It's the holiday season

So today is officially 2014, but in my typical blogging fashion, I need to recap the end of LAST YEAR!

Without any farther to do, here were some highlights of our first married Christmas season!

Our Christmas corner! CJ and I are adamant about two things: pinching every penny and not accumulating much before we move again. When my mom sent us the candy canes (from her and my dad's first Christmas together!), we did buy a 3-foot tree to display them on. We were happy to hang up our seashell ornament from our honeymoon too!

CJ's platoon at their Holiday Social, a chili cook off!

The wives of 6th platoon! It has been so neat to experience the instant, deep bonds created by being Marine wives.  I am so thankful for their friendships.  I was shocked (HA!) I didn't win the chili cook off, but a fellow Texan and AGGIE did, so that was fun!

The last week of training before break, I hosted a cookie exchange at our apartment.  It was simple and sweet, but I had a ton of fun playing hostess for the first time!

We made enough treats to make little goodie bags for each of the Marines in our hubbies' platoon.

My attempt to be cutesy and pinteresty: a hot chocolate bar! ...mugs, hot cocoa, caramels, peppermint bark, marshmallows

We spent Christmas Eve and day just the two of us.  We volunteered at two Christmas Eve services as a greeter and an usher. It felt great to serve, even in the smallest way, and we really enjoyed getting to learn more about our church home through volunteering.  After church we ate my attempt at a nice Christmas Eve dinner: a ham, green bean casserole, rice, and homemade bread. My husband gave his usual praises, but let's just say I was happy it was just the two of us.  I will be trying a new ham recipe for sure! We then watched White Christmas, a tradition we'll be carrying on from my mom and Nana.

Our Christmas day was spent opening a few gifts, eating yummy pancakes and (not so) yummy leftovers, working on our 1,000 piece puzzle, and preparing for our upcoming NEW YORK CITY trip!!!

Our Christmas was simple and sweet and special (3 words that define our stage of life very well). We talked about how there is a really, really good chance we will never spend another Christmas just the two of us again.  It is amazing how perfectly content I am being with no one but CJ. It was a very blessed Christmas in deed.  I do think we both felt a twinge of Texas-sickness at different points. We were able to facetime with CJ's younger siblings on Christmas Eve, and I hated to miss the Locklear sibling/ grandkids Christmas weekend.  We are hopeful to be able to go back to Texas next Christmas, but we wouldn't have wished our first one together any different!

Up next: NYC and NYE post!!!