it was a party!!

i'm spoiled.  we had a big house in michigan, great for entertaining (parents upstairs and the kids in the basement)... our texas house is small, and i've been scared to have over large groups.
but, we had  9 adults and 14 kids from PTA over tonight, and it was nice.  It was a bit crazy with kids OUTSIDE on the trampoline and slamming doors in the bedroom, but it was still peaceful and festive.
we had chili and brisket and rainbow cupcakes and pumpkin roll and soda in glass jars.  and, most importantly, really great people from my PTA Board.  love them and love their kiddos.
we let the kids make gingerbread houses... (all the parents cringed at the sprinkles!!)
it was so fun and the houses really looked great!
 
i  pre-made the houses and had tubes of royal icing for the house decor...
(wilton's merangue powder is the key to fast, easy, cement like icing-- thanks for the tip Grey!)
i gave each kid a little bowl and had them fill it with candy from the candy table...
the thing i liked about this is that we didn't have the major candy dumping that usually happens at the end... cause the candy was at a different table.

some funny things i'm still laughing about...
my friends are all good christian people.  but, we're the only Mormon.
--when my friend ended her prayer with 'in the name of the father, son and holy ghost' on her head and shoulders, my kids said, "Hey, isn't that from Nacho Libre"
--my mother-in-law saw my M wall on this blog, she asked, "What is M for?  Mormon?"  (Yes, her last name is also Moss).
--as Mormons, we don't use crosses.  We do believe in Christ and that he was crucified and resurrected, but we don't use the cross as a symbol of our religion... although, i do think there are so many beautiful crosses, especially here in Lubbock.  Ellie and I were in Hobby Lobby looking for M's, surrounded by crosses.  She said, "Too bad our name doesn't start with T, there are A LOT of good t's."

We love it here in Texas and are so grateful for good friends and good times.
i LOVE christmas!  thanks for coming to our party!
ps-- yes.  i did stay up after everyone was asleep to make MY gingerbread house.  you can't tell it apart from the kids, but i just couldn't let them have all the fun!!