Christmas in Guam!

Jarrett and I enjoyed our first Christmas in Guam and our third Christmas together as a married couple! Realizing that we are growing up and won't always be able to spend the holidays with our families, Jarrett and I made every effort to create our own special traditions and memories. During the month of December, we would cuddle up on the couch, eat some dessert, and watch a Christmas movie at least twice a week. We hung lights in the house, adorned the house with decorations that we have accumulated over the past few years, and purchased our first large Christmas tree. We added a few unique ornaments to our collection and lit holiday scented candles through out the house. All in all, this turned out to be a very special and memorable Christmas and I couldn't be more happy. What I think I loved most about this Christmas was that we didn't focus on gifts, even though that never really is a priority to us, but rather on each other and enjoying our time together. Jarrett and I will not be together next Christmas, so we soaked in every moment of this holiday season.

On Christmas eve, Jarrett and I went to church and then went to a nice restaurant for a delicious Christmas eve dinner. Christmas morning, we woke up bright and early. I immediately turned some Christmas music on while Jarrett brewed a pot of coffee. We opened our gifts one by one and recorded videos to share with those who sent us gifts. After gift opening, Jarrett made some mimosas and we spent a few hours calling family and friends. We skyped both our families which was extra special. After that, I began cooking our Christmas meal while we watched the Nativity Story. I baked a ham and prepared lots of fixings such as mashed potatoes and my favorite green bean casserole. And after we stuffed ourselves silly, we decided to go see a movie. After the movie, we came home and curled up together on the couch with some new books we got for Christmas. All in all, we had a wonderful Christmas despite being away from family who we miss dearly!

Also, my dear friend Lindsey sent me this wonderful care package. I can't even describe how nice it was to eat some candy cane joe joe's after our delicious meal. So special.

Favorites

I've composed a list of my top 5 favorite things as of right now!

#1 Everything Christmas! I was a little worried about the holiday season coming around because I was afraid about how I would feel being so far from family but I feel so blessed by this Christmas season. Jarrett and I are starting our own traditions which include watching Christmas movies almost every night, having a small glass of wine and eating yummy fudge after dinner, and buying a couple new Christmas ornaments to help boost our ornament collection. We have been talking about our plans for Christmas eve and Christmas and I am excited about what we have planned!

#2 Lots of candles! My husband is really getting irritated about my obsession with candles but I just can't help it. If I find a yummy candle, my obsessive behavior takes over and I have to buy it! Yesterday, my husband managed to pry me from a display of candles on sale, but unfortunately he lost the battle today when I found some delicious soy candles for only $4 a pop! I managed to sneak one into our cart. My belief is you can never have enough candles.

#3 Bethany Dillon. I seriously have loved this musical artist since I was like 15. She is amazing! I love everything on her new cd and I think I could listen to it for hours on end. Her lyrics go much deeper and are more honest than any other artist I know.

#4 My new Flip video camera. I asked for a video camera for my birthday and after a bunch of research, I decided on the Flip Ultra. This little camera is not for the serious videographer, but more for the videographer that just wants to take simple videos to share with friends and family. I seriously love this thing. It has a USB thing attached to it, which makes it super easy to upload the videos onto your computer. And the best thing about this camera is that it can be purchased at a super reasonable price! In fact, it's on sale on Amazon for $90. This irritates me slightly since I just purchased mine on Amazon for $120 and it went on sale like a week later, but I still feel like I got it for a good deal compared to the price I almost paid to buy it on the island. I've attached a couple short clips at the bottom.

Video 1 from Kate Boyd on Vimeo.

Video 2 from Kate Boyd on Vimeo.

#5 Speaking of Amazon, I am obsessed with Amazon!! I think I did more than half my Christmas shopping on Amazon because everything is so much cheaper and they offer free shipping on most items over $25. This is really helpful when shipping stuff to Guam because it can get a bit pricey. This website is a Guamanian's dream come true because the selection of items is awesome and the items are much cheaper than I would ever pay on this island!

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

We set up our Christmas tree last week. We both had such a fun time hanging ornaments on the tree, dancing around to Christmas music, and ending the night with a fun Christmas movie. It's hard being away from family during this time of the year, but we are both trying our best to remember the reason for the season and start a few of our own traditions. Although the temperature outside never dips below 78, it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas inside our home with the help of Christmas lights and cinnamon and Christmas cookie flavored candles. I was telling Jarrett that I think this is the most festive our house has ever been, and I love it. I'm looking forward to many more nights spent watching Christmas movies, sipping a glass of wine, and watching the twinkling lights on the tree with my husband curled up beside me. The only thing better would be to have the rest of our families sitting alongside us. Maybe next year!

My little bee

It all began over 20 years ago when little Katie moved into the house across the street from me in Florida. An extraordinary friendship began to grow and has bloomed into something neither of our families could have imagined. We did everything together from the moment we met when we were toddlers. Everything from running through the sprinklers, knocking teeth out on the slip and slide, being human tornados that left nothing unturned, riding Thunder Mountain at Disney World, and eating Mimi's mac and cheese until our bellies popped. Katie is the sister that I never had. We often joked and still do that we were born to the wrong mothers. Katie is the wild and crazy one like my mom and i am the more conservative, quiet one like her mom. When my family decided to move to California when I was 7, it was decided that we would continue to see each other. Actually, I don't even know if we discussed visiting each other; it was more like an unspoken understanding that our friendship was more than just a simple friendship and it would continue no matter what. From the time I was 8 years old, I would pack up my bags, hop on a plane by myself, and make the trek out to Florida to see my little Katie. (I say little even though she is older than me. But she is just so cute and petite!) Every summer, we would take trips together whether it was to North Carolina, the Grand Canyon, or New York City. Despite the length of the country between us, Katie and I have managed to be at every important occasion whether it was her high school graduation, my high school graduation, or my wedding. We are there for each other.

I mention our story because I am asking for prayer. Prayer for my little bee, my sister, my hero. See Katie had a kidney transplant when she was two. Unfortunately, her kidney began to fail a little over two years ago and she has been on dialysis for the same duration. Dialysis is an incredibly exhausting procedure but it doesn't stop Katie. About six months ago, the doctors decided that Katie is also in need of a liver transplant. The past few years have been an exhausting, emotional journey for Katie but we are rejoicing that there is almost a light at the end of the tunnel. Katie is currently number 1 on the transplant list. I pray that anyone reading this would pray for Katie. Prayer in numbers is a powerful thing and I have incredible faith that the long awaited phone call will arrive any day now. She has been so patient and faithful. Please help me in praying for my dear Katie. Also, please pray that when we do receive the phone call, that I would be able to make it home to be with her. Not even the distance of half the world will keep me from being there. :-)
I think this picture was from spring '07
Here is Katie dancing with my dad at my wedding.
My two favorite ladies. Katie and my mom.
Katie was my maid of honor.