November/December in Pictures

My beautiful sister was asked for her hand in marriage by her handsome fiance in the month of November! He did it right of course by calling my father to ask his permission beforehand =) Becky moved to Texas last May and although I was of course sad to have her moving so far away, I was also so happy she had found true love! She is enjoying her time in Texas working at a mail-order pharmaceutical company and an August 2009 wedding is in the works! Over the holiday we went bridesmaid and bridal shopping for the first time and she looked stunning (while the boys enjoyed shooting each other in paintball)! No pictures of the bridal shopping will be posted of course because we want her gown to be a total secret to her future husband! They are so happy together and I love them both!

Also in the month of November, Mike's mom got an offer for a new job as an Assistant Superintendent! Congratulations to her! That means they will be moving out to Western New York and moving is lots of hard work! They are getting the house ready for sale and I am sure everything will work out for the best! We enjoyed Thanksgiving with my grandparents as well as Mike's grandmother and it surely was a time to be thankful!

December was a whirlwind month of holiday cheer and surprises. We spent the first part of Christmas up in our hometown in upstate NY and the later part here in our home! It is always wonderful to spend time surrounded by people who love and support us so much! Everyone made Christmas special with wonderful food, gifts, conversation and company! Mike C. as well as my sister Becky, her fiance Blake, my mom and dad all made the trip down to Maryland. We received soft blankets, gift cards for home improvement to finish all those projects we have, a clock with the elements, solar outdoor lights, a DVR, a red sox jersey and much more! I am so thankful for the gifts we received. My personal favorite though is giving gifts though! I love watching people open the present I so thoughtfully spent time picking out because I thought it would be just perfect for them. I think my biggest challenge this holiday season was putting up the lights for the first time =) All in all I will always believe that Christmas is so magical and I still believe in Santa!

*Picture to be inserted soon (sonogram)*

Mike's parents and my parents were in for quite a surprise when they opened cards on the Saturday before Christmas with pictures of a sonogram that said "Surprise! We're having a baby." It all began when I came down to Mike one day in November and said "Honey, I think we're pregnant" after taking the first of two home pregnancy tests (I thought the first one looked like it was faded). A trip to the doctor and one needle prick confirmed it. We're both very excited! At ten weeks, we had our first sonogram which made it all very real. The doctor said things were progressing well and she would see us in a month. At twelve weeks now, things are looking up! The first trimester was marked with a bit of nausea and a lot of tiredness! Mike was of course super supportive even when I was crying for no reason at all =) The baby is due July 17th and everyone says the time will fly! I'm going to sit back and enjoy it!









Another great surprise was the addition of Kelvin to our family! Kelvin (blue collar) is a purebred black Labrador Retriever. He is named after the absolute temperature scale of the same name (I know we are such science geeks, we can't help it!) He is the brother of the great hunter Ajax (owned by my parents and on the top in the photo on the right) . Kelvin certainly keeps us on our toes, but he loves being with the family, eating ice cubes and playing fetch! He already fits right in and he is always adorable especially when he gets into mischief! Mike and my dad have done a great job of training and potty training so far, so he doesn't get into too much trouble but puppies will be puppies!

*Picture to be inserted soon (Mike and Tina on New Year's Eve)*

To celebrate New Year's Eve, we went out to Medieval Times (a medieval restaurant with a live show including knights, horses jousting and more). We enjoyed a wonderful meal with our hands as our utensils and I had a delicious strawberry smoothie in a cool blue metal cup! Even though our knight (the black and gold one) didn't win the princess, I got to kiss my knight in shining armor at the stroke of midnight! It was a fitting end to such an exciting few months and life changing year. All in all life couldn't be much better! Of course there are good days and bad days, but isn't it wonderful to wake up every morning next to someone you love in your own home with a puppy to lick your face and a baby in your belly! I do miss my family and dear friends, but Mike and the puppy (and Steve =) are a wonderful family in Maryland and my friends here in Maryland (at work, church, Hopkins etc.) are great! A wedding, new jobs, moving and new houses, a puppy, a baby! They say these are the top stress creating events in one's life, but they are also the most wonderful! I'm thankful for the year past and excited for new beginnings in the new year and all the wonderful possibilities yet to come!