My visitors. My promotion. My God... it's warm.

Ah, yes, another famous Orchard pic in front of the Men's bathroom.

But look who finally came and visited me! 

Rebekkah Gilmore! 

... oh, and my sister! 

We had a FANTASTIC time while she was here and it was over all too quickly. I slipped a minister in my church a $20 to go prophecy a burden for Chicago over her. I don't know what he said, but it definitely wasn't what I told him. She insists she's called to Ft. Myers! Cracy! ;)

So, Ben and I have been spending a lot of time together. He's young and filled with questions. I'm old and wise and filled with answers. So it works.
But I love this kid. He just makes me laugh. Fact: 93% of his sentences start off with the phrase, "Should I..?" 
I'm therious. I just alternate my answers between "yes," "no," and "bacon". Sometimes he looks at me funny after that, but I just tell him he's too young to understand and give him a super condescending look.
Oh, and Ben just decided to start Bible Quizzing. One reason I love him, is that once he decides he's in some thing, he's in it. He's a PHENOMENAL quizzer; I've never seen such raw talent! Really looking forward to more Starbucks car chats and late night study sessions..

And then momma visited. Actually. Mawwm visited. One of the first things she picked up on is how I now I pronounce mom: mawwwm. Probably one of the only northern words I've picked up on. Thankfully she finds it endearing. Actually she finds most things that I do endearing. It's cute.
After her trip, I realized where my knack for picking up random guys came from: from my maum! She accidentally picks up men EVERYWHERE. Of course, she can't help it that she's cute. Anyway, case closed. My weird 'talent' for picking up random baristas and flight attendants comes from the mother.
But we had a great time spending her money. You know you've officially arrived to adulthood when you get an iron and other household items for your birthday. I don't know how I feel about this. At least I didn't cry this birthday. Birthdays have always been tough for me. I hate getting older. Time passes by too quickly.
Anyway, to conclude my summary of the mother's trip: My mom's cute. We had fun. I'm getting old.

PV: "Oh, that's nice, Hannahbun! Where did you get that?"
Me: "Uh, you did, PV. For my birthday."
PV: "Oh? But there's no little guy on the side!"

Hah. And when he found out it wasn't the brand with the little guy with his finger sticking up (obviously he doesn't actually know the brand of the maker, he just knows it's a little man with his finger in the air), he immediately began scoffing at my 'inferior' espresso maker. Then I made him some espresso and he settled down.
Seriously --- one of the BEST presents ever. I've used this little guy (unnamed thus far) 87 times. Approximately. Mhm. Illy just makes me smile in the morning. Well, perhaps not. That's being a bit too OTT. It just doesn't make me QUITE so grumpy. :)

Me: "Angela, we're about to pass Bark Road. Ash and I do this thing that every time we pass by, we bark like a dog as loud as we ca. Don't we, Ash?"
Ash: Yep! Every time!
Angela: Nooo... y'all are lying.
Me: No, we're not!! Get ready! We're going right... now!"
Angela: RUFF! RUFF!!!

And Ash and I lose it there laughing our heads off...
So after that, her name was Puppy. 

But for real..this girl's legit. She is one of the four girls that contributed to the inspiration of Cara's Call. Absolutely dynamic! A joy having her crash at our place during Passing the Mantle!!!

It's 6am on Saturday morning. Ash and Puppy are both leaving for trips. I kindly get up for a few minutes to make them espresso and say good-bye.
3 hours later. I go back to bed. 
Why?
You see, this is where Puppy's car was SUPPOSE to be.

Annnnd.. this is where it was at.
Redmond's Towing Company. 
This is what happens when you don't park in visitor parking. We had forgotten to inform our sweet friend about her special parking spot. Our mistake. :)

I've been helping Rachel out with her drama class  over the past bit. They're preparing to preform The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in just a few weeks! They're ending the night with a sticks presentation of Arise, My Love... and that's where I come in. All that other stuff she does is just WAY above my ahead! But these 28 kids are GREAT! Been a joy working with them. Can't wait to see them perform!

