Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Everyone!!! Can you even believe it is 2009? I don't know about you - but for me, 2008 was just sort of a blur! (If it wasn't for scrapbooking, I may not remember all that we did last year!) There was a shift last year and many people experienced changes and big life transitions and I believe that 2009 holds many more changes and improvements, if we are willing and ready for change!

Up until last year, I really wasn't ready or willing... and while I am still in a place where I am happy and blessed and comfortable in the life that I am living - I also know that Change is good and I am coming into a season where I am more open to it... trusting Papa to lead and guide us. If I want more - if I want to do more, experience more, accomplish more - then I have to trust more, step out more, & be willing to stretch more...

Our Christmas was amazingly relaxed... we are lucky in that we honestly get along with both sides of the family and it just sort of magically worked out that I was raised celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve, and Dave was raised celebrating on Christmas Day - so both of our families are able to get together and we do not have to choose! Nice, I know!!! So - Christmas Eve was at our house... we host every year and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I love everything about it (except maybe the cleaning the house part?! LOL?!) We all pitch in and have a very easy menu plan for each year... snacks/appetizers/finger foods! Great! I think I tried 6 new recipes! LOL! (Drives Dave CRAZY that I do that each year!!!) They all turned out GREAT! I had actually made a couple of them for my Bunko group the month before... so they weren't ALL new?! Anyway - the food was awesome:
(Spicy Taco Pizza)

(Artichoke Feta Dip)

(Stuffed Mushrooms)

(Coconut Meringues)

(Oreo Truffles)

I also made a yummy Buffalo Wing Dip and lots of crackers and veggies, etc! We met up and hung out upstairs, enjoying dinner and visiting! My sister and her family from Walla Walla (aka Stars Hollow) made it home for the holidays and that was SO GREAT!!!

A bit later, we moved downstairs to open the crazy amount of gifts!!! (Mom!? We all tried to scale back - but you would never know it thanks to Grandma and Grandpa!)

The 'kids' are getting older but everyone had fun opening gifts this year and afterwards, we all relaxed through out the house visiting and laughing and just enjoying all being together! (Shaela, Kaye, Michael, Karianna & Brandon)

On Christmas Morning, we were able to sleep in a bit... we're able to do that because we have an only child and she doesn't know any better?! LOL?! (Oh yeah - AND she is a teenager - so there ya go?!) I made our traditional Christmas breakfast - albeit a little Spark-ified! After breakfast, we did our Stockings and let Kaye open a few more gifts from us... among them, her new iHome and her new MP3 player! She was a happy, happy girl!!!

After a bit, we headed over to Dave's parents where we had lunch and opened yet more gifts... and then somehow sat through ALL of Wall-e!? Am I the only person in America who thought that was a long boring movie?! I mean, c'mon?! Really!?

Anyway the next day happens to be my Honey's b'day and we went out to lunch with friends/family and just sort of enjoyed some more family downtime!

So - over the holidays, I managed to read several books - at least four since my last post... a nice little break that probably helps to explain my absence here as well!? Sorry for that?! LOL?! I read two Richard Paul Evans Christmas books, a Debbie Macomber Christmas book, and the newest Nicholas Sparks book as well... plus I am re-reading The Shack, leading a discussion group online for that. I have enjoyed hanging out with my kid and watching Gilmore Girls, or movies, or Monk and Psych together... I have done ZERO Scrapping... not even Amy's birthday card yet... (yeah - it will be a bit late... sorry about that one!) I took Kaye to see Marley and Me and cried my eyes out... I'm not even a Dog person - but who couldn't fall in love with him? Of course - it was not MY couch, or shoes, or WALL he was eating either?! Anyway - Kaye got the book for Christmas and I can't wait to read it now!

I also was able to connect with my two best friends from high school days! Annette and MaryAnn were able to come and hang out for a few hours and just catch up over coffee... another relaxing, fun get-together!

(Me, Annette, and Mary Ann)

We also went out with friends and I was blessed to take some Family Portraits of them, and then we had dinner and played their Wii for the night... oh yes - and we played Scattegories with them too... they were pretty tame compared to Chuck - but I think that sort of goes without saying, right?! LOL!

So - I am working on kitting those Valentine's Flipbooks... well - I SHOULD be - but haven't started yet... hopefully early next week! We'll see!? I really have all month - so it's no big deal! I suppose what I really should focus on in the next day or so is putting away all the Christmas stuff - but I hate to put it away!? How long is too long, really!? What do you think?! How long can I get away with it without seeming just really really lazy!?

I pray you all have a Happy healthy New Year!

I pray this New Year holds many blessings,
...many changes for the better ahead for you and for me!

Scrap On!
~Karrilee~