The Simple Blessings of Christmas

What are the simple blessings of the Christmas season?

In all the hustle and bustle...what does Christmas really mean?

If you are of the Christian faith, you'll love this beautiful 3 minute movie from our friends at Inspired Faith. Just click here to watch and share it with friends and family.

Here's wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas season!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

What goes up...must come down!

For the next three days, I will be undoing everything I worked so hard at getting "just right." It's time for the unwelcome task of taking down the Christmas decorations. I have to admit, this task is here a little early this year, however, I need my house in normal working order before my life as I know it gets turned upside down. On the to-do list today (and tomorrow, and the next day) :

• Workout
• Run a few remaining errands
• Pack away Christmas wrapping supplies {which is currently taking over our study}
• Wrap and put up all my holiday platters, snowmen, stockings, tree skirt and holiday decor
• Disassemble garland on the banister {and find additional storage space for it somewhere}
• Remove ornaments, lights and bow from the Christmas tree {I'll have to wait until Kelly gets home to take the Christmas tree downstairs}
• Pull up all the Christmas lights in our front yard and attempt to squish them back in the original box they came in {unlikely that this will actually work}
• Cram, shove, jam, squish, etc. everything Christmas related into our tiny upstairs closet! {But hey, I'm thankful we actually have the storage space for it all this year. Last year I had to make it all fit in the ONE closet Kelly and I shared in our tiny 890 sq. ft. apartment.}

A few other fun things I'd like to indulge myself in are:

• Catch the re-run of the season premier of The City {see my previous post}
• Watch The Sound of Music, start to finish, for the first time ever!*
• See White Christmas for the first time ever!
• Cook a good, wholesome, healthy meal for my husband {which I rarely ever do!}
• Get my car washed {it's beginning to look embarrassingly white trash!}
• Post pictures from the two photo shoots with Cooper

* For whatever reason, The Sound of Music has been the topic of several conversations I've had lately. At the office yesterday afternoon...during lunch with some co-workers...at the gym last night with my Mom. I don't know if it's because it was just on TV or if it is a holiday must-see, but I am definitely going to check it out!

Speaking of holiday "must-sees," Kelly and I made it to all of the blockbusters at the movie box this year!

• Weekend before Christmas - Seven Pounds
• Christmas Eve - Slumdog Millionaire
• Christmas Day - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Day after Christmas - Valkyrie
• Weekend after Christmas - The Spirit* and Marley & Me

* Kelly watched The Spirit while I was frantically reading the final chapters of Marley & Me. It was a good thing Santa brought us movie tickets this year :)

Well, I'm off to get started on my many lists of things to do! I'm sure I'll be back later with updates on my progress.

Have a great day!!

O Christmas Tree!

Well, since I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off in the weeks leading up to Christmas, I was never able to post any pictures of our Christmas tree. So before December is over and Christmas officially comes to a close, I have here, our Christmas tree...

And our first fire...

And remember when I told you about our super productive Thanksgiving Break? Well here are a few photos displaying the fruits of our labor. (Some of the photos include our Christmas Party decor...)

Master Bedroom

Guest Bedroom

View from the front door

Little "dip" table

I can't believe the holidays are already coming to a close! I still have so many Christmas movies I want to watch :) I was able to sneak in all my favorites:

• Little Women (watched this on Christmas Eve with the family)
• Polar Express
• Home Alone
• Miracle on 34th Street (I didn't get to finish this one, but I did record it, so I might be able to finish it tonight. Kelly can endure it. After all, I was able to endure the Cowboys game last night. OUCH!)

What are you Christmas Traditions??

I was tagged by Jen last week to do my Christmas Survey. So, I'd better hurry up - there are only 2 days left until Christmas!!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Definitely wrapping paper...its much more fun unwrapping!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial

3. When do you put up the tree? I aim for the day after Thanksgiving... however, the past two years my Mom and I have made it a tradition to hit the "early bird specials" on Black Friday, so the tree usually goes up the weekend after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually the first two weeks of January. This year, we will definitely have our Christmas stuff put away the first week of January because Cooper comes home on January 9th!

5. Do you like eggnog? Ew sick, absolutely not!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Oh my gosh, let me think... I remember getting this awesome sweatsuit that I wore practically everyday for a year! That was the same year my brother got a basketball goal and we spent hours trying to learn how to do a lay-up in our driveway.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Our Dads can be hard to shop for sometimes!

8. Easiest person to buy for? Mom! I secretly try to pick up on little hints here and there to get her those extra special gifts!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? No, but one day we will!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail for sure...mine went out the first week of December :)

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A purple ceramic pumpkin. I got this at a White Elephant gift exchange - however, I didn't know it was "white elephant." So I brought a normal gift while all the other gifts were "gag." As you can tell, it scarred me for life.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Little Women! Even though this isn't really a Christmas movie, my Mom and I watch it every year at Christmas and it always reminds me of the holidays. So does Gone with the Wind. But I do like Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone and The Polar Express (yes, I know I'm 25.)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? As early as I have every one's wishlist! I try to start as early as I can to get the good deals and avoid the crowds :)

14. Have you ever re-gifted a Christmas present? Yes, the purple ceramic pumpkin. And now I'm a firm believer of not buying a "good" gift if everyone else insists on bringing a "gag" gift. See the scarring?

