Christmas time is here.

Christmas hit us like a tornado, leaving a path of destruction filled with wrapping paper and new gifts, and then covered us with a blanket of snow. 

We woke up Christmas morning and headed to my parent's house. We made biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon and my sister and her husband made chocolate oatmeal cookies and cinnamon rolls while Andrea Bocelli sang Christmas carols. (Man I love that CD.) Dad finally opened a present that he didn't roll his eyes at, although there were plenty eye-rolling moments. (Seriously mom..... a karaoke machine?!?) Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures. We hung out most of the morning and then headed back to Korey's parent's house to have Christmas with them. Korey's sister had these shirts made and gave us all pajama pants to go with them. We pulled out the tripod and the remote and made some Griswold family portraits.

Clover actually sat still for a picture and kind of looked at the camera.

Christmas. Miracle. 

It started snowing in the afternoon and kept going strong the rest of the evening. We set out a bowl and let it fill up and then Kim made some "snow icecream." I had never had it before. You just mix milk, vanilla flavoring, and sugar, and then add snow until it's the right consistency. Just adjust the sugar and vanilla flavoring until it tastes like vanilla icecream.

Doesn't it look awesome!

I attached one of my hair clips from my morning stocking to Clover's hair.

Isn't she beautiful?

This picture cracks me up. What a sweet picture buddy!

This was Clover's very first encounter with snow and my first White Christmas in GA. 

A beautiful, sweet end to a beautiful day.

 Well....Clover wasn't always peaceful about the snow. She went back and forth between impersonating Santa Claus and a grey hound. 

Am I the only one that calls out "Here comes the bunny!" whenever my dog decides to do laps in the yard?

I sure hope not.

Our Christmas Card This Year

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Spirit

Everybody who thinks it doesn't really feel like Christmas say yeah!

I need some Christmas spirit. It all seems so far away. Maybe I'm just a little down after a grueling week of finals that finished up a few grueling months of school. Maybe I'm getting older. I don't know what it is. All I know is that I've gotten myself into a serious Christmas funk and I can't seem to get out of it. I don't know what I need, but I know I need something. I can feel it. 

I've been brainstorming and this is what I've come up with so far to drum up some Christmas spirit. 

Make a Gingerbread house

Make Sugar Cookies

Make candy apple cider

Watch Christmas movies (Elf, The Grinch, Miracle on 34th street, Christmas Vacation)

Make salt dough ornaments

Read for fun!

Knit or crochet something

Take photographs of Christmas lights

Make a pencil drawing

Learn to play some Christmas songs on guitar

Run consistently

Watch the meteor shower

Ride the zip line at Lake Lanier Islands

Go see the magical nights of lights

Go see that house that has their lights set to music

Go see a Christmas play or performance

I've already knocked some things off my list.

First, we went to my parents house to help decorate for Christmas. Mom made chili and I made candy apple cider which is really just a fancy way of saying "I heated up red hot cinnamon candy with some store bought apple cider." I love it!

 Monday night we snuck out all bundled up with my tripod and camera in one hand and a sleeping bag in the other. We went to a field and watched the meteor shower and took pictures of the stars. The meteors were too quick to be caught by my camera, but an airplane showed up nicely. It was very cold but so romantic and fun. I just love a good adventure.

We did a few long exposures too. The lines are created by the stars and the turning of the earth. It reminds me of Revelation when John says he saw the stars fall from the heavens. 

Of course, I've already started watching Christmas movies. Although I slipped and watched Little Miss Sunshine this morning. (One of my very favorite movies) 

Today I think I'll try and make some sugar cookies with my mom, or read a book, or maybe draw. Perhaps I'll do all three. In any case, I fully intend to do every single thing on my Christmas list by the end of the year. 

Go big or go home right? 

This time I'm just lucky enough to do both.

The last mile

Finals are finally over. I already felt like I really needed a few days of rest when they began, a few days to do what the 1950's housewife side of me wants to do: clean my house, bake something, craft something, attempt to make Sunday morning biscuits. Instead I studied and felt pretty much like these two ladies for the past week.

Now finals are over. It seems strange. I used to feel a release after my last final in undergrad, like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. Dental school is different. Perhaps it's the seemingly insurmountable work load, especially during finals that always seems to leave me feeling like it's just another day at the office. I honestly felt as if I would wake up this morning and go to school and study. Instead, I choose to make Sunday morning biscuits, even though it isn't Sunday, which is when I usually make them. (Hence the nickname "Sunday morning biscuits.") They're really just buttermilk biscuits made from scratch.

I haven't always been able to make them either. I started making biscuits when Korey and I got married. Korey told me that no one could make biscuits like granny. It made me think that some day I want my grandchildren to say something like that about me. So, I took her recipe and kept trying to make it work. "Sift some flour into a bowl. Make a well in the center of the sifted flour. Pour in some buttermilk and add a handful of crisco. Mix it all together until it looks right, but don't over mix it. Then make them into biscuits and bake them." Simple enough. So I made the decision to make biscuits once a week when possible until I got it right. There were times that they were edible but not good and other times that they went straight into the trash. Then suddenly, one fateful Sunday morning, with my last bit of crisco and emptying my last bit of self rising flour into the sifter, it all came together. Korey ate three of them. Success! It only took me an entire tub of crisco, a few bags of self rising flour, countless little containers of buttermilk, and two years of Sunday morning biscuit making. Not too shabby I would say, not too shabby at all. 

So biscuits are baking. Finals are over and we're decking the halls....well not literally. We don't really have any to deck here, but I did manage to sneak in a few Christmas items. I needed something to pick me up during finals week.

First I took the leaves off my wreath and added some bling that used to encircle the candles on my mantle. 

Some hot chocolate in my favorite mug and my little plug in mosaic snowman that Korey bought me at Cracker Barrel last year.

My mom bought me this photo snow globe and it is my absolute favorite Christmas decoration. I only wish it played music.

Once my last final was over and I had taken a little nap, Korey took me out to dinner. I was content to be out on a date after not being able to spend much time together, but he had a surprise for me afterward. He took me to look at Christmas lights, one house in particular a schoolmate had told him about. They had a ton of Christmas lights that blinked and shimmered to the rhythm of songs on their very own radio station. It was magical. What a sweet man. I am so blessed to call him my family.