Standstills of December

They are over the place, these standstill moments of joy that can be created. Thursday was one of the most magical days I have had in a very long time. Jonathan and I have a favorite tradition where we celebrate our own little Christmas together before we go home for the holidays. Thursday was our Christmas this year, and time just stood still as we soaked up the joy of being together.

The day before (Wednesday) was my last day of work at SecurityMetrics. I am resigning because of many reasons. The major one is that I am only allowed to take one extra day off than what they are giving me over the holidays, and I have two very important weddings to attend. So feeling lighter than I have in weeks only added to the pure joy of Thursday. I was with Jon rather than being stressed at work. And I most likely will never return to work there again. :-)

We rocked at surprising each other this year for Christmas. I sent Jon on a scavenger hunt around the home...I have been giddy with excitment to give him his present this year.

Needless to say, he was even more grateful than I imagined. My man has neck and shoulder probs because of football games and a car accident a few years back. It's time to have it taken care of, poor guy. I found a great deal and an excellent chiropractor, if anyone is interested. After these first two treatments I already paid for, Jon can return for full treatment for only $30. It will be so worth it, as he holds all his stress in his neck and law school only adds its extra weight to the problem. He is thrilled!

We make a big deal about doing all our smaller presents first. This is one of my most favorite things the Husband did for me. This made me laugh so hard...can you decode it?

That's right. I get to go shopping and buy myself a cute new outfit. Also, new boots! Ha ha, I especially love the "times 2" just to clarify.

And now for the big one. Jon created a key for me to decode my final present. I had to look through some of his law school books to discover the correct letters, write them down, and unscramble the puzzle.

 

Can you believe this? I was freaking out, and I am still freaking out. He did it. Jon's first internship this summer will be for a law firm in New Zealand. And we will be living there for about five weeks!

One of our biggest dreams is to travel the world together. We are officially on our way, New Zealand is one of our top locations on the  J-Rach Bucketlist of Life. :-)

We want to remember our second Christmas together forever, so I had to document this while it's still so fresh in my mind. Here's all our "loot" as he calls it. Best Christmas ever. Another tradition are those chocolate-covered cinnamon bears, I am obsessed. We cooked a delicious breakfast together, as we pride ourselves in the fact that we love our own homemade breakfasts so much more than any restaurant could offer. ;-)

We wrapped presents for the fams, watched Elf, and had a magical day. He is my best friend in the entire world, and still the best decision I have ever made.

Merry Christmas, everyone! May you discover and create your own standstill moments with friends and family this spirited season.

You Magical Month of December

First off, get your craft on. Thanks to a lovely friend who hosts "The Finer Things Club" at her house once a month, I was able to donate $5 and make this wreath. These past two Christmas seasons, I haven't been able to find one I love in the stores. That worked out well - it is so much more fun to make one yourself! Besides, I never do crafty things and this was so relaxing. No wonder so many mothers love to craft, it's an excellent emotional outlet.

Second off, meet Charlie!

This is our Charlie Brown tree this year. Yes it's true, the Dittos live on a tight budget, and we couldn't be happier with this little guy bringing light into our home. It's called Christmas character people. And what's more, that tree has personality! Hee hee.

In the words of my ever-so-blunt mother, "Look at that! The further away you get, the better it looks!"
Thanks Mom. But we still love our little Charlie.

Third, Happy Birthday to my brother, David.

(Great pic of you too, Dad. What a champ.)

David, you are one of my role models and greatest examples. I am so impressed with your strength and your testimony. You have given your entire heart to the Lord during such a trying time, and I know you will be blessed because of it.

How I love this time of year. My little apartment smells like THIS right now, because one of our traditions is to give out sweet bread to our neighbors. I highly recommend this recipe, especially if you are like me and Banana Bread is not your favorite. This one doesn't mess around. I would have done my favorite, which is Pumpkin, but the retired religion professor we meet with every Sunday has chosen Banana as his Christmas wish.

Wish granted. I hope you are all immensely enjoying your holiday season! One week away from Christmas. My heart is so warm and full. 

