Christmas Day!

After Luke and I woke up for the second time Christmas Day we headed over to Mom and Dad's. We had a big breakfast and then it was time to open presents. Mom loved her table runner I made along with her White Christmas stuff. Dad like his new clock and his Nascar stuff for his office. I got my favorite Chocolate Orange....along with a new scrapbooking bag and an Ott Light! Luke loved his SanDisk, although I'm not sure what it does. We all got new Christmas PJ's too! Chris and Charelle came over for lunch. They are a hoot. We played the XBox 360 game Scene It which was really good. No one could beat Mom though! We had a blessed Christmas and even had a birthday cake for Baby Jesus! After all, He's the real meaning for the season!

Christmas Morning

Luke and I had a hard time sleeping in on Christmas morning. We both woke up around 3:30 and decided to go ahead and open presents. Luke recieved a new Tim Ernst book, some Zune accessories, and a Subway gift card because I HATE to eat there. He is a present shaker and can guess anything in a box...so this year I was sneaky. I wrapped his Subway card in plates and his Calendar I attatched a paper trimmer to it. I'll be darn if he didn't guess the stupid paper trimmer! Go figure.

He's also sneaky with mine too, although I don't shake packages. I love being surprised. I ended up with Audio Cables in my Cricut stuff to make it heavier. I love my new Cricut and was so happy to get tons of accessories to it!

Of course the animals had to open their gifts too. Madison loves her Lean Treats, George like his new Crinkle Mouse, Alyeska recieved Hairball treats....although she liked George's toy better. The other dogs got a boxfull of cookies! It was a wonderful morning. And yes, we did go back to sleep and slept til 6!!!

Our Christmas Tradition

The Waffle House in Bryant

Mom and Dad

Me and Luke

Reed and Luke...I hate it's blurry!


After the Christmas Eve service we all go to Waffle House. Reed joins us every year. It's too much fun. This year we saw the Holloways too! I love Waffle House and their eggs are SO good!

Christmas Eve at church

I love the red and green!

The tree in the front of the church

The tech guys that work so hard every Sunday morning. Luke, Dad, Reed, and Ray.

The candles...picture doesn't do it justice!

After lunch with Luke's family we headed to church for the Christmas Eve service. We love going to this every year. The handbells sounded so pretty. Bruce read the Christmas story to the TONS of children that were there. He had to pick up the pieces individually to make sure all the children saw them. The candles at the end, what can I say, they were beautiful! If you have never attended this at church, you really should.

Christmas Eve with Luke's Family

Luke and I went to his parents house for Christmas Eve Lunch. We exchanged gifts and had a lot of fun. We had Taco Soup, Ham, Cornbread, Mac and Cheese, Potato Salad, Baked Beans and Salad for lunch. Luke's Aunt and Uncles were all there. We laughed and had a great time. It was fun getting to see everyone's expression when they opened their gifts. It was a wonderful time spent with family for sure!

My Christmas Cactus

I received this Christmas Cactus last Christmas at an ornament exchange. I am SO surprised it has lasted another year! The pink blooms remind me of my Grandma because she loved anything pink. Thanks Selena for helping me getting it to bloom again!

Christmas Lights

Benton Courthouse


That's a keeper for sure!


A better picture!

Friday night, Luke and I ate dinner at Chilis and then went to look at Christmas lights. We really enjoy going down to the square here in Benton to look at the lights. It reminds me a lot of the Neosho town square....just not any cool shops like there are there. It was hard to get some really good pics, but these are scrapbook worthy anyhow! Enjoy.

A Christmas Party for Dr. Mike

My crazy Mom with the spread of food.

Me and Mom

Mom's snowmen

Her hearth room

The Gang: Pam, Chris, Stephanie, Dr. Mike, and Shannon

Today Mom and I hosted a Christmas party for our vet. We love Dr. Mike and his staff so much we do a Christmas party for them. Today we served Pork Tenderloin with an Orange Marmalade Glaze, Cashew Green Beans, Loaded Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Rolls, Strawberry Delight Salad, Heath Bar Cake, Sweet Potato Pie, and Peanut Brittle. It was a spread for sure. They loved it! We had a wonderful time. We talked about animals of course and many of the crazy clients they get in. At one time Dr. Mike had 16 cats!!! So see, I'm not the only one with a love for animals! Dr. Mike is a wonderful vet and I don't go to anyone else. He takes really good care of our critters. Enjoy the pics!

