2nd Annual McClish Christmas Party

On Thursday we hosted our second annual Christmas party! It was quite an undertaking to pull off during the week, but Andrew was such a help and we were able to get the house clean and everything baked by working on it a little bit each night. I have included a few pictures from the evening but honestly wish I could remember in the midst of it all to document the event better. I am just not great at taking pictures....hope you can get the idea though.

The annual Christmas party idea was birthed out of a desire to create a tradition of our own at Christmas. Since Andrew and I got married in November ten months after we met, our first Christmas together was after one month of marriage. I remember it being hard for me to think about spending Christmas away from my family and not being a part of my family's traditions. I loved being married to Andrew and loved his family, but letting go of the way things had always been was one of my first lessons as a wife. The truth is Andrew is MY FAMILY and I am called as his wife to cleave to him. I am really glad we decided to start this tradition, I think it will continue to create fond memories of these parties in the years to come.


Pausing for a moment at the party, I felt overwhelmed by how blessed we are to have such wonderful friends and family. It was humbling to look at our house full of people we love and care about and know that they return those feelings for us. It is such a testament of the Lord's provision in the community he has blessed us with. I am so thankful for the body of Christ at work through them!

How about this one?

Selecting the best tree

Found it!

Christmas Trees

After we returned from our fun filled Thanksgiving in Canyon, we started thinking about Christmas. I have included a few pics. Andrew and I both love real Christmas trees. We see them less and less it seems now, but for us, it wouldn't feel right if our tree was artificial. I remember growing up in Colorado at Christmas we head out to the woods and cut our tree. It was a big event all of us looked forward to each year. My Dad would get his wood saw out and Mom made hot chocolate and put it in the thermos for our adventure. My sister and I bundled up in our best snow gear complete with bib snow pants (you know the ones with the straps so snow does not get down your pants...so not cool) I think mine were hot pink too at one time. Mom got our brother ready. Anyway...all 5 of us got all dressed up in snow gear and loaded into the Bronco. The excitement built as we approached the area we would locate our tree. Once Dad selected the designated area, it was our job to find the perfect tree. Once we found it, Dad cut it down and strapped it to the Bronco. Then we all had hot chocolate together. The tree was never perfectly shaped since it grew close to other trees, but I have such fond memories of them and always thought they were so beautiful.

There are not too many trees to cut in the DFW area. However, our local Home Depot has a good supply of fresh trees that will do just fine. They also allow June to join us so we can all go Together. Here are some shots from the evening. I will post the tree decorated soon!