December Highlights

We started the Christmas season decorating gingerbread houses at Jay and Micky's, as we do each year. I made this house for Joe since he and Safety Man were in Seattle at a MMA event where grown men beat each other up. Per Joe's request, I made the house with plenty of sugar cubes and icing. This is what all of my hard work looked like the day after. He ate the roof - all sugar cubes. Yuck. It's all about the candy with that guy.

This is my new nativity scene. One of my favorite things. It's displayed prominently in the center of my kitchen, on the island, so it's always in view.

Lily played in a soccer tournament on the first two weekends of the month. Her team lost in the finals in triple over time. It was a 0-0 game until the fatal suicide kick killed us. December has been mostly clear but cold. When we arrived at the fields early the first morning it was a brutal 17 degrees. Why is this a "highlight"?, you may be wondering. It's because I'm morphing into a soccer mom. I like it. Go figure. Finding the ideal Christmas tree at Stony Ridge Farms is a tradition, but also a challenge for us. This year we (I) decided Lily would have the honor of picking our tree in a successful attempt to stop the bickering over which tree is best. It'll be Joe's turn next year. (I want a white, flocked tree. Can you still get those or are they deemed too toxic, flammable or otherwise dangerous? )

This is Lily dashing off in her fancy socks to find our tree.

Of course, she's happy she'll get her choice. Joe? Not so much.

But, like the trooper he is, he has accepted defeat and helps Lily find her favorite.

Too small. (Her Christmas socks remind of the Wicked Witch as they shrivel up under the fallen house - but I digress.)

Finally. (How curious. Lily's tree looks like the one Joe described as his favorite.) Now, we're off to eat homemade apple, caramel pie that is made here at the farm. It's really not about the tree...

This is Moses. He plays the part of the camel at Stony Ridge's Nativity Scene.

I made toasted coconut marshmallows for the first time this year. They were easy and a surprise big hit. I'm happy to share my (Ina Garten's) recipe.

Lily made Joe this super soft blanket.(with the help of my mom.) I gave him the luxurious robe and he got a new hat from Safety Man - so he won't catch a cold while carrying firewood to the house. I guess we all want him to be warm and cozy. He's well taken care of.

Lily was very happy with the special picture I gave her. It's made of real flowers by Sister Lucy who is now in Heaven.

Here's Harvey at the end of the evening on Christmas day, already in his jammies. He can crawl on his belly and elbows like his uncle Kirby, an army guy, AND eat the crumbs off the floor at the same time. He's brilliant, strong and resourceful.

Max, Lucy and Harvey Jones. A trio of sweetness and delight. I love them so much.

Lucy is ready to head home after spending Christmas day with the family. There were a mere 19 of us at our house to celebrate this year. A small crowd by comparison. It was wonderful.

As delightful as all these highlights were, the two most precious treasures of the season for our family were the new babies. Peter Willard ~ Andrew and Sara's 3rd child and Dashel Edward born on Christmas Eve in Vicenza, Italy ~ Kirby and Gina's 2nd son. With Kirby in Afghanistan our thoughts and prayers are with Gina as she takes care of their family and especially with Kirby as he misses them and stays out of harms way.

Finally, I have to make a confession. As much as I loved all of the above, and believe me, it was a very good December, one of my most favorite parts of this Christmas were the leftovers. Yes, the food. The day after, I ate prime rib and yorkshire pudding, dripping with aus jus and a dollop of hot horseradish for breakfast. Lunch was peppermint ice cream cake with an especially decadent chocolate cookie crust. I snacked on cheesecake in the mid afternoon (with cherry sauce) and for dinner I devoured more yorkshire pudding, smothered with my moms extremely rich but superb crab dip. This was pure gluttony. Since gluttony is one of the 7 deadly sins, I don't recommend this indulgence but it was very, very good.