Top Ten

2011 flew by – I feel like it was yesterday I was packing for Disney World but it was a year ago!! Here’s a look back over the twelve past months with the highlight of my top ten favorite memories!

10. Delaware Water Gap – Fathers Day

9. OCNJ – Family Vacation

8. Interior Design Certification Class – Temple University

7. NYC Day Trip

6. Christmas Eve

5. Baptism – April 4, 2011

4. The Happiest Place on Earth

3. New Paltz, NY

2. Kayla & Bucky’s Wedding

1. June 2, 2011

 

A year full of change.
A year full of growth and learning.
A year full of family and love.

I hope I can say all of that in twelve months about 2012.
Happy New Year!

Christmas Day

We all got up and got ready for the day. Kayla and Bucky came over around 10:30. We read the Christmas story from Luke and had brunch. Then the gift giving began.

Sarah got me adorable Owl stationary – love it!!

Kayla hand sewed us pillows for our bedrooms in the new house!!
 

Mom and Dad gave me my favorite painting to hang in my new room annnnd drummm rollll…. A SEWING MACHINE! Evidently Mark and I had a conversation about how much I wanted one because my mom asked him to figure out what I really wanted for Christmas. I don’t even remember talking about it!! Sneaky sneaky.

After presents at our house we headed to my mom’s parents house to exchange and celebrate with her family. The cousins all exchange names and the adults exchange. My cousin Ellen did quite well :) I had the youngest cousin. She got matching clothes for her and her doll, Shasta. They changed immediately. SO cute!!

 

Then I headed to work for the longest four hour shift ever. Everyone was out with their families and it was very very dead. And very boring. But then I headed back to Nana and Poppop’s for some trivial pursuit. The night ended with a gfree chocolate chip muffin that was out of this world!!

Our Christmas was very relaxing and family-filled.
I hope you had a great day as well!!

Bryant Family Christmas Eve

After a very full day with Mark’s family downtown we drove back up to my house in the ‘burbs for Christmas Eve church and food with the family. Mark was verrry sleepy after working all night the night before to make party trays for Christmas Eve orders, but he managed to stay awake :) And get a few presents too…

We then attempted to take a kid-adult/children/family picture. At the time this seemed like a really good idea. But it ended up being super awkward for many reasons…. agreed?

So we fixed it :)

My Dad once told me that the closest friends I’d ever have were the ones that lived in our house – my sisters. He was right. And now I have a brother too :)

Christmas Eve was one of the best days of the year.
It included all eleven members of my family.
And I went to sleep with a very full heart.

It’s Christmastime in the City

Each year Mark’s family goes into Center City, Philadelphia on Christmas Eve. They walk through Reading Terminal Market to get seafood for Christmas Day, beef jerky for the boys, and egg nog samples from the Amish market. Then they go to Love Park to take pictures at the Christmas tree and look around the Christmas Village shops. Then they all lay on the floor of Macy’s and watch the light show before heading to to a restaurant to eat dinner. This was my third year with their family and each year it gets better. There’s something really special about a fun tradition in the city with all the hustle and bustle. It’s Mark and my favorite day of the year.

    

It’s always really sad when Christmas Eve has passed because we look forward to it for such a long time. Julie Andrews narrating the Light Show. The German Christmas store at Christmas Village.  The children that crawl all over the red carpet during the Light Show. The candy store at Reading Terminal Market. Mark and that Nutcracker…? And this year we got amazing food at the Manayunk Brewery afterwards – the sushi was amazing!!

It was also an amazing Christmas Eve because Nane accepted Jesus as her savior at the Christmas Eve service at church! It was such an answer to prayer for Mark’s family and such joyful news. It made the meaning of Christmas extremely clear and meaningful this year. It also made me so aware of the many blessings God has given me.

Christmas was especially bright this year.

Christmas Eve Night at my house will be coming soon!!

Party till 3 – Sleep till 12

This past Friday my family went caroling at my Dad’s work with other employees. He works at a retirement/nursing home and we sang to the residents. I love Christmas caroling even though you sing the same 10 songs for two hours straight :) One of the employees brought her two sons along – they made my night. They were hilarious. And cute. And they thought Mark was the coolest. After freezing our keesters off we went to the club house for refreshments. Gluten filled refreshments. But I survived :)
The highlight of the night was probably the older of the two asking me what my New Years Eve plans were and before I could even finish he said, “Last Year… I partied till 3 – slept in till 12,” like I was supposed to be super impressed. When I asked him what his beverage of choice was he said, “Champagne. Definitely Champagne,” without missing a beat. “Well Kid Champagne. They crossed the real label out and wrote Kid Champagne.”
He was also rapping Eminem from the year he was practically born.

Yep. That happened. We were that close. He just wedged himself right in there :)
He asked me to text the picture to his mom and replied Thanks xoxoxoxoxoxo C!

I can’t wait for the Employee/Resident/Family Easter Egg Hunt this Spring!!

I think she’s…

Flawless. Gorgeous. Classy. Tasteful. Stunning.

The End.

All photos are from whatkatewore.com

Burgundy & Gold

   

Last week Dad, Sarah, and I picked out our tree. The next night Kayla and Bucky came over to decorate. We have two ornaments/trees sets – fun, homemade, country ornaments and burgundy, gold, and classy ornaments. When the tree is in the basement is homier and when the tree is in the living room its fancier. I love them both.
(Is home-ier homier actually a word?!?) Maybe next year we’ll have two trees :)

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

  

This past weekend I visited my dear friend Rachel, who lives in Lancaster. We went into the city for First Friday – eating dinner at the Prince Street Cafe, going into the art galleries and vintage shops, and looking at the beautiful Christmas displays. Saturday we visited local shops, got chicken corn soup at the creamery, and stopped by Sight & Sound to see the preshow performances. By twelve thirty we were pooped all over again and spent the afternoon watching Emma. It was the perfect weekend getaway. Lancaster is a little piece of heaven on earth. Weekend highlights: Chai-Nog Lattes, seeing Rachel’s new house, and getting to spend some time with her three adorable nephews!!