Wishing you and yours a Christmas full of blessings, love and laughter.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tinsle and Merry
I love my house all covered in tinsle and merry for the Christmas season. I love our bubble light . . . it reminds me of my childhood, I love the Santa figurines that Vernon has from his childhood, and I love the stocking that adorns our front door. Those are just a few favorite things! What is your favorite Christmas decoration?
Sunday, December 14, 2008
A Season of Parties
One of the most fun parts of Christmas is all the parties. They are just FUN! I've been to some good ones this year too.
Monday we had a holiday Girl's Night Out. The Governor's Mansion was open for free tours, so we went and gazed at all the beauty. Since Vernon works for the Governor, I've seen the mansion at Christmas for the last few years. I think this year was one of the best. There are probably 10 different Christmas trees on the front porch and then the tree that is in the house is so large and gorgeous it just can't be beat. It was all amazing! After the mansion, we went to Sinclair's for dinner and then to Cafe Louisa's for dessert and hot chocolate. Talk about a fun evening! It was the perfect evening of good entertainment, good food and great friendship.
Friday was a Christmas party all day long. We drove to Mobile for Vernon's office Christmas party and that was fun. It's never a bad day when I get to spend it in the car with my sweetheart! The food was good and the Prattville Show Choir was entertaining to watch.
Friday night was Christmas with Vernon's family. Allison, Millie, Joe, Aunt Joyce and our good friend Wally, came over for some Christmas fettuccine and presents. I really like not having a traditional Christmas dinner and Christmas fettuccine has become one of my favorites. We had an exceptionally good family Christmas this year . . . Vernon says it's the best one he can remember in a long time. Joe gave us a digital picture frame, so I'm really excited to get that up and running.
Saturday was our Christmas party with our Care Group at church. We have the most fun Care Group ever! There was so much food at that party last night that the thought of eating today just sounds pretty gross! I think everyone in our group is a good cook so you can imagine the dilemma of partaking in all that yummy food. On the one hand, it's way exciting to have so much yummy food to sample, but on the other hand, it's painful once you do. We erred on the side of painful . . . I had to try some of everything and there was A LOT. And then there were Jennifer's sausages . . . I ate WAY more than my fair share I'm sure because they were just too stinkin' delicious. We also played Dirty Santa last night. It was fun and I think everyone went home with a gift they will enjoy . . . well maybe not Jeff, but Jennifer sure was excited about it!
The one Christmas party I had this week was cancelled and while that is sad, it's probably for the better. This week is crazy full as I'm getting ready to photograph a wedding this weekend and then head out of town for Christmas. It should be an exciting week!
I hope all of you are enjoying your season of parties!
Monday we had a holiday Girl's Night Out. The Governor's Mansion was open for free tours, so we went and gazed at all the beauty. Since Vernon works for the Governor, I've seen the mansion at Christmas for the last few years. I think this year was one of the best. There are probably 10 different Christmas trees on the front porch and then the tree that is in the house is so large and gorgeous it just can't be beat. It was all amazing! After the mansion, we went to Sinclair's for dinner and then to Cafe Louisa's for dessert and hot chocolate. Talk about a fun evening! It was the perfect evening of good entertainment, good food and great friendship.
Friday was a Christmas party all day long. We drove to Mobile for Vernon's office Christmas party and that was fun. It's never a bad day when I get to spend it in the car with my sweetheart! The food was good and the Prattville Show Choir was entertaining to watch.
Friday night was Christmas with Vernon's family. Allison, Millie, Joe, Aunt Joyce and our good friend Wally, came over for some Christmas fettuccine and presents. I really like not having a traditional Christmas dinner and Christmas fettuccine has become one of my favorites. We had an exceptionally good family Christmas this year . . . Vernon says it's the best one he can remember in a long time. Joe gave us a digital picture frame, so I'm really excited to get that up and running.
Saturday was our Christmas party with our Care Group at church. We have the most fun Care Group ever! There was so much food at that party last night that the thought of eating today just sounds pretty gross! I think everyone in our group is a good cook so you can imagine the dilemma of partaking in all that yummy food. On the one hand, it's way exciting to have so much yummy food to sample, but on the other hand, it's painful once you do. We erred on the side of painful . . . I had to try some of everything and there was A LOT. And then there were Jennifer's sausages . . . I ate WAY more than my fair share I'm sure because they were just too stinkin' delicious. We also played Dirty Santa last night. It was fun and I think everyone went home with a gift they will enjoy . . . well maybe not Jeff, but Jennifer sure was excited about it!
The one Christmas party I had this week was cancelled and while that is sad, it's probably for the better. This week is crazy full as I'm getting ready to photograph a wedding this weekend and then head out of town for Christmas. It should be an exciting week!
I hope all of you are enjoying your season of parties!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The GracePointe Christmas Party
I always enjoy the Christmas Party that we have at church every year, but this year it seemed to be exceptionally great.
