a southern christmas meal

This is the first year that we aren't doing a big extended family Christmas dinner. Growing up, I had several Christmas dinners so to speak. We always got together with my mother's family (a grandmother "Granny", 5 sisters, 1 brother, their spouses and all the children) the weekend before Christmas. Then, we did the big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve with my father's family (1 grandmother, 1 grandfather, 3 sisters, 1 brother, their spouses and again a whole passel of children).

Neither of the get-togethers were fancy. It was strictly potluck, but we had more food than you could ever imagine - turkey, ham, chicken, dressing, appetizers, casseroles galore, desserts. Every female had a new dish plus the one they had perfected throughout the years that they wanted to showcase, so to speak. No one, male or female, made a fuss over who was carving the turkey, but Southern women do stake a claim whose makes the dressing.

You see, whether you know it or not, there is a difference between stuffing and dressing. Stuffing is good, but dressing, well good dressing, is like a piece of Heaven. My mother, for years, was the queen bee when it came to dressing. In fact, I was well into my 30s before she would even share her recipe with me and even then, it was pinch of this and pinch of that until it reaches a trick, soupy consistency. No genuine recipe, for sure. But, with much guidance and trial, I think my dressing is really close to my mother's. When my mother passed, I thought I might be able to make her dressing and bring it to the family gatherings. I soon learned otherwise as the next one on the matriarchal list quickly let me know that she had the dressing covered.

Back to the Christmas dinners, by the time Christmas day actually arrived, my mother was quite tired of Christmas/holiday food so she instituted the big Christmas breakfast and light lunch/dinner for the other meal.

After I got married, the holidays became much more stressful with the addition of my husband's family. It's the juggling of family time that makes the holidays so hard. The first few years of marriage, we nearly killed ourselves trying to split the day with each of our families and finally we came up with a system. One family will get Thanksgiving day and the other family will get Christmas day and the next year we flip. It seems to be working for now.

This year, we will have my dad, his friend and my niece over at our house on Christmas eve and then my dad is planning on coming over on Christmas day for a bit. That is, if weather allows. You see, they are predicting measurable snow in Alabama on Christmas day. If it happens, it would be the first time ever recorded and it means that my dad probably won't make it to the house since we live up on a mountain and the roads won't be driveable. So, it may just be me and the boys on Christmas day.

In any case, it's a little surreal for me to think that all of Christmas dinner is up to me, but I'm getting a little handle on it and have been having some fun planning it out. So, without a further ado, I bring you this Southern woman's menu:

Christmas Eve

Apply Cider Vinaigrette Salad with dried cranberries, walnuts, and feta

Shish Kabobs

Roasted Asparagus

Baked potatoes

Rosemary bread

Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake

Christmas Day

Smoked turkey breasts

Honey glazed ham

Stuffed celery

Mama's cornbread dressing

Sweet potato casserole

Green beans

Cranberry orange relish

Rolls

Egg custard pie

Perhaps, with it potentially being a Christmas without the the extended family, I could take a less ambitious approach to the food, but what's the fun of that? So if you're in the area, and you feel like dropping by, come on over! We may still be in our pj's but the the food will be divine.

The Christmas Story Through a Mother's Eyes

This was posted on my mom's Bible study blog. It's a really nice article that I thought was worthy of reposting...

"The Christmas story holds new meaning for me this year as a mother. Whether you believe as a Christian or simply know the story, it's an incredible one.

Mary of Nazareth was no more than 15 years old when the angel Gabriel came to her and said she would bear the Son of God, that she would carry -- through the power of the Holy Spirit -- the Savior of the world. She was engaged to an older man, a carpenter named Joseph. Though she was scared and had no idea if her husband-to-be would believe this divine event had really occurred, she simply said, "Let it happen as God so chooses."

And then there's Joseph. Imagine finding out that your bride-to-be is pregnant before your wedding day -- before you've even had "relations" -- and she tells you a story about being the one chosen to carry the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Joseph believed and supported her.

When Mary was nine months pregnant, they were forced to travel well over 70 miles (by donkey!) to the town of Bethlehem, where they were to take part in the census. While there, it came time for Mary to give birth. With all the people in town for the census, there was not an inn or house that had room for them. So they settled in a stable, the only shelter available -- even for a mother about to give birth. Jesus was born in a manger, amongst common barn animals. No doctor. No drugs. No privacy. No family but Joseph and the shepherds looking on.

