Decorating, Outside Edition

Young Adult Progressive Dinner

Friday night, our young adult group at church had a progressive dinner.  We had delicious appetizers at Britt's house, followed  by a great chicken entree at the Shiedler's house, and had desserts and did a white elephant gift exchange at our house.  We had a great time!

We love having our fireplace on during the holidays!

The torte, whipped cream, gingerbread, and egg nog

Ready for our guests!

Youthville

This year, Kevin and I decided to participate in the Youthville Christmas ornament program.  Children in foster homes make lists of things they would like for Christmas, and the lists are put on ornaments.  We chose an 11 year old girl (almost the same age as Kevin's sisters).  We had such a wonderful time picking out the gifts from her list!

They included:

A bike

photo courtesy of Target.com

Build-a-Bear clothes    

photos courtesy of buildabear.com

We hope she has a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas in my Office

Can I just say, I love working at a Christian institution.  There are many perks, and one of my favorites is decorating my office with not just holiday items, but Christmas items. 

 My tree! We have enough artificial trees at TCW for everyone to have one in our offices.  I picked the purple ornaments - I can still show my Alma mater colors at another higher ed institution...just in small ways.

My Advent calendar - I enjoy opening a new box every morning. It's sort of my brief morning devotion, and it always puts a smile on my face.  

 

Christmas Decorations 2010

We trimmed the tree! The nativity is out! The stockings are hung! It's looking like Christmas at the Reynolds' house!

We love our tree!  We have many ornaments that we've collected together since we first started dating. Every year, we get at least one new ornament (usually two or three, though), and we get sentimental ones for special occasions, too. 

Our First Christmas Ornament from last year

Our fireplace

Merry Christmas!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

 This Saturday, Kevin and I picked out our Christmas tree!  We ventured to Prairie Pines, and we had a great time finding our tree!

 The horses took everyone out to the different fields. 

 We found the perfect tree!  Instead of waiting for the wagons to come back, my dad (who came with his truck to help us bring our tree home since we both have cars) and Kevin decided to just walk it back to the store.

 I loved the horses! So pretty

 This chandelier was really fun!

All in all, we really enjoyed Prairie Pines.  We will likely make this a tradition every year, especially once we have children. And, we LOVE our tree! It's a Virginian pine, and our entire house smells so wonderful!

A few of my favorite things

This post was inspired by Oprah, although I do apologize that no one reading this will receive any of these gifts, at least not from me.  However, in case anyone is still searching for Christmas ideas, here are some items that I am in love with, many that have multiple uses. I apologize if this seems silly or self-indulgent, but I thought it would be fun.  I would love to hear what other people consider to be their top items!

1.  Portable Corningware (casserole dish with plastic cover, carrying case)- Love not worrying about food spilling in the car on our way to gatherings.  It also comes with a heating/cooling insert, which I am embarrassed to admit doubles as an ice/heat pack for my neck sometimes...don't worry, it doesn't come in direct contact with me or the food. :)

 2.  Crate and Barrel Miranda Trifle Dish - Works as a centerpiece for our island, but we also use it as a "trash bowl" inspired by Rachael Ray with a clear vegetable bag. 

3. L.L. Bean Boat and Tote Bag with zipper top - I love this bag for work.  I can stuff my lunch bag, purse, papers, calendar, etc. in it, and I don't have to carry a luggage-sized purse.  Kevin gave it to me as a gift for my birthday right before our wedding, and it was so special because it had my new initials (DLR) on it. 

4.  Pure Beech Jersey Knit and Sateen sheets - They are so soft, and the colors they come in are great.  We have sets for our bed and our guest bed, and they wear well.

5.  Pampered Chef bamboo cooking utensils - They are dishwasher safe, and work with our nonstick and hard-anodized pieces.  We've had them since our wedding, and we hardly use anything else!

6.  Dyson Ball Animal Vacuum - I am distressed/intrigued every time I vacuum because I see how much pet hair is shed for a supposedly moderate-shed dog.  It really picks up the hair.

