Christmas 2011.

christmas 2011 was such a great holiday with family. justin and i were extra excited because we had some big surprises planned.

Christmas morning with the 10 of us, plus my cousin Luke who came too! oh goodness, these dogs were so fun...but tough to get a good picture of us all.

cooper, my brother's puppy, didn't know what to think of the baby dog.

then breakfast, reading the story of Jesus' birth and presents.

justin wrapped presents all by himself...can you tell?!

mom and dad surprised us with two special presents: one practical and one sentimental. a gas grill and my grandma's (who passed away while i was in college) sewing box.

we immediately hopped in the car for our biggest surprise. justin's mom, stepdad and little sister all thought we were coming on the 26th, but we surprised them with their puppy on Christmas night! they live in virginia, so we had a 9 hour road trip up there...praise God for light traffic and an open waffle house along the way.

but it was so worth it. lexi was totally surprised. she loves her little puppy. now the challenge is trying to pick out the perfect name for her.

homemade thin mints.

true story: i was a girl scout growing up. i never really looked forward to selling the cookies, but i sure did look forward to eating the boxes my parents bought.

my favorite are the thin mints...especially right out of the freezer.
i have seen a couple different recipes, but i went with this one because it made a lot. we needed enough for us to snack and give to neighbors.

i'm not going to lie, the recipe took quite a while but they turned out so cute. very good gift ideas!

the chocolate wafers could be a little bit sweeter, i might add more sugar next time.

the mint comes in with the coating. found this chocolate at michael's.

finished product.

all wrapped up and ready for delivery to neighbors.

linking up with:

centsational girl's cookie party

it's overflowing

merry Christmas to our neighbors.

justin and i wanted to do something a little special for our neighbors this Christmas.

printable found here.

i mixed up a hot cocoa mix. of course i can't remember where i got the recipe, but it was unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar and a little bit of salt. 

just 2 tablespoons of mix to 1 cup of warm milk.

i made a homemade version of thin mints too.

we got the mugs at wal-mart and filled a bag with some hot chocolate mix and homemade cookies.

less than a week to Christmas! woo-hoo!