Curious 'bout the Clarks?: 2009

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Gifts and Goats

We were very blessed by our families with generous gifts. I need to take pictures of the curtains, but here are a couple pics so far.

Justin hanging the rods and gold curtains:

Rolling pin made from Ash with Walnut plugs for polka dots

crafted by my dad and Uncle Jimmy:

My mom had her dad's chair reupholstered and gave it to Justin.

It's now in our bedroom, but I haven't gotten a picture of it yet.

Isn't it fun to give gifts to those we love and see how much they enjoy them?

What a blessing it is to give a gift to those who have so many needs, too.

My mom bought a goat in our names for a family in Kenya. My Grandma Moyer's best friend, Marty Smith, is a missionary in Kenya, and she and her husband oversee helping families getting goats. Here's the link about their last goat dispersion: http://theadventuresofjohnmartysmith.blogspot.com/2009/10/goat-party-because-of-volume-of-goats.html Pretty cool gift, Mom!

Can't forget the Sticky Buns!

In the Beatty house, Christmas morning=Sticky Buns! It was the ONLY time all year that my mom would make them. So... she brought them to NC!!! Mmmmmmm! :)

Prepping the ribs and pork tenderloin for the smoker:

Grandpa, Nana, and Aunt Maggie had a long trip down
(got a flat tire just 14 miles from our house), but we had a very good visit!
After having a VERY busy December, it was such a blessing
to NOT have to make any long drives with the girls over the holiday.

Clara sure has grown since they saw her in August!

Aunt Maggie loved meeting her baby girl. She wasn't a fan of the constant spit up,

but I reassured her that this baby is the easiest one you can find! ;)

Maggie made Dad cry with the gift she gave him of memorabilia from Grandpa's funeral,

and he teared up at the gift I made for him: the eulogy he gave for his dad in a frame.

My dad and Uncle Jimmy made a wooden cat toy for Izzy:

Opening a gift for Clara!

Riding their stick horses:

Aunt Maggie, Nana, and Izzy made a gingerbread house.

When I walked in the door, I have never seen Izzy

run so quickly and be soooo excited to show me her creation.

Playdough session before they left:

So great--I played horsie on this same exact horsie! :)

Great pic:

Thanks for the visit Grandpa, Nana, and Aunt Maggie!!! We love you!

No white Christmas here

We had a cold, rainy Christmas, but we enjoyed our evening at Justin's parents' home. Everything was relaxed, and we devoured some huge steaks! Izzy and Clara received some beautiful dresses, some that even match. I can't wait till the weather is warm, cause then we can use the new kid-size picnic table the grandparents bought for their little girls. Justin and I feel like we have a whole new family room now cause we received curtains and rods from his parents and sister/bro-in-law. Pictures to come soon!

New cat ears:

Sweet girl and her Uncle Calv:

Tying his new bowtie!

A stroller was more than enough...

Izzy saw her doll stroller set up by the tree, and that's all she wanted for Christmas! To be honest, she even cried once when I made her come back to finish opening her presents. Thankfully, she has enjoyed all of them the past few days! We were definitely tired Christmas morning cause we had presents to set up and wrap and the house to get cleaned for my family, but Christmas day was very low key and an all-around happy family day.

Sharing her gifts with Sissy:

Holding her real baby:

Tired Daddy:

Handmade train bought for $10!

The annual Eve of Christmas celebration

The Clark and LaPlant families have gotten together for Christmas Eve for the past 15 years, and we were happy to be together again. Justin deep fried turkey breasts,

which was tasty but probably not so healthy. :)