Merry Christmas to you and yours! I pray that you are experiencing the continued blessings of this Christmas season.
We had a yucky virus run through our house (and continues to do so). Between sore throats, congested heads, coughs and fevers, we made the best of it.
Do you have a special gift exchange in your house? My children draw names on Thanksgiving day and gift that sibling with something special. My older girls also enjoy buying something special for one another - they're close that way.
What I LOVE the most is the thoughtfulness that goes in when picking out each gift - and they spend their own money on these gifts!
Miss Ester gave Mabel a beautiful necklace.
Sarah received a cool make-up mirror from Miss Mabel.
Sarah had Miss Clementine's name and gave her the unicorn pajamas that had been placed on the top of her wish list.
Miss Clementine gifted Stan the man with a BB8 toy and a binder to hold some game cards.
Stan the man gifted Miss Ester with a new pull-over to go running in.
And then Miss Clementine INSISTED that David and I open our gifts she picked out for us from her. She was so excited and her joy was just overflowing :)
I LOVE her face as she watched for my reaction! I needed a new star for the tree, and she did a great job picking one out!
It is not the size, quantity, or quality of the gift(s), but the joy that one receives as the gift is given with such love.
While she was thinking about what to give her daddy (which she was very determined to find just the "right" gift) the idea of a beard grooming kit came up. This was perfect for him!
The rest of the gifts would wait to be opened until Christmas morning.
Then Miss Mabel made these scrumptious White Chocolate & Raspberry scones for breakfast!
I couldn't taste or smell anything (you know how awful that is at Christmas time??) and was disappointed I missed out on these morsels.
I crawled into bed for rest, as did Miss Clementine, while the others finished their preparation for the following day, Christmas Day.
My husband makes awesome Irish coffees, and when you can't taste, it really doesn't matter how much whiskey is poured in ;)
Christmas Eve dinner. What do y'all do?
We typically have a light dinner of homemade soup and bread, crackers and cheese balls, and party meatballs.
Dessert was basic since I was sick. Miss Mabel found these String-of-Light cupcakes on Pinterest and put them together. I also had some peppermint ice cream on the side.
Christmas Mass. What is your family tradition? We change ours around every so often as the kids enter different stages of life. I'm sure a lot of folks do that.
Our church had a beautiful 10:00 pm Christmas Vigil that I was really hoping to attend, but Miss Clementine and I were too sick.
So David and the four older kids attended (Stan served and David and girls were asked to bring up the infant Jesus).
Aren't they all grown-up looking??!!
Her daddy got her all settled in to follow Santa on Santa Tracker before he left for Mass.
While the older ones were at Mass and sweet baby-girl was asleep in her bed, Santa arrived and the magic of the night was on full display.
Silent night. Holy night. All is calm. All is bright.
~ Patty ~
reade more...
We had a yucky virus run through our house (and continues to do so). Between sore throats, congested heads, coughs and fevers, we made the best of it.
Do you have a special gift exchange in your house? My children draw names on Thanksgiving day and gift that sibling with something special. My older girls also enjoy buying something special for one another - they're close that way.
What I LOVE the most is the thoughtfulness that goes in when picking out each gift - and they spend their own money on these gifts!
And then Miss Clementine INSISTED that David and I open our gifts she picked out for us from her. She was so excited and her joy was just overflowing :)
I LOVE her face as she watched for my reaction! I needed a new star for the tree, and she did a great job picking one out!
It is not the size, quantity, or quality of the gift(s), but the joy that one receives as the gift is given with such love.
While she was thinking about what to give her daddy (which she was very determined to find just the "right" gift) the idea of a beard grooming kit came up. This was perfect for him!
The rest of the gifts would wait to be opened until Christmas morning.
Then Miss Mabel made these scrumptious White Chocolate & Raspberry scones for breakfast!
I couldn't taste or smell anything (you know how awful that is at Christmas time??) and was disappointed I missed out on these morsels.
I crawled into bed for rest, as did Miss Clementine, while the others finished their preparation for the following day, Christmas Day.
My husband makes awesome Irish coffees, and when you can't taste, it really doesn't matter how much whiskey is poured in ;)
Christmas Eve dinner. What do y'all do?
We typically have a light dinner of homemade soup and bread, crackers and cheese balls, and party meatballs.
Dessert was basic since I was sick. Miss Mabel found these String-of-Light cupcakes on Pinterest and put them together. I also had some peppermint ice cream on the side.
Christmas Mass. What is your family tradition? We change ours around every so often as the kids enter different stages of life. I'm sure a lot of folks do that.
Our church had a beautiful 10:00 pm Christmas Vigil that I was really hoping to attend, but Miss Clementine and I were too sick.
So David and the four older kids attended (Stan served and David and girls were asked to bring up the infant Jesus).
Aren't they all grown-up looking??!!
Her daddy got her all settled in to follow Santa on Santa Tracker before he left for Mass.
While the older ones were at Mass and sweet baby-girl was asleep in her bed, Santa arrived and the magic of the night was on full display.
Silent night. Holy night. All is calm. All is bright.
~ Patty ~
