Christmas Eve at the Kelley's

After hours and hours...and even MORE countless hours spent driving and flying to Dallas from California and deep south Texas... our families finally got a chance to ALL gather at the Kelley house to celebrate this Christmas Eve.  I love that no matter how much time has gone by, our families can pick up right where they left off for one hell of a good time. :)  

There was so much goodness in our house this weekend.. I can't begin to thank everyone for making it out to spend this holiday with us..

There was CUTE ESKIMO BABY SNUGGLING... and picture taking... and photo posing..

And cheesing...

And goofy face making by Kenzie... lol

And silly boy antics..

And gaming..

And drawing...

And Santa Tracking...

And EXCITEMENT...

And waiting... patiently waiting.. and waiting some more..

And Brother - Sister bonding.. 

And "whatcha talking about... Willis??" -ing... ;)

Present wrapping...

And Chit-Chating..

AND LOTS and LOTS of yummy EATING!!

And Santa Cookie Baking...

And goofing.. (sorry about this NASTIFIED picture of me.. no makeup and not really dressed to be seen in public.. yet, here I am in all my nastiness for all the blog world to see.. consider yourself SPECIAL cause only family usually gets to see me like this..lol

Ooooohhhh... and then there was the Special Message from Santa...

And Mother and Son bonding..

And lectures to Macie about not eating Santa's cookies.. 

Father-Son bonding..

And all around good family togetherness... :) 

Addie and Uncle Chad got your cookies all ready for your arrival Santa... don't forget to leave us lots of good presents under the TREE!!!  :) :) 

Addie, Logan and Kenzie already know your location and estimated arrival time!  Safe Travels :)



Happy Holidays from The Kelley's :)

With Christmas quickly knocking at our door...and just a FEW more days to finish spreading good cheer with present wrapping and holiday goodie making... I thought I'd take a minute to head over to Jib Jab to create our first official Kelley Holiday E-Card. :)  HEE-LAR-I-OUS!!  Nothing like good 'ol Elfy fun to put you in the holiday spirit.  :)  Enjoy!

Happy Holidays Everyone :) 

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Decking Our Halls.. :)

As the days count down for our family's arrival into DFW later this week (cue National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation :), The Kelley house has been buzzing with constant activity. Cleaning, washing, primping, decorating... all to pretty up our digs for the familia.  :)

Because this Christmas is pretty momentous in MANY ways.. (first time celebrating Christmas in our house in Dallas... the first time in four years that someone hasn't been sick or in the hospital (starting in July, I gave STRICT orders that everyone STAY healthy or there'd be hell to pay) .. first time having Chad's mom back in Texas since our WEDDING!!.. HECK, it's ALSO the first time since our wedding that the Kelley's and Maldonado's have been in the same town, let alone, the same ROOM!!)... needless to say, we're more than a little freakin' excited!  :) 

Here's to our fun, family filled week ahead! 

Our "Family Christmas Tree"

In honor of our family's visit.. family photos act as "ornaments" 

Paper towel rolls sprayed white and sparkly.. :)

The tree slice off to the left was from our Christmas tree last year.  We also have our tree slice from this years tree trimming as well.  :)  Handmade, aka FREE ornaments just make my heart swell.. ;) 

Eiffel Tower.. to commemorate our recent Europe trip.. (Purchased, not handmade ;)

And.. our sweet nephew Andrew peeking through the branches..

Entry hutch got a little festive too :) 

Any guesses which one is mine??  ;)  Love that our stockings are so representative of who we are.. :)

Chad's was made by his sweet Ma back when he was a little wee one.  :) 

Entry hutch... again. 

And of course.. you can't have a tree without PRESENTS!!

And.. because I don't like to waste, I took the scraps left from gift wrapping and made coordinating bows.  :) 

And for anyone who still might be wrapping gifts for Christmas, and who might be bored with a little time on their hands ;) .. I just so happened to find an online tutorial on how to make similar bows!  It's pretty much the same process I did.. except I ended up rolling little circles to finish out the middle. (and sometimes each loop was individually taped to the next one.. just depended on what kind of "scraps" I had)  Just be sure that if you attempt these, you have to have lots of tape handy!!  :) 

Handmade Paper Gift Bows Tutorial

Happy Wrapping!! 

