Christmas In Crazyville

"Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts." ~Janice Maeditere

"Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles." ~Author Unknown

Grilling Goodness With Tina And Friends~ 11

It's that time again...Time for some more "Grilling Goodness." If you would like to join in all of the fun, just click here. Tina would love to have you all participate!

Now, on to the grilling.....

1. What pain reliever do you swear by?

The kind that they give you in the hospital. ;)



2. Have you gotten up-to-date with a flat screen HDTV?

Yes, we have. All the better to see Tristan with I like to say. ;)



(Psst, Tina, have you watched the movie yet?)

3. Have you honked at anyone lately?

Not really. Mostly people just honk at me.



So, I just yell out the window, while waving wildly, "Go around, go around!"

Seriously, just ignore me.

4. What is your favorite household product?

I love all of my Swiffer products. They are wonderful.



Without the help of these little miracle workers.....



.....My sweet little house might be taken over by dust bunnies.



5. What is the earliest you've gotten up this week and why?

I get up early almost every morning with Shannon. The alarm usually goes off by 4:30am. But we usually stay in bed until 5:00am. Why so early you may ask? Well, watch this clip and you'll find out. (It's only 30 seconds long.)



LOL!:) I'm just teasing, Shannon. You know my world revolves around you.;)
I love you, Baby!

6. Do you travel out of town for Christmas?

No, we just spend Christmas in Crazyville with our family. But when I was a little girl, we used to spend Christmas with my granddaddy at his house.



I loved him.



And he loved me.



*Sigh*

7. Have you been listening to Christmas music? (Favorite?)

Yes. I listen to Christmas music every single day from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I love all Christmas music. Here are just a few of the songs that I love to sing along to. Much to my family's dismay, of course.

8. When do you exchange gifts with family?

We open some gifts on Christmas Eve, but mostly we wait until Christmas Day.
However, the most important gift of all on Christmas, you must simply open your heart for, and you can open it at any time.



Luke 2:11
"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

Merry Christmas to all of you!
God Bless,
Amy :)

A Christmas Tag And An Award

I got tagged for this Christmas MeMe by Much2Ponder at the In Case You Were Wondering blog, and Sondre Lyn at the Sondre Lyn blog.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Neither. But a Starbucks coffee would be just perfect.

Cold......



Or hot.....



2.Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

It depends on the size of the gift. But this year since both of our boys want cash, we might just be passing out envelopes. LOL!;)

3. Colored lights on house/tree or white?

Both.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

You know that I do.



*Sigh*

5. When do you put your decorations up?

Usually right around Thanksgiving. Sometimes before. Sometimes after.

And speaking of decorations, as part of our Advent celebration, this past Sunday, Shannon and I made a gingerbread house with the boys. And since my mom really wanted to see it, I am going to share some pictures of it with you.

We called it the "Gingerbread Shack." ;)





6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?

Broccoli Casserole. Here is the recipe in my mom's handwriting.



7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?

Unlike my own children, I loved when my parents would take me driving around Crazyville to look at all the different houses decorated for Christmas. I would get so excited seeing all of the bright and cheerful Christmas lights and decorations.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

I believe that I was in about the fourth grade, and some little snippy girl spilled the beans at school one day. I remember going home and demanding that my mom tell me the truth. And when she did.....I just started bawling. It was a very sad day for my mom and me.

*Sniff*Sniff*

Even now that I am older I still love to hear people say, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

We usually let the boys open one gift or three on Christmas Eve.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

I'll let you see for yourself. (And even though you cannot tell it in this picture, our tree is covered in white and multi-colored strands of lights.)



11. Snow. Love it or dread it?

I love to look at snow and watch it falling. But I cannot drive in it. At all. Ever.

12. Can you ice skate?

No. I have never even tried it. But just between you and me, I have had several dreams that I am awesome at it. Like this.



13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

The first year that Shannon and I were married, I wanted a Christmas tree, but we were living in a mess, as we were building our house (while living in it), so my husband thought it would not make sense to put a tree in a "construction zone."

I was disappointed, but I understood.

Anyway, not too long after our discussion, I arrived home from work one evening, but he wasn't there. Which was unusual, because he got off work much earlier than me.

