Happy New Year!!

I've already started the year off bad. But here's to new year's resolutions and new starts. I hope to be able to keep up with my posts and family happenings. I'm using this as my journaling and I'm very behind. So here's December in a nutshell...

I started out soooo good. My tags for card club were done on time, I had half of the presents I needed for my kids all purchased and set aside, including Kenyon's birthday present....
Went to lunch for Gini's Birthday...Had a blast and always love the food at Crackers & Co. Happy Birthday Gini, you're a great friend!!!


I had two weddings in December, one the weekend before Christmas and one two days after Christmas. Needless to say I didn't have a lot of time for very much, but now looking back glad it's all over with.


I hosted two parties at my house. Bunco at the beginning of the month and a small reunion with friends I grew up with. It was fun seeing everyone again and planning more with people we have all kept in touch with.

Every second I could I would try and finish all the gifts for family and friends. I did these frames for the Davis family sisters-in-law......made these for a few friends...Made advent calendars for my sisters and Mora sisters-in-law (sorry no picture)

On December 23rd we spent the day with Kenyon for his birthday. He wanted chinese food for lunch and he hung around with Eric and me while we tried to cram the last of our Christmas shopping. Here's my mini shout-out for Kenyon's Birthday. He turned the big 15 and has officially become a full fledged teenager. We love you Kenyon!! We celebrated Christmas Eve at my brother's house and did presents a little different this year. We did a modified white elephant gift. For the kids 11 and under we brought a new $10 gift wrapped for the kids to choose from. We drew numbers but we didn't have them take it from each other, you know trying to avoid counseling in later years. As you can see the anticipation was almost too much to bare...

But eventually everyone had a turn and we had a lot of very happy customers. The teenagers had to bring a gift that they either made or had to give up something they owned to give to someone else. I have to say that they did a great job with all of their gifts. My favorite was Josh's Ultimate survival kit, he rounded up a compass, pocket knife, hot spark(to start fires with) and a first aid kit. He took a piece of foam and cut a spot for each piece. It was a big hit and the boys even traded back and forth a few times. Hopefully we'll do this every year.
The adults did a traditional white elephant. Some of the gifts were very funny. We had a $10 limit so it was very interesing to see everyone's gifts.We were happy to have my mom with us just 10 days after complete knee surgery. She has been doing so well and recovering nicely. We also had a nice dinner at my sister Adriana's home for my dad the weekend before. It was nice to have my dad with us for a little while.


In the mist of all the chaos, I did enjoy Christmas, the kids, family and friends. I love this time of the year even with all it's crazyness. I'm grateful for all my blessings and for all the love that surrounds me. I hope this year will bring everyone lots of love and blessings all year long.