Praying for Newtown, CT as We Approach Our Lord's Nativity

It was another eventful week here in the Lowcountry and nationwide, very unfortunately. We, along with the rest of the nation and world, mourn the tragic massacre that took place in Newtown this past Friday. If you have children, tell them everyday that you love them. If you have a sibling, always be thankful for their presence in your life. We never know when we will leave this earth so we must always be prepared to go.

That being said, we tell of our week of not so important events...

Chris was accepted to Boston University for some online courses as electives for Wash U in order to remain on track for his Masters program. Go Terriers! Jo finished her finals for the semester - leaving her with three more courses until she will have her Masters in Organizational Development from Webster!

James Island Light Festival

Wednesday, the Feast of Our Lady of Gaudalupe, we went to see the James Island Park Christmas lights with our friends Sarah and Trey; a drive thru light show for the holidays. We then dined at Brickhouse Kitchen; it is a large home with a restaurant inside. I (Chris) had the Penne Pasta w/ Shrimp, Tomatoes, Artichoke hearts and Feta cheese. Rita Jo had crab cakes with Arugula Pesto. If you make it to Charleston, this is an interesting place to eat and they have live mic nights and other outdoor events as well.

Our friends, the McMichaels, sent us their Christmas card, with some newly wed gifts: 4 port wine glasses, a bottle of Stone Hill winery Port, a tray and a jar of free/cheap/fancy date ideas. Thank you!

Jo's first Instagram attempt!

As has been the case for a while, I have continued half marathon training - less than 5 weeks away already. I went on a 10 mile run Saturday morning with Mike L while RJ baked cookies for our work holiday parties.

Saturday evening, we attended Jo's manager's work Christmas party. His wife prepared some delicious heavy hors d'oeuvres and made an awesome Amaretto cake! It was good to meet more folks from the Charleston site (for Chris) and to avoid work discussions outside of the office for once!

Today, Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, we enjoyed our first meal on our new kitchen table - pumpkin pancakes and French press coffee thanks to the lovely Mrs. Horan! She also made this beer bread using Widmer Brothers "Brrr" Seasonal Ale with some honey butter to spread on for the second work Christmas party of the weekend. It was quite the hit!

                 

Happy Birthday to my (Chris') mom tomorrow on her 31st...I mean 48th birthday! We love you! 

We may be on hiatus for a little while until we have returned to Charleston from Christmas break! We pray for safe travels for all this holiday season! 

Continue to pray for the souls of those killed, including the shooter, in Newtown, CT and for their families and loved ones...

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. Through the mercy of God, may they rest in peace. 

St Rose of Lima, pray for us! Amen. 

+JMJ+

Three Months and Goin' Strong

Blessings from Charleston to all of our worldwide readers!

We had quite the busy week...from homemade enchiladas as a date night at home to running around the Charleston area to find a kitchen table and things to organize our belongings, we accomplished a lot.

The week started off with great news for Rita Jo at work. She was recognized by some leaders with a Boeing Pride Award for all of her efforts on the program she is leading. She has worked tirelessly for nearly eight months to get it off the ground and running (no puns intended to an aircraft getting off the ground)...Congrats hun!

Rita Jo found a delicious enchilada recipe for our date night in on a recipe blog, thesweetslife.com. The sauce called for cinnamon and even some chocolate chips which gave them a very nice aroma once cooked! Along with our enchiladas, we tried a new beer from RJ Rockers Brewery called "The First Snow Ale". If you can find this wherever you are in the world, try one. It's quite delicious!

We have been meeting more and more of our neighbors. The newer newly weds below us are very nice and welcoming and they are fairly new to Charleston as well. The wife is an associate pastor at a local Presbyterian church and the husband currently teaches kayaking classes but is also a Presbyterian minister. Rita Jo plans to host the neighbors once we get cleaned up around here and decorated!

With the Charleston half just under seven weeks now away, I have been training consistently with runs up to 8 miles. Jo has gotten up to about five miles...she'll be ready for the Cooper River Bridge Run 10K come April!

December in Charleston - 70s and sunny

Saturday evening, we found ourselves at yet another sushi bistro celebrating our 3 month wedding anniversary. We enjoyed a spicy roll combo of salmon, tuna and crab along with a Charleston Crunch roll and Sapporo beer.

Sunday, the second of this Advent season, we decorated the Christmas tree and ran a few errands. The Hoosiers won the NCAA Division 1 soccer title...yet another banner to bring home to Bloomington! We went to 5:15pm Mass at the Cathedral and went to the first of many Rosary Dinners with the Knights in the parish hall. We got to chat with some lifelong Charlestonians and learned some more about the area. Jo continued her studying this evening with a glass of Cab while I cleaned up a few things, preparing for the coming week.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

Getting Settled in Our New Home

...So we took a little while off from blogging to get our St. Louis home packed, boxes shipped and to spend Thanksgiving with family in STL and Cape. Jo came back on Monday after Thanksgiving and I stayed a few more days in St. Louis to tend to work matters that came up at the last minute (after having our flights back to Charleston booked together...had to rebook to stay until Thursday evening).

Thursday night, upon my arrival back, we went for a late dinner and drinks together at Mac's Place before spending our first night in the our new abode. With boxes everywhere, it's been somewhat stressful but we're taking the move day by day and slowly getting acclimated to the new southern way of life.

After signing the lease!

Boxes, boxes...and a cooler

Friday evening, I went to the South Carolina Stingrays game with a friend from work, Trey. Yes, they're playing hockey in Charleston! It's an affiliate of the Boston Bruins. The Stingrays snuck out a win against the Reading Royals (Pennsylvania), a statistically much better team the the Rays. I should have taken video of the late 20 something guys in front of us chanting "Come on Rays" with a response to themselves of "Let's go Rays" the entire 2nd and 3rd periods. Quite hilarious as they had had a few drinks by game time.

Saturday, I (Chris) woke up and went for a 6 mile run with my new Garmin Forerunner 410! Check out the specs on it at the link. It's great if you're training! I came home from the run to find Jo still in bed. She's definitely not a morning person. 

We spent Saturday unpacking the majority of boxes, with the hopes of getting settled sometime this year...looks like we've got a few weeks to do so. We purchased a new 4 post bed and dresser by Fine Furniture at Stuckey Bros Furniture in Mount Pleasant; beautiful furniture that will last many lifetimes! We used all of our Target giftcards in one stop Saturday too...the cashier was quite impressed. We made a final stop at goat. sheep. cow. to pick up some Brie and a loaf of French bread to snack on in the evening. Delicious!

Sunday, the beginning of a new liturgical year and the season of Advent, we continued unpacking, watched a little bit of football and went for a run. Mass at 5:15 at the Cathedral was wonderful with a strong homily reminding us to always stay focused on the meaning of Christmas. The world is so caught up in the materialistic things during the Advent season (reflection by Cardinal Timothy Dolan) with complete disregard for the season and its meaning.  In an ancient document of the early Church, the Didache, and also in the NT, we get a traditional prayer for the Advent season: Marantha or "Come Lord, Jesus"

We pray that all of you have a blessed Advent with your families wherever in the world you may be. We look forward to spending this wonderful time of year with our family and friends. Safe travels! Laus tibi, Christe!

Chris & Rita Jo