight of the party was definitely our office gift to our boss, Jeremy. As in any negotiating business, there is a lot of pressure to settle files for a profit. When Jeremy is pressured by his bosses, ost naturally he passes on the stress to the rest of us. He'll frequently make trips through the office repeating, "Settle! Settle! Settle!" So what better gift could we have purchased than Squakers McCaw? We programmed it with all of Jeremy's choice "encouraging" phrases, and it now resides in his office.


As I'm sure many of you know, I am losing my dear Beth Wilson. Her husband Lee was offered a terrific job at Union University, and the Lord led them to accept it. Obviously, this means a move to the thriving metropolis of Jackson, Tennessee. It's hard to say how things will be around the office without Beth. She has been such an encouragement & rock among the crazy drama that goes on in our office. Not only will she be missed in the office, but who is going to host Texas Monday Night Dinner? Yes, it's become such a staple in our week that it's practically a proper noun & deserves capital letters. I'll certainly miss those them but Jackson is only four hours away and is a perfect stop on a trip to Tejas. So happy trails to you, Wilsons!

We're heading off to Tejas this evening. Pray for our all-night drive! Hopefully, we'll get to catch up with some of you while we're there. If not, I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures & stories once we return.

Christmas is coming!

We love Christmas around the Peek home. Everyday I before I come home from work, Kevin plugs in our Christmas tree lights and turn on Christmas music to welcome me home. I'm especially happy if my new favorite song of the season is playing. I've decided this year that I ove the Muppet version of "12 Days of Christmas" simply for the fact that Beeker sings the 9th or 10th day. Meee, meee, meee, meee, meee...or something. If that doesn't make sense, go listen to the song.

We're heading off with them other Peeks to venture the wide open plain between here and the west. Texas that is! We're pulling an all-nighter to head out on Thursday night. After depositing Chris & Sarah in Denton, Kevin & I will split our time between my family in Austin and his in Denton.

It snowed today! Not a lot of snow but enough for it to feel like Christmas. But then the weather warmed up and it turned into a nasty, slushy, rainy day. I was sad to give up my Saturday run (my only day where I don't have to fight the sunset!) so I dashed out for a bit when the rain let up. It was fun to zoom past all the residual snow patches...fun at least until I splashed in a huge puddle on the way home!

Besides the snow & Texas preparation, we've been hitting up the holiday parties. A late night of gaming at the Pennington Party Palace last night, a cookie exchange party this afternoon, Christmas caroling tomorrow night, and my office party on Wednesday...I'm thankful to have a 10 day vacation to recover from all the parties & traveling!

But in the midst of the bustle that can consume Christmas, let us not lose sight of the truth behind it all. Let us remember that Christmas is when God came in flesh to live a perfect life and die an undeserved death on our behalf. Yes, Jesus is the reason for the season but ultimately Easter is the culmination of Christmas. From the point of his birth, Jesus' life was leading him to the cross where he would bear the penalty for our sins and prepare a way for us to be in right relationship with God. So let us remember! Let us see Jesus this holiday season for who he truly is! Let us repent of loving & living for self and follow the one who is deserves our love & life! Let every heart prepare him room! Merry Christmas!

Death of a Loved One

It's been a sad past week and a half in the Peek home. We had to say goodbye to someone we dearly loved. Our car (who I named Tabby when I was 16) has left us for the great garage in the sky.

It all started the Friday before last when Chris was taking Tabby for her final voyage. She broke down on the side of the road and spend the next week in between the shoulder on Frankfort Avenue and two mechanic shops only to find out that her timing belt broke and her valves bent. It was going to cost $1600 to bring her to life again, and though we love her (and need her!), our budget just can't support that right now. I ended up selling her on Craigs List (yes, Beth Wilson, an idea fee to you!), and now we're learning how to be a one-car family.

In other news, we had a freakish warm front today. For the first time in weeks, I got to run outside in shorts and a T-shirt. Surprisingly enough, I've actually enjoyed my cold weather runs but this was nice for a change. I even had to be concerned about my ice cream getting melty in the car on the way home from the grocery store this evening. Not a frequent occurance in these parts during December.

Kevin finished his spring semester strong and then plunged back into the thick of things with a week long mini-mester class. They're called J-terms around here and it pretty much means Kevin leaves the house the same time I do in the morning and spends all day in class. Tonight he went straight from class to work! My husband is such a hard worker. I love that about him.

We're headed off to the Great Land o' Tejas next week! The other Peeks are road tripping with us so we're pulling an all-nighter to drive home. Well, most likely Kevin & Chris will do most of the driving and Sarah & I will do most of the sleeping in the backseat. But that's what men are supposed to do, right? We are all very excited to see family & friends. I'm especially excited to take a break from office life.

Well, that about wraps up the happenings around here. Thanks for reading!