Christmas Dinner

Yes, you read that title correctly. I am so far behind on sharing things that I even have Christmas and Thanksgiving pics still to share. After such a sad and heavy few days, I thought we all could use a break to look at something pretty. And, the table I decorated for a ladies' Christmas dinner was pretty. So, here you go!

I was determined to do something different because, well, I just like being different. The peacock feathers seemed like the perfect theme, until I started shopping for materials. Peacock feathers were no where to be found! Aack! I almost had to change my theme when at the last minute I pieced together a few items at Michael's. Whew! Crisis averted. I can't imagine how embarassing it would have been to decorate a Christmas table with red and green items. I know, it seems odd, but I would have been embarassed. I expect different from myself, and I think everyone else expects different from me as well.




I even got a bit crafty with my decorations. I saved toilet paper rolls for months to be able to construct my own napkin rings. Ha! I'm not cheap, just crafty. Well, okay, I'm a bit cheap. Let me explain... The event was a Friday night dinner and Saturday morning brunch. There were so many people to attend, that 35 tables for dinner was not enough room to get everyone in, so they added a breakfast also. That meant, I had to have two sets of china, flatware, linens, glassware, desserts, etc. The dinner ran so late on Friday night that there was no time to wash and re-use items. I had to clear off the dinner remnants and set everything back up again in 30 minutes so that it was ready when we arrived for breakfast the next morning. I found the awesome brown tablecloths and napkins at a steal of a price. I already had enough china, glassware and chargers. But, napkin rings?! Are you kidding me? Those things must be made of gold because there were no coupons in sight that made them affordable to me. So, I had to come up with an inexpensive way to have 16 napkin rings. Obviously, toilet paper rolls spray painted with metallic gold paint and dressed up with some beads were the perfect choice.


My only issue with the event was the centerpiece rule. It could not be more than 12" tall. What?! It was darn near impossible to work within these restrictions, so please keep that in mind when judging my work.


And, I was more than annoyed when I looked around the room and saw how many women had not worked within the rule limits. I'll show them! Next year I won't follow the rule either! Except, I know I will. I can't stand to not follow rules. I just like to make a show of being rebellious. But, one of the coordinators overheard me remarking on the height of many other centerpieces. She let me know that those women had "been talked to" and would not be bringing such centerpieces again next year. Sure...

No matter what you think of my decorating skills, my baking skills were an absolute hit. A hit, I tell you! I made two desserts for both events so that they ladies could have a choice. And, every single guest both chose wisely when it came time to serve desserts. They chose both! My kind of eaters!


The eggnog parfait was so yummy, but the raspberry white chocolate mousse cake was unbelievable. (Do you see those store bought cookies in the side of the pic?! I couldn't believe ladies were serving their guests store bought desserts. Uh-uh, not my guests! I was Paula Deen and Emeril Lagasse and Rachael Ray all in one that weekend. Ha!

I know you want another look at that because I do to.


Aahhh.... The holidays are so great for guilt-free eating. Alas, it's February now and I'm lusting after just one Girl Scout cookie that can not be had. Oh, well. I can wait until December when my mad baking skills will once again be all the rage at the ladies Christmas dinner.

As my guests rolled themselves out the door after being stuffed with dinner (or brunch) from La Madelleine and sweets from me, there was still one more treat. My guests were given a loaf of cranberry orange bread that was, of course, super yummy. Ah.... my mouth is watering at the memory of all those goodies. Yum!


If you want to see how my work stacked up to the other ladies or you are just really bored and looking for something to distract you from reality, check out this link where I have pics of the other tables at the event.

Countdown to Christmas

We've been counting down the days to Jesus' birthday with a new advent calendar that is making a chain leading to December 25.



It's a series of Bible verses, devotionals and activities. Each strip features a scripture passage along with a game or activity for us to do as a family. Then, we go through a practical application of the scripture and activity.


It's been fun to talk about our blessings and answered prayers. Last night, one of the discussion topics was to think of prayers God has answered for us. I asked Abigail if she could think of one of her prayers God has answered. "Oh, yeah. He's answered at least 12 of them." Too funny... It's been nice to replace the toy catalogs the kids had become obsessed. Instead, we are spending time in God's word and counting our blessings.

Christmas is Coming!

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As it is at your house, there is not a time of year my family enjoys more than Christmas. Daniel eagerly brought down the tubs of decorations from the attic earlier this week and we enjoyed decorating the tree Tuesday night.