The game that has taken over the world:
Draw Something.
I am HORRIBLE at this game.
Horrible drawer.
Horrible guesser.
And horrible at taking my turn.
I currently have 32 games going. I take approximately a half turn each day. So if you started a game with me and I haven't taken a turn yet, just wait.. in about 7 weeks, I'll be playing my turn with you.

Date night with Beets! Flat Top Grill, Cookie Dough Creations, and a walk along the river! I just LOVE Naperville. :O)

She's one of those friends that you really have nothing in common except for your values and love for Jesus and still just hit it off!! :)
So thankful for godly friends!  

PV's new specialty: an owl pancake! Cute, eh?

This particular pancake breakfast followed an INCREDIBLE time of prayer and the Word on Thursday morning. I mean it was one of those prayer meetings that you just think about all day.. yah, that good. Blessed to serve with the finest!

This is at the end of a VERY active St. Patrick's Day of

• Bike riding
• Ripsticking
• Trampolining (yah, that's a word)
• Football
• Baseball
• and... tennis

Beautifully topped off with a barbecue at the Anderson's where I was served the most amazing burgers in all of the world!  I even got a little bit of a sunburn, too! Cracy, eh? This spring weather is gonna bring back my Florida tan! :)  Tons of fun staying with the LoCascio kids for the week while PV and Rach were in Ireland. Every day is an adventure with them! :)

The weather has just been too nice to stay indoors, so I've been spending my lunchtime at the forest. Well, they call it a forest, but as you can see, it's more like a park. Not as creepy as a forest. In fact, it's quite lovely. I shall continue my walks through the forest until the mosquitoes come out and my allergies go bizzarko. 


Sooo..

The weather has been quite strange. In the 70's, actually. My apartment complex still hasn't switched to air yet, so my 86 degree home awaits me each afternoon. Thankfully, the LoCascios are going out of town for spring break, so I get to crash at their sub 80 degree home. Ah. :) Just the thought makes me giddy.

Really looking forward to our tournament this weekend. Leaving in 5 hours for Bloomington with the cutest, most excited, and unprepared team in all of Illinois! Lol! We're REALLY excited. I can't wait to see them in action! Love seeing them hide the Word in the their heart. That's what it's ALL about! :)

Oh, I've been promoted to Outreach Pastor. All I had to do was make one phone call, and BAM. Outreach Pastor. I still don't know if this is a lateral move from Media Pastor.. waiting for that raise to kick in. :)

This is probably one of the quickest posts I've written. Hopefully their aren't know typing heirs. Kidding. There really shouldn't be that many misteaks. :)


Well, my little friends... take it easy. Happy Spring, to ya!

Cheers!

Amy Chow, Arduous Duties, & Apostolic Awakenings

4 weeks. And one day. Have you missed me? YOU DID?!  That's cute. I missed you, too!

We knew we lived close to the ice skating rink, but we didn't know exactly how close until we pulled and could still see our house from the parking lot.
Fun friday night with the gal pals though. You know those pictures that are popular on Facebook right now--- what it is, what I see, what they see??  Yah, well, in my eyes, Amy Chow. In their eyes, Daffy Duck on speed. Other than sliding across the rink, not too many embarrassing stories during those 68 minutes of skating.

Purple snow. Just kidding. It's just my cool editing feature. Got ya though, right? I just have to give props to my parents for getting me those awesome gloves -- you're still able to use your touch phone while you have them on! Nifty, eh? Already gotten plenty use out of them! :o)

AH!

or...

HA!

I finally got to play in the snow.
It was as fun, if not, more fun, than I thought it would be. Too fluffy for a snowball though.. I think the roomie was very thankful for that. In the words of my good Korean friend, Pastor Song, "Nexst time, nexst time.."

Here it is, folks.

