Merry Christmas 2008!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!!

We had a very nice Christmas. Bill's parents came up for Christmas Eve and went to Mass with us. My parents and Jill and Sierra came up for Christmas day. We all received tons of wonderful gifts, and ate way too much!

I only finished two afghans for Christmas this year, but I did do a lap-afghan for my Grandfather earlier in the year and a couple of baby blankets for friends this summer (that's my excuse, anyway).

I made a Christmas afghan for my Mother-in-law, Sarah:

And an afghan for my niece Sierra in colors to remind her of the beach she loves:

But, truly the most gorgeous handmade gift this Christmas had to be the gorgeous quilt my mother made for me!!

It has A&M colors and fabric, with some butterflies for luck, and stone patterned fabric for a solid faith and foundation. It's absolutely beautiful! I have tried to quilt in the past, and the hardest thing for me is piecing everything together so the pieces are straight and the seams are even. I couldn't begin to approach the skill and precision of this one! It's just amazing!

The kids got some great gifts, too, but I'll have to write more about that later. We are headed to Troup, Texas today to attend a party for Bill's cousin Debbie's retirement. It's about a 4-hour trek there and another 4 hours home again, so I guess I need to get some yarn so I can get started on something for next Christmas!

The New Christmas Tree!

Merry Christmas Eve! We are almost ready for tomorrow, and, yes, I do finally have my Christmas Trees up. Our trip to Disney put me way behind for this year, but I finally got them up and ready.

This year, I decided to add a new tree (I know, just what I need, right?). But this one is extra special to me. In honor of my Aunt Pat, I decided to add a Family Tree!

I managed to cross-stitched a few ornaments with the kids and Bill and my parents' names on them and added some photos I've managed to beg, borrow, or copy from other family members. Christine (my cousin) had several amazing family photos she shared with us, including pictures of my great-grandparents and my great-great grandfather!

My plan is to add more cross-stitch ornaments over the next several years and more pictures as I can gather and scan them.

It's only in the early stages now, but I hope in a few years I can make it a tribute worthy of Aunt Pat and Chris and Paula.

I hope everyone reading this has a wonderful day tomorrow! I know that I am more grateful than ever for the moments I can spend with my family these days. To friends and family far away, know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and that we send blessings tomorrow and every day! Merry Christmas!

Time to go get ready for Santa . . . :-)

Let it snow!

I can't believe it's December already! I have a few of my trees up, and I'm still working on the rest of the house. We had a fantastic time at Disney, and I will post pictures eventually. I'm not even halfway through my shopping yet, and time is flying by.

But this afternoon, it actually felt like December. The temperatures dropped to the 30s and the kids (mine and the ones at school) were asking all day, "Will it snow??" Of course not! It's Texas! It was 70 degrees yesterday! It's not going to snow!

Shows what I know. When I picked Brady and KC up from school I thought it was starting to rain, but when I looked hard, I saw that it was indeed flakes. I wasn't even sure if the kids would notice, but they ran to the car shouting, "It's snowing!!"

Now it didn't stick, but we had flurries for a couple of hours, and around here that counts. A little pre-Christmas miracle. Aunt Pat and Grandpa Jim, if this was from either of you . . . thanks! The kids loved it. :-)