Elefun!!

I finally got the opportunity to meet sweet Raegan!! She is an absolute doll full of personality & mischief!!!! All of the Creels had a wonderful Christmas and it was so good to see them!! (even Jetlag John!!! heehee *poke*) Lilli and Raegan were too sweet playing with dolls from Santa! Savanna & Austin are WAY too grown up now!! I'm really not sure how Miltie keeps up with it all but she is a SUPERMOM afterall!!

Lilli & Raegan were so cute playing Elefun!! This game is precious!!

Beautiful Creel Christmas Tree

Beautiful Creel Christmas Tree #2....decorated with ornaments from and inspired by China! I LOVE it!

Merry Christmas!

It was an unusually quiet Christmas morning for us. We postponed and rearranged so many things leaving us feeling a little out of the ordinary for the start of the day. Mom cooked a delicious Christmas dinner with occasional sous-chef help from Dad and I. We ended up having a good evening and an overall very Merry Christmas! Hope everyone else enjoyed their day!!

Mom may have to rethink putting candy canes within toddler reach on the Xmas tree! This little man was trying to eat it through the plastic! Heehee! He was QUITE STICKY when he finished too!! :)

Chunky puzzle mania!!

The fire truck ride is awesome Poppa & Nonna!! :)

This china has an amazing story! My grandfather traded his cigarettes for it during WWII! It was hidden in a barn, transported in wheelbarrows of hay, and shipped home from Germany to my grandmother! I feel just in awe when I think about it! It was fun to set the Christmas table with it today!


Christmas Tree 2008


My favorite Santa from the Frog Farm

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful time wherever you are spending the holiday with family, friends or both!! :) Many pictures to come of our time at the frog farm! Hugs from Houston!

Merry Christmas to all!! And to all a GOOD NIGHT!!!

Christmas Eve Silliness!! :)

We had an early gift exchange before M left for the trek back to Houston!! Unfortunately the work on-call schedule has him headed back early but don't worry --> he gets to spend the holiday with his Mom and the Lakota tribe!! I'm sure they will have lots of fun!!

I have to share some silly pics of Andy since we had lots of playtime today!! AuntGinnyPaparazzi is on the move!!! :)


Christmas Eve Silliness Superstar----> ANDY!!

He has learned to say "cheese" for the camera now! It is HILARIOUS!!


Just playin' some B-ball!! Poppa & Nonna's gift was a HIT!!!


Making a goal!! ACTION SHOTS!!!! :)

A cheer from the crowd is a MUST! YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trying on Nonna's garden hat...what a cutie!!

Christmas from the 'Burg!!

M and I were SO happy to FINALLY get to spend some moments with our friends G & S, our brilliant godson L, and his adorable sister A!! We hadn't seen them since their move back to Mississippi from New York so it was a LONG awaited reunion!! I'm happy to say we had a WONDERFUL time together which made us a little sad about the number of miles from Hattiesburg to Houston. We will cherish every moment we spent with them this Christmas!! Thanks for such an awesome visit you guys!! :) It was an evening full of pirates, sinking ships, sharks, elves, fairies, and a dress-up like Santa....the night of make believe moments brightened my whole Christmas!!

Isn't this the smartest and most handsome young man?? :) We are so proud of our godson, L --> who is growing up WAY WAY TOO FAST!!! He even read me a book about bats!! It was very special to hang out with him! We love you sweetie!

This is L's precious and FUN little sis, A!!! We had so much fun playing!


WARNING TO READERS IN BLOGGYLAND: This is the dreaded Tapi Yoki tree! This tree can snap you up in an instant if you aren't being true and good!! SO LOOK OUT FOR THEM IF YOU ARE EVER IN JAPAN...it only grows there!!

To Grandmother's House We Go... :)

The whole gang took off to Grandma's for Christmas!! It has been a while since we ALL were able to make it at one time! It was great fun! I always LOVE spending time with my Grandma and seeing my Uncle J, Aunt S and any other family that happens to be around! This year we were blessed to see my cousin and his beautiful family who had just made it in after a long drive from Tennessee!! It was a terrific day that I was sad to see come to an end! :) Enjoy the pictures! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!


We have a "wrapping" tradition for this trip! For as many years as I have been able to use scissors....(*giggle* well, maybe not quite THAT long...) I have wrapped gifts ON THE WAY to Grandmas!!! (yes, its true that I come from a distinguished line of procrastinating folk)


It is difficult to take a pic of a boy you are holding but this one surprised me! I like the sweet look on Andy's face...I have no idea what he was looking at???


There are still places in Louisiana that beautiful Spanish moss grows! Andy thought it was cool!

Andy could touch the moss from the ground on this tree!


Second cousin play!! K was such a sweet sharer of her new toy! They are both SO cute!

Christmas Inspiration!!

Happy Christmas decorating to everyone!!! I'm having some trouble getting into the spirit this year!! What is up with that?? SOMEBODY KICK ME!! :)


Thanks to Dad :) I've got some beautiful Christmas inspiration to kick off the decorations here at home!!

Odie is once again NOT THRILLED with my Christmas antics!!! *ROFL* Can't you just see the excitement!!?? heehee My little reindog....one day I'll stop the animal abuse!


Here is a shot of my Christmas cactus! I'm so happy it is still alive and the blooms are BONUS!!! This was given to me by my Grandma who is something of a Christmas cactus guru!! :)

Giving thanks...

