So much to be thankful for...

So the trend on Facebook yesterday was making lists of things that you are thankful for. And I have to admit that I kind of like the idea. So here is what I am thankful for this year, in no particular order.

1. The fact that I am alive to celebrate this holiday. I am breathing fresh air, I am sitting here surrounded by family and amazing food. It is truly a privilege to be alive.

2. My husband. I could not have asked for someone better to spend this life with.

3. My family. I wouldn't be who I am without them.

4. My education. Not just what I learned, but the experiences I had while I was there. I wouldn't trade those people or those memories for anything in the world.

5. Skype. And its amazing ability to keep me connected with the people that I love so dearly. Especially today.

6. Christmas Music. Enough said.

7. My grandpa's homemade cheesecake. There's nothing like it.

8. My artistic ability. Being able to express myself the way that I can truly helps me to be a better person and I will always be thankful for that.

9. My teachers. Past. Present. and Future. The way that you all have shaped my life is irreplaceable.

10. Fruit Snacks. Thats all.

11. Traditions. Old and New.

12. My wedding pictures. Those memories can never be replaced.

13. My sisters. I've always wanted a sister. Now I have three. How could I ask for more?

14. Friends. Each of their beautiful faces will forever stay in my mind.

15. Cold weather. Hats and scarves.

16. The first snow fall of the year. There's just something so magical about it.

17. The Gilmore Girls. My little piece of home while Im away.

18. Falling asleep to the sound of rain.

19. Sharing everything with Nic.

20. Music. And its ability to say the things that I can't.

21. History. All that it has taught us and all that it will repeat in the future.

22. Hearing I love you. My heart melts every time.

23. Christmas. All things Christmas.

24. The mall at Christmas time. There's nothing like shopping at Christmas.

25. Elf. Its not Christmas without it.

26. Hot Cocoa and all that comes with it.

27. A beautiful home to live in. Its more than I could have ever asked for.

28. Technology and its ability to keep me connected to everyone that I love so much.

29. Pictures. There are so many memories that I would never want to lose and pictures hold those memories close forever.

30. Rainbows and the promise they hold.

31. My job. Frustrating as it can be, Im thankful for it.

32. The sound the jelly jar makes when its opened for the first time.

33. Quality time with the people that I love.

34. Chapstick.

35. Overly soft pillows and the way they seem to hug your head.

36. Hearing Nic sing when he thinks no one is listening.

37. Finding Nemo.

38. Having faith to believe that better days are ahead.

39. Winter hats.

40. Laughter. Its freeing.

41. Baby feet. Weird as it sounds... they are the cutest thing in the world.

42. Butterflies. There is freedom in their movement.

43. Traveling. New places. Meeting new faces.

44. Long walks.

45. Talking about things that matter.

46. Lace. Its intricate beauty.

47. The way that water moves.

48. Watching the stars.

49. The sound of saying hello for the first time.

50. The fact that Jesus loved me enough to save me, when I don't deserve it.

Thats my top 50. There are so many more I could list. But this time of year always makes me think of what is important in life. Being close to the ones we love, because we aren't sure how many more tomorrow's we will have. This is truly the most wonderful time of the year.

I hope you have enjoyed this Morris Moment... until next time.

Let the Holidays Begin.

So the last few weeks have been eventful in the Morris house. Getting ready for the holidays. Celebrating fall. Marine Corps stuff. Its been eventful to say the least. So I shall now summarize the last few weeks in as few words as possible. But with me... there's no short version. So here goes...

To start off, we had a costume party at the Morris casa. The first of the parties to be thrown here. And it went splendidly... if I do say so myself. Games... good food... lots of talking. And our costumes were pretty freaking fantastic. Here's the story of how the nerds came to be. Nic and I are newly married. Therefore, there is not an over abundance of money at the end of the month. So we were searching for something cheap and reasonable to make. We went to Qdoba for dinner that night and searched pinterest on my phone for an idea. Lots of dumb ones led to this one. And it only cost us about $15 to make in its entirety. We spent all night working on it. And when I say all night... I mean all night. We went to bed around 4:45am. But it was so worth it. The final product is displayed below :)

Next big thing in the Morris household was shopping for Christmas decorations. We were super smart and we saved some of our gift cards from my bridal shower, so Christmas in its entirety only cost us $15 of our own money. Which was amazing. We bought tons of ornaments and we got the cutest stockings. Im so freaking excited. The pictures of the fantasticness of Christmas in the Morris house will appear post Thanksgiving when they take their place around the house. 

