The African Wall

Bethany got ambitious and "updated" our wall. We like to think of it as our "wall of the world". A friend got us that painting in Africa, and another friend got us one of those little animal statues from the Philippines.

Ok, that's all.

Sign Twirlers

I got a phone call from Bethany on Friday about something amazing, something extravagant. She was so excited about this that she had to call me and let me know. To my surprise, she wanted to talk about the "sign twirlers" that were working our local streets. Apparently, these guys are starting legitimate careers as sign twirlers. If you have no idea what these guys do, then be sure and google around for stuff about "sign twirling." Basically, they are human advertisers that hold sings on street corners telling us about local businesses. The guys Bethany was talking about were holding signs for a local Honda dealership. But these were not ordinary sign guys. The normal ones just hold the signs, sometimes dance with them, and pretty much act like they are on an iPod commercial. Not these guys. These were pro's. They can spin the sign like a pizza, go behind the back, and we even saw a guy kick spin the sign from the ground to his hand. My personal favorite move was the guy who was leaning back with one hand on the ground and the other straight up with the sign spinning on his palm. I don't think words can describe this signature move. Needless to say, they are amazing. For the first time we found ourselves wanting to go buy a Honda because we felt they were spending their marketing money wisely with these sign guys. So if you've got good hand-eye coordination and you're looking to make a few extra bucks on the side, maybe a career in sign twirling is just for you!

Christmas Time Is Here

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Christmas time is here at our apartment. This Christmas it's complete with a real tree (that smells good!), stockings, and lights on our balcony. There's only so much you can do in a one bedroom apartment on the third floor of a building, but we have made the best of it. Our tree is nice and full (thanks to Target) and our hearts are warm and happy (thanks to Jesus). Bethany is especially excited about decorating as we start the collection of Christmas decorations for our lives. It's always great to see how different everyone's decorations are. They are simply a collection of things that makes families who they are. My family had strings of little candy looking objects and wooden ornaments that made up gingerbread houses and the north pole. As a true southern Californian, we had a fake tree. Bethany grew up with a REAL tree (as a real Washingtonian), bubble lights, and ornaments from many people in her family. Now we get to start our tree. We get to start our own collection of family decorations. I even found myself saying, "well, this tree skirt has to last at least 20 years." That's fun. It's fun to begin this life of ours as a couple and to enjoy the holidays together.

On another note, apparently the super mom's are already hitting the stores though. Last night we spent some time at a craft store and it was intense to say the least. I (Shay) was 1 of 3 men in the store and the other 50 were women. And for some dumb reason they didn't carry the little hooks that hold the ornaments up. How are you supposed to hang the things if you don't have hooks?!! At any rate, we had to go to another store to find the 89 cent package of 150 hooks. yikes! Nevermind my frustration with stores, we really had a good time getting our decorations.

Here's some pics for your enjoyment.
Call it a Tree "How To"

Select a tree

Load a tree

Open a tree
(we had it netted for transportation)


Light a tree

Help a tree


Light a tree (part 2)

Decorate a tree

Top a tree
(and you're done!)