The end of an era

Well, we are officially done with our obligations to Clemson Football. Saturday night was the football banquet where all of the seniors were honored and awards were given. I did my best and didn't even shed a single tear! All the seniors looked exceptionally handsome in their tuxedos as they sat on stage. Thomas got some impressive awards, including some strength award I totally wasn't expecting him to get and I wasn't even listening when they announced it. It is bittersweet to be finished with Clemson. We have loved our time here and have grown so much thanks to some amazing people the Lord has placed in our lives. However, we're excited about our next step and seeing where the Lord takes us! Congrats to my sweet husband for all his hard work for the past 5 years. 

Here he is with beloved Coach Scott, his offensive line coach for the past 5 years.  He has done so much for us and we are eternally grateful.    

                          

                                                       

In other news, we went into New York City while visiting Thomas' family. We ended up spending our last night with some friends of Thomas' parents who live within walking distance to downtown in a lovely town house. It was such a treat! We did have to sleep in these hilarious twin beds and I told Thomas not to sit on anything but the bed as all the other furniture were antiques and didn't look able to hold 310 pounds.                  

                                                  

We had a wonderful dinner at Docks on Third Avenue. Afterwards, our host asked us if we'd like a quick tour of Rockefeller Center and the surrounding area. "Quick" turned into an hour as he and Thomas walked entirely too fast for me to keep up and became engrossed in historical chatter while I got blisters from my shoes and the wind whipped right through my outfit in the single digit wind chill. BUT, it was all very interesting and it was fun to see the skating rink and the lights of the Rockefeller tree, and I guess I had a good time learning historical facts about NYC.

                                                          

More photos of Christmas festivities

It is in times like this when Thomas and Ben were wrestling in the hallway of the hotel that I question the reality of my life. Is this normal?? Who did I marry?!
More lights at the hotel. This picture makes me really happy because it sums up our Christmas: although spending it at a hotel in Nashville wasn't ideal, it sure was fun!
It was SO COLD at the game, but my sweet Aunt Nancy and her faithful friend Nanette still came to the game and were a blast to be with! THANK YOU Nancy and Nanette!
Post-game happiness! 
After the bowl game we drove to York to spend a few hours with my family, then woke up at 4am Tuesday morning and flew to West Point, NY to spend a week with Thomas' family. It has been such a blast! His parents are working with Officers of Christian Fellowship and live in a HUGE 9 bedroom home in Highland Falls. It is cozy and very bed & breakfasty. All of the siblings except for Jenn are here (Jenn, Russell and Baby Foxworth: we miss you!) and every bedroom is full. Some of us went skiing one day and we had to leave my niece Skylar with Thomas. The photo above was what her diaper looked like when we got back. Thomas said he had to take her tights off because she wet those too. He CLAIMED he changed her diaper once while we were gone, but we aren't so sure.....
This is my lovely sister-in-law Keri. She put a really bad picture of me on her blog, so I am entitled to post this picture. She literally BEGGED me to make chocolate ganache on New Years Eve, and I obliged. This was her fleece in the aftermath of us dipping anything we could find into the ganache. And it was sooooo, sooooo good. And easy to make: boil 1/2 cup whipping cream, (yes, boil it) and add 1 cup chocolate chips. Turn the heat off and let the chocolate chips and whipping cream stand for 5 minutes. Do NOT touch it. After 5 minutes, whisk until creamy and WA-LAH! You have ooey, gooey goodness that you can use for icing things and/or dipping. 
And here we are celebrating the New Year. This is the first time we've been WITH each other at 12:00 am on January 1st! I was very excited and wore my special tiara the entire evening, much to everyone else's chagrin. Happy 2010 everyone!