It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

As the endless preparations, shopping, decorating, wrapping and baking wound down...finally...Christmas week was upon us. It proved to be a wonderful week spent enjoying time with both of our families, lots of food and plenty of treats under the tree.

Sunday night was the Annual Chili Dinner with Jordan's extended family. Every year 30+ of us gather together at Jordan's aunt and uncle's house for chili and a dirty santa exchange. It is always a funny night with plenty of healthy banter back and forth as everyone positions for the best dirty santa gift!

Laurel (our niece on Jordan's side) donning Mr. Potato Head's Santa Gear

Jordo's cousin, Lindsey, with her Dirty Santa snag...yes, it's a pig cookie jar

Gray (nephew on J's side) is seriously the funniest little man...even his big bro Peyton think so

Christmas Eve Jordan and I went to our Church , just the 2 of us, to enjoy their Christmas Eve service for the very first time!!! Every year past we have either gone with his or my family to their churches for Christmas Eve. It was really a neat time to share together - our very 1st real Christmas Eve tradition, just the 2 of us.

Christmas morning Jordan and I were up bright and early (clarification, early rising is thanks to our dog, not a child) to head over to Nana and Papa's.

Sophie in her Santa dress, and oh-so-pleased about it, too, can't ya tell?!

Christmas morning was an absolute ball. Each year that we spend it with Jordan's family, we (25 of us) head over to his Nana and Papa's house. From newborns to adults, everyone is in coordinating pajamas -it is quite a sight to see. This Christmas morning was as fun as ever, with the numbers of kiddos growing by the year :). I loved watching ALL of Jordan's cousins squeal with excitement and delight as they ripped into their gifts.

Jordan and his dad were the "elves" in charge of passing out the presents. Niiiice hats!

As soon as opening gifts and a big breakfast wrapped up, the hubs and I were off to our house to get ready for yet another Christmas celebration- Waco style.

We loaded the car and headed South for Waco to spend Christams evening with my side of the family. It is so nice to be close enough to see each family at Christmas and we love not having to miss spending time with either side. Christmas in Waco was a wonderful time, all over again. Ash, Scott and Mabry came over mid-afternoon. Tear, tear, Reg and Brooke left that a.m. to celebrate with her family. We SO missed seeing them. Ahhh...tear, tear.

We all opened up gifts, with the star of the show being Mabry, as she discovered her new pink bicycle from Cici and Poppa.

Christmas Night we enjoyed the most deelish dinner, a family tradition, beef tender, as prepared by my dad. So.Dern.Good.

Admiring Mom's craftiness

Some of us were happier than Sophie others to literally be "in" the Christmas Spirit.

Having the chance to celebrate the birth of our Savior with both our families is truly a blessing. I am so fortunate to have married a man who values and loves family as much as I do.

Christmas is a time of hope, a time of peace and a time of love...all made possible by a little baby boy, brought down to Earth, a gift given to us from the Lord, so that we could experience- again and again, the hope of what is to come, the peace of what is today and an everlasting love from our Father above.

Whether with famiies big or small, celebrations great or small, I hope you all enjoyed your Holidays!

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye

Last night Jordan and I went to see the Cowboys play their last game at Texas Stadium...37 years of football played under that hole in the roof (you know, so God could watch His team, wink wink).

Through the years we've seen plenty of the good, the bad and the ugly out of our beloved Dallas Cowboys, and last night was no exception. With the pain of the disappointing loss still too fresh , I'll simply leave you with a couple of pics from the game.

Making their big entrance and fired up for a "W"!!!

Happier times....ahhhh

Perhaps the new stadium will inspire a little more heart, fight and gusto out of the Boys. 'Til then, let's keep our fingers crossed Romo can see clearly and throw to the correct team ;).

My Virtual Christmas Wish to YOU!

Wishing you the Merriest of Christmases, my fellow blogging buddies!!!

(a virtual Christmas card to put on your virtual fridge, he! he!)

Favorite Holiday Flick

Anyone out there have a favorite?

I know my list is long. I have many favored holiday flicks that I can watch over and over again, reciting the lines by heart and chuckling each time as if it's my first time to see it.

I've posted a couple of great ones (in my book, anyway) below.

Lemme know which one(s) I left off...or which one YOU will be popping in the VHS DVD player this year.

Merry Christmas Y'all!!!!

O Christmas Tree!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...taking the cue from fellow blogging buddies, I've posted a pic of The Young Christmas tree this year.

...The stockings were hung by the chimney with care....

