Christmas Day Sunday

Our day started out at Church with Tawna and Nathan's family. We decided to sing with their choir while we were home for the holiday since Tawna and Jade were both singing in their Ward this year. It was even fun to go to practice since I got to see my girls. The songs were fun to learn and I really enjoyed singing them. I am always surprised that the choirs aren't full to bursting with people wanting to sing at Christmas. There is nothing like adding your voice to those singing the beautiful songs of Christmas. There is a special spirit that exists in those choirs and I love it.

My two chefs for Christmas brunch. When we got home from church Robert and Grumpy made a tasty brunch of waffles, eggs and bacon. So good. I don't eat breakfast often, but when I do I really enjoy it. Of course I always say the day should start at 10 am.




After eating such a good breakfast, I set the tables. Gramma H. gave me two beautiful lace tablecloths for Christmas this year. I used them both and our tables were so pretty. I didn't elegant them out, but tried to keep them a little simple. One of these years I am going to go all out on our Christmas tables. I just need some of the little kids to grow up a little more. Maybe next year.




I made a ham. Robert made some really great potatoes Au Gratin (recipe courtesy of Mary Gazda) that were awesome. I will post the recipe on Nana's blog as I know she would have loved this recipe. I hope everyone tries it out. So good. We had a deep fried turkey (courtesy of Jamie) that was amazing. I need to learn how to do that. We have some good cooks in our men. Tawna made some broccoli and the ever favorite Chocolate Nutty Delight. I had bought a pumpkin and a pecan pie at Costco, but could have saved my money. Everyone wanted the Choc. Nutty Delight. Me too. I know we had other food dishes there, and everyone is always so good to bring things. I love dinners with the fam.

Christmas Eve 2011

As always it was a wonderful time together. The days before were filled with finding the best ingredients for the sandwiches, ordering the rolls/buns, finding and preparing the meat slicer, going to choir practices, sewing dresses, hanging out and in general having some of the best times ever. Grumpy got his grill area all set up on the back patio. We tried to do it in the house, but we managed to set off all the fire alarms since we have no hood ventilation in the kitchen. That is something we will have to remedy someday. Everyone lent a hand while making each sandwich to order. Megan and Rylee were our order takers. Armed with a pen and a pad of Italian Sandwich order forms, they did a great job getting everyone's preferences down and to the chef. I regrettably did not get very many pics of the evening. We had all our family there except Taya and Kevin's and we missed them greatly. We were able to host Stacie's Mom and Don, and her sister Kamala and her husband Chad. They had their cute little Gunnar in tow. He is a handsome dude! I still miss the days when Tracy and Kevin's family and Bob and Sydney's family could come to this. Our families are so many now, it isn't practical anymore. (I keep telling myself that) I miss them just the same.



We had good food and good times (in our PJs. New tradition. It is good to be comfy)




Gotta love those crazy eyes Jaxon! The kids were all so excited for Christmas Day. There always seems to be an air of magic that night. There is that special gleam of expectation in their eyes and I love that. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Papa K. came after he set out all his luminarias for his neighborhood tradition. I used to love driving through the neighborhood on our way home from their house. Every street is lined with white paper sack luminarias. It is so pretty and is a peaceful setting. I need to put that on my list of things to do Christmas Eve. Start a luminaria tradition at my house.

Christmas in the Kitchen

Spending some quality time in the kitchen again as I try to get things done here before we leave for AZ and the rest of the season there. Of course there are the treats we like to do for people who have been so good to us here as well as those we home teach/visit teach. That has not always been very important to me, but in the last couple of years I have decided that even though I don't know some of these people very well they should be on my list at Christmas. Some of Grumpy's home teaching families won't even open the door to him, one sister is in a care facility and doesn't really know who he is from month to month and I have never been able to catch one of my sisters home to meet her. Nonetheless, I feel it is important they know we do think of them and hope they are doing well. With that in mind I made two batches of toffee, 1 batch of caramels (haven't made those for years) and found a cute idea on LDS living for a simple treat. Got the toffee all packed into the tins in the pic below and am now working on getting the caramels cut and wrapped and some M&M's into something cute. I think Taya is using the M&M idea for her give-a-ways this year. Can't wait to see a pic of how she did hers.




I'm a little frightened so see if the caramels are going to behave and come out of the dish okay. I hope so, otherwise I envision throwing the whole thing in the garbage, dish and all. That would be sad as I really like caramels. And my dish.



