These are a few of my favorite things...

Unpacking... it's not exactly my favorite thing to do.  And, it seems like I've been doing it a lot lately.  If you count temporary housing, I've moved 5 times in the past two years.  Ick. 

One of the nice things about unpacking, though, is uncovering your favorite possessions.  I wouldn't consider myself a materialistic person, but I am quite sentimental.

Just a few happy memories that I uncovered while unpacking over the past week...

* the wedding gifts with my new name that we received from my parents, Brian's parents, and Brian's grandmother... they all have our new name on them, but are all unique.  We moved in such a hurry after our honeymoon, that we hardly had a chance to enjoy them while we were still in Portland.

* the espresso set that I bought with my dear friend Michelle Middlebrooks in Dublin... A reminder of a great trip with a wonderful friend.  My, has life changed for both of us since then.  I miss and love her dearly.

* my running scrapbook.  When I moved to Portland, I had never run more than three miles and didn't know a soul.  Nine years later, I had run 8 marathons and made some of the best friends I've ever known.  The scrapbook is the record of all the miles we've run together, and the friendships that have grown over the past years.

* my Hong Kong painting.  If you've been to my house, you know it.  It's a beautiful painting of fall trees and Asians scurrying about.  It's lived in three continents now, and I bought it in Hong Kong originally about five years ago.  I guess everything has a way of coming home eventually.  :)

* our wedding pictures.  Everything happened in such a blur this year, that it's really hard to imagine that we actually DID get married.  We never even got to hang these pictures in our home in Portland, so I'm so excited to find a place for them here. 

Okay, so I'm feeling a little sappy on a Saturday evening... but, what I'm really saying is that we love and miss all of the people that were such a big part of our lives... and we are surrounded by the things that remind us of you.

Hope the start of the holiday season brings all of you much happiness and the comfort of friends and family!