So I waited and worried, and finally he showed up. He came in the house and asked me, "What is all of this stuff out on the porch?" And I looked at him confused, and replied, "What stuff? Where have you been?"

Then he said, "Help me get all of this stuff cleaned off of the porch."

So, I walked outside with him and he shouted, "Merry Christmas!"

The "stuff" on the porch was a tree, lights, ornaments, tinsel, and an angel topper for me.



*Sigh*

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you?



Amen.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?

Hands down....pecan pie.



Mmmmmmmmmm!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

I absolutely love listening to Christmas music! I never tire of it. Just ask my family. ;)

17. What tops your Christmas tree?

A Precious Moments angel that my sister in law gave me many years ago. And no, Michelle, you cannot have it. ;)

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?

Definitely giving.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?

I love SO many Christmas songs, so there is NO way that I could pick just ONE favorite. But just for the sake of answering the question, I will share with you one of my many favorites. Take a listen if you'd like. It's "The Christmas Song" sung by Nat King Cole.



20. Candy Canes. Yum or Yuck?

Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. However, I do think that they are very pretty.

21. What do you want for Christmas?

"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth."

Seriously, feel free to just completely ignore me.

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party?

No.



Just kidding. ;)

23. Do you dress up for Christmas Eve or wear PJ's?

Pajamas!

24. Do you own a Santa hat?

We own a Santa hat, and a hat for Santa's elf as well.



25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with?

My sweet and crazy family.

And last, but not least, I received this award from Lynn at the Somewhere in the Middle blog.

Isn't it sweet?



*Sigh*

The requirements for this award are:
"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find, and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers."

Thank you so much, Lynn, for thinking of me for this award. I really appreciate you, my bloggy friend!

(Not So ) Wordless Wednesday

Today I am sharing with you one of my favorite Christmas pictures of my boys together. They are holding Daniel's Teddy in this picture.

My mom made Teddy (dressed in his Santa costume, which she also made) for Daniel one year for Christmas, and it is hands down, the most special gift she ever gave him. Daniel loves Teddy. Daniel did everything with Teddy; he even took Teddy to his first year of summer camp.

And even though Daniel has long outgrown the days of taking Teddy everywhere, if you ask him what his favorite Christmas memory is, he will still tell you it was the Christmas that Mammaw gave him Teddy.



Sigh.

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other." ~Burton Hillis

Friends And Fun At Shelly's House

Saturday, I went to see one of my very best blogging buds, Shelly. She and her sweet family just recently moved into a new place, and I was very excited to see it!

Shelly moved to the complete opposite side of Crazyville, so I had NO idea where I was going. And since Map Quest gave me the wrong directions, I took the scenic route to her house.

Did I mention that I was drinking coffee on the way to her house?

A big cup of coffee.

And I was taking the scenic route.

So by the time I finally arrived at her house, I had to go the bathroom.

Really.

Badly.

Once I entered the bathroom, this is what I found waiting for me.



LOL!:) Shelly is SO funny!:)

Shelly loves to tease me about the craziness in my life.
(You can click here to see why we both thought this was so funny.)

After digging through my purse Scarlet to find $.35, it was time to take a little tour of the house.

Shelly's new house is just darling.

Here are a couple of pictures of just a few of Shelly's turtles. She has a huge collection of turtles. (And if you know what is good for you, when you go to her house, you won't touch any of them. I'm just saying.)



Hey, who drew that cute, happy turtle? ;)



I mentioned in my post yesterday that Shelly wanted me to visit her new home before the dust had a chance to settle, so look what I found when I entered her bedroom.



I can't imagine why she would think that I would notice dust on a television. ;)



After my tour of Shelly's new house, some more friends came to join in the fun.

Tina came with her two adorable children and her good friend, Scarlet. Here is a picture of me and my Scarlet with Tina and her Scarlet.



I think Tina's Scarlet and my Scarlet are going to be life long friends......

Like Tina, Shelly, and Me.



While Tina and I were visiting with Shelly, the two Scarlets, and all of the kids, Shelly's sweet husband Shay made us all a delicious lunch.

Bacon wrapped chicken breast pieces and some sort of sausage and cream cheese mixture wrapped up in a crescent roll. He also served us chips and white cheese dip.