The children were so entertaining in their portrayal of our Messiah's birth. There are always a couple of kids that keep the show light hearted and funny . . . I LOVE those kids!!! I can't wait to see what one of them will say or do that makes the audience fall out laughing. I think my favorite one of those moments this year was when Barrett (who just turned 3) stood up and asked his mommy why he couldn't talk in the microphone. She was sitting close by and told him that he was old enough yet. He thought about that for a minute and went straight over to the microphone and said, "I'm old enough now!" Yay, Barrett!!! I appreciate the comedy you provide!
The adults put on a really good show this year too. The theme was "Christmas Around the World" and Kathy Harris did a great job of putting together a show full of fun things to show us Christmas in other places. I sang Let it Snow, we had songs from the islands, from Mexico, from Europe, from here at home and even from the North Pole. So much fun!
After the program, we feasted, bid on items at the silent auction and just enjoyed our fellowship as a family. We also surprised Kathy Harris with cards, cake and roses for her upcoming 50th birthday. I love being a part of this family! I love the kindness, generosity and warmth of this family. I love the laughter that I hear when I walk into our church building . . . it's beautiful praise! It's especially fun to be a part of this family during the holidays.
The children were so entertaining in their portrayal of our Messiah's birth. There are always a couple of kids that keep the show light hearted and funny . . . I LOVE those kids!!! I can't wait to see what one of them will say or do that makes the audience fall out laughing. I think my favorite one of those moments this year was when Barrett (who just turned 3) stood up and asked his mommy why he couldn't talk in the microphone. She was sitting close by and told him that he was old enough yet. He thought about that for a minute and went straight over to the microphone and said, "I'm old enough now!" Yay, Barrett!!! I appreciate the comedy you provide!
The adults put on a really good show this year too. The theme was "Christmas Around the World" and Kathy Harris did a great job of putting together a show full of fun things to show us Christmas in other places. I sang Let it Snow, we had songs from the islands, from Mexico, from Europe, from here at home and even from the North Pole. So much fun!
After the program, we feasted, bid on items at the silent auction and just enjoyed our fellowship as a family. We also surprised Kathy Harris with cards, cake and roses for her upcoming 50th birthday. I love being a part of this family! I love the kindness, generosity and warmth of this family. I love the laughter that I hear when I walk into our church building . . . it's beautiful praise! It's especially fun to be a part of this family during the holidays.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Cake Pops
Yesterday was our annual Christmas Party at church, which I'll post pictures of later. There is always a bake sale and/or silent auction to help raise money for our Child Development Center or the teen mission trip. I set out to make something fun and festive this year for the bake sale and found the greatest idea ever on The Pioneer Woman's website . . . Cake Pops or Cake Balls or even just yummy Cake on a Stick! She got the idea from the Bakerella's blog. I'll let you get the recipe from those links because they give WAY better instructions than I do, but I will show you what I came up with. They are so easy and SOOOOO DELICIOUS!!! I think I'll have to make some more for our family celebrations coming up. I also think these will have to become a Barnett Household Family Tradition. We LOVE them and they are too much fun!
I kept mine pretty simple compared to Miss Bakerella's. Check out her Christmas ones here. She's just stinking amazing!!!
Friday, December 05, 2008
Thursday, December 04, 2008
The Saga of the Christmas Tree
The Friday after Thanksgiving was a super fun day . . . I turned on the Christmas music and began putting all the tinsle around my house to make it merry for the Christmas season. I usually put up the tree first, but this year I decided to do everything else first. I got the house looking beautiful and then it was time to put the tree up. I got my trusty tree out and plugged it in . . . the middle section of lights and the bottom strand of lights were burned out. Talk about a blow to the Christmas spirit! I sulked downstairs and told Vernon that we had to go get a new tree . . . my 8 year old tree finally kicked the bucket. Being the sweet husband that he is, he immediately offered to quit what he was doing and take me to town to get a tree. I wasn't sure where to go, so he suggested that I do a little bit of internet research before we head out so we didn't shop aimlessly. I headed back upstairs to do my research and the middle section of lights on the tree had turned back on. It was a Christmas miracle!!! The bottom strand was still out, but if I turned the tree just right, it wasn't too noticable. We decided we could live with this tree this last year and look for a new one during all the holiday sales.
Here is what the tree looked like that night after it was all finished . . . pretty cute, huh? You can't even really tell that the bottom strand is burned out too badly.
Here is what the tree looked like that night after it was all finished . . . pretty cute, huh? You can't even really tell that the bottom strand is burned out too badly.
With my Christmas spirit restored, I went about my business working towards a fun holiday season. I was in the basement sewing the other day and when I came upstairs for lunch, this is what I find . . .
A pitiful excuse for a Christmas tree with the whole top half of lights burned out along with that bottom strand that is burned out. Oh, brother!!! At this point, I've just decided to have a pitiful tree at our house this season as I anxiously await spending Christmas at my sister's house. So if you find me at your house just staring at your beautiful, fully lit tree, now you know why. On the bright side, it will be really fun to search for the perfect new tree that will make our house sparkle for Christmas next year.
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