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12/26/08

Christmas!!!!

I was really worried Christmas wouldn't feel like Christmas this year, since my parents and Ryan are in Hawaii for the first time in y-e-a-r-s (they almost always come to our house, wherever that may be) and we couldn't afford to join them since we got married in October. But, it actually turned out to be one of the best Christmases I've had, and definitely one to remember. On Christmas Eve, we went to a candlelight service at a local Methodist Church and came home drinking hot tea and listening to "A Rat Pack Christmas" on Cd. Even though it was just the 2 of us, we still got up at about 8am--too excited to keep sleeping, I guess some things stay the same! We turned on our Christmas music and ule log, and began to open stockings and presents. I have to say, we made out like bandits! Adam got me a framed "Cartoon of St.Anne" by DaVinci and a TomTom, while I got him a massage, some movies and a t-shirt he's been dying to have. I don't really see what's o funny, it has a picture of several animals and reads "Animals Taste Good", he thinks it's the funniest thing....ever. After we finished out present opening and showered, we headed to Corinth to see Cynthia, Mark & the kids (Adam's sister and her family). On the way, we got a chance to call Adam's parents and Granio for a Merry Christmas hello, which was nice.

The house, upon arrival, was a Christmas explosion and a frenzy of Elizabeth and Ethan showing us one gift after another. We gave them their Christmas presents, ate lunch and hung out until about midnight. All in all, a wonderful and very Merry Christmas.

12/7/08

Mazda Funeral

Just to let you know. We officially have 1 car. The Mazda died. DIED. As in, no more, ceased to be, non-existent vehicle. I HATE THAT CAR! For the record, I called it. If anyone cares to remember, I thought we should try and sell it the first 5 breakdowns we had. But now it is dead. It died while Adam was en route to Em's and a cop had to push it into a parking lot.



Nice.

12/3/08

Deck the Halls

Christmas!!!!! How I love you!!! Our house is decorated in wait, we even bought a 6ft fake tree this year instead of our typical Charlie Brown tree I've had since middle school. I've got 'candles' in all the windows, Nutcrackers and The Rat Pack Christmas!!! The only thing that would make my holiday any better would be a white Christmas, but I doubt anything like that will be happening in humid lil Fort Worth!

11/30/08

Thanksgiving 2008


Thanksgiving for my family has almost always been out of town. The last 5 go like this 1) New Orleans 2) New Orleans 3) Hawaii 4) Italy 5) Italy. When it was announced we'd all be in Amarillo....it was weird. What was neat was that Shannon & Kyle (cousins) came down from Oklahoma City to my parents for the holiday, a special treat. An even better treat, Cyndey and Brandon came over for dinner one night, having come home early from India! I have never been happier to see Cyd! Ryan, Adam and I took Shannon & Kyle out to Palo Duro (I mean really, what else is there to do in Amarillo) for an afternoon and cave-climbed.

Can you tell we're cousins? Haha... On Thanksgiving itself, Adam's parents and brother Jacob came over for dinner and shared in the celebration with the O'Connells and VanHeests--it was really nice to get to be with all different types of family for the holiday. Afterwards was a long treck back to FtWorth and back to the grind. *sigh*

11/1/08

Halloween

I LOOOOVE Halloween! Not as much as I love (obsess?) over Christmas, but Halloween makes a very good second. However, it is by far Adam's favorite holiday. Last year was a blast because we took Nick trick or treating with Pat and Jenn, but this year we stuck to our non-apartment neighborhood and decided to watch scary movies and hand out candy. I even splurged at Walmart for some foam tombstones, cobwebs, and orange lights to decorate with! I set out our creepy pumpkins (I wish I had thought to take a picture) that we carved a couple days ago got our huge bowl of candy and sat to wait....and wait..........and wait. Finally, around 8 we could hear little giggles coming up our walk and opened the door to some vampires, princesses and a little pumpkin, while the screams of "Nightmare on Elm Street" filled the house. *sigh* How I love holiday traditions! Once the children quit making it to the house, we feasted on the leftover candy and watched scary movies until about 3am! Then came the fun part....attempting to sleep....I fear I won't be doing a lot of sleeping for awhile. I am such a baby...I even made Adam find a nightlight for our bedroom.

