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!

A Photo Story

I am going to do something unusual, a little throwback to the way I used to write my blogs. I feel like these pictures demand commentary. Something to help my small collection of readers understand what it's like to be a part of my family. Perhaps it'll end with you feeling sorry for Chris but, don't worry, he's taking it in stride. :)

Now here's a picture of the guys I went hiking with the weekend before Thanksgiving. Chris (of course), Benji, Pepper and I went up to Table Rock State Park and did some hiking. BEAUTIFUL weather for that trip. And NO SNAKES.

 

And here's where you start feeling sorry for Chris. Not two minutes after I pull in to the driveway on Wednesday night Amy demands that we all sit down and color our turkey placemats and informs us that there will be judging. We voted and everything. Chris' Tigurkey won. See the cute little tail and hat? I told you he was taking it all in stride.

And now for a lovely picture of Carson. Quite appropriate that her tail is still in motion. Took a lot of work to get her to look at the camera. I think there may have been food over my head.

Here's a pretty typical scene. Pretty much every time I bring out the camera at the holidays.

So then we tried to take a picture of the whole family. I'll just let you enjoy the progression of activity. Notice the wet paw print on dad's sleeve toward the end. 

 

And then Mom and Amy got into a bit of a brawl in the kitchen.

While that was going on, dad was slaving away in the kitchen. Hahahahahahahahahaha.

 

And then our family went on a walk. First everyone posed. Amy's was normal. Dad's was...scary. And Chris gave us his best Zoolander.

Look at our pretty house!

 

Then, out of nowhere, mom started to serpentine and dad started to follow her. I honestly don't know.

 

 

 

 

 But she turned on him without warning.

 

"Now this here's a stick-out..."

This has been a production of the Burka Family Holiday Corp. Tune in next time when we'll discuss surviving family weddings. ;)

Giving Thanks

It's thanksgiving again, which means there will be tons of food and family, too much football, and the open of Christmas music season. Apart from all of that, it's a chance to sit back and reflect on all of the things I'm thankful for. That said, let's get started, shall we?

I'm thankful for free things. It's a lovely surprise to win something out of the blue. I won an apron, of all things, just this afternoon. Nothing fancy, just an apron, but it's still cool. And free.

I'm thankful for tea. Nothing will ever beat those few quiet moments I enjoy at work or at home, or anywhere, as I savor a cup of tea. It warms the heart and makes everything better. And it brings a kind of peace to all the madness in my head.

I'm thankful for soft yarn and warm mittens. I'm in a bit of a mitten craze right now, and there's something comforting, much like tea, about a good pair of gloves or mittens. Especially when I've knit them myself. And then there's the feel of a wonderfully soft, beautifully colored skein of fresh yarn. It's like running your hands across the back of the animal itself, but cleaner.

I'm thankful for friends. Friends who knit together, friends who watch glee together, friends who cook together, friends who lunch together, friends who pray together, friends who dance together, friends you teach, friends you learn from. What's best is when those are the same friends. I've got quite an amazing group of friends. Some new, some old, some who are near and some who have moved on, though only geographically. The best is the kind of friend who you can call out of nowhere and pick up just like it was yesterday the last time you talked. Though I'll take all of those friends these days.

I'm thankful for family. Moms, dads, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Oh Burka family, we've really got something special here. The fact that we all care so much about making sure that we get together is quite unique and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love talking with you, I love walking with you, I love knitting with you, and I love kicking your butts at Apples to Apples.

I'm thankful for new family. Couldn't be luckier, could I? I have a marvelous family already and I get to add more people to it. I suppose I should thank Chris for having a cool family.

I'm thankful for Chris. Very thankful for Chris.

God has been good this year, hasn't he? I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving and I hope you take a moment to think about that.