I love these two!

Sunday we had Christmas with Stephen's Mom's side of the family. We all hung out in the morning and then got lunch ready and ate.









We took the annual family Christmas pictures in front of the Christmas tree.

Then it was time to open presents.

We had a wonderful Christmas with all our families! We are so very blessed and the best thing about this Christmas was the time spent with our families!

Reindeer Pancakes and Shopping

Christmas night we stayed with my parents. Unfortunantely, Stephen and Aaron had to work the day after Christmas so they both left early for work. Mom and I made eggnog pancakes with reindeer molds. It was a lot of fun! After breakfast, we all got ready and went shopping. We spent the afternoon shopping at the Woodlands mall.



We had a great roast for dinner and then played Phase 10. Aaron was too exhausted to finish so he only made it to Phase 6. The rest of us finished the game and Stephen ended up winning.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning we woke up and hung out with Steve and Nancy for a while then we opened our stockings.





Michael and Brook came over early and we finished opening presents.



Stephen and I had decided not to buy each other presents, but he surprised me with this!

The rest of the family came over slowly and opened gifts and hung out. We had a great time with everyone!

After lunch, we headed over to my parents house.

We opened gifts with my parents and brother.

Aaron and I got the BEST gift this year. My parents had all of our family's home videos converted into DVD's from the VHS tapes. My Dad then put the videos on an external hard drive for Aaron and I. I was so excited! I love our home movies and am so happy to have a copy of my own!

After gifts, we had dinner and then watched a few home movies. We finished the night by playing Pictonary Man, a new game my Dad got for Christmas. It was a lot of fun!

Christmas Eve

I was off Christmas Eve so I spent the morning wrapping presents and packing. Stephen got home around 1pm and we loaded up the car and were off.

We spent Christmas Eve evening with my In-Laws. We went to church at Gateway and enjoyed a wonderful candle light service. After church we went to dinner at Pappasito's with Steve, Nancy, Gary, Mary, Michael and Brook. We had so much fun at dinner!

Once we got home, we all cuddled up on the couch to watch tv. I fell asleep soon after the movie started.

A lazy Sunday morning

We have been so busy lately and haven't had much time to relax at home, so Sunday we enjoyed a relaxing Sunday morning. Stephen was up in the game room watching the Texans game and Sadie decided to sit with him. She rarely wants to cuddle and sit with us so this was a rare, sweet moment.

Looking at Christmas Lights

We have a new tradition with Stephen's family. This is the secnd year they have come over for dinner and then we have gone out looking at Christmas lights. Our neighborhood has great lights so it is a lot of fun. This year I made tacos for dinner. Steve, Nancy, Shelley and Cameron came over and since it was a Sunday night, Stephen was home and got to go with us.

Cameron wrote us a message on our chalkboard:

Cameron and Shelley:

Stephen and I:

Some great lights:

Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care...

Our Christmas Card!

We have never sent out Christmas cards with our picture until this year. At Thanksgiving, I had Aunt Linette take a picture of us with Sadie in my parents backyard and I loved how it turned out, so I decided to make a photo card this year. I had them designed at A Piece of Pope and I love how they turned out!

11 Years Ago Today

11 years ago today, Stephen asked me to be his girlfried and we have been together ever since. We celebrated this day for 7 years before we got married and even though it's not our wedding anniversary, it's still a special day to me.

Stephen was working at Randalls and he called me to see if I would come see him on his break. It was late, probably around 9:30 or so. My parents said ok, but then my mom decided she would drive me (my parents are slightly over protective- which I now appreciate and will probably be the same way). When we got there, I went in to see him and he wanted to walk around the parking lot. As we were walking he "asked me out".

The first year we were dating, each month he would bring me roses on the 12th corresponding to how many months we had been going out. It was so sweet. He is not as romantic as he once was, but I love him with all my heart. I am so glad he asked me out that day and this day will always be special to me. It is a day to remember those two 16 year old kids who were falling in love.

Some of my favorite ornaments

This is by far my favorite ornament. I love monograms so when I saw this ornament I knew I had to have it. I waited until the after Christmas sale and hoped that there was a P left, and there was. I bought it last year, so this was the first year to put in on our tree and I love it!

I got this ornament at the same boutique as the monogram ornament also on the after Christmas sale. I really love this ornament and hope to get a few others in this style this year.

I got this ornament this year at the Junior League Sugar Plum Market. It is a Roundtop ornament. It looks so great on the tree!

My parents got us this ornament from Russia when they went. I love it!

Stephen's mom gave us a couple ornaments like this. She had a box full and let me choose a few. I really love the vintage feel to it!

I painted this ornament at Mad Potter two years ago. It reminds me of childhood for some reason. I love homeade ornaments and this reminds me of all of those ornaments you make as a child.