taste and see...

the last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of friends, family and goodness!  i am so thankful for this time of year when i have several great excuses to spend time with people that mean the most to me and spend a lot of time thinking about what God has done for me by sending his son to the earth as a tiny baby that first Christmas.  this Christmas season, i've had the opportunity to taste and see the goodness of the Lord in so many ways---in hanging out with my family during multiple Christmas events, in celebrating the coming of baby Jesus at CBC, in laughing with "old" friends.  i hope that you too have had the opportunity to taste and see the Lord's goodness this Christmas season.  as i look forward to the new year, i look forward to tasting and seeing more of the Lord's goodness...

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him."  Psalm 34:8

running the race of the holidays...

this afternoon i was standing in my little kitchen "making" Christmas sugar cookies (also known as rolling out the already prepared dough i bought from wal-mart this morning and using cookie cutters to cut various shapes) and listening to Christmas music and it hit me that i wish "this" was what i wish i could spent the majority of the Christmas season doing---enjoying the peace of my home and making things for other people to enjoy.  instead, i've spent the last 2 weeks running around (sometimes literally...i'll get to that later) trying to get everything done that "needs" to be done, spending hours at Christmas musical practice, and falling into bed exhausted every night (sometimes as early as 9:30!!)!  don't get me wrong, i love Christmas musicals and getting Christmas presents together for people, and making Christmas cards and everything else that goes along with this time of year, but don't i tell myself after every Christmas that i'm not going to run around like a crazy person the next year and that i'm actually going to enjoy this time of year?  when does "next year" become "this year"?  i encourage you to take a few minutes out of your running around to enjoy this time of year, even if it's only for a few moments like i had this afternoon. 

now for the real "running" that i've been doing...some of you know that my 2 best friends from college and i started training for the Ft. Worth Jingle Bell Run about 3 months ago.  we've made many attempts in the past to do something like this, but we have never actually accomplished something like this.  i am happy to report that WE DID IT!  we followed through with our commitment and last weekend, we ran the Jingle Bell Run together!  we really wanted to be able to run the entire 3.1 miles without stopping or walking any, and WE DID IT in about 42 minutes!  here are some pictures from the adventure...

Before the race...

they are ROCKSTARS!

WE DID IT!!!  :)

now that i've done 1 5K, i've been inspired to get better/faster and keep doing things like this...it was really fun!  :)  perhaps someday i'll have the skills to do a half marathon or even a whole marathon, who knows!

it's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!

in case you've been living in a cave and you haven't heard, Christmas is less than a month away!  in celebration of my favorite holiday, my house has become a Christmas-wonderland!  :)  here are a few pictures...

welcome to my Christmas-wonderland!  (thanks to emily for my awesome wreath!)

my awesome Christmas tree...:)  it needs some presents!

the red and white tree in my bedroom

yes, even the TV gets decorated...

back door wreath (thank you mom!)

the skinny tree...

my dining room table w/ the country tree in the middle... 

coffee table (yes, i know i need to get some candles and candy...)

this was my Black Friday craft project...a Christmas apron!  isn't it awesome???

my office has also been "Christmas-fied" but i forgot to take a picture before i left this afternoon...:(

anyway, hope that your Christmas season is off to a wonderful start blog friends...may you have many opportunities to reflect on the GOODNESS of God this season...