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? There is so much yummy food at our house... sausage rolls, puppy chow, toffee, queso, sausage balls, and the list goes on...

16. Lights on the tree? A MUST! White/Clear only.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Do You Hear What I Hear, Winter Wonderland, Nutcracker medley, Joy To The World, Mary Did You Know, All I Want For Christmas is YOU...I love all Christmas music!

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? This year we'll be staying home. Next year, who knows!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Of course, there's...Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph!!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Last year we had a star, but this year we have a bow.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas morning!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Crazy drivers, long lines and of course, the annual grinch!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I love red and gold! Our tree is filled with red/maroon/gold ornaments and has some poinsettias in it!

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Mom's brisket with mashed potatoes, corn and rolls!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Brighton jewelry, dress clothes, Miss Dior Cherie perfume, pajamas, a new robe, house shoes, pashmina, gift cards, anything really!!! (Except the purple ceramic pumpkin :) )

I'm tagging anyone else who hasn't shared their holiday traditions!!

Holiday Hustle and Bustle

Oh.My.Goodness! I can't believe I've been away so long! So much has happened in the month of December, I hardly know where to begin. {Aren't you loving all of this holiday hustle and bustle? This cold weather really gets me in the Christmas Spirit.}

I'm writing to you today from Puppyland! Since the last time I wrote about our precious puppy, so much has happened! If you recall, we were originally going to get a girl puppy, but now we are getting an adorable boy puppy and we're naming him Cooper! It's amazing how fast these little tykes grow. They are 3 weeks and 3 days old today! They've had their dewclaws removed; opened their eyes; started to walk; playing with each other; trying to bite (but this is mostly at the air since they don't know how to officially bite); and have started to eat mushed up puppy food (Gruel.)

That is where I come in. I am at the puppy owners house right now (her name is Jan) and I am puppy sitting all 7 of these precious gems! Jan and her family had to make a quick trip to Houston and so she asked if I could sit with them in the meantime. It has been quite an adventure I have to say. Fortunately, my brother came over to help me corral the pack! They've eaten three times since I've been here and I am totally wiped out. You first have to puree 1 cup of puppy food with 3 cups of water and then one by one start feeding each puppy. This is always fun as you never know which pup is going to dive right in or become totally disenchanted with the whole thing. They get the Gruel on their face, in between their paws and all over the ground. But I have to say, it's so rewarding when one actually stands at the bowl and eats completely on his own! Then after wiping them down, you have to pick up another one and do it all over again!

Other than puppy-sitting today, Kelly and I have been able to spend a lot of time with the pups! We get to see them about every 3 days for a couple of hours. On Saturday night I got to hold Cooper for over an hour. I just soaked it all in as I know these days won't last long!

We've done two photo shoots with the pups and I'll update this post with the pics when I get back to my computer!

Stay tuned for more puppy updates!

Deck the Halls

When I asked my husband if he would hang the Christmas lights on the house, this is the picture he sent me of the final product:

YIKES! Actually, he just sent his photo to me in an email. Whew! But would that be a scary thought if that was what your Christmas lights looked like! Needless to say, I put my foot down on this one!

Our Thanksgiving Break... in a nutshell!

When I left you guys on Monday I was planning to start {and finish} painting our upstairs bedrooms. That was all I thought we could handle over the Thanksgiving break. Little did I know what all we could get done in the span of 5 days! And by "we" I mean the little army I enlisted to help me get my house ready for the holidays!

Here's a quick overview of our accomplishments.

• Paint upstairs bedrooms {walls, trim, and doors}
• Rearrange furniture in the loft
• Decorate guest bedroom
• Change filter in attic {this is more time consuming than you think}
• Clean/Pick-up the house
• Cook the dish we were taking to my grandparent's house for Thanksgiving
• Sand and stain two dressers
• Unpack all the Christmas decorations
• Put up the Christmas tree and garland
• Restring the lights on the tree
• Buy new vanity for upstairs bedroom
• Order and pick up our Christmas cards

That quick overview hardly encompasses ALL we were able to get done this week, but if you stop to think about it, that is pretty hefty list to tackle all at once.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent painting and moving furniture back into place once everything was dry. Wednesday afternoon we removed all the decorations from the wall in our loft so we could get up in the attic to get down the Christmas tree. However, once Kelly was in the attic, we realised our tree was still over at my parent's house! So, while he was up there, he changed the air filter, and the had to move some cables around to reconnect the internet in our study. {I didn't really understand what wires had to go where, so I left that job to the boys.} Oh, I guess I should give a shout out to my little army! My Dad helped me paint the majority of the walls on Tuesday and then my Mom joined in on the fun Tuesday afternoon and helped paint the trim. Kelly had to work Tuesday, so when he got home from work, he was enlisted to take over for my Dad. My brother, Joshy, came home from college on Tuesday evening and came over to the house in time to hang out and watch the Dancing With The Stars finale. Dad, Josh and Kelly moved all the furniture on Wednesday afternoon while Mom and I decorated the bedroom and got everything back in order. Thank you Army for helping me get my house in order!!!

