It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Christmas

This morning started with a trip to the Legacy Springs clubhouse, which is like 7 houses away from my front door.  The neighborhood was doing a Toy's for Tots Drive and Santa was coming to visit.  I was taking pictures of everyone with Santa, which was a lot of fun.  The boys came up and saw Santa and Mrs. Claus. Danny hung out with me to help me out, which was super awesome.  I love it when my boys help out.

I headed home after we were done and Santa was headed back to the North Pole.  I walked in the door and got to work cooking for the Christmas party.

This is my favorite party of the year and it is simply because there is no stress, it is just fun for everyone.  Next year I am going to be even  more ready.  I already have some ideas.

I was making Taquitos, Coctail Wienies in BBQ sauce, mini corn dogs, and other quick and easy finger foods.  I also made some cookies and fudge.  The elves made some super cute snowmen faces and left the boys the ingredients that they needed to make more.  They were super cute, easy, and yummy.  Definitely three of my favorite things.

The party was a lot of fun, it was great to get together with friends and family and just have a good time.  I am considering making it an ungly sweater party next year, but we will have to see.  I am going to be asking for opinions on Facebook at some point.  I did not take near the pictures that I wanted to, in fact I did not really take any which pretty much was not what I had in mind, but it was nice just talking to everyone and making the rounds.  To those who did not make it you were all definitely missed, maybe next year you can make it.

Hello 2012

Happy New Year to everyone and to Brittany Ann....a VERY HAPPY 17th BIRTHDAY! Yes, everyone 17, seems wrong to us, she was just a baby, I am almost sure of it!

2011 was an amazing year. So many wonderful things happened and blessings seemed to be everywhere. This blog was one of those amazing blessings as it made me seriously think about and be thankful for each day.

2012 I know will be full of many more blessings, it seems some are already appearing. So thankful for so many amazing things in my life. Especially my husband and our two amazing boys.

We kicked off the New Year with a kiss at Midnight. It is something we both think is important and a fun tradition. We were also surrounded by friends, and there is something great about starting a year with those you love! Thank you again for having us over Amy and Terry! It was great to see everyone there and meet some new people. Definitely a wonderful start to what we know is going to be an amazing year.

We ended up sleeping a little later than we meant to today, but it is okay, we all obviously needed it.

We went to the movies today which is a tradition we started last year, go to the movies each New Year (and hopefully more often throughout the year). Today we went to go see We Bought a Zoo. This was a GREAT movie, but I will say I needed tissues, so if you go see it taking a few would be a good idea. I love a movie that makes me laugh, cry, and genuinely smile. This movie definitely fit into these boundaries. It also makes me want to visit the zoo that it is about. Maybe one day. I love a good zoo....of course I always wanted to own one myself. Mainly because I wanted a pet Tiger. The boys really liked the movie too, which I was super glad of. I always like it when as a family we are able to enjoy something together and to enjoy being together.

I took some pictures at the movie, but I cannot find the USB cable for my point and shoot! YAY! Not really, another prayer to St. Anthony. He is going to be busy helping us find that and the wallet. These pictures are the last one from 2011 and the first 2 of 2012. :0)

Well tomorrow ends Christmas break for everyone. I hope that it is as good of a day as today was. I love spending all of the time with my family and will miss them so much as they head back off to work and school. I cannot believe that it is over.

Know that I pray all of you have an amazing 2012 you will all be in my thoughts and prayers! I know that there are many great things out there for all of us and I hope that they are abundant and in your palm this year and for many years to come.

Christmas Eve's Eve

Today like every other day we had a few errands to run, we were actually not going to have to go anywhere, but I ran our of vanilla while baking and that is definitely not a good thing right now. It is all better now, I definitely have some vanilla on hand :0)

We went to get our mail this afternoon and there was a certificate in there. When we looked at it we realized that it was an award for our Christmas lights. This completely made my day. We work hard to try to make our house something that everyone can enjoy, it is nice to know that others really are enjoying. This was "The Grubbs Family Christmas Decoration Award." Our Award was the "Magic of Christmas" Award. It was great, and really meant a lot to us. Maybe we will adopt this tradition for ourselves next year so that others will know how much we enjoy their hard work and contribution to the Christmas spirit.

We went to my mom's to get together with some great friends, that really are more like family. Kimy, Steven, Morgan, and Deborah. We ate dinner, the kids exchanged gifts and played. Morgan decided to kiss John Michael and then they chased each other for a while to try to get another kiss. It was so so cute. Then it was time to head home.

Well, again it is after midnight but I am headed to bed now. Know that every moment we are given is a gift that is why it is the present. Enjoy today it is a gift from God and everything we find within it is a blessing.

Saturdays at the Lake

There is nothing better than a holiday weekend at the lake....well except a holiday weekend at the beach! Even if my toes are not in sand, there is water, which always makes things more enjoyable!

We were at the water most of the day today, which is great for several reasons. We are making memories Danny and John Michael will have forever, not to mention Brandon and myself. They also get VERY tired, which means bedtime is usually not a HUGE fight. It also seriously helps my mood to relax and my mind to be more open.

Tonight several of the neighbors started to test out their fireworks. It was great to get some mini shows. Tomorrow night seems to be the night that everyone is shooting so we will also be shooting ours. Most of them anyway, we will probably save some for the 4th. I hope that we will anyway. I love fireworks, but seriously who doesn't?

Danny fished for a while today, but had no luck. He was not very happy. I tried to explain to him that the heat of the day was not ideal for fishing off a pier, especially in an area that can get as busy as ours with sea-doos and boats. Hopefully he will have better luck before the weekend is over. If not there is always the next trip, but that will be in a few weeks. This is seriously been a non stop summer. We plan to come up though even after school starts, pick the boys up on Friday and head East on 20.

Well, I have been working on more pictures. I will have them done this week, but I will feel better when they are done. I do not like having to ask people to wait on me. Of course they know that it is worth it. Hopefully the facebook posts are at least giving them an idea of what to expect. Speaking of that I have a few copyright releases to get out! Sorry for the delay if you are waiting on one!

Well, I am off to bed shortly. I am about to the halfway point on my paper and then I am calling it quits, at least for now. Rest does me a lot of good. Looking forward to spending tomorrow with my family and friends! Know that you are all in my prayers as always! I hope that you are having a great 4th of July weekend!