10/27/08

Honeymoons, You Should Take One



Our honeymoon was a much needed event! I had NO IDEA how exhausting a wedding could be! Flying to San Diego, taking a cruise through Mexico and following it up with 3 days in San Deigo = Wonderful! When we got on the boat, we checked into our room to unpack and take a quick nap...and woke up 6 hours later, just in time for dinner! A cruise was so great, because there was no pressure, lots of things to do, and everything was right at your fingertips! We did a LOT of napping (we're really old at heart) and took great advantage of room service for breakfast!

We even played the Married Game (their version of The Newlywed Game, but for all Married Couples) and WON!! We actually played several games on board, but this was the best--we came home with 3 "24k plastic ships on sticks", and drank our bottle of "Italiano del Cheapo" (awful awful awful champagne we won) on board. We even made friends with another couple about our age that is stationed in Hawaii. The whole thing was wonderful, dancing, nights out with the captain, seadoos, shopping, and all the sunsets and wine you could stand!!!

*sigh* I may very well need to take a yearly honeymoon ;)

10/23/08

THE.BEST.WEDDING....EVER!


Back from everything---and so happy to tell you we really did have just about the perfect wedding! Fairytale from start to finish! There's really too much to say...it was just perfect....exactly what I have always dreamed of! The candles, the garden, the gas lamps and twinkle lights, the fountains, the Victorian Manor, THE DRESS, the cake, the flowers, the hair, the speeches, the ceremony!!! Amazing! I cried as soon as my Dad and I started down the aisle, it was so special. I felt so little, I don't remember the last time I held my Dad's hand, but I did the whole time we prayed after our walk down the aisle (which was to Such Great Heights).

I am so so happy! All the toasts were amazing, but Adam gave a (surprise) toast on love that brought me to tears, he is an incredible man and I am so proud to call him my husband! (can you believe it!!!) I can't think of anything more to say on it without saying everything....but if you want to know, I can easily talk for hours! :)

All for now,
Mrs. Adam Owens (sounds great doesn't it !?!)

10/4/08

Wedding Extravaganza

FINALLY!!!! Getting married in SEVEN DAYS!!!! ONE WEEK!!!!! AAAAK!!!!!!!

I love this man....

9/24/08

Cydney & Brandon's Wedding


We've been back awhile, but it's worth updating! Cydney (my best friend) and Brandon got married September 13, and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! The whole thing started off with one of the greatest, and super awkward Bachelorette party. We started out with dinner, our poor waitress had to put up with all sorts of ridiculous penis lollipops, an on-going game of Dirty Minds, and roaring laughter. :) From dinner, we moved on to Burberry's downtown for drinks, and Sassy's (yes, the gay bar) for drinks. It was hilarious. At Burberry's, one of the guys Sally had liked in high school and several of the girls with us had dated, was the musician. We told him it was Cyd's last single night out, and he sang her a song in front of the entire bar. It was great! All the while, the guys were having their Bachelor party via camping trip out at Greenbelt. All they would tell us is they smoked some cigars, set off fireworks and at one point Jason Dunham (think a mix between Jesus and Johnny Cash) was in his boxers and cowboy hat, explaining the sinking of the Spanish Armada using beer cans and himself, pretending the fire was the ocean. Yes. Sometimes, going back to Amarillo is so worth it! Friday was their rehearsal and rehearsal dinner---it was a complete C & B event. A costume rehearsal dinner. I went as a gypsy, Adam wore Ryan's turtle costume (from when he was 5), and we added some swords and a bandanna-viola, instant ninja turtle! Brandon was a mummy, Cydney was an Egyptian, Chris & Jenny went as Cydney & Brandon. Even Cydney's great aunt, who is ancient, dressed up and went as a hippie. I gave my toast at the rehearsal dinner and surprised even myself when I cried. I recalled our being assigned to make an Indian diarama for Texas History, and how it cemented our friendship when we agreed Trolly dolls and My Little Ponies were clearly the best medium. From dioramas, to Steppers, to Church Camp, we've always had each other. All in all, it was greatness.

