Snow in Texas?!

I know this is a pitiful amount of frost/snow compared to those in other parts of the country. But I didn't think it snowed in Texas! (Not that I would mind a bit) We are still in debate as to whether this was a light snowfall last night that just stuck on the roofs or hail. I say snow. I will hang on to my fantasies of a white Christmas. The only negative is the brutal wind that seems to be accompanying this cold spell. It seems to drop the temperature another 20 or 30 degrees--not to mention throwing debris all over our subdivision. Regardless, I've chosen to put on warm, snuggly clothes, light candles (as I'm not adept with the fireplace), play Christmas music and stay in for the day!

Christmas!

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Christmas is finally here! This is my absolute favorite time of the year!! I love decorating (as displayed), I love the music, I love the spirit and, unfortunately, I LOVE the food!

This year, since I've retired and am staying home, we've found money is quite a bit tighter than last year. About a month ago, we had the discussion with the children that, of course, Santa will come, but they will only get one present from us this year. I was amazed at how well they took it! All three of them said they would rather have me home than have a bunch of presents for Christmas. I almost cried! Isn't that what Christmas really is about?! We need to learn more from children!!

So below are a few pics of the house. We didn't do much with the outside this year. We don't have nearly enough lights to do this house. So, we will work on things gradually--year by year. One thing at a time!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Whew!

Yes--I took this picture--can you believe it!? LOLThe last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind! As mentioned earlier, my sister and her family visited for a week. We did all the sightseeing things--the Alamo, the Riverwalk, the Natural Bridge Caverns, great Texas BBQ, you name it. The day after she left, my mother and her husband came. Then we got to see all the same sights all over again! LOL My mother just left and tomorrow morning I pick up my close friend, Mary, from L.A. at the airport. While I am so excited to see her, I know Brian is very ready to be done with company! It's good that I'm married to such a patient man! Luckily, he and Mary get along great, so that helps!

I have been making great use of my birthday present and thought I might post some of my favorite pictures of the last few weeks here. Please be patient with my novice abilities--I'm just having fun!

I know--obviously I didn't take this one. But it's one of the few I got of my sister and I together. We were having fun with hats.

Yes, Sarah had to be the rebel and refuse to wear the pink hat. Even Joel went with our pink theme (at least for about 5 seconds)--gotta love it!!

Just a picture I shot on the Riverwalk.

Another Riverwalk shot.

Kiersten looking much more sweet than she often acts!

These are some cool pics from the Natural Bridge Caverns.

Kiersten and Meghan outside the caverns with their cousin, Seth.

This is my favorite!

Well, time to go get ready for more guests and another fun-filled weekend!!

Birthdays!

This girls turned 7 the weekend before Thanksgiving. I tried my hand at cake decorating. We usually buy from the store, but I decided to go the old fashioned route, just like Mom did.
Meghan doesn't like chocolate (not sure if she's mine), so hers is a yellow cake decorated with skittles.

Kiersten, of course, loves the chocolate! So that's what she got, with M&Ms on top!

We didn't have a big party this year. Each girl invited one friend over. We went to see Bolt, had dinner at the Magic Time Machine (Robin Hood was our waiter this time) and had the girls spend the night. Daddy made his famous waffles in the morning for the perfect ending to a fun night!

We got home so late from the movie and dinner, the girls had to open presents in thier PJs.

Both thrilled to get Wall-E from Grandpa Curtis!

The girls and thier friends--oh yeah and Zachary. LOL

Just 2 days later is my birthday. My sister got here the evening before. Since my birthday fell on a Sunday this year, we went to see Twilight when Cheryl came in on Saturday to celebrate. I LOVED IT! At first I wasn't sure of the choice for Edward--but I love him now! I rarely go to movies in the theatre anymore, but on Thanksgiving, my niece, Sarah, and I went to see Twilight again we loved it so much! This time we took Kiersten and Meghan and they are hooked as well. Zachary saw it the first time with us and really enjoyed it since he read the book. But the second time we went, he elected to go see James Bond with the boys. What a guy!

Yes, Brian's baking skills put mine to shame! He made me a chocolate cake with a burnt orange merengue buttercream. It was amazing!!

Present time!! Does anything get more fun than this!? Brian gave me a great new camera--so expect an obnoxious amount of pictures on my posts now! Cheryl gave me a great popcorn popper and we spent the rest of the week making homemade Kettlecorn. Yummm!!

My birthday breakfast--another benefit of marrying a chef!!

Getting ready to dig in--Meghan hasn't gotten her plate yet and she is trying to mooch from her mommy!

Well, the girls are all now a year older--some worse for thier wear! It was a great weekend with much celebrating! To bad we don't have more like them (without the added years)!!

Long overdue visit!

This last week, my older sister, Cheryl, and her family came to visit for Thanksgiving. We haven't seen each other in 13 years, due to how far apart we lived. Our parents married when I was 12. She was my best friend through junior high and high school and as far as we are concerned--we're sisters! She brought 4 of her 5 children and her husband. The children quickly bonded and we realized that this visit was long overdue. Below are some fun pictures of the family together.

Cheryl's family and I went to the Riverwalk one day while the kids were in school and Brian was at work. Ahhh the joys of retirement....

Meghan was inseparable from her cousin Joel. She thought having a great big cousin was the best thing in the world!!

Cheryl and I in the local caverns. I got some incredible picture while I was in there--I'll have to post those separately.

Kiersten and Meghan adored thier cousin Sarah! It actually took a few days for Kiersten to stop waking up crying for her.
Zach spent a good part of the week imparting his video game "knowledge" on Seth.

Brian and Mark in the kitchen. I think Mark was trying to figure out which was the kitchen utensil. LOL

Sarah doesn't take a bad picture! This was after treking through the caverns.

Jared's sweetness even shows through on the picture.

Not sure if I have a son or a monkey--maybe a little of both!

Another monkey-boy, Joel, with his fabulous smile!

A great shot of the 3 youngest--all so photogenic!

Yes, Meghan is giving the "rock on" sign! She definitely is her mother's daughter!

Kiersten and Sarah bonding.

"Are you really that tall?!"

The whole gang!

This is before our midnight shopping spree. I took the 4 oldest kids shopping just after midnight on Black Friday at the factory outlet mall. We're all wearing PJs b/c the first 500 shoppers in PJs got a free gift. We were nowhere near the first 500! It was crazy, but great fun!

Here we are having breakfast at Whataburger at 4 am on Black Friday after our shopping spree!

It was such a great visit! We had 11 people in this house and it wasn't even challenging. That sure says something! I guess it didn't hurt that they were more helpful than your typical guests. Cheryl was constantly doing dishes and straightening up, while Mark cleaned our garage, washed my van and just about any other odd job he could get his hands on. Those kinds of guests can come back anytime! LOL Even if they hadn't done all of that, we are anxious to see them again. This time we're sure the kids won't allow us to go so long between visits!