This pie is a partial derivative of the blog's name. You see, I make about 4.5 things. This peanut butter pie is one of those things. You might be wondering why it's upside down. You probably think I'm lazy for not rotating it. You know what. You're right. I just got done unloading the dishwasher and that takes a lot out of me. Oh, and gold stars to those who figure out that acronym.

Look! It's Jon Barlar's wife!!!
So cracy to think that JB hasn't made it to the blog yet. I think I'm secretly bitter that he hasn't taken me hunting to kill small, helpless creatures. Maybe then..
Hah, that reminds me of that one comedian's sketch where they're talking about seeing deer on the wall with party hats on. So, so sad. Obviously they were out there having a great time partying when they died. Hah. Off topic. Sharenda's inspiration was, well, inspiring. Which, actually, is another taboo topic.

Pastor Yonts is so cute. I just want to put him in my pocket. I have a fear he'd eat my candy if that happened. He's fantastic though. Crazy --- he came and preached at TtF a few years ago, and guess who was his Armor Bearer??? Three guesses.. go!
1. Yep. Me. :)
I knew you'd get it. You're so bright. :)
Only the Lord knows all of the lives that this man and his wife have touched. They have dedicated their entire life to serving the Lord, investing in people, and preaching the gospel. I can't think of a better way to live or trend to set.

Incredible move of God during the leaderhip meeting at Layna & Anthony LoCascio's home. For 2 hours, Rev. Robinette, a missionary to Germany and other parts of Europe, ministered, encouraged, prophesied to each person in that home. The whole night was just anointed and ordained of God - from the worship service at the beginning till the time of prayer and prophesy at the end.

"While we are waiting for confirmation to placate our fears, thousands are lost and God looks to someone else."


"When you get eaten up with a need, logistics gets thrown out the window."


"The will of God begins when the need surfaces."

Click here to support and learn more about the Robinette's ministry.

How beautiful it is to see children respond to God!
Isaac prayed so fervently and deeply last Sunday. When Pastor Vito asked the congregation at the end if anyone would like to be baptized, Isaac quickly raised his hand.

Under the prayer covering of his parents, Pastor Yonts, and The Orchard, Isaac went down into the water in Jesus' name on Sunday, January 31.

I don't really know why I'm squatting down.. it's not like Isaac is little anymore, or ever really was.
How cute does this freshly baptized little boy look!
Too cute - right before his baptismal ceremony, we were all in the Fellowship Hall eating, and Isaac was just too excited to eat! So thankful for this sweet boy.

On Tuesday night it was OUR turn to have Rev Robinette. Following is series of pictures and comments of one of the most remarkable nights I have EVER experienced.
Never have I felt more apostolic!

About 35 of us in the LoCascio living room.
Worship service prepared the atmosphere. The tears just flowed.
I would love to share the secret of what happened... some special prayer or preaching technique. No secret. No special technique. Just faith and expectation.

He asked who had not yet been filled with the Spirit of God. Surprisingly (to me, at least!), no one was shy about it.
Ten people raised their hand.
"Well, those of you don't have it, who wants it?"
All ten hand stayed up. Even after he explained the craziness of it all - stammering lips, speaking in a different language, etc. Not unusual for people to back out at the point, saying they're good with just their belief in God. Not this group. I just found it so wonderfully odd that everyone there was so ready to receive the Holy Spirit. And receive, they did.

The first person to receive the Spirit was Bill - a teacher at Wheaton Christian Grammar School. He was so excited about it. He started praying for the other nine to receive it, too. By the end of the night ALL TEN received the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in a different language JUST LIKE they did in the book of Acts.

Honestly, if you have no idea of what I'm talking about right now, I STRONGLY encourage you to go read Acts 2. You can either read just that chapter or read the entire book of Acts. Not only will it change your life, if you let it, but then you'll toooootallly understand what it is I'm talking about. So try to make it a point to read Acts 2 and then go back and read this particular post.

