These are a few of our favorite things!

This Christmas was so special, so I thought I would share some of the Castro's favorite things....

Gift cards and SHOPPING money for a rainy day, Adolfo got me a card to the Limited CAN NOT wait for next season!
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One of the most special gifts we received, was from my Grandma Marie, she made each one by hand, seven, for each day of the week, I LOVE YOU GRANDMA! A couple of years ago she made us a homemade apron, these are even more special! We LOVE them!

We received awesome treats, that we will be snacking on for days, a cute purse for the spring, and I LOVE the picture and frame (and the awesome cooking sheets) from C & J, I already made cookies! OH, and we can't forget our GPS! We are ready for VACATION, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK MOM and CURT!!!!

And let's not forget my BLING! Mom surprised me with my turquoise ring and pearls, and Grandma knows we LOVE diamonds! Can't wait to wear it ALL, just not at the same time!

Can't forget the hubby! He is so simple! If you ask him he just needed undershirts, underwear and shaving/shower gels, but I surprised him with new clothes, and I am so excited to see him in all of it, OH and new house shoes!

We also are LOVING our new athletic watches, and all their cool features!

I know, I know, this was probably not as exciting to most of yall, like it was to me, but it helps us remember a few of our favorite things this Christmas!

We are so blessed. The greatest gift this Christmas was that we got to see all of our families, even if for only a short time, we got to visit each of you, and that was special to us! We LOVE having big families, but sometimes it makes it so hard to be every where we want to be for the holidays. But isn't that part of the craziness, we wouldn't have it any other way, We love yall!

The Castros....

Christmas Dinner 2009

If I know anything, I know God has completely blessed both Adolfo and I with wonderful families. They are our most honest critics, and our unconditional love and support. This year, more than ever, we appreciate all they do for us and are so grateful we have each and everyone of them in our lives!
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Our Christmas loop ended Saturday with Christmas at the Ranch with my Grandma and Grandpa. My Grandma LOVES to cook, she is a natural born hostess! I guess that is why God has blessed her the past 30+ years with a FABULOUS Mexican Restaurant, she truly is an example to Adolfo and I of using all God's special gifts to us, to glorify Him! Believe me, she uses every ounce of that place for Him, and it's beautiful!
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So this being said, we had a special dinner Saturday night with my Grandparents to eat and exchange gifts! We had such a fun time eating, relaxing over a nice glass of wine and playing cards of course. This year has been a little challenging for them, and all we could do is be there for them and show them how special they are to all my family. That's how the Christmas Dinner came about, letting my Grandma do what she loves, and just enjoying spending time with the both of them.
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Our Christmas as amazing, and each holiday, I am touched by the beauty and grace God brings into my life through my family; these beautiful, passionate, strong people He brings into our lives together. Adolfo and I are so excited about what the New Year has in store for us! So no more talking, and just enjoy the pictures!
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We truly enjoyed celebrating the Reason for the Season!

Cheers, The Castros.

Christmas with the Castros 2009...

I Love, LoVe, LOVE Christmas! I love the spirit of the season, great food, and spending TONS of time with all our families. This year we spent Christmas Eve with The Castros.

Our Christmas 2009

We were able to spend time catching up, playing games, opening presents and just spending time together. I couldn't find my husband anywhere, until I went up stairs, and look what I found! My big kid, lol!
We love seeing all our nieces and nephews, they are so much fun and so entertaining! Adolfo's brother was full, tired, and decided to take a nap, and the kids couldn't help but bother him, lol...They dressed him up with a Santa hat, made faces at him, and dressed him up for the new years, lol, and he didn't even move,haha, they are too cute!


Adolfo and I got home and had our own special little Christmas. We exchanged gifts and then hit the bed for a busy Christmas day! Adolfo worked today. I got up this morning, and made him a treat, because I hated that he had to work on Christmas. I packed him warm tamales, hot cocoa, and sugar cookies, and sent him out the door. I spent Christmas morning making phone calls, drinking hot cocoa, and watching "It's a Wonderful Life" and "You've got Mail" until he got home, and then it was off to the Hill Country!

This year we celebrated Christmas Evening at my parent's house. We had so much fun, I didn't take any pictures! We enjoyed opening presents, catching up, and enjoying my Mom's Chili, YUM! Santa and our parent's went WAY OVERBOARD! The guys spent the rest of the evening watching the Lakers, and us girls played Claudia & Jaime's new game, we had so much fun, and we laughed way too much!

