Christmas Makes Me Smile

Whoever penned the phrase, "It's the most wonderful time of the year" was really onto something. Traditions are deeply steeped into our family all throughout the year...but never as much as Christmastime, which is indeed the most wonderful time! It brings families and friends back home, and beckons us to a warm cup of cocoa by the fireplace. It is also reminds us of the Light that came into the dark world...a baby, who was the King of Kings! A Savior! Hallelujah!

One very special Christmas moment for me this year was meeting my best friend, Lydia's 5 week old baby girl, Aida! She was perfect in every way and it was so incredible to see Lyd as a mom! She and Peter are wonderful parents and I enjoyed visiting and laughing with them :)

The Honken Family!
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And speaking of traditions, we started a new one this year! This was our first Christmas in our new home and we hosted a Christmas Eve breakfast at our house for our family!

Thanks to many of you who have been praying for mom...her lumpectomy surgery went well on Dec. 15th and the cancer had not reached her lymph. She did, however, have cancer remaining in the margins, and the surgeon will do an additional surgery to remove this in February. Please continue to lift her up in your prayers! She is in good spirits :)

Our beautiful new Christmas pillow from Aunt Sue!

Doing what boys do...

Christmas decorations...

Our Christmas Emma! Aren't her crossed-eyes the best?!

A Few Oregon Pics & K's 28th Birthday

Well, I left my camera in Oregon...but now that my mom-in-law came to visit for Christmas, I get my camera back! Blogspot, here I come :) Kenny is a landscape lover, and I'm a lover of people...so below is a slew of our favorites from the trip!

Driving to Portland...

Coos Bay roads

Foggy west coast

Jeanette & me


Winchester Bay Viewpoint

At long last....my "Human Bean" Supreme :)

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Kenny turned 28 on November 14th (did I mention I left my camera in Oregon?) and we celebrated by spending the night in Lebanon, OH...a quaint historic district north of Cincinnati. We meandered through antique stores, marveled at Victorian architecture, ate at "The Golden Lamb" (the oldest hotel in Ohio) and spent the night in a cozy cabin!


A home-cooked dinner at The Golden Lamb...I was obsessed with the apple butter (which, fortunately for me, came in a giant ceramic vat) and their "warm slaw" with vinagar and bacon. Delish.

Kenny: "Are you seriously taking another picture of me, babe?"

A kiss for the birthday boy

Lebanon, OH

Our cabin...which we smoked ourselves out of when we attempted to start a fire because the flu was old . It was quite romantic.
Ah, memories :)

A Coos Bay Thanksgiving

I can't believe that we're already back in Cincinnati...we've looked forward to our Coos Bay, Oregon Thanksgiving for months, and now it's a wonderful memory! We really enjoyed our time there... but it is always good to be back home :) We enjoyed spending most of our time with family...Kenny's mom, sister, grandma, and aunts/uncles/cousins! I (of course) drank WAY too much coffee...but how can you not when there are fabulous, unique latte's on every corner?!
With names like "The Human Bean," "The Coffee People" and "Java The Hut"...who can resist? We went shopping at outlets (yay columbia outlet!) and took serene walks on the beach each morning. It was magical :) What a perfect way to get away and just reconnect with one another! And, of course, Thanksgiving was DELICIOUS! We ate at Kenny's Aunt & Uncle's house and I brought some traditional "Weber" sides...Sweet Potato Casserole, Corn Souffle and German cucumbers; Jeanette (Kenny's mom) and I also make pumpkin pies together! One of my sweetest memories it of our afternoon with Kara, Jason & Treyton Enright! Jason is probably Kenny's oldest friend and he and Kara are such wonderful people...and GREAT parents to Trey, their 6 month old son. Those of you who know me well, know baby fever is creeping up on me, and I adored holding precious Trey, who I rocked until my arms were numb! (I don't have mom arms yet, what can I say?) Here are some pictures from that day!

Precious Trey!

Beautiful Coos Bay, Oregon
Kenny and I being beach goobers
Three Cheers for Thanksgiving in Oregon!