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! M and I were happy to have my parents visiting for Thanksgiving! It was a small group but the merriment was large! :) We had a terrific time! B. joined us on Saturday for Thanksgiving part 2!! The only bad part of the holiday was that it had to end! Thanks for everything Mom and Dad!!

Did everyone have a chance to think about what you are thankful for?? Family & friends definitely top my list. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Our local grocery sold bread cornucopias which totally made my day!! I have always wanted to decorate with a cornucopia for Thanksgiving and this year I got my shot! I had great fun!

Dad and I had a blast setting the table again! It is such a good time to have everyone busy and bustling around to cooking, chatting, and doing little things to make the holiday so special!!

Mom and I tried our hand at adding little pastry leaves to the pumpkin pie!

Here is where the home grown lemons ended up! YUMMY!! We sliced a few for tea as well!


Odie had more family visiting than we did--his parents AND his brother came! They got into lots of trouble together but had lots of fun! Remember my famous red boa from Vegas??? Well, the boys thought it was great fun TOO!! See Odie in the corner of the pic trying to pretend he is not involved?? :)

AND Teddy even did some hunting...

Bathtime!!

Thanks goodness for bad weather forecasts...I still have some company at my house. I was lucky enough to get home from work tonight in time to see my littlest nephew before he went to bed! :) I even got to give the babe a bath!! We had a splashing good time! There was blue soap everywhere and no tears were shed even during hair washing!

Andy is the cutest right now! He won't imitate something you say right away but give it a minute and there he is chatting to himself the very thing you wanted him to say before! He followed me around tonight when I got home from work and that TOTALLY made my day!!! *beam* He makes the most precious car sound when playing with anything that can be a real or pretend car! He says "Bye-bye", "NO", "All gone", "Mama", "Daddy", "Cucu" (for coffee milk), and "More" really clearly. He tries to mimic most sounds anyone says and is babbling up a storm! He loves to play with my umbrellas in the stand by the door and with any big people shoes he can find! He even was sweet enough to bring M a bottle of wine from the wine rack! (YIKES....looks like we missed a few things in our baby proofing moments!! *heehee*) His biggest buddy here in Texas is Odie! They have spent literal hours chasing each other with Andy giggling and Odie barking the whole way! Andy loves to steal Odie's toys to tease Odie and to play with them! I think Andy has spent as much time playing with Odie's toys as his own on this trip!

What a great extended weekend it has been! AND of course the COOLEST part of the day--> IT'S B'S BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY B!!! I feel so happy to have a silly sister in law that I love dearly who LOVES my little bro so much!! She is such a loving mother! It has been fun to hang out with the birthday girl and family this weekend!!!! HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT BIRTHDAY B!!! WE LOVE YOU!!! :)

OK....you know the picture sharing is coming! :) Enjoy the latest pics of my favorite little shadow from tonight!!

Tub time FUN!!!!

Playing amongst the blue foamy waters... :)

Odie is never far away when his buddy Andy is around!

Even when getting dry & dressed...the playing never stops!!

On a completely separate note, here is my lemon crop harvested by M. if anyone is following the continuing horticulture saga :) Any suggestions for what I should make out of them special for the Thanksgiving holiday??

Playing in Aunt J's shoes

Sweet smelling clean boy ready for bedtime :) I just LOVE this kid!
GOODNIGHT EVERYONE!!! HUGS & BEDTIME KISSES FROM HOUSTON!!! :)

Quiet Sunday

We had a calm & quiet Sunday spent at home! We celebrated B's birthday one day early since M and I have to work a long day tomorrow! HAPPY BIRTHDAY B!!! Happy Birthday wishes go out to John too!! Hope they BOTH have a fun day tomorrow!!

Is everyone ready for some turkey soon? I'm looking forward to my "list" of all of the things I'm thankful for! Take time to reflect and put together your own list of thanks ;)! It's fun! It is nice to think about all of the blessings in our life!

Take care all! Enjoy the pictures of the little one at play!

The Little People school bus hasn't lost its charm!



Play ball!


Dancing with Ernie for the Mango Tango! Brought to you by healthy tunes at Sesame Street! Did you know "Cookies are a SOMETIMES food!" *heehee* Cute!


White chocolate & raspberry --> YUMMY!!

Texas Renaissance Festival 2008

We are so excited to have my little bro and his family visiting this weekend for the kick-off to their Thanksgiving WEEK off from school!! (I am SO VERY jealous!!!) They got in late Friday night and after a bit of a slow morning we drove out to Magnolia, Texas for the big Renaissance Festival!! The traffic was a NIGHTMARE but we had a great day anyway!! :)

I'll share some pictures from our adventure!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! HUGS FROM HOUSTON!!!


It is a bit like Renaissance Disney! I was amazed at how elaborate the buildings are! This is the outer gate!

WELCOME to the Ren Fair!! Come one! Come all!

Check out this Bier Garten SMILE!!! :)

Andy had his 1st carousel ride.....on (you guessed it) a MONKEY!! :)

I think he would have liked to ride on ALL of the figures!

Barbarian Invasion was the weekend theme! I think this is my vote for the best (& scariest....if you dismiss the "Oh NO they didn't!" costumes we saw...) costume of the day!

Another troupe of barbarian costumers

I can't WAIT until Andy wants to ride this one! FUN!!

Scene from the fair! It really is very pretty with the beautiful wooded setting!

A wedding processional! We had to "CLEAR THE WAY FOR THE BRIDE!"

My sweet nephew LOVES kettlecorn!

Check out this cutiepie smile while we were waiting for the show to start!

Promenade before the jousting starts

Pretzel anyone???