Happy New Year!!!

I know that the New Year is still 8 hours away, but at work, we just toasted each other with Sparkling Grape Juice. Our row consists of 16 people, but 3 were missing today. But that didn't stop our good spirits in the 4:00 hour.

This moment symbolizes the closing of the East Coast Regional Offices for State Farm, and how there are only 2 more hours to go for us at the Agency Sales Resource Center to tell agents over and over again, "If the application is pending over Year End and is issued and paid for by 1/31/2009, the count and premium credit will go towards 2008"...yeah. I have been saying that all day. No joke. And even though agents have had ALL year to prepare, they are still calling with sob stories asking how they can meet the goals for travel. Best of luck to you! (All sarcasm aside of the previous statement, I do really mean that).

Anyways. We popped open a bottle or 2 of the Sparkling Grape juice and took turns going around saying what we are thankful for in the year 2008 (jobs, friends, laughter...) and then we toasted (the clicking of the plastic champagne glasses just didn't make the same sound as the beautiful glass or crystal ones). My supervisor, Mickey, joined us as well, downed her juice, and then threw her glass down onto the carpet with a flourish...makes me glad it was white juice and not the purple stuff! Thank you Mickey for the laugh!

A very Happy New Year to my friends and family, old and new, as well as to State Farm (I am emincely grateful for my job and friends here). May 2009 bring happiness, prosperity, and meeting your resolutions in no way the past years ever have before!

2008 Photos That Capture Life At Its Best

Some of my most favorite pictures of 2008 (that have not been on the blog before...)
Happy New Year's Eve!
The Seagull in Maine that loved our food and stayed on the hood watching us eat!

Cary and my 'gift' to my parents for their 33rd anniversary

Mom's and my tradition of baking cookies for Thanksgiving

Little Reagan making friends with Roscoe, the Corry's new puppy

Petunia and Story-Clown BFFs!

"I didn't mean to!" when Cary dumped the Deviled Eggs

Umm...I don't know what to say about this one...

the 2 chipmunks that loved to visit us (and argue) at the house we stayed at in Maine

Ashes says "That was a rough parade!"

"Aaahhhh!!!"

Chester's first taste of bean dip...kind of

Cricket and Dobby--such a beautiful memorial picture of him after he passed
Peek-a-boo!

Grandma putting 2 rose petals between her lips at a banquet for the Fire Department

The rug Chester destroyed...

Candy left from Christmas 2007 parade...

"I was THIS close!!!"

Ditto making herself comfortable in Chester's toybox

Smile Jon!

Say Cheese!

Cary trying to help show Chester something on the wall...

Mom's hair after she cut it off

Dear ol' crazy uncle Bill...

Cary is a little tired!

Katie and Beth at Beth's Bridal Shower at Scarborough Faire

"Help me Obi-Wan"

What A Wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was filled with good food, good fun, great presents, and the best company!

It all started when I got off of work at 5:00 thanks to my great supervisor, Mickey. Cary and I gathered up our gifts and items for the night (with Chester waiting anxiously by the door--he was so excited about going somewhere!).

Once loaded into the car stacked full with gifts, we drove off to Brenda and Gary's, where we sat down to a delicious meal of duck, potatoes, a broccoli/califlower/cheese casserole, glazed carrots, rolls...it was a feast! Brenda worked so hard on making all of these dishes, and it was all eaten and gone within 30 minutes. And then on to dessert--Cranberry, white chocolate pie and Praline Cheesecake!!!! The cheesecake was so melt-in-your-mouth good, I wish I didn't eat so much at dinner so I could enjoy it more.

After dinner, we went for a nice walk, checking out the Christmas lights in the neighborhood, a great way to walk off the food we had just ingested. The neighborhood is so nice and the air had a chill in it, so I enjoyed the outing very much.

After we got in and settled down, we popped in A Christmas Story to watch. This movie is great! I think each year I appreciate it more and more. And we made it through the entire movie!!! (for those who don't know, Cary and I can rarely sit through a movie to watch the entire thing at once...)

After the movie, it was almost 11:00, so Cary and I packed up and headed home for the evening.

The plans we had for Christmas Day: wake up at 6:30, open our gifts, and be at my parents' house between 7:00 and 8:00 (enough time, right?!) Well, we did get up at 6:30, and opened gifts, but we moved quite slowly and were leaving to GO to my parents' at 8:00, and on top of that, forgot Apples to Apples!

My gifts from Cary? A sweater, a scarf (I LOVE scarfs!!), a couple of books (one about London and the other is the new release from the author of Marley & Me, The Long Ride Home. I am now trying to figure out if I read that now or wait until the flight to England...
More gifts were a glass vase that I have been wanting to get from Crate and Barrel, Wall-E (my favorite movie!!!), and British Chocolates. What great gifts!

