Merry Christmas

Good Morning.
Can you believe it's over? I can't.
It's been non stop party here.

DC wasn't so happy when I told him the helicopter was driving me bananas. Then I think my brother told him not to listen to me. I told you they love helicopters. I hope you got one for some guy in your family because if you did, you're a Christmas hero.

Frisky does a pretty good job of showing what we all looked like after a humongous meal yesterday.

I feel like it went so fast, and maybe I owe God some time...I don't know if I took enough time to think about Jesus this season.

It's been a whirlwind with husband being so sick, and the shopping, wrapping, cleaning, cooking. And work is so busy in December. Those are all of my excuses for not taking enough time to thank God for sending our Savior down to Earth to live a human life...and die a very painful human death. For me. And for you. I pray you've been at your lowest of low and still felt the powerful hope that He is. I hope you know the unfathomable feeling of the no matter what love that He has for you. If you don't, I hope you find Him. I'd be happy to go on that journey with you. If you've known him for 2 days or 20 years, I hope you've thanked him for what Christmas is.

How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me.

Merry Christmas.

A Lumberjack Graduation

Banita Creek, Nacogdoches, Texas

Baby brother

The grads

Now.

Then.

The family minus one.  This picture was next to impossible to coordinate.  And I wasn’t sure our picture taker got a good shot and then all of the sudden everyone scattered.  Just a typical Wood family picture I guess.  You better be quick or you won’t get one and everyone will be gone.  And then there was a glare and I couldn’t get it all out.  Gah.

While others napped, I went downtown

I want this.  I don’t even know if it would ever work again.  I just want to set it in our place.

I found some fun things in neat places including 2 jars I have been looking for.

Cue the grad after-party party…

Zach lives in a wood cabin with mirrors everywhere.  It doesn’t even make sense.  It was about 30 degrees in there.

We kind-of resemble each other

Then…pardon the thumb.  This was pre-digital pictures

Now.

Congrats Grad!

And now I think I’ll have another oh-my-gosh-my-baby-brother-is-grown-up-and-I-can’t-even-think-about-him-moving-to-DC-without-completely-freaking-out moment. 

Dare to Have Traditions

It’s a sad day…the last day of the Dare to DIY.  It’s been fun, ladies.

Dare to Have Traditions.

Um.

My family is ludicrous, and thus, we have some odd traditions.

On Christmas eve, which is when most of our traditions occur, you will walk into a warm house filled with the most random Christmas music you’ll ever hear.  Like…Willie Nelson’s Smokin’ Tokin’ Christmas or something.  I’m kidding.  Sort of.  As you throw your coat in the living room and head to the kitchen, a hot delicious mug full of hot Dr. Pepper awaits you.

Tradish #1

Honestly, you probably wouldn’t find a Dr. Pepper in the house unless it is Christmas Eve.  At least not where DC and I live.  In our place on Christmas Eve, you won’t even find Dr. Pepper because I am cheap a good steward of my money.  If I brought Dr. B to a Wood Family Christmas, I may be shunned.  Don’t worry, they would let DC stay because they love him more than me anyway.

Ingredients: DP and Lemon.  And awesome Christmas mugs that you use year round.  Oh that’s just me?

 

Put it on the stove on low until it’s hot to trot

Serve.  The sick ones especially like it, if you have any at your house.  I do.  Sad face.

Tradish #2

While everyone pours and enjoys their hot DP and some hors d’oeuvres, someone inconspicuously puts in a legendary Christmas mix sung by this group of extremely talented vocalists…

And we dance…not just any dance.  We dance just like them.

When the dancing is over and the mugs are empty, you better grab your wallet.

Tradish #3

Rummy Royal.  The 7 (parents, 2 brothers, a pistol of an 86 year old grandma named Goggle, me and DC) of us play Rummy Royal for pennies.  It’s a card game that I don’t care to explain in detail, however, I am sure Wikipedia would love to share its knowledge.

The game gets gruesome.  It gets scary.  Goggle tells you how much she wants to hurt you.  It’s rough, but it’s hilarious.  I never win, but I figure I am better off because that way Goggle still likes me.

So those are what I grew up with.  And now, DC and I might start some of our own.  I bought this book for us last week for our first Christmas (and 19 more…because it’s a 20 year book, not because I am leaving him in 19 years) together.  Hopefully him being sick for weeks will not be a tradition.  Please say a prayer for my sweet husband.

Make a Muppet and other things

Guys, Allie sent me a link to Make my own Muppet.  Glorious.

Check her out.

Lookin’ good.  I love the blue.  And the hair that is pretty close to my color.  Is that a trench coat??  Someone buy that for me at FAO Schwartz for a mere $129.99 so I can drive you nuts with it.  No?

It’s the weekend!!  We are headed up to the lake and then East Texas- my baby brother is graduating from college tomorrow morning! 

Congrats Grad!!! 

I’m looking forward to being outside a LOT…out at the lake and in the country, seeing my family and Zach’s friends, and maybe some of that will help DC feel a little better.

So, next week, some pictorial evidence of everything that happened at Zach’s graduation party.  Dare to have traditions is on Monday, and my family has some whack traditions.

Oh yeah, and Christmas!!!

Happy weekend everyone!!

The Spirit of Snoopy

We have about 4,856 excuses for not having a Christmas tree for our first Christmas together.  Most of them revolve around sickness and storage space.

So if you gave us an ornament, it didn’t make it up this year (Except for Amy and Ricky’s- it’s on our centerpiece) until I was wrapping presents in the bike room the other day for what seemed like forever, and I just decided that even though it has been a pretty mucky holiday season thus far, we were going to have a tree dadgummit!

This is what happens when I’m locked in a room by myself for too long.  Tissue paper, cardboard, and the ornaments we got from parties and parents…tree of the year.  I am a preschooler.