Christmas Break - Coming to an end...

On Monday I start classes up again.... oh joy! :) Honestly, I am excited about my classes this spring, and the consistent schedule will be good too. It is just that break has been wonderful - and I am happy to say, that I got everything done I wanted to: Scrap booking, Zoo Lights, Painting (this weekend :)), hanging out with Miriam :), hair cut and last but not least eye brow threading (If you don't know what it is - http://www.beauty-cosmetic-guide.com/eyebrow-threading.htm - it is amazing!).

I am really excited about my schedule this next semester - here it is (If you click on it, it will expand and be large enough to read :) ):

Brad's schedule is much less colorful! :) He works 7-3:30 Monday through Friday, but does have Awana on Wednesday nights too! :)

This last week has been really nice, we had Miriam over for dinner on Tuesday - it was wonderful to see her and catch up before school starts back up again. We had a blast playing Mario Cart Wii after dinner for a little bit - she was really good (and surprisingly competative!!!)! Wednesday was the first Awana of 2009 - and because we don't have all our Moody Students back yet - it was hectic! There were 3 regular leaders, including Brad and myself, and 32 kids! Thankfully Tim - our Awana "Commander" :), came and helped us out. Needless to say tho - we were exhausted afterwards. Thursday Jenny and Brandon came over for dinner - we had Chicken Divan (yum) and Brandon brought an Apple Pie (double yum)!

Yesterday Brad brought Chloe to the vet to get fixed and de-clawed, we pick her up today after work. Our plan is to give her lots of lovin this weekend, poor thing.....

Tomorrow morning (Saturday) Brad and I are planning on going on a breakfast date - which will be really fun. And on Sunday we are having a bunch of friends over for a soup/fresh breadparty - Moody's Cafeteria is not open to returning students on that evening - so we are goign to feed our travel worn and hungry friends. :)

Snow has returned to Chicago! We had about a week of really nice "mild" weather (I know I have adjusted to the northern winters when I can call 30 degrees "mild") but now the cold has returned. We are staying nice and warm. We have a "fireplace" that we can turn on on our tv, which adds a nice ambiance to the Living Room on cold winter evenings. :)

Love to all!

Decoration Updates

It has been a while since we have posted pictures of our apartment. There have been some fun changes. :) We will start in the living room:
We were so excited to get our picture framed - and are thrilled with the results. The picture looked nice on the wall before but now that it has a frame - it pops! :)

Moving into the dining room:
I love the K on the wall! :)

Bedroom:
We found the chair in the ally (I am a scrounger at heart). It folds up for easy storage and matches our bedroom furniture really well! :)The upper right hand frame holds our Wedding invitation - sorry about the glare. :)
Here is a picture of the decorative pillows I got for Christmas! :) They make our bed look so nice! :) Chloe decided to pose mid-yawn. :) Oh and to the left of the bed is Brad's diploma - it looks great in the frame that I found at Hob Lob (My favorite store! :) ).

Come and visit us! :) We love having people over! (And with that extra chair, we can seat 6 at our table! :) )

Merry Christmas From the Kidders

The year of 2008 has been a big one for us - We got married! Brad graduated. We both started new jobs. We got an apartment. We traveled to Texas, Minnesota, Tennessee and Michigan. We got a cat. :) God has so richly provided for us! We are both so thankful for our jobs, especially in these economically hard times.

In our first 7 months of marriage we have learned so much about ourselves and each other. We have been so thankful for the gift of marriage. Many of you have heard the saying, "God created marriage to produce holiness not happiness." I agree that happiness is not the end goal - but I am thankful to say that marriage holds so much happiness for us. We are so content with where God has us right now and are so excited to see where he is going to take us in the future.

We pray that as you begin 2009 you are refreshed and energized through the Word of God. May God's gracious hand reign sovereign in your life. We love you!

The Kidders

Christmas Fun

I was so happy that the weekend before Finals - my wonderful Friends took time out of their busy schedules and came over for a Planner Decorating Party. :) We had a blast!
From L to R - Miriam, Kim, Linsey. I love these beautiful girls! :)
Finished products from Linsey and Kim - Mir had to leave early, and we forgot to get a picture. :(
Here is my 2009 planner - Thank you Uncle John for the great planners - we had so much fun customizing them! :)

We were so glad to hear that Aunt Nell and Uncle Pat were going to be in Chicago for a few days to pick up Jessie! They came over for dinner and we had a great time of fellowship - it was great to catch up. I was in charge of dessert - Brad made his famous Farfalle Alfredo YUMMY!!! Here is my masterpiece of a cake:
Needless to say - I was pretty proud of it! :) It tasted really good too! :)

What would a post be - without some word of Chloe. :) lol - she is getting so much bigger and some days doesn't care to be playful but would rather sleep. :( We are a little sad that our adventure seeking kitten is growing up but it is so nice when she comes and curls up on our laps to take a nap. :)
Listen to me... going on like she is our child. :) What can I say - she makes us happy. :)

Our First Christmas - The Decorations

Those of you who know me - even a little - will know that I love to decorate. And Christmas is a great excuse to have some fun! :) Here are some pictures of our living room in all of it's holiday splendor. :)
Oh, and for those who have sharp eyes - you will notice our beautiful coffee table, which we got for free! Yes, you read that correctly - free! Thanks Brandon!I love that you can see Chloe's silhouette in this picture! :) She is such a pretty kitty - and getting big too!
Here is our Snowman family - They make me smile :)
And Mr. Nutcracker - he faithfully recorded how many days were left until Christmas. :)

Our First Christmas - The Tree

We went on a "Christmas Extravaganza" one Saturday in late November (before Thanksgiving). We drove out to Schaumberg and went to Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and Ikea in search of the perfect decorations for our first Christmas together. While standing at Walmart - admiring the beautiful trees, we debated which size to get. Finally deciding on the "perfect" tree. It is 7.5 ft tall - "This is going to look beautiful in our apartment" we thought.

We were so excited to Christmasafy our apartment - we did so that very night. Much to our surprise the tree was much larger than we had anticipated.This was before the top was on - "Uh babe, that looks kinda big."As you can see from Brad's face - we were shocked to realize that a width of 4 ft is quite large for a tree (In our small apartment). Nevertheless, we were determined to set it up.
We were still a little flabbergasted at the size of our wonderful tree, but we were so excited to see how nice it looked and were anxious to light it and decorate it. :)
Isn't it beautiful!?!?! We were thrilled with the results, we shifted the living room a little, so the tree wouldn't be in the middle of the apartment, but against a wall. We had such a fun time putting the lights on, and putting all our ornaments on. We deliberated what colors of ornaments to get and decided to get red/burgandyish and gold. I have been so happy with our choice. The tree looks regal (in my opinion). :) And the crown tree topper helps remind us of the reason for the season - Jesus Christ!
This is an ornament we got on our honeymoon in Tennissee.
Isn't it cute! :)
What a wonderful start to Christmas!