My sisters....


After the game was over of course there was wedding talk, lol, and well, here is what Tay thought about all that, lol!

We are so grateful for our families, and the time we get to spend together. In these moments we know we are truly blessed, and appreciate our truest gifts. We have our final Christmas tomorrow with Gma and Gpa Ribera at the ranch, so........

To be continued....A&C.

With time on my hands...

I finally completed my first sewn pillow! This is only my second project, lol, but I am just as proud of it as my first. Eventually I want to be able to make beautiful, inexpensive things for my home, that not only I can enjoy, but I can share with my family and friends as well.
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I am definitely in the learning stage, and I see an image in my head and I have to make it happen. My Grandma gave me a great idea to make slip covers, not just pillows. So this is my first slip cover, and yes, I had a list next to me the whole time, of improvements for my next one, but I am happy to see a finished product, and I love it!
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Adolfo was so proud of me, lol. He tested it out, laid on it, fluffed it up, and then said, Good Job Babe! He grew up with his Mom sewing, and has a great eye for detail, so he saw the same things I did, but overall loved it for my first try...funny how we think so much alike, lol!
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Me and my first....

When I got my machine, I knew I was going to use it for my home. We don't change our style up too much, because well, we are pretty strict with our budget, and you can waste so much money constantly switching things up. So, My couch is a burgundy red, and our rug is a mix of Burgundy reds, greens, warm colors, so I am adding life with the accents!

Thanks for sharing in my excitement!

3 days and counting, C.

Sweet Sunday!

Today, was so fun. We went to Heather and Gerald's 3rd Annual Christmas Cookie Decorating party! Friday night when we were talking, I decided to try my first ever attempt at homemade fudge!!!!
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All the ingredients.....

Let the creative party begin! Heather had everything!
Tay and our little cousins!

More....

My lovely creations!

Adolfo took a break from hunting, and joined us!

This isn't just a sweet get together for our little cousins, it's a competition. We make tons of cookies, but only one gets to be entered into the competition. On Christmas Eve, we present the platter to Grandma, and she will pick her favorite cookie, and then we reveal who the winner is....so, we wait, and good luck! Pick the "C" grandma!

So nervous about my fudge, but it turned out AMAZING, and there is SO MUCH!!!

Our weekend was so amazing, full of family and fun! I am so excited for this week, I think I am even going to be smiling in my sleep!

5 days and counting, C.

Who's excited for Christmas????

THE CASTROS! This weekend I am at my parent's because we had our annual Mother, Daughter shopping day. Growing up each year, since we were little girls, my Mom would take us into Austin so we could pick out that one special outfit we would wear on Christmas Eve. Yes, even though we're all grown up and her 20-something year olds, we are still her babies, and the tradition continues.

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Although our lives are busy in a million different directions, we never forget our special time. This gives us one weekend a year to just be together, the girls, and remember all the CRAZY outfits Mom let us get to express ourselves, or just our favorite holiday memories. This year is different because our middle sister is engaged. Since we were all in town, we decided to try on a special dress, and check our some venues. My Mom raised some great multi-taskers! We started our AM off right with breakfast, dress shopping and then it was off to the mall.

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My mom, and her girls, Christmas Shopping Trip 2009!

Shopping with us is intense, lol, ask Tay! We start each adventure with a trip to the ladies room, lol, this is just a random picture Tay took of us playing in the mirror, and I love it, hope it's not too dark, it looks nice on her phone....Let the shopping begin, no joke we have a game plan every time....

Today was so special and much needed. I am so grateful for my Mom and my sisters. I feel so blessed to have the relationships and bond I have with each one of them. There is never a dull moment, and I wouldn't have it any other way! We loved our day, thanks for making us feel so special Mom! After all the walking, talking, driving, it was just fun to hug, say goodbye and know we all be seeing each other in less than 5 days! We are so excited for the holidays and being with all our families. Christmas is special because we have a HUGE family....so me make on big circle and then our holiday is complete. It is important for us to see everyone, so we will start in Austin with the Castros, Friday with my family, Saturday during the day with Grandma and Nana, and then finish the holiday off strong with a nice dinner with my Grandparent's at the Ranch! FUN, but we are really going to be looking forward to a quiet, SLOW New Years, and relaxing vacation!

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As I sit here at my parent's typing, dreaming, and thinking about happy times to come, I started looking through old pictures stored on their computer, and look what I found!

