Our time in NY is almost over. We have had a wonderful time! The Christmas Eve Service at church was meaningful, and it was fun to get to play one of my Christmas pieces. Christmas Eve with my extended family was super fun, as usual. We stayed up late playing games and eating lots of delicious food and opening presents and doing a lot of laughing. I think my grandparents get funnier every year!
Christmas morning we slept in til 9:30, then had a big breakfast with the usual (my fam, granda and nanny) and miriam, which was fun. Then we opened stockings and presents and spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching the snow melt. With all the snow storms they had before we got here, it was amazing how fast the snow could melt with a couple warm days. But we got a pseudo-white Christmas. :) The snow is completely gone now.

The last couple days have been full of seeing as many people as possible. We played games with the Hoyts, I had breakfast with Katie and Emily, went roller skating with Nate and Miriam (I definitely didn't realize what bad shape my legs are in), we just had Mia's pizza with Cathy and Kenan, later we are going to a game night at the Chapmans, we saw lots of people at church, had our picture taken by Scott and Joan... it has been busy, busy, busy, but so much fun. We are heading out tomorrow afternoon. I don't know if I'm quite ready to go yet. I don't think I have ever really been ready to leave.

We will spend tomorrow evening in PA with Grandma (really glad it is on the way - breaks up the trip a bit and it's always good to see Grandma) and head on to NC on Tuesday. 2 weeks of vacation sure goes by quickly. That seems to be true of life in general these days.

So yesterday was our 3 year anniversary! As usual, we didn't plan to do much, since Christmas is coming up and we are doing a lot of traveling, but Charles said he had something planned and wouldn't tell me what it was. (He very rarely can keep surprises, and I was impressed because I had no clue.) So I got out of work and he got dressed up and we got in the boat of a car we are borrowing (ours is STILL in the shop)and he started driving. No GPS, no directions, no nothing. (This made me nervous because it took Charles awhile to find his way to Nicholasville.) And then he kept saying he wasn't sure where it was.
He drove all the way downtown and we parked in a parking garage and I STILL didn't have a clue.

And then I realized I have the sweetest husband EVER. He took me to dinner at the Bigg Blue Martini, downtown. I said, quite a while back, that that is one place I really want to go before we leave KY. It's this really posh place with all glass windows that looks over the park and the fountains downtown. And last night was beautiful because everything was lit up with Christmas lights! And we had a lovely candlelit dinner, with amazing food and drinks, and we had the restaurant all to ourselves, minus a couple men at the bar when we first came in. It was so so so sweet. We had a little bit of an adventure when we were leaving the parking garage because they only took cash, but we managed to scrounge up $2.00 (which included many pennies) so it ended well. Being stuck in a parking garage all night would NOT have been my idea of romantic.
And then we went home and put on comfy clothes and snuggled and watched Wall-E (which we both wanted to see - and both liked) and ate York Peppermint Patties (which he surprised me with) because they are my favorite! It was such a great night! And then we went to bed early because we were both zonked. We have been staying up too late this week.

So this is the 3rd anniversary that Charles has planned and, once again, it was a success! 3 good years of marriage and 3 good anniversaries! We are on a roll! :)
And every year marriage gets better and better!!

I love you, Charles! I'm glad I married you!

