The One where it feels like Christmas!

This weekend was jam-packed, but oh so good!  It was the first weekend I didn't work, not because I was ignoring things, but because I truly didn't have anything to do for the semester! It was REFRESHING! Friday night Mary, Katy, and I made some really good Chicken Parmesan with Texas toast and gooey brownies and ice cream.  I could barely move :) We watched Julie and Julia while making everything/eating... this time I almost finished it :) But then I left to grab some coffee at Dunn's to visit Aaron during his first real night of working there - the Chocolate Steamed Nirvana he made was HAmazing ;)

Saturday I got up early, stuck in a favorite Christmas movie (All I want for Christmas), and made sausage links and caramel rolls for Aaron.  We had some sweet time eating ourselves sick and just enjoying a lazy Saturday morning! Then things picked up a bit and we went to conquer Christmas shopping for my fam - got everyone checked off the list and found some sweet deals doing it :)  Adventure #1 for the day: finding free air at a gas station for my tires.  We checked 4 stations... with nothing.  We either had to pay for AIR or it was out of order... oy - let's just say it's now Monday morning and my tire pressure symbol is still on in my car :) After that fun detour, I dropped Aaron off at Dunn's for an afternoon of work and headed to NDSU for Jessica Wachter's senior Art Show.  She is so amazing! It was a large college reunion that afternoon which was FUN.  I love connecting with people, seeing where they end up, etc.  It was very refreshing to be there, albeit as short as it was!  I jetted from there over to the Bundy's to pick up Truett, the littlest and arguably the cutest Bundy child, and headed over to Dunn's with him.  We said hi to Aaron :) then sat down with Cass for a couple of fun hours in the corner of the coffee shop playing peek-a-boo, sliding on and off chairs, reading books, putting puzzles together, and all kinds of fun things.  And Cass and I got to catch up and simply hang out - something I miss a lot! We used to watch a movie or grab an appetizer together frequently, so it was good to finally do something like that again! Truett and "Ant" Roxie also had a great time - if I had to have a kid right now, I'd pick him! He's just so dang cute :)  After Aaron got off work, he and I went to Sam's and then to his place to make chicken and risotto with mimosas - then we chilled out/half passed out watching some Lie to Me on Hulu - I just love relaxing with that guy! He takes such good care of me!

Sunday, Aaron was quite the man yet again and picked me up for church.  We ran into friends we hadn't seen in a while, and heard such good Truth about Godly men.  How blessed am I to have Aaron striving every day to love the Lord with his whole life then loving and serving me? I love that we're both able to say, I'm sorry I can't love you perfectly, but I'll live every day devoted to only you learning how to love you better every day.  I just love that - and him!  After church, we made brunch while the Vikes were on that subsequently turned into naptime while the Vikes were on... at least for me :) Aaron finally caved and napped too later that afternoon - in true Aaron and Roxie Sunday evening tradition, we made popcorn for dinner and watched Elf!  Finally, we went over to the Bundy's to pick up some pork something that Aaron was really excited about and chatted with Jonas and Greta for a while.  Love them!

This week is a little bit nuts :) Today, the final projects come in so I can start grading! And tonight I get to be alone, doing laundry and finally getting around to cleaning my bathroom! Yeah! Then tomorrow night, I get to hang with the Bundy kiddos then a short, but so very sweet time with my man with coffee and Christmas lights after he gets off work! Wednesday I get to quick enjoy dinner with Aaron and then hang out with Greta and the kids for our weekly night of fun :) Thursday both Aaron and I are hanging with the Bundy fam for Zoe and Grover's Christmas performance! Friday, Aaron and are jetting to the cities for the Johnson Christmas! Phew! And I hope to be done grading before leaving for the cities on Friday... am I crazy? Quite possibly :) We'll see what happens!

A very small side note: since starting to write this post about a half hour ago, I've had one student in tears about not finishing the project on time and one with HUGE attitude asking me how I wanted something, but then saying no way I'm not doing that... I'm going home to sleep.  You do that.  Hope you're OK with your grade after that... Let the craziness begin!