Christmas Eve & Morning

Kyle and I both had Christmas Eve off from work.  For the most part we lounged around all day.  Around noon I convinced Kyle to go grocery shopping with me since I needed to get some things for dinner on Christmas Day.  After a lot of persuasion, he finally obliged.  Grocery shopping with Kyle was so nice.  Although the store was filled with last minute shoppers and elderly who walked at a snails pace in front of us, we had a good time.  It was nice grocery shopping without being in a rush.  The normal attitude when we shop together is get in - get out.  This time we had no agenda or time crunch and we were able to enjoy the process together.  I loved it! 

After we went grocery shopping I came home and made clam chowder.  It was SO good.  I got the recipe from a friend at church.  Hands down this recipe screams heart attack, but it is so good.  It has bacon, butter, and heavy cream! Paula would be proud no doubt.

At 6:00pm, Kyle, his dad, and I went to the Candlelight Service at our church.  It was wonderful.  I really do enjoy going to the service on Christmas Eve because it's another chance to see my church family and remember why we celebrate Christmas.

After the Candlelight Service, Kyle and I went to go see The Blind Side with his family.  It is a Christmas Eve tradition to go see a movie.  If you haven't seen The Blind Side - go see it! Seriously, that movie was so good and really touching.

Once Kyle and I got home from the movie (around 10pm or so) - we opened our Christmas Eve gift.  Growing up my parents always had one gift for me to open on Christmas Eve.  It was always something I could use that night - slippers, pjs, etc.  Kyle and I decided that we wanted to make this our tradition as well.  So this year I got a red satin pj set from Victoria Secret (he did very good -- they are so comfy!) and I got him some Husky sweats.  I also got him a Christmas movie that we ended up watching just after we changed into our new pjs and grabbed a cup of warm caramel apple cider. Yum!

This picture was taken before we opened our gifts.  I love it when candles are lit, Christmas songs are playing, and the fireplace is nice and toasty. 

One of the candles I got from Kyle's Aunt Raeleen -- it smells so good!

Our front room.  Our little fake tree with some gifts underneath it.

So, on to Christmas morning.  I woke up before Kyle to get the gifts in his stocking and to get breakfast in the oven.  I made Paula Deen's French Toast Bake.  Once Kyle joined Maddie and I down stairs, we let Maddie open her stocking first.

Do you like my new red pj's? I think Maddie could smell her treats because she was sticking her head into the stocking.

She found her beef chew.  Kyle's trying to take the plastic off of the treat and Maddie is having a hard time waiting.  Do you like Maddie's new pj's?   She opened them last night and they are so cute.

Maddie is trying to help Kyle open her chew.

We finally got her chew out of the plastic and off she went! Isn't her little doggie bum in those pj's ridiculously cute? Can you tell I love this dog?! lol.

Kyle is opening his first wrapped gift out of his stocking. What could it be??

Ok, well this isn't what he opened in the last picture, but this was another one of his gifts.  I saw this sweater and really liked it so I had to get it for him.  He ended up really liking it too - woo hoo!

After opening some of my other gifts (Husky ornament, sil pat (I've been wanting one of these -- it's a nonstick baking mat that covers cookie trays), and a gingerbread ornament, Kyle had a little surprise for me.  The last wrapped gift in my stocking was a note card.  It read, "On the first clue of Christmas your true love gave to you, a hint of where to go. To find your present you must look to the room which my best friend claimed, there you will find your gift..."

I knew instantly where to go - the hall closet.  Our hall closet is so big that our friend David claimed it as his room when we first moved in.  Now it stores luggage and China, but it is big enough for a twin! Once I got to the closet I found another note card that read, "Oops I forgot, I shouldn't put the gift in there.  I think the next room is much more fitting.  Your parents are on a little vacation of their own right now, although we aren't there if you take a vacation in our home, you'll find your gift.  Don't forget to dry off..."

I knew it was the guest bathroom upstairs because that bathroom is decorated in a tropical theme.  I opened the towel cabinet and found...

