excited, thankful, merry

Since it's been a bit since I last posted, I have some catching up to do. Here are the three "big" areas that deserve attention today.

1. We bought a house!!! Soon after my last post we signed some papers (our second offer was accepted) and things are official. My emotions were similar to as I predicted but they aren't as full force as they will be because we bought a house that's new construction and therefore is not yet built. We went to the site yesterday and the foundation was poured, so we are officially on our way. Everyday I think of new things that I'm looking forward to/hate about living in an apartment. I would say the top excitements deal with not having shared walls and the cat litter boxes moving out of our master bathroom. The house will be worth it for just those two things. Once more progress is made, pictures shall be posted.
2. We had our second annual Thanksgiving. Plans were coming together to make it a rather good and busy day but one of the uncles (Jared has two uncles that live in the area, aged 25 and 27) had a misfortunate event with his appendix and plans changed. Although we did spend a large amount of time in the hospital, I would say we made the best of it. We played games, laughed (although laughing was more painful for others), and had a rather good time. I felt bad later saying I had fun but really, I did. Sorry Uncle Mark that your misfortune was fun for me. : ) All that aside, I am very grateful for many things this year (2009) and I believe they deserve attention. I am thankful for a wonderful husband that has put up with a busy, often grumpy wife. I am thankful for my parents who have visited me so often and have made living away from them easier to deal with. I am thankful for airplanes, a)becasue they get my family to me and me to my family and b)because they allow my husband a super job that has allowed us to live in a great apartment, in a super area, and helped me to continue my education. I am thankful for a super grad school program that has helped me grow and feel more confident in myself. I am thankful for my two kitties that make me laugh and have been my furry friends when I needed them. I could probably go on but I'll savor my other thank you's for myself.
3. This was the first Christmas in my 25 years of living that I've been away from my family. Although I thought it would be much harder, the holiday was amazing with Jared's family. I had some built up anxiety about being away from my family but realized that although Christmas is an amazing day, I was happy to have just seen both of my parents and knew that it wouldn't be long until I saw them again. I hadn't seen Jared's mom in a year and a half, so it was definitely time to be with his family. We enjoyed a lot of laughs and I got to experience a lot of fun, new family traditions. There was plenty of snow to make the holiday complete and I was truly happy to be there with them. It's great to have in-laws that really feel like family where I can joke and be myself. I would definitely say that I'm opening up more with them and feeling comfortable, which made things even better. I am looking forward to next year for being with my family, but I definitely will miss being with Jared's side for sure. Perhaps I shouldn't say "my" family and "his" family anymore because honestly, it feels more like "our" family. (insert cheesy smiley face and floating hearts).