Merry and Bright

How on earth is Christmas over? I’m sad that it has already come and gone in the blink of an eye.
I got my wish, and we had a white Christmas. It snowed on Sunday. We only had church in the morning, so we ate lunch and changed into warm clothes. Our house sits on top of a hill, and we knew we HAD TO sled down it. Nevermind that you go straight into the road.. 😉  [We watched for cars..]
Once everyone was properly frozen, we went inside to drink hot cocoa. We baked gingerbread cookies– really the big girls did most of the work. Once they were cooled, they dipped the cookies into white chocolate. OH my goodness. I didn’t think I could love gingerbread cookies any more. I got our cinnamon rolls assembled and put in the fridge for Christmas morning. (You can do all of the hard work on Christmas Eve and put them in the fridge. Take them out to warm up and rise while you do all of your festivities and then bake them.)

Once the girls were finally asleep, we got to put presents under the tree. We watched Christmas with the Cranks, because we think its so funny. Well, I watched, Scott slept through some of it.

We did something new this year. Instead of putting names on all of the presents for the kids, we put a piece of wrapping paper in their stocking with their name on it. All of their gifts were wrapped in only that kind of wrapping paper. So, they had no idea what presents were for them until after we did stockings. It was pretty fun.

Christmas gets more and more fun each year. I love seeing the wonder and magic of Christmas through my daughters’ eyes. Scott’s mom and brother came over shortly before noon to spend some of the time together. They wanted to make sure that my parents got some time with us alone also, so they took off at some point. My parents came over shortly before dinner and we opened presents. My mom laughed so hard because she got me salt and pepper shakers that I had been wanting. I was so excited that she said she should have just stopped with those. I was equally as excited for my enameled dutch oven, pillows, and bowl holders. You know you’re a true adult when salt and pepper shakers thrill you.

These were my gifts from the girls. Addi picked the yellow earrings and Chloe picked the colorful hearts. I even got my very own doll so that I can play dolls with them. I have been wanting this cookbook for quite some time. It’s recipes intertwined with a story, and it’s marvelous so far. I love that I received so many items for the kitchen. I love cooking for people. There’s nothing better than being in the kitchen preparing meals for the ones I love. I try to ignore the fact that my kids will complain about something being in, on, near, across from, etc. their food. All of the moms say AMEN!
After we finished opening presents, I put our cinnamon rolls in the oven. I was a little worried about how much glaze (frosting?) I put on them. I did my first ever poll on Instagram, and my friends pulled through. 100% say not too much. Winner winner chicken dinner.

Please keep a sweet lady that used to attend our church in your prayers. Her husband passed away on Christmas morning. I can’t even fathom how much her heart is broken.
I pray that you all had the merriest Christmas, friends. Remember to share a little extra love with those who are grieving this season. If that person is you, I see you and I am praying for you.