Another note! Go figure :)

This note read, "Ok, by now you realize your on a qwest.  Do my q's look like g's? Quest for the present will lead you to the guest room."

So I went to the guest room (I'm entering the room in the pic below).

Once I got into the guest room I found another note card on the bed that read, "Turn over".  On the back it read, "See underneath".  So I looked under the bed and found...

Another note! Hehe.  This note read, "You're silly, not underneath the bed, underneath the tree!  There you'll fnd your gift from me.  (Not really, the next clue is in the tree).

So back down stairs I go...

To look under the tree of course! But wait, I read the clue wrong.  It said in the tree.

It took me awhile to find, but I finally found it.

The next note card read, "Fine I got it, you don't lke this and just want your gift.  Take a hint --> Shoe Closet."

So I went to the shoe closet and found on the top shelf a giant box!

See my smile?! I finally found it!

I finally got to open my gift!

Kyle had this one wrapped! There was no way he did this himself - sorry babe!  I don't have any pictures, but I opened the gift to find a beautiful Pottery Barn 3 tier cupcake stand (or dessert platter, etc.).  I love it. It has three white glass plates and a chrome loop on top.  I can't wait to plate some of my cupcakes on this baby.

So far, it has been a wonderful day.  Remembering the birth of my Saviour Jesus Christ and spending time with my wonderfully thoughtful husband.  Now I need to go get ready for the Christmas dinner so I'll leave you with this...

A picture of Maddie all pooped out and resting on her new chewy (in her new pj's too).  Ahh Christmas - I love this time of year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Love,

The Talley's

My Gingerbread House

I don't think I ever made a gingerbread house growing up and if I did I surely don't remember doing it.  I'm used to seeing gingerbread kits in the store, but who wants to buy a kit when you can make the whole thing from scratch?  If you make your gingerbread then you have the luxury of a yummy smelling house and a lot of left overs, just what I need this time of year.

I made a batch of gingerbread cookies last weekend to test out a Martha Stewart recipe to see if it was worthy of being used for a cookie exchange party at my husbands work on the 21st.  My husband and I both loved it.  I used a similar recipe to make the gingerbread for my gingerbread house.  The recipe can be found here.

Some Tips:

1. Bake your gingerbread a day or so before you have a gingerbread house making party.  I was too busy to bake last week which meant I had to do last minute baking Friday night during the party, but it all worked out.
2. Build the house in stages, allowing enough time for the frosted walls to dry completely.
3. Once the house is built, let it sit overnight or at least a few hours so it will be nice and sturdy to decorate with a lot of candy.

Enjoy!

Giving Thanks

I just love this time of year.  It kicks off on August 25th - the day of my wedding anniversary.  Then, a short two or so weeks later, it's my birthday.  After my birthday I get to enjoy the change of seasons.  I'm pretty sure Autumn is my favorite time of the year.  I love the way the leaves turn from green, to yellow, to orange, to red, to brown and then fall all over the ground.  I just love how gorgeous it is.  My favorite Autumn day looks like this: trees full of orange and red leaves, blue skies, and cool, crisp air.  Pretty soon it's Thanksgiving and before we even have a chance to blink it's Christmas.

So I wanted to take time and reflect on what I'm thankful for...

I'm so thankful for my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Without Him I'd be lost, fumbling my way through life trying to find purpose.

I'm thankful for my husband, the love of my life.  For the last 8 years he has always been there for me.  He is my best friend, he's a man who loves the Lord and who loves to serve.  He cherishs and loves me everyday and encourages me when I don't feel like I'm good enough.  He is a wonderful husband and I love him.

