The Day After . . .

December 26 . . . the day after Christmas . . . I know a lot of people find it depressing, but to be completely honest, I feel sort of relieved. I'm looking forward to getting the house and our lives back to normal (minus going to work . . . I'm off until next Monday). Right now our house is a wreck. I mean it is a huge mess, but as soon as I finish this, I plan on getting to work cleaning it up. All the Christmas stuff will go back into hiding until next year.

We had a great Christmas, and Andrew got more toys than any child should ever get. I mean seriously ridiculous. And he's still singing "Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell" this morning. He'll probably be singing it in July.

And now here are 26,000 a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Christmas Eve at my parents' house

We were able to restrain the boys for one decent picture.

Bored . . . when can we open our presents?

Come on people, these presents aren't opening themselves . . .

The reason we weren't opening presents . . . we were consuming massive quantities of food.

My wonderful grandmothers

Finally, presents . . . let the games begin!

Leaving milk and cookies for Santa.

The jet had to be in at least one picture.

And a picture with all the dinosaurs (in full fighting gear) was also necessary.

Right before bed.

Santa made it and left plenty of loot.

I interrupt this program to let you know that there are no pictures of lunch at my parents'. Between the insanity of getting ready for church and out the door on time, I failed to grab my camera. It wasn't anything too exciting . . . just more food.

Christmas night at our house with Patrick's side of the family. There is an intense video game battle going on here.

Pre-presents . . .

Post-presents . . .

And now it's time to clean up the mess.

Merry Christmas

Luke 2:1-21

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
 ²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
 ³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
 ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
 ⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
 ⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
 ⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
 ⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
 ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
 ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
 ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
 ¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
 ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
 ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
 ¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
 ¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
 ¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
 ¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
 ¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
 ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
 ²¹And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Twas the Night Before Christmas . . .

Twas the night before Christmas and all through our home
Not a creature was stirring not even a cell phone

The stockings were hung by the chimney with love
And all present were thankful for blessings from above

Santa had made his quick cheery appearance
The cookies were eaten
The bike was in attendance

We all snuggled down in our warm soft beds
And thought of a Saviour born without a place to lay his head

He came to this earth on a clear starry night
Born in a stable without fuss or fight

The angels assembled to sing His great praises
The shepherds bowed down to worship in amazement

Mary held this all close in her heart and her mind
And wondered what surprises in His life she might find

And now as we gather to eat and celebrate
Let us remember the reason we come together on this great date

He came to bring us forgiveness and unconditional love
To change our hearts with His light from above

He calls us each to live in worship to Him
To a life that is washed from darkness and sin

And so we exclaim in on Joy this day
Happy Christmas to all
And thank God for a babe, born in a stable, in the hay

Christmas Night Menu

The "Christmas Conundrum" has been solved, and my Christmas night menu is planned and ready to execute. I'm keeping it simple because we are having lunch at my parents' (prime rib . . . heavenly, heavenly, heavenly) and won't be home until around 4:00 Christmas afternoon. Plus I like Christmas night to be laid back and cozy, and I think this meal fits the bill. I'll have time to do the prep work Christmas Eve, and I'll throw everything in the crockpot Christmas morning before we hit the road.

So with the help of Pinterest I was able to form my Christmas night menu. I like to have something out for everyone to snack on when they first arrive so I thought I'd keep it simple with crackers and brie and maybe a little fruit. For dinner we're having crockpot potato soup (which I've never made before so I hope it's decent) and ham and cheese sliders.

Source: bettycrocker.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Courtney on Pinterest

I think that for the soup I'm going to add ham instead of bacon to make it a little more hearty. I'm also eliminating the poppyseeds and onions from the sliders since I'm not sure they'd be a hit with the kiddos, and I'm basically just going to pour melted butter over the top before baking. I'm also doing one pan with swiss cheese and one with american to make sure that everyone is happy.

For dessert my mother-in-law and sister-in-law are bringing something sweet, and I grabbed a Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake which is currently in our freezer. I also have the gingerbread men I baked and decorated completely on my own the other night since someone who shall remain nameless decided he was no longer interested . . . ahem . . . Andrew.

Obviously this is going to be an extremely "cheesy" meal. No pun intended. But I figure if you want to make most people happy just add cheese and butter, and you have a hit.

Anyone care to share their Christmas Eve/Day meal plans?

His Name Shall Be Called . . .

We live in a world that is searching for peace. Even Christians run around frazzled, burnt-out, tired . . . Why? Because, we've forgotten the true reason for it all. It all comes down to a baby, born in a barn (a stable . . . a manger . . . a barn). It comes down to our extraordinary God . . . the one true God . . . who chose to come to Earth and live what some would call a rather ordinary life so that we can be saved. It comes down to a Man (who was so much more than a man) who gave His life on a cross so that we might be forgiven and live in peace. It all comes down to Jesus. Jesus . . . God in human form . . . the Light of the World . . . our Saviour . . .

