Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!!
We are at my parent's house in Lubbock, and it has been a special time.
Christmas Eve we had some shopping to do, so we ran into Lubbock to get that done...and it was snowing!!!!!
I love it when it actually feels like Christmas!
I snapped this picture outside my parent's house just before we went into Lubbock.

Christmas Eve is also my dad's birthday. I made him some pumpkin bread cupcakes with cream cheese icing. Mmmm....they were so good!
I wish I would have gotten a picture of all the snow on Christmas Day, but I was too busy sitting by the fire drinking an excessive amount of coffee! ;) We ate breakfast together, Dad read the Christmas story and had prayer, then we opened gifts. To see a very special gift, you can click here.
I honestly can't remember the last time that I was home for both his birthday and Christmas Day. Working retail pretty much dictates my holiday events, and even though I don't manage anymore, we can request time off but it's never guaranteed.
This year, I didn't even request any time off for Christmas. I was just waiting to see what I was scheduled then we would make our plans around that. I was surprised when she scheduled me off Christmas Eve. I had to close on that Friday, so we decided we would leave Friday night as soon as I got off work, drive all night so that we could spend Saturday and Sunday with my family. Then I would request to work late Monday so that we could leave early Monday morning. Makes for a long day, but it worked out well at Thanksgiving.
That was the plan.
Well, we got thrown a curveball.
One of our cousins passed away Wednesday before Christmas. The funeral is planned for Monday. When I found that out, I called to let my boss know, and it turns out she scheduled me off until Wednesday! When I asked her about it she said she knew I was going out of town for Christmas, so she wanted to give me some time to spend with my family. Little did she know that I would need that time so we could attend the funeral.
It always amazes me when God works in the details of life's curveballs.

Finals

Three down.

One to go.

Christmas vacation is in my future.

...Near future.

...As in TONIGHT!!!

Oh, glorious day!

Christmas Fun!

Last night was our final home group of the year, so of course we ended it with a Christmas party!
We did everything one would normally do at a Christmas party...white elephant gift, finger foods, ugly sweater contest, and lots of laughter!
I think the best white elephant gift of the evening was a pack of batteries with a sticky note that said "Gift Not Included."
HA! So stinkin' funny!
The highlight of the evening was most definitely seeing the sweaters that people came up with. Clearly, we are a bunch of competitive people unashamedly grasping for bragging rights. ;)

Update

Check out the latest details here! :)

The Letter

The long awaited letter from UTA College of Nursing came in the mail today.


The application deadline was June 1. I turned my application in the last week of May. It is a long wait.

And it looks like I have to wait a little bit longer...

I have been put on the waiting list to be accepted into nursing school.
Although I'm glad it wasn't a rejection letter, I'm still not guaranteed to get in.
I have to turn in a form to keep my name on the waiting list, and they could let me know anytime between now and when the Spring semester starts if I've been accepted or not.
Talk about being on pins and needles!
God is truly teaching me about patience and not being "in control" during this time in my life.

In other news, I posted a blog here about our upcoming adoption!

Just Checking In...

This last week has been absolutely C.R.A.Z.Y.
As in, like, I can't even begin to tell you how crazy.
Can you say a roller coaster of highs and lows?! Because that's what it was.
Oddly enough, it has nothing to do with the adoption. That is all well and good, and going as planned. And, if I may say, the mere thought of it has been the joy of every moment of my days.
Let's just say (because it's a llllooooonnnng story) that in the span of about five days we found out we had to move, found a place, and moved in. We were not "evicted"...it really was not our fault...we were paid up on our rent...but...yeah, it's a long story, indeed. And I shall not drudge it up here.
The point is...I am still around, just a little too busy to blog right now. Thankfully, all of that happened during a week that was light in school load. This week, however, is another story.
So, I will stop putting off my work and get to it.
I will hopefully have some news, though, later on this week.....
;)

Check This Out

If you are a regular reader of Elliott Escapades, you might be interested in reading THIS.