Dashing in the New Year!

Happy New Year, my friends!!!

So.

Pure. Craziness.

Like so much.

I hope all your Christmas' were awesome! Filled with family, fun, and food. A little Christmas alliteration for you. ;)

As I mentioned to you guys last time, we had a ton of family coming for Christmas. My brother, sister, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law and his family all came for Christmas. So the past ten days have been spent bouncing back and forth between Sam's family and my family. We literally went to each house twice on Christmas day.

Here's a little recap just to give you a glimpse of my great holiday dash.

Five days before Christmas:
A little Christmas lunch with my dad, brother, and sister in the city.

Christmas Eve:
Dan, Jessica, and their sons arrived. We hung out with them for awhile. My nephews have grown so much!

*Side note* I love being an aunt! Really. It's so much fun. Only an aunt can get away with giving Nerf guns and foam swords to two boys under ten years old. My other nephews live in Virginia, and I don't see them very often. I'm so blessed to be "Aunt Joy" to these two lovable boys!

Christmas Day:
Opened presents with Sam's family. Opened presents with my family. Had Christmas dinner with Sam's family. Put stuff away at home. Sam went to work - he had to work an overnight on Christmas. Then I went back to my mom's house.

Day after Christmas:
Visited with my family. Nerf gun war with my nephews! Girls movie night with Bekah, my sister-in-law, and Jessica, my brother-in-law's wife! We enjoyed ice cream, my fabulous coffee cream cheese brownies, and Leap Year. After the movie we just sat around and talked until very late.

Day after the day after Christmas:
Homemade french toast breakfast made by Jessica. Then my mother and I went to the city to drop my sister off with her boyfriend. Then dinner with Sam's family. While the rest of the family was watching one of the stupidest movies known to man, Jessica and I went over to my house. We talked until really late again. I love girl talk!

*Side not again* I am a typical girl when it comes to talking. I love girl talk. It comes easy when you are young. You talk about your crushes, clothes, and the newest "torture" your parents are inflicting on you. What about when you get older, or when you are married? The girl talk may change, but it never goes away! I had so many deep and wonderful, sisterly conversations with Christine, Bekah, and Jessica! I've missed Christine and Bekah so much. They are such good sisters. And it's been so much fun getting to know Jessica even better. I only have a few married friends, and where our husbands are brothers, it was nice to get some insight from her. :)

December 28th:
We went to church, and then an afternoon showing of the newest Hobit movie.

SPOILERS!!! I am a hobit loving person. Star Wars. Star Gate. Star Trek. Lord of the Rings. So I don't take what I'm about to say next lightly.

I only kind of liked this movie.

I mean, of course I like it. It's a Hobit movie. However, there was no down time in the movie. It was literally all fighting, arguing, and no humor whatsoever. The love story they developed was pointless, but if you've ever read the book, you know why. Urg!

Other then that, I liked it.

So then Sam and I went out to dinner with Dan and Jessica, and Sam's other brother Matt, and his fiancee Wendy. Bekah was supposed to come, too, but she took to her bed sick. We had a lot of fun though.

New Year's Eve:
Sam and I hung at at his parent's house with everybody else. Sam made delicious french onion soup. (That's right, ladies. My husband can cook!) My mother-in-law gave me the recipe for her delicious cheese ball, so I made that. We watched movies and talked. :)

Despite all the running around, we have had so much fun with our families!

Here are some of my favorite Christmas/New Year's moments!

Lot's of coffee!

Last minute shopping and coffee with my sister!

My silly husband :)

Opening presents

Picking on my husband ;)

My husband and nephew passed out during a movie.

My brother, sister, and I

My newest nutcracker! Seriously, I am obsessed with these guys! 

Sam and I <3

Watching The Princess Bride on Christmas day

A beautiful new piece for my town!

So. I do have a Biblical, kind of New Years thought to share with you guys. In my own personal Bible reading, I found this verse.

"Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed." Psalm 34:5, ESV Bible

This is an awesome verse! When I read this verse, it made me think of a Moses story, found in Exodus 34:29-33. Moses comes down from the mountain with the two tablets (containing the ten commandments for the second time), and he was all business as usual.

Except for one thing.

His face glowed with the glory of God!

Sweet, right? At first the people were scared, and even after Moses calmed them down, he still had to wear a veil over his face!

So here is my proposed New Year plan.

Let's be like Moses.

Moses so fit that verse from Psalms. He looked to God, and no one else. Because of that, his face was covered in the glory of God. He got to spend one on one, face to face time with God! Can you think of anything cooler then that? Exactly. There is nothing cooler then that. His face displayed no shame because that kind of stuff doesn't live around God. Only glory remains.

I say again, let's be like Moses. Let's have such an intimate relationship with God, that we have glowing glory faces. Make that your goal for the New Year, and I promise you, it will be a year you never forget.

So my friends, have a blessed New Year with your family and friends! Thanks for making me a part of your year. I will see you again on January 10th! :)

V. Joy Palmer