Christmas 2010

The kiddos in their new PJs

My handsome sleep-deprived hubby

Meet Gabby, our new calico kitty

Ike's new Army helmet and holster via the Army Surplus Store

Izzy's new baby cow

Meet Pretty, our new horse

Christmas Eve 2010

Although our Christmas morning (Dec. 22) actually happened before the real Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), I'm posting both our Christmas Eve (Dec. 21) and the real Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) just to confuse you. How's that? You're welcome.

On the real Christmas Eve, we attended our church's Candlelight Service. We took some pictures before going. They were having three services. We got there early but it was still packed. The four of us sat in two seats and there were still people standing along the sides and back. This was our second such service at our church. We laughed. We cried. We sang. And then we ate prime rib (not at the church). It was awesome.

On our Christmas Eve, we went to a PJ party at Chick Fil A. They had some high school kids singing carols, a lady making balloon animals, crafts, games, Santa Cow, and free kids' meals.  The kids didn't know we were doing Christmas early so letting them open their PJs early so they could wear them to the PJ party was perfect timing and a brilliant plan. It was like Christmas Eve without all the excitement and anticipation and childhood insomnia. See? Brilliant! Right?

Did you notice the bare feet? Sort of reminded me of a ski bum. But they played and sang good!

So, I wanted to take a picture of my kiddos with Santa Cow. If you know them at all, you know they HATE anybody in a cartoon-like suit. Santa and Santa Cow included. They know they are just real people dressed in suits. Somehow, they have developed this irrational fear of them, similar to how some adults feel about clowns. How did I talk them into letting me take their picture not just sitting with Santa Cow; but smiling? Here's the thing. I told them if they did, they could open a present the next day. Remember me telling you that I failed to inform them that the next day was our Christmas? Yeah. They figured it all out the next day. Evidently, the evil grin I gave Mac didn't register until the next day. Somehow, though, they found it in their hearts to let me off the hook. Maybe the bribery worked after all! I have to admit; it is getting harder to pull one over on them. They are getting smart to my ways.

 



What God Wants For Christmas

Have you seen this little nativity set? I bought this one about four years ago and it is still the highlight of my kids' Christmas experience. I think it is less than $20 and comes in a nice little compact box. I think you can find it at Walmart or Hallmark. You can also order it online at http://www.familylife.com/

It provides a box you can open starting a week before Christmas. It also comes with a booklet with some Bible verses to go with each figure found it the box.

At the end of the week you have an adorable (and durable) nativity set for the kiddos to play with. The last box is a surprise and I won't ruin it for you. It is what God really wants for Christmas, of course.

If you are looking for something that brings the focus of Christmas back on Christ, this would definitely fit the bill. It is also simple and understandable for the youngest in your family. As my kiddos have gotten older, I've had them start reading the Bible verses and little poem found in the booklet. I hope they never tire of this little tradition of ours.

Christmas is a'coming

I got a late start this morning. MacGyver had today off and we didn't have to jump out of bed and attack the world. My morning coffee was about 9:30 in fact. But when I bundled up to go out to feed the horses, I was shocked to find that it was already 52 degrees outside and was instantly surprised and excited. We've been putting off getting our tree for several reasons. We've had a hard time lining up several things...time, lack of snow and freezing temperatures, Mac's days off, time (which seems to be short these days), and no agenda or kids' activities. Today seemed to be that day. I almost pushed Mac out of bed. He didn't seem to want to budge. So this is how much I packed into today from about 9:30-7:00. Got breakfast, cleaned house, did two loads of laundry, made 2 roasted chickens, spent 2 hours putting 5 rim joists about twenty feet into the air, wandered around the property and found 2 Christmas trees (will explain below), spent an hour locating and digging out our Christmas trunks from the storage shed, cut and stacked several trees, finished dinner, made dinner for the next night and spent an hour cleaning up that mess. I just sat down to listen to some Christmas music and eating some of my leftover gluten free pumpkin pie which happens to be delicious. The kiddos are playing with the Christmas train and setting up the track. MacGyver is trying to see which of our lights work so he can string the tree. Whew! What a day.

So, the 2 Christmas trees. Our goal was to cut one tree. Unfortunately, the first tree we cut was perfect except for one fatal flaw...the pine needles were just that...needles. Four of the fingers on my left hand were stabbed trying to hold it while Mac cut it. It wasn't until it was cut and loaded on the truck that I began to question the sanity of such a sharp tree when nobody would want to get within 2 feet of it and I wasn't sure it would ever get decorated. Therefore, we continued the hunt for the perfect tree. This time we set out for the touch test before deciding which one was "the one". True to history, we cut a 40' tree and had to cut it down to a size that would fit in our tiny cabin. We cut the rest of the trunk, and some other brush that was evidently bothering my hubby, and he decided to keep going and spent another hour cutting up some of the other wood in our pile. We're planning on cutting up the razor tree for firewood, as well. The second tree is truly beautiful.  I think it might just be might favorite one so far. Full, round and soft. Very soft. What more could a girl want?

Being so patient waiting to go cut our tree

Both trees and some extra greenery for the front porch

Cut down to size

Izzy all excited to put the tree up

Ike trying to play it cool

So, dinner. I'm trying to go completely gluten free. I'm pretty certain I've got gluten issues. Izzy, too. I picked up 2 whole chickens that were on sale and decided to roast them so I could cook them at the same time. Normally, I would throw them on the rotisserie in our dual function toaster oven. This is my favorite way to cook a whole chicken. But I knew I wouldn't be around to babysit it. I had places to go, things to do. Plus, I love my retro roaster I picked up for something like $13 at a local antique store, The Barn, in Castle Rock. Love that place! I just love the design on the bottom. Isn't it cool?

