We Wish You a Merry Christmas...

It's been quite a year for me, wouldn't you say? I passed a crazy hard qualifier exam, went global jet-setter (and still remember some of my Italian, not that I learned much to begin with), got engaged and have been planning the most awesome wedding ever since then, and I made YAG. Okay, so I wouldn't say those are the things that DEFINE this year, but they have certainly been some major benchmarks. I'll come back next week (or some time later) with a New Year's retrospective post, so I'd like to focus on the chunk of the year between Thanksgiving and now.

It has been a lovely Christmas, certainly full of fun and excitement. Our church small group got together with the other small groups for young adults and had an awesome party with ugly sweaters and white-elephant gifts. There is photo evidence on facebook, if you must see what we wore, but I included some highlight photos in this post's slideshow.

I ended the semester right, if I do say so myself, with a successful batch of YAG. It would take far too long to make you understand why it is that making a jar of white powder is so substantially awesome. Just take my word for it.

Chris and I went to Charlotte 2 weekends before Christmas. We picked up my wedding band, which matches my ring, so it's all EXTRA sparkly when it's together. After that, we visited Chris' grandparents, who I hadn't met yet. We had a lovely time chatting with them that afternoon, then we hit the road and came home to Clemson.

Jeff and Julie had their baby, miss Tegan Lydia Castor, in the wee hours of December 18. Let me tell you, Amy and I have declared this to be the coolest and cutest baby on the planet. You may judge for yourself. 

Our friends Jessica and Ross got engaged over Thanksgiving, as did our friend Julie to a guy named Zach. We had a little party in our small group for Jess and Ross, because they are in our small group. I am honored to be a bridesmaid in Jess' wedding, and I am learning from my experience exactly what she does and doesn't need from me. It's definitely interesting from this side of the ring. Their wedding is April 30, so we will be quite busy this spring.

Last year, Chris and I celebrated Christmas with our families and found time to visit each others' family outside of that. This year, we stuck together and split our time. We spent Christmas eve with the Hills, having lasagna and enjoying their traditions. Mom never fell for the one present on Christmas Eve thing, so it was fun to join them in that. After we got up Christmas morning, we opened presents with his family. Chris' sister is still younger, so it's fun to see her all excited. After that, we headed to Greenville, where my family had kindly waited until AFTER sunrise to open presents with us, then we had our Christmas Chili meal. Darren, a friend of Chris' and mine, joined us for that, since he wasn't able to make it all the way north to be with his family. Just after lunch, it started snowing, so the guys left and we enjoyed watching the snow come down for the rest of the day. It mostly consisted of the three girls circled around the bay window in the kitchen, watching the snow fall while reading or typing or knitting or having tea or whatever we felt like doing.

On G-ma's birthday, which has yet to become a national holiday, we celebrated by walking up the road and inspecting the ice. Carson had a little battle with a ball of ice, which can be seen in the slideshow. Also visible is her dislike of her new dog bed. She looks at you like you've just done something terrible and tries to guilt you into letting her out. Also yesterday, the newest 'Burka' joined the clan, and I'm pretty sure that's all G-ma really wanted for her birthday. Congrats to Zach and Stacy and sister Wendy!

That's all from here! Enjoy the pictures!