When we got to mom and dad's house, we ate some yummy cinnamon muffins (my favorite!) and then opened up some gifts. Then it was back on the road again to the apartment to grab Apples to Apples, as well as Cary's coffee maker (which turned out to be a big hit!) and drove back to my parents' to prepare for a big day of family gatherings.

Bill was already there when we arrived, and soon, the house had Grandma J, Grandma and Grandpa W, Amy, Mike, Steven, Spencer, and Stacy Corry (and their 2 doggies, Cricket and Roscoe), Deb, Eric, and Faye, Richard, Kim, and Ashton, of course my parents, and Cary, Chester, and myself. I continue my Thanks! to Roscoe for wearing out Chester--you are Chester's (and mine) new best friend!

The ever-famous gatherings never cease to fail with a lot of laughs and great memories. Cary and I sat down and played a game of Farkle with Mike and Spencer. Somehow, Cary walked away the winner, even though we have never played before....lucky. It was a fun game. It might be a good one to get for the apartment!

After that game was up (and Steven took my place at some point), The remaining group (except Richard, Kim, Ashton, and mom) sat down to play a game of Apples to Apples...there were 9 of us around the table--less than there was on Christmas Eve, but not much less chaotic). What a fun game! I've had it for a year, and I love to play it. My favorite part is arguing my case--especially if I really have nothing to argue, but I try anyways! Mike won, and lucky him--it was his first time to play!

After finishing the game, it was time to move on to Cary's family. So we packed up all of our goodies from this visit and wished everyone a Merry Christmas. The goodies I got (undeservingly) from my family?

From mom and dad: a sweater, socks (I LOVE silly socks!), a Wall-E ornament, some money for shopping, and the traditional nuts, fruits, and candy.

From my Grandma W: a cute little quilt for Chester, and a stocking as well.

From Grandpa W: a "Poor Man's Account"--a checkbook-like booklet with $1 bills inside--very funny!

From Grandma J: a beautiful Angel ornament, and a big bottle of body wash with Gingerbread man scent!

Thank you everyone!!!

For our final Christmas celebration, we were going to meet Brad, Faith, and Helen at Gary and Brenda's house. When we got there, Gary and Brenda were there, and Helen as well. Brad and Faith were on their way, so until their arrival, we all relaxed and talked about what goodies we have gotten so far for the day. Helen got a Nintendo DS, so I watched her play with it for a while--Fashion Designer--super cool!

When Brad and Faith arrived, everyone was still too full from our food earlier, so we decided to open gifts. There was wrapping paper EVERYWHERE!!!! I do hope that everyone enjoyed their gifts. I'm still trying to get to know everyone in the McFadden clan, but I'm looking forward to the future when I can get gifts that are more of a personal touch for them.

The gifts I got from this family? 2 turtle neck sweaters and suede jacket, green house socks with rubber dots on the bottom, a travel purse, a cutting board (unbreakable!), a container for our gift wrap items, candy, an ornament, and a Chris Tomlin cd (THE NEWEST ONE!!!!).

How on earth did I ever deserve such gifts?

How on earth did I ever deserve such FAMILY? And when I say this, I do mean all of my family. From the posts before (the 12 Memories of Christmas), you can see that my parents and extended family have been nothing but amazing, and that as a child (and adult) I have never been deprived of anything. I never had siblings (until I married), but my cousins have been what I would consider sisters growing up. I had parents and grandparents that no matter what I did, they loved me unconditional...and today, I want to remind myself to not take them forgranted. Each and every single person in my family is important to me, even if I have only seen you twice in my life (Ashton--the true hero of our family). Family, you are the reason why I truly consider my life blessed.

Ok...back to the fun. After opening gifts--Cary and Brad got mini RC helicopters and wanted to play with them but they needed to charge--we piled into Brenda's SUV and drove around Coppell looking at Christmas lights. This is the first time doing this, and it was so much fun! When we got to a neighborhood, Helen would stand up and look out the sunroof and Brad would roll around in the very back--sometimes it was unintentional, but yet very funny. We would ooh and ahhh over the lights outside the house (we found one with the leg lamp from A Christmas Story!) and then drive to another small neighborhood and do the same.

Cary finally became hungry, and we drove home, to a delicious dinner of bar-be-que. And more Praline Cheesecake!!!!

After dinner, the entertainment centered around Brad and Cary playing with their helicoptors. Those tiny plastic things are really durable! They hit the ceiling, hit the fireplace, get caught in the 'snow' and carpet, and still kept on flying. Even Helen got her try at it.

Tired from such busy 2 days, Cary and I drove home at 9:00 last night, just to walk into an apartment that was a mess from our gifts and wrapping...I know what I get to do for the weekend! ;o) But it was all worth it. This holiday definitly makes room in my favorite memories.

I hope that the next year will go by fast so that we get to enjoy the same things again soon!

