Year End Review!

Wow, 2010 is tomorrow?

2009 was a year of big BIG changes for Jordan and I. Here's a quick recap of what we experienced from January to December (This is what would have gone on a Christmas letter... if I'd written one!)

In January we started sending out resumes big time. Jordan started his very last semester of seminary and it was time to start thinking of our next big move. By February, we'd gotten a few interests and started visiting churches. We went to Mt Belvieu, TX and both knew pretty immediately this wasnt the place for us. A week later, we visited Rockport and both knew pretty immediately this WAS the place for us. A week later, I ran and finished the Cowtown Half Marathon. When March rolled around, Jordan was ordained and went from Mr. Jordan Mims to Rev. Jordan Mims. I dont remember if it was March or April that we revisited FBC Rockport, but it was another great visit that left us really excited about the next step. Also in April, I took a trip to New York City (my first EVER!) with a few of my coworkers. It was a great trip and I look forward to going back one day with my husband. May comes through and our life really begins to look different. Jordan graduates from seminary with a Masters of Divinity. We made one last trip to Rockport as non FBC-ers and were voted in as Youth Pastor (and pastor's wife). We started packing up our little bear cave and by mid-June we had moved and become official Rockport-ians. I started working at Bay Area Medical Center (L&D of course) at the end of the month. We closed on our first home in August and started moving into a space almost 3 times larger (with a 3x larger monthly payment!) than our seminary apartment. We also increased the size of our little Mims family by one furry little member. Mauve isnt so little anymore though! Mr Mims had a massive hemorrhagic stroke (an 8cm bleed!), spent several days in Intensive Care at Methodist downtown Houston and then 7 weeks in SugarLand Rehab Hospital. The same week Mr. Mims was in ICU, Mauve started having diarrhea. Boo. My mom got remarried in October. Then this past month, Casey and Duane got engaged (finally!) and then Jordan's Papa died very unexpectedly and we spent a few days in Augusta. Overall, we have been overwhelmed by the goodness and grace of our Redeemer & Lord.

We already have so much to look forward to in 2010... Duane & Casey's wedding (12/11/10!), Nathanael & Brittany's wedding (6/6/10!), a trip to DisneyWorld, and our 4 year wedding anniversary!!!

We're cookin now!

Due to an unfortunate trip to Augusta (not unfortunate because I dislike Augusta or trips to Augusta, but unfortunate because of the nature of the trip. Jordan's grandfather died very very unexpectedly and we flew in town for the funeral. It was a short trip. It was a sad trip. Papa was a wonderful man of God and we all take comfort in knowing he was a Christian and that he was blessed enough to pass away in his sleep. What a wonder to fall asleep in your bed and wake up with Jesus!), we got to spend some unexpected time with my family. I was thrilled to get to see my parents and sisters (and their +1s! Thanks Erika for that tidbit!). I saw Casey's new bling and it's totally gorgeous. And somehow during our visit, we fit in time for presents (it was a tough squeeze, but we made a little time for gifts...). I told my sister last week before I had any idea we would be in Augusta that I wished I could see her face when she opened up her brand new camera in its fancy VB "camera bag." Well, I got my wish! I think Cas was stoked- I faked her out big time!

And so far on our side, Jordan and I have already gotten 3 cookbooks!

Do you think our family is trying to hint at something? I love the Masters cookbooks and my nana was awesome enough to get me that. Then Jordan got the Good Eats book from Cas & Duane because he loves that show. My awesome sister also bought me that special book in the middle. Casey is pretty great. She knew it was what I wanted!

Aint it purrrty???

Oh but wait....

Hang on a sec...

what is that?

Be still my beating heart. (Even Jordan looks stoked)

Casey is the bomb diggity. (does anyone even use that word anymore??) But wait! There's even more if you flip a few more pages...

Annnnnnnd.....

Love love love love love it.

Special thanks to hubs for being such a good sport and holding my awesomely special personalized with correct spelling autographed by 3 people one of which being Pioneer Woman herself and you should check out her blog if you havent already because its awesome and this is a really long run on sentence with no punctuation!

Penne a la Betsy and Cinnamon Rolls here I come!!! (Taylors beware!)

SBD

Look at my sweet puppy.

Almost asleep. So sweet.

Sweet that is, until you get a whiff.