A
- Available: nope. Been unavailable for 3 years from today! ;)
- Age: 25
- Annoyance: People who leave their shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot. Walk the 4 steps and put it away, for pete’s sake.
- Animal: Dogs. Big ones. Love them!
B
- Beer: Don’t like it. It always tastes like apples and vinegar to me.
- Birthday: June 26
- Best Friend: Katie. Miss her so much. Wish I was better at keeping in touch.
- Body Part on opposite sex: I hate questions like this. I’m a big fan of eyes on anybody.
- Best feeling in the world: Taking off in an airplane
- Blind or Deaf: Deaf
- Best weather: When it is not too hot, or too cold but the sun is shining and you can sit outside under a tree on a blanket and read a book!
- Been in Love: Yes. Still am. And still learning how to really love someone.
- Been on stage?: Yes, many times. I hate the nerves before hand, but love the rush of performing.
- Believe in Magic: I don’t know.
- Believe in Santa: Nope. Never did. I was that jerk kid on the bus that told everyone Santa wasn’t real.
C
- Candy: York Peppermint Patty or 100 Grand bars.
- Chocolate/Vanilla: Definitely chocolate.
- Chinese/Mexican: Love them both
- Cake or pie: Pie – especially mom’s strawberry rhubarb. Yummmmm!
- Continent to visit: Africa. Already been to North America (obviously), Europe, Asia (sort-of – middle east), and Australia
- Cheese: All of it and lots of it!
D
- Day or Night: Night. Although with my work schedule that has to change.
- Dance in the rain: It depends on if I am headed somewhere where I can’t look like a drowned rat.
E
- Eyes: Brownish greenish.
- Everyone's got a(n): a nose.
- Ever failed a class?: No. Came close to failing a math class in high school.
- Full name: Cherith Ann (Reynolds) Meeks
- First thoughts waking up: Is there any possible way I can NOT go to work today and sleep for a couple more hours?
- Greatest Fear: Not being in control? Spiders? I dunno.
- Goals: Really trust god
- Gum: something fruity. Probably Orbit Pomegranate!
- Get along with your parents?: Absolutely – they are the greatest!
- Good luck charm: don’t believe in luck.
H
- Hair Color: blond. Getting some dark roots, though.
- Height: 5’5”
- Happy: Usually!
- Holiday: Christmas – love the reason for the season and all my family’s traditions
- How do you want to die: mmm… either in my sleep when I’m old (but not TOO old) or in an accident where it happens really fast.
- Ice Cream: Edy’s Double Fudge Brownie.
- Instrument: Piano. Can’t live without it.
J
-Jewelry: Always my wedding rings and earrings, and I have a long neck so I usually try to wear some sort of necklace to help make it look not quite so giraffe-like.
- Job: In my heart I’m a composer. To pay the bills I am a Financial Aid Consultant.
- Kids: None yet. It will probably be a couple more year.
- Kickboxing or karate: Kickboxing. Did it in high school. Good for anger management.
- Keep a journal?: No – I try to but I stink at it.
- Longest Car Ride: I don’t know. Probably to New Brunswick, however far that is from NY.
- Love: Yes.
- Letter: Um, I don’t really know. My favorite to write is a capital F
- Laughed so hard you cried: Sometimes… happened not too long ago, actually.
M
- Milk flavor: pink!
- Movies: Like a lot of them.
- Motion sickness?: Sometimes. That’s partly why I like to drive.
- McD’s or BK: Neither. I’m a Wendys or Taco Bell girl.
- Number of Siblings: 1 – the best brother EVER!
- Number of Piercings: 4 total – 2 in each ear.
- Number: Odd numbers.
O
- One wish: If I tell you it won’t come true.
P
- Perfect Pizza: oohh… Macchiato’s Margherita Pizza in Sydney. And maybe put some spinach on it! Or Pepperoni and Mushroom!
- Pepsi/Coke: Don’t like soda. Unless it’s Coke with some Maple flavoring! ;)
Q
- Quote: My soul is restless until it rests in thee
R
- Reason to cry: happiness
- Reality TV Show: Can’t stand any of them.
- Radio Station: Don’t listen to the radio except around Christmastime.
- Roll your tongue in a circle?: Can’t do anything fun like that. I can’t even wink.
- Ring size: 4 ½.
S
- Song right now: Just a little tune going through my head. There is always music in my head – usually original.
- Shoe size: 6 1/2
- Salad Dressing: If there is cottage cheese on the salad then Italian. If not, Ranch.
- Sushi: yuck. Can’t do it.
- Skipped school: Lots in college. I think I missed 16 8am classes one semester. And I still managed to get an A because the prof was a tool and taught the same exact class 4 classes in a row.
- Slept outside: Not in a long time.
- Smoked?: Nope. Never.
- Skinny dipped?: Yes.
- Sing well?: Decently well. I love to sing!
- In the shower?: Yes
- Swear?: Try not to. Sometimes it just slips out.
- Strawberries/Blueberries: Strawberries.

