Goin' to the Chapel...

First, I would like to tell everyone that my adopted niece, Caroline, turned one year old today.  Happy, Happy Birthday, sweet CK!  We love you!!  Here is a picture of Caroline when she made her grand debut and one of her now.  She is beautiful and growing more and more into a little lady every single day.

Well, only a few more days until we are flying out!  I'm not ready yet, as far as packing and things go, but there is still time for that.  I am, however, reaaaaaadddyyyy to go!  It has been cold here, though no more snow since last week.  This work week, half-over tomorrow, has gone by quickly so far.  I had training for my temporary transition into strictly Title IV aid paperwork processing today and I think that overall it will be a nice change, temporary as it will be (and then I will go back to advising students as I am now).   

Despite my current state of unpackedness, we did do some pre-packing on Sunday night and currently, our living room is filled with suitcases and beach-reading materials, snorkel gear, travel books, various electronics and their corresponding wires and adaptors and memory cards and sticks (including, but not limited to the various pieces belonging to laptops, a camcorder, mp3 players, SLR and regular digital cameras, and a PSP).  It is a mess, but everything will find its place into one suitcase or another in the next 48 hours.

Well, since my mom and grandma were unable to attend the showers that Josh's family threw us down in Alabama in October, they decided to host one up here for my Cleveland friends.  It was last Saturday afternoon at Olive Garden and it was lots of fun!!  Here are some pictures as evidence :)  The game of the day was a play-doh contest where all guests channeled their inner Michelangelo (yes he sculpted in addition to painting).  The assignment:  to create something "wedding" related.  The winners would receive prizes).

(Emily, very excitedly creating sea creatures)

Everyone working hard on their creations. 

Drumroll, please.  My play-doh presents included:  three diamond engagement rings, one complete and one scrapped wedding cake, a bouquet of flowers, a ring box, a seahorse, a dolphin, and a palm tree-pineapple combination.  The three-way tie was a difficult decision, by far.

This picture is of Shannon's play-doh creation for me:  a ring box!  She even carved in "Kay" to enhance authenticity.  Shannon was, of course one of the three winners.  The other two winners were Melissa (with a palm tree complete with coconut and "support pineapple" [the  tree was too flimsy and a large pineapple propped it up]) and Emily, who artfully sculpted me a dolphin and a seahorse.  The ring box, sea creatures, and flora are all drying and going to go in my wedding scrap-box.  Yes, I said scrap box.

This second picture is of two somethings that my mom passed down to me that day:  the knife my parents used to cut their wedding cake and my "something blue," an aquamarine and diamond ring that was my mother's as a child.  It was a wonderful moment when I saw it attached and I cried.  I am so thankful for being fortunate to have wonderful friends and a loving, supportive family.

 

 Finally, here are a couple of Christmas pictures.  The first is of our Christmas tree.  Next year, when we've (hopefully) purchased our own home, we will have a really big, real tree.  For now, this one will do.  Our first Christmas together, we had a 1.5-foot Christmas tree and our tree topper (in honor of the baby beagle Josh had just gotten me) was a tiny cartoon cut-out of Snoopy singing.  We secured it to the little-tree-that-could with tape (and re-secured it on the same little tree for the next four Christmases).  This will be our sixth Christmas together, our first as Sewells in the plural and we still have that Snoopy.  It gives me so much joy to see it when I bring out the Christmas decorations.