Archive | December, 2011

Christmas.

31 Dec

Woops, It’s new years eve and I’m just now getting around to writing about Christmas. Pathetic.

Christmas is my very very favorite time of year. I love the way the stores sound with people rushing around and the Christmas music playing through the aisles. I love the smell of baked goods and freshly cut Christmas trees. There is no better time of year! I even enjoy draining my bank account purchasing gifts that I know my loved ones will appreciate. Most of all though I enjoy spending time with my family.

This year was even more special than usual. This year Scott and I celebrated our first Christmas together as a married couple. So special. We started the day early at around 6:30 because I’m still a little child who gets giddy over Christmas morning. I made breakfast which we shared at our little kitchen table with candles and holiday music playing in the background. I’m always amazed when I realize that I’m living the moments I always dreamed about. Christmas morning with my husband?!? How crazy!

After we finished our cinnamon rolls, eggs, bacon, and sausage,  we let our pups open up their puppy stockings so that they would get distracted by their toys and leave us alone as we shared our gifts. Scott spoiled me with a Kindle fire and I spoiled him with a pair of Oakley sunglasses a video game and a few other things. We then got dressed and ready for our tour around Grand Junction.

The tour started by going to my parents house and dropping off my Dad’s new lazy boy recliner. That man is SOOO spoiled! We opened gifts there then headed over to Scott’s parent’s house for Christmas dinner #1. It was so fun going over to my in-laws home for my first Christmas as a Dearborn. I still get so excited at having an extended family. We had a lovely meal that we got so full on. We then opened presents there and watched the Lakers game on tv. I love that my in-laws enjoy all sports cause there is always cheering going on no matter what’s on tv. At half time we hopped back into the car for the last stop on our tour.

Once we got back to my parent’s house my cousin Allison and her kiddos had arrived and everyone was busily running around the kitchen. I enjoy the craziness of a kitchen during the holidays. Sometimes stressful but always a fun sight. The kids were so excited to show off their new Christmas gifts. It was really precious because it was their first Christmas ever. After dinner #2 was cooked we all sat around the table and had a delicious meal and  shared memories of our favorite Christmas’, then played board games after. I love my family traditions.

This Christmas was so very special to me. Not only was this our first married Christmas but it also may be the last one we spend in Grand Junction for awhile. Who knows where the Air Force will be sending us, I certainly wouldn’t mind a warm Christmas for a change. I hope that we can get home for the holidays when we are travelling around, but sometimes it’s not possible.

I’m glad that we are already collecting memories with our combined families and I can’t wait for the future years to come.

Merry Christmas!

Odd job.

18 Dec

As I have spoken about before I am a cosmetologist and I work a full time job doing men’s hair. Every now and then I’m asked to do a modeling job which I also enjoy but I wouldn’t make a career of it. At the end of October, I was asked to do a modeling job for Downtown Grand Junction advertising. This included a commercial as well as newspaper advertisements, pictures on their website, and two billboards around town. I went into the job thinking that it would be a simple photoshoot but boy was I in for a surprise! It was a long afternoon spent walking around in the cold pretending to be having the time of our lives. Four hours later we went home and anxiously awaited the debut of our commercial. It premiered on a local station during a few commercial breaks during the “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade”. To my shock it actually wasn’t half as corny (but still a wee bit corny) as I thought it would be. That was good. I thought we had seen the worst of it but then I started seeing myself in newspapers. Odd. Nothing compared to the shock of seeing the billboard for the first time. Never have I ever thought I would be on a billboard. Pretty amusing. So I suppose I’ll share a few of my embarrassing shots and the commercial from the job. Enjoy the laughs!

Jesus: my comfort and strength.

13 Dec

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” -Psalm 23:4

As a little girl I would get really nervous about things. If I heard a sound in the dark my heart would start pattering a thousand beats a minute. If I had to do something outside my comfort zone, same thing. I was very fearful of a lot of things. My mom had me memorize the above verse as a way of being able to comfort myself and find strength in God. Anytime I would hear that bump in the night I would just repeat the verse over and over in my head until I was reminded that God was in control! Even as a little girl I knew my Jesus was the source of my comfort. He gave me the courage and strength to be able to conquer whatever obstacle was in front of me. I never realized just how much I’d appreciate my mom having me commit this to memory.

As I grew older, and wasn’t as fearful of the things the world threw at me, I didn’t see the need to keep this verse at the front of my memory and it just got pushed further and further into the back of my mind. (Funny how quickly we forget the things that bring such comfort.) I still had fears, they just weren’t so severe that they shook my very core.

Today I was sitting on the couch wondering why the heck Best Buy has to schedule Scott completely opposite of my work schedule. I haven’t really seen him in the last two days and I won’t see him at all tomorrow. I miss him a lot with this road block in our time spent together. It’s made me realize just how hard this Air Force life is going to be on me. Even though we still share the same bed at night I miss the quality time to just talk and laugh. With the Air Force I won’t even get the joy of rolling over in the middle of the night and knowing he’s right beside me. He’ll be gone. Three long months of lonely.

My heart went back to that same panic I felt as a little girl standing all alone in the dark. Somehow Psalm 23:4 broke through all the cobwebs and burst to the front of my memory and sure enough ended up on the tip of my tongue again. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” I felt the peace of Jesus picking me up into His arms and telling me “I got this!” A rush of relief swept over my body. My God is awesome and powerful and He has a wonderful plan for us!!!

I’m not going to let this verse slip back into the dusty corners of my mind. I’m keeping it right up front so I’m prepared for any fear that sneaks up on me during these next few years of uncertainty.

Thank you Jesus for being everything I need!

Horses, Airports and Dancing, Oh My!

10 Dec

Today I’d like to share a few of our favorite memories, captured on video, from our Honeymoon Adventures.

 Here is a video from Wyoming on our way back to Pinedale from Jackson Hole.

We’re CLEARLY city kids:

Now here’s a video of Scott dancing and singing at LAX airport before we flew back  to Grand Junction.

Yes, he’s singing “My milkshakes bring all the boys to the yard.” :

This last video is Scott dancing once again, back home in Junction:

Hope you enjoyed this little peek into our strange daily lives.

[Scott won’t be thrilled that I shared the last two videos with you, so feel lucky!]