Anyway, I tried some new gluten free garlic risotto and made some parmesan green beans, cranberry apple jello and sweet tea. Have you ever made that jello? I stole it from my MIL and I crave it this time of the year. It's just lemon jello, cranberry sauce and diced apples. You can throw in pecans or walnuts if you feel crazy. This stuff rocks. I've seen it with strawberry jello, as well. Good, too.

Obviously, we had a bunch of chicken left over (my plan). I pulled the chicken off the bone and put some of it aside for another dinner and finished boiling the bones to make some more broth. And then I looked at all the leftovers I had, the report for snow tomorrow, and all that chicken I just made and that leftover ham from Thanksgiving. And I started thinking about Brunswick Stew. I start craving that, as well, in the fall and winter. Ever had it? I'm a Georgia girl. It was a staple growing up. It is a barbecue based stew that we used to throw in a crockpot with whatever leftovers you have. I'm sure at some point in my childhood squirrel or rabbit found its way into the pot. I personally have never chosen to eat or cook either of said wild game. This is basically what I put in it but can be substituted with whatever leftovers you have (even squirrel or rabbit if that is how you roll).

Chicken
Beef
Pork or Ham
Chicken broth
Potatoes
Okra
Lima beans (not my favorite)
Corn
Green beans
Onions
Celery
Garlic
Canned tomatoes
*Liquid smoke
*Brown sugar
*Worchestershire
*Tobasco
(*or bbq sauce instead of the previous four if this scares you or you don't have)
Salt and pepper to taste

I cook it all day and then blend it up sort of chunky with my submersible blender but that isn't necessary. I make a big pot of it and freeze it for another day. Like chili, it just gets better and better. Add some creamed-corn cornbread and you've got a meal made for a...Georgia Girl. Not many people in Colorado have ever had or even heard of such a dish. They just don't know what they are missing! Yum!

Christmas Morning

We have always loved Christmas morning. It is soooo much fun!

Maggie and I think it is time for naps, though!

We hope everyone had a wonderfully Merry Christmas!

    Christmas Eve PJ's!                                                      So exhausted!

New camo backpack and grenade!                    New bitty baby!

A Moment of Reflection

As we were coming back from our Christmas Eve candlelight service tonight, we were talking about how all of those tiny little candles made our church full of light, enough that you could read by. We were discussing how each one of us can make such a difference in the world with the little light we have; and as we pulled into the driveway I noticed how the moon was reflecting off the new snowfall and made it look like thousands of tiny little stars were winking and blinking. And when I heard a new song on KLOVE a poem sprang into life and I had to jump out of bed and write it down:

reflections of the moon

starlight on the snow

a catch in your breath

to see it all aglow

quiet all around

peace on earth tonight

jesus the babe is born

all around is light

a whisper, now a hush

has fallen upon the ground

on heaven, on earth

what wonder and awe abound

his presence is with us

his presents too

he gives us peace, joy

less of us, LORD, and more of you

You've got to hear this song!

While You Were Sleeping by Casting Crowns

Hugs for Christmas

We stopped by to see some friends on Christmas Eve.

We really miss being able to just walk next door to gets hugs, talk

and catch up with our our sweet friends whenever we feel like it!

Definitely one of the costs of moving away!

Christmas is 'acomin

We finished up our first semester today! Whew! I was beginning to wonder if we were going to make it! And while we were hard at work finishing up school, MacGyver jimmied up some brakes for the 4-wheeler since we haven't been able to find them anywhere. Strap on some 'ole chains and we might just be unstoppable! I still don't think the kiddos are old enough to run free all over the property, with or without brakes, much to their chagrin! So, in celebration of having a productive day and completing a successful semester still alive and breathing, we went out to dinner and drove through some of our "local" neighborhoods checking out some of the houses that were decorated for Christmas. We actually had to drive about 30 minutes away since the mountain folk (us included) all think there is no point in decorating your house if there aren't more than 10 people that pass their house to enjoy it. Driving around looking at lights is one of our favorite parts of Christmas, though, and we just couldn't miss out. We could definitely tell which blocks were competing for best/most decorated! Some of them even lit up their entire backyards! Way cool! Tomorrow's plan: run, read my Bible, put house back in order, watch a Christmas Veggie Tale with the kiddos, make a grocery list for Christmas dinner, run the dogs, work the colt, meet with G about him being gone over Christmas, and be thankful for a week off of school and that all my Christmas shopping and shipping is D-O-N-E, done!

Our 12th Annual Tree Hunt

So our Christmas tree is significantly smaller this year. If you've ever experienced our trees in the past, they are usually about 20-25 feet when first cut down and tied to the top of our Jeep with branches hanging this way and that and usually blocking most of the windshield and all of the other windows. My favorite Tree Hunt quote..."I can't see the forest for the tree!" And when we got it home, we had to resize it to fit a 16 foot ceiling. MacGyver always had to get a ladder out to string the lights and then we had to lean over the balcony to hang the ornaments and the angel. Ike always ran and hid because he was certain we were all going to die. Did I ever tell you about the time the tree froze on the way home, broke my side mirror when we took it off the top and then we couldn't get it through the front door? It had to spend a lonely night in the garage with a heater running so we could thaw it out and get it in with some of the branches intact. Or about the year it smelled like mountain lion? LOL! This year?...not so much. It probably started out about 20 feet and we had to take it down to a sad 8 feet to fit in the cabin. And when all was said and done, I took a picture for posterity only to realize Morty was in the way~meet Morty the Moose~So here is a pic of the tree pre and post Morty. Should we vote? Doesn't it look like the angel has ginormous wings?