Merry and Bright

I LOVE this time of year. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. And I don't just mean I love this time of year like the way you love nibbling on frozen cookie dough (although we all know sneaking a bit or two every now and then is quite divine), or love playing Guitar Hero, or love a good kickboxing class (okay, so that's a close one). I mean I LOVE this time of year. Like the way a 4 year old LOVES Disneyland on his very first visit...it's magical. (Or the way I pretty much STILL love Disneyland, according to Kody. Come on.. it IS the happiest place on earth.) I'll admit, I broke down and started playing Christmas music this year in October... I just couldn't wait any longer! Holiday cheer, baking goodies, lights and decorations, playing secret santa, sipping hot cocoa, leaving christmas goodies on neighbor's doorsteps, holiday traditions, I love it all. Maybe we let the light of Christ shine just a little brighter through us this time of year... and maybe a month-long Christmas sugar rush excites my sweet tooth into a delirious fit. Either way, there is so much goodness floating around from Thanksgiving to New Years, and now that I'm officially on a 2-week break from dental school, I can enjoy every minute of it!

A quick fall wrap-up: Residency and dental school schedules resulted in a busy autumn that flew by. We got through Kody working almost a month of night shifts, equating to us seeing each other for about 1/2 hour a day...so glad that is over with (for now)! I guess we figured we'd adopt a pet to give us a little more responsibility at home before we take the plunge into parenthood, and now we have quite a playful little 'leopard' roaming around the Smith household. For Thanksgiving, almost all of the Rex clan gathered here in Phoenix for the week. Such fun times filled with lots of card playing, cooking, bocce ball, eating, Harry Potter, running, and even a little Turkey bowl action. And the last three weeks I've been busy finishing up Cardio/Pulmonary, Renal, and Dental Anatomy classes - I think I had 12 tests in the last 3 weeks... I'm loving dental school, but I'm definitely ready for a study break!

A few pics from our trip to Utah in November. We were able to meet up with our favorite friends from Grand Cayman... so fun to reminisce on island life and meet their darling little Oliver!







I dressed up with some other dents for a Halloween party...and proud to say we made our costumes ourselves.


After 6 years of marriage, we finally have a REAL, full-sized Christmas tree to enjoy. I think the biggest we had prior to this was a 2-foot potted rosemary 'tree'. So pretty excited about that development. We even decorated it to Christmas music and sat and drank hot chocolate afterward by the light of the tree. (Kind of hard to do with a 2-foot tree.. :) Let the Christmas traditions begin!

I caught Kody whistling while he works...






Meesha had to make sure our tree was a good one...




May your hearts be warmed by good tidings of great joy, and the twinkling of Christmas lights. May you be surrounded by those you love, and may your days be Merry and Bright.