~Other Holiday Fun~

I wrote his blog about three weeks ago and totally forgot to post it!

I went to Norma's in December for our Christmas together. She was so sweet to treat me to Panara! We sat, took our time, ate together and talked about we had been up to in the last month or so. Then on the way out we got Hot Chocolate and went back to her place to visit. Norma gifted me a beautiful ornament. I love it! Jim came home while were at the dinning room table. Guess who had a gift for me?! Jim too; a box of Chocolates! I felt so spoiled! We had such a great visit, played with her new Polar Express Train set, Skiing Bear and looked at her mother's deer collection. It was a the best Holiday lunch.
~My Beautiful New Ornament~

We had a great time with our Bible Study after I got home from Norma's. We went to the Zoo to see Zoo Lights. We all met up at Wendy's before hand and got some food then carpooled! It was great to talk to everyone and see the animals at night. Goodness, are some of them so different after bed time. LOL. It was incredibly funny to see too tigers spooning and Polar Bears wrestling instead of playing ball. The pic below is of part of the main circle when you first enter the Zoo.


~Our Bible Study Group; trying to stay warm!~
After the Zoo we went back to Naomi and Davids for some hot chocolate. It was such a fun time had by all. Their decorations were out, Christmas music was on, cookie and other homemade sweets were out and we just chilled. Naomi made these amazing peppermint marshmallows. I could not get enough of them. I really want to learn to make them. She was so sweet to send everyone home with goodie bags of the same sweets she had out and Melissa and Dan gifted everyone and ornament. Tommy and I have felt so welcomed and loved by this group of couples.

A couple days later I went over to Jill and Marvin's to babysat and we did our gift exchange before hand. I got the girls each and book and matching t-shirts. Brooke's book was about a little girl who has a birthday in December around Christmas and Audrey's was a Cars Soundboard book. Brookie's birthday is in December and she kept asking if the girl in the book was her???! It was so sweet. I love this picture of Audrey. I believe that it is my new favorite picture of her!


Jill spoiled me with an electronic Monopoly game, Cookbook (including Duck recipes) and some plaid! Wink Wink! Thank you Jill! You are so thoughtful. I can't wait for game night! Hello, double date!
Once Jill and Marvin left the girls started working on their letters to Santa. Brooke was so cute practically making nothing short of a list. Audrey on the other hand, her's went something like this. "I am glad you come to my house. I do not want to sit on you lap. I love you. I want bubble bath and a toy that floats; not sinks!!!". I was trying so hard not to laugh as I was writing what she way saying. She signed her name at the bottom and she was good to go.

We recently went to A Living Christmas Tree with the Kahley's but did not exchange gifts at that time. So one Sunday after church we got together and had our Christmas! Hannah was so creative, once again, for our gifts. She made Uncle Bert and Aunt Kathleen a painting on canvas! She did a fantastic job of making a Coke Bottle. Mom is holding a 12 Days of Christmas Poem she made too.
I should have cropped in big time but Hannah made me Belle Ornament. I almost cried. She took modeling clay and created her dress and sculpted it for me. I was so proud of her. She always has been (and I believe always will be) an artist!!! I love you sweetie!!!
Hannah got two gifts from me this year. One was a recipe box that I have been working on for her; for a while. I had a lot of friends and family write recipes on the matching cards. We talked about our Christmas with the fam while we were there and the first think she asked when she opened it was, "Ummm, are your Gma's Pierogi's in there?" It was so funny.
~Hannah excited about her other gift~
~Yep, you've seen it here first... A Sleeping bag!~
We had a great time with the Kahley's. Mom made a large meal and we chowed down on chocolate cake for dessert. Hannah, reminder! Your birthday will be here before you know it! :)

Tommy and I are so excited for a friends Dave and Jen. They have two daughters now! Welcome to the World baby Evelyn West. Sissy Cameron will take good care of you!

~Happy New Year~

Tommy and I brought in the new year with two events! First we went to the Kahley's party. Their tree, decorations and such were so beautiful. My parents along with at least 15 guests attended. We played games and I did a lot of coloring with Cordelia! Also, Cord and I played three games of Kerplunk.

I had not played it in years but I had the game when I was little and remembered loving it! I had not see Skyler, Cloe and/or Cordelia in two years. It was so good to see them. They have grown so much. The pic below is of the little town under the Kahley's tree. Hannah worked so hard this year on her Gingerbread House! I wish I had gotten a picture of the back window. Inside it she made a Santa putting presents under a tree. It was incredible! She is so creative and very talented.
We had to get a group shot before we left. Cordelia, Me, Cloe, Hannah and Skyler; as cute as can be in front of the tree! We had such a great time. Thank you to Karen for sending me my new Angel Winged Cross Necklace and my new Angel Wing earrings! I love them!
After the Kahley's house we headed out to The Pub at Polaris. Our friend Ryan was DJ'ing there. He did a fantastic job. Before The Pub got the dance floor ready (around 11) there were people dancing next to their tables, in the aisles and by the bar! Tommy and I danced out butts off just like we did in College. It was so much fun. We loved every single song that Ryan played and toasted with him to the New Year!

2011 We Are Ready For You!!!

~A Stohrer Christmas~

We had our Stohrer/Feisel Christmas Eve on the 29th. My parents came over around 4pm and we ate another round of the pan fried pizza that Tommy has been making. The combos were amazing! My parents were so impressed!