Best quotes of the night:

Channing (.091 seconds after praying): "Can I have a cookie now???"

Lauren (after Rev Rob explained that the evidence of the Holy Spirit was speaking in a different language):
"Yah, my tongue just won't do that."

Those were the last words she spoke in English.
Lauren got the Holy Ghost!

Let's talk about the Superbowl. And Valentines Day. Why? Because they both are tied to Jon Barlar - a dear friend and big brother. You probably don't recognize him. And for that, I apologize. I don't know how he's managed to remain faceless on this blog. Ash and I have both come to the conclusion that Jon could be CIA. We went down the list of people that could possible be CIA, and Jon was at the top of that list. Well, I hope no bad guys chasing him see him on TSROPP. This COULD be the last pic...
Oh, back on topic. In the loosest sense of the word, I hosted my first Superbowl party. Jon was there. And that's all I'll say about that. Valentine's Day. JB brought coffee to me at work. Sweet, eh? His wife has him trained well. I don't really know why I said that. John wasn't trained. He's just nice like that. I guess I felt like I had to say something about his wife so everyone would know that he's a married man, and this is NOT my subtle way of introducing my new love interest on the blog.

Speaking of the Superbowl.  It was tough, I admit, to pick a team this year. I'm not particularly fond of the North East. Also, their uniforms were wayyy to similar to factor that into my decision. Last year was easy. Packer uniforms are classy green. This year. Blue. Yawn. So. Came down to the QB. I actually think that Manning kid is cuter than Brady. So. Giants it was. And Giants it is. My team won. :)

 Yes, that is latte froth all over our mouth.
The best part of this picture? We were in the middle of an oceanic deep conversation about...  jello, or something.. when we took this froth pic.
Just one of the many things I love about my froomship.

My brother got an iPhone 4. I've already showed him that you can Tango in the car. He didn't like that. I'm SOOO excited that he can video chat now! I just LOVE him! He had a birthday last month. January 24th, to be exact. Which so happens to be the most depressing day of the year. Not opinion. That's legit info. Google it, baby. Formulas and smart people stuff will pop up. Uh, Zac's birthday, yes. Stillll haven't sent him that birthday card yet.  It's okay though. He gets me. I'm sure I'll get my birthday gift from him in May when I come visit. That's the way we non-firstborns roll. :o)

Aaaaaand Ritabadita! This screenshot really captures our friendship and personality. She's all dimples, smiles and as loud as Gabe's trumpet. And I miss her.
:(    <---- that's my sad, "I-miss-Rita-so-much" face.









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Oh, I'm now taking 7-character license plate number suggestions.
Hit me up here or email: han.billingsley@gmail.com. I'm not just being cute by asking for suggestions. I really am down to the wire. I need help, people! Don't think you know me well enough? That's just stupid.. my life for  last 8 months is plastered all over this blog. So, hit me up - stat!
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I still love the cold. Snow is still magical. And Chicagoans are still whiney.
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Two words: Downton Abbey. *sigh*

I'm obsessed with their wardrobe and valets and maids. I need someone to do all of those arduous duties like starting the dishwasher and cleaning out the French Press! Oh, to have a maid. Those were the good days. Unless you were the maid.
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Till next time! Cheers!  :o)

Retweets, Remembering & Relevant Resolutions

Holiday Youth Convention.

Or HYC as this gen calls it.
I'm pretty sure only about half of the kids at the conference knew what that acronym actually stands for. Let's face it, we live in an acronym generation. Saying full phrases is so passe. You no longer have to tell anyone to die in a fire anymore. Now it's simply DIAF. Something just really over the top? OTT. Yep. I just saved you a syllable there. See? Wayy easier. The acronym marketing guy is really earning his keep in the world..
Oh, but, yes, HYC was incredible. Maybe my favorite one... that might have a lot to do with the fact that FLHYC11 retweeted me.

