Christmas and Wedding...

This past week has been one for the books. As if the joys and stresses of the holidays aren't enough, I have added a long LONG list of wedding to do's. So, it has been a very fun and very hectic week. I'll start with the wedding stuff quickly and then move on to the wonderful Christmas that we celebrated yesterday.

Last saturday all of my bridesmaids came over for a brunch before heading over to David's Bridal to try on bridesmaids dresses. It was a fun day and it was so great to see all my girls. I have 3 bridesmaids and 1 Jr. bridesmaid. We picked out a dress (not shown below) for the girls along with some shoes for them as well. Thanks girls for making it a wonderful day!

Patrice being silly
Nicki pretending to propose
My T-shirt that Nicki gave me, so cute!
My three bridesmaids....so beautiful!

While we all know that Christmas falls on December 25th, it doesn't mean that the festivities are secluded to one day. I attended three Christmas parties last week, had a special Christmas Eve night with my family of 6, and then had an all-day event yesterday at my grandparent's home. It was a wonderful two days and I can't help but think of how next year a new member to the family will be added and the McLuhan-Hammond traditions will be tweaked a bit as Aaron and I come up with our own Das traditions. But until then, I have the wonderful memory of Christmas 08 to reflect on throughout 2009. I hope that it was as wonderful a time for you and that you are anticipating God's provision and blessings in this next year.

Below are Christmas pictures followed by my "wrap-up 2008" mini video to portray just a small amount of what the Lord has done in my life this past year. Many blessings and my next blog will come from the new year, 2009!
Christmas morning before opening gifts.

Our beautifully decorated Tree (thanks to Patrice)
Patrice, worn out from the festivities
3 generations for Christmas 08
Getting ready to dig in...thanks Mammy and PeePaw for the amazing feast!
The family picture for 08....until next year!

Now, here's the 2008 finale! Enjoy this short video and, as you watch, remember that while your picture may not appear, your love and support is behind each and every one of the significant moments! May the Lord richly bless you in 2009 and I look forward to another year of emails, blogs, and keeping in touch with you! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

My E-trip home and Jill's graduation

Last Wednesday I got a phone call from my mom informing me that my grandmother, whom I call "Oma", had had a stroke. My dad went out there (to Arizona) last Thursday as I made the decision to up my Christmas travels and hop on a plane in the event that her situation got worse. Over the past week she has been from the lowest of low to what seemed to be a steady road to recovery. Dad returned today only to find out that during his flight she passed out again and had some kind of episode. Our family seems to be on a roller coaster ride and would truly appreciate your prayers at this time. She is one of the strongest women I have ever known and to see her suffer is difficult for all who know and love her.




While the circumstances for my early return were not desirable, there was definite good that came out of my Thursday night arrival. My sister Jill graduated from Lee University this past Saturday. Because my dad went to Arizona, it was great that I could be there for her with Patrice, Patrice's folks, Patrice's sister, and my brother Josiah. We were all so proud to see her walk across stage and receive her diploma. Great job Jill, we're SOOO proud of you!




In other news, Aaron is in India until the 28th so I'm just hangin out at my parent's home and getting ready to celebrate Christ's birth with those I love most (minus Aaron, of course) I can't wait to see him but until then, I'm surrounding myself by people I haven't seen for months. I'll keep the blog updated in regards to my grandmother and, if I dont' talk to you before, have a wonderful family-filled Christmas this year!

QUOTE: Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!
Charles Dickens

Retiro de Lideres (leadership retreat)

This past weekend I helped coordinate/attended a retreat for the student leaders and national workers of UCU. Its something that UCU does at the close of every year to talk about the events of the previous year and plan ahead for the following. It was a time of constant meetings, planning, praying, and organizing. Nevertheless, this retreat is one of the most important times of the year as we pray about what God has for us and the ways in which we can mature and reach more people through our service and ministry. One of the things we did was decide on the "Lema y Libro". In other words, the slogan and book of the bible for 2009.
In Spanish: Escoge, pues, la vida: Jesucristo
In English: Therefore, choose life: Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 30:19)
The book of the Bible will be Deuteronomy
2009 is a huge year for UCU as we will be celebrating our 40th anniversary. (hence choosing Deuteronomy in symbolic reference with what the Israelites were going through after their 40 years in the desert and preparing to enter the promised land) Below are a couple of pictures and a silly little video (completely unedited) to show the hang-out times we had (which were FEW but FABULOUS!)






QUOTE:“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans” John Lennon

ExpoErotica Exito (success!)

Words can't describe how awesome the whole experience was....on a campus with nearly 30,000 students, our UCU group of 30 spent the day on the National University's campus talking about God and Sex. Check out this video, it does it more justice than my words could!