Christmas Present

Christmas...It was a little crazy around here!

We have had a houseful~

Curtis and Shae are staying with us for the Holidays and we also had

Rick's brother & sister-in-law and their 2 boys with us until today.

(Their 2 girls were with us for a couple of days too)

 

It's been a lot of fun. Glad the cousins could reconnect~

We also passed around a little stomach flu. Thankfully only 3 of us had that.

11 people with stomach flu would have certainly sent me over the proverbial edge!

 

A few favorites from this Christmas season:

(pictures aren't great, but I haven't had time to re-shoot...eventually I'll figure out how to take better pics with my point and shoot!)

 

A new Nativity

Flickering candlelight

A watchful elf

My all time favorite candle EVER!
(Christmas Presence, Gold Canyon Candles)

More flickering lights

I've had this little votive since Curtis was in kindergarten!

I love the Precious Moments Nativity on the glass.



Croaking, caroling frogs

A new Christmas tree, to fit in the alcove by the fireplace.

Love it! It has a kind of frosted look, it's really quite lovely~

Pre-lit...already have a strand of lights out. Don't love that!

Not Christmas, but a project we finally got done.

Love, love, love the family picture wall!

 

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas & hoping you are enjoying the Holidays with your family!

Christmas Past

Christmas Eve~ 1968

I was just a few months shy of being 3 years old.

 

 

When I was growing up, one of my favorite Christmas traditions was lighting candles on Christmas Eve.

 

Do you remember the Gurley candles?

 



There were Santas and snowmen,

Christmas trees and reindeer

I think the Christmas carolers were my favorites!

My mom had a set of 3 carolers (2 boys & a girl) and a lamp post. I loved those little candles!

 

On Christmas Eve, my 2 brothers and I would each have a candle. We would sit them in a jar lid to contain the wax. We would listen to Christmas music & watch for Santa's sleigh as the candles burned. When the candles burned out, that was our signal that it was time to go to bed.

Those little candles burned pretty quickly too!

We have a family Christmas party on Christmas Eve with Rick's family, so we haven't been able to carry on this tradition. We do it occasionally though. When we were in Arizona, I bought a really big Santa candle & we burned it every year. I think I'll pull him out this year...a little nostalgia sounds good to me!

 

We also had an "Elf on the Shelf" before they were the in thing.

During the 50's & 60's small red (or green) felt, knee-hugger elf ornaments were popular.

We had one and he would always show up the beginning of December. It was always fun to find him every year. He didn't move once he came to visit, but he kept a watchful eye on us all season long.

My kids are older, so we haven't joined the Elf on a Shelf craze, but we do have a couple of elves that I put out each year...to keep a watchful eye & jot down if we are on the Naughty or Nice list. :)

 

 

I love traditions~ All the little moments that make the Holidays extra special!

Thanksgiving Bloopers~ 2012

So many bloopers this year!

Sadly, I was not the one making them~ so I don't dare blog about them!

I really want to...

But I won't :)

 

However, here is MY contribution:

 

 

Hubby volunteered me to make rolls.

I have had some trouble baking since we moved last year.

Not sure if it's the elevation or the oven...but I am figuring out how to get things to work.

Last year, my rolls would not raise.

I solved the problem this year by using the fireplace...

I fired it up & put the rolls on T.V. trays in front of the fireplace.

Our house was 80 degrees inside~ but the rolls did raise!

It's kind of hard to tell from the pictures~ but I overcooked 1 pan of rolls. Not quite burned, but nearly!

 

Helpful tip:

If you are in the middle of baking while also cleaning up dinner & working on Christmas projects...

When the timer goes off~ CHECK THE OVEN!!!

Even if you are confused about why the time is going off...

Even if you think you don't have a batch of rolls in the oven...

CHECK THE OVEN!!! 

 

I dumped these in the trash.

Then I dug them out so I could blog about it...

'Cause "Thanksgiving Bloopers" is becoming a regular feature here!

And I do not want to disappoint.

(Sorry, no Jell-O this year...)

 

Hope everyone had a wonderful, blooper free Thanksgiving!