I decided to make the second place soup recipe from the LDS Living soup contest since I have made the grand prize winner and the third place winner. It sounded like a great recipe and it didn't disappoint. I will post that recipe on the cooking blog for anyone who might like to try Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup. I know Taya's family has tried it and decided it was a keeper.

Not much else going on here today. I have been going through Nana's recipe file and want to post some more of her candy recipes she made for the holidays. There are a bunch. She has left us such great information and I know if it is in her file, it must be a good recipe. Most of them I have sampled over the years (which is why I am not a size 3) and hope that we can use the recipes she left to enrich our lives and those around us. Food is such a memory stimulus, at the holidays more than ever. I can remember rolling up on the driveway by the back door of their house on my way home from work, or wherever. Most the time Nana was in the kitchen, or sitting at her little round table. This time of year there would be aluminum take-out rounds filled with fudge, penuche and she would be getting some bows out to stick on the tops. The kitchen would smell like candy cooking and I have associated that with Christmas in my memory. To this day when I walk into a candy shop and smell fudge and other sweets, it takes me right back to Nana's kitchen at Christmas. She always did a container of her chocolate fudge and one of penuche for her kids, and usually one or the other for all the grandkids. She would have stacks of round dishes all over the bar in the dining room ready for a bow and delivery. Papa was the delivery service and he would take them to their neighbors and friends. I know they looked forward to her annual candy and for a couple of years after she passed away, people would remind me how much they loved her talents in the kitchen. The fudge especially.

I hope as my children are in the middle of raising their families they will know how much those things we do in the kitchen, the decorating, the choir practices we attend, and all the other little things we do for the holiday seasons impact their kids. Even the shopping trips to Costco for nuts and chocolate chips this time of year are such a part of the memories I have. Sick, I know. I love it all though and am glad I have such poignant and precious things to remember.

Christmas Prep in Texas

Grumpy picked me up from the airport about dinner time on the first Saturday in December. We went to a new to us restaurant and had a nice dinner before going home to veg in the apartment. Sunday came with church, meetings, tithing settlement and more meetings. Upon leaving the church building about 10:15 Sunday night I was surprised to see a light snow falling. People here say there is snow from time to time, but it doesn't stay on the ground long. Sure enough, below is the picture from our balcony that I woke up to on Monday morning. Cold. I stayed in my jammys and puttered around the apartment all day. I love days like that.



I decided in all that puttering I needed to get some festive stuff up so it would feel like Christmas for our 2 weeks here. I decided a tree was not in the cards this year so put up my fun 12 Days of Christmas nesting boxes I bought years ago. I love these silly boxes. They will have to suffice as my "tree" this year for our small spaces. I didn't do much else, but just had to wrap the kitchen cupboards. Not a lot of effort for such a big return. I love a Christmased kitchen.




And there are the dishes. I borrowed Nana's Christmas dishes to bring. They work out great for the two of us since there aren't a bunch. Just enough to have a few in the dishwasher from use and still some on the counter. There are only 6 salad plates and they have a cute reindeer in the middle. So fun. I rounded out the set with a few of my red bowls Nana gave me for Christmas one year.



Not much decoration here for someone as crazy about it as I am, but it will do until I get home to Mesa to enjoy the rest of the season there. I am going to have to invest in a creche for our home here. I miss not having a manger scene. I'll have to keep my eye out for one that will work here.

The Trees of Christmas

To all the people who say they can't decorate Christmas trees well. Phooey! Trees are easy. You put enough stuff on them and even not so wonderful trees look good. I am posting my recipe for a tree in case anyone wants to give it a shot. I don't have a pic of setting the tree up. This usually entails lots of swearing and bad facial expressions, so I didn't go there on camera. Hopefully your tree is pre-lit. If not, buy a new tree. Or you can wire it yourself, again, with a colorful vocabulary and more facial grimaces. Lights are very important. If you are doing them yourself, don't do a half-a@#ed job. They are the basis for a beautiful tree. I would use strands of 100 twinkle lights, without the twinkle flashy thing enabled. I personally don't like lights that flash at me. I also like the brilliance of white lights. Nothing sets your tree off quite like little white lights. Colored lights are fun too, but don't have the brilliance of the white ones. I have used all blue lights in trees for a very quiet, almost nightlike feeling. All green is really pretty too. Use your imagination and have fun with different things every year if you are up to it physically and financially. Wire from the trunk out to the ends of the branches and back and move to the next branch. Yes, this takes lots of time and lots of lights, but the result is amazing. Only 3 sets of 100 can be connected with any success before getting a new plug to plug into. Green extension cords are the bomb! Otherwise, they look good for awhile and then BAM!, they short out and you are left crying. This I know from experience. Sadly.