Wednesday night Kelly's parents got to town. They didn't make it to our house until about 10:00 that evening, so we just relaxed on the couch after a long day of hard work. Thursday my parents picked us up to go to my grandparent's house for Thanksgiving, while Kelly's parent's went over to Kelly's aunt's house for the day. We all had a great day filled with wonderful food and fellowship with family!

Friday morning my mom and I woke up at 4:45 am to get a head start on our holiday shopping. We made a few quick stops and then headed to Canton. It was our first time EVER to experience the infamous Canton Trade Days, and I have to say, we made it out alive! There was so much cute stuff to see, I still don't know if we saw it all! Of course, we were there on the one cold and rainy day out of the year, but that didn't stop us from power shopping the day away! We made a few purchases for the house and headed back to town around 2:00 pm. We had a few other places to stop before I headed home around 6:00 pm. That evening, Kelly and I went with his parents to The Shops at Highland Village to watch Four Christmases; however, it was sold out that night, so we made a stop at Snuffer's to chow down on their famous cheese fries instead. OH! I almost forgot! The best part of the night was that our PUPPY was born! Abby, the mother, had the puppies on Friday night between 11:00pm and 1:30am. There were a total of 9 in the litter: 4 black, 3 yellow, and 2 white!

Saturday morning we took it easy and lounged around the house for awhile. Kelly was in charge of staining the dressers that go in our upstairs bedroom, so Mom and I decided to get the Christmas decorations out and put up the tree. {Kelly hates putting up the Christmas tree, so I think he was glad to have an excuse this year.} But let me back up for a second. While my Mom and I were in Canton, I got a phone call from Kel saying that he and his Mom were going to sand down the dressers and stain them before his parents left to head back to Lubbock. Kelly and I had been planning on refinishing the dressers at some point, so I was thankful that his Mom was willing to help him tackle that HUGE project! Back to Saturday... after Mom and I got the decorations in place, Kelly and I headed over to Jan's house, the puppies owner, to pick out our little pup! All the pups were absolutely adorable! They looked like little fur balls moving around! Kelly and I want a yellow lab, we just didn't know if we'd be getting a little girl or a little boy. Well, it turns out that we'll be getting a little GIRL! Here are a few pics from our first visit!

Kel and I are pretty sure we want the pup with the pink collar, but we are going back in a week to make our official selection. The white ones are beautiful and it makes it so hard to decide when you're looking at their cute little faces. Aren't they so cute?!

After leaving the pups, Kel and I made it home just in time to turn around twice and head back out the door with his parents to go see Four Christmases {for real this time.} We met up with Ryan, Kelly's brother; his roommate; his girlfriend {excuse me, the girl he is dating}; and Wes and Brandye. I would have to rate the movie a B, but the fellowship was A+! We headed home and crashed out on the couch. We were exhausted!

This morning we woke up and went to brunch with Kel's parents at Le Peep and then came back home to pack up their car so they could hit the road. A 5 hour drive home seems like a long car ride after the busy week we had! I've spent the afternoon getting the house in order and running a few more errands. I have to say, I'm looking forward to a relaxing night on the couch, just the two of us!

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Phew! All done. Thanks for reading this novel! Stay tuned for more updates on Christmas decorations and the puppy!

Chi Omega Christmas

Yesterday I went to the Chi Omega Christmas Market at the Dallas Convention Center. Tonda, one of the ladies I support, and I got to take half the day off and go to this Christmas WONDERLAND as a team building event. We both love Christmas, so we used this as an excuse to breakaway from the office and bond while shopping!

I'd never been to the Chi-O Christmas Market before, but I can definitely tell you, it will be a long standing holiday tradition from now on. The Dallas area Chi Omega Alumnae have been hosting this event for 31 years, and the proceeds from this event go to selected charitable organizations and the local community.

The "Market" is set up like any craft mall would be, with booths hosted by different vendors, all selling their specific merchandise. There were over 150 merchants with booths, so you can imagine how long it took us to visit all the booths. (We had to visit ALL of them, of course!)

It was glorious to say the least! I found some stuff for the house, great A&M decor, and some Christmas decorations! I'm just greasing my wheels for our Canton trip next week...

Here's a fun pic from yesterday's outing!

(We have Christmas in our eyes!)