Christmas Season Kick-Off

So many of our friends were heading to the SEC Championship, and lots were in town for the game. So, on Friday night, David and I had dinner in Atlanta with the Muller-Stones, The Wages, the Kings, The Hills, and Renee. We had dinner at Haven and it was wonderful! We didn't want to leave our friends! But we had to because....

So happy the Kings were in town!

 We got up at 5:30am on Saturday morning to buy toys for the Gainesville JayCees Empty Stocking Fund. David and I were surprisingly chipper!

But, Callie, Brian and Colby were definitely feeling the early morning wake-up!

It was so odd to go into WalMart at 6am when its dark, and walk out into the sunshine at 9am - 3 hours later!

 After we both took naps, I got ready to head to the Georgia Theater to watch the game with David before the Heery's Christmas party at Rusty's house.

I made these amazing cookies for the party. They use whole wheat flour, canola oil, almonds, and maple syrup instead of sugar. They're easy to make, and healthy too!

To balance out the healthiness of the cookies, I made Paula Deen's spinach and artichoke dip....not quite as healthy, but delicious!

The crowd was so excited at the Theater - until the second quarter. And after half time, it was just plain sad to watch.

Last year, Rusty and his wife Ginger didn't host the Christmas party because his oldest son was about to be married - they had a lot going on! So, this year, the tradition continued and everyone was happy to celebrate the holiday season together.

This huge Christmas tree was such a beautiful sight in their entryway!

I am just sick that these are fuzzy...taking pics in front of a well-lit tree is apparently tricky.

That's Deanna, Me, Chad, Suzy, Rosemary, Jeannie, and Molly - The Heery's Too Girls!

Rusty and Ginger's house is just beautiful, and Ginger had everything looking so festive!

Emily, Me, and Molly in our fur!

 David and I left the party around 11, and headed back to Gainesville. It was such a nice evening! On Sunday, we slept in and spent the rest of the day getting ready for and hosting a Christmas dinner for our friends Callie and Brian Hughs, Laura and Brett Fowler, and Jamie....so sad Colby couldn't be there, but she will be next time. Stay tuned for pics of the dinner party, and to my B&B blog for pics of our festive house!