Luke's Birthday

Blow out those candles!

Luke and his brother Matt

Robyn, Frank, Brenda

The breakfast casserole

A Family Picture

So I'm a little late in posting pics from Luke's birthday in November....but I had to wait to get them from his camera! We had a great time with his side of the family. They came over for Breakfast Casserole, Fruit, Muffins, and Homemade Cinnamon Rolls. It was a great time of fellowship.

Garvan Gardens

Last weekend we went out with our friends Randy and Ann. We went to Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs to look at the Christmas lights. They were so pretty. The weather was perfect and not too cold. We even got to toast marshmallows which were SO good. As we were leaving the trail of cars coming in were unbelievable!!! We ate dinner that night at a fish place....TJ's is what Randy called it but it was actually Jasons Burgers and More. The fish was crisp and SO good. It was really a neat place to eat with paper towels and red checked table cloths. We even made a quick trip to Walmart to see if they had any Cricut stuff on sale.

Later, Randy and Ann took us to Iron Mountain. Luke and I had never been there before. The houseboats were all decorated with lights. It was really neat to walk on the docks and see everyone in the Christmas spirit. Thanks Randy and Ann for a great time!

A Felted Purse

So my first attempt at felting didn't turn out so hot, but I think this did! I even made the flower using the Knifty Knitter Specialty Loom.....it's a little big for the purse but I LOVE felting! Not sure what I'll use this bag for but I think it turned out pretty good.

Our Sweet Tater Dinner

I got this recipe from my brother over Thanksgiving. He fixed this pork chop and apple appetizer that was wonderful. It had a butter sauce over the top that was to die for! So, I took his idea and made up my own loaded sweet potato. I took 3 red apples and cut them into chunks. Then took a small pat of butter.....OK maybe 2 tablespoons and sauteed my apples in the butter. I added a few good handfuls of brown sugar (as Aunt JJ says, "If you think you added enough, go ahead and add a little more...of course she's talking about her baked beans, but that could apply for Apples right???) and a dash of salt. I let that cook together until we were ready to eat. In the meantime I toasted some pecans in a small skillet.

Luke took the chops and sliced green apples and placed them on the grill. I didn't marinade them at all...just salt and pepper. To plate, I took our sweet taters and cut them open. I salted and peppered them and then added the apple mixture. I topped it off with pecans. When you eat the pork chop eat it with a small piece of the Granny Smith apples...it's GOOD!!! This was the first time Luke was able to use his new grill set and he loved it! Thanks Mom and Dad! Enjoy the pics!

Luke's Home!

I was surprised yesterday to find on my front porch a box from 1-800 flowers. Inside the box were tulips and a pretty vase. I can't wait to see what they look like a few days from now when they open all the way. Luke is too sweet! He made it home safely and had a good time on his business trip. I think he's tired of eating though! Thanks again Luke!

Dinner with my Scrapbook Ladies

Margaret (with her eyes closed!!!) and Debbie

Jaime, Selena, and Pam

Cheryl and Me

Ann and Judy

Gangs all here!

I'm so luck to have wonderful friends like my scrapbook ladies. We meet every Monday night and have a blast! We talk, eat, and sometimes get around to scrapbooking. I don't know what I would do without them! We take a break during the holidays but were able to meet this past Monday night at Chili's. Then we came back to our house for dessert. I fixed a Sweet Tater pie, Bon Bons, and Paula's Cinnamon Roll Cookies. It was so much fun!

TV night

This is how I usually end up watching TV. Madison loves to sit in my lap....and a couple of nights ago, Alyeska decided she would too! It was comfortable for about 5 minutes and then Madison chased Aly through the living room! Never a dull moment here!