Happy Birthday Jesus!

So this Christmas was by far the best Christmas I've ever had! It was just our immediate family and was so much fun! I arrived in Austin on Monday night to join the Kristen, Dave and Katelyn, who came in on Saturday. We ended up celebrating Christmas on Tuesday night (my Dad pulled some strings to get Santa to come early) because he had to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas. We made breakfast and celebrated Jesus' birth with a birthday song, cinnamon rolls, egg casserole and laughter... lots of laughter! The cinnamon role cake had a "1" candle on top, because Jesus is #1!

I can't tell you how thankful I am for the love of Jesus and for all the ways He is constantly providing for and growing my family - both together and as individuals. Praise be to God for all that He's done and all that He continues to do! We have been so blessed by His presence in our lives and my prayer is that we'd be able to display His strength through our weakness and His perfection through our imperfection.

This year, Dad asked that we not buy him Christmas presents, but instead, cut out pictures of items we'd like to buy him and attach $5. The McCurdy family found lots of fun gifts in the Office Depot advertisement and attached some $5 bills. I think Walgreens was also pulling out all the stops this Christmas...

Santa always forgot to fill mom and dad's stockings when we were younger (we understand, he has a lot of traveling to do in one night) so we took it upon ourselves to fill their stockings this year. I thought it would be funny to put a pine cone in the bottom of dad's stocking. Kristen pleaded with me not to, but I just couldn't resist. I enjoyed a good laugh and dad ended up with a few cuts and scrapes.

Katelyn made a friend over the holiday! She ventured into the pantry and found a new potato - it was love at first sight. Who needs to spend hundreds of dollars on toys when you can spend $0.50 on a potato and have a child who's still filled with joy? It's a great cost cutting tip during the economic crisis... try it!

So I have been looking for a sleeper for a quite some time. Brittany's mom (not myself, my friend) got her one when she was sick and I'll admit, I was a little envious. I raided every Target in sight and was empty-handed after each visit. I went back to Target with my mom and dad and low expectations. I just needed to return some clothes I had gotten for Katelyn. During my return transaction, I noticed a woman standing next to me who was returning 5 (yes - 5!) sleepers! I asked her which department she got them in and she said the women's department. My parents and I searched and searched, but again, came back to the return counter empty-handed. I asked the girl working if I could see the sleepers the lady had just returned. She told me to go to the fitting room counter. I walked quickly to the fitting room and there they were, 5 sleepers just waiting for me! The Lord totally provided for me that day! As you can see, I got it, with no hesitation. My persistence paid off, and my dad even offered to get it for me for Christmas. YES!

When it came to presents this year, I didn't do what my dad asked - so ironic, I always listen to my dad! Last week, I went over to my friend Alison's house for dinner with some of my other co-workers. Alison's husband, Jim, created a recipe for "Barack Obama Beans." They were the best beans I've ever had. So amazing, that I faced the consequences with a smile later on that the evening as I reminisced about how great they were. Anyway, Jim was kind enough to give me the recipe and I gave it to my dad, along with all of the ingredients, for Christmas. We made them one night for dinner and although they didn't taste exactly like Jim's, they were pretty close! Thanks to Jim for making my dad's Christmas present a reality!

To add to the Christmas festivities, I decided to start a new Christmas tradition this year. I've heard that it's not a tradition unless it's happened for 3 years. So, I'll rephrase. This year was the 1st annual Bradberry Christmas Dance. What does this even mean, you might ask? This means that each person in attendance, in any way related to the Bradberry family, must dance to a song of their choice before they can open their presents. It was AWESOME! I've included some videos below...

David - 12/26 10:21 pm

Many of you know that I think my dad is hilarious, by far one of the funniest people I've ever met. A handful of you have heard the stories I tell about him as I imitate his voice and mannerisms to the best of my ability. The humor is too much to keep within my small circle of friends and family. This humor needs to be shared with many people. With that being said, I think it's appropriate to start a new weekly posting. The weekly posting will be titled "David" until I/someone else can think of a more fitting title.
Scenario:
Me and my dad are sitting on the couch in the living room watching the nightly news. My mom is in the bathroom getting her face ready for bed.
Conversation:
Brittany: Dad, if you could have any other job in the world, not playing Sudoku all day, a legit job, what would it be?
Dad: Oh I don't know.
Brittany: Dad, come on. Any job. Just think.
Dad: A comedian. A stand-up comedian. I would come on after the Late Late Show.
Brittany: A comedian?
Mom chimes in: You should be a chef!
Dad: Deaf?! Hell, I'm already deaf!
Mom (thinking he said chef): Yeah, but if you were a chef you could get paid for it!
Dad: What deaf person do you know who gets paid for being deaf?
Mom (realizing he did not say chef, but deaf): Oh no, you are deaf.
Brittany: Wow. I need to blog about this right now.

Austin, Forney and an engagement in Denton!

I travelled with Kristen, Dave and Katelyn to the great city of Austin for Thanksgiving. My dad drove to Beaumont to pick up my grandparents so they could be with us for Thanksgiving too! Aside from half of us being sick over the course of the weekend, I was so thankful to spend time with my family and have everyone together for the first time in a long time.

Katelyn was caught red handed with MaMaw's credit card - she had big plans for Black Friday - Babies R' Us, Once Upon a Child (she's such a bargain shopper) and Best Buy to get MaMaw and PeePaw a flat screen for Christmas - so thoughtful.

Katelyn also spent time searching YouTube for hilarious videos - she takes after her Aunt Brenner.

Ali and I finally finished our Charlie Brown pumpkin puzzle and we didn't lose a single piece! I had some intense nights where I would say, "Just one more piece and then I'll go to bed...," but I found myself staying up until 12:00 am (late for someone who normally goes to bed at 10:30 pm).

I also attended the annual Forney Hometown Christmas in Forney, Texas with my friend Bonnie who was born in raised in Forney. Forney has always been a relaxing getaway for me, but this particular weekend was different. This weekend was full of intensity. A lady fell off one of the parade floats and had her foot run over by the float. If that's not crazy enough for a day in Forney, a butane tank also exploded and thankfully Bonnie's dad, Forney Fire Chief, has a great team and they were able to put it out fast. Forney Hometown Christmas also had a huge inflatable slide that we went down. We waited in line for about 45 minutes right behind a large group of the most annoying 11 year olds I've ever encountered, but it was worth it!

My last post mentioned that one of my best friends, Brittany, got engaged. Well, let the proposals continue! Bonnie also got engaged this past Thursday night! WOOHOO!! David, Bonnie's boyfriend/fiance, graduated on Saturday and promised Bonnie that when he got a job, she would get a ring. David accepted a job about 3 weeks ago, and we've been waiting on pins and needles for the question to arise! Bonnie and David wanted to go out to a nice dinner to celebrate David's graduation, and David decided that they should both get dressed up. David came over to pick her up. David made a wrong turn and Bonnie asked him where he was going. He said he needed to stop by the square downtown for something first. It was not unusual for David to do something like this. He parked about a block away from the square and when Bonnie asked him why he didn't park on the square, he replied, "There isn't any parking on the square." They walk towards the square and approach a path of rose petals which leads to a white sheet full of rose petals and a stool in the center of the square. Bonnie sat down and David got out his guitar. He sang her 4 songs, 3 that were milestones in their relationship, and one that he wrote for her. He asked her the pressing question and she said yes! That makes 2 weddings this summer, will there be another?

That's all I got. Enjoy your week!