Haha! We look like babies, so young, so energetic, lol! Awwww, he is so handsome, this made me fall in love with him ALL over again!! He was such a source of strength for me during this time in my life, and I love just sitting here right now thinking about our journey together from this picture to right this moment! He still is my rock, I Love you!!!!
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So now it's time for bed, and a fun Sunday ahead. Church, helping my Mom wrap up Christmas decor and presents, and then off to Heathers to attempt my first EVER batch of fudge, fingers crossed!
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6 Days and counting, C.

Our Marvelous Monday!

And a great one it has been. It's about this time every year, that I wish everyday was a Saturday! Today has been fun, early AM meeting at the office which was fun because I got to see all my sweet friends at the office, always a joy! I got a present from one of my friends at work that spent a week doing missionary work in Haiti, she said she saw my name everywhere! Apparently my name is the name of a Lotto store, ha!
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Seeing her pictures and hearing her stories, really REALLY tugs at my heart! A life of service, doesn't sound so bad...truly appreciative hearts, and the ability to leave this place a little better than when we first got there. Hmmm.....
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Tonight I worked a little late, so no dinner from my kitchen. Adolfo and I went for dinner, which isn't my favorite when I am trying to lose weight. I'm down 8lbs, that I am keeping off consistently. I have come to turns that this process is HORRIBLE, but I have a whole month off so no excuses. For dinner I had a grilled chicken sandwich and a salad, NOT my regular, but it filled me up, and I will sleep well knowing no fries.
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Tonight, was pretty low key, Adolfo and I just stayed on the couch catching up on all our recorded TV, these are my favorite nights. Is this really what our life would be like minus school, just work and home! Kind of nice, but I think I'd get bored really fast...but for now we are enjoying it. I am here blogging, him next to me playing video games, lol, this is it, this is the Castros, lol, nothing fancy, just dinner and relaxing lol.
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We have both put in to take a week off of work the first week in January, and we are really excited...we are trying to figure out what we want to do...an active vacation, fly somewhere, stay close to home, or just go to a secluded place, only us, away from all complications and just spend a few days reading, playing and dreaming, lol, they all sound nice....more to come.
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Until then, night! The Castros.

Our Christmas Treats!

Oh, how I LOVED our weekend! We spent our whole weekend here at home, relaxing and just being together. Friday night I had a Christmas Happy Hour, and then enjoyed a nice dinner with my hubby. Saturday we stayed in our PJ's, got up early, had breakfast, ran errands, and did a little shopping with my Award money, of course!

Saturday evening we rented tons of movies, and did NOTHING it was great! Today my Mom and Tay came into town, and Adolfo had to go to JC to pick up his meat from the processing plant, we will eat for the rest of the season!

I met my Mom and Tay because my Mom had to finish her shopping, so I tagged along, and look at my little treasures!

Growing up, we always had an advent calendar, but I never had my own, so now and forever, the Castro's have there very own!!!!! I also used to love my Mom's angel Christmas globe, and now we have our very own Santa globe, it plays Jingle Bells, I love them!!! I am very traditional and I love making our own, and knowing one day we get to pass traditions with our own little family!

Since there is no Baby C to spoil, I am just going to have to spoil my husband! From the 14th until Christmas, he will find a special gift behind each door, and I left him a little surprise note on Christmas Eve, because look at the size of the door, it was made perfect for a note!

This week is going to be pretty busy, so I am glad we were able to just be together and enjoy our time off, until things get Holiday crazy!

Just relaxing, The Castros.

Christmas has arrived at the Castros!!!

This weekend was super fun and semi-relaxing at the Castros. We watched TONS of football and got a great deal of to-do things done off our list. Friday night Adolfo and I wrapped up all our Christmas shopping, pending 2 minor things, but we are done, and slightly over budget, but I am super proud of us, and were over for good reasons, I promise!

Friday night while we were at the mall we walked by the Salvation Army Angel tree and noticed there were too many still hanging, as we started reading their wish lists, we new we wanted to help, we are very fortunate, and it's just a little something we can do! It was much fun, we decided I would adopt a little girl, and Adolfo a little boy, they are our sweet angels Sofia and Eliseo. We had so much fun playing with baby dolls, soccer balls, games, clothes, it was like we were shopping for our sweet little "future" angels, and we are so excited to take our goodies and drop them off. I hope our kiddos have a beautiful Christmas! If you have a chance and available funds, there are still plenty of children who deserve a beautiful Christmas, it isn't too late!

