It's the most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It is actually cold here in Dallas! 37 degrees, but it feels so much colder outside! I love it and so do my dogs. It actually feels like Christmas. I feel like I'm starting to come out of my depression, which is surprising because winter makes you want to curl up under the covers. I feel good about my life and what is to come. I still get really sad, but the persistent feeling fades away. I'm ready to start really living!

Thanksgiving was awesome! Murad and I had a great time with his family in New Jersey. One of the highlights was going to the Thanksgiving Night Philadelphia Eagles game. Murad's dad got us tickets to the pre-game party. The Pre-Game party was held at the stadium in which the Phillie's play, so that was pretty cool (in case you didn't know, the Phillies won the World Series 2008). I, of course, took advantage of the free alcohol provided. We skipped the buffet because we were both pretty full from attending dinner at his aunt's house and his dad's house. We then ran across the street to Lincoln Financial Field for the Eagles game against Arizona. It was awesome to see Donovan McNabb come out. He crawled out like a lion. Murad's dad got us awesome seats, so we got to see all the action! It was so cold outside, but Murad and I were on a high; an NFL high! Thank goodness, the EAGLES WON!

The rest of the week, we mostly hung out at Murad's brother's apartment. We played Wii-bowling until 2:30am most nights. It was so much fun! I love that game! There were a lot of competitions going around those nights between Murad, Qadree (Murad's bro) and Joel (Qadree's roommate). Murad and I decided our next big purchase will be a Wii. We also found out that Abby is going to bring her Wii when she comes to stay with us.

While we were in NJ we got treated like queens and kings and I drank a lot while we were there. Murad's bro made sure I always had a beer in my hand (score point). We met up with Murad's old cross country coach and his fiance and I had quite a bit of beer and wine. While we were there, Murad's aunt and stepmom cooked us a feast of a breakfast one morning. We also went to visit his aunt and uncle in North Jersey who fed us as well. Lots of eating. Probably not good for me, but oh well!

We've had to adjust to reality, but luckily Christmas is just around the corner, so just a couple more weeks of madness. We started celebrating early by having people over for dinner on Saturday. We had our friend Christina (my bridesmaid) over along with our friends John & Shawndra. We met John & Shawndra at a relationship panel the day before Valentine's Day. They've been married for a little over a year now. Ironically, our friendship with them started because John and Murad got into an argument about religion and relationships. John argued that both people needed to be Christian, and Murad was like "no way, I'm not like that. " Anyways, we ended up becoming good friends with them, despite our differences. They are a really fun couple. Sadly, they're moving in July to Atlanta to start a church.

We're going to Kansas on December 22nd or 23rd. We're stopping in Meade to see Abby and her family. Abby is going to spend Christmas with our family, so we'll drive to Wichita on Christmas Eve for the service at my church. Then on Christmas Day we're going to my aunt's house for Christmas. My aunt and uncle have this huge building on their land that we use for family events. It is like a big game room with a kitchen, guest room and two bathrooms. It's going to be like a huge family reunion because a lot of us have moved away in the past year(s). My cousin Randi (who I am so EXCITED to see) will be there with her six children (her husband is overseas, so he won't be there). My cousin Micah and her husband will be there from Australia, and my aunt Lori will be there from D.C. Randi and my Aunt Lisa both have daughters Abby's age, so I think it will be a lot of fun for her. The next day we're heading back to Dallas with Abby (Murad has to work.) Then Abby and I will come back to Wichita on January 1st and then my wedding shower is on January 3rd Woo-hoo! Abby's grandma and aunt are coming, so they'll pick up Abby and take her back to Meade then. So a busy Christmas, but a good one. I'm excited! I know some parts of Christmas will be hard. We used to always do Christmas with my aunt's family (Philip's family) after Christmas. Usually my cousins would stay a couple of days with us afterwards, but we haven't done this in a while. Hopefully, I can reflect on the good times and those good memories.

I do have some things I need to get done over Christmas break:
do my grad school internship reflections
make my invitations
address my invitations
order a bird cage to use as our card holder
order table runners

yeah, I've kind of forgotten about getting married. haha! There is still so much to do, but I will get it done, right?
Well, I need to end this post.

Guess what...it's snowing!