7. Tupperware Stuffables, Crystal Wave, and Modular Mates - Kevin and I both take our lunches everyday, so we love the Stuffables for odd sized leftovers and Crystal Wave for soups and messy leftovers.  The modular mates really helped us organize our pantry.  Remember this?

8.  Mary Kay tinted moisturizer with SPF 20 - I wear it underneath my normal foundation during the week, and it saves time because it moisturizes and allows my foundation to cover better.  

9.  Small portable air compressor - SERIOUSLY! I had a leaky tire for about a month (yes, Dad, I know I should have gotten it taken care of sooner), and this was so great to have because whenever my low tire pressure light came on in my car, I could fill it up at home.  Of course, Kevin had to teach me initially how to use it and use a tire pressure gage, but I have done it on my own since then.  I do find it ironic that this was a gift to Kevin from my parents last year, and I have used it many more times than he has. :)

10. Gap Long and Lean Jeans - Enough said! :)

11.  Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course - We finished it at our church over a year ago, and we still follow all of his guidelines, even the envelope system.  It can be a pain at times, but it really works for us.

12.  Rum Raisin WoodWick Candle - Holiday in a jar

I'm So Thankful

A tradition with many families is saying what you are thankful for around the Thanksgiving table. With my work changes, I've started thinking of all my blessings a little early this year.

My wonderful, supportive husband

Great parents, sister, in-laws, and extended family

Being able to challenge myself in a job career that I am loving

A precious pooch that makes me smile every single day

A house that is a home

My husband's career and his strong work ethic

Friends that I am just as quick to call whether I have great or sad news

Happy Thanksgiving!

New job, Week 2

I've officially started my second week at Tabor! Although new jobs are always overwhelming, I'm really enjoying all my coworkers, and I am excited for my upcoming projects!

The door to my office - It was all ready for me even though the name plate hadn't arrived yet.
My office! I need to hang up my degrees and find some art for the walls. I joked with my coworkers that I didn't want to bring a Uhaul on my first week of work. Everyday I have been bringing more items to make it feel like me.
View from my desk

The Arch

Kevin and I had fun at the arch in St. Louis on our vacation!

We headed to the top in an egg-shaped tram car. It was a little small on head room.
We enjoyed the view from the top.


Kevin liked viewing the arch from the outside, also. And, we spent some time looking at all the welds. FUN ;)

St. Louis Presentation/Vacation

We left for our vacation on Halloween after church to drop off Benton at my parents' house and stay over at Kevin's parents' house. We had dinner with Kevin's parents, and we saw some of their trick-or-treaters. Our favorite costume was a toddler giraffe! Although, there were two pretty cool cats, also (Kevin's sisters R&R).

We knew we would miss Benton so much, but we also knew he was in great hands!


Benton relaxing before we left on our trip.

We arrived in St. Louis on Monday afternoon. Our room in St. Louis was amazing at Hilton at the Ballpark. We were on the 24th floor, and we had the most amazing view!

We were only two blocks from the arch!

Monday night we ate at a great local Italian restaurant, Charlie Gittos. It was really yummy! Tuesday, we slept in, walked around downtown, and then had couple's massages at Indigo Massage and Wellness. We both agreed that it was the best we've had so far! Kevin spent the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday preparing for his presentation on Wednesday afternoon. He did a great job! I went shopping and found some cute clothes for my new job and read a book.

Thursday, we ventured over to the arch! We also lounged around the hotel's pool that afternoon, and we went to a friend's restaurant Thursday night, Farmhaus. It was delicious! We headed home on Friday, and it was so great to see our pup! It was a great trip!

Wonderful Sendoff

The library was so gracious and kind to me last night, which was my last official night there. James, a clerk with a sense of humor (you'll see it on the cake), ordered the cake and brought me chocolate rice cakes that I could eat. My friend Christine brought Braums ice cream, and all the wonderful staff at Westlink bought a beautiful flower arrangement (a mum plant inside a real pumpkin!). My boss Tracie also gave me such a beautiful and thoughtful gift: a gorgeous wood business card holder with my name personalized on it! The cards and well wishes made me teary more than a few times. I will miss all the great people at the library, and I am so appreciative of all their support as I start my career in higher education!

