Elijah's Birthday, Christmas, New Years!! // December Month Update

 Happy New Years!! I can't believe it's already 2022. It'll probably take the entire month of January to get used to writing out 2022 instead of 2021. But with a new month (in this case, a new year also), comes a new month update. So, without further ado, here's a look back on our December!

     Five days into December brought one of my favorite days of the entire year: Elijah's birthday!! I'm so very blessed to have this man as my husband and now he's 24! One year away from cheaper insurance. ;) His birthday was super fun. We went to church that morning and followed it with lunch with his family. We ate a bunch of pizza and got to hang out with his parents and his sister and her lil family... we loved seeing her baby boy and giving him all the snuggles. We went back to his parents' home for cake and presents, which was an equally good time. We went back to our apartment and watched movies and ate leftover pizza for dinner. It was a good birthday.

     I think it's a lifelong journey of learning how much food to buy at the grocery store. Because first, it's just you (or you and your spouse). Then, if you become pregnant then the cravings start coming in. And then once you have children, you have to buy more or less, depending how many kids you have... and if you have parties or company, then the amount of food changes. Also, if you cook different recipes that require more ingredients, that's a factor as well. It's always a learning curve of how much food to buy. Don't tell me I'm not the only one? Anyways, Elijah and I are still learning how much food to buy for just the two of us. And now that we're out on our own completely, if we forget something, it's not like we can borrow from Elijah's mom who we share a kitchen with. We have to do without it or go back to the store to get the forgotten ingredient. It's been very interesting. I wish people told you these types of things before you live out on your own because you're never really ready for that until it happens. We've also been in very snacky moods since we've been in our own apartment! So, we have to navigate normal groceries for every day but also take into consideration (at the store, when we aren't hungry) that our 8:00pm selves will want cookies or chips or something outside of dinner. It's all so interesting, this stage of life.

     Work has been very good for both Elijah and me! Elijah's been getting the hang of new positions at work, to better prepare him as a supervisor and I'm very proud of him. He comes home extra tired every day because he's giving his 110% to his work. It's technically slow season at work for me, but it's been picking up a little more because of the holidays. Everyone wants their hot chocolates or peppermint mocha lattes, even if it's still in the 70s in Texas. I'm enjoying learning about my coworkers every day and becoming friends with them more. It's so nice having friends in the workplace! I hope I never take that for granted.

     Since we have our own space now, we've been trying to make a bigger effort to have friends over for dinner and just hang out with people that don't live in our apartment complex (aka, just us two). We had four different friends over for dinner this month and it was so much fun! I got to cook for more than two people, which is always exciting. And we'd normally end up playing games or just talking for hours and it was so nice. I love having a place to host people, and I love getting to know people better over a good meal. It's also an excuse to cook something new, which is always fun!

     Since adjusting to moving and everchanging work schedules, I haven't really pulled out my camera much in the last few months, so I finally got around to it during December. It really was so much fun. I sometimes forget how much I love photography until I pick up my camera and use it. It sparked some creativity and new energy for photography that I'm definitely bringing into the new year. Be on the lookout for that!

     We had two Christmas parties within a week of each other this year... both of our work parties! There were games and gift exchanges and good food at both parties. Mine was on a Thursday and Elijah's was on a Sunday. It was fun to see my coworkers outside of work, just being normal human beings instead of baristas. Also seeing my boss get super competitive in corn hole was something great I didn't know I was missing out on until I saw it in action. White elephant exchanges with competitive people make a party more fun. Elijah's work party was equally fun! I loved seeing all his coworkers and putting faces to the names that I've heard in stories all year. We ended up taking potluck leftovers from Elijah's work party that I think, I still have in my fridge (the party was a week before Christmas).

     The day before Christmas Eve, Elijah caught a mild case of food poisoning that had him in bed for most of the day and Christmas Eve itself. Poor guy, he was so sick and nauseous. It wasn't the Christmas Eve we planned for, but he was a trooper. While he was sick in bed, I attended our church's Christmas Eve candlelight service. I actually took photos for the service, which was so magical. I loved seeing the children enjoy the music and candle magic. And seeing the families gather together to sing Christmas carols together - it was a very nice evening.

     Christmas day was so fun! Elijah woke up feeling much better, thank goodness, so we could continue with life as normal. We opened presents for each other, which was super fun to do with just us. Afterwards, we made cinnamon rolls and watched a Christmas movie together. A very relaxing Christmas morning. Later, we went to Elijah's parents' home for a late lunch/dinner and presents with them. One of our friends Ryan spent that time with us. He cooked a brisket, and it was delicious. I don't remember the last time I was so stuffed. We exchanged gifts and stockings and it was a holly jolly time. Elijah's parents actually prayed over all of us and our next year, which was so sweet. We finished off our time together with Home Alone and pie. But the festivities weren't over for Elijah and me! We came home to drop off our gifts and headed downtown to see Christmas lights. It wouldn't be a Christmas light excursion without me driving and getting us lost. Darn downtown one way streets for making things complicated, as well as downtown road construction. We eventually found the right roads and it was worth getting lost because the lights we were looking for, they were beautiful.

     Elijah's mom's birthday was right before new years and she had a dinner party that we were invited to. It was a sweet time, seeing so many people love on her and celebrate her. Also, we got to see Abi (Elijah's sister) and her son and that's always a good time.

     I worked New Years Eve but I got home just in time to see fireworks and ring in the new year with Elijah. It was a sweet end to the new year (even though I was barely awake to enjoy it).

Happy New Years, everyone! May you be blessed this year and every year.

Always,
Becca

Happy birthday, sweet man!

Birthday lunch :)

New book!

Getting creative with my camera again

Getting creative with my camera again

Some photos I took for the Christmas eve service! So fun

His new jacket!

Opening stockings!

Gifts!

Olivia's birthday party!

Watching fireworks :)