The End Zone!

I want to say a few words about my recent achievement! Most of you know that I finished my master's degree in psychology last February. I then continued on to pursue my board certification in behavior analysis. This required additional graduate coursework and clinical supervision, PLUS passing the board exam. I took the board exam on November 22, 2009. I received my results last week and.....I passed! I am now officially a BCBA!! This will open up many new doors for me in my career, and hopefully down the road I will look into going into business for myself.

So, for now, I am finally done!!! For those of you who have been experiencing this long jouney with me....of endless studying which meant sacrificing friend and family time.....thanks for your endless support!!!

Meg came up here for the weekend and she, myself, Jasen, Matt, Jen, and Andrew all went to dinner to celebrate! I am so relieved to be done! Let the free time begin!! haha.

Oh there's no Christmas, like a hooooome Christmas...

My visit to Illinois was a lot of fun! I got to spend a lot of time with the whole family and everyone got a long (surprisingly) well! The only drawback was that Jay couldn't join us in IL for Christmas because of his new job. :( Next year...

While I was home it snowed on Christmas! My parents' house is cozy and in a quiet area near the Lincoln Memorial Gardens. It is beautiful and quiet.....I call it my winter wonderland getaway! It felt like a cabin getaway and it was one of the most relaxing vacations I have had in a long time!The quote of the trip was "it's a Christmas miracle!" which was said by Meghan anytime something out of the ordinary happened (and sometimes when something completely ordinary happened).

Mom, Dad, Meg and I went on a walk in the gardens to see the newly fallen snow. It was quite crisp out, but it was beautiful.

Lindz brought her new beau, Trevor, to Christmas and he got along really well with the family. He's a little bit quiet and calm for our family, but we'll break him in. Lindsey was really glad to be back in the states where restaurants exist.

Speaking of food...we made 4 pies, plus a lemon lush, and a cheesecake that were all devoured within a few days. Don't worry--all of these desserts were gluten-free (or "glee" as I like to call it) and everyone helped!

This was the first Christmas in a while that I've been in town for the Von Behren family Christmas and it was great to see all of the family, but especially the new great-grandbabies that are getting so big. Matt and Amy haven't cranked out any new additions since their third child, Alyssa. They're taking a break for the time being.

As usual the trip involved a lot of family togetherness, which included card games, Mexican train dominoes, and watching Medium--mom and dad's new favorite show. Also, there were a few times when the whole family was working out to a Leslie Sansone workout DVD together. It was very Full-House-like and hysterically funny to see Ben with his new sweat band on. He's bringing the 80s back. Plus Mom and Dad set up a tread mill in the garage, and with a little space heater it worked out great!

It was a very relaxing trip and it was so nice to see all of the fam! It was also nice to get back to Jasen, Matt, Roxy, and Chloe, too. :)