Wishing You...

a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  I know I am a bit early but I probably won't have time to get online much the next couple of days.  I hope everyone has wonderful days with family and friends and always remembers the true reason for Christmas.

Thanksgiving, Round 2!

We put off our family Thanksgiving for a week so that Andrew could be a part of it.  That was definitely okay with me.  After eating so much on Thanksgiving Day, I don't think I could have done it again the next day at my parents house (the original plan).  We celebrated Mom's birthday on that day as well.  So much food!  It was a great day spent with family!

Getting ready to devour our Thanksgiving feast!

JJ loved the drumsticks!

This is the only non-dessert item that I got an individual picture of.  Our appetizer, stuffed mushrooms.  Yum!

The cake I made for Mom's Birthday.  Chocolate Harvest Cake.  A creamy pumpkin filling sandwiched between 2 layers of moist, chocolate cake and topped with ganache and crumbled Heath bar.  And it tastes better the longer it sits!

Traditional Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie.  Gotta have those!

He's Back!

My not-so-little brother has been working in Iraq since April.  He came back a week ago for a 30-day vacation, just in time to spend Christmas with us!  He returns to Iraq at the end of December for another 6 months but for now we are so glad to have him back home!

I (unfortunately) had to use the flash for the pics in the airport so please excuse the glare.

JJ watches his Grandma give Uncle Andrew a big hug.

Checking his Uncle Andrew out.  Not quite sure about him yet. 

That didn't take long.  He warmed up to him right away.

Heading home!

Yep, they're weird.  But we love them.  :)

They were both laying under the Christmas tree.  I was only able to snap this one picture.  JJ wouldn't lay still long enough for me to try to get a good one.

Grandma's Helpers

JJ and I went over to my parents house this past Friday to help with their Christmas decorating.  JJ loved getting to hang ornaments on the tree and I was assigned the task of decorating their mantle.  Yay, me!  I love doing these kinds of things so I was pretty excited about it.  It took me hours to do but I (and they) were very happy with the end result.  Next time I go over there I'm going to be hanging up a couple wreaths in some windows.  Hope those turn out just as cute!

Taking his job very seriously.

 Think I know who Grandma's favorite helper is.  Can't say that I blame her.  ;)

The completed mantle.  The garland and most of the ornaments on the garland were new this year.  The wreath has been used for years but the color of the pointsettias and ribbon that were on the wreath were the wrong color so we had to buy new.  Replacing the pointsettias was pretty easy.  The ribbon was a bit harder.  Making a bow that size was a bit of a challenge but we figured it out!

Thanksgiving Day

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day this year.  My brother, Andrew, is coming home from Iraq late Tuesday night so we decided to put off our family's Thanksgiving for another week so that he could be part of it.  Thanksgiving Day was spent it with Jorge's parents and brothers.  A lot of delicious food was eaten and a lot of football was watched (by the boys)!  It was a good day spent with family.  And I ate too much.  :)

Sitting on Mimi and Papa's couch.  Looking as cute as ever.  :)

Nilo spent the day on the couch or on the floor.  He had surgery on his foot the day before Thanksgiving.

JJ with his Mimi and Papa.

Watching TV with his Uncles.

Sharing some leftover turkey with Uncle Joey.  Whatever Joey is eating JJ always wants some!

Playing video games with Uncle Joey.

JJ and His "Two"

Now that we are in the holiday season our family has been doing a lot of shopping lately - food, gifts, clothes, decorations, and anything else that comes up.  JJ has been tagging along each time and almost always does so well.  One day last week JJ and I were out shopping at Hob Lob with my parents for some decorations for their house.  My dad gave him a big fuzzy dog to carry around the store while we shopped.  JJ behaved so well that my Dad decided JJ needed to take the dog home with him (like he needs an excuse to buy something for JJ! haha!).  We asked JJ several times that night, and several times since then, what his dog's name is.  Each time he said "Two!".  So, "Two" it is.  JJ loves his doggie and sleeps with him every night.  Here is JJ's new friend...

JJ's Favorite Place To Be

.....is outside.  Since it's been colder lately he hasn't been able to go out as much.  The other day we were getting into our car when he took off across the front of the yard running and laughing and playing in the leaves.  You could tell he was loving it!  I snapped a few pictures while he enjoyed the beautiful weather.  Such a happy little boy he is.

Getting In The Mood...

The the Christmas mood, that is!  :)  Nothing gets you in the Christmas spirit quicker than Christmas music and decorations.  We decided last minute yesterday to put our Christmas decorations up.  Jorge has been working a lot recently so we thought we'd better take advantage of some time off.  I, of course, have been ready to put up Christmas decorations for a while so I was excited when he suggested we get it done last night.  Don't get me wrong, it's a pain sometimes and can be tedious work but the end result is always so worth it.  The ambiance it adds to the house makes you forget about all that work!    I got most of it done last night but added some last touches to it today.  I also made some ornaments.  Some for me (of course!) and some as gifts for others.  This is the time of year I'm thankful for a small home.  I spend enough time and money decorating this one!  I don't know how I'd handle a bigger one...yet, I'm sure I'd manage...haha!  Here are some pictures from last night and today.  Enjoy!

Warning: picture overload ahead!

My little Christmas helper.

I've made several changes to this year's decorations from last year's.  The tree is pretty much the same as last year though.

The entry is a bit different.  I added the ornaments hanging from the mirror and the ladder was on the fireplace last year.

Here is a close-up of the ornaments hanging from the mirror.  These are some of the ornaments I made this morning.

Picture of the mess I made while making said ornaments.  I don't have a work space so I use what I have - my floor!  The next 7 ornament pictures are ones I made today.

Here's our mantle.  My favorite place in the house (besides the kitchen, of course!).  Several things are different from last year.  The garland going across the top and down the sides of the mantle is a new thing and most of the decorations on it are new.  The ornaments hanging from the ceiling are a new thing this year as well.  I have to say that I love it!

I didn't include a picture of the back wall because I'm not finished with it yet.  It's mostly done but there's something about it I'm just not happy with yet.  When I figure it out I'll take pictures and post them!

Since we put up our Christmas decorations last night I had to do something with all the pumpkins we were using for our fall decorations.  I threw the bad ones away but kept the good ones, cut out the meat, and boiled it last night while we decorated.  This morning I pureed it all and now I have 15 cups of pumpkin puree in my freezer.  Yay, me!  I see lots of pumpkin baking in my near future!