Now that your tree is up and lit you are ready for the good stuff. Next comes the garland. Whatever kind of garland you prefer. I have this beautiful stuff Nana bought that is all gold leaves and beaded berries. (Above) I run it kind of at a diagonal so it sort of spirals down the tree. You can use lengths of lots of things for garland. Paper chains, commercial tinsely stuff, ribbon, rag garland, beaded ropes, strands of pearls, popcorn strung with cranberries, whatever. It all works. Decide weather you like it diagonal, around horizontally or streaming down the tree from the top vertically.



Next I do the top of the tree. (Above) I have been using poinsettias and bows, and some fern-like pokey things for the past few years. I think I am going to find a pretty star for next year. Angels are good. Whatever you like at the top goes next. On this tree, this is also when I add my ribbon in-between the gold and red garlands. If you are using ribbon with wire in the edges, it sort of coils this way and that as it comes off the roll. Let it loop and tuck it in a branch here and there for a loopy, swirly effect. (Below)



Now for the glitz and glitter (and bling)! Ornaments go next. The really big ones go toward the bottom and I work them into the branches so they are kind of "in" the tree and add some dimension. You can use big ones anywhere, but if you only have a few, place them from eye level down for the best exposure. I have ornaments that are all similar in design and color for the over-all tree. The tall packs they sell at Costco or Sam's are wonderful for this and are usually non-breakable. Then I have ornaments of all sizes and kinds that are wonderful on a tree. Lots of variety and precious memories are in ornaments. I try to buy a few one-of-a-kind ornaments every year to add to our collection. Then of course are things that dangle. I like crystal "icicles", or prisms or faceted teardrops, whatever reflects and refracts light is good. Glittered snowflakes are fun too. Last of all if you like even more pokey things, glittered spiral branches, coils of whatever and glittery or foil sprays are the final touch.



My finished tree above. I love getting it done and just sitting and looking at it. It is thoughts of many Christmases and seeing the traditions on the tree that help bring me the peace of the season. I know that trees don't have anything to do with why we celebrate Christmas, but they have everything to do with how. They do symbolize so many good things at this time of year. I do love Christmas trees. Below is Jacque and Dawson's tree that I help her with every year. I love going to her home and spending the better part of a day getting her tree up and ready for her family to enjoy. She does red and gold like me with a tartan plaid ribbon and gold beads for her garland. Good times.



I had the pleasure of doing Gramma's tree for her this year. Not just the ribbon this year, but the whole tree. Been wanting to do that for years. Had a lot of fun with it, but didn't have my camera that day. I will try and get a photo later this month.
I also helped Summer decorate the school office lobby where she works. That was an interesting tree. All colored lights which I had to wire on the tree myself (time for a new pre-lit tree for them), there was much gnashing of teeth on that part. After the lights were in, we really didn't have much to put on it except snowflakes in many sizes and ribbon. The ribbon was white and swirly and we really loaded the tree with it. Then I took the really big snowflakes (about 12" diameter) and put them into the tree all around the bottom. The smaller snowflakes were over-all and we found some silver glittered ones to add to it. It turned out pretty. I should learn to carry my camera with me, right? Duh.

Trees rock.

Now for the rest of the house…

The whole house used to turn into Christmas back when I had a lot more energy. Now I pick my areas and take a little more time. (I'm slow these days). I only did one garland this year, and that was enough for me. Not a lot of places to use garland in this house, maybe that's a good thing as I get older. I try to sort of match the garland to the tree in feel since they are usually in the same room. I had a lot of fun with Steve the Elk and my crazy "veloci-rooster". Had to deck them out for the holidays. Grumpy hasn't seen Steve the Elk yet. Hope he likes his Christmas attire. Hey, there are certain concessions when you put an Elk in my living room. I got the idea from Jade who decked her Elkie out in a menagerie of ornaments and ribbons. He was pretty stylin' and looked goooood! My six foot rooster affectionately called the "veloci-rooster" had to have a holiday look too.




