Christmas Thoughts

If you know me very well, and even if you don't know me but have been reading my blog, you know that I love Christmas!

I love everything about Christmas.  

I love the anticipation. Countdown to Christmas -- you bet!  Advent calendars to help keep track of the days. Paper chains where you can tear off one chain each day.

This year I found a Gingerbread house with doors to open.

I know these aren't new but they are usually expensive and I tend to pass on buying one. I found this one for half-price when I was Black Friday shopping and knew I had to have it.

I love the lights at Christmas time. Lights on the Christmas tree, lights on houses, lights in the snow. I remember as a kid Mom would make popcorn balls and we would get in the car and Dad would drive us around to look at the lights around town.  Gary and I drive around several times each season looking at lights. That's the difference between a big city and a small town. In the big city, you can go to a different neighborhood each night to see lights. In a small town you see the lights in one night. But either way it's fun.

I love decorating for Christmas. Pulling out all my tubs and tubs and tubs and tubs (do you get the idea I have lots of decorations?) from the attic. Unwrapping each one - remembering where it came from, who gave it to me. Smiling as I pull out the Christmas books and remembering my daughters reading "The Animal's Christmas Eve" every year. The angel at the top of my tree was on my tree growing up. I wrap her up carefully and put her in a special box. Every year, Gary is worried that her lights won't light up.

Kind of a blurry picture but that's our special angel. Her wings are a little bit tattered but she keeps lighting up for us every year.  For some reason, every time I get her out I think of my Mom.

I have a couple of grand kids who live close and they like to help me decorate for Christmas. I love watching them decide where to put items on the trees and around the house.

I love the songs at Christmas. I play Christmas music all year long intermingled with other music; but, at Christmas time - straight Christmas. I love Silent Night, Mary Did You Know, Frosty, You Gotta Get Up, The Grinch, Felix Navidad. Yeah, I love Christmas music!

I love traditions at Christmas time.  We always have cheeseburgers and homemade french fries for Christmas Eve. We have started doing an annual Christmas movie night. We have certain candies we make at Christmas. And what has become one of our favorite traditions is that everyone gets 1-2 cans of Silly String in their Christmas stocking. We then have a silly string fight in the house on Christmas morning.  We always look forward to this.

We have a lot more cans than this and we certainly have fun with it. You would be amazed at how big a ball silly string will make when you start cleaning it up.

I love Christmas Eve Candlelight service at church. Reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas, Christ's birth. Thinking of what Mary and Joseph went through - thinking of where Jesus was born.

In a manager.

As we heard at church yesterday during our Advent series; He came from the lowest of lows to be the Highest of Highs. Born in a manger, His birth was first proclaimed to the shepherds, people who slept with animals. But He came to fulfill a purpose - He came to save us. And that is why we celebrate Christmas Day. The greatest gift of all - which was also awaited with anticipation for YEARS - and some never saw it but the still awaited.

Wishing each of you a joyous Christmas and asking that you take time during this special of seasons to remember the Reason.

Leftovers

Who likes leftovers!  Not me!  There are very few foods I eat left over -- I'm pretty picky.  Potato soup is good leftover. Goulash is good left over. Mashed potatoes are good to use for potato pancakes or potato salad.

But what about those Thanksgiving leftovers you have?  Well I will kind of eat them. But we decided to do something different this year.  We decided to have a Thanksgiving Leftover New Food Night!

Now to be honest - we didn't have to many left overs from Thanksgiving and by the time we had our New Food Night we had to make new 'leftovers'.  LOL  But here you have it - some of our leftovers.

Here you can see that we are set up waiting to sample some goodness!

Let's start with some Turkey Tortillas.  Turkey, Swiss cheese, some cranberry -- this was very very good.  This was made by K.C.. You know you are always looking for new ways to use up that turkey.

K.C. also made some Sweet Potato biscuits.  Very good - but not a lot of sweet potato flavor to them.  I could detect the flavor but it was not a strong sweet potato flavor,

Gary and I made some Turkey Wontons.  Man were these good!  Turkey, dressing, cream cheese, turkey gravy!  May not sound yummy but it sure was.

We added some cranberry salsa to go along with the wontons.  It went well with the tortilla to.

Miss Annette made some dressing with cranberries and walnuts.  Gotta love dressing.

And to be certain we had dessert (didn't want anyone to be disappointed) I made up some snickerdoodles.  Now this classifies as Thanksgiving leftovers because it was some frozen cookie dough I had bought from a school fundraiser before Thanksgiving. It was sitting in the freezer during Thanksgiving so therefore it is Thanksgiving leftovers.  :)

Here's a plate of everything but the cookies.  I did have a few more wontons and tortillas but I wasn't sure if I would like them so strarted with just one of each.

Wanted to show you our full table. Jessica and Steven, Michael's daughter and son-in-law, joined us this week. Also, at the end of the table you will see Katie, a foster that K.C. and Michael are assisting. Now you cannot see the plump little girl in the high chair at the end on the other side of Lily but that would be Amelia, Michael and K.C.'s granddaugher!



Now tell us how you use your leftovers?  We are always open for new suggestions.