A Beachy Chrsitmas

I hesitate to even bring up anything Christmas-y at this point in January, but I would be remiss if I didn't share at least a couple of photos of our 4 day family Christmas excursion to Crystal Beach, Texas.

After hurricane Ike destroyed the entire Bolivar Peninsula in 2008, our family temporarily dropped our custom of renting a beach house for Christmas, but this year, the area has made a real comeback, and although there are still many, many scars from the devastating storm, die hard beach folk have rebuilt a substantial number of homes...and every one of them is brand new and beautiful. Here was our place...wowza, it was really nice...

They had it decorated cute for Christmas...love these beachy ornaments...

...on this faux palm tree...complete with little white lights...

We had ONE and only one day where it was decent enough weather to actually walk on the beach...and that was Christmas Day...it was COLD, but sunny and the wind was not as blustery as it proved to be the rest of the time...

The North wind kept the surf at a flat calm that day...love sparkly diamond-like water..it's one of my favorite things...

 The rest of the time however, the wind was out of the South at about 30 mph and the surf was terribly rough...and even though it was South wind, it was still quite cold, so, we stayed inside...which was actually a blessing, because we really had a chance to reconnect with one another, which is why we do this in the first place. We played LO Ts of games...Chicken Foot dominoes, Boggle, Catch Phrase, and so many more. Plus, everyone in my family LOVES to cook, so we split up the cooking duties and produced an awesome array of yummy dishes...everything from Turkey Taco Soup to Jalapeno Shrimp Pasta to Scrambled Eggs and Ham Quesadillas...and my yearly specialty...Biscuits with Sausage Gravy.


I am so blessed to have my sweet family. We love each other very much and even though we live fairly close to one another (all within an hour or so drive), our busy lives keep us apart more than we like, so we cherish this opportunity for intense time together...
OK, that's it for me for anything related to Christmas 2010, New Year's Day, etc...I'm done and beyond ready to jump into all the year 2011 has to offer! And with a strong wind at my back, a loving husband and family for support, and my incredible God in the lead, there's no telling what adventures await!

Hugs & Blessings friends!