Next come the cupboards. We all know what a penchant I have for ribbon. What better way to use some ribbon at Christmas! I love to wrap the cupboard doors every year and dress the kitchen in holiday glam. Then of course I be-ribbon the chandelier(s) and get out the Christmas dishes. Had to go find a plate rack to use since I took my big one to Texas. It's not a cute one, but it will do this year. Can't stand to put the pretty dishes in the cupboard where no one sees them. Where I can't see them.





I didn't get a shot of the wreath Papa let me use, or the dining room light before I left. I will add those later. I am ready for the season and hopefully Robert is enjoying the house full of Christmas until we get back there later this month. Two weeks here in Texas and three weeks in Mesa. Had to have stuff in both places, right?



New arrangements for Nana and Curt this year. The cemetery does a complete wipe out of all flowers sometime in January and we weren't fast enough last year to get the Christmas pointsettias taken off to save. It was the second year we had used them, so it was probably for the best that they are gone. I was at Hobby Lobby and they had some really pretty Christmas floral sprays, so I got what I needed to put together some Christmas arrangements to take out to the cemetery. I didn't get there with Pop before I left for Texas, so he, Tracy and Bobby will do the honors this year. I cannot do anything at Christmas that I don't think of the way Nana loved the holiday. I am glad that I could help her and Papa have their home decorated and beautiful for the season for so many years. Now that is part of my cherished memories that surface everytime I do anything for Christmas. I miss her.

Christmas Day 2010

We woke up Christmas Day, not at the crack of dawn! That's the beauty of living in a house with teenagers. They aren't so much the early risers as the little ones on Christmas Day. We all had fun opening our presents and cleaning up the paper and ribbons. Gramma and Papa H. came by to deliver and open a few themselves. They gave the great grands movies and the grands got hotpads (hand made) and a sharp paring knife etc. in their presents. It's always nice to get new things for the kitchen. It's my favorite room in the house. Grumpy and I got some good reading from Robert and some sparkling grape juice for the celebrations coming up. Grumpy got a nice History of Aircraft and I got Women of the Old Testament. Good books. I also got a Mary Englebright Fairy Tale book from Summer and Jamie. I love Mary Englebright's art, and I'm a sucker for a fairy tale. Also a good book. Got a great outdoor stove from Papa K. and can't wait to try it out. I think we are teaming up with Tawna and Nathan to do dutch oven pizza this Friday. We'll see how that goes. Grumpy and I got our griddle ahead of time this year for our gift. It has already been to R.B.'s for sandwiches, down to the dunes for more sandwiches and maybe a pancake or two. It will come in handy through the year I'm sure. Jade and Jeff gave us our favorite candy and some awesome coupons good for wonderful stuff in the weeks to come. We got a power generator/portable battery charger from R.B. and Stacie so Grumpy can get things started wherever he is. That has come in handy already too.

Tawna and Nathan were our hosts again this year for Christmas Day dinner. All the kids decided on Mexican Food potluck again, so we had quite the buffet. Jade made her famous Guacamole and her wonderful salsa for appetizers. Robert decided to do his version of the Louie's we all like at Mattas. He also went online and got a recipe for Jalapeno Cream Cheese. It was good, but we will play with that and hopefully get closer to the Geckco Grill recipe that we love. The Louie's were good, but we can fine tune those too. He did a great job figuring out how to make them and what to do different next time. He likes the kitchen too.




Summer and Jamie brought yummy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas, R.B. and Stacie brought Green Chile Meat for burros, or not, I brought tamales (from Shar's), both green chile corn/chicken/cheese, and beef. I made a chocolate nutty delight for dessert. We love that stuff. Tawna and Nathan got salsa, tortillas, chips, rice, beans, lettuce, tomato and sour cream to fill in the gaps. People brought soda pop and it was a delicious dinner. We ate outside and it was nice. Faith made a banner to decorate the patio with. The cousins all ran around crazy and had fun. The adults all talked and did some more gift exchanging. We all got our annual invitation to Tawna and Nathan's dinner. She has done an awesome dinner for all the adults (her siblings and us) for three years now. It has been so great to get together without all the kids for once so the brothers and sisters can really visit and spend some time together. We are all looking forward to that coming up in February this year.



Taya is coming between Christmas and New Year's and we are excited to see her and Kevin and the kids. The best present is always being with family and the safe journeys we enjoy in our travels.

I have such a great family. I love them all so very much.

