This Christmas will be the very first year that Estevan hasn't celebrated Noche Buena with his family in East Lansing. It will be just the two of us for this beautiful night before Christmas. I will be making a small meal for us.... steaks, arroz con gandules, and apple cake. We will also be Skyping with the family up North, fun fun!
I love this white Christmas tree! When I have room enough for two trees I want to make this one and start collecting white and silver bulbs. So gorgeous; found via Habitually Chic.
I'm so excited for Friday! Oh heck, even Thursday will be great and I can't wait. All my wrapping is done, I can finally clear off my wrapping table of paper, tape, ribbon, and tags. The tree is looking very full and so beautiful with all those ribbon be-decked presents (I live for wrapping and ribbon). My favorite wrapping job has to be the present that I put together for my sister-in-law Patty, see the picture below. Can't wait till all the family gets here!
We started with a salvaged table top, it's sitting on top of our old ratty table in this pic.
We bought all the supplies to turn that top into a full table.
We attached the pine legs, primed and painted, flipped it over continued priming and painting. 
Ta-da! Now all we need to do are two more chairs so that we can finally seat six!
I just made another pumpkin pie and my crust cutters did a beautiful job. I also adjusted the recipe a little... I only used a 1/4 tsp. of ginger, cut down the nutmeg, took out my previous addition of cloves, and added a 1/2 tsp. vanilla based purely on the fact that I thought it smelled good in the mixture. This recipe is a work in progress in an effort to accommodate both my tastes (more spicy) and Estevan's (more traditional). Here's my updated version of The Good Housekeeping recipe for Pilgrim Pumpkin Pie:
The treat is right there! Just reach up and grab it...
Java the giraffe.
Dog's may go to heaven, but as far as Java is concerned,
This looks like a very good candidate for my next craft project. I love Martha, find her directions and video here.
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Years ago, for our first Christmas, I made cinnamon applesauce ornaments. We didn't have many ornaments, just some bulk packaged ones from Target, but these cinnamon ornaments gave our tree a homey feel and the smell was amazing. After a few more Christmases (and one dog), our tree is filling up with beautiful and sentimental ornaments and I've had to say good bye to my cinnamon applesauce ornaments. You may ask, "Why?" and "Why do you mention the dog?". I mention the dog because last Christmas, our first Christmas with Java, we found out that he is deathly allergic to cinnamon. Very traumatic for all of us, but he made it through alright and I won't be tempting fate anymore with a tree full of cinnamon ornaments. So now, all I can do is pass along the recipe for my beloved ornaments, I hope that you enjoy them (and that your dog isn't allergic). 
Recipe
Perfect little individual treats for kids.
I received my ornament from my swap partner yesterday. I love it! It fits in perfectly with with my other ornaments. Thank you April!
This is how we made it from Wyandotte all the way to Howell.
Isa made these for the table. So cute!
Titi Myrt made these turkeys with her kindergartners, very interpretive. =)
Bill, Amalia, Missie (with Penny), Myrt, and Lela.
Missie, Myrt, Lela, Lelo Adolfo, and Patty.
Tio Kevin carving the turkey.
A little after dinner conversation.
Detour in St. Joseph. Good to have all the family around.
Meijer run!