The brother. And the future sister-in-law. Ah, not really. I would be okay with that though. I hate that this pic makes it look like they were at a party. They weren't. They were at a Christ-filled function.
One day Hannah will come to her senses.. For right now, I guess there's enough Hannah Billingsleys in the world...
Oh, and, Nick DeAngelo, if you ever read this, splendid job on the HYPHEN event. Way less awkward than that speed dating thing I went to last weekend...

Gah. This kid.
James is a superstar wherever he goes.

James: "Oh, hey, sorry I didn't mean to stare at you.."
Me: "Hey, yah no prob. I didn't mean to stare at you staring at me.."

It's only awkward if you let it be.

Giant Jenga blocks is just one of the many fun games at HYPHEN. Did I mention I was the Connect 4 Master? No? I'll refrain then. My new year's resolution is to appear more humble.

Having fun at our favorite spot in Ocala!!! --- When we were 12! You had to laugh when you saw the 2 hour line to ride the go-carts. Seriously?! 2 hours for a five minute ride in a vehicle that maxes out at 15mph?? Geesh. Just drive with me for a few blocks... ;)

Having fun watching the boyfriends climb the wall. Nothing more entertaining. So glad we had the opportunity to do that. Fun night. :)
Really was able to minister to Noel and Shaun and give them some expert life advice about work and relationships.
"When you're not sleeping, you should be working."

"Marriage makes your life perfect."

Stuff like that.

Came home on New Years Eve night to a room full of chocolate fondu, espresso and 17 other high-fructose treats.
My favorite part of the night was when PV suggested we talk about highlights of 2011 and 2012 expectations. I don't know if you've ever seen a room full adults jacked on sugar, but it's a sight. I'm not sure one coherent sentence was made. We'll save that special activity for the next leadership meeting. :)

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome, 2012!!!!

Stumbling through Auld Lang Syne.  God, forgive us for murdering that song.

First meal of 2012!
It's a complex recipe, but I'm not stingy so I'll share.
1. Toast bread in oven.
2. While bread is toasting, place pretzel M&Ms in plastic bag and smash them into itsy-bitsy pieces.
3. Spread peanut butter on toast.
4. Top with pretzel M&M pieces.
5. Wish your roomie was home to make real food.

 #landmarknight
First Wheaton small group!!!
Such an exciting! Great time of prayer, talks about personal evangelism, and then topped with loads of fellowship.
Ash and I both are so excited about what God is going to do in this small group. The Orchard is filled with precious people!

How am I suppose to stay focus on driving when the sky looks this amazing?!?! Seriously.
#breathtaking

Taking casual Friday to a whole new level.

I LOVE my job.

My first attempt at driving in the snow.
Can you say utter failure? !?! I made it all of 90 seconds. It was a terrible, terrible experience. I took this picture while I was still in my work parking lot thinking it was gonna be a fun, lovely drive home in the snow. 10 seconds later, I didn't know if I was in the turning lane or in oncoming traffic. I went with turning lane. But how do you turn in snow?? Still beats me. I made it to the Dunkin Donuts across the street where I called frooms and begged her to come pick me up from work. Between her and my nice bossman, I made it home safely that night. :o)

After making it home safely from work, I found it imperative to play in the snow. Note to self: Next time wear gloves. 

Snow.. Snoow.. Snooow.. Snooow.

Snoooow!

Three seconds. What song is it?

1. If you guess Irving Berlin's 'Snow', that is correct.

2. If you guessed wrong, that's unfortunate.

3. If you didn't guess, you're lame.

The Orchard was on a fast last week, so frooms and I got real creative and made sweet tea slushies! If you're thinking "Genius!", you're spot on.

If you thinking, "That's cheating!" please refer to the last two words of bullet three in previous section.

So now you're wondering if we actually ate these bad boys. We did. Not all of it, of course. We had to save room for the bacon smoothies. 

And now for all of those random things...