The Night before Christmas 2010…

Ahhhh…The night we all look forward to all year. This year R.B. and Stacie were our hosts and they did an excellent job getting ready for the party. Grumpy and I got a new griddle for our Christmas present this year. It worked out really well. We will get some help to do a few modifications on the height, etc. and it will be even better next year. Grumpy chopped and sliced all day getting everything ready to go. R.B. and Stacie pitched in and cut the tomatoes right before the crowd came. Stacie made her famous Spinach and Artichoke dip (so yummy) and Frances brought her famous Arrowhead Dip, so I'm surprised anyone had room for a sandwich after that! We got our buns from a great sandwich shop our guys eat at all the time, and they were the best buns ever. It is a little Mom & Pop place called Philly's Famous on Alma School, just north of Warner. They were kind enough to sell us 6 dozen of their rolls for Christmas Eve. It made our sandwiches that night more like the originals than ever before.



The dips are always so good. I love them both.



Stacie slicing some olives at the last minute for those of us who like them on our sandwiches.




Grumpy is getting started for the "Everythings minus…" for the kids. They all pretty much just eat the meat and cheese. I did a homemade Mac & Cheese for all the little ones who aren't quite old enough to appreciate an Italian Peppersteak Sandwich. Robert ended up adding some mac & cheese and some arrowhead dip to his everything. He says it was awesome. I don't know.



Gramma H.'s sandwich. They were all so good. She's an Everything minus mushrooms.



R.B. biting into his Everything minus mushrooms. He also gets out the chopper and chops his peppers and onions up really fine. Different strokes for different folks. It's all good.




Stacie organized a cousin gift exchange this year. The kids all had a great time buying and receiving their gifts. I love Christmas Eve. It was wonderful as always, only we missed our Taya and her family. I guess you can't have everything all the time.

The Baskets and Tins

I really misssed not doing much for give away treats last year. I was determined to make this year better in terms of showing some appreciation for meals brought in, phone calls, prayers, etc. It has been a very crazy year. Even still there are so many people that I didn't deliver to, but hopefully they will know our heartfelt gratitude for their love and concern. Back in the summer of 2009 I canned some various jams and in the process did some tiny jars that are really only a sample. I was going to do baskets with homemade bread and jams and various other goodies, but Christmas 2009 just got away from me. This year I got the little jars out and decided to just do it.

Grumpy and I went shopping for inexpensive baskets to pack our goodies into and ended up with a combination of both baskets and tins. He kept muttering under his breath…"what's wrong with paper plates?" I think he thought I couldn't hear him. No paper plates for my plans this year. After all, presentation is part of the gift. Paper plates are fine for a lot of things, but not for our packages this year.

Having started a little late in the season, I had to be realistic about time, so I settled on various combinations of bread/jams (four different kinds) toffee and various other things that were available to pack into our gifts. Summer made some delicious little pretzel/rolo/M&M treats that she did a few variations of and were really tasty. I got a little grouchy Sunday morning as I was getting the baskets ready for delivery - I guess I didn't calculate the tired factor that is my constant companion these days. Nonetheless, baskets were readied, Christmas Sunday was wonderful and then baskets were delivered. It felt good to give just a few things to a few families who live around us and have been so helpful. People Jamie and Richard hometeach (not the same families) and those who give of their time to teach us. There were also a few friends mixed in and I wish I had started earlier so I could have done a longer list. There have been so many people who have called and come to visit, best friends over the years who have been there and so on.




Toffee cooking. It took a couple of batches to get to know the right settings on Summer's stove, so I had an overcooked batch that I did give away as it wasn't terrible. (I hope not any way).



Toffee cooling all dressed up in chocolate and nuts. I love the breaking up part after it is all set. There are always a few pieces that just don't break right so they have to be eaten. You know, the really little ones that are just too small to pack. Yummm.

Next year I will do even better and hope that I continue to have the energy and resources to do all this. Because I truly love it.

Giving is the best blessing there is.

Setting the Mood... Christmas in the House

Even older and slower I still like to make the house reflect the happiness of the holidays. Since the kids were little I have tried to make our home memorable at Christmas. I thought that no matter how much or little we actually did on Christmas Day, the house would be as Christmasy as possible to set a mood that they would remember through the years. For me, getting the house into the spirit was how I got myself into the right spirit to celebrate the birth of Christ. I love the look of the tree, and the garlands with their white lights glinting off the ornaments and glittery ribbons. When the room is done, I can sit and enjoy the peace that the lights bring to it. Even the cupboards in the kitchen are usually wrapped for the season. I love making the holidays special for my family and building traditions they will take with them to their homes. Holidays are special times that bring families together and we are able to spend a little time together in this busy world. Fancy or not, I know that the effort we make to have a special feeling in our home is in our memories. We might not remember all the things we get at Christmas, but we remember the season and feeling we had in our home. I love the trappings of Christmas that allow us to set the ordinary things of life aside for a few weeks and enjoy the beauty of all the extra stuff that is making home special.

