Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all. CDM and I spent a very relaxing Christmas Day at home. Our plan for this holiday season is to travel to a few other cities in Texas so we can get to know our new state much better. We spent a few days earlier this week in San Antonio, went to the River Walk, the Alamo, and the San Marcos Outlet Mall. We loved the River Walk (CDM had a very fancy dinner presentation at the restaurant we went to). You could go there all year long and have your pick of cuisine and never tire of the options. Our first evening in SA it was 75 degrees, the following day 44 degrees--with the wind it felt like 34 degrees.

The Alamo was closed due to the holiday so we only got to see it from the outside. It is much smaller than you would think based on the history of the site.



We wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you had a special day to take time out of your busy schedules to reflect about the things in life that matter most. To me and CDM it is our family, faith and blessings from our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Marine Corps Ball

CDM and I traveled to Long Island mid November to attend the Marine Corps Birthday Ball. We celebrated with the Battalion he was attached to during his latest deployment to Iraq. It was a lucky coincidence that the unit he served with is headquartered in the same area that Mom and Dad Benson live. I was finally able to met these people CDM loved and served with overseas. Everyone was really excited to see CDM and could not believe he was in attendance. It is always fun to have a reason to get really dressed up--I love finding a dress and jewelry. The jewelry is probably my favorite part. I think I inherited my jewelry fetish from my Grandma Benson--she had a great collection and I am lucky enough to have a few of her pieces. I hope to have a granddaughter who will one day spend hours trying on the collection. CDM looked so handsome in his uniform. Us girls have to put in extra effort to try and balance out the magnificence of the uniform!

Thanksgiving

We celebrated an "orphan" Thanksgiving this year with our first TurDuckIn. All of my co-workers live here in Texas without any family close by. For the past five years they have gotten together for Thanksgiving and this year we were included. The only rule for the event is that you come in your pajamas. It is physically impossible for CDM to leave the house in anything other than creased and pressed clothes so I knew that getting him out of the house in pajamas was going to be a huge obstacle. He was a great sport and wore a coordinating sweat pant/shirt ensemble and looked great!

Texas A&M always plays Texas on Thanksgiving. CDM and I had tickets to the game so after a relaxing afternoon we headed to Kyle Field to watch our Aggies give the Longhorns a competitive game. It was a good day to reflect and give thanks for all we have been blessed with.

Yes, one of us is under dressed in this photo. CDM got to attend the Texas A&M Navy/Marine Corps Midshipmen Ball last night while I was busy working a volleyball game. He came to pick me up from the game and was somewhat distracting to me as he sat behind our bench the last set of the match. How can you keep you eyes off of him?? I love seeing him in uniform. The window in the background is CDM's contribution to the training room. He has found pictures of all of the girls in different publications and taped them up on the window. All of the girls make a daily trip by the window to see if there are new pictures posted.

Below are some pictures of my training room and office.

Kansas

In the past week I have been back and forth to Kansas twice. We played KU on Halloween and I did not realize how close Lawrence, KS is to St Joseph, MO. I tried getting in touch with Anne-Marie and Laura to see if they wanted to come to the game. They already had plans but Aunt Carol was out visiting them and she and Aunt Rose came to the game on Sat. It was such an unexpected treat to see them.

Fall

Fall is slow in coming to College Station (it still has not hit). On a recent trip to Ames, IA I found fall. We are still experiencing 80 degree days. I hear it is supposed to cool down at some point in the year but I don't quite believe it. I'll let you know when and if I ever put the flannel sheets on this year...

On a Mission

September 2009:
When CDM saw a specific pair of shoes he knew he had to have them. These shoes, however, are only manufactured for the TAMU football team. No local store or online store has access to them. If any of you need visible proof at how determined CDM is...28 days later he had a pair on his feet!

We went to our first TAMU football game together!

Also of note in Sept: I got to view my first ACL surgery. If you every have ACL reconstruction there is a reason you are sore afterwards.