Christmas and Chairs

Christmas this year was with my family in Nashville. Two weeks before Christmas we finally finished our hardwood floors, put our doors back on, and were slowly taking loads over to the house to start the process of moving in.

First load... Christmas decorations :) This is just one of the many reasons I have the greatest husband in the world.

Here's our tree before any ornaments were on it. I could stare at this all day long.

Since we only had a few weeks before Christmas, I only put up a few things. Since my pinterest-inspired wreath was on the front door, I decided to put our Christmas wreath on the door to the porch.

My one food contribution to the Family Christmas was going to be cookies. JT and I love these and good thing Marcy (my MIL) showed me the easiest recipe!

- Buy peanut butter cookie mix (where you only add water, eggs, & oil)
- Mix the dough
- Roll 1 inch balls in pure sugar
- Place on a cookie sheet and bake according to package
- Once removed from the oven, let cool for 3 minutes and then pace a kiss on top!
- To harden the chocolate, stick the tray in the freezer for a few minutes
- Enjoy! YUM-O.

 

For the last 7 months we've been eating at a coffee table and sofa. We sold our old table and chairs before we moved from Dallas and have been looking for the perfect set to stay in our family for years to come. Something sturdy that will last up to the wear and tear of many parties, family dinners, work space, etc. We found our table at Crate and Barrel and wanted to find chairs that we could mix-match. Ikea had the perfect grey/brown slim chairs we were looking for. 

Our family all pitched in and gave us our table for Christmas. What a blessing. Crate and Barrel delivered it in one piece and now all we were waiting for was chairs. In saving money with Ikea, you are required to assemble the furniture yourself. After Christmas, we took a day trip up to Cincinnati, bought our chairs, drove home and assembled them. After just a few hours, we were finished and we finally had our table and chairs! 

And here's the final product! (The love seat did not stay in the dining room... it now is where the Christmas tree stood)

We had a wonderful Christmas with my side of the family and absolutely adored my little nephew every minute. I can't lie... he was the highlight of everyone's trip :)

One afternoon we went on a walk and took some family pictures... JT and I couldn't take a serious shot... we had too much fun!

One of the best family pictures we've taken in a while. Merry Christmas everyone!

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Merry Christmas from Louisville

Today we celebrate Christmas in Nashville, TN where my brother Charlie and his wife, Kate, and baby Emmett are the hosts this year. We're so thankful for all that 2011 has brought our family: new jobs, new school, new city, new house... our lives are full and we are blessed.

This Christmas, we take time to remember Christ's birth and eagerly await his return during this season of advent, the Latin word for "coming". We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

jt & macy

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Tacky Sweater Party

Okay, so it's time to catch up from a lack of being on the Blog. Who doesn't mind celebrating a little belated Christmas?? Or depending on which way you look at it... we're celebrating early!

This post goes out to all the families and moms out there who hear about all these couples at seminary, but can never place faces with names. Not sure that everyone in this post wants this to be the picture they're known by... so maybe I'll do another post soon with more "attractive" pictures :) But for now, here are (most) of our friends here at DTS!

Note: Names are listed above the photo

Josh, Jenny, and Jayla Howlett

(haha, yes... that's a Christmas tree on his stomach)

Ashley, Anthony, and Adilyn Pratt

Kristen and Luke Mathews

Daniel and Emily Attaway

Stephen and Jared (no they don't go together)

But they do! Stephen and Megan Partrick

Jared and Abby Perry... and Joby

Jared and Abby Perry

Rylin and Joby Crane

another one of Rylin and Joby

Amber and Jonathan Holmes

Daniel and Emily Attaway

Will and Claire Cook

Tony and Vandi Melton

JT and Macy (that's us)

All the girls (LtoR, Top to Bottom: Claire, Emily, Abby, Megan, Amber, (Joby), Rylin, me, Kristen, Vandi, Brooke)

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329 days...

Till Christmas 2010.