AND... in honor of my mom's favorite Christmas movie line.. here's a little Christmas Blessing to start your week off right.. :) 

Clark:  Since this is Aunt Bethany's 80th Christmas, I think she should lead us in the saying of Grace.
Aunt Bethany: [turns to Lewis] What, dear?
Nora Griswold:  Grace!
Aunt Bethany:  Grace? She passed away thirty years ago.
Uncle Lewis:  They want you to say Grace.
[Bethany shakes her head in confusion]
Uncle Lewis:  The BLESSING!
Aunt Bethany:  [they all pose for prayer] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands/ One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Clark:  Amen. :)

Happy Birthday Chad Kelley :)

Another year down and so much to be thankful for as we gathered with a few friends and family to celebrate Chad's 35th birthday this past weekend.  ;)  And what better way to celebrate than to make him work... HARD.. on his very special day. Ha!  It was HIS idea afterall to have friends over.. why wouldn't he have to cook for everyone too?!  Hehehehee.. sorry love.  At least it was a simple menu of pork sliders, creamy cole slaw and homemade BBQ sauce.  Easy peasy...right?  ;)  Well at least everyone loved the food and seemed to have a great time...and the kiddies even made a new friend to play with too! 

Thanks to all who were able to make it out (on kinda short notice ;).. we'll try and make entertaining guests more of a routine this coming year ;)  Be on the look out for an Evite coming soon to an email box near you!  ;) 

The happiest of happy birthdays husband!  You make 35 look AWESOME!  ;) 

Chad and our niece Kenzie.. hugging it out.  ;) 

The Birthday Spread :) 

(and no it's not really Heinz ketchup.. just the bottle.. it's Chads own homemade BBQ sauce!!)

I swear it tastes like CANDY!! Soooooooo good!!

Trying out my camera's Color Accent Feature on little Miss Rylee, her mama Kendra and HER mama Brenda  ;)  Thanks ladies for coming over!  We had a great time.. can't wait to do it again :) 

Logan, busted trying to sneak some goodies out from the kitchen :)

Our buds, April and David Malain :)

Chad trying to get everyone hopped up on sugar.. including the kiddos!  :) 

Awww.. the Roden-steins :)

After awhile Chad got lost..

and THIS is where we found him.. In the den playing with the kids :) 

Love my sweet husband!

Crazy yellow coloring.. But cute picture none-the-less.  ;)

I think it's safe to say that Logan and Kenzie have finally fully opened up to their uncle Chad.  ;) 

Love these three crazy kids.. :) 

Holiday Decor - Pinterest Inspiration :)

With Christmas just DAYS away... (YIKES! Where did the year GO?!?!).. I've been scouring Pinterest for some good old fashioned Holiday Do-It-Yourself inspiration.  If you're behind the times and oh-so-six-months-ago...and STILL haven't discovered Pinterest.. SHAME.ON.YOU!!  It's amazing.  And addicting.  And so genius and simple... I wish I had thought of it first!  

I'm serious.. GO check it out.  Like NOW!! Oh wait, check out what I've pinned to my Holiday Decor board first.. THEN you can go check it out.  ;)   

Love this.  Old books.  Some glue.  Some glitter.  Done!

http://thatsmyletter.blogspot.com/

How cute and easy are these guys?!? Personalized ornaments in no time!

http://www.save-on-crafts.com/

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE!

http://www.quilting.craftgossip.com/

So cute... and "seemingly" easy to do.  ;)

http://www.curbly.com/

For anyone who has an Elf On Their Shelf.. How CUTE are these?!?!

www.unconfidentialcook.com/

And for those who have seen my toilet paper roll stash..

you KNOW how excited I got seeing this little number.  FREE Christmas Decor.  Can't beat it!

http://www.allfreeholidaycrafts.com/

DIY Felt Ornament :)

http://blog.betzwhite.com/2009/12/felt-ogee-ornament-tutorial.html