A look back at Christmas 2010

*This is truly for my own personal keepsake but if you'd like to read along, be my guest!

1. Christmas was at mom's house this year for the first time in a long time. I was home. Home for my very last Christmas morning breakfast. Home with my pup. Home with mom to help ease the hustle and bustle of making Christmas dinner...even if I did eat more during the prep than the actual meal and possibly make a huge mess.

My oh-so-talented Christmas tree salad. :)

2. On Christmas Eve, Aunt Moni, Uncle Gary and the boys came over and we all played "What are yours like". Seriously funniest game ever! I still can't believe how BIG my cousins, Blake & Bryan, are to be 15 & 20! They make me look like a shrimp!

Bryan (20), Me, Blake (15)

3. I blame whoever brought the coffee cake for my weight gain. (ahem...this guy.)

4. Happy tears were shared with mom when I gave her a digital frame stocked with our engagement pictures-along with a very touching mother/daughter poem. ((more on that later))

5. I must say I am very proud of myself for taking a ton of pics!

my pretty pretty princess

Classic Christmas tree photo
Chris, mom, me, Beau

massive amount of presents

6. I took myself to Home Depot, picked out the right parts and fixed mom's toilet. On. My. Own.

7. I learned that although I love my family to absolute pieces-sometimes they are just out of their minds. Maybe that's why I love 'em??

8. Aunt Monica (dad's sis) pulled out OLD home videos of daddy & Skippy (my grandpa). Dad was 2 in most of the videos which means they were archived from 1961!! There was no sound back then but the videos were simply perfect. Dad looked the exact same. Blonde hair. No shoes. Big belly. Forever a smile on his face. How I miss him...sigh....

Thanks, Aunt Moni :)

9. I realized how truly thankful I am of the people I have around me. My family. Beau's family. Everyone.

10. Favorite gift received: ALL of them. Honestly. I got so many great things off our registry for Beau and I!! Comforter, pillows, canisters, blankets, kitchen gadgets, rugs, blender, you name it! I also won the award for best wish list! (Ok I cheated. I told everyone to buy everything off our registry and they really did!! SO much that there are only 2 unfulfilled items on our Target registry. YAY!)

Christmas morning
(no make-up...I apologize)LOVE these throw pillows!
Thanks, mom!!

11. Between our dogs, my brother's dog and Aunt Mary's dogs, there was a total of 7, SEVEN, dogs at our house ALL weekend long. I attempted to hand them out as party favors at the end of the night but was unsuccessful in doing so.

Lilly had enough of all the festivities

sleepy little angel

12. The day after Christmas, Beau & I found thee most perfect little town home to live in!! We move in for the first time together in 3 weeks and that, my friends, was the icing on the cake!

Beau signing his life away!
Holy beard?!

Home. Sweet. Home.
(1.14.2011)

Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!
I know I did!