Mmmmmmmm! You should have smelled it too. Very, very yummy!

Shelly and Tina's kids had as much fun hanging out as we did. Here is a picture of Spice and Ella being different farm animals.

Aren't they cute?



I didn't get a picture of Sugar, because she was very busy entertaining her own friends that were visiting.

I did manage to get a few pictures of Evan here.



Isn't he delicious?

I tried to get him to ride off into the sunset with me.



But he wouldn't.

Sigh.

I miss having a three year old in the house.

Sometimes. ;)

I had so much fun visiting with Shelly, Tina, the Scarlets, Shay, and all of the kiddos. I feel so blessed to have met these two lovely ladies and their sweet families in this place called Blog Land. And for that, I am truly thankful!

Happy Holidays, Everyone!
Amy:)

(One more thing: I wanted to let those of you that have been praying for me know how my doctor's appointment went yesterday. I had an MRI and a series of x-rays yesterday morning, and then I saw the neurosurgeon right after. Long story short, I have multiple issues going on in my back that I may just have to deal with for the rest of my life. In the meantime, he wants me to continue wearing my sexy back brace and to get as much bed rest as possible for three to four weeks. The combination of bed rest and back brace will hopefully help alleviate the pain and discomfort that I am feeling in my left lower back. Bed rest is way better than surgery, amen? I am supposed to see him again sometime in January to see if there has been any improvement. Thank you all for your prayers for me. I appreciate all of you so much.)

Grilling Goodness With Tina And Friends~ 10

It's that time again...Time for some more "Grilling Goodness." If you would like to join in all of the fun, just click here. Tina would love to have you all participate!

Now, on to the grilling.....

1. How many Christmas parties have you attended or will you attend?

Hmmmm, let me see. Oh, that's right.



None.

I mean if you don't count hanging out with my family on Christmas as a party.



2. What is your favorite dish to take to a party?

Usually, when we are invited to a party, we are asked to bring my very famous cheese dip and chips. It is a crowd pleaser.



I'm just saying.

If you would like to know how to make this cheesy yummy goodness, click here.

3. When you're at home and your feet are chilled, do you wear socks or house shoes?

Since I have Raynaud's Disease, when it is cold I usually have socks and house shoes on. If I don't wear both, my feet turn purple and black.

I know. It's gross.

When it's really, really cold, I also have to sleep wearing two pair of socks, gloves, a sweat shirt, and a hat.

It's a very sexy look. Just ask Shannon. ;)

4. What are your plans for this weekend?

Since Tina really asked this question last Friday, I will tell you what I did this past weekend on Saturday. I went to see one of my bestest blogging buddies. You all know her as Smiling Shelly from the Smiling Shelly's Stories blog.

I went to see her new house. For some strange reason, Shelly wanted me to see her new house before the dust began to settle. ;)



I had SO much fun at Shelly's house, but I will tell you all about that tomorrow.

5. What is the most expensive Christmas gift you are buying for your children this year?

Since my boys are 16 and 13, they just want cash for Christmas.

You know, for sentimental reasons.

And, since we are a bit low on cash this year, it is quite expensive.

6. Do you have a family portrait made each year?

Yes.

Absolutely.

Whether my family wants to or not.

I make them pose with me at least once a year for a family picture. We have had some professional family portraits made over the years, but my favorites are the candid ones.

Here are several of our family photos from over the years. I like to call these our "Fictional Family Photos." Why you ask? Well, it takes about forty four tries to get one good one, so by the time we get a good one, Shannon and the boys are all fussy. They are all sporting 'fictional' smiles by the last shot.

(And me too, but let's just keep that between us, Mmmkay?)











7. Do you drive your kids around looking for decorated homes?

As a little girl, I loved to drive around with my parents and look at Christmas lights. Something like this would have thrilled me to bits.



My boys, however, not so much.

One year when they were little, we decided to drive them around Crazyville to look at all of the Christmas light displays, and they were less than impressed.

They were critical even.

Daniel grumbled from the back seat, "This is dumb. And besides, we're just wasting gas."

*Sigh*

8. What is your least favorite thing about cold weather?

Refer back to question number 3. ;)