Christmas Part 2

Just when we started packing away the garland and wreaths, it was time to get right back into the Christmas spirit ahead over for Christmas part 2 (on New Years Eve), with my family. Again, like most holiday celebrations and family gatherings in general, we indulged in a lot of food, fun, laughter and good times. It was nice to take a moment to savor Christmas once more and spend some time with family before heading back to work and the real world, and before welcoming 2012!

Christmas with the C's

It's so hard to believe that Christmas is not only upon us but quickly coming to an end. We feel like it never really felt like Christmas. Maybe it's the busyness of life, or the strangely mild winter weather, or the fact that Christmas was on a weekend this year. In either way, we did have a wonderful time hosting family this year in our home, for Christmas. There is something really special, and really comfortable about being "home for Christmas".

We welcomed Ryan's parents on Christmas evening and after sharing the joyous news of the announcement of the gender of Baby C (to come, in a future post), we sat down for really wonderful dinner together. What a feast! It was fun to break away from our own family traditions and try and start some new ones... hence our meal of slow roasted and grilled beef ribs instead of the traditional ham, turkey or tri tip. It was delicious. With our bellies sufficiently full, we decided to sit down for the marathon of opening gifts. What good times and laughs we shared!!! It seems like every year something happens that has us laughing until our sides hurt. This year definitely didn't disappoint.

The rest of our times together were spent indulging in wonderful food and conversation, resting and relaxing and watching movies together. I love the level of comfort and fun that we have together. It was truly a pretty relaxing Christmas and what more can you ask for? As always, it was hard to say goodbye but we will treasure this sweet first Christmas in our home.

The sounds of Christmas

Last night the hubs and I got the very fun privilege of attending a special Christmas concert at Northpointe Community Church in Fresno. The Christmas Together 2011 tour is almost wrapping up, but if I could highly recommend penciling in something for next year, it would be this. This dose of Christmas cheer is just what I needed as I, quite frankly, have had a very hard time getting in the Christmas spirit this year. In fact, it pains me to share that I’ve been changing the radio station every time a Christmas song comes on. I know, it’s terrible. I wasn’t sure how a show composed of almost entirely Christmas music would bode with me.

I’m happy to report that I loved every minute. In fact, I have a suspicion that baby loved it too because I was getting A LOT of kicking and thumps during the show. Mr. C and I are crossing our fingers that this means our little one will be a lover of music or perhaps a musician someday. :)

Of course, our love of the event had to do with the fact that we personally knew half of the musicians performing. We had so many dear and talented friends. It was SO fun to get to see them and catch up in person. Unfortunately a year or more can pass before we get to see each other. There was a lot to catch up on this time and it kept us out late. But it was worth it. Too bad we only got a chance to snap a few pics with our friends. Until next time, we highly recommend picking up their special Christmas album.

Christmas with the gals

It's that time again, when the ladies of Grace (our church) dress in cheery Christmas sweaters, escape from family, work and piles of laundry and indulge in the food, fun and friends at our annual Christmas dinner. It's always a good time with great food, this year catered by a family in the church and an endless buffet of desserts. You've never seen so many cakes! And unfortunately, you don't get to because I couldn't even snap a photo before the women were devouring the dessert table. We sure like our sugar, don't we?! :) The speaker was also great - sharing a great story about all the special "gifts" of Christmas and what she has learned with each and every one. I was laughing and crying at the same time.

This year the switch was made from games into doing a craft. We all got to make this cool magnetic bracelets. Much better than silly games, we thought. 

This year was even more special than the past few because we gathered our family together - my mom, my self and my sis in law. It was a treat to get to share this sweet Christmas memory with my family and my dear friend Dana (who didn't make it into any photos - sorry Dana!). It was just what I needed to start to get into the Christmas spirit. With so much on my mind and a little one growing in my belly, it's been hard for me to slow down and take in the joy of Christmas. Here's to hoping the next few weeks ignite my usual excitement and love of the holiday season.

The most wonderful time of the year...

... is almost upon us! I'd be a fool not to acknowledge how special this Christmas is to us this year. It's the first Christmas we are celebrating in our home. It's the first time we are hosting family for the holidays. I'll be halfway through this pregnancy and will find out the gender of our sweet little baby. It's all so joyous that I can barely wrap my mind around it.

Pregnancy how slowed me down quite a bit, so getting the house and tree decorated in a timely manner has been challenging. Grand plans have been scaled down to realistic achievements and Mr. C has been the most helpful helper I could imagine. We thought it might be nice to give you a peek at our house during the holidays.

Merry Christmas everyone!

A Feline Surprise

As we get settled into our daily and weekly routines, I forget what tricks my hubbs has up his sleeves. When I least expect it, he surprises me. This past weekend, he did it again, with a little road trip to a destination I mentioned wanting to visit months, maybe even years ago. Though that was not our original plan for the weekend... after all, with Christmas a month away, we need to get a tree, decorate around the house, hang the Christmas lights and get our Christmas cards out. But, Mr. C often knows best and said that all of that stuff could wait. He got a rare Saturday off from work and it was time for fun and quality time. Was he ever right!

After a confusing journey up into the mountain, I began to wonder where we were headed. Told to wear a jacket, but no other tips, I knew we couldn't be headed too far. Then we arrived, at the Cat Haven in Dunlap. A place I've been driving by for years and have so badly wanted to see!

The Cat Haven is a very cool place! I'm so glad we had the time to make the trip out together. We got a great tour from one of the caretakers and I suspect it was more thorough than their general tours because it's sort of "off season" and because there were only four of us in the tour group. They have so many amazing and beautiful cats. It was exciting to come up to each new exhibit not knowing what to expect. Though I'm not much of a fan of domestic cats, there is just something majestic and amazing about wild cats.

This handsome cheetah is semi-famous and has been on lots of television appearances and commercials. In fact, keep your eyes open during the Superbowl because this kitty is going to be in a new commercial. It was super top secret but we can't wait to see it! 

It was SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

This cute Lynx was Mr. C's favorite cat of the day.

This cat had the most piercing yellow-green eyes!

This breathtaking giant was my favorite of the day. It's a Barbary Lion and they are now considered EXTINCT in the wild. It was incredible, huge and so intimidating looking.