Christmas 2010

Hope everyone had a very, merry Christmas!  We sure did!  We started off Christmas Eve morning by opening our presents to each other.  I think we both were a little spoiled!  It was a lot of fun and had some fun surprises. 

We then got ready and packed up to go to my parent's for our traditional Christmas Eve feast.  But first we traveled to Raynesford for Christmas Eve Mass.  That always puts you in a Christmasy spirit!  When we arrived at mom and dad's we had to open one present right away.  We had planned on finding out the baby's sex on Christmas Eve.  I had my ultrasound on Dec 14th, and we had the nurse right down what we were having on a card I made and had her seal it up.  No peeking!  It was a little hard a first to resist tearing into that, but it was definitely worth the wait!  I made Tim open it because I was too excited.  And we are having a girl!!!!  We are just soo ecstatic! That definitely put us in the celebrating mood!

After the excitement, we settled down to a most delicious meal of homemade french bread, Caesar salad, twice-baked potatoes and of course shrimp and crab legs!!  We look forward to this all year long.  It's so nice to sit down to a nice meal with family.  Wonder how next year's meal will go??

Then after stuffing ourselves silly and putting on some sweats it was time for more gifts. 

I have to share a few pictures of my latest furniture piece built by dad.  He made the most gorgeous changing table/dresser for the nursery.  It is made of knotty alder, with a cherry stain.  Love it, love it!  Can't wait to start filling it up with little baby things!!

Christmas morning, some how we had enough appetite left to finish off the leftover shrimp and crab.  I'm always amazed at how we (dad and Tim!) can do that! 

Then we had to make prepartations for another delicious meal.  We had about eleven people for Christmas dinner.  Very nice and relaxing.  Was good to visit.  Of course we had to get in a little card playing!

After supper it was time to make our way back home.  We went over to Marvin and Cindy's for awhile and had a very nice visit.  What a very special holiday that we got to share with family.

It's a good thing I got some puzzles for Christmas!  It is definitely puzzle weather.  Glad Tim is home safe today.  He has his own snow day project to do.  Building a crib out of this...............

 Good luck hon!  It's going to be great!



Holiday Traditions

One thing I love about our holidays is how we blend our traditions.  We both have taken pieces from our pasts and fit them together for our present and future.  I guess it's not just inclusive to holidays.  But while we decorate for Christmas it is very apparent. 

Our Christmas tree is always special.  It is such a blend of our lives.

Since I was a very little girl, about 5 or so, my dad has bought me a special ornament for the tree.  It is a very treasured collection.  The earliest dated one I found was from 1987 but I know there were earlier ones.  I don't think this is the complete collection.  This is a tradition that was always so special, and I look forward to this special thing between grandpa and grandchild.

Tim has his own special ornaments too. 

This is an ornament that his mom painted for him.

These little stained glass ornaments were made by Tim and his mom.

Some of his personal favorites include this little John Deere collection.

Another of his favs:

Of course our tree wouldn't be complete without "our" ornaments.

The top row of snowmen are ornaments that Tim picked out himself.  He printed out some pictures and wrapped them up for a gift for me.  The middle row shows a heart that signifies our first Christmas together in 2006.  The middle one was a wedding gift as is the last one that shows our first Christmas together as a married couple in 2008.  The last row is the tools that I bought for Tim's grooms cake.

Other special pieces of our holidays include porcelain figurines.

These bears were a gift to Tim from his parents.  They had gone to a craft show at the school when he was little and he saw those bears and just had to have them.  His mom had her own collection of porcelain figures and he wanted to have his own little set.

These angels and elves were a part of his mom's collection.

I also have a special porcelain figurine.  This little dog was a gift from my dad.  It is one of my most valued possessions.  I took it for show-and-tell one year because I just loved it.  On the bus ride home I took it out of my backpack to admire it once more.  We hit a big bump and it flew out of my hand and shattered all over the bus floor.  Through tears and tears I gathered all the pieces I could find.  I came home sobbing with a handful of shards.  It was able to be salvaged, though if you look at the back, evidence still exists of the wreckage. 

These are my M&M lights that I got when I was little.  They always make me smile.

This is the centerpiece that was at our head table for our wedding.  This was made by my mom.

This nativity set was a wedding gift.  Tim made the stable that houses this special collection.  It is made of 100 year old barnwood that was salvaged from my family's homestead north of Stanford.

 Hope you enjoyed this little tour of our eclectic pieces!  Each one is a special memory.  We reminisce fondly about the past and greatly look forward to the future. 

We wish everyone a very blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year.  Peace be with you, Glory to God.