Christmas in Memphis

The weekend after Christmas we went to Memphis to see Nonnie. Although we do not see her often enough, we always enjoy every minute we are there with her. Nonnie always goes above and beyond to take care of us all when we visit.

Nonnie got us both shoes for Christmas!

Traditional "after church" picture of everyone

We had a fabulous visit!

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas! Alan and I woke up about 9:00am and enjoyed a yummy breakfast with his family. After that we opened stockings and presents.

That afternoon we went to my parents' house and opened stocking and presents there. The only person missing was Colin who is in Japan, we really missed him!

Gotta love flannel :)

That evening the Michalik family came over and we had a wonderful time hanging out with them. I think my favorite part of the night was singing Christmas carols together. God is so good!

Cagle Christmas

The weekend before Christmas, all of Alan's mom's extended family came to Knoxville. We had a delicious Christmas dinner together and then had fun exchanging gifts. It was good seeing everyone, especially since it can sometimes be challenging to get everyone together!

Christmas Cookie Exchange

Last weekend I hosted my annual Christmas Cookie Exchange. I had so much fun planning and preparing for it and I'm so thankful for the sweet friends and family who came. We had a wonderful time!

Everyone was so creative with their cookie recipes this year!

Every year I give out prizes for:

Prettiest Cookie

Best Story/History of a Cookie recipe

Most festive holiday attire

...and what do you know?!

Everyone voted for my family, ha!

Christa won "Prettiest Cookie" 

Mom won "Best Story/History of a Cookie recipe"

Maggie won "Most festive holiday attire"

All in all, it was a fantastic night and a great way to get everyone in the Christmas spirit! I cannot believe Christmas is less than 1 week away! Yippeee!

Living Christmas Tree

Alan and I had a great time tonight at the Living Christmas Tree as we took a moment to enjoy this very special time of year. We have so much to do right now and with the rainy weather outside we almost didn't go, but as soon as we sat down I was thankful we were there. The incredible performance was entertaining, worshipful, and took our breath away. It was a great time to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Party

Tonight we went to Kristen and Jesse's Christmas party! We had a great time getting dressed up, spending time with friends, and celebrating the Christmas season! Cheers!

Santa Hustle Half-Marathon

Yesterday afternoon Alan and I went up to Pigeon Forge for Alan to pick up his packet for the Santa Hustle Half-Marathon the next morning. After getting that done, we went to Christmas Place!

 We got our picture taken with Santa!

 The next morning Alan was ready to start!

 So many Santas!

Alan got off to a great start!

 Alan ran along the parkway and I met up with him a few times throughout the course.

 Alan finished and beat his personal record!!!

 So proud of my hubby!

Rockwell Cabin Retreat

For Christmas last year all the kids in my family got my parents a cabin weekend in the Smoky Mountains for our whole family. So last weekend was the time we made it happen. We chose to stay at Dreamcatcher Cabin which is owned by some friends of ours who are wonderful people.

We also chose to stay there because of the amazing views in every direction!

My wonderful parents :)

Dad & Christa, checking out the view after arriving

On Friday night we celebrated Maggie's birthday (which was actually that day) and my Mom's birthday (which is December 12th) It's sometimes tricky to get everyone together so this was the perfect time to do it!

It was great having everyone together!

Elizabeth & Christa were so excited the cabin was already decorated for Christmas!

Rockwell Sisters

Ben, Maggie, Rachel, and Colin

On Saturday morning, we celebrated Christmas as a family since Colin will most likely be in Japan by that point. Christa & Annie went all out with their holiday attire :)

"Christmas" morning

Having fun during the gift exchange

Later that afternoon the girls went shopping at the outlets and the guys went on a hike. 

Alan, Dad, and Patrick

Later that day most of us got back to the cabin by 4pm in order to watch the SEC football championship. It was wonderful just lounging around with family, eating good food, and catching up with one another. We did manage to get a group shot at a stopping point during the game.

So thankful we were able to do this!

Perfect weekend getaway!

Chocolate Kahlua Pecan Pie

My contribution to Thanksgiving this year was Chocolate Kahlua Pecan Pie. This is one of my family's favorite holiday recipes and it was fun making this yummy dessert. Here is the recipe if you want to try making it yourself! Enjoy!

• unbaked pie shell
• 6oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup Kahlua
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• Kahlua Cream

Melt chocolate in small saucepan, add Kahlua. Stir until smooth. In large mixing bowl hand beat eggs lightly. Stir in brown sugar, salt, vanilla, syrup, and chocolate mixture. Then stire in buter and 1 cup of pecans. Turn into pie shell . Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup pecans on top. Bake slightly below center of oven at 350 until barely set in center and pastry is light golden brown, 45-50 minutes. Remove and cool. Make Kahlua Cream right before serving:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 Tbs. Kahlua
• 1 Tbs. powdered sugar

Beat together with hand mixer until soft peaks form. Top each serving with cream.

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving Day began at 7:30am with the "Hot to Trot" 5K in Turkey Creek! Alan's family joined us and this is always a good way to get up and begin the holiday.

 The run went great, Alan set a PR with his time!

We got ready for the day and then went to serve lunch at Flenniken, which is a half-way house in south Knoxville with Alan's family.

 There was a great turn-out and all the residents were very appreciative :)

That afternoon we went to Mimi's house for lunch with the Cagle extended family.

 And that night we went to my parents' house for dinner!

It was a long day but Alan and I enjoyed every minute of it. We have so much to be thankful for!

Family & Football

This past weekend Alan and I, along with Rachel and Colin, took a quick road-trip to Nashville to visit Elizabeth and Patrick. We may or may not have gone to the UT/Vandy game (I hate to admit to watching such a painful loss). The weekend began with a delicious dinner Friday night that E+P made at their home. Everything was fantastic and it was nice just spending some time catching up and and discussing the upcoming holiday season. Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to go to the...

Molly drove from Clarksville with her kiddos to join in the fun! We had a great time laughing over biscuits, coffee, and more biscuits!

 Being silly after breakfast :)

 Love these sisters of mine!

 So blessed by family!

So yes... we did in fact go to the game with E+P and we stayed until the very end. It was definitely a sad loss but there will always be next season (and the season after that, and after that, and after that...) God bless Tennessee football!