Dec 20, 2009

The storm of the century!

This is Stephen posting for the first time in months. It's good to be back. I'd like to post a bit more during the break about my first semester of grad school, my awesome internship at DC public schools this semester, and maybe a even short book review or two, so look for those posts over the next couple of weeks.

So anyways, back to the post title--maybe it wasn't the storm of the century, but the recent snow we got in the DC Metro area was pretty beastly. 24 hours - 16 inches!

Here's an idea of what we're dealing with:



Yes, that is the front of our car. Let me tell you--it sure was fun to dig out this morning.

Of course, it wouldn't be a good winter storm unless it was accompanied by massive disruptions in holiday travel. This storm exceeded expectations, cancelling all flights out of most, if not all, airports in the Northeast, for Saturday. Unfortunately, this included Heather's friend from high school, Allyson, and her husband Jed.



There they are, sitting on their bed for the past 2 nights (yes, that's our couch--I should have listened to Heather when she wanted to get an air mattress. Sorry guys!).

So we've had a good time talking, playing some games (Guillotine and Tripoley, for those who care), watching The Cosby Show, and eating. We also even go to do some service this morning: We went out to clear off the cars this morning by just using our gloved-hands and a cookie sheet for a shovel (my bright idea...). Luckily, we found some snow shovels around the complex, which hastened the clearing of snow on Ally & Jed's car, as well as our own, a neighbor in the building, and an old lady down the way.



After all of our hard work, Jed and I tried to do some sledding on the only hill around. Unfortunately, his snow shovel and my cookie sheet did not function well as sleds.



If you're wondering about what Heather was doing this whole time, it's pretty simple: she was just being the cutest wife ever, as evidenced clearly in the photo below.



So it was quite an adventurous way to start the holiday season. I can't wait to get to my parents' new home in Georgia...particularly because of the jacuzzi in the back yard.

Dec 17, 2009

Christmas traditions

Tonight is one night I am sad to be 2,000 miles away from my family. The Jr. High choir sings this song every year at their Christmas concert and tonight will be the last concert where a member of my family will be a member of the choir (Go L!). It may not be the most professional choir around but I am still sad that I am missing the chance to support my sister and relive one of my favorite Christmas memories. I'm so glad I sang with the school choirs in Jr. High and High School. It makes me really teary eyed and sentimental to think about all of the wonderful, cheesy times, the friends I made, and the times where the messages of the songs touched my life.

While I'm making a post I better take a moment to celebrate the fact that 20 minutes from now Stephen will take his last final of his first semester of grad school! Only 4 more work days for me and we will be enjoying Christmas break together!

p.s. if you are looking for a way to think more about Jesus Christ during this season, I highly recommend a FREE e-book on http://deseretbook.com/free. It's called "The Little Book of Christmas Spirit" by John Hilton III (Stephen worked a little bit with him at BYU and thinks he's great!). The chapters are super short and each ends with an idea for making Christmas more meaningful.

Merry Christmas!