I'm thankful for my family.  Mom and Dad, Brian and Yvonne, I love you.  Thank you for supporting Kyle and I and loving us always along the way.  Thank you for being a good example in your marriage.  Thank you for all the fun memories.  Jessica, I love you sister.  Not only are you my sister, but more than ever, you are a close friend.  Amy and Charity, I know we don't see each other as often, but I love you both.  I look forward to this time each year because I know it means we get to hang out, catch up, and laugh.  Amy, when you're around there is always laughter and I love that.  Kevin, I'm so thankful to have you as a brother-in-law, especially one who loves to fish!  I love you.

I'm thankful for my friends and sisters in Christ.  Lindsay, I miss you everyday, but I love you and I'm so thankful that we keep in touch even though we live across the states.  Cammie, I feel like you could be my sister.  I don't know what it is, but I always feel like you and I are so close, even though lately we have been so busy with life.  You're one of the reasons I felt so comfortable coming to church when I first attended LCBC.  Jennifer, you encourage me everyday even though you don't know it.  I look up to you in how you respond to the hard things in your life and I just want to thank you for that.  Lyndie, you always make me laugh.  I love how I can come to you with ridiculous things that no one else on earth would think is funny, but we always get a kick out of it, I do declare. Danielle, I love how sincere you are about everything.  You always consider everyone else before yourself and I really admire how you interact with your children.  I also love my buffet buddy ;) who is never afraid to go back for that second plate of fried chicken.. hehe.  Amy, you were another one of the main reasons I fell in love with LCBC and rededicated my life back to Christ.  Thank you for being such a good Christian role model in my life at a time when I really needed it.

I'm thankful for my Pastor and my church.  For giving me a place to serve, rightly divide the Word of God, and grow.

I just love this time of year.

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Go Gavin!

I finally made it to one of Gavin's soccer games.  I only made it to the last 10 or 15 minutes, but it was worth it.  Gavin was so cute running around with his team.  The photos didn't turn out that well, but oh well, I'm still learning. 

This is Gavin's second year of Soccer (I believe) and next year he transitions to an all boys team.  Did I mention I love my nephews?!

Pooped after the end of the game.  They play on full fields during indoor soccer which really wears them out.

The Oscars

Oscar Night at Lake Country Baptist Church is so much fun!  We split the youth into equal teams and let them make a movie.  They have a few rules: (1) everyone has to appear in the film at least once, (2) all of the props need to appear in the movie at least once, and (3) the gospel must be presented.

After the youth make the movies (they are given 45 minutes to plan and 2 hours to film) all of the youth workers get together, watch the movies, and vote on best actor, best actresss, best director, etc.

Then, we get together for "Oscar Night" one week later - its an awards ceremony that is a TON of fun.  Everyone dresses up, walks the red carpet, gets harassed by the paparazzi, eats yummy food, watches "live" performances, may win an award, and has a blast.

I love this event!! Here are some pics...

Danielle & Ash

Jennifer & Lance

Cammie & Matt

Jennifer & Gino

Michele & David

Amy & Kevin

Me & Kyle

Sarah looking fabulous in her mom's dress from 17 years ago (her mom and grandma made it).

Christian and Josh walking the red carpet.

Tarin signing some autographs for the paparazzi.

Tiffany and Alyssa walking the red carpet and looking fabulous!

Kaelyn, Sammy, Alyssa & Tiffany

Me & Sarah

Happy "Belated" Halloween

I'm not even kidding when I say this post has been sitting in draft mode for the last week waiting to be published.  I feel Halloween is old news, but oh well, I'll post some pictures just because.

Here is a picture of me making the "?" box for the costume wedding reception we attended on October 30 for Alex & Melissa (Congrats again btw!!).  I also made another box that had an opening in the top.  Inside that box we placed the candy bowl.

I guess I should have started by telling you what our costumes were.  Kyle dressed up as Super Mario and I dressed up as Princess Peach.  The "?" box is the box on the video game that Mario hits and different things come out.. a mushroom.. etc.  Our box was filled with candy for the kids on Halloween that came-a-knockin'.

Here is a picture of Kyle Mario with his "?" box.

Here are two of our nephews - Gavin on the left and Jaden on the right.  Pretty scary huh?

