Florida's natural holiday gift

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is the annual gift of oranges and tangerines from my dad's trees. They are nothing short of divine, and I am blessed to have a dad who has such talent at growing things (and building things - like my herb box!). Thank you, Dad!

Back to Danny's Birthday...

I just have to post this for Danny. I've been waiting for the pictures from his birthday party, and George finally downloaded them with the Christmas pictures. Here are a few pics to show how much he enjoyed himself...

 

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Danny says he has the best family in the whole world!

Merry Christmas 2010, vol. 2

Christmas morning came, and the kids had a great time opening presents. Traditional pinwheels were served, and we all enjoyed the morning.

Santa brought the kids a new basketball hoop for George to put together, but I guess he felt sorry for George having to work Christmas Eve night, so he brought the rain also.George got to take a nap, and the kids got to play with their presents!

In the afternoon, we all went to Gran-ma and Papa Creamer's House for the Creamer Christmas dinner. Again, what a good time we had with our family.

Today, we woke up, went to church (watching snow flurries hit our windshield!), and then George took on the task of putting that hoop together.


He was so successful that I rewarded him with Jamie Oliver's Steak, Cheese and Guinness Pie.

 Yum!

Merry Christmas, 2010 - Vol 1

We hope everyone had a great Christmas! We sure did! Ours started on Friday when we had brunch with Grandma and Pawpaw Gilbert and opened presents. Here are some of the highlights:

I hear young couples in love wear matching clothes... or maybe it was the longer you're together, you start looking alike. Either way, they liked their gift...

Danny got a pillow pet!

Another nutcracker for Megan's collection...

Zachary's Monty Python collection grows...

George might look drunk in this pic, but trust me, the bottle's not even open yet!  He was so excited about this bottle of wine, Southern Belle Shiraz. But not as excited as I was about my new herb box!

  What a wonderful Christmas! Thanks, Mom and Dad! We love you!

After brunch and presents, George went to work, and I took the kids to Christmas Eve service at church with Grandma and Papa Creamer and Cousin Harriet. Then, we baked and baked and baked some more. It was a long night, but we had fun, especially celebrating what the holiday was all about.

Our annual Christmas outings

Every year, we make plans to do two things at Christmas, and this year was no exception.

1. Danny's Birthday weekend, we go to the Living Christmas Story (Follow the Star) at Killearn United Methodist Church and either drive through or (after standing in line) ride the hayride through it. This includes a village set up behind the church complete with Roman soldiers, sheep, donkeys, shops, inns, etc. This year, Megan, Danny, and I  rode the hayride through it, and it was as magical as always. No pictures, unfortunately, as my hands were frozen from  standing in line for 45 minutes in 35 degree weather.

2. The weekend before Christmas, we visit Dorothy B. Oven Park to walk through and see the Chritmas lights and hear the music piped through the park.  The park is always beautiful, and we enjoy the walk. As it is unseasonably cold in Tallahassee this year, we were bundled up more than usual. Here are the few pics we took this year.