The kids hung decorations on the tree while they wore reindeer antlers and Santa hats on their heads. As they grow older, I love watching their excitement grow. Nothing brings a more joy to me than their joy.

Next Stop: Heart of Texas

After Christmas celebrations in Odessa, Daniel and I had to return home for work obligations. However, Abigail and Cooper were able to stay behind to spend a week with my parents, better known as Gran and Grandad. 

They spent a few evenings with my second parents Robbie and Sherman and their youngest son Blake. Abigail has been telling me all about how much fun Blake was. So, Blake, if you're reading this, you should come for a visit sometime. Your new girlfriend would love to have you over for a playdate!

There was also some sort of incident with Cooper being locked in my parents' bedroom and Abigail having to crawl through the bedroom window from the backyard to unlock the door and free him. 

I think the most fun was had with my cousin Casey's girls, Ally and Ashley. Abigail had so much fun with them that she has been keeping their pictures on her nightstand in her room and talking about them on a daily basis. Hopefully, the four of them didn't cause too much damage to Gran's house in the midst of their fun.

I'm sure there were few rules and not enough attention paid to bedtimes, but I'm learning that a week of that here and there won't do too much damage.

From what I've heard, they had a blast. That was evidenced by the tears and pleas to not have to come home when I met them in Brady last week for Gran and KellyAnn to return them to me. 

Aside from them not wanting to come home, we had a nice daytrip to Brady. It's a small but quaint town in the center of Texas, about 2-3 hours from me and the same from my parents. 

We enjoyed a nice lunch of salads and baked potatoes at a cute restaurant and then visited the town square's shops, pausing to sit a while in the rockers...  

... and grab a bite of German Chocolate Cake, which was oh, so yummy!

The town's square is centered around the county courthouse, which was built in 1900, and the source of the kids' delight all day. They just knew it was a castle...

All in all, it was a fun week for the kids and a nice daytrip for all of us. And, as if I hadn't expected it, the kids were worn out...

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You Can't Catch Me, I'm the Gingerbread Man

We took on a new task this Christmas with a gingerbread house. It sounded like a fun activity for me and Abigail... That's right. It "sounded" like a fun activity. 

It was Christmas Day when we finally had the time to get to the house. I know, there's nothing like waiting until the last minute. But, it's the thought that counts, right? Well, I was regretting that thought when we finally got to it. 

I actually assembled the house on Christmas Eve because it had to set for a few hours before decorating it. Fortunately, Daniel and my mother came behind me and assembled it again after my assembly did not last more than five minutes. I was so "pleased" with the endeavor that I was ready to throw it away, but my more patient mother and husband nicely salvaged the project. Thanks, guys! 

Still in our pajamas late on Christmas Day, Abigail and I finally got around to decorating it. That part was actually fun. 

I was impressed with Abigail's decorating skills as she continually explained the "patterns" she was creating. 

Not too shabby, for first time architects. But, I think it may be the last time unless next year I'm able to find a kit that includes an already constructed house that just needs to be decorated. I don't mind being Martha Stewart, but I'm not a contractor.

Christmas - Part Deux

The last few days of our time in Odessa was spent with the Dunaways, Stephanie's family.  This time included Christmas Day, so we also enjoyed our own Hardy family Christmas traditions at the same time.

I can't believe I didn't get pics of the annual Hardy Christmas Crab Boil.  This Christmas Eve feast, courtesy of Daniel, was an event we were obviously occupied too much with to take photos.  There were crab legs and shrimp and potatoes and corn cobs.  It was so, so, yummy. But, I will admit that the seafood was a bit harder to procure in the desert of West Texas than we've previously experienced in Charleston.

Christmas Day was not a sign of the RecessMas that the media has been fear mongering so viciously. It was truly a blessed Christmas for us, that we enjoyed so much.

The kids had fun climbing into their new sleeping bags with built in air mattresses. Little do they know, it's all part of our plan to make them sleep on the floor when company comes from now on...

It was a bit upsetting for Daniel to see, but Cooper enjoyed being Abigail's first client in her new hair salon chair. He sat there patiently enjoying primping from his sister.

The bouncy ball from Gran was also a big hit, but it's probably more fun for us to watch him fall from it any time someone lets go of him.

The kids got numerous dress-up outfits from ballerinas to race car driver to Cinderella. 

  

Obviously, Daniel was jealous and made his own dress-up outfit from his new life-jacket (to be used with his new kayak) and his helmet (to be used with his new welder) and his new spotlight (to be used to find stray glass in future glasseroles, i.e. Thanksgiving).