• Buying snow boots was the single best decision of 2011. Seriously great investment. 

• Church these last two Sundays has been ______________. Indescribable. From worship service to altar call - phenom. PV has been speaking on The Power to Become. Definitely visit The Power to Become to listen to the message. Perpetual peace and blessing...

• Just to clear the air: Some of you made mention when I came home last month that my life looks like nonstop fun and games. And it is. 99% of the time. I still have those days where I don't hear my alarm go off. My coffee gets too cold too quickly. I can't find my keys. I run out of gas. My computer won't cooperate. Stuff like that. But how entertaining would this blog be if all I did was grumble about GarageBand being cursed? To summarize: Life IS grand.. even when I can't find my keys. :o)
• I made 2012 goals. One of which I already told you about: to appear more humble. Another is to communicate more effectively by means of emoticons. And I'm really hoping to run in the London Olympic marathon this summer. I start training next week, so wish me luck. But for serious, if you haven't made an 2012 goals, you real ought to. Write them out on paper. And don't label it "2012 Resolutions." There's some kind of weird, negative connotation associated with the word resolution. Just say, "2012 Goals." Tips?
• Make goals specific. The more specific, the better.
• Run 5 miles in 8 minutes on a rainy day. 
• Make it possible for your goals to be measured.
• Eat healthier.
• Be nicer.
• Seriously? How are you going to measure that? Don't set yourself up for failure.
• Make your goals relevant to you. 
• If you don't care to be a musician, memorizing the major and minor scales probably has no place on your 2012 goal. Just cause the nice man on the plane had it on his paper doesn't mean it needs to be on yours. Relevance is key. 

     And there you go.

#hannahbillingsleymotivation

Another one of my goals was to not come off so superior and intimidating. I can see I'm already off to a rough start. 

Cheers, my sweet readers. 

Now that you've done some reading, how about some writing?  "2012 Goals.." GO!

Perfect Moments, Possible Victimization, & Pleasant Socials

"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear."

 ... or you can wear a giant wreath like me.

We had our first social at our apartment during the Christmas season --- a cookie exchange! So, so fun! Us girls just giggled, ate and had each other in stitches! Miroslava is just so, so much fun! And Caitlyn and Krister are just the sweetest! Plus, we got some excellent and apropos housewarming gifts out the deal! :o)

Don't recall if this was small group or Serenity House bible study, but whatever it was, it was phenom! Always  is. :)

Ashlynn is such a great teacher. The Orchard is blessed to have her!

The little girl is growing up! What better way to celebrate than with a Cars party?!? Mr. Redden and I very sneakily planned this little surprise party for Ashlynn. Austin was able to pull his part off nicely because he's such a good liar. I credit my perfect party execution to all my experience in the Navy Seals.

I LOVE that Austin looks like the tall one in this pic. Hah. 

But yah. These are my buds. All two of 'em.  

So I work with this girl who is an absolute bully. She strategically placed this thumb tack on the company newsletter. Kinda hurtful, but... what can you expect from someone who obviously feels SO inferior to you?! 

Actually, Melissa Beardsley is a jewel and I enjoy working with her TONS! 

Wow, not really sure why this pic is so blurry. We probably we're just moving around too much --- filled with too much excitement and anticipation to open up presents! We had our Christmas the Wednesday night before Christmas. Ash is a great gift giver, so the night was super successful. ;)

I won't brag about all my goodies but I'll let you in on the gag gifts - a black BMW and a Beiber calendar. 

Of course, I have proudly displayed my calendar in my office cube. :o)

There's a few haters in the office as you can imagine, but I know some people drop by the cube just to look at my fantastic wall. Jealous, much?! ;) 

Last day of work for the year!!! What a fun crew I work with! I can't imagine working anywhere else! I seriously think productivity topped at 10% that day... too many cupcakes and cake balls to eat. Hah! Wishing all the best to the ATI peeps this year! Looking forward to a fantastic and profitable 2012! 