After pizza the four of us went to Shadowbox to see their Holiday Hoopla show! My Mom had never been there and Daddy had only been to a musical; Woodstock: Back to the Garden! They had so much fun and we were so close to the stage too. There was a lot of interacting going on between Amy and Tommy and one of the "Santa Babies" and Dad. It was so much fun to see my parents laughing so hard and enjoying themselves so much. After the show we got a pic together.

L to R: Billy, Me, Tommy Andy, Mom and Dad.
We spent the night at my parents house after Shadowbox and the next morning we Celebrated Christmas. Mom made Cinnamon Rolls and then we opened gifts. It was the best day!
~This is my new favorite picture of Tommy. I love his smile in this one!~
I was soooo excited to finally get a Toy Story ornament. I waited years for Hallmark to create on that I really like! It had such a great attention to detail; even the bottom of Buzz and Woody's feet said, "ANDY"!
Jill was so sweet to send along Christmas presents for my parents. Daddy loved his T-Shirt so much. He loved how "colorful" the Cleveland text was. He has already packed it in his Bat Bag.
This picture is so cute. It totally represents my parents. They each got each other a really cute gift and before opening them Daddy gave her a sweet kiss. Awwwww!

I got Mom a cookbook to share. I just might be going back to get a second copy so we can each have one at our own houses! Oh my goodness! It's an Eiffe Tower Restaurant Cookbook. We all four looked at it and fell in love. Tommy will be cooking out of it really soon!
~Mom loved the calendar that I made her!~
In the photo Daddy is wearing a Ernie shirt. It's based off a joke at Fan Camp with the guys. There were so many Bert's on the team. For Photo day the guys named Bert wore Ernie shirts and the "other guys" wore Bert shirts so that their entire team were "Berts"! So for Christmas I had to get Daddy a Bert shirt too; so he could have one of each. He loved it!
Mom made a wonderful meal for Christmas. We cracked open some wine, ate and visited! It was a great time. I wish I had gotten a picture of dessert. My grandmother Mary (Mom's Mom) made Date Bars every year for Christmas while my mom was growing up. Mom made Grandmother's recipe last night. They were so incredible!
It's tradition to lay out our gifts under the tree and get a picture. We had a wonderful Christmas. Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year! 2011 Here we come!

~A Feisel Christmas~

Over "Christmas Break" Tommy and I packed up the dog and headed to Michigan. Tommy's brother Bobby (and his girlfriend Stella) were able to come in from California. It was great to get to spend some time with them. We got to see Tommy's sister, Brother-in-Law and our nephews again too. I tell ya, "I think they grew since Thanksgiving"! We got there on Wed and by Thurs we were off to Gma's to help her prep/cook Christmas Dinner.

~Peeling 2 lbs of Tomatillos~

~Uncle Brian came over to help with the Kielbasa~
~Learning to make Gma's Famous Perogies~
~The batch we made with Gma; Breakfast the next day!~

The next day (Friday) was Christmas Eve and we had Christmas with Bob, Vicki, Bobby, Stella, Christine, Danny, Joshua, John Paul and Justin.
Tommy made some pan fried Pizzas! A new Recipe! They were so yummy.
He made them about 9 inches in diameter and we had 6 different variations.
This was just one of them. He ended up making this dough 4 times this week. Yummy!
~Justin, Justin and John Paul ready to open gifts!~
~Justin and Tommy~
~Justin couldn't contain his excitement with Uncle Tommy! He was telling him story after story!~
~I love this pic. It's how Justin gives Kisses!~
~I got Justin a onesie for Christmas. It reads, "all i want for Christmas is my auntie!"~
Tommy loved the Chess Tarts that Gma Feisel used to make. They were kind of her staple! :) Tommy opened a gift and found a really old and very used cookbook called The Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedia Cookbook! Stuck in the back flap was this envelope with the recipe! Tommy can not wait to make them. He was happy when he opened the book that he cried. We were so touched that we inherited the cookbook.
Tommy made Cinnamon rolls the next morning for everyone to have on Christmas Day. I have had C. Rolls every Christmas morning for as long as I can remember. It was a tradition with Tommy's grandma as well. The C. Rolls with live on! :)
When we got to Gma's there was an announcement to be made! Luke proposed to Eunice and she said yes! Here is a picture of celebration! Yeah! Congrats you guys!
~Tommy and Gma~
Long story short... Tommy was having a hard time making mayonnaise from scratch to make a Blue Cheese Dressing for a salad he was trying to make over Thanksgiving. Uncle Brian and Tommy went to town and the mayonnaise is complete!
~The boys! I love this picture!~
~After a long weekend John Paul needed some rest!~
On the 26th we had Christmas with Bob's side of the family. We each provided an appetizer or desert and played White Elephant. Jana brought her own Chess Tarts with a little "I'll Be Home Christmas" ornament.
The White Elephant game was so fun this year; again! I opened a tea pot, Tommy opened a cutting board, Scott stole the cutting board from Tommy. He was sad so I told him to steal the Tea Pot from me, then I stole the cutting board from Scott (it was then "locked") and no one stole the tea pot from Tommy. So I came home with his cutting board and he came home with my tea pot. We are both happy campers! Sorry Scott!

Throughout the week the deer were taking over the back yard! They kept eating out of the bird feeders. At any one time there were 5-8 in the back yard! It was so funny to watch them.
Me and Justin!
We had a great Christmas in Michigan!!!