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)

What We Did Today (Also Entitled: Why I Will Stare At You if You're Wearing a Face Mask in Public)

Yikes! Ridiculously long title.

Today Sarah and I took the boys to a movie and out to lunch before all the Christmas madness begins. We also made them do a small amount of shopping with us. Nothing too complicated, just Sam's and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Seriously though, it's about all I could take. I thought that maybe on a Monday afternoon there wouldn't be too many crowds. Wrong. It was a madhouse.

Whilst checking out at Sam's, I looked across the way and saw a lady holding a mask over her face. Of course, my curiosity was piqued, and I proceeded to stare at her without shame (yes, I know that's extremely tacky, and no, I wasn't as blatant as I sound). I had already seen her around the store, and she had not had a mask on any of the times I had passed her and been sharing an airspace with her. At first, I thought she may just be a huge hypochondriac like myself and didn't want to catch anything. But then she took off the mask to talk to the checker, and everytime she spoke, she covered her mouth with her wallet. But alas, I suppose the wallet wasn't good enough because she started covering her mouth with her hand, and then she would take her hand away from her mouth and touch the keypad. You know, because covering your mouth does a whole lot of good when you turn around and touch everything within reach. Y'all I kid you not, I would not have been able to stand there and continue checking her out as if nothing was wrong. Clearly she had some sort of contagious ailment, and all I could think about was "Contagion". Which I didn't actually watch by the way. Really people, if you are sick enough to require a face mask, keep yourself at home and don't contaminate the rest of the free world. Thank you.

In less traumatizing news, Andrew apparently thinks I'm completely deaf because he has now told three different people, within six feet of me, exactly what he got me for Christmas. And then he says, "Shhhh, don't tell my Mommy!" Ummm, hello child I'm standing right here. And he got me a red, flower necklace from the costume jewelry section of JcPenney's. He showed it to me before he hid it from me and headed off with my mom to buy it. He doesn't get it.

A Letter To My Daughter

Dear Sweet Little Girl,

As we sit here preparing to celebrate another Christmas, I look forward to the day when you will be in my arms. I look forward to the day when you are part of our Christmas cards, our Christmas pictures, our Christmas memories. I look forward to the day when I can see your little face light up at the lights and presents under the tree.

I pray that someone is rocking you and holding you close today. I pray that your clothes are warm and your tummy is full. I pray that receive a Christmas gift and know the love of Jesus this Christmas. I pray that God will send his angels to guard and protect you.

It seems so strange that you can miss someone you've never met, but I do miss you. And I long for the day when you are here. You are already a part of our family. You already live in our dreams and in our hearts. I love little girl, and I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Love,

Mommy

Christmas Conundrum

Every year since Andrew was born we've hosted a Christmas dinner for Patrick's side of the family. Usually it's on Christmas night (except for the first year because my sister-in-law was pregnant, and Christmas was too close to her due date). The first year we had a full ham dinner with all the sides and desserts, the second year we had lasagna, the third year we had soup and sandwiches, and last year we had lasagna (again).

I love having dinner at our house, and I love having everyone over. But this year I have a problem, and I blame it completely on Pinterest. I normally don't spend a whole lot of time on Pinterest, but here lately, I've been looking for recipes, and good grief, have I found recipes galore. And then my cousin and my sister keep repinning recipes, and as a result, I keep adding to and changing my menu. I think we're going to have a smorgasbord of different foods, but I may change my mind again. No matter what we have, it will be fun to just have everyone over and together. But seriously, if you have to make any sort of logical decision, stay away from Pinterest.

I mentioned on Twitter the other night that Patrick got me an early Christmas present. Most of you know I don't really like Ikea (as always no offense to anyone), and I hate that you have to walk 650 miles through the whole store to get to the end of the yellow brick road, and honestly, I'm just not impressed with the overall quality of their stuff (wow! major run-on). But there was this one small island that I really liked. It's all wood, and it's the perfect size for my kitchen. We went to get it back in September, but they were out of stock. Since it's a long drive, and since Patrick and I both hate Ikea, I had kind of given up on the idea of getting it. Anyway, the other day, Patrick had to go to Austin for something related to Real Estate, and he drove all the way to Round Rock and came home with this. If that isn't romance then I don't know what is!

And it now sits assembled in my kitchen. I'm so happy. It fits perfectly, and I now have something on which to roll out dough. Score! (You know, because I spend so much time rolling out dough.) And once again I must reiterate, if you love Ikea please don't be offended. I just can't bring myself to love that store.