I will try to explain this night. I doubt I'll do it justice though. Ash, myself, the LoCascios, the Andersons, McBroom +1 went to Welcome Yule in downtown Chicago. We'll skip the car sick part and go straight to the concert. 

So pretty much before the first song was over, I was already crying. It was just... a perfect moment. Felt like heaven while the Chicago Orchestra played. Never in my life had I witnessed anything so beautiful. Definitely a HUGE highlight of the season. 

Another glorious, blurry picture of our Christmas tree. Can I just assure you that it looks 3218 times better than that in reality?! 

The week leading up to Christmas was just so incredibly fun. We got to spend every night with the LoCascios playing Mafia, opening gifts, killing people with our winks, stuff like that.. just like old times. If you have never played Mafia with an Italian family before, you should. It's just sketchy. And very, very loud. 

At Midway.

"See you next year!" 

#Lastpicof2011 #ChristmaseEve

Happy birthday, Ashlynn!

On my way to see Tay in South FL.

Oh her way to see giant leprechauns in North GA. Or something like that. I don't know... she just came back from her trip SUPER happy. 

My 2nd year spending Christmas with Tay and Phil! The truth is, they just needed someone to play Santa for them and hand out presents. :)

Lots of fun! Shopping the day after Christmas was quite crazy, too! I actually hadn't done a lot of my Christmas shopping at that point, so I did a ton of scramble shopping before heading to Belleview to have Christmas with the parents. Never again will I wait that long!!! Too much pressure!

PF Changs with my girls! 

So glad Mrs. Sanchez could join us for some lunch and shopping. I really had every intention of shopping for the family while I was out with Kate, but we just walked into so many of my favorite stores, that it accidentally turned into a Hannah shopping day. Not the worst thing that could've happened...

Now I don't want to make anyone's year start off badly by making them jealous, but... some things are meant to be shared. :) 

The shopping day started off with a dramatic search for the perfect winter hat. They're popular right now, so there's lots to choose from. None really popped though. Until I saw this little guy. Love at first sight. I can't wait till it snows so I can wear my new snow boots and warm, winter hat!!!

And, yes, in that moment, I became one of those people that take pictures of themselves with their phones. 

Christmas in Belleview!

The family didn't celebrate Christmas until Wednesday. I just woke up that morning excited. It felt so Christmasy that day. Got some great stuff. Mom also let me use the electric knife for the first time to cut the prime rib. It was at that moment when I truly felt like a grown up. 

Just like any other family, our Christmas dinner conversation topic ranged from heart attacks to snow tires. 

I think the greatest Christmas miracle of all was that dad did almost ALL of the Christmas dinner clean up. We're all pretty sure he just wanted to get to his Christmas presents sooner.

Ahhh... Christmas. :)

I traveled 1350 miles.

She traveled 200 miles.

He traveled 15 feet. 

Zac's gift was possibly my favorite. I don't know. Possible tie to the TOMS. I just love that guy. 

So, yah, Christmas 2011 was fantastic. Course, any time with the family is fantastic. 

There's a ton more to blog about.. but I don't think you guys can handle any more excitement. 

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The Chicagoans are accusing me of bringing FL winter back with me. We haven't had a decent snowfall all season. Mother Nature just doesn't get it --- I have INCREDIBLY cute snow boots that I need to wear! Come on, snow!!!

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Oh, I woke up this past Tuesday morning to this delicious treat hanging on my door. I thought, "How sweet someone went around to everyone's door and put a candy cane on the handle." 

Took a quick look around on the 3rd floor.

Nope. Just 310. 

Hm. 

#concerned 

#freaked

#possiblevictimofstalker

I'll post more about FLHYC later and my fantastic New Years. But... we're starting a 5-day church fast tomorrow and I have a lot of food to go eat. 

I hope your 2012 is off to a brilliant start!

Cheers!

:o)