Christmas Wrap up

So, California . . . you know, that place is rather amazing, in some ways! I mean, we drove an hour north of Riverside, and we were in the freezing cold snow of Lake Arrowhead, in the mountains. If we had driven an hour west, instead, we could have spent a brisk Christmas day on the beach instead! Divers activities within an hour . . . I like that!

Anyway, to the point! The Tippie family invited us to join them for a Christmas getaway - and we accepted! Although we had grandious plans of playing in the snow all day every day that we spent up there, it sort of turned into a comedy of errors! (One that, hopefully, we can all laugh about later, when the wounds have all healed! LOL)

Some of our little group came ill prepared to have more than one change of clothes, much less play in the snow, get wet, and come inside to dry clothes! There was one pair of boots that AT LEAST 5 of us wore,(taking turns, of course!) and my (NOW) famous cheetah print slippers were worn by almost all of the family members, at one time or the other, over the course of 4 days! These are the things that quality memories are made of, people!

There was plenty of good food, Duraflame logs for the fireplace, card games and movies on DVD to keep us all happy, and ALMOST free of cabin fever! Although some of the work-a-holics (cough, cough, Dad, cough, Karalee, cough!) couldn't fathom, and at times even enjoy, just lounging around without a tight schedule to stick to! I had to remind them MORE THAN ONCE of the definition of the word "vacation"! HELLO!!

Without further ado, I present the Christmas photo line-up:
Chase and Richard digging a path to the front door! Yes, it DID take 4 hours to completely clear a way to go. Karalee and DeNeece took turns, also.

While the digging was going on in the front yard, the girls were on the back deck, in the 3.5 feet of snow, building a snowman! I was supervising, and, okay, taking photos! The finished product was beautiful . . . especially considering that NONE of these girls had ever made a snowman before! (It was a little disappointing that there were no carrots available for a nose! And, how 'bout olives for eyes . . . Necessity is the mother of invention, right??? LOL)

We DON'T have the tradition of decorating the Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve, but we did this year. My dad's family ALWAYS did it that way, so it was a little taste of Bailey tradition out of necessity.

Kaitlyn was the first one to go to sleep, while we watched a movie. BUT, she woke up later and was one of the last to go to bed before Santa showed up!

Various Christmas morning shots . . . Karalee SWEARS that she did shout the traditional "IT'S A SWEAT-AIR!" (Three Amigos reference!) but nobody else heard it! And, she got 3 sweaters . . . Maybe she was too caught up in the excitement!!

Richard and Chase were really wrestling in that photo, although it looks like they were cuddling. Richard pretty much had chase in a headlock! Any photo that can be captured of someone dominating Chase (His football coach has named him "Manimal" because of his 6'3, 210 lb, 15-year old body!) is worth keeping!

A cute cousins shot . . . don't they look thrilled??? (By the way - there are 10 cousins missing from this photo! Maybe next year, y'all!!)

DeNeece, Bart and Karalee all received the same hand-crafted temple picture from me. Karalee's was waiting at home in AZ - why cart around what I didn't have to, right??

And, finally, DeNeece decided that I need to start collecting teddy bears again, and gave me this mini collection to get started!

Grammy made Christmas Jello - so named because she ONLY makes it on Christmas, because it is a LOT of work! And Grammy and Grumpy with their cute matching shirts . . . Christmas dinner style!

One of our various Christmas night activities . . . we usually do graham cracker houses, but this year we decided to step up the construction with those gingerbread house kits that you can buy! They had fun . . . but the gingerbread, honestly, didn't taste that great! Kinda like those teething cookies, for infants, with a taste of ginger and cinnamon.

Snow photos - playing, working and posing!
And, hot chocolate is a MUST HAVE after playing in the snow! Matt and Daylyn were kind enough to pose for me!

Leisure time photos . . . MaiCee, Kaitlyn, Daylyn and Kayla just posing like cute girls do!

The puzzle - we've done about 6 puzzles, this past year, as a family, and this is ONE of the TWO that we didn't have the last piece missing! WOO HOO!!

Chase likes to be goofy - here he is wearing my neck pillow as a hat . . . Silly Chase!

The Miracle of the Christmas Lasagna

As the Activities Committee chair for my ward, I can tell you that we had been planning for our ward's party since JULY!!! We really wanted it to be successful and fun for everyone; but as little stress for the committee as possible.

I don't remember how we came to the conclusion that we would have lasagna, salad and french bread, but that was the menu that we made (and stuck to!). We half way expected lots of complaints, since it isn't the traditional American holiday meal, but I never heard anyone complain!

