Deckin' the Halls and Thanksgiving 2010 Recap

Now that we are recovered from our food comas yesterday...

We had a wonderful time visiting with Michael's mom's family and my family yesterday for Thanksgiving.  It was Michael's mom's birthday yesterday, so we drove out to Wimberley, TX to have dinner with Gigi, Aunt Cait, Auntie 'Chelle, Uncle Kevin, Uncle Steve, Aunt Jerry, Nana, and Mrs. Roberts (Uncle Steve's mom).  Dinner was fabulous and we watched the Macy's parade, a dog show, and the beginning of the Cowboys vs. Saints game.  We also took a lovely walk around the ranch to make some room for dessert:

Some of us climbed...

And ran...

And played in the birdbath!

Afterwards, we drove to my parents' house in Buda and enjoyed Thanksgiving 2.0 with my folks, my brothers David and Philip, Phil's girlfriend Andrea, and his roommate Aaron.  I am sad to say that my beloved Longhorns put up a good fight against the Aggies, but it wasn't enough.  We lost 24-17 and I was so very sad.  I seriously hope the Aggies make it the Big 12 Championship though; we need a Texas team to represent!

This year's Thanksgiving was one of the best, although it was marred just slightly by the news that my husband's Gramma Bobbe took ill and so we won't be seeing that side of the family this year.  We hope you feel better soon, Gramma!

We traditionally spend Black Friday decorating our home for Christmas and we definitely did that this morning!  Michael had to work in the afternoon, so we got an early start and were done in about an hour.  Now that's what I call teamwork!  Billa lent a hand hanging ornaments on the tree.  Here is a fine example of her handiwork:

At least she's consistent!

The stocking were hung by the chimney with care...

...In the hopes that St. Nick would soon be there!

In other news, the weather is finally cold!  I don't know how long it will last, but I am s thrilled about cold weather.  I broke out the sweaters this morning and put away some of my summer clothes.  I like to layer in the wintertime, so I didn't put away everything of course, but it was so refreshing to see my sweaters hanging back up again.

I have to say, given everything that has happened this year, I am so grateful to be able to spend the holidays with my husband's family as well as my own.  I have come to consider them as my family too and I grieved to think that I might not be seeing them at the holidays.  You certainly never know what you have until you are faced with losing it. 

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well and that if you are going out today that you're safe!  And if you are going out today, show a little kindness and appreciation to any retail employees you encounter...it will make for happiness all around!

Cheers,
Kelly

thanksgiving

Today we give thanks for many things. 

Personally, I am thankful:

1.  Michael.  When I saw him in the Scarborough Phillips Library at SEU nine years ago and told myself that I was going to marry that cute boy, I didn't know just how self-fulfilling those words would be.  I also didn't know what I was getting into, but I grateful for it nonetheless.  My life would be boring otherwise!

2.  Sybilla.  I never knew what REAL love was until the first time she got hurt and my mama bear claws came out.  She is my heart living outside my chest.  She is willful, independent, clever beyond her year, and stubborn as a mule, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

3.  My family.  I am what I am thanks to them, and whether that's good or bad, it doesn't matter.  Blood is thicker than water and no matter what drama we deal with, I love 'em anyways!

4.  My friends.  I have so many of them, and so many different kinds, but regardless I love them all and my life is richer for them!

5.  My in laws.  Everyone b*itches about their crazy in-laws, but I adore mine.  Seriously.  I have TWO mothers-in-law that are equally amazing that I love dearly...talk about all the luck in the world.  I'm grateful for such a loving and special extended family.

6.  My job.  It may not pay me what I want, but my boss is great, the flexibility and benefits are fantastic and I have made some new very wonderful friends thank to it!


7.  A roof over my head, food in my belly, and clothes on my back.  I have the essentials in my life.  Yes there are things I want very badly, but at the end of the day, I am extremely blessed to be provided with such comfortable basics.  

8.  The gifts and talents God has given me.  I don't care if it sounds narcissistic, but what the hell.  I have an amazing singing voice, an incredibly gifted and intelligent mind, and one helluva knack for baking, arts & crafts, and writing.  To NOT acknowledge the gifts the Old Pawdnuh gave me would be a sin IMHO.