This dog has the smelliest, stinkiest, most gag-inducing farts you can imagine. I'm telling you, something has rotted in her belly. Ever since we started another new medicine for her diarrhea, she has been farting (or tooting, as I was corrected earlier) non-stop. Seriously- a few times per hour, we'll get a sniff of Mauvey toots. Like a little black furry fart factory. We mentioned this to the vet the during the last visit and they laughed at us. Dr. Stork said it could be a side effect of some of her medicines and it would work its way out. Gee thanks. Very few of her toots have a musical warning- most are silent and definitely deadly. And they're the absolute worst when she's asleep! It's as if relaxing while asleep just opens her butt (bottom) up to let the noxious gases seep out continuously and without restraint. Gross.

Little Stinker. It's a good thing you're cute.

Hollie Jolly Christmas

I love giving gifts.

Love it.

I am really bummed that I wont see these gifts being opened.

Because I've got one or two tricks up my sleeve this year.

Should be good.

I may not have a Christmas tree this year.

And I may not have lights on the house.

And my stockings are not hung by the chimney with care.

But I've got some pretty presents stacked up, ready to be shipped out.

And of course Mauve had to help.

BAFWAP '09

Sunday night was our First Annual BAFWAP: 2009 edition (Bring A Friend Win A Prize). Jordan and I encouraged our high school kiddos to bring their friends with them to Sunday Night Discipleship. We gave out prizes to the both the kids and their friends. We gave out prizes for Colossians quiz winners. We gave out prizes for sword drill winners. We gave out lots of prizes! It was a great night!!! We met a few new friends and hopefully we'll see them again soon! I love our High School Discipleship nights- it's been a great way to get to know our guys & gals a little better.

Like Stratton! Please ignore the water stain on my ceiling. K thanks.

Sorry Kendall... looks like I caught you a little off guard.

Looks like I caught Nicole a little off guard too!

Sunday night High School Discipleship is such a mouthful. So much so that we're giving the youth a chance to change the name- and win another prize! From now to December 20, Jordan and I are giving every youth a ballot to cast their vote for a new name. At the youth Christmas party, we'll randomly pick from our top 5 favorite names and someone lucky will win an AWESOME prize (among other goodies & prizes)! And by awesome, I mean the choice between a Wii, Xbox 360 or iPod Touch! Crazy good prizes, right? We're also doing the same thing for our Sunday night Middle School Discipleship. We've already given out a few dozen ballots and gotten half a dozen or so back. We hope that it will not only be fun for the kids, but encourage them to come to Sunday night and Wednesday night activities. May the most creative name win!

PS: I havent quite figured out how to load pictures that dont get cut off on the side. Sorry Gracie for chopping you in half!

The family is growing by one!

I'm not talking babies here!

My baby sister is getting married!!! Her boyfriend -no- FIANCE proposed Saturday night and I couldnt be morrrrrrrre excited!!! Cas and Duane have been connected for like for-ev-er. If my memory serves me correctly, they "went out" in like middle school... or maybe it was their freshman year of high school. They split up but remained friends and then in like junior or senior year of high school came to their senses and started dating again. So now here they are- Casey's graduating from college (eek! That makes me feel ollllllllllld!) in May and getting married. My sweet baby sister is all grown up *tear! She doesnt know this, but I will be entirely too involved in her wedding planning and have already forced upon her my minister husband and handmade wedding announcements. (speaking of handmade- i'm putting the last set of Christmas cards in the mail tomorrow!) It's no secret that I'm superduperexcited & honored to be the matron of honor!

While watching Julie & Julia tonight, I find myself wondering what the deal is with my own blog. April 2010 is just around the corner and will mark 2 years worth of blogging. Errrrrrr. I just want a little direction. Maybe I should start cooking and writing recipes. I appreciate all the support from friends & family and I am not looking to delete my ramblings, just revamp them! We'll see what happens.

Oh & I need someone --anyone-- to figure out why I cant find white fudge covered Oreos this Christmas.

I need them.

PS: BAFWAP pictures soon to come!

Additional PS: You must go read the hub's blog about Christmas! It will rock your Christmas world!

Food for Thought

I took this from a MCG friend's blog.

How often do these same exact thoughts run through your head? I can definitely (and sadly) relate.