T
- Time for bed: During the week, between 10:30 and 11:30. On the weekends, between 1-3am.
- Thunderstorms: Love them!
U
- Unpredictable: I don’t know. Ask someone who knows me.
V
- Vacation spot: Somewhere warm, with a great view, and somewhere to hike!
W
- Weakness: Too many. Probably one of my biggest would be my temper.
- Which one of your friends acts the most like you: I don’t think any of them do. That’s probably why they are my friends!
- Who makes you laugh the most: Charles.
- Worst feeling: Worthlessness.
- Wanted to be a model?: No. My legs are too short.
- Where do we go when we die?: Who knows – purgatory, soul sleep, paradise, heaven??? We’ll find out when we die.
- Worst Weather?: Ice and cold. Yuck.
X
-X-Ray[s]: Pretty cool, but expensive.
Y
-Best Year: In my life? 2004 was a pretty good year! 1996 was a lot of fun, too!
-Yellow: makes me think of the sun, which I like, but also makes me think of the ugly countertops we had in our Kitchen in Oz, which I didn’t like.
Z
- Zoo animal: Polar Bear. Especially the retarded one at the Asheville Zoo in NC.

Well I hope that kept you entertained, feel free to post this as your own as I would like to know more about each and everyone one of you.

I'm trying. This will be a true test of how much I actually do.

Last night was our "Christmas Cookie Decorating" at the AWC. I forgot when I planned the event that I would end up making 120 cookies all by myself. But it ended up being not so bad. I got all the cookies and frosting made in time, and we had a good turn out. People were so relaxed and lingered a long time. Probably because no one was stressed about finals. And there were SO MANY babies and kids there. Sheesh. Wesleyans sure know how to procreate. So all in all, the 4 events I have planned so far have all been a big success! 

This weekend was full of food and fun!

Our party on Friday was so much fun. We had tons of super good food and lots of laughs! We stayed up playing games til around 2am!

Saturday was Christmas in Wilmore so I got up and went to the craft fair, then deep cleaned my whole house. After dinner, Kate, Robert, Charles and I went downtown for the refreshments and then Charles went to a friend's house to play video games all night and Kate and I had a SLEEPOVER! :) We stayed up til 3:30 talking and watching old episodes of The Office and snacking! It was so much fun! And apparently I was really zonked and sleeping very soundly because I kept talking in my sleep and trying to play footsie with Kate. Oops! :)

Sunday we slept in and then I vegged all day. In the evening my friend Eileen came over and we went to the Advent Candle lighting service and then drank hot cocoa and chatted until it was time for bed!

What a great weekend!
Kate leaves for Canada on Wednesday morning, which will be sad for me. :( But only 2 1/2 more weeks and then I get to go home! Woohoo! :)

This week has gone by very quickly for how little I have had to do. And my evenings went very quickly, and I didn't get near as many things done as I needed. Tomorrow I have a long list of cleaning and such that needs to be done. Tomorrow is also the beginning of Christmas in Wilmore.

And tonight is the start of all the christmas parties. I feel like I haven't even digested Thanksgiving yet and already the Christmas fun begins! The first Christmas party of 7. (I may be buying new pants for New Years!) :D Tonight we are hanging out with Shane and Aimee, Robert and Kate, Natalie and Tab, Katie and Richard and eating lots of spectacular food! I still have to go shopping, since last night I had to work until 7pm and had a meeting at the AWC at 8.

I've also been continuing to arrange Christmas music. Not sure why exactly. I'm not playing it for anyone but me. But it's still nice to have something different to play!

With that, it's time to go eat (a small) lunch!

Last night Kate came over to watch Fringe and brought dessert with her. And I mean serious dessert. We had brownies and chocolate chip ice cream AND oreo ice cream cake and Coke with maple flavoring. So we indulged and I'm sure our blood sugar was through the roof but it was SO tasty! :)

Before she got out of work I went over to visit and she was babysitting. (She was technically working the desk, but the sitter didn't show so she got stuck with 3 kids.) So I stayed and played with them. They were the 3 nicest girls ever. 4, 2, and 10 months. If kids were that well behaved all the time, raising kids would be easy! :) We had fun, though. I played soccer with the oldest and we made "tea" and drank out of fancy starbucks-style cups.

Also, yesterday I got out all the Christmas stuff out of storage. I put up and decorated the tree (I hate not having a real tree, but this one fits in the apartment and I actually have a good corner for it this year), and hung christmas lights over the pipes so they don't look so awful. The only thing that didn't go up was the stockings because I can't remember where we hung them last year or HOW we hung them. So I will have to figure that out. And then I turned off all the lights and arranged Christmas music! :) So much fun!

We just finished Thanksgiving and our Christmas parties start on Friday. Oh man. Maybe I need to get back into the gym this month.

