Merry Christmas!

Hi everybody! Merry Christmas a little late to you all! I have been enjoying my time at home immensely, and I just haven't had time to blog. I have so much to share with you - pictures and stories, so I will be trying to catch you up over the next few days. I have had a great time hanging out with my family, seeing friends and extended family, and having some cool experiences that have provided some more closure as one chapter is closing and a new one opening before me (and my family) in 2009. So there is much to share, and I promise to do so soon. For now, I'll leave you with a few pictures. I got a wii for Christmas, and it is SOOO fun! I think I have developed tennis elbow from playing it, but we've had a blast. Enjoy the pictures, and have a Happy New Year!

Ellie & Snow

Ellie really hates the snow. I found that out today when I tried to get some pictures of her in the snow that was on our porch. The poor cat was quite miserable. Check out this hilarious picture to see...

And before you report me to the animal rights people, I did let her in and held her and dried off her feet after this moment. Well, after she begged to go inside.

Hahaha...Anyway, to gain a little perspective, here are 2 pictures off of my deck - one from the summer and one from today.


Amazing, isn't it? The weather today has been interesting. It snowed for most of the morning and afternoon - gorgeous fluffy snow. Then it started sleeting, then raining. It is now sleeting, freezing rain, and it's supposed to change back to snow to give us up to 3 inches more before it stops. It should be a nice skating rink outside tomorrow. As long as we can get out on Tuesday, we'll be fine. It's been an awesome weekend, and I've enjoyed every minute of it! Can't wait to be in GA in TWO days! Love you guys!

Christmas Snow

As I sit here and type this blog, it is STILL snowing outside! It started yesterday afternoon and hasn't really stopped since. We have probably about 12 inches on the ground at the moment. It is supposed to stop snowing later this evening only to start again tomorrow, with another 6 inches expected. It's a Winter Wonderland out there!

Earlier this afternoon, I decided to go for a walk to try to get some pictures. It was a little difficult because it was snowing at the time, and I was trying to keep my camera somewhat dry. So I didn't take as many as I might have otherwise. But I thought I'd still share with you what I captured. To begin with, here is a picture of a car that has been almost buried by snow and the plow...

Here are some pictures just of the scenery with snow on them.





Then we have some Christmas decorations with snow on them. I love these pictures - I love seeing the snow covered decorations. There is something so quaint and right about it. :)



Finally, a self portrait. I put my camera on a bench to take this picture. I was trying to show how deep the snow is, and as you can see by my legs - well, it's deep!

Right after this picture, my camera fell in the snow. Oops. It's drying out now and seems to be just fine. Depending on the weather tomorrow, I'll try to get some more pictures taken. I wish you guys could be here for this. There is nothing like walking along in the snow, while it's snowing, with the ocean in the background, in a peaceful, quiet, magical setting. God's power shows itself all the time here in this creation I am surrounded by. But His peace and majesty and stillness and silent awe that is present when it snows....words and pictures fail to describe.

More to come soon. It's supposed to stop precipitating after tomorrow, so we should be able to fly home on Tuesday with no problem. See you soon!

White Christmas

I love Christmas! It is an awesome time of year. And I love snow! Snow is a glorious creation, and the beauty of a good snowfall just takes my breath away. So imagine my great delight that these two things are being combined - and before I leave to come to GA where it is 70 degrees! We are currently under a winter storm warning, with the potential for a foot of snow to fall tomorrow. A foot!! Do you know how cool it is to see Christmas decorations with snow on them??

Anyway, even here in the north, precautions are being taken. Our office is closing at noon in an attempt to get everyone home before the roads are no longer safe. It's actually fascinating how awesome they are at clearing the roads off up here. The only trouble we have is when what is forecast for tomorrow happens - when it snows an inch or more an hour, the plows can't keep up with keeping the roads clear, so then we can run into trouble. Once the snow stops though, they'll have the roads clear in no time. Can you imagine if we got a foot of snow in GA? The state would shut down for days!!

Anyway, I am taking Christmas gifts into my office tomorrow. Each cup has soft peppermints in them and a few chocolates, but I thought the cups were awesome coming from me. Check it out:

I got Ellie a Christmas present today - this is a squirrel filled with catnip. She really likes it!

