Christmas Day 2017

Oh my gosh!  I just love having a little one in the house who keeps the magic alive ;)

Miss Clementine was up by 5:45 am.  She was so excited to see what Santa had brought and that he had eaten a couple of cookies and drank the milk that was left out!

We tried letting the big kids sleep another half hour before my little one's patience ran out.

So it was onto opening all the gifts Santa left as well as the love that Mom and Dad packaged up to the kids, and gifts from Grammy.

By the time it was all over, baby girl was running a yucky temperature and ended up falling asleep in her new tepee.  Poor thing :(

While the rest were looking at their new treasures or taking a nap, I made some pancakes and bacon.  All the fruit and whip cream that was suppose to go with them??  Forgot about due to my medicine-induced, brain fog.  Oh well.

At some point, Miss Clementine got dressed and played with a few of her new toys.

But exhaustion took over and I eventually found her like this ::

I put together a vegetable tray to tide us over until Christmas dinner was served.  For dinner we had a Christmas ham, sweet potato casserole, bean casserole, and a new recipe, cream corn casserole.  (It was good, and I will post it later!!)

As for dessert, all I could muster was mini-cheesecakes (which we had made the day before).

You know what stunk for me?  No smelling or tasting anything Christmas.  I kind of wish I could get a do-over with the food ;)

Even with all the illness, it was still a wonderful Christmas Day!

And since then, we have been living slowly in between then and now, celebrating the 12 days of Christmas (the decorations come down this Sunday, Epiphany Sunday).

We are starting to return to the land of living; I'm keeping reality from seeping in at an unhurried pace.

Joy to the world!  Our Lord has come!

~ Patty ~

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Merry Christmas (Eve) 2017

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 ~

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Advent 2017 ~ Catholic Sistas Photo Challenge (Days 18-23)

Day 18 : Nativity -  It's hard to keep little ones focused on the holy aspect of Christmas, the birth of our Savior, but #nativity sets for little hands make it more tangible.

Day 19 : Tree - Every ornament on the #tree has a story.  Each year, I'm reminded of how quickly time is passing.

Day 20 : Love - I #love having all my elves home under one roof!  They've been busy hanging out together baking, visiting friends, or going places for the past week.  (gingerbread, compliments of Miss Mabel)

Day 21 : Promise - missed this day

Day 22 : Abstain - Cheese pizza tonight because it is Friday and I try to #abstain from meat outside of Lent.  Kind of hit or miss around here. ;)

Day 23 : movie - It's been a Christmas #movie marathon at our house (since before Thanksgiving ;)

~ 2017 Catholic Sistas Advent Photo Challenge Link Up ~ #CSAdvent 

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Advent 2017 ~ Catholic Sistas Photo Challenge (Days 14-17)

Day 14 : TBT Childhood Christmas photo - I live too far from my childhood home to search for a picture (even though my memory is overflowing with images of Christmas past), so I chose one from 2001, the year we spent Christmas in Cancun.  It was filled with peace and tranquility.  #TBTchildhoodChristmasphoto

Day 15 : Reflect - May sister, Mary, sent Advent Christmas Reflections to me this year.  It's made a beautiful addition to #reflect on this Advent.  #reflect

Day 16 : Tradition - One Advent #tradition of mine has been to buy Winter Wonderland scented candle (by Village Candle) for almost 25 years.  You can now find the collection on Amazon.  That's a good thing because this is last year's and I need a new one!  #tradition

Day 17 : Rose - #rose velour, Christmas dress for Miss Clementine.  I LOVE little girls in dresses!
#Rose

~ 2017 Catholic Sistas Advent Photo Challenge Link-up ~ #CSAdvent 

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Mid-December Daybook Post

Outside my window ~

Taking in the Christmas lights on the feast of St. Lucy (Lucia, which means "light").

St. Lucy (Lucia) was a Christian born in Sicily a couple hundred years after the death of Christ.  She secretly dedicated her life to Christ.  This was secretly done since it was illegal to be a Christian at that time.  During her youth, she would feed the hungry and help the poor.  As a beautiful young lady, a Roman soldier wanted to marry her.  When he grew angry with her refusal, he reported her as a Christian and she was arrested.  During her persecution, she lost her eye sight.  Miraculously they were healed.  After numerous, failed attempts to murder her, the soldiers eventually succeeded.  St. Lucy died a martyr's death.  She is the patron saint of people with vision problems.

The Catholic Sistas Advent Photo Challenge yesterday was #lights.  You can find more of their challenge here.

I am thankful for ~

these kiddos singing Christmas carols for the residents in a local nursing home.

From the school room ~

Still working on the Bio Lab hours.  This one will be working on some dissections to do over Christmas break while big sister is home from college.

The BIGGEST change I made this year was scheduling semester exams after Christmas break.  It has been far less stressful leading up to Christmas this year.  A good move!

From the kitchen ~

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies!!

What I am reading ~

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Richard Paul Evans Christmas books!!

Around the house ~

Our newest Christmas book for our Christmas book bin ::

The newest ornaments from our trip to the beach this past summer ::

And Miss Clementine gave me this jelly fish ornament on Mother's Day (when we were at the beach).

I am taking part in another saint peg doll exchange.  It will be the end of January.  I chose St. Maria Goretti because she is my Confirmation saint (and I have a daughter with that name ;)

I decided to host a painting party here on Sunday evening with the moms who are participating.  Whoever can come... in sweatpants ;)

Miss Clementine had her Little Flower Christmas cookie exchange a couple of weeks ago :)

Stan the man received his bottom braces the beginning of December.

I am praying for ~

* our souls in purgatory

* for those who have no one to pray for them

* my family

* all those who have asked me to pray for them

I am listening to ~

My dryer and dishwasher.  It seems like my washer & dryer and dishwasher are always running.  I am so grateful for these modern appliances!

Coming down the pike this week ~

Thursday - Sarah is on her way home from college as I type!!  She finished last week but needed to stay to work at her job until today.

Friday - Last day of class till after Christmas break.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - Christmas parties!!!

A last photo to share ~

Someone received a short haircut!

The other day she told me she wanted it to her chin.  I thought I had better take her in before she cut it herself!  ha ha!

Continued Advent blessings to you all!

Patty 

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