After getting married, you realize this new (or old) rule that you have to start sharing holidays. I don't think any girl ever really thinks about this as she's dreaming for her future husband. But once the topic comes up, you realize you have to make the tough decision every year, and then hope that both of your families don't think you're picking favorites. To all my lady friends out there who are going to have to make these decisions for the first time... don't worry, the first year is the hardest, second to the following, and so on. So basically, by the time JT and I have been married for 20 years, this will be a piece of cake... hopefully :)

For our first two years of marriage, JT and I spent Christmas with his family. For Christmas 2009, it was the Sinclair's turn. Since JT and I have moved to Dallas, my parents have also relocated back to their "home" town (this is where they met and got married), so all the brothers & the sis-in-law were heading to Dallas to celebrate.

Chris flew all the way from Thailand to surprise both my parents. We worked out a fabulous plan to surprise them at dinner... and despite their suspicions, they were still ecstatic and could barely believe their eyes. Priceless.

Sam came up from Houston and Kate & Charlie drove in from Nashville. And we all rendezvoused in Magnolia, AR. This was very exciting for everyone on the Sharp side of the family because all cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents were going to be present. I think the last time we were all together like this was probably 6 years ago.

Here's a snapshot of what you'd find in Magnolia on Christmas Eve:

That's my Uncle Sam and here's his HUGE dog rightfully named, Dozer. 

We headed to my grandparents house for dinner where Aunt Nancy was away in the kitchen cooking up a storm, JT and I were posing by the fire (Christmas Vacation anyone??) and all the family was catching up life.

Here's the the whole fam...

Anyone want dessert??

After our bellies were full and we hugged everybody, we got back in our cars and drove through a snowstorm to get back to Dallas. On Christmas morning, JT and I woke up like little kids and opened all our presents under the tree. Merry Christmas!

Here's the wood bat-rack that Bapa made JT. Now we just need to get his Rockies bats down here to fill it up!

Everyone came to our apartment to celebrate on Christmas day and we had a great time eating, playing games, Sam watching Mariah, and enjoying time with family. 

Here's to a wonderful Christmas, a happy new year, and only 329 days till the next! I love Christmas!

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13.1

13.1.... that's JT's first Christmas present of the year. Yes, it's true. I love Christmas so much that I start to give gifts 3 months on advance :)

13.1 is how many miles it takes to run half a marathon. It's been a desire of JT's to run one with me and this year will be the year that we accomplish it together.

On December 13, 2009 you can find JT and I running in and around Downtown Dallas in the White Rock Half Marathon.

This will be me as we get started:

This will be us training:

This will be us finishing:

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Caribbean Christmas Cruise

"What are you doing for Christmas?" seems to be the popular question among our friends this time of the year. Our answer this year was very different than either of us would have expected. "We're going on a Caribbean Christmas Cruise."

Our plans for 2008 were very different than what we had experienced in 2007. We went from a White Snow Christmas in Colorado to a White Sand Christmas on the shores of Mexico. The only reason this was at all possible is because of the generosity of JT's grandparents, lovingly known as Bapa & Nama. They wanted to celebrate their 80th birthday's and also celebrate Christmas with the ones they love over a fabulous vacation!

They booked the cruise, handed us our itinerary, and said, "See you in December!" We were really excited to be blessed with such a wonderful gift. Thank you Bapa & Nama!

Our Ship, Independence of the Seas

Bon Voyage!

View from our dining table where we ate dinner each night.

Bapa & Nama dancing to live big band music in the Royal Promonade (the mall inside the ship).

Enjoying breakfast on our deck!

Playing miniature golf on the top deck before we head for a day by the pool. (I won by 3 strokes!)

Happy Birthday, Bapa & Nama!

Bapa & Nama were participants in the game show, Love and Marriage. They were chosen as the longest married couple, 56 years! This was one of the most fun nights on the ship. Lots of laughter & great stories to tell... just ask us.

We also rock climbed on the ship. Look at my stud husband. He rocks.

The view from our room each night... ah, so relaxing.

Wait a second... that's Jack on the beach with us! Yes! He came to surprise us on Christmas day at our last port, Cozumel. What a wonderful surprise & Christmas gift!

Merry Christmas 2008 from the shores of Cozumel, Mexico.

We were all so happy, especially Marcy, to have Purell go wherever we were on the ship. No germs and everything was so clean!

Our last night in the dining room with our wonderful waiters, Micko (from India) & Garth (from Jamaica).

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