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

This morning was Breakfast with Santa, and so we got up bright and early and headed to meet the big man himself. Andrew was really excited, and Anthony informed me he was just going to stand beside Santa. Maybe shake his hand . . . I think he's on to us . . . oh and I made the part about shaking his hand up. But seriously, I think he's super suspicious. :(

One of the things I love about Breakfast with Santa is that it's not just throw your kid in Santa's lap, snap a picture, and on to the next kid. Remember the scene from "A Christmas Story"? It's the polar opposite of that. It's more like a conversation with Santa, and they take a ton of pictures and then hand you a c.d. to do with as you please. And then you get to eat pancakes, with sprinkles, chocolate, and whipped cream. What more could you ask for?

Please excuse all the pictures. I couldn't decide which ones to post so I posted them all.

This was a very deep, highly intellectual, intensely philosophical conversation about a Spiderman Bicycle. (Yes I overdid it on the adjectives.)

Anthony wasn't too thrilled about this. He was coerced by one of the nice ladies to "just sit on Santa's lap for a second." Then he was trapped. Oh and none of the pictures of the two of them with Santa were very good. It was like everyone was looking in twelve different directions.

I should also add that I didn't really check Anthony's hair this morning to see if it was laying down. Oops. Hope you're having fun in Vegas Sarah! ;)

Anthony is 8 not 28. He's just really tall.

After Santa we met up with my Mom and went on a shopping marathon. At least with two boys it seemed like a marathon. Not to mention that the stores were packed, and it's been a while since I've been shopping with my Mom. I'm a grab and go shopper. Mom? Not so much. But it was a lot of fun. And now I'm going to collapse.

Christmas Countdown

Another family with our agency received a referral for a toddler/preschool age little girl. Woohoo! I don't know many details, but it's always good to hear that those referrals are coming in.

We are definitely on the Christmas Countdown train at our house. Andrew can't wait until Santa comes to visit. He has informed me that he is "staying awake to catch Santa". I know kids have been plotting and planning this for years, but my child has an amazing capacity to keep himself awake. I'm hoping that the threat of Santa not coming if he's not asleep will stop this from being a problem. Otherwise the night before Christmas will be one late night in our house.

Tomorrow we're going to visit Santa. Yay! Andrew's really excited this year, and I think that he'll actually enjoy it. His first Christmas he was too tiny to see Santa. The last few Christmases he was excited until he got into Santa's lap, and then he froze. Hopefully, this year he'll actually talk and lose the deer in the headlights look.

Patrick and I are going to our first official Christmas Party tonight, and I have this really cute sweater dress I got from Banana Republic that I want to wear. But the weather here is kind of cool, and the party is sort of inside/outside so I'm afraid I'll freeze to death. Would it be totally inappropriate to wear my sweats?

Well I'm off to make myself presentable. My hair is super wild today, so hopefully I can tame it a little bit. Have a great evening everyone.

How We Do Christmas (and a Christmas Wish for You and Yours)

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. I love to decorate, I love to eat, I love to wrap (and unwrap) gifts, I love to celebrate in every way possible.

Of course, first and foremost we focus on the real reason for Christmas, the birth of Jesus. We live in a world that tries very hard to celebrate Christmas without Christ. I'm not really sure how it possible to do that, but it's done. In our home, we read about the birth of Jesus. We talk about why He came to the Earth. Andrew has started asking a lot of questions about Jesus and who He is, and with it being Christmastime we've spent a lot of time talking about Jesus's birth, life, death, and resurrection. We really work to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas and the importance of giving to others because Jesus was given to us.

One of the ways we give to others is by packing the Operation Christmas Child boxes. We do this every year. I don't tell you this to "toot my own horn" or to say "look at the awesome givers we are", but to share a great way to teach your children to give to others. This was the first year that Andrew was really involved in packing the boxes, and he helped me pick out a lot of what went in each one. I'll admit that the whole process was a lot like having surgery without any anesthetic, but we (both) survived and lived to tell about it. And hopefully my child has a better understanding of the importance of giving to others.

We also do all the traditional Christmas stuff. We do believe in Santa (at least Andrew does). Patrick and I were raised differently in this regard, but in the end we've decided that as long as Christmas doesn't revolve around Santa then no harm is done. Santa brings one big gift and fills Andrew's stocking each year. The rest of the gifts come from Mommy and Daddy or various other extended family members (and believe me there are a lot). I know that many people choose not to do the Santa thing, and that's fine with me. I have friends and family that choose not to. The only thing I've ever asked is that they respect our decision to include Santa as part of our Christmas traditions.

