oh, the goodness

i love this time of year: so much is going on. thanksgiving, christmas, new years, and last but not least, our anniversary.

2 years.

what an amazing journey we have ahead of us. what an amazing journey we have already taken. we have learned so much from each other, and we cant wait to see what else lies in store for us.

we went to san fransisco for our anniversary. here are some pictures of the goodness that was san fran. 

(us at pier 39)

(i love this picture. this is us with the seals. i think i'm a seal at heart...)

(mama's kitchen: worth the wait)

(the stinking rose...)

(another picture i love)

(a $4.50 bagel and $4.00 muffin. disgusting.)

(nay showing off his christmas gifts)

(duke opening his stocking)

(duke ignoring his stocking and wanting to eat nay's gifts)

sorry it has been a while. we have been so busy and just got back from our fancy dinner: mortons. 

hope you all had a great christmas, cant wait to hear all of the stories.

13 more hours to go

it's christmas eve, and i am at work.

the phones are not ringing. people do not want to be here, and to be quite honest, it makes sense. no one wants to be in an office while their families are at home watching awesome marathons: CSI, law and order, brady bunch, christmas movies, and the list goes on. i hate the feeling of knowing that your counterpart (i.e. spouse/family) is without you. knowing that nathan is at home, with the pup, in our warm cozy house is just to much to bare as i sit here at my computer.

however, i am more than grateful that i have a job, and a job that i am becoming good at. a job with good people and a job i shouldn't have gotten. i am so blessed that the puzzle pieces were put together, and that everything fell into place, so that i may have this job.

especially now.

everywhere you turn, people are closing their doors, going out of business, unable to make payments, and it is devastating. heartbreaking. this is the time of giving and loving, and i hope we all do a little more loving than getting this year. a little more faith and a little less selfishness. more hope and less heartbreak. i hope we can all keep in our minds the faces and the people that we are thankful for, and cant imagine our lives without them.

when i think of people, at least 5 faces come to mind- i hope that is what happens with you as well. i hope you find more. i hope your faces are in the double digits. i hope that you rack your brain all day thinking about who you cant imagine your life without, it is such a great feeling.

on another note-

with it being christmas eve and all, i just wanted to say thank you. thank you for reading my blog. thank you for thinking that these muddled words make sense to you and you get something out of reading this. thank you for caring about my life enough to not only read it, but comment on it. i am humbled by your interest in our lives, and i wanted to let you know how great you all are.

lastly, there are so many people and things we are thankful for, we cant name them all, but if we know you, hang out with you, get our hair done by you, are related to you, love you, get tattooed by you, go to church with you...we are thankful for you. more than you know.

merry christmas everyone. we hope that yours is as bright and wonderful as it should be.

Last nights conversation

me: what is something you like about me?

nathan: (half asleep) your nice.

me: your favorite thing about me is that i'm nice?

nathan: (more than halfway asleep) yes.

me: hmm...really? nice?

nathan: (almost asleep) is that not enough?

me: well i'm just wondering...

nathan: (rolls over and looks at me) your perfect. there is no one else in the world i would rather be with, spend the rest of my life with, learn how to be married with. your perfect for me.

me: (beaming) that was wonderful.

nathan: (fully asleep) ...

me: (cant sleep and still smiling) he thinking i'm perfect...

the art of being a bottomless pit

today was wonderful. nathan and i woke up early (for different reasons) and parted before 8 a.m. he left to have breakfast with a former student of ours and record some friends doing a christmas album, and i woke to clean the house and make breakfast for Jean.

her name isnt really jean you know. her name is justine and i think that she is great. such spirit and kindness; more people should be like her.

so anyway, nathan was off and i was home getting ready for justines arrival, and duke was just sitting there. taking everything in- the morning sun, the christmas tree, the warm blankets, his mama hard at work, just everything. 

so justine gets here and i make us some chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, hasbrowns, and orange juice. it was a pretty interesting yet delightful breakfast, that lead to even better conversation. after she left i finished cleaning up the place and laid down on the sofa to nap with the duke. 

what a wonderful morning.

so i slept for a while, took a shower, ran an errand with nathan, and made some dinner. later we decided to go see "milk" and it was great. the movie just makes you want to believe in something bigger than yourself. it makes you want to throw yourself out there and find what is true. what is real. what is worth fighting for. even if you dont agree with it, you have to admit, the 'fight' that was in that man, was and is, remarkable. 

so all in all, it was a good day. 

on a side note, duke decided to use our new camera as a chew toy (yes bloggers, the same camera we bought about a month ago) and so we needed to get another one. he has also decided to start eating ornaments off of the tree, and chewing up anything in sight. we have had to start caging him again we leave, which we hate, but he gives us no choice. 

even though he is cute, he is still sometimes monster.

