Oh Christmas Tree

How lovely are your branches. This is the first year my Christmas tree has lights and I'm so happy about it. It's the coziest thing in the world.  

The flowers appear on the earth

We went on a one-day couples retreat and it was an oasis in our daily grind. We heard a bit about Zaccheaus and then from Song of Songs 2, 10-17:

My lover speaks; he says to me,
"Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,
and come!

"For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of pruning the vines has come,
and the song of the dove is heard in our land.

The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,
and come!

"O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely."

Catch us the foxes, the little foxes
that damage the vineyards; for our vineyards are in bloom!

My lover belongs to me and I to him;
he browses among the lilies.

Until the day breathes cool and the shadows lengthen,
roam, my lover,
Like a gazelle or a young stag
upon the mountains of Bether.

Piccolo Napoli

We went on a date this weekend to our favourite restaurant as a couple... Piccolo Napoli in Lisbon. It's quiet and the waiters are super attentive. They greet you at the door and take you to the door when you leave. They light a candle at your table when you sit down and grate parmesan cheese on your plate if you'd like it. This might sound normal for the US, but here it's special! 

Then we saw The Butler, with Oprah Winfrey. I liked it, just not the very political and rose-colored ending. 

...And a 24-week baby bump!

Family wall

Inspired by Pinterest (of course!), we put up wedding pictures of our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles at our own wedding: 

We couldn't bear to throw them out, so we've put them up at our house. I love our new family wall... it really makes me happy. I just wish I had a priest or nun uncle or aunt so we could put up their ordination picture also!

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving we decided to try dinner at home: IowaGirlEats bacon-wrapped turkey breast proved easy to make (+ pumpkin burgers for me!). I made pilgrim hats and bonnets and we waited for our friends. This year, I am really, really thankful for my new (growing) family and our new home.