Christmas eve ....

Christmas eve was so much fun

with our kids and grandkids

all clean and ready for the family

"the calm before the storm"

I put the tree in the living room this year and I really missed

having it in the den where I could see it every evening when

watching TV....I did this because of Khaleesi but then

ended up putting her in a crate

oh well...

the dining room table all ready for dinner

I do not have my coffee bar set up anymore

I'm looking for another piece of furniture to use for that

I saw the perfect piece at Costco and really regret I didn't

get it because now it's no longer available 

so I'm on the lookout!

here I am cooking again!

as much as I love it, cooking for a crowd will wear you out!

we now have to put a children's table up

when all of the kids and grandkids are here for dinner

I guess Khaleesi Rue was hoping she was going

to get a seat at that table

Our menu was...

London broil with horseradish sauce

rolls

pasta salad

lima beans

garden salad

and Daddy's dessert! 

We don't know what it is called, it's a recipe a friend gave him

and he makes it every year so we just call it "daddy's dessert"

For our appetizer, I did for the first time a charcuterie board

that's just a fancy word for salt preserved meats
I was so excited to make one of these, had been looking all
through Pinterest at all of the beautiful boards
I think it turned out pretty good with a good selection
of cheese and meats. Then some nuts, olives, artichoke hearts,
fig jam, bread sticks, grapes, dried cranberries, grapes, blackberries,
 crackers and mustard

I did a smaller one too so that Jacquelyn, who is a vegetarian could

have a nice selection of cheese, nuts and crackers

Jacquelyn bought Christmas crafts for the kids to entertain

them before dinner. So very thoughtful and the kids loved it

Declan, Gabe and Avery

John Thomas

Maddox and Nicole 

the kids and grandkids exchange their Christmas gifts

on Christmas eve.....and have so much fun

2 little princess'

so much fun and also so exhausting

topping the evening off with a little Bailey's. That is

always my treat during Christmas vacation

later....

Christmas baking ......

I love baking goodies at Christmas

One of my favorites is the cinnamon rolls I make

I use the Pioneer Woman's recipe and I do not stray from it at all

I follow the exact recipe and they turn out fabulous

The first batch I made was on the day it was snowing

I made 8 tins of rolls

Then the next weekend I made them when my friend Janace

came over. We love getting together and making the buns

And we made another 8 tins

it's messy and fun to make

rolling the dough out and then covering it 

in butter, sugar and cinnamon

here they are all covered up so the dough will rise again

the icing is the best part....maple flavoring with a little bit of coffee in it

here they are .. all baked and cooling so I can put them in the freezer

then I like to share with family and friends to have on Christmas morning

this was the first year I made this.....it's Ritz crackers, covered in homemade

toffee, covered in chocolate then covered in pecans. Holy moly, really

really good

I always make these Russian tea cookies.

aka...Mexican wedding cookies or snowball cookies

Failed to take a picture of the other goodies....

lots and lots of Buckeyes and Haystacks

later.....

Christmas decorations ....

There was a time that the only outside decorations

we put up was a wreath on the door, greenery around

the doorway and railings and white candles

in every window

Johnny always wanted more. So then I said ok, fine, put your

tacky lights up in the backyard. So he did

he covered the back deck in colorful lights

then it moved to the fence

and then it started to creep into the front yard

and it was fine.....it was time to let him have fun

with all of the crazy lights

and he really loves it

we call this the random tree. He just has random lights

that he throws in the tree, it looks different every year

and just looks really cool

I think it was Dec 8th....it snowed!! 

and wow, Christmas lights look even better in the snow!

later....

Christmas 2016 ....

I think every year I say we had the best Christmas ever

so this year is no different....best Christmas ever!

Though to be honest, it was also one of the hardest. Last year, not

having momma with us was really bad. And then this year

not having daddy with us....well, it just really sucks once 

both of your parents are gone. 

Johnny and I have so many traditions with our kids

we have kept all of the old ones and always adding

new ones. But this year, all of those traditions changed

and that's ok

we always knew it would happen and it was fine.

In the past, the kids all came over at once, it was loud

and crazy and wild and then it was done and they all left

So this year with our changes, it seemed to be more enjoyable

and lasted throughout the day 
But it was the first year since 1981 that we woke up with
no kids in our house so that was very weird

We woke early to go over to Jacquelyn's to watch the kids

see what Santa brought. 

after they opened presents we all had breakfast.

Jake and Kayce joined us 

this was Bucky and Jacquelyn's first time hosting breakfast

and they did such a great job and everything was delicious!

When we left there, Jake and Kayce came back to the house with us

they opened all of their gifts. 

Then we gathered up gifts and went to Tyler and Nicole's

what fun we had with all of the kids opening presents

We came back home and RESTED....showered

and did a little cooking

Then our brother-in-law Tommy came over

Jacquelyn and her crew came over
Nicole and her crew came too

and our niece and her boyfriend came

and we just really had a great day

Santa brought super hero costumes to Declan and Avery

Enjoying delicious breakfast of hash brown casserole, bacon, 

cinnamon buns, fresh fruit

Our 2 little princess'.....so sweet

later....