Christmas Recap--Part 2

On Christmas night, we always have a big gathering at Tracy's grandmother's house. This is his dad's side of the family. It's always a big, loud, fun event. It's kind of neat that we get to have the best of both worlds--small, quiet gatherings as well as the big ones. Of course, Matthew loves the chance to play with the other kids, and that means he's pretty well worn out by the time we get home! Luke, while a little young to actually play "with" the others, gets worn out by just following them all around!

A funny story about this last picture. When H was smaller, she wouldn't have anything to do with Tracy or his daddy! She would talk about them all the time, especially "Unka Owell" (Uncle Howell), but she wouldn't actually talk to them! One time in particular, she was the flower girl in a family wedding. "I don't want Tracy to look at me," she told her mother, but what was H doing during the entire wedding? Peeking around, trying to look at Tracy! She doesn't remember any of that, but we told her she sure has come a long way!

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I mentioned in my last post that I love the week between Christmas and New Year's. This year, the entire two week break has been great, because Tracy has been with us more than he usually is. When he was working his old job, he was only off on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Now that he is in business for himself, and this is a kind of slow time of year, he's sort of been "off" with us. He's worked some, but he hasn't had to be on a tight schedule of getting up and being at work by 7:00 a.m., as it was with his old job. I may be wrong, but I still believe that him getting laid off will wind up being a blessing for us. Things are really slow right now, but it was always slow this time of year at his old job, too. Hopefully things will pick up in a few weeks on the industrial side (forklift repair for various businesses), and the agricultural repair should pick up, too. His daddy is in the process of building a barn and part of it is going to be enclosed as for a shop for Tracy. He has several ag jobs waiting, that are large enough jobs that they need to be in a shop, rather than them being repairs he can do at the client's house/barn. So, I think him going into business for himself will wind up being a good move.

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Wanna see what 35 looks like?

Another reason I love the week between Christmas and New Year's.....my birthday! I turned 35 yesterday. I had thought that the mid-point of my 30s might be hard to swallow, but it was rather painless after all. I had a wonderful day! Mama had a doctor's appointment and Matthew had a dentist appointment, so we headed to town first thing. They were within 15 minutes of each other, so we finished up at the same time, and did a little shopping. I also dropped my truck off to have it cleaned (a gift to myself!) Now if I could only keep it that way! I have laid down the law to Matthew that the backseat is NOT a garbage can! We'll see... Anyway, Tracy had to go to town to pick up some tractor parts, so he did that and then met us all for a light lunch. After lunch, we split up and Luke and Mama did some more shopping while Tracy and I took Matthew to see "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel". Our plan had been to go to the 1:30 show, but it was sold out. So while waiting for the 2:40 show, we headed back across town and picked up my truck and then went back to the movies. It was really cute, and we all enjoyed it. After the movies, we reconnected with Mama and Luke and went to Cracker Barrel for dinner. I know that doesn't sound like a very fancy birthday dinner, but they have a dish that I love--Broccoli Cheddar Chicken--that is only served on Wednesdays after 4:00 p.m. I haven't had it in forever, so when I realized that my birthday was on a Wednesday and we were going to be in town, that's what I decided I wanted to eat. All in all, a very enjoyable, relaxing day with my family. What more could a girl ask for?

Tonight will be very low-key. We never do much for New Year's Eve. We're not partiers (sp?--partyers?), nor are we night owls, so we will just be at home with the boys. There's a community about 5 miles away that does an awesome fireworks display, so we might head over to that. Otherwise, just a nice quiet evening at home. For me, that sounds like the perfect way to ring in a new year!

Happy New Year, friends!

Christmas Recap--Part 1

We had a wonderful Christmas, and a wonderful week since then. I always love the week between Christmas and New Year's; it's so much more relaxed than the week before Christmas! We've played with lots of toys, eaten lots of yummy food, and just enjoyed some good family time together.

On Sunday night before Christmas, we had the annual children's Christmas musical at church. This year's musical was "Shepherds, Sheep, and a Savior" and Matthew was one of the shepherds (who were the main characters). Can you tell what he's doing with his staff?

Yeah, that's right...trying to grab me with it!

Here are two of our cousins, who were also shepherds.

They really did a great job, and I'm soaking it all up, because I know one day Matthew will get to the age that he probably doesn't want to do this kind of thing. I hope I'm wrong, but most kids get a little shy about performing at some point!

After the program, we had refreshments, and then a special visitor. When Tracy was a little boy, Santa always used to visit the kids at church one Sunday night and gave everyone a little goodie bag--maybe an apple and an orange and a few pieces of candy. Most everyone was excited about bringing that old tradition back, although we did have a couple who were vehemently opposed to the idea of Santa. I have to admit, I was a little nervous, and was a bit unsure myself of whether or not it was "appropriate". However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that to some of our kids at church, that might be the only bright spot in their holiday season. You see, most of the children at our church attend because of our bus ministry, and most of them come from sad situations...broken homes, poverty, parents who are not only unchurched but also unsaved, and in some cases, even abuse. For some, that little bag of fruit and candy might be one of the only gifts they would receive. So Santa came by that night, and what a fun time it was! I think the adults liked it as much at the kids.

However, while Matthew does still believe in Santa, he was a bit suspicious of our visitor. He thought he sounded a lot like Uncle Tommy! In fact, one of those cousins even told Santa, "You sound like my granddaddy!" Ihad hoped that Luke might warm up to Santa, since it would be in familiar surroundings and a familiar voice...no such luck!