Saturday, we finished things around the house, cleaning, laundry, and groceries before the big games: Arizona, Alabama, and our LONGHORNS!!! We had a low key evening at home decked out in burnt orange! We made nachos, wings, and pizza rolls, and Tay and I had our victory Mimosas, no joke, there is something to it! Tay wanted to get creative with dessert, so she made Longhorn cupcakes, lol, carrot cake cupcake (lol, thats the burnt orange)....enjoy the pics....

Tay bakings.....
This was supposed to be a low stress, fun times project, lol...

My lil sis, the perfectionist....


Ready to eat, drink and be merry! TEXAS FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!


Typical Tay!

Sunday evening, I designated time for Christmas decorating and wrapping, it's my most favorite part!!!!! This is me bringing Christmas to the Castros....Adolfo says no more new decorations, we have what we need, and we can just wait until we have a house, save my money and ideas, lol, I love my husband, so smart! So this is my snowman that has fiber lights, he is so pretty at night. We got him 2 years ago at a Target after Christmas sale, I liked him before but he cost too much, but because I waited patiently, and the price was right, Adolfo surprised me, and now he will forever be a part of the Castro's Christmas decor!!!! Third shelf!

This is my snowflake cupcake, but Tay and Adolfo thought it looked like a compass, lol...


Christmas at the Castros!

I am so happy it's all done! This is final week at the Castros....Adolfo had a test already, I have my final project and discussion Thursday, and Tay has a Wed/Thursday test, so we are really busy, but even more grateful we have the opportunity to continue our educations, it's really hard work, but what a special gift! This is what we've been doing, and can't wait until next week!

On my agenda: RELAXATION! All I want to do is read my new book sitting on my nightstand, have a romantic dinner with my husband, get my nails done, enjoy a nice glass of wine, and just relax, that is it! Adolfo has a new work schedule, 6AM to 2PM, AWESOME, his day is ending when mine is just kicking into gear, lol.

Christmas is upon us, I am so excited to be able to spend time with the one's I love, and just embrace all that we are thankful for! We are trying some new things this Christmas and I am so excited!

Warm wishes, C.

Christmas, Hill Country Style....

I am so proud to have been born and raised in the beautiful Hill Country, and the holiday season holds such precious memories I love sharing with my family, Adolfo, and one day our little family. It's a feeling I can't explain, yet anyone who has experienced it, appreciates it! Lights Spectacular is an annual tradition in our family, and if you only ever visit Johnson City once in your life let it be the weekend after Thanksgiving, our town turns into a Hallmark Movie, and I love it! Lights, Christmas carols, great food, hot cider, funnel cakes, horse carriage rides, hay rides and SANTA!!!!! Can't you tell we love it, there are over a million Christmas lights when you combine our Court House, our park and PEC, BEAUTIFUL!

My Mom and her girls ready for some lights!!!

Adolfo and I entering the Park!

Everyone in their life, should experience a Hill Country Christmas!

Celebrating Christmas with fireworks, right before Santa came to town!

Annual Sister Sleigh picture in the Park , 2009!

Cousins in the park....

PEC Lights, so pretty, and the Blue tree...

The Castros, playing in the lights, 2009!

Our Annual Santa picture, with the boys, lol, they can't get out of it, it's tradition!

This was a great weekend for Adolfo, he got a buck on Saturday morning, at 6:40AM, How do I know the exact time you ask, lol? Well because he ran back to the ranch, into the room and said babe I got one, get your coat and shoes on, and lets get the truck, lol, so there I go in my cute pink PJ's, my Sperry's, and my pea coat, lol, classy!!! But that's why I love the country, lol, who's going to see us????No one! Now we have meat for the year, it's being processed and it will all be ours in a few weeks, YUM!

I am so grateful for the time off to relax, go home and be with my family, doing things we enjoy the most! It was so nice to catch up with everyone home for the holidays, and just re-energize for the busy weeks ahead before Christmas. Tonight Adolfo and I came home, tried a new recipe, made and apple pie, and put a roast in the crock pot for tomorrow, our house smells so good at the moment! We ended our night in a blanket watching a Christmas movie on the Hallmark Channel! I LOVE HALLMARK!!! The temperature dropped and it is definitely feeling alot like Christmas!

No luck getting Christmas decorations out, much less up but I am ahead of the game on my shopping, just a few more things and I am done and it's on to the fun part, WRAPPING! Well this is entirely to long, and I must go to bed!

Warm wishes, C.