Seventeen Minutes
It's the thoughts-ordinary, daily thought ---that count
by Andree Seu

These are the thoughts of a woman driving home from the Stop 'N Shop on an ordinary day.
She conjures three comebacks she could've hurled at Ellen if she had not been caught off guard.
She spots the baby shower invitation on the dashboard and schemes a way to be out of town that weekend--then thinks better of it because she has a favor to ask the sender at a later date.
She sizes up a woman standing at the bus stop and judges her.
She stews over a comment her brother made behind her back, and crafts a letter telling him off--and sounding righteous in the process.
she reviews the morning's argument with her husband, and plans the evening installment.
She imagines how life would have been if she had married X (well-worn furrow, this).
She magnanimously lets a car merge into traffic, and then is ticked off when she doesn't get her wave.
She resolves to eat less chocolate starting today--well, tomorrow.
She replays memory tapes going back to the '60s, trying to change the endings.
Somebody rides up the road shoulder and budges to the head of a traffic jam, and she hates the driver with a perfect hatred.
She passes the house of the contractor who defrauded her and fantasizes blowing it to smithereens.
She passes Audrey working in her garden and waves--but thinks, "If Audrey has chronic fatigue syndrome, I'm a Flying Wallenda."
She glares at a driver who runs a red light in front of her, forgetting that she did the same about a mile ago.
She checks her slightly crooked nose compulsively in the rearview mirror, and reassures herself it isn't too bad.
An inner voice tells her to turn off the radio and pray, but she decides that's the voice of legalism.
She brainstorms talking points for her upcoming woman's Bible study lecture on "Ephesians" and considers how she can improve it--and make it better than Alice's talk of last week.
She is angry at God because here she is a Christian and broke, while her good-for-nothing heathen of a brother is rolling in dough.
She thinks how much better her life would be if she were beautiful, and fantasizes all the bungee-jumping, maggot pizza-eating "Fear Factor" stunts she'd be willing to subject herself to to look like Gwyneth Paltrow.
She wonders how her parents will divvy up the inheritance--and how long she has to wait.
she rehearses two good reasons why here sister and not she should take care of the folks when they're too old. She thinks about here childhood and counts the ways her parents have screwed up her life.
The Johnsons drive by, and she recalls all the meals she made for them 10n years ago when Lydia had toxemia during pregnancy, and bets they don't even remember. Hmm, did they even send a thank-you card?
The word treachery flashes through her mind (Mr. Beaver's succint epithet for Edmund in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) but leaves no footprints.
An SUV cuts her off, and she decides to punish it by tailgating.
Her heart smites her for this. so she determines to try harder to live righteously from now on. Who knows, God may reward her in some amazing way; Her husband may give her grounds for divorce, and God will lead her to the arms of Mr. Right.
She tries to pray but doesn't get past "Our Father."
There are lots of people that the woman does not think of while driving home with groceries, people who are not important to her social status, or just not interesting.
She doesn't think about AIDS-ravaged Africa, she doesn't think about the death sentence dangling over millions in Sudan, she doesn't think about missionaries, she doesn't think about martyrs in Kim Jong-il's prisons, she doesn't think about ways she could encourage her children.
She pulls in her driveway. Total driving time: 17 minutes.
And if you were to ask the lady, as rustles parcels from the car, what she has been thinking about on the drive from town, she would say, "Oh nothing in particular." And she would not be lying.
Imagine believing that we don't need a Savior.

Letting myself go

I've become a real blogging procrastinator.

Here are a few things running through my mind now:

1. I have a lot more people to buy Christmas gifts for and time is running out!

2. I have to finish my Christmas cards like yesterday! I usually have them done by mid november!

3. ...Maybe I should put up Christmas decorations this year...

4. I almost have my bathroom together and it's super-duper exciting! Pictures to follow!

5. I wish there was a new Grey's on tonight!

6. I have a lot of things to do and blogging about my thoughts isnt one of them.

Here are a few things that have been happening around here lately:

1. Mauve spent Thanksgiving with her doggy friends Drake & Maggie.

2. We spent Thanksgiving with the Rhoads and Jordan's parents.

3. I've spent every waking minute i'm not at work making my Christmas cards. Retaking our pictures really set me back.

4. When I'm not making my Christmas cards, I'm making Christmas party invites for the FBCR staff.

5. Then of course there's work. Labor & Delivery has still been slow recently and I'm being put on call so often I'm running out of vacation time. I'm a little emotionally torn by this- I love not having to work, but I also love a full paycheck.

Here are a few things I want for Christmas:

1. Kitchenaid stand mixer

2. Pioneer Woman Cooks (kinda goes with #1 right?)

3. The Letterpress from Lifestyle Crafts

4. A new pair of jeans (but only when I'm 10lbs leaner)

Here are a few things Jordan wants for Christmas:

1. a Grill

2. A huge TV

3. Some new sneakers

Here are a few of my favorite blogs as of recently:

1. Blog Giveaways (I shouldnt be sharing this, as it will decrease my chances of winning...)

2. The Hubs (because he writes even less often than I do.)

Here's the main reason I'm ready to lose the blog:

1. I've run out of things to talk about and have come to making lists.