Hello everyone, I'm back! Sorry I've been MIA for awhile, but for the past few weeks I was caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas and then some. I don't know about you, but Christmas seemed to come out of nowhere for me. I definitely pushed the wire as far as Christmas gifts are concerned, but I got everything made, bought, and wrapped just in time (Christmas Eve to be exact). Aside from being a bit behind on things, I had an amazing Christmas with friends and family! Ray's sister and her husband were in town and I'm so glad we got to share a few days together. I love them so much.
I also have to say that
Brittney's 30 Day Blog Challenge ended up being an epic fail for me. This month I just didn't have time, but with anything I start, I'm always determined to finish them. I'll knock out a few days in this post, but they will be a little out of order - I left off on day 21. Now getting back to Christmas. Here are some pictures from the holiday season!
Family Force 5 Christmas Pageant Concert
On December 14, I took my little sister and her friend to the Family Force 5 Christmas Pageant Concert at the House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay. There were three other bands that performed: Shoreline's End, Secondhand Serenade, and Forever the Sickest Kids, but I came just for Family Force 5. Family Force 5 is a Christian crunk rock band from the south and I absolutely love them! We had a blast at the concert and surprisingly it wasn't too packed. I would show you some pictures from the concert that I took, but they came out so bad they're not worth showing.
Jessi's Baby Shower
Jessi's shower was on December 19th at my house. The theme of the shower was nautical, which is also baby Isaac's theme for his room.
Diaper Cake hand crafted by my mom-in-law.
Basket of goodies for Isaac from The Baby Price is Right game.
The Captain's chair!
The Flag Banner spells out Isaac's name.
I was feeling a little ambitious, so I decided to bake a boat cake.
Yummy mini brownies I made, topped with fish ring pops.
I made a quilt for Isaac and I think it turned out pretty good for my first time making one.
My theme for the quilt and the entire gift was Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
Morgan & Bridges Girls' Luncheon at Cuginos Italian Deli
Last year the Morgan & Bridges ladies decided to make it tradition to have lunch a few days before Christmas at Cugino's Italian Deli. This year was so much fun, and the food was delicious! I had the chicken parmesan toasted sandwich. Yum o!
Christmas Eve at Bucca Di Beppo
Every Christmas Eve, the Anderson family and our close friends the Poole family eat dinner at Bucca Di Beppo. It has been our tradition to go here for at least 10 years. We had an awesome time, and we finally got into the Pope Room as you can see. This Christmas Eve we had a few new things happen - Pope Room, Katy Poole brought her new boyfriend, and I got to drink wine with all those who legally could. I tried a Pinot Noir and Lambrusco. I'm not a big wine drinker, especially red wine, but I have to say the Lambrusco was delicious and is an excellent choice for anyone who isn't into drinking wine. I think it just tastes better.
Earlier that afternoon, my family and I attended the Christmas Eve service at Hope Baptist Church. One of the best things said that night, "I submit to you, that when the Creator steps into creation it is time to celebrate!" ~ Pastor Vance Pitman. You can go to the Hope Baptist Church website (Day 22- A Website) and watch the sermon video (Day 23- A Youtube Video) here. Later on that evening, my husband and I opened our gifts to each other.
Christmas Dinner with the Morgans
Christmas morning is spent with my parents (The Anderson's). We typically begin with opening presents first, just because it takes a pretty long time. In our family, we go around and each person opens one gift at a time and repeat until all the gifts have been opened. After opening gifts, we had a wonderful lunch complete with ham, nanna's taters, salad, and rolls.
Christmas evening, is spent with Raymond's side of the family. We had another amazing feast, filet mignon, green beans, and glazed carrots. We opened gifts, which is completely opposite of Christmas morning with my folks. It's pretty much a free-for-all when we open gifts at the Morgan household. We also spent literally the entire night playing The Beatles Rock Band. It was so much fun!
This Christmas was definitely awesome! My favorite part of it all would definitely be the amount of time spent with family, friends, and focusing on what the real meaning of Christmas is. Christmas is not about the presents, but His presence!
I hope all of you had a blessed Christmas. Do you have any unique family traditions? What was your favorite part of Christmas this year?
