Happy New Year!

Wow, I cannot believe it is 2010!  Josh and I are very much looking forward to what this year has in store for us.  We were in Houston with my family to ring in the New Year.  My Uncle Bill turned 40 just last week and my Aunt Amy threw a suprise early birthday party for him.  It was a blast and a great family gathering with over 15 of us making the trip from Dallas and Aunt Terri flying in from the east coast.  Way to go Aunt Amy - you did a great job!

Five of the Garrey Seven.  From top - Mom, Aunt Terri, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Bob, and Uncle Bill (the birthday boy)

We enjoyed breakfast with the family the morning after.  Kate is getting so big and more adorable every day.

Kate loves her Daddy!

Totally a "Girly Girl".  We think she is pretty precious.  I cannot wait to see her again. 

Carson Christmas

Josh and I headed back north on Christmas Day for a quick stop at our house before heading to Yukon, OK for Christmas at Josh's parents house.  It was a little bit longer drive back from Texas than usual.

We came home to just a little bit of snow...

Chuck got a Nintendo Wii for Christmas this year and it proved to be quite a hit.  We all played Christmas night.  So fun!

Josh and Matt

We all headed north on the 26th to Enid, Oklahoma for Christmas lunch at Grandma Myrna's with Helene's family and wrapped up our Christmas fun that evening with dinner at Grandma Carobelle's with Chuck's family.

 

Chuck, Matt, and Josh

We are so very blessed to get to see so much family around this time of year.  We thank each and everyone of the wonderful hosts that opened up their homes for family fellowship this year and look forward to seeing everyone again next year if not before!

Creed Christmas

Josh and I are very blessed to be able to spend Christmas with both sides of our family. We headed to Texas first the Wednesday before Christmas.

Here are a few decorations from our house before we headed south...

First up on the list when we got to Texas was sugar cookies! Logan was so into helping decorate the cookies this year. It was such a blast. I think they were the best yet! Each served with a disclaimer, "May permanently dye your mouth green due to large quantities of sprinkles" :) It will be so fun to continue this tradition as the family grows.

We woke up Christmas Eve to cinnamon rolls of course. Always delicious. When it came to present time, Logan was a huge help to everyone and loved opening up the presents from Cousin Thomas and Christopher in California. We sure missed them this year!

Aiden, loving life.

Logan inside his Lightning McQueen tent from Nana.

Being a big helper to Uncle Josh.

We enjoyed a relaxing morning at Mom's before heading off to Christmas Eve church. It was very special this year as we all went together to church - Brandon, Heather, the boys, Ashley, Landon, Mom, Josh and I - and it was snowing! Snow on Christmas Eve in Texas... who would have thought! It was so fun... cold but fun. After church, we headed to the Garrey Family Christmas at my Aunt Kristi and Uncle Bob's. Josh and I missed this gathering last year so we were especially excited to see everyone together. They were such great hosts.

Brandon, Aiden, Josh, and our cousin, Ryan. Ryan is a junior at Plano East and driving! I still cannot believe how fast they are growing up.

Logan LOVED his Thomas the Train set from Mary. He opened it and said, "This is for me!?"

Gift Exchange - books, wine, home decor, giftcards, beer... you name it, someone brought it.

Aunt Lisa and Mary Annabelle

Fuzzy picture of the Creeds - so sad. It would have been really great!

The Howards - John, Uncle Mike, Aunt Lisa, Sam, and Mary

The Talafuses - Meagan, Andrea, Jenni, and Aunt Sheri

Landon and Josh - again fuzzy :(

After reading this post, I realize I neglect taking pictures of some important people as Logan and Aiden tend to steal my flash. If they weren't just so darn cute! I vow to do better :)

Birthday Boy...

Josh turned 27 this year and asked for a low-key evening at home so that is exactly how we celebrated his special day.

This picture will only last as until Josh notices! This was just before we had to make a quick trip to the store for some milk so we could enjoy birthday dessert.

Chocolate sheetcake - yes, please!

Tis the Season...

Casino Night

Company Christmas Party

More Thanksgiving...

More pictures from our fun day...

Brandon and Logan

Dad and Aiden

Our trip to the park became known as the "longest walk to the park ever" but it was great to get out of the house after our feast. Logan is playing telephone with Uncle Josh in the picture above.

Mom (Nana) loving on Aiden

Tanner was in heaven once he found a "blanket" under the Christmas Tree, otherwise known as the tree skirt. He poses great for pictures and is very photogenic.

Ashley and Landon made the trip too. I was sad after looking back through pictures and I did not have one of the Smiths. I will post one with Christmas!

Thanksgiving Eats...

Better late than never! This post is long overdue but I did want to share a few items from our Thanksgiving feast.

First - the turkey! Isn't it pretty!? Mom gets all the credit for getting our turkey ready for the brine. I had gloves on and thought I was going to do it all by myself until I felt it for the first time. Moms are pros at this so I quickly became a spectator through step 1. As soon as the turkey was in the brining bag, I was ready. And... it turned out great. I gathered a lot of my Thanksgiving recipes from The Pioneer Women (PW), including my turkey brine - William Sonoma's Apple and Spice Turkey Brine. Delicious!

Rolls from scratch...

Stuffing! I didn't get an after picture but here is the cornbread and white bread "drying out" during preparation! Thanks Mom for getting it all ready!

Sugar cookies of course... no holiday is complete without them.

And more desserts courtesy of our guests...

That is all I got pictures of. We also had Whiskey Glazed Carrots, Grilled Asparagus, Green Bean Casserole, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Pasta Salad, and a Fruit Salad. Yes, food for days!

Habitat Update

Josh's current build is coming along great! The inside walls have been painted and several weekends ago it was all about the tile. (J is in the green shirt)

The build is on schedule and going really well. All of the volunteers cannot wait to welcome home the Baker family in February.