Oh Come Let Us Adore Him

Merry Christmas Eve

The joy of special preparations....

.....and a special surprise. A white Christmas!!

As is our tradition, we saved a snowball for our freezer!

Merry Christmas, one and all!!

Cookies for Eating and Cookies for Building

Today I needed to make a batch of cookies for tonight's scout banquet. Thanks to a blog post on Sara's Art House, I felt inspired to make Corn Flake wreaths. My target audience was young boys, so green and gooey seemed like a spectacular combination. My morning hours were tightly scheduled with activities, but I made a quick dash to the market for ingredients. No red hots at my super market. I decided to drop in at the pharmacy and pick up a prescription that was ready so I could grab some red hots too. No red hots at the pharmacy. At that point, I scoured the candy isle for any red thing that I could reasonably use to decorate a Corn Flake wreath. Hot tamales? M&M's? Jelly beans? It is only when I am extraordinarily pressed for time that I feel a complete freedom to stand in the pharmacy and debate these types of possibilities at length. In my mind, nothing could possibly compare to the red hot, and reminding myself once again that my target audience was young boys, it seemed to be of utmost importance that the Corn Flakes be properly adorned. We all know how young, strapping men carefully scrutinize their baked goods and hold tightly to strict standards of visual aesthetics.

So, me and my busy little self chauffeured the box of corn flakes and bag of mini marshmallows to a third destination where I thankfully secured proper "berries" for my wreath cookies. Who knew red hots were so obscure? Anyway, I love how these little cookies turned out. I think they're very retro. I don't think I've actually seen this cookie since circa 1978. They are not "wreaths" so much as green globs. With red hots. Anyway, thanks, Sara, for the great idea!

Two of Hayden's friends crossed over from cub scouts to boy scouts tonight. After their special little ceremony we had a Christmas celebration with milk and cookies. Look at all the baked goods. How did all the busy homeschooling Moms have time to do all this baking?? I suddenly felt very behind.

Emma was a bit of a drama queen during the cross over ceremony, and when even a shortbread cookie drizzled with fancy pink icing failed to console her, I had to call Oma to come and pick us up early from the party.

Tomorrow the boys have some special visitors coming to help them decorate gingerbread houses. I figured it would be wise to assemble the houses tonight so they would have time to harden before the kids pressed on them with candy. So, after putting my overtired toddler to bed and scraping green marshmallows off my counter tops, I set to work assembling ginger cottages.

The instructions on the gingerbread house box made it look incredibly easy. That is because if they posted pictures of the actual process and provided a detailed description of what you have to go through in real life to get those six pieces of gingerbread to stick together, they would surely never sell a single kit.

I've spent the past hour and a half praying blessings of stable construction over these houses. Once I finally got the roof seam secure on one of my houses I backed up to take a look at the sides, and this is what I saw...

The side walls completely collapsed! Maybe the kids would want to make a diorama instead?? I'm off to fuss and fidget with these a bit longer. When Buzzard mentioned on our way to the scout banquet that he had no interest what-s0-ever in helping to construct these houses I thought he was certainly pulling my leg. Turns out, he wasn't even kidding. He's on the couch watching the history channel and munching on Chex mix while, on the counter top behind him, gingerbread doomsday is playing out. Walls are sliding. Roofs are caving. Royal icing is oozing. I've got to go get these things together and in some form that remotely resembles "upright". After all, I have a whole bowl of red hots just waiting to be used for decorations.

A Family of Friends

Tonight we attended a Christmas party with a group of friends from church. I was exhausted when we left home and only planned to stay at the party for the first few minutes. I intended to bring Emma home and put her to bed early so I could have a little down time. However, once I got there, I had a wonderful time visiting and I ended up staying the entire time. It actually felt very relaxing to sit and watch the kids play and chat with friends. I'm so glad I went.

We do a little gift exchange every year, and this year Emma felt the need to be of assistance. It has taken her no time to catch on to the idea of presents this season, and when she saw all those packages, she immediately concluded that she needed to be part of it!

Her first favorite part of the evening was playing with the rocking reindeer who could light up and sing "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer".

Her second favorite thing was spending time with Hai-Leigh, who is completely adorable and just enough older for Emma to consider her sensationally cool.

Hannah wanted to take little gifts for some of the girls, so we put together mugs of homemade cocoa mix. I know there are lots of versions of this recipe, but we really like this one that came from Miss Suzanne. We always have a container of it in our pantry in the winter months. It makes a HUGE batch, so you have to use a really big bowl and have lots of containers on hand!

Rich and Creamy Cocoa Mix

1 large canister Nestle Quick

1 large container powdered coffee creamer

1/2 large box powdered milk

2 lbs. powdered sugar

We found adorable mugs that were made of glass and etched with snowflakes. We tucked a bag of mix into each mug and tied it with a snowflake garland. They turned out really cute!

We have a tradition in this group that whenever someone celebrates a birthday they have to stand on a chair and spin in a circle while we sing to them. Tonight was Morgan's turn to take a birthday spin, and while I watched that beautiful young woman up on that chair, it made me grateful for the many friends that make our lives so rich.

I sometimes get overdone and grumpy and think I want to crawl off and be by myself for a night. But then I muster the strength to go hang out with these crazy folk and find that time spent in fellowship with those who inspire and encourage and amuse brings refreshment and rest to my soul in a way that being alone just can't do. So tonight I give thanks for the blessing of friendships, and for soaking up enough of their energy to be ready to face a busy week ahead!

GO Cowboys!!!