In hopes that the shopping & wrapping fairy soon would be there!!!

I'm over half-way done with my gift giving list...press on, little elf, press on.

Two weeks and counting 'til the big day arrives. I hope you are all enjoying the season and keeping Him in the forefront in all that you do....tis the season!

Mabry Comes to Stay!!

WARNING----LONG POST BELOW

This past Thursday my niece, Mabry, came to stay with us for the long weekend. I have been looking forward to this weekend for months, and could not wait for her arrival. She is 3 years old (as of Sunday) and is at such a fun age. Okay... well, I mean, every age is fun, but these days she's my little giggling, chatter box, "why?", "how come?"-asking pal! Whew, it's a lotta work; but the fun we have definitely outweighs it all!!

She arrived on Thursday just in time for her nap. After napping like a champ, the rest of Thursday afternoon and evening went really well. She "helped" me with dinner and we enjoyed The Polar Express as we waited for the hubs to get home from work.

Friday morning we..errr, I mean...she...was up much earlier than anticipated. After some breakfast, crafts and more Polar Express watching we waved farewell to Jordan as he headed off to work. I proceeded to get our breakfast mess cleaned up while Mabry "organized" my Christmas cards.

Suddenly Mabry starts crying, saying that "Sophie at my crayons!!". Wait, what?!?! Sophie...ate...crayons?!?! Okay, stop, wait, process info...crayons and dogs can't be a good mix. I immediately called the emergency Vet. They asked her weight(9lbs) and age(2 yrs) and conclueded that "ahhh, she should be fine. She may puke and poop rainbows, but she'll be okay." Whewwww!

We then move towards showering and getting ready for our day out and about, that's to include the park, a picnic lunch, trip I go to crank up the engine to no avail. Yep, a DEAD BATTERY. Are. You. Kidding.Me.

Thankfully, Jordan came by during lunch and fixed the battery. It had somehow come detached..umm, okay. Yes, Jordan really is Bob Villa.

After some cookie baking and decorating to salvage the lost morning to crayons and dead car batteries, Mabry went down for a 2+ hour nap...ahhh...greatness!
I finally got the chance to myself, go potty right after I put her down for her nap (moms out there, how do you do that?). Just as she began to stir from her nap, mind you, this is 2+ hours later, I wander into my bedroom to listen to her on the monitor, only to discover my master bathroom had FLOODED, and had been doing so since I pottied 2 hours earlier. Again, I ask. Are.You.Kidding.Me. I quickly scurry to clean up the mayja (Posh Spice, anyone?) mess, so that I can retrieve my waking niece.

Later that afternoon we head to the toy store to let her pick out a treat. I told her she could pick out anything she wanted and directed her towards lots of pink and purple things (i.e. Barby, Polly Pocket) and guess what she made a bee-line for...a football! Yep! When I asked her if she was sure that's what she wanted she replied "Yeah, so I can be Tony Romo and you can catch a touchdown!" She really is hilarious!!!

Later that day Sophie decided that she not only wanted Mabry's crayons, but now her football, too! Anyone sensing some doggy territory issues here?!?!

the evidence

the aftermath

It was definitely one of those Murphy's Law types of days. All I could do was laugh, and yes, also seriously question my readiness for starting a family ;). None of the days' goofy events were even caused by Mabry, but still, I'm just not sure I am up for this????

Onto some sunnier times...cold, but sunny :). We got up bright (really still dark outside) and early Saturday morning to take Mabry to the Neiman Marcus Adolphus Children's Parade in downtown Dallas. Reggie and Brooke got to the parade nearly 3 hours early to snag a good spot and set up our chairs. We had PRIME SEATING, thanks to them!!!

It was super cold when the parade started, but as the entertainment began, we all warmed up and enjoyed the watching all of the fun passers-by. Mabry was awe struck by the floats, dancers, balloons, etc... It was a great time!

Our spot was right next to the lady that holds the sign showing the parade participants on the floats, dancing, in the bands, etc. that you are "NOW ENTERING TV ZONE". It was so funny to watch all the parade participants' faces freeze with nervousness as they noticed and read the sign. I mean, come'on, this was thier moment to shine, folks!!!!

Brooke got Mabry this puppy, she named him Rudolph :)

And last but not least, Santa Claus made his big entrance! Mabry was sure to yell out her one wish..."A candy cane that is sticky!"

After the parade we headed for burgers at Twisted Root with Brooke and Reg and then home for a serious nap session. Mabry, Jordan, Sophie, Abby (my parents dog) and I were ALL tuckered out and slept the afternoon away. Ahhh, pure bliss!