9.  For the sun rising each day.  Because each new day I face means one more chance to chase my dreams, love my family and friends, and live my life to fullest that I can!

I hope that this day finds you celebrating everything you're thankful for!  I leave you to indulge your feasting fancies; the following prayer is what we say with Sybilla every night and I think it sums up everything we're thankful for:

Dear Lord,
Thank you for everything you've given us,
For two arms and two legs,
Ten fingers and ten toes,
Two eyes, two ears, a mouth and a nose.
For food in our belly and a roof over our heads,
for clothes on our backs and a nice warm bed.
For Mama and Daddy and grandparents too,
All our aunties and uncles and cousins who all love you.
We're thankful for the birds and the bees,
The flowers and trees,
the kittens and puppies.
and even the guppies.
We're thankful for this and so much more,
and we continue to pray
that you will bless us
each and every day.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Guerra Clan

Thanksgiving, Probably More Pink, and Moving Day!

Hello all!

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was laid back and well spent. Our good friends, the Marino's, recently bought their first house and we decided that we had to help them break it in with it's first Turkey Day. Kellie and I went all out with the food, making way too much in our excitement. Michael & I contributed the pumpkin cheesecake, sweet potato casserole, rolls, orange-cranberry dipping sauce, and wine. The Marino's did the turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, cherry pie, brownies, and the classic "Creamy Fruit Salad with Marshmallows of a Thousand Names." Yes, that stuff that is known as Hearts of Gold, Five Cup Salad, Ambrosia, Waldorf Salad, Daddy Salad, etc. The names are many, the recipe is the same: sour cream, sugar, fruit, and marshmallows. I personally am not a fan of the stuff, but I can appreciate the history and the kitsch that surrounds it.

We stuffed ourselves silly, then sat down to watch the most awful and ridiculous movie ever, Love Guru. Seriously, it's a good thing we were all so blitzed from turkey and potatoes and everything else that we mostly slept through a good portion of it, because what little I did happen to watch, I wished I had a huge bottle of brain bleach to scrub it from my head. Austin Powers was clever and silly, this was just retarded and crass. I'd almost rather watch the live action Scooby Doo over this. Yeesh!

After we vegged out and digested a little, we sat down for dessert. While we were eating dessert, Madeleine made a comment about her birthday coming up in January. I asked her what kind of cake she wanted me to make her, and without missing a beat, responded: "A Barbie castle cake." Ok, well I like a kid who knows what she wants! So then I asked her what color she wanted it, knowing she would answer pink. I was not disappointed. I then asked her what secondary color would be ok to put on the cake and she told me, "Probably more pink." Michael nearly choked on his cheesecake, he was laughing so hard. I tell you what, I need to stop being amazed at what three year olds tell me, especially the three year olds I know! In addition, Madeleine wants said cake to be "pink cake" meaning strawberry flavored, so this confectionary concoction will be pink on pink on pink! I thought about titling it "Pretty in Pink", but Madeleine's daddy says I should just call it "Probably More Pink." So I will. Anthony also came up with this pearl, which I just HAVE to share. Right now the campaign for Windows is "Life without walls." Anthony's response: "If you live life without walls, why would you need Windows?" Brilliance.

And lastly, we got good news on Wednesday: we get to move early! We are starting our move tomorrow and we are so excited! The only bad thing is we won't be able to actually stay the night until Monday, because I wasn't able to get the gas turn on moved to this weekend, so Monday it is! But the cable guy is coming on Sunday and my brothers are in town for Thanksgiving, and Kellie's laundry baskets are empty, so we're moving anyway! This makes things way easier, because we were going to have to take little loads all week and then move the furniture on the 6th. We also have more time to paint before we finish everything, which I was a little worried about. We'll definitely be posting pictures when everything is all done.

So that wraps things up for now. A belated Happy Birthday to Gigi (Michael's mom) and Auntie Cait (Michael's sister) who celebrated big milestones this week: Judy is 50 and Caitlyn is 18! We love you! Hopefully the next post will be from inside the new apartment and with pictures. In the meantime, enjoy this little video of our budding Mozart...

Cheers!