And how could I forget our youngest nephew Nolan.  He insisted on being a pumpkin, and maybe I'm a little bias, but I think it was so cute!

Super Mario and Peach at the front door of our house, waiting to hand out candy to all the little kids.

After the boys got home from trick-or-treating, Nolan was in an odd mood and made a lot of funny faces.

Jaden was dressed up as the scream guy.  His costume had this cool feature where he squeezed a heart full of fake blood and it ran down his face.  Super gross though.

Nolan with his Uncle Kyle.

This picture is hilarious in my opinion - Jaden with his "I can't hold this pose any longer face", Jessica looking cute as can be, Nolan trying to pick his nose and get away with it, and Patrick and Gavin giving each other the stare down -- priceless.

Jaden with his candy.

Jessica, Patrick, and Nolan.

Gavin with his candy.

We had a great Halloween this year.  My sister, her husband, and the boys came over to do their trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  Kyle and I got to hand out candy the first time ever in our house since we moved in (we moved in last December), and we had some good grub (as always).

The kids knocking on our door loved our costumes too.  All the boys liked Kyle's costume and the girls loved mine. 

It's Pumpkin Carving Time

Yesterday Kyle and I visited my sister's house to see my nephews and their new ferret Jack. If you want to see pictures of Jack, click here.

When we got to my sisters house, the boys were carving their pumpkins. I was a little surprised to see them carving out of the bottom of the pumpkin, but it's totally a clever idea.

Jaden had the largest pumpkin. Gavin and Nolan both had smaller ones. Nolan hates messy hands, but he made do. Gavin didn't seem to mind the goop and was squishing his fingers through the orange gooey mess.

It was so cute to hear Nolan tell my sister he wants to go to a Haunted House. I don't think he knows what he's getting himself into. Kyle and I took the boys a few months back to a putt putt golf course. He was not happy when a fake bear noise roared near a waterfall and cave. Check out that post here.

Here are some pictures of the family.


Jaden, Nolan, Jessica, and Gavin.


Gavin


Jaden

Nolan

They needed mom's big guns to take the goop off the bottom piece ;)

Jessica told Gavin to look real close at his nasty hands - then she smacked his hands to his face - priceless.

Still digging for goo.

Finished pumpkin.

Nolan's pumpkin.

Gavin making the face he carved on his pumpkin.

I didn't have a chance to get Jaden's before he put it outside.

Jaden, Nolan, and Gavin.

Getting the goop out. I was super excited to get all the seeds for roasting and toasting.

Tasty.

I couldn't carve a pumpkin face without throwing in some UW spirit. Come on now!

Our pumpkins!

Our shadows covering the pumpkins (we're snuggled up).

Kyle used my cutout piece for his pumpkin.

Kyle with his "w".

Me and my "w" - my hair is a horrible mess by the way.

Happy Halloween!

Yuma - Part II

Last week during our vacation in Yuma, AZ with the family, we visited the Dobson Museum. This lady collects a bunch of old stuff that she buys or finds by digging in a dump. She has many buildings on her property that are set up with the collected items. Here are some of the pictures I took:

Yuma - Part I

Here are some of the photos I took during the first few days of our trip to Yuma, Arizona. My grandparents and parents have property there. My parents still work so it's more of a vacation place for them now, but someday they plan to retire here 8 months out of the year - snowbirds is what they are called when they only come down to AZ in the winter.

So far, I'm loving Arizona, primarily for the heat. My body really needed a good dose of Vitamin D given the recent turn in weather in Seattle.

The Chocolate Mountains

Teddy Bear cactus

Gram & Gramps

Didn't they do a good job?

Their palms out front.

Patio

Grandpa & Grandma

Entrance at my parents place.

Prickly Pear Cactus

I will post some more pictures soon.

Girlie Giveaway

My friend Jen is having another giveaway on her blog. If you have a little girl or know a cute little girl - go check out her blog! She's giving away a really cute headband by Celeste & Co.