Highlights since we began our trip last Thursday:

• Staying in a beautiful cabin in Carbondale and enjoying a relaxing time with Darby between the stress of school and the (good) craziness of our Christmas trip.
  
• Seeing Kalyn and BJ and holding sweet baby Shepherd in Kentucky.
  
• Spending time with all the Arkansas cousins, but especially Alison and Joey, who let us stay at their apartment and kick their butts at Mario Kart. :)
  
• Meeting Jeremy and Janice for lunch at Gloria's in Dallas.
  
• Many delicious meals and chats with Darby's parents.
  
• Meeting Brittany and Erin at Magnolia Cafe in Austin for dinner and a long chat.
• Trading in books at our favorite used bookstore, Book Rack.
  
• Staying up late playing Settlers of Catan and Dominion with Hannah and Matt.
• Dinner, dessert, and gifts with our family friends the Joneses and Hasslers. We've been getting together with them since I was a toddler.
  
• Getting a pedicure with my sister. We both got like a 20-minute foot and leg massage. It was awesome!
  
• Making cake balls with my mom.
• Watching this video dozens of times and cracking up. It might be a "have to be there" type thing, but my family is now obsessed with saying "I like turtles."
• Christmas dinner at La Fiesta and gift-opening with my family.
  
• Time with the frousins, aunts and uncles, and grandma in Dallas. We had some intense CatchPhrase games.
• Exchanging gifts with Darby's parents tonight.

Whew. Now that I wrote it all out, it seems like a lot to cram in to 10 days, and I guess it has been busy. But it's been super-fun and fairly relaxing, too. Now, we're getting ready to leave on our CRUISE!! I'm so psyched!

I love everything about the Christmas season: the food, the decorations, the gifts, the shopping, etc. And I don't think it's bad to enjoy those things. But I also want to be sure I take time to remember what's behind the sparkly lights and shiny paper, the true wonder of Christmas. "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).