The New Orleans Saints are undefeated NO MORE. This I know because I had a roaring crowd of sports fans cheering the Dallas Cowboys to victory in my living room tonight. Old Buzzard was in heaven, surrounded by people who really got into the game. Poor guy doesn't get that on a regular basis, although I would like to go on the record as saying I do indeed try, for his benefit, to look up from my embroidery and make a cheerful comment when the Cowboys score touchdowns. But that method of celebrating pales in comparison to the display made by our friends, the S Family and the Y Family. They are genuine fans. Crazy fans. The kind who wear Dallas Cowboy gear and stocking caps, and holler and jump, and transform my family room into the most fun place on earth.

Look at this cute face. This is Gracie. When she gets excited her hair turns bright red. :)

She gets excited when the Cowboys play.

Miss Emma took a shine to Mr. Y, and cozied on up to him to steal his hat.

These fans qualify as crazy. Certifiable. And I can hardly wait to have them back to cheer with us again. GO COWBOYS!

I had a screaming (literally!) good time!

"C" is for "Crafts" and "Chocolate"!

I have a very special collection that is dear to my heart. The trouble is, it stays packed away where it is never seen or enjoyed. Isn't it a bummer how some collections are like that? My little treasure is a box of mismatched buttons that came from my Oma's sewing basket. I'm not at all sure how I first came to own them, but I've had them for years and years. They are in a German Lebkuchen tin, which I'm sure has a story behind it. I bet my Grandparents brought it back from Germany decades ago.

From time to time, when I'm digging in my sewing supplies, I'll lift the lid on the little tin and sift through the colorful, shiny buttons. Their little shapes and bright colors just make me happy. At my quilt shop, I recently saw a little jewelry kit that can be used to make homemade bracelets. I immediately thought about my Oma's little buttons, and instantly knew I'd found a cause worthy of putting my collection to use. I hot glued layers of buttons to the bracelet base to make these sweet little button bracelets! I think they are absolutely charming. I'm going to share them with some family members who loved my Oma as much as I did. I hope they will be a sentimental Christmas surprise!

Tonight we had Nana, Papa, Aunt Sarah, and Papa John over for dinner. Aunt Sarah and Papa John have been Nana and Papa's best friends since the beginning of time. The most wonderful thing about having them all to dinner is that they are a casual crowd. We eat off of paper plates, dim the lights so we're not bothered by the dust, and all pitch in to make the meal happen. We always have a wonderful time when they are here. The two Papas are both engineers, so the guys invariably sit at one end of the table and talk about how things work. Or how they could work. Or how they should work. Whatever. The girls tend to migrate to the other end of the table to swap recipes, share funny stories about kids and grandkids, and laugh at the boys at the other end of the table, who are still debating about who could make it work the best.

Nana brought her scrumptious sausage balls, half of which were made with jalapenos and set my mouth ablaze. Screaming good. Oma made "Heavenly Orange Fluff", and let me just say that they weren't kidding when they named that salad. I made Alpine Chicken, which I dreadfully overcooked. Because they are nice people, no one complained about the fact that it took a steak knife and bulging triceps to cut through the meat, but on a good day, and when you're paying appropriate attention to the kitchen timer, this is a great dish for entertaining. John and Sarah were in charge of dessert, and I'm still thanking my lucky stars that they were, because THIS was the substantial mound of chocolate perfection that arrived through my front door.

Once we all caught sight of this bad boy, dinner was just a formality. A prelude to the real reason for the evening, which was clearly the dessert.

This, my friends, is a seven pound chocolate cake. With chocolate filling. And chocolate icing. And chocolate curls and shavings. Made by chocolate angels in chocolate heaven. Seven pounds?!? Can you say, "Merry Christmas"?

It was a great evening of indulging....and digesting. After everyone left, I found a little surprise that was left on the piano for us. It is an entire tower of candy. My kids went crazy!! I think the chocolate fairies have been working overtime this year, and consequently, I do believe the stretchy pant fairies need to pay me a visit. Good times, good laughs, a roaring fire, and chocolate by the pound. Oh, how I love Christmas!

Alpine Chicken

1 package chicken breasts or tenders

1 package swiss cheese, sliced or shredded

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup cooking sherry (I use about half this much)

1/4 cup water (I increase this slightly)

1 box Stove Top dressing for Chicken

1/4 c. butter (I double this. Just because. More butter always equals better.)

Place chicken in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.

Layer cheese on top.

Mix water, sherry, and soup and pour over chicken.

Mix dressing with melted butter.

Spoon over the chicken.

Cover and bake at 350 for 90 minutes (This is what the recipe says, but this is way too long for boneless and skinless breasts. Decrease the amount of time based on the type of meat you use.)

Uncover for the last 15 minutes of cooking time.

Good served with wild rice.

Heavenly Orange Fluff

1 large box orange jello

2 cups hot water

1/2 cup sugar

Mix until dissolved

Add 6 ounce can frozen orange juice

Cool

Add one large can crushed pineapple with juice and two small cans of oranges, drained.

Chill until set

"Frost" with topping:

1 package instant lemon pudding

1 cup milk

1 t. vanilla

1/2 pint whipping cream, whipped

Christmas Questions

Why is the Christmas moose facing the corner like he is in time out?

Why has Santa been evicted from the sled and cast carelessly aside?

Why does Baby Jesus always seem to be missing from the manger? And when he is there, why is he usually riding the camel?

Oh. This is why.

The garland on my staircase is growing more bald by the day. Somebody keeps plucking leaves and berries right off, and gradually, they have accumulated in little piles on the floor. Yesterday she was trying to shove a clump of berries in the dog's mouth saying, "Apples!!"

These are the moments keeping Christmas real at our house.