Holiday wrap-up

Hello again! So sorry that I have been so out of touch over the past few weeks. As with everyone else, the Christmas season was incredibly crazy and my brain was running so fast that I could not slow down and process enough to actually write a coherant post...plus our internet was screwed up and I couldn't upload pictures...and you know that's half the fun of blogging!

Well, instead of writing separate posts for each of the momentous occasions of the holiday season, i'll sum it up with a few pictures, and then maybe a separate post with a few of my go-to potluck recipes.

Thanksgiving was wonderful and for the first time we combined both my mom and dad's extended families into one dinner instead of spreading it out over two days. It was bittersweet as this was our first holiday since my Granny passed away. Dinner was lovely...my dad smoked his amazing turkey and everyone brought their best dishes. Then we had our Thanksgiving tradition of the "thankful tree" Every place has a pen and paper leaf cut out of construction paper. We each write down some things that we are thankful for and then take time to go around the table, share what we are most thankful for that year, and offer a prayer of Thanksgiving to God. Then my parents tape the leaves onto a branch from the yard that they have "planted" and leave it up for display.

dinner w/the Weakley & Pruitte families (minus dad--he was behind the camera)


our feast!


my plate vs. hubs (note, this is not to make me look like a pig, but rather to show how picky he is)


butchy wants some turkey!

the thankful tree


and a close up of some of our leaves

Sadly, I forgot to take my camera to the Edmundson family Thanksgiving. It was a good time with everyone, but I was very sad b/c hubs had to work so I had to go without him! I enjoyed that I had free reign to tell funny stories about him though ;)

The next big event was my office Christmas party, and unfortunately I forgot my camera for that as well! We had a great time though I was exhausted b/c I had a marathon baking session--I make homemade sourdough bread & cookies for everyone in the office! Here's my crazy process:

each batch of the starter makes 3 loaves...I had 11 batches going: 33 loaves of bread. Once again, I ran out of bowls and had to use some pots & pans!


rising, and baked (along w/some cookies)

Santa Clause also made a trip to my office on Christmas eve, and made it a very special trip to the doctor for one adorable little girl!

Christmas was wonderful, we got everything we could have wanted and more! :) The Edmundson family had our Christmas celebration on Christmas eve after I got off work. We saw a Christmas Carol and then went back to hubs' parents house for gifts and dinner. One of my favorite gifts is a massage mat and massaging shoes for all my pain! It was kinda funny though, b/c my sis-in-law got these really fancy red patent leather heels and I got my massaging shoe things at the same time...and I'm younger! lol. It was really a fun night and we enjoyed the time with everyone. I'm just sad that I forgot my camera!

We saw my family on Christmas day after opening our presents and stockings at home (I got hubs some fleece pans w/bulldogs on them and some bulldog houseshoes--butchy tries to give them a "high five" whenever he wears them b/c they have little arms on the side). After my parents house we went to my Aunt Gail's and took butch with us!(in her Mrs. Claws outfit I might add) I did bring my camera for that one and we got a cute family picture:

The funniest thing there was that Aunt Gail has a little pomeranian who did NOT like Butch at all. We tried to keep them across the room from one another and keep Butch surrounded by boxes, but any time there was a gap Gina (the dog) would dart across the room like a little bullet, nip Butch on the neck, and then run away before Butch could react.

sworn enemies


stylin' in her Mrs. Claws outfit and boots ;)

Once again, it was a bittersweet night as this was the first Christmas without my Granny, but Aunt Gail made it extra special by having an extra gift under the tree for everyone from a "Secret Angel" with something of Granny's for us to help remember her. We ended the night by doing our traditional advent devotional and it was lovely!

aunt gail's tree

I guess that wraps up the holidays! We had a very low-key new year's eve, working on cleaning (me) and video projects (hubs) with short breaks for pizza and watching the ball drop. Today has been more of the same, exept with an injured bulldog! I don't know what happened to her, but she was running around one minute, and the next her back right leg was spasming and she has limped all day. :( thankfully we had some pain pills left from her last injury!

Well, 2009 was a wonderful year filled with some very special moments--and my instroduction to the blogging world! I'm so excited for a new year and new adventures!

Now I've got to clean up the holiday aftermath!