Sad and Thankful

This Christmas, all I'm thinking about is how much I miss John Sessoms, my beloved Grandpop. This is our first Christmas without him, and it's just not the same. It was so strange hearing someone give the Christmas prayer (even though my Mom did an absolutely beautiful job) other than Grandpop. It was also strange not having my sweet cousins Johnny, Angie, and Natalie with us, since my uncle Mark remarried. I must say, I genuinely miss our old Christmases, when we'd all gather on the 26th at Grandma & Grandpop's house in Murfreesboro to exchange gifts & get our typical gift of socks from the grandparents. I miss it so much, and I'm so heartbroken knowing that I'll never get to have that kind of Christmas again. But I was so thankful to have the family over to Lenoir City to spend time with Grandma (where she now lives). Though she often gets confused (she has alzheimers), she seemed happy to see the family.

Grandpop's sister Eska with my cousins Nat & Angie (day of his funeral)

It's been a hard year for my mom, but I could not be more proud to be her daughter. She is a strong, caring, compassionate, selfless woman. I hope I have that much kindness in my genes.

I am so grateful that Nathan got to meet my Grandpop before he passed away. Nathan came with me to see them before Grandpop got sick & while he was in hospice care, and I KNOW that Grandpop would approve of me marrying such a wonderful man. I only wish he was going to be around to see it... though I know he's going to be somewhere smiling down on us.

I am so thankful for my family, and somewhat sad that this is my last year to spend the "Stone" family christmas altogether with my sweet family. But I know I have a wonderful life ahead of me as a Dryden (and a Stone at heart... let's face it- I'll NEVER stop being a Stone! after all, I've got the "Finley ass").

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Winter has officialy arrived.

Well, the weather outside is frightful.... and all of my plans for this evening have been officially canceled.

I worked so hard all weekend to finish my Sociological Theory final paper (a whopping 19 pages) in order to be free for my fun plans tonight, all to no avail. I was supposed to dance in a Christmas program, have a chili night at my dance director (if you knew her, you'd understand why this is such a BIG deal), and then have a Taco Mamacita staff party, bringing my darling friend Allison as my date!

BUT, instead, I'm snowed in! I was able to rescue Nathan before the roads got unmanageable, and we got some groceries for the perfect snow-day dinner: Oven pizza (cheese, of course), faux chicken nuggets (vegetarian friendly), and peas. How fun & fifth-grade is that?!

While cooking, I decided to make myself a Christmasy cocktail, and it turned out wonderful. So, I'm going to share it with you:

• two parts white wine (I used a really cheap one)
• one part Cranberry Ginger Ale (mmmmm!)
• a dash of St. Germain (elderflower liqueur, sooo tasty)

And Voila, a tasty Christmasy cocktail to join a very juvenile dinner.

I must say, I am certainly glad that my work for the semester is done. It's been the toughest semester yet, but I dare say that I handled it quite gracefully. I can't even imagine how many pages total I've written to this point..... probably around 100, at least. I'm proud of the work I've done this semester. But I'm SO glad it's done. Only ONE MORE TO GO!!!!

and, by the way: only 172 days till our wedding! =)

SO READY.

I am absolutely so ready to be officially done with semester & able to enjoy Christmas.
Only a couple more days.

Ashamed, but hopeful.

Today, I am mourning the loss of what I thought was Belmont's Christian values.

Belmont recently forced the resignation of women's head soccer coach Lisa Howe, based on her sexuality and her expectant child with her life partner. She apparently violated the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. This bigotry & hatred has gone too far.

I have such respect for the leaders of this institution, but I am so very disappointed right now.
We all are.

Here are a few articles on the situation: Tennessean, Nashville Scene, City Paper (I'm quoted!)

Please keep Belmont, Lisa Howe's family, and the community in your prayers. We are fighting this.

=)

my how our love has grown.

Oh.Hi.Oh.

Welp, tonight is our last night in Ohio. =(
It has seriously been an amazing trip. This is basically the perfect vacation. I've gotten to spend loads of time with my soon to be in-laws, and it's been an absolute blast. We had a full house all week- Mr. & Mrs. Dryden, Nathan, Isaac, & Jared (the three Dryden boys.... sister Sarah was with her boyfriend for Thanksgiving), Grandma & Poppy (Nathan's maternal grandparents), Amanda & Bill (Nathan's uncle & his wife), Ellery Grace and Emery Cate (their two adorable little girls, 6 & 2 years old), and two dogs. There was so much going on, constantly. We watched movies together about every night, and ate almost every moment of the day. And of course, drank lots of tea. That's one thing I love about visiting the Drydens– there's always tons of delicious tea!

Basically we did a lot of sitting around and talking, reading, watching movies, cuddling, giggling, sleeping, etc. I went to the local tea house, The Swan House, with the ladies of the family on Friday morning, which was of course a lovely time. Nathan & I got to catch up with his friend Jeremy & his wife Carrie at a local coffee shop. We got to observe Amanda making adorable blankets for the girls (I took mental notes). AND- we started our wedding registry at Kohl's!!!

I'm honestly really sad to be leaving Ohio tomorrow morning. It's been a really relaxing trip. I've loved not having any plans or responsibilities for the day. I think it's been super healthy for our relationship to just be with each other without any school or work pressures for this many days. We really never get these kinds of breaks. I have loved spending every moment with Nathan. It just makes me so excited about 6 months from now when we're married.

I seriously fall more in love with him every moment we spend together.

photo by our wonderful photographers at Ulmer Studios

Thankful.

So last night I was journaling a list of life's little joys. I read it to Nathan and he said "that describes you perfectly." I like my list, and I'm going to share it with you. There are so many big things I'm thankful for, but it's life's little joys that we often overlook. Here's my list:

cuddling, cats, naps, fresh sheets, macaroni-&-cheese, ceiling fans, cold nights, red leaves, bonfires, oatmeal, laughter, freckles, dancing, e-mails, best friends, floral prints, marriage, hot coffee, stretching, ink pens, movie nights, moonlight, purring, warm showers, bathrobes, boots, beer, weekends, pause buttons, doorknobs, donuts, boutiques, haircuts, jewelry, compliments, wind, rain, art, the color blue,

and most of all, LOVE.we love to laugh together.
photo by Ulmer Studios Photography