Home For Christmas...

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone already...time has seriously flown by! We had a very relaxing holiday in good old Manhattan Beach.

On Christmas Eve we braved the mall to check out some potential bridesmaid dresses for my sister's wedding. This is the last time the family will be together before the wedding, so we had a lot to accomplish in only a few days! The mall was a total zoo, but we were able to try on a bunch of different dresses. We haven’t settled on one yet, but at least we have some ideas...and we definitely had some fun playing dress up :-) After the mall, we headed to mass. I made it in time to sing with the choir, which was wonderful! I forgot how much I missed singing at church. It was great to be with everyone again! The church was packed to standing room only---a beautiful sight to see. After mass, we headed back to the house and ate one of the most delicious meals I have had in a long time! Ry decided to cook dinner for everyone---pesto pasta with salmon and artichoke hearts...soooo yummy! And we topped it all off with some Riesling. Delightful. Here are a few pictures we took after mass:

I woke up Christmas morning to my sisters and my dog jumping on my bed---it was quite the wake up call. We all headed downstairs, I got my cup of coffee :-) and we went to our usual spots on the living room couch, Lauren by the tree ready to hand everyone presents to open. Oh, and I failed to mention that Lauren came down the stairs Christmas morning sporting this very festive giant stocking:

What a goof...

Lauren was less than thrilled when she opened a Shape-Ups box. To her delight it was a decoy wrap job by Mom---the box contained all of the clothes Lauren told Santa she wanted :-)

We finished opening up presents and then all sat down and ate some pancakes that we made on Mom and Dad’s new griddle! The rain gave us a little bit of a break on Christmas, so we all took a walk to the beach in the afternoon. It was a little bit chilly, but definitely nice to get out of the house.

After our walk, it was time to shower and get ready for dinner. The past couple of years, we have had some guests come over for dinner and it’s been wonderful! This year, we were joined by a couple who are friends of my parent’s, my Aunt and Uncle on my Mom’s side, and my Aunt, Uncle, and 2 cousins on my Dad’s side. We have started a new Christmas tradition before dinner---we say grace and then take some time to share what Christmas means to each of us. The overwhelming theme this year was family, and it was so wonderful to hear everyone sharing stories about the true meaning of Christmas.

This holiday season has been amazing, and I can only hope it continues to get better! In a couple of days, I will be heading to Houston for a Life Teen mission! There is a big group of past Summer Staffers from Covecrest and their families and friends that will be a part of this mission. Part of the group will be traveling to General Cepeda, Mexico, and the rest of us will be doing mission in Houston. The mission will take place from January 3-10, so please keep all of the missionaries and the people we will encounter in your prayers!

-Marissa

Home Sweet Home

I've been home for 4 days now, and it has been gloomy and rainy almost the whole time...the perfect backdrop for days full of sleeping in and lounging around on the couch watching movies. I have to admit, I never thought I would see the end of this semester. I think it's safe to say the worst is over, as far as nursing school is concerned. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and May is going to be here before I know it! There's no denying I was a little bit short on sleep at school, but I have more than made up for that deficit since being home. I've slept for at least 10 hours every night...gotta love Christmas break!

There's just something about Christmastime---the lights, the cheer, the smell of cookies in the house, everyone coming home, the family together again. What's not to love?! It's a pretty rare occurrence when my entire family is together. Someone usually ends up being stuck at work or school. Christmas is the one exception. Every year we are together for Christmas, even if it's only for a day or two. We usually don't even do anything that exciting, we just hang out and spend time together. But like my brother, Ryan, so wisely said when we were all together in April---we could have fun, even if we were all in a cardboard box.

In my time at home, we have definitely had some fun! Since it's been soooo rainy, we've tried to stay in the house a lot. We put up our Christmas tree and lights, baked a ridiculous amount of cookies, and watched a movie pretty much every single night. Oh, and did I mention I've been watching One Tree Hill? I conquered the first season with Cristina during Thanksgiving break and the second season at the end of finals week. My brother, sister, and I have finished the 3rd season and are halfway done with the fourth. Yikes. Let's just say it's our way of avoiding the rain :-)

Break has definitely been relaxing, and it's been so nice to be home and to see some family and friends I haven't seen in awhile! I've gotta say, I can't really complain when my life consists of snuggling up on a couch with my brother and sister watching Love Actually. Life is pretty great.

Anxiously awaiting the arrival of Michelle to complete the fam,

Marissa

Jesuits Are Pretty Great...

Falling In Love With God

Nothing is more practical than finding God,

that is, than falling in love

in a quite absolute, final way.

What you are in love with,

what seizes your imagination,

will affect everything.

It will decide what will get you

out of bed in the morning,

what you will do with your evenings,

how you will spend our weekends

what you read, who you know,

what breaks your heart,

and what amazes you

with joy and gratitude.

Fall in love, stay in love,

and it will decide everything.

~ Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