Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Season's Greetings!

I really haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Tim and I have been quite preoccupied with getting ready for the holidays, various projects, including our biggest project: 4 kittens. They take up quite a bit of our time, and they are currently residing in the office, thus I am not in there as often on the computer. It used to be my place of creativity and serenity, but when you have kittens running up your leg all the time, it makes it kind of difficult! I probably won't be updating my blog(s) much until after the first of the year.

Until the next time I get a chance to blog, I hope everyone is having fun getting ready for Christmas! Christmas is probably my favorite holiday. I love the lights, the music, giving gifts, sharing time with family and friends, the yummy holiday foods, the Church services, etc. It is all too easy to get overwhelmed with all the duties and craziness that comes along with it though. I pray that through all the hustle and bustle of this season, that we are all able to sit back and reflect on what this season is all about. The birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the greatest gift of all!
Luke 2:9-12
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Peace & Joy to you all
*love*

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Thanksgiving



We had a really good Thanksgiving this year. Lots of fun with family, devouring way too much turkey and stuffing, and loving every minute of it. On Thanksgiving day, we had dinner up in McKinney at Tim's sister's (Amy) house. Tim's folks came into town from Kansas City, so it was great to see them and catch up on life. I love it when they are able to come down :) Amy has a wheat intolerance just like I do, so it's nice eating over there because she always has things prepared so that we can eat them! Except for the fact that she forgot to tell me the gravy had flour in it...oops! And within about 10 minutes of eating it, I knew I had been 'glutened'. That part wasn't so fun, but I didn't let it ruin my evening. All of us girls had fun chatting away all evening while the guys did their guy things and the kids played. My sister in law, Robin, went with her sister at midnight to head over to outlet mall to start Black Friday shopping, and Amy and my mother in law were going to get up at 4 to head out! Tim and I decided not to do that this year, which was good because we were so unbelievably tired, especially since Garbanzo has been waking us up every few hours to eat! She's nursing 4 kittens, so she's hungry all the time. We decided after that night that when we got home from Friday thanksgiving at my parents house, we were going to move them into the office so we could shut our bedroom door!

So back to Thanksgiving! Friday morning, I woke up and started preparing the gluten free apple tart I was so excited to make! I ran into a few issues...as in the dough kind of fell apart on me (the hazards of baking gluten free sometimes...), but I ended up piecing it back together, and it turned out AMAZINGLY good. Oh my word, I am in love with this dessert.



We went to my folks house around 1:00, and played a game of ladder golf, or whatever it's called. I forgot what it's called! But it's a fun game, even though my brother Mike beat me...oh well. And here's Peter giving a demonstration, and the lovely Beth showing her stuff.



We had a wonderful dinner that my mom and dad put together, and I ate way too much as usual. We got to video chat with my sister and brother and their families who couldn't be with us. At least they got to all be together up in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving :) We also celebrated Tim's birthday as a family (even though his birthday was on November 2) I still can't believe he's 30!!





It was a very relaxing, low-key Thanksgiving, both days. I am so thankful it has worked out the past few years to have thanksgiving with one family on Thanksgiving, and one family the next day. We don't have to rush through lunch with the first family, only to be so full and not be able to eat much at the second!

So we went home Friday evening, and had to get the kitties moved into the office. That was the best idea, ever. Mama took to the move quite well, even though she looked quite concerned at first, and so did the kittens. They love their new dwelling place -- more room to play! So they're happy, and we're happy that we can finally have a full nights sleep again.







Aren't they sweet?

*love*