Finally, here is Ellie herself, looking very cute.

If this winter storm happens as predicted, I will be sure to take lots of pictures and post them for you to see. If I can't have a white Christmas in GA, at least I can enjoy an almost one here! Can't wait to see you all very soon!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Greetings, dear friends and family! It has been a crazy past week, and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down! I love the holidays because you get to spend so much time with people you care about, but it makes for a lot of craziness as well.

Last Thursday evening, we had our community group Christmas gathering. It was a really special time. We wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for all they had done for the past year and share briefly why we were thankful for them. The leader and I didn't think it would take all that long, but when we started, we gave everyone in the room the option to join us in thanking each person if they so chose. THREE HOURS later, we finished! While it made for a very late night, it was an amazing time that we shared together.

We so often fail to let the people who mean the most to us know what we appreciate about them and why. We're so quick to point out the faults and issues and problems, and we just assume they'll know we care. I would challenge all of you to be intentional this Christmas about letting the people you have the opportunity to share life with know that you care about them and why. Life as we know it can change in the blink of an eye - we all know that. Don't let this holiday season go by without letting those in your life know they are loved. And let's work together at being intentional about this all year long - then maybe it won't take 3 hours at a time to do!!

This past weekend, brother and I had the fun of having a friend from home pop in for a visit. We showed him around the area on Saturday, and it was COLD! Here are a couple of pictures of Michael and Jack and one of me and brother. Jack was a trooper - the high that day was only 25, and we had winds from 10-20 mph.



Then last night, I had my office Christmas party. It was at a BBQ place right outside of Boston, and it was really fun! I got to meet some of our managers that I had never met before, and I enjoyed hanging out with my coworkers. I am very thankful that I get to work with people I enjoy being with! Here is a picture of me and my boss, Leanne, and then me and my friend Brandi.


It's supposed to rain/snow for the next 2 days, so we'll see what happens with that. I have Christmas gifts to get finished up this week, lots going on at work and out of work, and I only have 5 days of work left before I get to come to GA for a visit! Can't wait to see all of you! Have a great week, and I'll be in touch soon!

It's Interesting....

....how having the windchill be negative 3 degrees makes 45 degrees feel quite warm. This is a phenomenon that I had not experienced prior to living in the north. When I come to GA for Christmas, if it's 50 or higher, we're breaking out the sunscreen!!

My cat was walking around the apartment meowing incessantly, so I picked her up and held her and patted her for a few minutes while she purred, and now she is fine. Maybe she is preparing me for children someday?

Many fun things are happening between now and Christmas, beginning with our Community Group Christmas party tomorrow evening. I'll post pictures and stories of all the fun events that lead up to me getting to come home to GA for a nice long visit! Looking forward to seeing lots of you soon!

Trip To Baltimore

Greetings, adoring public that flocks to my blog and leaves so many comments that I never question my loyal readership! Haha...seriously, hello everyone, and even if I'm the only one who reads my blog, I continue to write it for my own enjoyment.

It is cold here in Boston. Horribly cold. When I got in my car this morning, my temperature said it was 13 degrees. This was without the windchill added, which made it -3 degrees. I love being so cold. It just reminds us that one must have proper clothing, and then one is much better. Get a scarf, Pa!!

Speaking of Pa, I spent the weekend with him in Baltimore and had a fantastic time. It was really nice to see him and be able to hang out, and of course it was extremely helpful for me to be able to see where he and mom are going to be living. Here are some pictures of their apartment.



Those pictures are mainly for my mom because she wanted to see the rearranging my dad had done. If you want to see more pictures of their apartment, feel free to visit her blog here.

Here are some more pictures of their living place. This is me standing at their entrance with the harbor view behind me, another picture of the harbor view, and Pa standing in front of a restaurant within walking distance of them where we had brunch. (and yes, it was really cold there, too!)



I also got to go see my dad's office. It is very big! The coolest thing is that he has his own fireplace right there in his office!

It really was a very nice weekend spent with my dad. I think he and my mom are going to enjoy living in Baltimore very much, and I am looking forward to seeing the sorts of adventures God has for them to share for this time in their lives. Their home is going to be awesome in the spring, summer, and fall for walking around and enjoying the beauty. I would encourage all of you to go and visit them often! Thanks for having me, Pa - it was awesome! I love you and look forward to seeing you in 2 weeks!