Vacay

Kevin and I are going to St. Louis early next week for vacation! This turned out to be perfect timing as I will be starting a new position shortly after getting back.

Kevin is presenting his research on cold formed steel at an engineering conference on Wednesday (Nov 3) afternoon in St. Louis, and I wanted to go along with him for support. We had been planning on taking a vacation this fall, so it seemed like a good idea to stay for a week and make it a vacation.

On the agenda: couple massages (the day before Kevin's presentation to help relax), museums, shopping, fun restaurants, sleeping in, the arch, river boat, walking around

I'm so excited! Benton will be staying at my parents' house while we are gone. I'm sure he will be spoiled rotten when we get back, but it should be a vacation for him, too! They love their grandpup.

Big News!

I'm happy to announce that on November 8th I will start as Tabor College Wichita's (fondly referred by everyone there as TCW) Academic Support Coordinator!

I think it is still sinking in that I have finally found a position that matches my education and interests. This past year and a half really taught me a lot about being patient (admittedly something I have not always been), and in many ways it has given me a chance to grow outside of my professional experiences. That being said, I'm ready for this!

Needless to say, Kevin is very happy for me! After the first interview with Tabor went so well, we celebrated with a night out going to On the Border and a movie. Last night I worked at the library, so I didn't get home until 9:30pm (like typical Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays - not going to miss those hours!), and I came home to a DELICIOUS flourless torte he had made! We also watched a movie he had rented (SATC2 - which I was also very excited to see).

Sunflowers

Our subdivision is still being developed, so we have fields and open lots nearby. This fall, the sunflowers were out in full force!

Sweet Surprise

Last week was a stressful and long week for me. I came home from work on Saturday to find these in our kitchen!

One of those days

Some days, you just have to recharge.

Go Wildcats!

Kevin and I went to the KSU game this Saturday, and we had so much fun! The owners at his firm have season tickets, and they offered us two tickets for this game. The seats were in a perfect location.

We won! It was also band day, and there was a fireworks show at the end of the game.

After the game, Kevin and I ate at Houlihans (we wish we had one in Wichita), and then we made the short trek to Council Grove to spend the night. It was a late game, so it was much closer to stay over at my parents' house than to drive back home. My parents are in Canada for the next month, so we were able to check on the house, also. We left in time on Sunday morning to get to our home church to sing in choir.

Kevin's Aunt Julie watched Benton for us Saturday until after church on Sunday. She said Benton did great the entire time. When we picked him up, he was happy to see us, but he also looked like he was having a blast with his buddies! We love Julie and her dog-ters so much!

Best Friends Forever

Ivy
Mabel

Labor Day Weekend

Kevin and I ventured to Overland Park this Saturday after I got off work to spend some time with his family and celebrate his sisters' birthdays. A few highlights:

*The Wildcats winning in football against UCLA (we listened to it on the way)!

*An amazing painting Kevin's brother Kyle brought us from his China trip (blog post to come on that!)

* Seeing Nanette Roberts (the pastor that married us) in church on Sunday morning at Grace UMC

*Peachwave self-serve frozen yogurt bar - YUMMY!
My delicious coconut and pineapple swirl yogurt with fruit and gummy bears and Kevin's peanut butter yogurt with fruit and cookies


My yogurt (again) with Rachel and Robyn's very chocolate creations

A view of the yogurt station. It was a lot of fun (and tasty!) to try.


We got home late on Sunday evening. Monday, we installed our storm door, I went shopping with my sister, Kevin and I had a fun evening dinner, and we crashed early.

It's almost fall!

The changing of seasons is what I love about Kansas best. A few of my favorite things about this time of year?


Ripe, juicy peaches from Colorado



Sweet, gigantic vidalia onions
It's almost fall!