White Christmas!

Brooklyn's First Christmas proved to be a very White Christmas. We were so thrilled to have the snow and for it to "feel" like Christmas. Brooklyn may not ever remember the snow, but she will have the pictures. Brooklyn started off her Christmas morning with Breakfast at 5 a.m., then seconds at 8 a.m.. She managed to tear on some of the gifts that Santa brought her. She received some nice new clothes, some books for her library, and some fun toys. Brooklyn also received a Snowman... it's not likely to last too long, but it was important that we get a snowman built with all of that good snow we received. Christmas day was spent feasting and playing games. On the day after Christmas, we were able to get out of the house and able to navigate our way through town to get to the BBQ shack. We had a great visit with Holly's parents and Lexi - Lexi, by the way, just loves the snow!

Here are some more photos from the weekend. We really have some great ones.

So, this week brings on a few days of work for both of us. Thursday evening we will be ringing in a New Year. Welcome 2010...

Christmas Eve 2009

Christmas Eve 2009 marked a record weather day in Oklahoma City. The blizzard set snow records in the city, the wind gusted over 40 mph and we received about 10-12" of snow!
The photos included in this posting are from 12/24 during the blizzard.
Earlier last week, as the weather forecast was becoming more ominous we adjusted our Christmas plans to have Christmas in Oklahoma. Holly's parents gratefully accommodated the change and drove in on Wednesday.
On Christmas Eve morning, we awoke to a temperature of 33 degrees and rain... after a couple of hours the temperature began dropping, the rain became sleet, and by mid-morning the sleet had changed to snow. The snow fell and the wind blew until about 8 PM that evening.
Fortunately, Holly was not required to go in to the office to work (as originally expected) after her boss had an epiphany - driving in the ice and snow is dangerous and the work can be done remotely...  So, Holly was able to work from home, which she managed to do most comfortably - in her pajamas!
We all managed to stay warm and played card games, Rummikub, and watched the local TV stations broadcast live video from the different locations around the city - detailing the number of cars and trucks stuck in ditches or snow drifts on the highways. We only lost power one time for about 5-10 seconds. 
We never imagined that Brooklyn would be able to celebrate her first White Christmas this year!

'Tis The Season

Good Day!
Holly and I are in Dallas this weekend for Christmas with her parents. We are going to my parents' for Christmas day this year.
I actually have been in Dallas for a couple of days and Holly drove down yesterday evening. I had been in Colorado for work and my flight back to OKC from Denver was diverted to Dallas-Love due to fog in OKC, so after 4 cancelled flights trying to get back to OKC I decided to stay in Dallas with Holly's parents Thursday evening. I was able to get permission to work from Dallas on Friday and enjoyed getting to do that and not have to deal with any more air travel for the holiday season. The airport in Denver was crazy - the Southwest counter was backed up. It was full of e-ticket rookies so, my frequent-flyer self grew a little impatient. Security was worse, but it was no problem.
My job has me stretched across 3-states right now - Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Colorado. This past week I flew to Denver and drove across the Rockies to Western CO - passing all of the ski resorts on the way. They really have a lot of snow up there in the higher elevations!
Well, we love this time of year and are nearing the selection of a home in Oklahoma. We hope interest rates stay low because they offer a lot of opportunity.
See you all soon!

The Blessings of a Family

Yesterday as we travelled back toward Dallas with Holly's parents we met up with my parents for lunch and had a great visit. It's always great to see their faces and hear stories about things that are going on in their daily lives.
Today we awoke to some upsetting news. Holly's grandfather had passed in the early morning hours. Today was also his birthday. We had already made arrangements to go celebrate his birthday, instead we went to celebrate his life. We spent the day hearing stories of his life, and the greatest story is the one that lives in each of the family members.
I was blessed to be raised by such a wonderful Christian family who drove home ethics, morals, and the Golden Rule. I was truly blessed to find a spouse whose family did the same for her.
This Christmas we are thankful for our entire family. We are spending Christmas day in Dallas and are looking forward to a wonderful time with Holly's family.
It is our 2nd Christmas together and we hope you have a very Merry Christmas.

December Weekends

This weekend was one of those where we accomplished only one thing - resting. We escaped the city for some time in the clear, country air. The weather was cold, foggy, and made for sleeping. We bundled up at the lake and watched football, played scrabble, and rested.

The time away from the hustle & bustle allowed me to think the past 2 Decembers have been unlike any other Decembers that I've seen. In High School, December meant that there would be a basketball tournament in the middle of the holiday season. In College, December meant Finals (which is what Allison is experiencing now) and weeks away from school spent dreading the start of another semester. In the Navy, December was generally spent at sea preparing for the next big war and hoping that the weather would push us south to the Carribean for operations. These past two Decembers have been different - there have been no wars for which to prepare, no Finals to take, there does seem to be a running calculation of how much vacation we have remaining. It may be for that reason that December seems to be the most relaxed month of the year because whatever vacation we have left ends up getting put to good use.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

We have had so much fun decorating for Christmas! The place is looking great. It hasn't been snowing here, but it has been cold & drizzling - That has just added to the holiday spirit.

We have the wreath, the tree, and assorted other garland up. It feels warm inside especially if you are lucky enough to have Holly make a hot cup of cocoa for you!

This season brings so much excitement. It's truly Holly's favorite season. Our office even gets into the season by offering shorter hours. We are definitely looking forward to taking advantage of those!

Christmas Wishing

Christmas is still some 40 days away, but that hasn't stopped us from getting prepared for it! Sure the air conditioner ran last night and it's been 80 degrees during the day, but we are excited about celebrating another Christmas at our house.
We managed to track down a tree already - a pre-lit one, so unfortunately we'll miss out on the excitement of rigging a real evergreen with lights and ornaments... Last years tree proved to have a lot of similarities to the Christmas Vacation movie where Chevy Chase ended up getting sap all over him...
We are excited about Christmas, and we hope you are too!