The Marine Corps Ball. Freaking fantastic this year. Which was a pleasant surprise. Last year, we left by 8:30, rented a movie and spent the night eating junk food in front of the tv. This year we got all dolled up, went on a mad dash to base to get one last uniform item that I am pretty sure the tailor failed to replace, an awkward non drinking cocktail hour haha, and then a pretty awesome presentation and dinner. The guest speaker spent quite a bit of time talking about the sacrifice that military families make and it was really interesting to think about. Everyone thinks about the sacrifices that the military men and woman make. But the sacrifice that the families make it is just as great. I teach so many little girls at work that their dads are gone for  a year or more at a time And they put on the prettiest little smiles but it is so obvious that it is killing them inside. A little piece of their heart is missing. After the presentation, we got to eat a dinner that was significantly better than last year and then I got to enjoy several drunk Marines doing the Gangum style dance for the whole world to see. Highlight of my night. Nic and I left out earlier than most, but significantly later than last year, avoiding the drunken Marines driving to their next location, and came home and enjoyed some of our shows on Netflix. Overall it was a pretty great night :)

So thats the latest happenings in the Morris house. Getting ready for the drive to PA next week for Thanksgiving with the Cyprowski/Meny clan. I cant wait to see everyone. This will be my first time home since our casual reception in August so to say that I am looking forward to it would be an understatement.

I hope you have enjoyed this Morris Moment. Until next time...

Welcome... Please come in to our little home.

So quite a few people have said that I have blogged about everything but our home. And since most people will never get to come over for dinner and get their tour in person, I took some pictures and I will give you your tour virtually lol.

Nic and I ended up in a simple two bedroom two bath apartment not far from either of our work places. Its taken a few months to get things in order and to add things that I really wanted, but we are getting there. This weekend we added our wedding wall to our dining room, and we are going to do some other things with the pictures in the living room, cause it just kinda feels like too many frames. But its a work in progress. Hope you enjoy your tour :)

First up we have the living room. We have our TV/make-shift entertainment center, our ode to Sheldon Cooper with the signs from our wedding, and our wonderful couch that my parents bought us as our wedding present along with our epic picture of London.

Our dining room is simple but awesome. The curtains were actually mine from college, the table we bought because of its level of awesomeness, and the wedding wall is our newest addition that we have been saving for. The canvas was our gift from the Yentzers and the frames we already had. We tried to capture every moment that was important to us.

Our kitchen is just a kitchen. The aprons on the door are my favorite part, I change them out with the appropriate season or holiday. 

Our bedroom is my favorite part of the house. Its super cute. Our bed has tons of pillows, which is the most amazing part. And our bedroom set is pretty rockstar as well. Our next project is some kind of something for above the bed. That wall is just kind of bare and it needs something. 

And thats the gist of our home. We have bathrooms and a spare bedroom, but its nothing festive. haha So I hope you enjoyed your tour of the Morris Casa. It was a pleasure having you :)

Hope you enjoyed this Morris Moment... Until next time. 

And so begins the most wonderful time of the year...

This was one incredible weekend. I think this might actually have been the first free weekend, with no trips, drills or prior major commitments since we have been married and I must say that I really enjoyed it. So here is our Fall Date Day weekend in snapshots.

Saturday we slept in as late as we wanted to, which basically means we slept until I woke up and then jumped on Nic and woke him up. We got up, had cereal, got ready and made our way to Brookedale Farms Pumpkin Patch. Here are the pictures we took while sitting in the traffic waiting for the drawbridge to close :)

Holy canoli this place is so much fun. You trade in your keys for a pair of sheers and then you make your way through the patch looking for the perfect pumpkin to cut off the vine. And because we are who we are, we made our way up and down every lane looking for the perfect one. My personal favorite part of this pumpkin patch? The twin boys that picked up every pumpkin they saw and screamed "Its perfect!!! Its the perfect pumpkin!!!!" Oh man. We had some laughs about that one. Here's where we spent our Saturday.

