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31 December 2009

December comes to a close

With 2010 looming just hours away, I realize that I have neglected to update my blog with some awesome December moments. So, what better way to show these experiences than with pictures!


My brother-in-law retired after 20 years of service in the Air Force...





...so we headed down to San Antonio...







Although it was a quick trip for B & K, we were really glad to be able to go down and be there as Joe and his family were honored in his retirement ceremony (of course, we also get to tease him about being "retired!")


Christmas brought with it some ups and some downs. My dad was hospitalized for an infection in his leg, and I battled a sinus and upper respitory infection. Despite these downs, the ups of the season were greater.

We got a little snow...







Maddy made us smile...








We ate yummy treats...






We gave gifts from the heart...

My gift to Brian was a "Brown Bag Special" (brown bag gifts are a huge tradition in my family) containing 30 cards (1 card to be opened each day for the next 30 days) with each card depicting a characteristic or trait that I love about him:







Brian's gift to me was a "Year in Review" letter with pictures and memories describing the different experiences we had in 2009 that were meaningful to him:
(plus an I-Tunes gift card because he's just sneaky!)






2009 was filled with many fantastic days for B&K and now we look forward to a new year filled with more great opportunities to experience and memories to make.

Happy New Year!

5 Cheers (not Jeers!):

April @ Adventures and Gadgets said...

As always you are so creative with your Gifts from the heart and Brian's was perfect too. So, did his letter bring tears?

Oh, and are brown bag gifts always filled with the 30 day notes? Or does your family fill them with other things as well?

K said...

Yes, Brian's letter brought tears (note the ugly red splotches on my face as I read what he wrote!).

No, brown bag gifts don't usually include the 30 day notes - that was my tweak on the tradition to make it a "Brown Bag Special" for Brian.

Brown Bag gifts are actually a joke in my family that began long ago when we were kids. On your birthday, my youngest brother would give you a brown bag filled with things you already owned (or things that belonged to other family members), which he taped and stapled shut so completely that it took a special trained military operative to open it (or a pair of really sharp scissors), and then he personalized it with black sharpie marker.

Now as grown-ups, we use the brown bag as a "memorable" way to give actual gifts to each other - taped, stapled, and sharpie decorations included!

So, this Christmas I tweaked it even more to fit my gift from the heart.

Bobbi said...

Wonderful pictures. Have a great New Year!!

andi said...

OK, those are incredibly wonderful gift ideas (I may have to copy that one next year)! You're quite creative :)

Lois Brown said...

Wonderful!!!

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