Merry Christmas to All, and to All, a Good Night!

Although It's Been Said, Many Times, Many Ways

Merry Christmas To You!

Love,

The McFaddens

The 12th Memory of Christmas That Is So Fond To Me:

I have thought long and hard about what this memory could be. Partly because there are so many memories that I have growing up, from Grandpa Jarvis reading "Twas The Night Before Christmas" to all of the kids, grandkids, and great grandkids, as well as Majay playing the piano and us singing Christmas Carols. Or the year the Jarvis' decided to 'adopt' a family, giving them full food and several gifts.

Then there is also the time that my babysitter, Ms. Rosemarie had us go be Christmas Carolers to her neighbors, and we got a reward of candy canes! Then another is the embarrassing high school memory of my Spanish teacher having us walk around the halls of the school singing Christmas Carols in Spanish...

As fond as these memories are, most are very small and vague, leaving me to wonder if some of them happened at all (alas, singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer in another language was VERY real, and VERY embarrassing).

So therefore, I reserve this memory for all of the future. The growth of all of our family (Jarvis', McFaddens, and all those dear to us), the excitement of what is to come, for Cary and I, for Chester, for our future children, travels, homes, and traditions.

May God bless each one of you, your family, and friends this holiday season. And don't forget to share your memories and traditions with the ones you love!

11 Friends In One House

10 Hometeam Friends

Most Memorable Gifts

Mom's Brand New Tree

7th Grade Mischief

6 Family Gatherings

5 Christmas Trees!

Fire Department Santa

Marrying my hubby

Waking up at 2 a.m.

And 1 Golden Kitty!

The 11th Memory of Christmas That Is So Fond To Me

11 Friends In One House!

A few years ago, we had an extra gathering with family friends: Scott, Dawn, Michelle and Allison; also Jeff, Regina, Melissa, and Jon.

When the time came to all get together, the Christenson's showed up, and in the door came Jeff and Melissa, with a thin, LONG tube that had to be 15-20 feet easily (well...that COULD be an exaggeration, but it kept going!). Wow! Everyone's curiousity was peaked by this extraordinary thing.

The party started and we were all having fun. We watched Michelle and Allison play with the cats and we ate and had a great time. At one point, one of the girls accidentally kicked the long thin tube, which made it bend so slightly. Uh oh! At that point, Jeff kept looking over at it and then tried to get back in the conversation. But he was so distracted!

He finally suggested that dad open his gift because he was concerned that whatever inside was broken. So dad got onto the floor and VERY gently began unwrapping it.

What was it you ask? It was a long series of Tubes! Cardboard toilet paper and paper towel tubes!!! And inside, the Christenson family went through pain staking measures to put together long handmade hankerchiefs for the funny clown act of pulling so many from the pants and boxer shorts connected at the end. That was a laugh!!!

We all proceeded to finish opening all of our gifts and then back to talking. Mom and I got one of those cool scarf things that can also be used as wraps. I've worn it a couple of times, and it is so soft!

We were all enjoying our conversation while Michelle and Allison went back to playing. Let me tell you--Allison has a great imagination!!! We all looked over at her as she sat on the couch, 2 paper towel rolls in her hands and a contorted look on her face. It was like she was a kung-foo ninja who just killed a dragon! Again, we all fell to the floor laughing.

Happy holidays to our wonderful friends!

10 Hometeam Friends
Most Memorable Gifts
Mom's Brand New Tree
7th Grade Mischief
6 Family Gatherings
5 Christmas Trees!
Fire Department Santa
Marrying my hubby
Waking up at 2 a.m.
And 1 Golden Kitty!

Celebrating The Season--Jarvis Style!

Last night was the annual Jarvis Family Christmas, and of course, it was full of (my favorite phrase) controlled chaos. Minus the Guess family--(we really missed you Kim, Tom, Addison, and Reagan!!!!), all Jarvis' were accounted for, including 3 newest members: Bekah, her son Preston, and of course, Cary.

We met at Grandpa and Barbara's lake house around 3:00, snacked on some appetizers (tamales, cookies, cranberry dipand cheese fondue) and sipped on hot apple cider (with Red Hots!) or coffee, and enjoyed everyone's company. It's been about a year since I have seen a lot of these people!

Dinner consisted of ham, broccoli-rice casserole, green bean casserole, and of course rolls. Dessert? Austin and Erica made cookies (they were great!), Deb made a cake, and Cary and I made our special cake: a plate of cookies and a glass of milk for Santa, complete with note and sneaky mouse...the most challenging part was getting the cake to the lake house without it tumping over!

So after dinner, Santa visited the young kids (though he was nowhere in sight!) and brought gifts. I remember that for so many years that Kim, Erica, and I were in the middle of the mess, always opening so many gifts. I love watching the next generation this time of year, and how their eyes light opening gifts.