We scoured the field and ended up with two pretty perfect pumpkins. It took many failed attempts at finding the right ones to finally land the big ones. The ones we had been waiting for. And we found them, let me tell you, we found them. Here are a few of the ones that we felt some connection to but didnt end up making the cut. 

After much deliberation and kicking a few pumpkins in the process, hehe, we finally ended up with the perfect pumpkins. Whom we affectionately named the Finkelsteins. Herman (my big guy's name), Henrietta (the one that Nic surprised me with a few weeks back, who already sits on our porch), and Harvey (Nic's nice little guy). Here's a picture of us with the winning pumpkin patch portion of our little pumpkin family.

Post pumpkin picking, you had the option to take a hayride around the farms, do the corn maze, enjoy the pumpkin playground or wait in line to weigh your pumpkin and enjoy the man canning popcorn, the Mennonite jellies, jams, syrups and salsa, which we bought one of, or pick out some smaller gourds and pumpkins.  We chose to just wait in line and ended up choosing a Mennonite syrup, Apple Cinnamon to be exact, and then weighed our pumpkins and headed back to the car. On the way home we had lunch at our favorite hole in the wall mexican place, helped our lovely friend Tianna move her new couch upstairs (always an adventure with the Yentzers :)), followed by some thrifting in the highest of standards (we landed our awkward Christmas sweaters in October, for the win!), some Marine Corps Ball dress shopping (still havent found a winner yet), and then came home and settled in for the night. Dinner was a festive part of the perfect fall date day as well!. We made pancakes to have with our fancy new syrup, and Nic, being the biscuit fanatic that he is, made pumpkin shaped biscuits to go with our fall themed day.

We watched It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! and called that the perfect end to our perfect day. It really was a great Saturday. Sunday wasnt so bad either. Our day ended with heading to Wal*Mart to price Christmas trees, and we ended up at the beach to look at the stars for a while. Then we actually went to Wal*Mart and made our way home, talked and reminisced about college for a while, and eventually ended the evening with pizza and The Incredibles in honor of our first date night over two years ago. It truly was the perfect married weekend. I had so much fun. I only hope that next weekend can top it. Not sure how it could. But Im sure... in some way shape or form... that it could. It will just take some careful planning and a whole lot of time spent together. 

I hope that you have enjoyed this Morris Moment, and here's to the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year... 

31 days until Thanksgiving, and getting to see my family for the first time in 3 months! :)

And 63 days until Christmas!!

Until next time...

So here's the latest...

So its been a little while since I've enlightened the world with my brilliance, so I figured since my house is clean, Nic's favorite corn muffins are in the oven, he is still on base and the reds are in the dryer, I would share the latest happenings in the Morris household. 

First, I have learned something about being married. I love sharing a closet with a boy. Now don't get me wrong, sharing a closet with Beka was brilliant because we just so happened to be the exact same size in everything so it meant that we both had twice the size of a wardrobe than we did when we moved in, but I look darn cute in a good bit of Nic's clothes. And seeing as baggy oversized clothes are very in right now, I am right on point there. And holy crap are they comfortable. His cardigans may just be my new favorite thing in the whole world, aside from him of course. His clothes are just one of the perks. 

BEKA IS ENGAGED!!!!! That is new and recent and wonderful in every way! I do recall her and I laughing during roommate bonding time last summer when we were talking about what we were gunna do after we graduated and I said that I would bet any amount of money that she would meet someone and get married shortly after Nic and I. Pay up Beka haha. I was completely right. I am so looking forward to sharing this amazing time in her life with her. I couldnt be happier or more honored to stand next her that day. It is sure to be beautiful. Beka was there to help with all of the insanity of planing our wedding and was standing with me that day, so to get to the same for her is a wonderful thing in every way. Here is a picture of our brilliance just to remind those of you who know her, and to give those of you who dont a frame of reference as to who this lovely individual is. 