While we were getting ready for the ceremony, all the girls got hungry...so we ordered a pizza!!! I love our friends! Their wedding was beautiful! Cydney walked down the aisle to "As I Walk Down to the River to Pray" and Chris & Laura preformed the service. I can't believe we've gotten to this place. Where we're all getting married, and friends are having kids or and buying houses.

At their reception, we enjoyed some Red Stripe and great Indian food, along with fabulous music (of course). By the end, almost every guy had stripped down to their undershirt and dress pants, and the girls had lost their shoes and pinned up their dresses. We were soooo sweaty, and the dancers left after Cyndey & Brandon!!! All in all, it was a GREAT wedding, and a GREAT way to spend a weekend off. :) I love you McCulloughs!!!!

9/19/08

Adadadadadadam

Happy Birthday Adam! Happy 23! SMOOCH!!!

9/17/08

Somewhere

Somewhere lit by the rising sun,
expecting the day that has not yet begun.
Somewhere warm with fresh dew drops,
and trees with blue birds on their tops.
Somewhat alone and feeling cold,
thinking of you and being old.
Somewhat scared, and slightly lonely,
dreaming of the "what if's" and "if only's".
Somehow peaceful and full of charm,
a quiet night void of alarm.
Somehow at ease and feeling content,
at last knowing what God had meant.
Something is throbbing and consuming the rest,
swelling and tearing inside my chest.
Something is growing as the sun sheds its light,
I cling to my legs and make farewells to the night.
Sometimes it's unique and overwhelmingly beautiful,
and other times it's tarnished and rather dull.
Sometimes my heart weighs heavy with the pain,
sludging and searching through the rain.
but...
Somehwere there's peace and brand new light,
a new morning conqueres the night.
Somewhere the sun doesn't shine as bright,
a place without you, tonight.

3/22/08

Elizabeth's Birthday

Today was our (Adam's...?) niece's birthday. She is now 8! We spent the morning at Chuck-E-Cheese's playing skiiball and getting Ethan (our 5 year old nephew) millions and millions of tickets.

The best was probably when we gave Elizabeth her card with a check inside. She opened the card, which played noise, and was momentarily amused, then asked "where's the present?" to which we replied "it's right there, it's that check". Of course, being 8, all she saw was a piece of paper, curled her nose and put it in the trash pile. We all laughed a minute, as Mark talked to her:

Mark: Elizabeth, do you know what a check is?
Elizabeth: no....
Mark: it's something you take to the bank and get money for, it's the same as cash
(taking the check in hand) see right here, where it says 'fifteen dollars' that's how much it's worth
Elizabeth: (snatching check) OH MY GOSH!!!!

I love being an Aunt, I think it's fabulous!

1/23/08

Memory

My worst fear is to forget....or should I say not remembering? I associate forgetting something as a choice made as the result of bitterness to put something from your mind...where as not remembering is simply neglected thoughts escaping to the corners of your mind -where only a shooting star or a smile from a stranger can bring to the front. Too often as a defense mechanism I choose to forget things, because it's so much easier to pretend like they never happened. Not necissarily the bad things that give you a reason to despise someone, but the good things that remind you that there is every reason in the world to be in love with them. Fortunately bad times and arguments are automatically put away from your mind as time erodes away at your memory, however the good memories (hugs, laughs, bare feet) they're harder to hide... your body gets confused, your heart doesn't understand why your mind wants to hide something that made you feel so good at one point in time.

In all reality..........why would YOU want to?

Not remembering is scary...because you can't remember to keep from not remembering - all you can think of is trying to forget. The most minor things can jog a memory.... possibly the way shoes lie on the front door's carpet, feet hanging out a car window, or those hubcaps that are hanging on my walls but i only realize they're there maybe once a year... Every so often these things will catch the corner of my eye - and flood lights illuminate the hidden memories- suprisingly enough, they haven't lost any clarity... Warm butterflies fill my stomach as the illumination of one memory sparks the illumination of many - butterflies turn into heavy weights as I realize these were things I didn't remember i was trying to forget.

At those points in time when I'm basking in the bliss of the past, I'm happy that i didn't remember to forget them...and I'll think i'll forget to keep forgetting things -because I've worked so hard to achieve good memories, so it would be a waste to let them become pale in the shadows of my mind...

Confusing? yeah, i know (heh)