There was a game of Apples to Apples (with 11 people--quite a game!). I am proud to say, I was the ONLY one in the game that did not have a single green card...go me! It was a good time, and a great way to bond with our families that we don't see often enough.

My favorite part of the evening? Spencer came to me before dinner and told me that he needed help. Being the always helpful Jennifer that I am, we wandered to the garage, where we applied a golf ball decal that looks like it crashed into the back of Grandpa's SUV...at then end when we showed him, he got a good laugh. Looks like Spencer will carry on the mischeviousness of our families.

As always, it was so good to the Jarvis family. I hope that Cary enjoyed himself with his new family as well. He fits right in!

The 10th Memory Of Christmas That Is So Fond To Me

10 Hometeam Friends!!!
December 2006 was a very good time for me. November was when I got home from England and Finland for Steve's wedding. December greatly improved the rest of the year.

December 8, a few members of the hometeam went to see a play in Coppell, Fruitcakes. We first met at Dickeys for a yummy bar-b-que dinner.

For this outing it was Melissa, her boyfriend Scott, Ellen, Cary, and myself. The most I remember about dinner was how I found a long table for all of us in front of the door...that had a cold breeze blow through when it opened. That and Cary making a comment that the cole slaw was not very tasty. Ellen then convinced him to add a packet of sugar to it...how was it then Cary?

We then went to see the play, and I thought it was wonderful. But it doesn't hold a light to afterwards, when Ellen, Cary and I stood outside and talked for about 1 1/2 hours. We even ventured over to the local elementary school to try to find swings...but there were none!

I have written about this post before, so I'm going to try to keep it new and not repetive. That night, we left the place cold and not able to feel our toes. It also led to Cary's first and only myspace comment: I can feel my toes! (obviously after a warm shower).

The next night, the hometeam went out again after church to go look at Christmas lights. This time the outing consisted of Melissa, Scott, Amber, Fredrick, Tanya, Rick, Ellen, (Ellen's friend--sorry!), Cary, and myself. This is the night that I wanted Cary to ride in the car with me so I could get to know him better, but there were 4 'couples' and we were the only 'odd-balls'.

We all piled into our 2 vehicles and drove out to Dallas, where we stopped at Starbucks beforehand to get yummy warm drinks to help the holiday mood. My usual: Peppermint Hot Chocolate! The shopping center we stopped in was magical--all of the trees were wrapped with lights head to toe, and the atmosphere was so Christmasy.

I loved seeing some of the houses and how they decorated. One of the houses had a variety of things in their yard: manequins dressed in Christmas colors with earmuffs and scarves, reindeer, snowmen, and drums. We spent several minutes there taking pictures. A little later we found another house with moving things, like jack-in-the boxes. That was probably my favorite house!

That weekend was wonderful with the hometeam. Last I have heard, Melissa (who used to be one of the leaders) is now married to Scott, Amber (another leader) and Fredrick were going strong, and Ellen is married to a man whom she dated for 2 months beforehand. Whoever knew that 1 year later Cary and I were a week away from being married ourselves?!

Most Memorable Gifts

Mom's Brand New Tree

7th Grade Mischief

6 Family Gatherings

5 Christmas Trees!

Fire Department Santa

Marrying my hubby

Waking up at 2:00 a.m.

And 1 Golden Kitty!

The 9th Memory of Christmas That Is So Fond To Me

Most Memorable Gifts!

I've said it before, I'll say it again: I have the most creative family!

Many times for Christmas I have received wonderful gifts. A couple of my favorites have been the homemade ones, like a pink and purple quilt from my Grandma Wilson and a cedar hope chest made by my Grandpa Jarvis. Other favorites include Barbara's extreme talent, where she made Care Bears for Kim, Erica, and me.

Growing up, the 3 cousins of the time with the Jarvis family would choose our own corner together and pile all of our gifts up there. Most of our gifts were pretty almost identical, like dolls that had different color hair (brunette for Erica, blonde for Kim, and red for me) or colors (pink for Kim, purple for me, and blue for Erica). Even the homemade Care Bears were similar! (Kim and I got the pink Cheer Bear and Erica got the blue Grumpy Bear!)

Others gifts given to me included a beautiful diamond bracelet my Grandpa Wilson gave me (I wore it on my wedding day), Cabbage Patch Dolls, these beautiful Lennox decoratives. I know it doesn't seem like much to some people, but they mean the world to me. More than that, my family means the world to me.

I hope that someday I am able to be as creative for my family. I want to create homemade gifts that will have everyone cherish them as much as I cherish my family!

Mom's Brand New Tree
7th Grade Mischief
6 Family Gatherings
5 Christmas Trees!
Fire Department Santa
Marrying my hubby
Waking up at 2 a.m.
And 1 Golden Kitty!