Mizell Christmas

This year it worked out best for every ones schedule to have Christmas with Ben's immediate family on Christmas Eve.  I must say that it turned out to be a great afternoon and evening!! 

 I can't believe I didn't get a picture with Mary Ann in it.. here is her beautiful tree and mounds of presents she and Phil got for us all!!

Katherine found this ornament in Branson, Mary Ann & Phil were very proud of it!!

 Rosie and I.. she just had surgery on her claws.. she was being extra clingy & sweet!!

 Phil and his traditional Christmas sweater!!

You had to be there to really understand the above picture.. Ben told his mom he would like a sweater, like one you can pull over a long sleeved shirt.  He even mentioned taking his sister along to help pick it out.. well Mary Ann did not take the advice and picked one out herself.  She thought she had found the perfect sweater because it had a built in under shirt.  Turns out.... it was a dickey!!  I thought Ben was going to die, we all lost it at this point!! 

 I was thoroughly impressed with Kat & Trent's attire.. jealous may be a better word!!

 Ben is making caramelized apples and I'm cooking peppered ham

We had another wonderful Christmas get together with family!!

Thank you again Phil, Mary Ann, Trent, & Katherine for all the great & "unique" gifts!!

Grant dirty santa!!!

This year has flown by in more ways than one.. I can't believe Christmas has come and gone?!  We are so blessed to be surrounded by families that love and spoil us like crazy!!  The Saturday before Christmas we got together for our annual Grant Farm Dirty Santa, & boy was it dirty this year!!  One of the main things I love about these family members is how real we all are, what you see is what you get!!  Here are a few pictures from our day at the farm.. for the most part, what happens at Vegas the farm, stays at the farm!!

 of course we had papaws burn barrel going strong, always a special place to gather around!!

 mammaw is "babysitting" these dolphins.. only Mary Fae!!

Brynnie loves all animals, she has no fear.. and she probably should with the goats, Ethel likes to come at you with her horns

 the girls came in to show off their stunt skills.. two of the neighbors were able to come over and spend the afternoon with us.. I hope we weren't too bad of an influence on them!!

another of BBB's favorites, the cows!!

 mammaw likes to put old home videos on, it's always a hoot!!

Laci, Megan, & Aunt Connie (dads sister)

 Connie got the girls Nerf guns which they loved, unfortunately it was she and Brad that got into a war!!

 the Grants are known to be competitive so we always have to have ground rules from the start, this is Brad making sure we're all on the same page..

 Adam ended up with these jewels, I'm pretty sure he ended the night with them too :)

Wes got to keep this hat as well, it did come with $20!!

 we were thrilled Brad picked one of the presents we brought, a "Hillbilly Brief Case".. it didn't hurt that it had a $20 Home Depot gift card in the crotch :)

 cousins Katie & Jace, love these two!!

 the backside to part of Adams present!!

mammaw Grant proudly holding the frames Amber made of the girls foot prints, so special!!

We plot our dirty santa gifts year round, Connie already has hers purchased for next Christmas!!  Each year it gets better (& dirtier) and better!!  Not many people can say they look forward to going to their family get together but this is one group of people I can't get enough of!!

Next stop, Christmas Eve with the Mizells & Crows!!

may your days be merry and bright

I love to decorate for Christmas, it's good for my heart I find!!  I always start right after Halloween which drives Ben nuts :) He was embarrassed to put up our front door decor when all of our neighbors still had their pumpkins and mums out.. here is a small glimpse of my happy place!!

 our beautiful tree that my sister so graciously decorates for us, I love it!!

she, my sister Amber is so creative!!

the mantle with our stockings.. me, Ben, & Weslee's - I wish you could see Weslee's up close, there's a diamond crown on the corner that's gorgeous!!  We tell Avery (our dog) that the pink stocking is hers.. it might as well be, she's treated better than most humans!!

I couldn't get a great picture, but this is our entry way that my sister too decorated.  It's beautiful in person!!

 again, not a great picture but I love the simplicity of these trees with only lights on them.. these are in our entry way as well

the kitchen table..

front door, decorated by my sister

I got this wreath for a huge deal at an after Christmas sale, along with the red & green ribbon.  I still love it!!

my sis & brother-in-law got us these gnomes a few years ago for Christmas, I keep them out year round!!

Christmas flag we have by the mail box

my new favorite Christmas picture that my mother-in-law, Mary Ann painted herself!!  She made one for me, mom, Amber, & Hannah..

aren't they amazing???

my most special Christmas tree.. we call this, "Weslee's tree" she went to be with Jesus on October 24, 2009 so you can imagine how hard the holidays were for us, and still are unfortunately.. I decided I wanted to have a tree just for her and we've put it up every year since.  there are some special ornaments on the tree, some from family & friends and a few things we got to bring home from the hospital.

bittersweet.

Mary Ann got us this hand painted ornament that matches her tree, it stands alone!!  The ultrasound picture is my favorite we have, her perfectly formed long leg!! 

Christmas is my all time favorite time of the year!!  I love all the family get togethers, buying gifts, especially for my nieces, celebrating the true meaning CHRISTmas, decorating, time off, and this year Ben graduating from RN school!! 

When people ask me how I'm doing I usually reply with, "I can't complain.. well I could but I wont" We've been through many trials over the past few years that I often question where it went wrong or could of done things differently??  I think I will have these questions forever.. while I could complain I chose not to.  Ben and I truly have so much to be thankful for!!  We are embarking on another Christmas with empty arms but we have a peace with it for the most part.  Some days are better than others.. it's with friends, family, & our faith that gets us through each season. 

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!

CHRISTmas in Branson 2011

I can't believe it's that time of year again, but it's my all time favorite!!  I love the holidays and the memories we make with family and friends.  One tradition we have with the Mizell family is to go to Branson every December.  We stay at Branson Landing and only leave if we want to, it's great they've got restaurants, shops, lights, & much more!!

 The beautiful tree in the lobby of the hotel, Hilton @ Branson Landing

there is a fire place right behind the Christmas tree, that's always my favorite spot!! 

 The first night we ate at OUTBACK, not the chain restaurant steakhouse but the original..

We were semi-celebrating Bens recent finish from school (another post) so he splurged on a few entree options!!

 Trent & Katherine after braving the Tanger outlet mall on Saturday

 a few of my favorite stores....

I had two caramel apples from this jewel

Dick's 5 & 10 (five & dime) a staple in Branson

Mary Ann & Phil on our way to dinner Saturday night.  The nice thing about staying at the Branson Landing is most things you want or need are within walking distance!!

We always eat at White River Fish House on Saturday night, it's become a tradition

walking to dinner

relaxing before going to our table, there's a huge fire place we enjoy sitting in front of before being seated

awww

my love

Trent, Katherine, myself, Ben

Thank you Mary Ann and Phil for yet another wonderful Branson weekend get away!!