Charles and I had a lovely Thanksgiving this year. My parents rented a "cabin" (it was actually a large log home - beautiful) in the mountains in VA, so they came down (with my brother - added treat!), we went over and Charles's parents came up from North Carolina and we all feasted together! It was a spectacular time! Mom and I got up and baked all morning - it is so fun cooking together - and Kacie brought her famous squash casserole!

We had good weather almost the whole time we were there. Chilly, but not too cold. We spent one day sitting out on the porch reading and overlooking the valley (amazing view) and playing horse shoes,we spent another day hiking and driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, we spent one day in Eden with friends and did a couple geocaches, and we spent the evenings knitting or reading in front of the fire, or playing darts, or watching movies. It was fun and relaxing and an amazing time.

The travel home was the most frustrating. We left late (which was okay because it was due to seeing friends and family), then we hit freezing rain, and then hit holiday traffic which backed us up over an hour, and then it poured all the way through the mts. in West VA. And it was dark and there were lots of semis and the roads were windy (and wet)... and I was pretty stressed but we made it through and eventually the rain stopped and we had a good trip home. Once we got here, Kate and Robert and Kate's cousins Brie and Jesse came over for a bit to say hello and see our apt (since Robert and Kate are hoping to move into Bette Morrison after they get married). And that was fun even though we were exhausted. So now we are both back at work. It's always hard to come back. But it's great knowing there is less than a month and we will be going home for Christmas and the fun will start all over again!

Before I go, every year I make a list of things I am thankful for. (I think every year they get less wordy - but that's okay. I'm probably getting busier.) So here is what I am thankful for in 2008.

* My salvation. This always has to go at the top of the list, even though I don't always act in a way which portrays my thankfulness. I tend to struggle with apathy when it comes to my salvation, but I am SO thankful that the Lord continues to call me back into intimate relationship with him. I'm thankful that He finds me worth pursuing!

* My husband. Every year marriage gets better and we get closer and he gets sweeter. I am so thankful that I married him. For he does sharpen me (as iron sharpens iron), and sometimes I get frustrated with that, but I know it's because he loves me. And he defends me and protects me and works so hard to be increasingly patient and loving towards me. And I love him! :)

* My family. They give and give and give - their love, their time, their money, their service... And they set an amazing example of what it means to be a solid, Christian family and to treat each other with love and respect. They do so much for people (especially Charles and I) that can easily be overlooked... but I see a lot of it and am so thankful for the way they raised me and the example they still set for me (and the wisdom they never cease to share with me).

* Charles's family. Again, I have been blessed to marry into such a kind family. They have accepted me as one of their own. And I am especially thankful for Robert and Kate (since she is family now)! It is amazing being able to spend this season of our lives together and not just be family, but also be friends! :) I never thought anyone could feel as much like family as my own family does, but they do!

* My extended family. Not everyone has the kind of close-knit extended family that I do. Not every family will "re-do" Christmas because you couldn't be home until New Years! Or travel all the way around the world to visit (with a suitcase packed full of gifts, nonetheless)! Not every family still keeps in touch with their cousins and aunts and uncles. I have a family that loves God and loves each other. They have taught me the importance of family and of community! I am abundantly blessed and not a day goes by that I am not thankful for the life I have had. I hope I am able to give my own children the same experience someday.

* St. Pats. That church continues to bless our socks off!

*All my friends. I know I am terrible about keeping in touch, but I am so thankful for my friends here in KY (Kate and Rob, Shane and Aimee, SWU house, honkey house), at home in NY (especially Kate and Emily and Kendra - who I rarely talk to but think of often and cherish!), and my friends around the world (the Midavaines, the Wrights, Dan and Jen, Claire, Steve and Heidi, Andrew and Kate...), my world has been touched (and blessed) by so many wonderful people and I am so thankful for them all!

* My job. Granted, it's not an easy one and it frustrates me to death sometimes, but it is teaching me patience, perseverence, character and compassion. (All of which I need.) And it is a steady job and a steady income during this economic craziness. So many people are losing jobs or can't find jobs and I have a secure job that provides for our needs. Also, and more than anything else, I am SO thankful for my colleagues who keep me sane when work could easily make me CRAZY! The are co-workers but also friends!

And I could go on and on because God's blessings are overflowing my life. But I really do need to get to work.
And since Thanksgiving is over and it is December 1st, I think I will put on some Christmas music! :)