Christmas catch-up

I realized I hadn't posted anything from how our Christmas went this year. Charley woke up at 4 am for some little reason like having to go to the bathroom or something, but Will didn't realize that it wasn't time to get up so he went ahead and mentioned going in to see if Santa brought anything
(I never thought I'd do it, but yes, we went ahead and let our kids enjoy "Santa" for a few years) :) I think the kids weren't the only ones excited about opening presents, but anyway, once I told Will it was 4 in the morning, we had to try to keep Charley from opening the presents. So Will went in and slept with Charley on the couch until we all woke up around 6. How sweet, I should have gotten a picture.

Anyway, the kids had a wonderful time opening presents and we had a great time watching. They each got slippers and new pjs which I think will be a family tradition. Ben wore his Thomas the Tank Engine pjs and slippers and Charley wore his Incredibles pjs and Cars slippers the entire day!! Not exactly Christmas attire, but it was a relaxed family Christmas, we just wanted it to be easy and fun, and it was.

Now for the food ... above is a picture of me and the boys at the table with my Christmas brunch of Quiche Lorraine, fruit salad with a special fruit salad dressing (I'll have to post the recipe, it's so yummy) and a blended orange juice, cream, ice drink. So yummy! Christmas dinner went great as well. The roast came out juicy and great. I ended up not making the potatoes since there was already so much food and only 4 of us. My scheduling and planning worked great, but since it was just us for Christmas, we didn't realize that that meant a little extra work on our part as far as watching the kids, and cleaning up. Even so, it was fun!

We also went next door to our elderly neighbor's house to say hi to their family. They love our kids and our impromptu visits and they had gotten the boys a couple of presents. It was a little funny to be over there while their family was there opening presents too, but they're all very nice and they all know us by now .

Will got me a beautiful Ann Taylor red puffer vest with a faux fur hood (I need to post a pic of it) and I got him some books, and cuff links. We were so worn out by the end of the day, but I have to say a nice pecan pie made everything much better! :)

Christmas menu

Here's the menu I have planned for tomorrow:

Brunch: Quiche Lorraine (w/ mushrooms, green onions and bacon instead of ham) and - fruit salad w/ my Mom's fruit salad dressing (a creamy delight!!)

Dinner:
- roast beef au jus
- yorkshire pudding (really just soft rolls w/ a little gravy)
- a variation of Campbell's green bean casserole (w/ some water chestnuts added)
- mashed potatoes
- cranberry salad
- fruit sabayon (fruit w/ wine cream sauce)
- pecan pie

I decided not to shirk on dinner just because it was only the four of us and I thought having a normal meal would make it feel more special somehow too. It will be special because this is our first Christmas home together w/o traveling. We'll miss our family, but this will be special since the boys are old enough to enjoy Christmas and we actually got to slow down, decorate, enjoy the season, sing in the concerts and services, visit people, start traditions and actually have presents under our own tree. :)

One fun tradition I think will stick for awhile is watching "Frosty the Snowman" on Christmas Eve and making Frosty face sugar cookies (the Pillsbury kinds with his face on them). The kids discovered Frosty after hearing the song on Pandora radio. They love it now!

We forgot to put together our gingerbread house, but maybe we can do it after Christmas anyway. Charley has also already put our reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter from pre-school) and a healthy snack (strawberries and water) for Santa.

We've also talked a lot about why we celebrate Christmas and so far, all Charley understands is "Jesus is a baby" and "Jesus saved us" which is good enough for me for now. A tradition I think we'll continue from when I was little is reading the Christmas story from Luke by candlelight on Christmas Eve. That was always special. Although we read from the KJV and I don't think we have one of those around. :)

Well, I hope you all have a very blessed and Merry Christmas together with your friends and families and may you have safe travels and good health as well.

Rejoice!! Jesus is here! Jesus is here! Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Rejoice!!