This is Forever?! Yes!

Hello everyone out there! We hope you all had a joy-filled Christmas. We sure did. BJ and I really love Christmas time, but this year was a whole new adventure! Being able to spend Christmas with your best friend/husband is such a blessing. We just get to do stuff together all the time! I guess that is just still a new concept to us. The other night we were talking about how I keep having this feeling that we are on some vacation that is about to end...but it is not! We get to be married and together forever! I know there will be good times and not-so-good times, but we are just so thankful to get to to it together.
We have loved having the tree up, having too many candles burning at once, buying Christmas decor, and buying gifts. I guess the tree has to come down pretty soon....it is pretty dry and my Mom taught me that is dangerous!

Here is a little about our wonderful Christmas:
We drove up to Atlanta last Wednesday (Christmas Eve Eve). We got there at night time but still got to spend some good time with the fam. It was so much fun just to sit around and chill with Milla, Mom, Dad, June, and BJ. On Thursday, we went with Dad on the annual Christmas Eve shopping trip. This is always so much fun. BJ got to experience it with us this year! Camilla got a really cute dress, I got a cool apron, BJ got some shirts, Dad got all kinda of clothes (the only time during the year he buys himself anything), we bought Mom some goodies, we got Katie got some cute childrens plates from Williams-Sonoma (sooo...maybe those are for the girls?), and we got Nathan a cool leather notebook. If you skipped over that part....it does not hurt my feelings...I probably would have too.
Anyway, we got home from that trip and I went to go retrieve Emma Kate's Barbie bike from Katie and Art's house! That was fun and I was glad to be a part of the first bike thing. She loved it! Although, since she had seen it in the store, she could not remember if she already had it or not. It was really funny. Picture us all standing there trying to convince this sweet 3 year old that she does not in fact have this bike. She decided she believed us and then she got really excited.
Later on we went to the Christmas Eve service. This was so amazing and special as always! The music at Church of the Apostles is spectacular and is such a blessing to all that hear it. It was an extra special time because the Geyers came! Jamie, Di, and Ern sat with us at Church and then came over for dinner! We had so many laughs, told many stories, and learned many lessons at dinner. It was so fun having them there.
**Important Side Note** Right before the Christmas Eve service started, Elizabeth called to tell me that she and Evan were ENGAGED. It was so sweet. They will be getting married in Montgomery and I am so excited to be the in-town helper to her Mom and sister since Elizabeth is currently in Austin!
Christmas morning was ver very very chill. We just got up around 9:30 and had coffee. Mom made a bountiful (big word, I know) and tasty breakfast that we all enjoyed very much. It was so much fun just sitting around in our PJ's. We all only opened one gift because we wanted to wait for Nathan to get there and for Katie, Art, and the babies to get back from Art's parents house.
Once they all got there, EK got the bike, Dad read Scripture, and we started on presents and stockings! It was a very very fun afternoon, and was followed by another tasty meal by Mom and Katie! We did some toasts and just had a plain ole good time!
The day after Christmas was relaxing too. BJ and Dad ran around town doing some things, and I went to lunch with Mom and Milla. We left Atlanta that afternoon and headed back to Montgomery.
What we did when we got back to Montgomery will need its own blog post. We bought a TV, but only after 5 stores and 4 hours. It was worth it though!!
On Sunday we got up early and had a really fun day with BB, Mr. Jim, Aunt Jill, Payton, and Austin. We got to just hang out, do fun things, and be together. It was great to be with them all day! We also had some really really good food and got to exchange some fun gifts! They have all taken me in with the widest and most open arms ever created. I am so thankful!
So...the moral of the story is...we have a WONDERFUL family and God has BLESSED us. I know I use that word a lot, but it is just the truth!
Thank you to all of our sweet family members who have made our first month and a half of marriage so incredible. We love you!

Guess What? We Got MARRIED.

2 weeks ago tonight, BJ and I became Husband and Wife. It was certainly the BEST day of our lives and was a dream come true. I honestly could not have asked for more. We were surrounded by those we love the most and we got to vow to love each other forever! Parts of the day are a blur, but I remember most of it very well and am so thankful for that. I cannot believe it is over. Thank you so much to my Mom ad Dad for everything. Thank you to my WHOLE family and to the Haistens!! Thank you to all of our sweet friends for being so wonderful. November 21st, 2009 was priceless.

We spent a wonderful week in Highlands, North Carolina and have now been in Montgomery for a week. We are in shock everyday that BJ does not have to take me home, and we are not coordinating long distance things, BUT being together all the time feels oddly natural! The Lord has giving us an amazing gift through marriage and we are THANKFUL!! 

OK, these are out of order but here is our Christmas tree and a view of our messy den!! We had so much fun getting the tree and BJ put it up like a champ. It was totally no big deal! And he is the light master. He did a great job. OH, it is also worthy to note that we got the tree at Home Depot and proceeded to put it INSIDE my small Jetta. We put the back seat down and stuck the tree through the trunk up into the car. It was really funny and worked out ridiculously well.

Our First Tree! The lights were not totally finished at this point. We ran out and had to go back to target to get one more strand. We also bought a tree skirt today so it is not so naked anymore. It is a cute quilted skirt we got at an antique store.

My light man.

Taking the mesh off the tree. Note the wedding gifts and stuff everywhere :) It is much cleaner now so do not worry. Well...more like we just moved all the gifts into the spare bedroom. I should put a picture of that up. It is INTERESTING!

The finished product minus the tree skirt! Hope you like! We need a few more ornaments but they will come with time. I am sure one day we will have wayyy too many. Thank you to the Knights for the great star at the top of our tree.

I better get back to watching this Texas game....it is getting intense. BJ is going nuts. About that SEC Champ game earlier...whatever...Bama does not deserve that kind of glory and that is all I have to say about that.

WAR EAGLE FROM THE HAISTENS!!!!