 

From all his loot, Cooper was most taken with the set of Caterpillar trucks Grandad gave him. Unfortunately for Grandad, Cooper seemed to think Grandad was a perfect track for his trucks.

Of course, there were diamonds and shoes and clothes and much more more to fill the day. But, really it was such a treat to be with family. It was the first Christmas in quite a few years that Daniel and I were in Odessa over the holidays and able to share the time with both sides of our families. The chance to be together and easily travel to see them was the best part of the holiday season this year. In many ways, the blessings we've been gathering all year came together to create a very blessed time for us. We continue to see how fortunate we are that God made a way for us to live in Texas and raise the kids so close to our families. We truly mean it when we say, "Thank the Lord!"

Christmas - Part I

We spent a week in Odessa for Christmas this year. It was great to be able to see both sides of our families over the holidays for the first time in many years. The first few days were spent with the Hardy family. And, when I say the Hardy family, I mean a lot of people. When Daniel's family has a get together, they all show up. It's an anomaly in modern-day families, i.e. they all like each other. I know, it's weird. 

We had a great Christmas dinner of fried turkey and all the trimmings. Gammie's broccoli-rice casserole was a special treat we don't have the chance to partake of very often. And, as usual, I baked up a swarm of pies for everyone.

The kids loved having all their cousins to play with, and the noise level was almost as high as the pile of toys they collected. Avery enjoyed prancing in her tutu Aunt Stephanie made for her, and Harrison was pleased with his Stetson Uncle Hardy picked out for him. 

The kids especially enjoyed the endless wagon rides from whomever was suckered into pulling them all around. (Thanks PaBear and Gigi for the wagon! The neighborhood kids have been enjoying it now that we have it at home.)

We capped off our last night at Gigi and PaBear's house with a quick read of the Polar Express, and then the kids all snuggled together to watch the Polar Express movie.

Candy Factory

We have many Christmas traditions in our family, but one of the messiest is candy making. 

We set aside an entire day and turn the kitchen into a candy factory. This year, we were fortunate enough to both take day off work while the kids were in school and get knee-deep in chocolate. We made dark chocolate and white chocolate covered pretzels, haystacks (peanut butter and butterscoth yummy goodness), white-chocolate covered Ritz bits, peppermint bark, spearmint bark and chocolate covered peanut butter balls.

It was about 12-13 hours of baking, which is a bit more than my patience can take. Fortunately, Daniel is the star candy baker and persisted until the end.

In the end, we were happy to share our treats with neighbors, friends and family members  as a way to say "Merry Christmas!"

Deck the Halls

I know it's New Year's Eve, but I'm just now getting around to sharing some of our Christmas pics. We spent so much time celebrating throughout December, that there was no time left to share our celebrations on the blog. So, I've got plenty of photos stored up to make Christmas last at least another week, on the blog, that is. 

This year, we weren't home for Christmas, and there just wan't enough time to decorate, so most of our Christmas accessories didn't make their way from their Rubbermaid tub homes this year. I wasn't even planning on getting the tree up, but Daniel insisted and put it up one night while I was at a PTA function. Unfortunately, we never did get around to our annual family decorating night, so it was never completed. It was a pretty tree, filled with silver beads, silver and gold ribbon garland and all sizes of glass balls, but it wasn't our usual tree filled with ornaments Daniel and I have been collecting the past 30 years. We are fortunate in that each of our parents gifted us with an ornament every year. We've continued the same tradition with Abigail and Cooper.  And, we've added to our collections by picking up ornaments everywhere we travel and live. Needless to say, we have a lot of ornaments. We love decorating the tree each year and reminiscing about the teacher's class we made the popsicle sled or the silly hobby we were into the particular year we received that ornament or the thoughts of a long ago vacation in places like Vegas or the several Hula Santas we accumulated over Christmas 2003 in Hawaii. 

I never did get a picture of our tree this year because it just didn't look like "our tree," but I did snap a few of the other arrangements around the house.

The dining room...

The Living room mantle...

The kitchen table...

The kids' trees...

I first did this last year and loved the outcome. For Abigail's, I used some pricess-themed party favors. I transformed tiaras into ornaments and feather boas into garland with one of her play tiaras as the tree topper. The pink tulle tree skirt was an obvious decision.

For Cooper's tree, I used leather ribbon to transform a bag of cowboys and Indians figurines into ornaments, made garland from twine rope, topped the tree with a red cowboy hat and used a yard of burlap for the tree skirt. 

There was also a cowboy nutcracker placed under Cooper's tree, but his gun is now broken off and he's been put away for own safety.