Moving on to Christmas Day....we always spend Christmas Day at home. Since Tracy and I are both only children, we have no problem coordinating the family gatherings. My mom comes and spends the night on Christmas Eve. She is in charge of getting Matthew in bed and keeping him in bed! We open gifts on Christmas morning and then Tracy's parents come over for lunch.

In July, Matthew decided he wanted to ask Santa for a Wii. Some cousins came down for the weekend and brought theirs, and we had a blast. From that point on, that's what Matthew wanted for Christmas. However, he didn't even see it when he first came into the living room. He was more interested in the guitar he got. Then we directed his attention over toward the television, and here's his reaction!

We had lots of fun opening presents and playing with the new toys. Everybody got in on the action with the Wii, even the grandparents!

Part 2 of our Christmas fun to follow...

From Our Home to Yours...

Merry Christmas!

Melts in Your Mouth

Doesn't that look yummy? I have just found what is quite possibly the best, and certainly the easiest fudge recipe ever! I love to bake, but I haven't done a whole lot of candy making. Some people are rather intimidated by candy making, especially the whole candy thermometer and soft ball stage stuff. Well, you don't have to fool with any of that with this recipe. It's that easy! And, it's all done in the microwave!

Here's what you'll need:

1 box of confectioner's sugar

3-4 Tablespoons cocoa powder (I used 3 1/2)

1 stick of gently melted butter

1 teaspoon salt (I used 1/2 teaspoon, since I used salted butter)

1/4 cup milk (or 1/3 cup heavy cream)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts (if desired...and why wouldn't you?)



Mix the confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder,and salt together in a microwave-safe bowl. Be sure to stir this together so that you don't have lumps of cocoa. Add the cream and the melted butter. (By "gently melted" I mean just enough to be liquid. Don't microwave it on such a high power that it starts to separate. ) Stir all this together. It will look like this:

Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring after each minute. On my first batch, I did this at full power, but wound up overcooking it. It was a little grainy, instead of smooth and creamy. For this batch, I cut the power level down to 70%. You may have to experiment with your microwave a little. After the first minute, it looked like this:


Finally, after the third minute it looks like this. Actually, I didn't cook it quite 3 minutes. More like 2 1/2. Anyway, you want it to be nice and smooth and creamy. After the second minute, it really gets to a consistency that you can beat pretty fast by hand. That's what you want to do, so that it gets mixed really well.




After the third minute, add the teaspoon of vanilla and the nuts. Then pour into an 8 x 8" pan. You have a couple of options here. You can either butter the pan or line it with Glad Press & Seal wrap. If you go the Press & Seal route (which is what was recommended to me) you can lift the entire slab of fudge out of the pan for easier cutting. Let cool at room temperature until firm.



There are two key things that makes this fudge so good. 1) You "could" use margarine, but real butter is so much better. I haven't tried it with margarine, but that's what the lady who gave me the recipe told me. 2) Use the cream instead of milk. She said to use "heavy" cream, but I wound up with whipping cream. I'm not really sure of what the difference is, if there is one. Anyway, those two ingredients are what make this fudge so divine!

So try your hand at this. You've still got time to make it before Christmas! It's quick and easy and delicious!

Now, you know what I'd really like for Christmas? Some comments! I know some of y'all are reading and not commenting, because I can figure it out from the live feed! Please make a girl happy this Christmas....come out of lurking and say hello, and tell me your favorite Christmas treat! I'd love to hear from y'all!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Well friends, long time, no post. I've been busy finishing my Christmas decorations, busy with school, feeling a little under the weather, etc. I managed to get the tree up and most of my decorating done Thanksgiving weekend. However, I just finished the mantel this week. I think I'm finished with my shopping, except for a few stocking stuffers. Thank goodness for online shopping! I've done a lot of it this season, and it's been so much nicer than fighting the crowds at the mall! I'm usually NEVER this ahead of schedule with the shopping. Kind of makes me worry I've forgotten something! This week will be busy with school activities, baking cupcakes for Matthew's class party, our faculty breakfast, etc. I can't wait for 12:00 on Friday to get here!

Want to see my decorations? I'm not trying to act like a show-off...I just enjoy looking at other people's decorations to get ideas, and I hope you do too! I only put up one tree, but I do decorate my kitchen in a candy cane theme.

Candy cane wreath on my back porch door

Candy cane arrangement on my table with red checked placemats

On top of the fridge, a fiber optic snowman and

these cute trees I found this year on sale at JC Penney

Our tree

It's decorated pretty traditionally. I added in the limeish green a couple of years ago. My tree is a hodge podge of ornaments I've collected over the years, from special Hallmark ornaments to one I made when I was in kindergarten, to ornaments Matthew has made. I also try to find ornaments that have Matthew and Luke's name on them.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Last year, I started using live greenery on our mantel, and found it MUCH easier to work with than the artificial. I throw in a few clusters of red berries and this year, added a few ornaments.

It's been raining all weekend, so I didn't get pictures of my outside decorations. I don't do a lot outside, just a lighted garland over the door, a swag on the door, and plain green wreaths with red ribbons on my porch windows. I also decided against doing much in my dining room this time. I usually have my table set with my Christmas china, with pretty trays and cookie jars, etc on my buffet. However, I'm a little afraid of Luke reaching for the pretties on the table and breaking something, so I just put a tablecloth and runner on the table and let that be it. Next year, I'll probably put the china back out.

I love new ideas for Christmas decorations and traditions, so please, please feel free to tell me about yours! (hint, hint!)