   (this was nathans face when he found out duke chewed the camera)

Harvard Doofus and Jesus

so i'm driving to work this morning, and a few things happened.

the first was that my car windows were so foggy i couldnt see anything, and i almost hit an old man. he turns to me and shakes his cane at me. SHAKES HIS CANE! like in the movies when the car chase goes past an old man and he shakes his cane at the speeding car. i was that speeding car. what a good start right?

the second thing is that this man a couple lanes away, was driving like an idiot. like one of those idiots that you want to call the cops on for being so impatient and selfish: swerving in and out of the lanes, cutting people off, speeding around, just all that crap. he gets in the lane next to me, and thinks he wants to get in front of me, but he cant decide- so he just rides in both lanes.

thats right bloggers of the world, he is in my lane and in his, no blinker, and just utterly conflicted. so i am sitting there, judging him, and i see his license plate holder thing says "harvard alumni" and that just makes my day. you mean to tell me that one of the greatest schools in the world, with the brightest minds, huge workloads, sleepless nights of studying and cramming, with these challenging and brilliant professors, cant teach this guy how to drive? priceless. anyway, the harvard doofus decides not to get in my lane, so he makes his way down the freeway in his range rover.

and the third thing is this.

now this isnt exactly what i saw, since i didnt take a picture, but it was along the same lines. the sun was so bright it was stinging my eyes, christmas carols singing to me from the radio, and this awesome sight. it was God telling me: calm down casey.

take a breath.

look what i have for you.

i planned this moment for you, and i want you to enjoy it. forget about the harvard doofus. forget about the crazy car chases with old men and oak canes being shaked in your direction. forget who you think you are for one second, and take a breath.

and i did.

it was calm and sweet, and i turned the music down so i could thank my God. the whole way to work i had this amazing view, and it was just this love note written in snow and puffy clouds. i wanted to drive until i hit those mountains. but alas, my exit came and i got off the freeway sitting in morning traffic, with those mountains behind me, but it was perfect.

those are the moments i want to put in boxes so i can show people. when i am telling nathan about my day i can just say "look in here! this is it! look at that view!" and he would get it. and we would show duke and he would just look at us like this:

he probably wouldnt look like this, i actually think he would try to eat it, but this is a great picture anyway.

anyway, look for mountains and snowy hills, it's great therapy. oh, also, look out for old men with canes, they have feelings too.

Love is...

(doesnt this girl look crazy!?)

Love is coming home around 10:30 after a long day of work and church, and making your husband 2 grilled cheese sandwiches.

Love is knowing he has to have mustard with those grilled cheese sandwiches.

Love is being able to understand my husband when he is uber tired and is mumbling uncontrollably.

Love is being able to fall asleep only when my husband is next to me.

Love is searching for ways to make your spouses life better.

Love is serving with each other day in and day out: no matter how tired or frustrated.

Love is telling 'your story' for the 100th time and still getting goosebumps.

Love is laughing with your husband when he leaves the fridge door open- for the 4th time.

Love is the rush of excitement when you havent seen your husband in days.

Love is giggling before bed.

Love is "katella baby".

Love is going to concerts together, not being near each other, and feeling incredibly close.

Love is what i have with my husband.

Love is what i wish for us all.

Not once, not twice, but Thrice

last night we saw thrice at the house of blues.

it was amazing.

they rocked.

they rolled.

they changed my life.

i got to spend it with all of my friends and family and it was perfect.

i laughed.

i screamed.

i danced.

i cried.

it was one of the best nights of my life.

who can resist lines like:

"And bullets lance the bravest lungs Will I fold my hands or hold my tongue Or let the flames lick at my feet Or breathe in fire and know I'm free Flames will rise and devour me Oh, to breathe in fire and know I'm free"

"Come all you weary with your heavy loads Lay down your burdens find rest for your souls Cause my yoke is easy and my burden is kind I’ll take yours upon me and you can take mine"

"Wake, feel your worth, O my soul. Speak the word, the word that can save us all. Awed by grace, I fall on my face. And scream the word that can save us all."

"once again these bitter herbs the perfect compliment to all your cryptic words I nod but don't know what to say, but I know you and I believe you're who you say you are so I? I will follow you, lay down my life I would die for you, this very night"

beautiful.