Christmas Morning..

This year was so fun, Austin really enjoyed, and understood the concept of gifts and opening them.. He had such a blast..

he got a gift under his own tree for being such a good boy!!

Austin was so excited about the tree, we opened the stockings last..

WE took a Christmas morning bath ( in our new woody towel) ..

A surprise gift.. that warmed our hearts..

Then it was off to grammies, for PIZZA lunch.. and our own tree.. Renee and Jo made it, but Cole couldnt..

Holiday cooking

I know its a week late, but still just as sweet!!

Every year, my Aunt Loreda made these green mints, we always got them, every year.. My sister and I are HUGE fans.. I thought I had lost them, as I did Loreda, but luckily a family member had the recipe..
so I took a stab at it.. ( a not as good looking as hers, but a good try just the same)

I LOVED them.. ( so did Austin)

A tradition every Christmas eve ( that we started last year) is to have our neighbors stop in for dessert..

This year I tried a new recipe called Rasberry Mirror Cake.. it was a hard one, but it came out beautifully..

"I LOVE RAZBERRY"

Christmas eve, I baked these Plum glazed cornish hens ALL day, I had been telling Keith about it for litterally weeks, and they took 8 hours to cook..
They looked good.

I set the table, ( with veggie stuffed white onions, which were good) and sat down to eat..
and long story short.. couldnt bring myself to eat the thing..
needless to say, I learned a valuable lesson.. ALWAYS CUT MY MEAT BEFORE EATING..

it was good to be together though... hahaha

We also went to grandpa Rusty's in the afternoon to deliver his gifts..

He LOVED his trucks!!

After all the hub-bub.. we opened our Christmas eve gifts and write our letter to Santa Claus

( we left Santa peanuts and green cookies Austin help me make)

Then we went to bed, and waited for santa clause to visit...

Holidaze Catch-up

I know everyone has been dying to know where we have been, and now that we are back, I am dying to tell you..

Christmas was a hectic time, hectic, but GREAT!! so I want to deidicate a single post for each individual party, however this post is dedicated to letting everyone know we are safe, healthy and happy..

Christmas day started out as planned, then we added a 6 hour trip to see family, en route we up and changed our minds about our desitination which in turn, added an additional 14 hours ( Thank GOD for portable dvd players and a little boy who LOVES toystory).. it was hectic, and a well deserved vacation for my husband, who really wanted to get a deer this year..

 (and their season is still open)
anyhoo..
needless to say, keith did not get a deer, however we did get a cute little addition to our family.. ABBY, a 3 year old black lab..
Happy New Years!!!