Christmas in TX

We had a great time in Texas visiting David’s family (parents, grandparents, sister, brother-in-law & niece & nephew). I’d love to say Drew’s favorite part of the trip was spending time with everyone. However, I think it was pretty clear to everyone there that he was in complete awe of “Grandpa’s big blue fish.” He would go around the room giving everyone tours of Grandpa Dale’s scale breaking marlin.
However, he had a great time playing with his cousins Thad & Emily. Oh how I wish we were closer to each other & our kids could play more often.
We got to see Grandpa & Grandma Denick which was such a nice treat. Grandma Keeney made such good meals too!!

Christmas Card Time

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Christmas Time - Long & Short of It

We had great visits from family this Christmas season. Drew loved every minute of it.

Christmas Card Collage

I thought I'd share a glance at our Christmas cards over the last few years! Merry Christmas!

(For our non-computer savy family/friends, you can click on the image to see it larger....otherwise, it's tough to make it out very well).

Another Santa Encounter

I must admit Drew adores Santa. He hugged him 3 times this past Saturday night. It has been a long standing tradition that he stops by my grandmother's 250 yr old church during their Christmas program each year.

(The best part, is that Santa's local elf....*hint, hint* was my brother Matt this year). I love these pictures. My heart just swelled.

Hosting - Cauthen Christmas

Cauthen Christmas- My family starting arriving the day after Christmas. My brothers, their wives & my (kk) parents came in. Since we are about mid-way between my brothers, we hosted Christmas this year. It looked like an air-mattress commercial, but it was great to have everyone. David & I were both sick, but we managed to enjoy every ounce of it.

My parents gave everyone PIANOS for Christmas. We were floored!!

Everyone enjoyed playing on the Wii….which was a big hit!We all ate way too much!! I was so thankful to Kellie for helping me get dinner together. I couldn’t have done it without you!! We went out to sushi for dinner. I don’t think we could have eaten another heavy meal!! We were so glad to have everyone come to our little church Sunday morning. It was very relaxing. No one rushed to leave. It was great!!

Keeney Christmas

December 22-25:-
Keeney Christmas:
This Christmas was bitter-sweet. It was the first time Grandma & Grandpa Denick couldn’t make the trip over to Dallas from New Mexico. Grandpa Denick was in the hospital over Christmas. Thankfully, we can report he is finally back home with Grandma. David’s mom is staying for a while to help. Please continue to pray for everyone during this time.

The sweet part of Christmas was spending so much time with Kelly, Jonathan, & the kids [our niece, Emily & nephew, Thad]. We all had so much fun playing, talking till the wee-hours of the morning, and eating too many sweets.

We spent Tuesday at a mall nearby with Kelly, the kids, and Mom & Dad Keeney. Thad climbed a rock wall, while we all watched his bravery!! Both of the kids enjoyed playing in a “soft-play area.” (Everything is covered in foam & is kid-friendly & bo-bo proof.) We even managed to find enough space for us to eat lunch in the food-court. Dad got Emily the cutest little outfit (which she got to wear the next day for Christmas).

Christmas Eve lunch at Mom & Dad Keeney’s was delicious. Mom sent us home with her famous fruitcake. Dad told us about his 300 perfect bowling score he recently played. Everyone gave such thoughtful gifts. Of course, the kids’ excitement topped the afternoon off on a high-note.

Christmas Eve supper at the Lemons- Jonathan’s parents invited us over for dinner & fun. They made steaks, potatoes, salads……you name it, they had it. They are a jolly ol’ bunch & it reminded me of my own family. Needless to say, we fit right in!!

Blanton-Cauthen Christmas's

December 20th –
Blantonville: David & I (kk) stopped by Mammaw & Papaw Blanton’s on our way to the Cauthen family Christmas. We had a nice quick visit with everyone. We gave them a coffee maker with a timer. [Mammaw had been getting up at midnight to make coffee, because she couldn’t manage to get up before everyone else in the morning…..she tries her best to take care of the menfolk, even though she’s the one in need of special care. God bless her!!]
We also got a few little candy happies for Papaw, Mammaw, & Uncle Cecil. It turns out that after we gave them their goodies; my little brother Matt & his wife, Kellie, gave them all the EXACT same gifts…….down the Super Dooper Reindeer Pooper for Uncle Cecil & a coffee pot!!!! We all had a good laugh over that one!!

Cauthenville: After leaving Mammaw & Papaw Blanton’s, we drove down to my (kk) other grandmother’s house in Goodman for our family “get-together.” We had a nice visit! Everyone was on their best behavior!! We could only stay for a few hours, before having to drive back home to Tupelo.

Christmas Decorations

The last few weekends, we put up our tree & decorations. Admittedly, I cried a little bit when we lit the tree. Our first real-“sized” (but fake) tree. We’ve had a “Charlie Brown” tree the last few years (reminder to self: post that pic as well). We still put our little tree on our coffee table. I don’t think I’ll ever part with it.

I’ve started wrapping Christmas gifts & addressing our cards. Christmas is almost here. We’ve been practicing our Christmas music at church. It truly is “~~~~~the most wonderful time of the year~~~~~.”