It took a little longer than I'm used to, but the house looks like Christmas is coming this year. I can now sit and "watch" the tree and enjoy the peace of the season. I remember doing that with Nana in her home and loving that I do that in mine. I love doing that in my kids homes too.



The tree is done, yay. I love looking at the tree and all the memories that brings. I put the tree together by myself this year (in my "impaired" condition) and it's too bad I didn't have a video camera on. We could have won some serious money with it this year. The tree almost won a couple of times, but I did eventually prevail. Jordyn was my finishing up helper this year and did a great job getting the finishing touches just so. She will be an awesome tree doer someday.



It was nice putting garland on a stairway again this year. We had a stairway at the cabin last year, but I didn't get to enjoy it very much as we were only there on weekends. I love the way the garland looks going up the railing. Jordyn was a big help finishing up here too.



The Nativity scene. I love to get this set up and so enjoy looking at it during the season. I finally got one I really love and missed setting it up last year.



The Christmas dishes are out and ready to go. It's no secret I do love my dishes and so mine and Summer's are both out this year and I am loving it.



The cupboards are festive, but just barely. I was having a particularly hard time with the ribbon this year, so in the middle of it all I promised myself I would cut it off the cabinets at the end of the season and burn it. I probably really won't, but I won't use it again next year. I like my ribbon to be obedient, at this one is not. It looks nice done though.



I found this crazy set of boxes a few years ago at Costco. 12 boxes. 12 Days of Christmas on them. I love them and the song too. Even as annoying as it can be.

I love this season. Everything about it.

Feliz Navidad

I hope I spelled that right. Anyway, we were lucky to be hosted by Tawna and Nathan this year for Christmas dinner. She organized and planned the whole thing and just told us what to bring. She hosts about 6 luncheons a year for about 120 people as the PTA Teacher Appreciation Chair and does a great job. Her tree in the pic above was so much fun this year. She was one of the hosts for her ward RS Christmas Progressive Dinner and she had her house looking so cute. No, it was really beautiful. We put envelopes all over her tree for the grandkids to open when the time came.

She and Nathan planned the Mexican Food Menu for us:

Appetizers
Mexican Lasagna
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Tamales, Refried Beans, huge flour tortillas (all from a little place in Phoenix called Carolina's)
Guacamole and other important garnishes
Nana's homemade salsa
Chips
Dessert
Drinks

It was quite a spread. She set pretty tables and even had a kid friendly table and chairs outside on the patio for the kids to enjoy.




Everyone got there and just jumped in with last minute prep. Well, there was a little "Let's figure out these things for our kids” time with R.B. and Nathan.




Dinner was enjoyed by all as seen in the pics below. We sat around afterward and opened a few gifts, enjoyed each other's company and listened to the Happy Noise of the kids playing. Most of it was happy anyway. We gave most of our grandkids a weekend with us at the cabin for their gift. They will come with us by two's to enjoy doing some projects and hanging out here with us. We are looking forward to that. We gave the 3 littlest guys some plate painting time as they were too young to participate in that the year the rest of them did. Chance, Aden and Carson will making customized dishes to add to their families collection. Lauren got a beautiful jeweled box that she really loves. I had bought some star shaped boxes for a "Twelve Days" series a few years ago. I had it out on the end table at the cabin and she just couldn't leave it alone. She thought it was the most beautiful thing ever. I gave it to her for Christmas and she was thrilled. Emmy just got hugs and kisses this year. Next year she will love opening gifts, but this year she had more fun watching everyone and everything else.








Tawna and Nathan gave each one of us an invitation to the dinner they plan for all the adults in January or February. Last year was the first annual, and now the second annual is coming up. We all look forward to that night of fun. They work really hard to ensure the food is excellent and the evening awesome. Can't wait.

We got some really nice things from our kids this year and I hope they know how much we love and appreciate them always. I know every year we all say, "Don't expect much this year, we are broke!" This year was the year that was true for most of us. It just doesn't matter. The Christmas season was the best, the time we spent together priceless and the memories will live on forever. What else could possibly matter? It was much easier to keep Christ at the forefront as He should be. 'Nuff said.