christmas | Good to be Home

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Ephesians 1:2, 3

This morning I awoke to discover that the snow is completely gone. It was in the 60’s yesterday, unheard of for December in New England. I wore sandals to church, just to be able to say that I did (on December 22!) This morning it is raining. The ponds are melting and have a layer of slush over the tops of them instead of the hard ice of last week.

Rich is home today!

On Saturday, we joined our friends at church for a caroling party in town. We walked down the street to the library and set up a sound system. Dave and Mike played guitar and some of us sang while others of us passed out little gift bags containing some treats and an invitation to our Christmas Eve service.

(daughter Grace in brown jacket)

I asked Micheal to watch over Seth so he could give out some bags. I was told later on that it didn’t last long. As soon as Seth saw the other kids playing in the snow behind us, he left the bags so he could play, too.

The kids were thrilled to be playing in the snow on such a warm day….I know my own children were soaked by the time we left.

Tony held Sarah

Wally passed out pocket calendars in the street (made me nervous the entire time). This road has non stop traffic.

Rich took a turn at the mic to preach a short invitation.

Joanne and Sara enjoyed a song from Sarah Joy (her rendition of “Silent Night” is adorable).

We all left happy and full of the joy of fellowshipping and singing Jesus’ praises together.

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THEN, later on that night Rich gave me the gift of TIME (which is what he is doing now, too, so I can write here) by taking Seth and Sarah out shopping. Grace and I took advantage of the quiet to bake Christmas cookies together.

I enjoy this daughter of mine so very much. I put her in charge of the buckeyes and she did a great job with them.

(She is currently trying to teach herself sign language using youtube videos).

Her shirt said “love and magic” on it, two of our very favorite words.

I can recommend the Costco brand of chocolate chips; they melted wonderfully and hardened up perfectly on the candies. They have a nice, dense texture and rich chocolate flavor. (It’s hard for us to stay away from the buckeyes. We keep them in the freezer and we all sneak into the pantry for “just one more”).

I made cherry snowballs and then the ever-popular candy cane cookies, made with a butter dough and flavored with mint.

Jacob and Ethan arrived home from watching the latest “Hobbit” movie to a flurry of activity in the kitchen.

Caleb and David amused themselves by stuffing blankets down Dave’s pajama shorts.

This is a tip from me to you (mama to mama or grandma): If your children complain of boredom have them try this activity. It is sure to bring hours of entertainment, just be sure to have them wear their most stretchy shorts!

Grace got creative with the last tray of the buckeyes; she painted chocolate initials on them (one for each member of the family) and also did a heart:

Spirits were high (on sugar) as the evening progressed.

Grace did a basic sugar cookie next, and tinted them green. My candy canes were also green. You see, all of the red food coloring was used up by Jacob this summer. He used it to dye water red and fill up containers with it to shoot with his bb gun (realistic blood?)………

These cookies ended up tasting really weird but we are hoping the boys eat them regardless.

The kitchen was a disaster but, Mom, I did clean it before I went to bed.

David amused himself by making an origami candle. I tell you, my children are talented.

Talented!

Wrapping gifts can be draining, so I thought I would share how I make the process as simple and enjoyable as possible.

1. Use only one extra big roll of wrapping paper at a time. Keep using this one roll until it runs out.

2. You also need a nice fresh roll (or two) of good tape, a pair of sharp paper scissors, and a black sharpie marker.

3. When wrapping the gift, unroll the paper, place gift upon paper to measure, and always cut straight across, leaving a nice edge on the roll for the next gift.

DO NOT DO THIS:

4. If the gift is small and you need to cut away any extra paper, do so. Keep any trims in a “trim pile” to use for more small gifts.

5. Don’t be stingy with the tape.

6. No need for labels, simply write the name of your child ON the package.

7. No need for gift boxes. If you have clothes to wrap, just fold the item neatly and wrap it.

8. If you must embellish, buy a big bag of bows and add them to the gifts on Christmas Eve.

9. You might think that pretty gift bags with tissue paper will simplify the process, but I have found that whenever I use gift bags I can’t help getting pathological about saving them. It’s much easier to throw away paper on a Christmas morning.

10. Keep a running list on your iphone of the gifts you have wrapped. This will be important later on, when husband gets worried that a child might not have as many gifts as their sibling. (avoid last minute shopping at the gas station!).

11. After wrapping the gifts, pile them up in boxes or big bags to store away until Christmas.

12. Keep inner peace while wrapping by listening to music, keeping your cat with you, painting nails deep red a few hours before hand, eating some of the extra stocking candy, and making your husband stay out of the room so he can keep the children out of mischief.