(A little background into the weekend...Ash, Scott, along with my mom and dad were all 4 in Chicago for a dental conference. That's why we got to keep her.)

Anywho, Sunday was Miss Mabry's 3rd Birthday!!!! I was so excited to have her stay with us for part of the day and celebrate with her. We started the morning off with cinnamon rolls with candles as Jordan and I serenaded her. She was pretty confused since she'd had her big, friend party the week before. She kept saying, "Is this my 2nd birthday?" Too cute.

Next we headed to church and lunch. At lunch we decided to continue milking this birthday thing as much as we could and had the waitstaff come sing to her and bring her a brownie sundae. She was stunned, but LOVED it. Her reaction to complete strangers singing to her was pretty darn funny.

It was such a fun weekend having Mabry stay with us. She's her own little person these days full of personality, lots of questions, and non-stop humor. I can't wait for her to come again!

Day of Thanks 2008

Put this one in the books as yet another great Thanksgiving spent with dear family. With so much to be thankful for, it was a wonderful day to give God the glory for all He has given us.

Check out that bird. These days we go the fried turkey route, simply deelish.

Way to go Daddy!!!

Pa Paw, Mee Maw, Ash and Mabry getting ready to dig in

Mabry LOVED the okra! I think she ate 8 of them!!!

Dad, Reggie, Mom and Scott

(don't they look thrilled to have their pic taken?)

Of course, you can't have Thanksgiving without the Cowboys Game. Even Sophie was fired up for the game with her jersey on :).

Reg, Sophie and I cheering the Boys on to a victory!!!

Mabry all tuckered out after a full day of family, food and play.

I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30

Mmmm Good!

Calling all gals who claim not to be a Betty, Martha, or Paula...Crocker, Stewart and Dean, that is.

I stumbled upon this easy and absolutely scrumptious Pumpkin Crisp recipe on a fellow blogger Whitney's site a few weeks ago.

Now, stay with me here and don't count it out, even if you aren't a big pumpkin fan. This litte number is deelish!!! Hubs was eating it straight from the pan...spoonful after spoonful. My co-worker made it soon thereafter and said her boys gobbled it up in less than 24 hours.

Anywho...for those of you looking to make a little contribution to the Thanksgiving Day feast, give this one a whirl, as it is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Pumpkin Crisp

Ingredients
2 eggs
15 ounces pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
12 ounces evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 (18 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 1/4 cups margarine or butter, melted
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350*.
- Mix first 8 ingredients together (eggs through vanilla).
- Pour into ungreased 3 quart baking dish.
- Sprinkle dry cake mix over top and drizzle with melted margarine.
- Bake for 25 minutes; top with nuts and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Great topped with butter pecan ice cream or your favorite flavor!

Happy Baking!!!

Go Speed Racer Go!!!

Below is a pic from a recent race Jordan and I ran together, the Tour des Fleurs 20K. It was a 12.5 mile race beginning and ending at the Dallas Arboretum (hence the fleurs part). It was a hot, but fun time this September!!!


It was Jordan's 1st big race and he did awesome!


After having been a spectator, as I ran a couple of marathons and such, Jordan decided to join in on the insanity that is distance running and asked me to be his coach (insert laughs and giggles here). We have been running together for nearly a year now and it's been so much fun, err, well, unless you ask him at 6:30 a.m. Saturday during our long runs :).


We've really had a great time together huffing and puffing and pushing through the mileage thus far. I am looking forward to many more miles of hubby-partnered training and some up and coming races this spring!


Way to go dude! Keep up the good work!!!

Turkey Day Fav's

So, with the holidays quickly approaching and Thanksgiving nearly upon us, I thought I'd see what YOU are most looking forward to gobble gobbling up this Turkey Day.

For me, it's all about the carbs :). Of course I love me some tasty bird, (we fry ours these days) but I am such a sucker for the starches.

The stuffing/dressing (whatever your fam calls it), dinner rolls, sweet potato cassserole, any flavor of pie, you name it...if it is carb-laden, I am all over it!

I mean, afterall, what's the 2nd most important thing about Thanksgiving,

after the Thankful part???

Well, the food, of course! (Yes, yes, and the Cowboy game, too.)

In the annoying words of Rachel Ray..."Yumm-O!!"

Okay, so, now it's your turn.

What is YOUR favorite, a Turkey Day must-have, or perhaps a family tradition ?