Of course there are always gifts. I know quite a few people that say they are trying to move away from gift giving at Christmas, and they limit it to one gift or just a couple small gifts. While I see their point, I think you can give your child gifts without taking away from the real meaning of Christmas. I'm not saying go overboard or be too excessive, and this year we are trying to reign it in a bit, because honestly, the kid has too many stinkin' toys. But again, we have a huge family so I'm sure Andrew will get more than he needs.

Patrick and I usually do one or two small gifts for one another. We tend to buy what we want throughout the year so it's kind of hard to find gifts for each other at Christmas. This year I showed him exactly what I wanted so as not to cause any confusion. ;)

Our traditions leading up to Christmas are pretty simple. Every year for the past few years, we've taken Andrew to the Dickens Christmas Parade our town has, and this will the second year we do Breakfast with Santa, which is a lot of fun. We also have a Christmas Countdown Calendar. Everyday, Andrew moves the candy cane up one day. This has really helped with the, "how many days 'til Christmas?" question. Also, we always open one present on Christmas Eve. Traditionally, it's Christmas p.j.s, but then I had an "aha" moment and thought, "Why not let Andrew actually wear his Christmas pajamas before Christmas?" So, this year I'll pick a small toy or book for him to open before Christmas. Andrew has also requested that we make gingerbread men this year, so between all the Christmas parties and busy-ness, I'm going to attempt making gingerbread men, and I'll let him decorate them. This has huge potential to be a disaster.

So that's how we "do" Christmas in a very long drawn out post. I hope and pray that you and your family enjoy a very blessed and Merry Christmas season.  

(Our Christmas Card comes from Shutterfly.)

The Best Part of Waking Up . . .

Is fire ants in your pantry. No really that's what I woke up to this morning. We've actually gotten some rain here lately. It rained on and off all day yesterday and is raining again this morning. Yay! for rain. Boo! for fire ants. When we have rain following long periods of no rain the fire ants emerge from deep in the ground and take over. And somehow they found their way into my pantry (which is not on an outside wall but whatever). Thankfully, they didn't get into anything major (food), but they were all over the floor. I hate fire ants . . .

Last night we went to Dickens on the Square which is a little Christmas festival our town puts on every year. Friday night kicks it of with a lighted parade. People decorate trailers and trucks and tractors with lights and kids pile in and on everything, and we have a parade. It's not the most . . . ummmm . . . elaborate (yes, elaborate is a very good word) parade you'll ever see, but it's cute and fun. The parade officiants and the mayor dress up in Dickens period costumes (just a fun fact, the town mayor is also our dentist). Santa even makes an appearance . . . sort of. Since it's a "Dickens" theme he's really Father Christmas, and he dresses differently. Andrew kept screaming, "That's not the real Santa. When can I see the real Santa?" I promise no one stared at us strangely (and if you believe that . . .).

I took my camera but forgot my memory card. Story of my life, but I do have a very small amount of memory built into my camera. Unfortunately, I can't find the cord to my camera so no pics. Sorry.

Here's a cute picture of Andrew with his new light up sword. Yes, I caved and bought him a junk toy. He kept asking for a lightsaber. How could I refuse? He has a new found love for Star Wars. I don't know if I've ever been prouder. (He hasn't actually watched an entire movie, but one day soon my friends . . . one day soon.)

Next week I'm taking Andrew and Anthony to Breakfast with Santa (Sarah and Hector are going to Vegas so I'm in charge of the Santa visit). Anyway, we'll get to see the "real" Santa, and I hope Andrew doesn't change his wish list. If he does, I'll have to go shopping again or risk blowing Santa's cover. ;) I promise I'll have pictures from that. The people there take them and hand you a c.d. I don't think I can mess that up, but that remains to be seen.

Have a good weekend everyone. Only three weeks until Christmas!

Stuff

Edit: In order to see the link to the song click on the word youtube.

It's been kind of a rough day back. Nothing major just a lot of minor stuff. That's all. I don't really like asking for this because I prefer to seem like I've got it all together, but if you've got a moment and feel so inclined would you please say a quick prayer for me? Sometimes all that minor "stuff" can really start to wear on a person.

I'm pretty tired and don't have much to say so I thought I'd share this youtube link to one of my favorite Christmas songs. For the most part I'm a Christmas music purist. I prefer the traditional songs, but occasionally (very occasionally) something new catches my ear. This isn't normally a Christmas Song, and it's certainly not traditional. It's also not new. It's just done in a new way. It's (based on) Pachelbel's Canon in D and is performed by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (I think it's called the Canon Christmas Rock). Anyway, I love it. (Also this isn't a "wedding" song . . . my husband seems to think it is since it's very popular at weddings. Sorry had to throw that in there.)

Hope everyone had a fantastic start to their week.