Our party was scheduled for December 19th. Judging by last year's party attendance, we were planning on 150 to 180 people, and I was going to buy lasaagnas accordingly. And, we had people sign up to bring bread and salad, so that just left us with the makings for ice cream sundaes, to worry about.

As I said, 4 months worth of planning . . . it was going to go smoothly, if it killed us!! LOL So, we planned to set up on December 18th, so that all we had to do on the 19th was show up and put food on the table. * We had decided to do family style food service. I HATE waiting in a long line for food, at ward parties! Anyway, we set a time to set up tables, etc. with the Elders' Quorum, (some men in our ward) and we were all set to go.

We arrived at the church at the assigned time, only to discover that someone was using the gym for a presentation that evening. They told us that they would be finished by 8 pm, so we could set up tables at that time. Disappointed, we asked the men to come back at 8, and we set to work wrapping the plastic ware in a napkin, with a ribbon tied around them.

8 o'clock rolled around, and the other group was done with their activity. But, none of our helpers could be found! So, the men from the other group helped us instead! That was so kind of them, and we really appreciated the extra hands.

Anyway, the bishop of the other ward, who was there helping us, mentioned that they had 210 people in attendance at their Christmas party. That got me thinking, "wow, maybe we had better plan on that many, too!" I know that sometimes people don't go to any activities all year, but can be found at the Christmas party. So, in setting up tables, we set enough places for 250 people, though we thought we were setting our sights a little high! My theory is, however, "better too much than not enough" and that includes settings for dinner. Who wants to stop eating to set up more tables???

So, the next day I went to Costco and purchased 2 more lasagnas. By my calculations, we would have 216 good sized servings, and if we had to . . . well, I just didn't think about that! So, I arrived at the church at 4 pm, to get 7 lasagnas in ovens there - they take 2 hours to warm up!!

All of the other 17 lasagnas had been divided up, to lovely people in the ward, who agreed to warm them and bring them to the party. (Thanks, Nancy, for thinking of that small detail!!)

As party time arrived, all of the salads, loaves of bread and lasagnas started to arrive. We had planned on one bowl of salad per table, and one loaf of french bread and a pan of lasagna. So we started to get a little stressed about the salad . . . even though a few people brought HUGE bowls of salad, that we divided up into smaller bowls, we were worried that we wouldn't have enough. And, some people hadn't realized that they were supposed to bring their bread to us, sliced, buttered and heated. So much for all the planning for a smooth running party, huh???

15 minutes after start time, one lady came into the kitchen and announced, in a panic, "We need to set up more tables . . . there isn't enough lasagna!" I did my best NOT to panic, and, rather jokingly said, "well, we need to hope for the miracle of the loaves and fishes here, because that is ALL we have!"

After considering, for a moment, how to best deal with that dilemma, I said, "Well, we can just pass pans of lasagna on, when everyone has been dished up! We'll move it to the next table!" One committee member said, "Well, we'll leave that to you!"

At first, I was a little timid about it . . . I mean, how do you politely say, "Could you please hurry up and put some of that on your plate?? We need to move in over to another table!" Ya, crazy, right??? But, after the first 2 or 3 tables, I just jumped right in and started dishing people up. Meanwhile, we had to grab more plates and cups and plasticware for all of the new arrivals. (Let me interject here, by adding that my well-laid plan for music failed - the ipod that I borrowed from my friend, didn't work, after I had taken time to load 4 hours worth of various Christmas songs onto it. That was a bummer! But, someone else ran home, really quick, and got some CDs, so we did have some nice background music!)

Anyway, back to the lasagna! By the time I made sure that the newly arrived guests at least had access to some lasagna, I went back to the kitchen, to see what else we needed. Eventually I did get to sit down, myself, to eat. We had a sweet little nativity story program, by the primary, and then it was time to see Santa Claus and have dessert. I didn't worry about the lasagna anymore, as I felt like there wasn't anything else that I could do!

By the time the party was over, we had SCADS of salad left, and 2 full pans of lasagna left! I know that Heavenly Father truly blessed our efforts, and stretched that food to feed all of us, and then some! Miracles do happen, and I feel so blessed that He blessed our little corner of this vast world with something that He knew that we needed. This was a very humbling experience for me, because I cannot doubt that my Heavenly Father is mindful of what I need.

And, what a nice way to remember the reason for the season, even Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Merry Christmas to all!

And counting!

Okay, the excitement builds . . . only 8 days left! And, usually, by this time of year, I am going a little crazy, because I still have sooooooooooooo many gifts to finish! And, while that is true this year, they ARE getting done, little by little! (And, the ONLY gift that I had to mail, to Colorado, is DONE and mailed -- WOO HOO!!!)