5 Benjamin Franklins for Christmas!!

I have been to many a work party hosted by Security Metrics because Jon worked there for our engagement and over a year of our marriage. Last year's Christmas party, they featured Gev from So you Think You Can Dance, hosted the event in the massive event center at UVU, and had delicious food catered for all the employees and spouses. They don't mess around with their company parties. One of the most intriguing aspects of their Christmas AND summer parties is their competitions. Winners win $500 a piece. Jon and Dan always competed in Badminton, but they continually competed against freakishly good guys who quite frankly, could not be beat.

Now I am the breadwinner and it was my turn to sign up for an event to compete in. I was not very hopeful when I heard what the competitions were this year: Basketball? Darts? Air Hockey? Ping Pong? Badminton? Bull Riding? What the Sexist??? Where is Boggle?! I thought to myself. It was always listed as a competition before and I was really looking forward to putting my skills to the test. Then the very last option...Shuffleboard??

Hmmm. That involves luck, right? (This is my thought process, if you didn't catch on) I've never played before, but basically you just need to get the puck in the right places without it sliding off? I decided I had to take my chances there. The raffle had too many people's names on the list, so chances were slim. And there are way too many employees at this company for me to have a shot at any other event. So Shuffleboard it was.

First round. I beat a sweet girl who taught me how to play. It's trickier than I thought to add just the perfect amount of push to your puck. Too hard and it falls right off - resulting in zero points. Too soft and you won't even make it to the point lines. Hitting your opponent's puck completely off the board is extremely advantageous to assuring a win. Lessons were learned.

Second round, I beat Dustin who I trained with. I asked if he let me win but his response: "Heck no! I want that $500!"

Third round, I beat another girl who was intent on winning and making me nervous. She had the touch, but apparently I had the force. I mean the force, people. Star Wars Jedi Knights, Straight up. There were literally moments where my puck was flying way too fast across the board, I would hold out my hand and shout...STOP!! before it flew off the edge...and I am not kidding. It was like someone's hand just stopped the speed of that little guy and it remained on the 3 point line, sometimes as close to the edge as possible without completeley falling off. Those shots equal maximum points.

Have you ever seen that oldschool movie, Angels in the Outfield? "You got Angels with ya right now!!!"

Fourth and final round. I am trying to contain my excitement that I might win this thing. I HAVE to stay calm so that I can play my pucks perfectly! This guy I played was really good. Before we started he was sprinkling extra stuff on the table and warming up and what not. I'm thinking let's just play this thing so the butterflies can leave my anxious stomach.

And you probably guessed it already, but yes. I WON!!!!!!

And it is our little Christmas miracle!!! Jon's like "I had no idea you knew how to play shuffleboard!" Yeah, I had no idea either. But we were pretty desperate for Christmas money this year. We didn't really have a plan for how to buy gifts for the holidays. We avoid pulling out loan money unless it is in regards to Jon's education. And we needed that blessed cash.

After celebrating and releasing all that built up energy that was burning inside me, I whispered to Jonathan, "I was totally praying the entire time!"

His response: "Me too!"

Like I said, angels, people.

That is Andrew, who I beat in the final round, sporting a fake smile.

And Jon's Uncle Bill, Aunt Marcia, and cousin Jenny who witnessed the miracle with us!

As we jokingly but with high spirits say at the Mecham's: It's a Christmas Miracle!!!

Standstills of November

Jon's favorite thing about Thanksgiving:

 Turkey Bowl

 He might have pretended to be Riley Nelson out there.

Rach's favorite part about Thanksgiving:

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays. And I am totally the type of gal who advocates Christmas music during Thanksgiving day. It will always be playing in our home during the month of November. :-)

But really, our most favorite part and of course our standstill moments this month were spending precious moments with both the Dittos and the Mechams. I didn't even expect to be in Utah during Thanksgiving this year, and I was grateful to spend the day surrounded by family who I admire and cherish so deeply. What a blessing to take a break from my job and to actually spend hours of the day with my Jonathan.

His first round of law school finals begins this week, on Wednesday. Our first semester of graduate school has flown by! We are officially on our way to building our dream.