Going To The Chapel...and the Maternity Ward!

Today was such a special day because Abigail invited mom and I to come with her family to try on wedding dresses! We spent the afternoon at Bridal & Formal in the Reading Wedding District...just "oohing" and "aahing" over pretty much everything she put on :) She especially loved lace-ridden, feminine gowns...which fit her style so well! She ended up buying the second dress she tried on, but of course, you'll have to wait until the "big day" to see that one! Below are a few snapshots of our time...

Pretty Abigail and her new ring :)

Libby (MOB), Abigail and myself...yes, I'm as happy as I look!

To two moms with the Bride-to-be

The gown gang: Abigail, Libby (mom), Martha (cousin), Hannah (cousin), Mia (niece) & Andrea (sister-in-love)!

These are MY gowns! :)


Another SUPER exciting bit of news, my bestie, Lydia & her husband, Peter welcomed a beautiful, healthy baby girl into the world this morning - 7 lbs 2 oz. and 20" long... AIDA ANN HONKEN! Oh Joy!
Beautiful Aida!

Aida Ann after her first bath! Isn't she gorgeous?!What a special day...not to mention it's Kenny's 28th birthday! Yay for November 14th!

Just Another November Day...

Not much time to write today...Kenny and I are keeping busy with day to day things...we're both singing in the Christmas choir at our church (we have concerts Dec 11 & 12) and I'm also heading up all the Press and Design work for the event...which is keeping me on my toes! I also daydream a lot about how I'll decorate our first home for Christmas...usually while listening to pandora.com's vintage carols :) Kenny's 28th birthday is this Saturday and I've rented a cabin in Lebanon, OH for a special overnight date...I'll post pictures of that soon! I just wanted to put up a few pictures of everyday life together :) Emma & Leona just love each other and get along so well ... I couldn't resist taking these adorable pictures of them sleeping together on the kitchen floor.

"I'm Going To Marry That Jon Weber!"

Friday night was terribly exciting...my little brother, Jon, proposed to his beautiful (inside AND out) girlfriend, Abigail! We had known from the beginning they were God's BEST for one another and their love story is quite romantic! They have actually known each other from infancy... mom hosted Abigail's baby shower when she was pregnant with Jon! We spent time together as families when we were young (up to 4-5), and one day at the pool, Abigail told her mother quite frankly, "Mom, you see that boy over there? Well, that's Jon Weber, and he may be little now, but some day...he'll get bigger! And when he does, I'm going to marry that Jon Weber!" The Krugman family moved about 30 minutes north and although our parents stayed in touch through the years, we really lost track of the kids...and Jon and Abigail hadn't seen each other in nearly 17 years until this past summer! We reunited as adults when we began attending Hope Church earlier this year (where her family also attends), I saw Abigail's mom, Libby, and joked "Jon is bigger now! How is Abigail?" We teased about setting them up, and then that afternoon, relaxing on the couch, I pulled up Abigail's facebook profile and added her as a friend. As I was doing this, Jon walked by, behind the couch, and exclaimed, "Who is THAT?" (obviously pleased with what he was looking at ;) ). I told him, and suggested asking her for coffee...and he didn't waste any time at all...maybe 1 day? :) Well...they went out...and the rest is history! We loved Abigail immediately like she was just part of the family. Her family is also incredible and we all have so much fun together! We just keep shaking our heads at God's faithfulness...His creativity...and His sense of humor! I'm oooozing with happiness! Anyway, here are some pictures from the big night...


The newly enaged couple!

Jon and Abigail...the early years :)

We were pretty excited...
Jon lit over 700 candles on mom & dad's porch, the place where he first told her he loved her! You could see the glow from down the block!

Abigail's gorgeous ring...good job, Jon!

Our Little Family, 2009

Sunday, November 1st, was a beautiful Fall day and we couldn't resist some family photos in our back yard! Jon came over with his old 35 mm and shot a few rolls. Here are some of our favorites...you'll probably be seeing these again in our Christmas card! :)