Fun With Photos

Hi everybody! On my mom's side of the family at Christmas, we have a "white elephant" gift exchange each year where each person brings a serious gift under a certain price limit, and we play the game to see who gets what. It's a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate together without everyone going broke. I won't be in GA yet when they gather for the event this year, but I am sending my gift with my dad so that I can participate in spirit. For those of you who are family and read this blog, this can give you a preview of what to expect. I decided to send 4 of my photos - one from each season - so they can be framed as individual pictures or all in the same frame or whatever the person who receives them wants to do. The pictures I chose are:




I just picked up the prints, and if I do say so myself, they look lovely. :) Good luck, family!

I am going to Baltimore this weekend to hang out with the Pa. I can't wait to see him and to see a bit of the city that will be another place to call "home". Hope you are all well, and as Christmas is 3 weeks from tomorrow, I will be seeing a lot of you very soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

From the Northern representatives of the Jones family, Happy Thanksgiving to all! While we miss the opportunity to share this time with family and friends at home, we are so thankful for the people God has placed in our lives here who opened their home and let us share this day with them. I am learning in this journey that even when "family" is defined differently than we might have thought, when people love the same God, life can still be shared and enjoyed. God is good! We love you all!

My Office & The Ocean

As promised, here are a few pictures from my new office. This first picture is of my desk and so you can see the glorious window that I have. I am so excited to have that window because since it is pitch black by 4:30, I get to see the sun when it is out. AND I'll be able to see the snow fall! The second picture is a picture from the door, and you can see a window that is between my office and my friend Mark's office next door.


It's a little hard to tell the exact green color from these pictures, but this at least gives you a bit of an idea. It's very soothing, and I love it. This next picture is a close up of the window between my office and Mark's. People have taken to drawing pictures with erasable marker on the glass, which is hilarious. And just for the record, I didn't write my name - someone else did!

This is to show you the scarf my mom sent me in the mail. It's currently hanging on my window sill. Everyone loves it!

I do plan to put pictures up on the walls, so I'll take more pictures once it's actually finished, but this gives you at least an idea of my very own office!

I got to leave work early today for the Thanksgiving holiday, and there was a glorious sunset and big waves, so I took some pictures. As we are here on the eve of Thanksgiving, I am very thankful that I live in a place that is as beautiful as this. Love you guys!

I'm Cold

Hi everybody! Greetings from the frigid north, where temps have not risen out of the 30's for a week now. Windchills have been down to about 11 or so pretty consistently. But no worries - it's supposed to be in the 40's this week, which will be practically warm!!

Lots of interesting stuff happening here lately. To begin with, I now have my own office at work!! We have expanded into the offices next to us, so I am able to have an office now. It's lovely - it has a window, which is a huge blessing. Since it gets dark here at 4 and is pitch black by 4:30 or so, it'll be nice to see the sun while it's out AND I can watch the snow fall when it does! I painted my office over the weekend - a fabulous light sage green color that is very neutral but gives it some color. I'll take some pictures and post them soon for you to see. Tomorrow I have to set my desk up and then start thinking about what to put on my walls. I love having a space to make my own!

This week is Thanksgiving of course, and I hope that you all enjoy it very much. I will miss not being there with family and seeing friends. It's interesting how weird it is to spend holidays away from your family. But, we have some friends at church who have invited us to have Thanksgiving with them. There will be 12 of us, all who go to church together, and it should be really fun. I'm excited that we'll be able to enjoy the day with other people. Last year we didn't know anyone, and it was really sad to just be on our own. Even though I'll greatly miss spending the day with my family, these folks are my family here, and it will help make the day special.

I am very much looking forward to this week and having a few days off. I plan to get a few things done, enjoy resting and relaxing, and have some fun hanging out with some friends. I'll post stuff and hopefully get you more caught up on life here.

For now, I am going to go to bed, where my electric blanket has been warming my bed for me. When I get in bed at night, I am SOOOO thankful for the person who invented the electric blanket - I thank God for them often. :) And now I shall leave you with a picture of me and brother - maybe not the best picture ever, but this post needs a picture. Have a great week!