While this story took place more than 2,000 years ago, it holds some amazing truths for families like mine and yours, no matter what holidays you celebrate. It's a story of incredible faith, of ultimate sacrifice and love, of believing in what you cannot see -- all things that in today's time seem so far-fetched. To endure a lifetime with a child, knowing that he would be taken from you too soon ... how many of us would do that today?

As a Catholic, I have always considered Mary to be the ultimate symbol of what a mother should be. And now that I have my own child, I recognize her strength that much more. To give both physically and emotionally without thinking comes with the territory for us mothers. And in this season, the story is a constant reminder of the sacrifices we make each day for our children. "

written by: Christina Montoya Fiedler resides in Los Angeles, Calif., with husband Andy and son Joseph. She juggles baby and work from home as a freelance publicist and attributes her strong love for life and sense of humor to her loving familia.

From www.momlogic.com

A couple of cute pics...

I have such a hard time getting pics of the boys interacting. Most of the time, by the time I find my camera, the moment has past and someone is left in tears. But, today I caught 2 really precious pictures and thought I would share.

Breakfast is so much better

when you have a brother to share it with.

Lil'G loves story time by big brother

W says..

I thought it would be cute to do a post along the lines of "kids say the darnedest things." As an almost 3-1/2 yo, W comes up with some pretty funny stuff sometimes. So here are a few:

* "Mama, when you grow up you're going to be a new mommy." Mmmm, alright?

* "When Honey (our almost 10yo Boxer) grows up, he's gonna be a new puppy." If it were only that simple.

* W: "Knock, knock."

Me: "Who's there?"

W: "Elephant"

Me: "Elephant who?"

W: "Elephant eats carrots. Hahahaha! Dat's funny."

* "Daddy, you're a real boy." As opposed to a fake one...

* "We can't go to the Zoo at night. The animals are sweeping. Maybe, next summer."

* "Greysie, you can't go out of Honey's door. It's for dogs. You're a boy, ok? Maybe, next December."

Kendall Boggs Contest

This is from http://kendallboggsfineart.blogspot.com/ Go for your chance to win a new painting for your home!

From Kendall:

Time for a Christmas GIVEAWAY! I'm doing this one a little different this time! I'm gonna let YOU chose which of these two paintings you want (once you win) I'm also gonna change up the rules a bit.

Okeey Dokey

You can have a chance to post 3 times!

For one post....tell me your favorite Christmas memory

To post twice? sign up to follow my blog (or if you're already a follower, tell a friend!)

To post THREE times???? Tell everyone about my contest on YOUR blog or cut and paste on your facebook page!!! (be sure and post your blog site in your post)

These are the two paintings:

"Father, Son, and The Holy Spirit"

15 x 30 mixed media on gallery wrapped canvas - unframed

550.00

"Four Dripping Trees"

15 x 30 mixed media on gallery wrapped canvas - unframed

550.00

Contest ends Tuesday, December 14th at 6 p.m. CST

My trusty random number generator will pick!

Good luck everyone!!!

and

Merry Christmas!

To my surprise...

S and I were watching the news this morning and what to my wandering eyes should appear is my "niece" who is really my cousin's child should appear. They were doing a feature on a woman who become an artist after working with the kids at Camp Smile-A-Mile which is a camp primarily for children with cancer or in remission for cancer. When my sweet niece was 2-1/2 she was diagnosed with leukemia. It was such devastating news, but through the grace of God she has been in remission for 8 or so years now. God is so good.

This wonderful, adorable, smart and sassy girl can be found at 1:15. I love you, sweet girl!

W's 1st Christmas program

It was one for the memory books for sure, because it turned out nothing like I expected. Where to begin? From little G singing along to Jingle Bells "HEY!" to him yelling "Bubby, BUUUUUBBBEEEE!" upon spotting W, he was quite the handful. Thankfully, S is a great guy and took care of the screamin'demon. Besides that, it was my baby's first Christmas program and I couldn't wait to hear him sing his little heart out. I knew it was going to be so special. That is, until I saw him marching in, and I knew from the moment I spotted him that he had a little problem that he was fixated on. For your viewing pleasure, I bring you "W's first Christmas program."