Couch Potatoes

Things have been really quiet around here since we returned from Missouri. We aren't complaining, though! For most of the fall, we were so busy we didn't know if we were coming or going...so this is a welcome change. Time has been spent watching football (boo, Patriots!!) and going for evening walks around our neighborhood. It has been unseasonably warm here which has been helpful in getting us out of the house to walk off some of those extra Christmas pounds. We just seem to be lacking any enthusiasm to do some things around the house that need to get done. We would love to hear what everyone has been doing to keep busy this month...maybe it will give us some ideas to spice things up!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Shawn and I went to Missouri for Christmas to spend time with my grandparents, parents, and aunt and uncle. We had a wonderful time relaxing, eating, and playing the video game Guitar Hero...even my grandparents got in on the video game action!! My grandma had these aprons made for us a few years back and it is now tradition to wear them while we prepare Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas day lunch. My family took on very gender specific roles the day before Christmas...while the women spent most of the day in the kitchen making dinner and a gingerbread house, the men went out to a local farm to shoot clay pigeons. Don't they look like a rugged bunch?!? Apparently, both Shawn and my dad are good shooters! My grandpa was impressed with their ability. Other then doing a lot of eating...I'm pretty sure I gained 5 pounds in a week...it was great just spending quality time with my family. It is such a blessing to have a family that is able to spend long amounts of time with each other and still love each other at the end of the week! I'll leave you with two pictures...our fabulous gingerbread house and my 70-something year old grandma rockin' out to Guitar Hero!

Big Game!

Shawn and I had to opportunity to go see the Steelers play the Rams in the football game Thursday night in St. Louis. This was Shawn's first NFL football game and my first since I was a kid living in Pittsburgh. We arrived to the stadium about an hour before kick-off and were energized while walking through all the tail-gating. Man...NFL fans know how to party!! Once we found our seats (4 rows from the very last row in the dome!!), we got down to business...eating our hot dogs, brats, and nachos. That kind of food always tastes better at games. Even though this was a home game for the Rams, the crowd was a sea of black and gold waving the Terrible Towel. It was kinda sad for the Rams when they made their entrance on to the field since all you could hear was Boos! Shawn and I showed our team pride...me in a Steelers shirt and Shawn in a Rams jersey. The game started out very close...a winnable game for either team. We were able to see the plays very clearly with the binoculars we brought...the best $14 we ever spent! The Steelers put the nail in the coffin late in the 4th quarter with an interception returned for a touchdown. Steelers closed out the game with a 41-24 win. It was great fun being a Steelers fan as we all flooded out of the dome. The concourses and escalators were full of the chant "Here we go, Steelers, here we go!" Overall, our first NFL game was a blast and we look forward to going to many more!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Shawn and I love to decorate for Christmas!! The first year we were dating we started the tradition of stringing popcorn for our Christmas tree. While I put the tree together, put on all 700 or 800 lights and decorate the rest of the house, Shawn sits on the couch stringing popcorn. After he is done and we place it just so on the tree, we get to dive into our ornaments. We have an eclectic ornament collection. Many are very old and came from our parents Christmas collection. But, we have started getting some of our own and we always talk about the memories that go with each one as we place it on the tree. Some of our favorites include "Our First House," the hot air balloon we got the year we went on a balloon ride, a lady bug to remind us of our lady bug infested house, and our Steelers and Rams ornaments in honor of our favorite teams. Christmas is a very busy time of year for us, with shopping, wrapping, Christmas cards, and parties. We are looking forward to getting through the next week and a half and then we are heading back to Missouri to spend Christmas with my family. It will be a great time to relax and enjoy each other's company while we have time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas...the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.