I have vowed to hand-make as many gifts as possible, this year, to make it more meaningful to the receiver (hopefully!) and, I'll be honest, cut down on costs! But, it has been very rewarding for me, I will say! And, it is amazing how creative you can get, if you put your mind to it! Shanna, can I get an "AMEN!"

This ornament, for example, was made for me, last year, by my darling friend, Michelle. (Yes, the same Michelle as http://www.papertherapy.com/!) We loved it last year, and we will love it as long as it decides to stay with us! LOL

Anyway, happy shopping, crafting, wrapping, hiding and enjoying . . . for 8 more days! ♥

Start your "12 Days of Christmas" NOW!!!

I don't really understand, I guess, how to count without a calendar in front of me! I actually had to call my cousin, Tiffany, to ask her WHICH day that I needed to start the "12 days . . ." on! I don't know why it is so hard to calculate for me, but I apparently make it much harder than it has to be!

In past years, I have enjoyed participating in leaving gifts at others' doorsteps, for the "12 days. . . " tradition. And, it has ALWYS been a delightful experience. This year, my wallet is a little under the weather, so I don't get to play that game! But, I also have this group of stories, that I bought at a craft show a few years ago, that I am supposed to read . . . one per day . . . during the "12 days . . . "! So, I get to officially start that tonight! Yippee!! I LOVE Christmas stories!

And one last thought . . . HOW DO I STOP THIS MONTH FROM MARCHING PAST SO QUICKLY??? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

It's a Jolly Time with Theron . . . ALWAYS!

Okay, this kid SERIOUSLY cracks me up! He always has some random comment that makes you do a double-take and think, "He is only 2, right???"

He picks up on any and every comment, and repeats it for the next five minutes. Or a comment could pop up later, and make everyone laugh their faces off!

Saturday night we were headed to the Chandler Parade of Lights. (It was closer and easier access than the Phoenix parade. But, from what I saw on TV, the Phoenix Parade of lights was worth it. No offense, Chandler.) Anyway, I rode with my brother, Jeremy, and his family, to see the parade. Theron was sitting next to me, in his card seat. He showed me his band-aid on his knee, and was telling me about his owie. He was playing with his band-aid a little, so I reached over and smoothed it down. Then, I just rested my hand on the side of his seat.

He picked up my hand, and stuck my pointer finger in HIS nose! EWWWWWWWW! I said, "Theron, don't pick your nose with my finger!", as I took my hand back. He said, "I pick my nose with my finger . . . " as he proceeded to do so.

I asked him, "Do you need a Kleenex?" He responded with a resounding, "Nope!" and then stuck his finger, newly removed from his nose, into his mouth. DOUBLE EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

I said, "Theron, DON'T eat your boogers!" to which he promptly replied, "But I wanna have a snack!"

I literally threw my head back and laughed at his response! (I believe that his maternal grandfather has said that before . . . I think I was there when he said it!) I said, "Oh my gosh, that was soooooooooooo funny!"

For the next few minutes, he said, "Oh my gosh!" At one point he even said my name, and when I said, "What, Theron?" he said "Oh my gosh!" This boy is a parrot . . . and not always in a good way!! At least he keeps us laughing!

December . . . . It's BAAAAAAACK!

I don't know about anyone else, but December for me is ALWAYS about too many things to do, and not quite enough time to do it all! I wish, on a yearly basis, that I could go without sleep, for just one month of the year, so that I could get more done!

It is only the 5th of December, and I have already stayed up way too late 3 nights of this month! Not a good indicator of how the month will continue!

The only saving grace??? I started my hand-made gifts in October, so I won't be completely bogged down, on Christmas Eve, by all the gifts that I still need to make.

This year is panning out a LOT differently, for me, than years past. I don't get to participate in my own little Christmas tradition of attending "The Forgotten Carols" this year . . . no funds in the budget! And, no work Christmas lunch, this year! Not even any decorations, in the office, because nobody wants to light up a place that is closing by December 29th! I don't like Bah Humbug attitudes, but I can understand.

That's where my stress level gets cranked up, this year! Sooooooooooooooo many things to wrap up at work, but too much to do, at home, to be able to devote too many extra hours to work! But, somehow I will focus on the beauty of giving, and keep my eye on the Savior, Jesus Christ, this season, to remember why we celebrate.

And, looking forward to some family time, in the mountains in CA, for Christmas, is helping me get through! It's always good to have a goal, you know! And, there is talk of playing in the snow! Woo Hoo!!