Welcome back.

I guess it's about time I posted in this new year full of promise and excitement! Hello 2011. :)

First of all, I am so excited to say that I finally finished our wedding album! It is being printed and sent this week. It took so many hours of work and editing, and it took me 6 months, but it's finished. :) You can view it online here!

Well, we've all been back to work and regular schedules again, and I hope your year has started off well. Brent and I had a fabulous first Christmas as a married couple, and enjoyed so much wonderful time with our families. I also got to meet up with 2 of my 3 favorite OSU grads! :) We were home for about 9 days, and enjoyed every minute of it!

Christmas Eve with the McLaughlins

Christmas Day with the Davis'

I love the joy in this picture. :)

Oh, how I miss these girls (and Bethany!)

Since Christmas, I have just been trying to be productive around the apartment and get back into the swing of things at school. We have report cards due next week, and even though I've been much more organized over the last quarter, there is still a lot of work to be done. I just finished entering a huge stack of grades, and have the exciting task tomorrow of writing comments and entering grades on report cards. We've got a professional day, with half of the day free to work in our rooms! I'll take whatever I can get.

I'd also like to report that we've got our apartment in tip-top shape right now. It's still not perfect (after all, it is very small!) but we have done a lot of work organizing and cleaning over the last few weeks. I remember talking to my grandma when we were home about how much I love Christmas, but at the same time, how nice it is to have all of the "stuff" put away and the apartment clean again. Besides, I've got some visitors coming in just a few weeks!! :)

In other news, I am sad to report that the Colts lost their first playoff game, so they will not be the Super Bowl champs this year. However, I am looking forward to wearing my new Manning jersey (thanks, Brent!) next year when they have home-field advantage in the Super Bowl. :) Until then, I'll just cheer for anyone playing the Patriots! (Sorry, Chitwood!)

This afternoon, Brent and I joined a gym here in Columbia, called Life Time Fitness, which was recommeneded to us by his friend and office-mate from work. We went for 2 free weeks in December, and it was so nice! It reminds me of the Colvin at OSU, except even better! Anyways, we are ready to get into better shape and now we have a great place to accomplish that! I'll keep you updated on our progress.

And finally, our lifegroup is getting ready to start a study over the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I have heard so much about this book and know it can be life-changing, so I am excited to see how God will work in our lives through this! I'm sure I will have lots to share once we get started. On the website, you can read the first chapter, so I'd recommend it if you get a chance!

I suppose I'll end my ramblings for the day there. I hope you all have had a wonderful start to this new year, and I hope that you are constantly looking for and praising God for the blessings He has given you!

Happy New Year from the McLaughlins!

[hugs]