Last weekend Nic and I made the 15 hour drive to Memphis, Tennessee to celebrate Grandma Vernita's  87th birthday. Normally, that wouldnt be any kind of surprise, seeing as we would do absolutely anything for our families, but the fun part was that no one knew that we were coming. Hehe we are sneaky. Okay, well actually Honey knew, but she kept our secret very well. So we hit the road on Thursday night around 8:30 when I got off of work and made the drive through the night to lovely Tennessee. We arrived shortly after 10:00am their time and instantly fell asleep haha. Once we took a lovely 4 hour nap, we began the hunt for Nic's mom and Desi. And let me tell you. Those two were not easy to track down. We were trying to not ruin the surprise, but we could not get them to tell us where they were. Finally, we enlisted the help of Uncle Mike. He didnt know we were there, but we needed help. So Uncle Mike tracked down their exact whereabouts and we made a mad dash for the Backyard Burger in Olive Branch. We ninja rolled our way into the restaurant, okay, not really, we walked in, but still we felt like ninjas, and we asked if anyone was sitting with them and then the screaming and hugging began haha. It just happened to be Marme's birthday, we didnt bring a gift, that was my fault, but I think we were a pretty good substitute to a card and a candle haha. We spent the next two days celebrating. We baked a cake for Grandma, hot tubbed with the cousins and my new sisters and we just loved on Grandma for a few days. Her reaction to us being there was just the sweetest thing. It truly made the drive worth it. She is a precious individual. We got to watch our wedding video with her which was awesome because she wasnt able to be there. And it was just truly an awesome time spent with family. This was the first time that I was there because I was family. I wasnt just Nic's girlfriend anymore, and I really really loved that. It was awesome to just get to be a Morris. It really meant the world to me. Here are a few pictures to catalog this trip

This week has just been bill paying, house cleaning and working. This is my favorite time of year. The smell of it. The crispness in the air. The change of the seasons. It makes me want to watch high school football. I love it so much. Im a little bummed because Im missing the Pumpkin Festival going on at home right now, but thats okay. Next year maybe. The look on everyone's faces when we walked in last weekend was worth more than the festival any day. I wouldnt trade those memories for anything.

And I think thats it. I gotta go get Nic's muffins out of the oven, so I hope that you have enjoyed this Morris Moment. Until next time...

Family... its just one of those things...

So today's post is another one of those just because posts. But its something thats been on my mind a lot lately. So I figured I would share it with the world. Or at least the very small portion of the world that actually reads what I write on here. And if no one happens to read this one, then at least I have it written down that years from now I can flip back through my blog and find this post and remember exactly what God was showing me at this time in my life.

Lately, I've been thinking about family. And what it truly means to be a family. Ive recently inherited a new family, whom I love very very much, and I treasure the time that I get to spend with them because we are becoming a family. We are learning the ins and outs of each other's lives. Whether its through an intense game of 20 questions via facebook messages, or over the phone exchanging vegan recipes, or roadtrips to visit Marme and Mr. Ray :) getting to know them is some kind of crazy journey for me. Because not only am I getting to know them, but they are getting to know me. And being the shy, quiet person that I am, its a whole new kind of balance, remembering to be myself and let them see who I truly am, while getting to know them. So for this new family of mine, being a family means time. It means getting to know one another on a truly deep and personal level. It means learning to love someone from the inside out. And it is one incredible journey.

And then there is my family. The ones that I have known my entire life and have never truly had to get to know because they are the ones that have helped me to become who I am today. Now Im not just talking about my immediate family. Mama, Daddy, Jonathan. While they are incredible and they are the very foundation of who I am, Im also talking my extended family. The Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents, the ones that make life interesting. As I sat here this afternoon watching the rough cut of our wedding video for about the thousandth time, I really began to think about my family and what we have gone through over the years. There's a particular shot in this video where you see my dad and I walking down the aisle from the side and as the camera follows us down the aisle you can see all of my extended family pass by one by one. Aunt Kitty, Uncle Bob, Aunt Shirley, Jenna, Aunt JoLynn. All the cousins. Fairy Godmother. They are all there. And with each one that passed by I caught myself watching them instead of my dad and I. And with each face there was string of memories that ran through my mind along with it. Holidays, Birthdays, Graduations, other weddings, Christmas Eve's. The bad times ran through my mind as well. The times when family didn't really make sense to me. The times when I wasnt sure what I had done wrong, but I knew that something just wasnt right. The family arguments of stupid stuff that no one should truly care about because all of us knows that if we woke up tomorrow and one of us was gone our lives would never be the same. I began to think about how we hold each other together. I remembered the day that my Aunt Kitty looked me in eyes for the very first time and told me she loved me, and I knew that she actually meant it. I remembered doing gymnastics shows in Grandma Mary's living room with Krista and feeling so unbelievably important because she asked me to play with her. I saw Uncle Kevin and missed him so much my heart could hardly stand it. I miss seeing him smile. I remember Aunt JoLynn showing up for my football games to watch me cheer. How my Aunt Shirley baked dozens of cookies for my wedding. How every one of those family members drove 8 hours to see me get married. How my cousin Danielle looked me in the eyes during my bridal dance and told me that she was proud of me. That my cousin Michelle looked at me during that same bridal dance and told me that I lived a life I should be proud of because not many girls could truly stand there that day wearing white and deserve to do so. If she only knew that I made it that far in my life because of her. I remembered playing house with both of them in my playroom with I was about 7, and wondered where the time went. I looked at Jackie, and the memories couldn't stop. Making my costumes for my musicals, keeping me at your house for 10 days while my brother was in the hospital, showing up for everything important in my life. Walking into the bridal room that morning and signing the inside of my shoe because she remembered that at one time she had seen me post something on facebook about having my bridal party sign my shoe. Showing up for my second reception with a three tier cake, and a memory box birthday present full of stuff she had collected from our wedding. I looked at my dad with that broken little smile on his face and made him promise me that he would always be home. That no matter how much things were changing, that I could still always call him daddy, crawl up in his lap and know I was safe.  I looked at my brother and our lives flashed before my eyes. The fights, the play times, the Christmas mornings of waking mom and dad up at 4 am only to be told to go back to bed. I looked at him and myself and was in awe of who we had become. Who I had become because of him. And I looked at my Mama. That incredible woman who has given up everything she ever wanted or dreamed of so that I could have. I looked at my best friend and I had never been more grateful for the fact that when I look in the mirror each day I see a reflection of her staring back at me.... And as I sit here today pouring through these memories in my mind, I can honestly say that I know what it means to have a family. One that isn't perfect. One that has it's flaws. One that fights over stupid stuff. One that cries together, One that laughs together. We are a bit of a mess sometimes, but we have something so incredible special. We are a family. And that is one thing that can never ever be taken from us. No matter where this life takes me. No matter where we all end up, I know where my home is. I know that I will always have a safe place to go back to. Because of these people I know who I am.

Family is just one of those things that can never be truly defined. It has to be felt. It has to be learned. It has to be home. And I have that. So today... Im thankful for my family. or Families I should say. And for the fact that God loves me enough to allow these amazing people to love me. I am truly a blessed person.

I hope you've enjoyed this Morris Moment... until next time.

The little things...

So tonight's post has nothing to do with anything significant. Or anything specific. Its simply taking a moment to be thankful, for the little things. Being thankful for an amazing job, with some amazing people, doing something I love to do. For an amazing place to call our home, and more love to fill it than I thought possible. For a family that loves me unconditionally and is willing to help me adjust to this new crazy time in my life. Being unbelievably thankful for the fact that the Steelers played on NBC tonight and its one of the few channels that we get on our TV. It brings a little piece of home here. For Jason's Deli that fed us healthy food tonight. For a husband that loves me. Who falls asleep on the beaver tail in the living room and talks in his sleep. Who walks to farm fresh for something fun to do together for some healthy snacks for the football game. Who works so hard to provide for me and give me the best life possible. I am blessed in more ways than I can count.

So be thankful tonight. Because no matter how stressed you are, how rough life seems, and how hard you feel like you are fighting, there is always something to be thankful for. No matter how small it may seem. Its worth being thankful for and cherishing. I heard a quote the other day that really struck home with me. It said something along the lines of "What if we woke up tomorrow with only the things that we thanked God for today." And it occurred to me that I couldn't remember the last time I had just stopped and thanked God for what he had given me. So tonight... Im thankful for the little things. For all that I have, and all that God has blessed me with. I live a beautiful life.