Christmas Weekend

After a the whirlwind that was last week and this weekend, everything has finally slowed down.

Our family Christmas celebration began, as usual, on Saturday afternoon. We were able to have Mimi over for a light meal before Mass, but the fun began much before that. I already had my cheesecake made, so I was able to direct my attention elsewhere, and I decided to expand on my domesticity. I took the plunge and decided to make some bread. Not banana bread, not pumpkin bread, real yeast and flour white bread. To make things more fun, I also invited Cody and Kyle over to help me. They really were a big help, and we had a great time baking bread! After we left the dough to rise, my mom asked if we would also make a dessert for us to have after our afternoon meal and start cooking the chicken for the soup. Needless to say, the boys and I kept plenty busy in the kitchen. We also listened to Mannheim Steamroller CDs while we worked, which made the time go much faster. Much to my delight, the boys have really developed quite the love of good Christmas music.

Later in the day, my mom picked up Mimi and we had a lovely dinner of homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls. Shortly after our meal, we loaded up and headed to church for Mass. I thought that I would have to serve, as usual, but I ended up being reprieved, so I got to sit with my family...well, sort of. I actually sat a row in front of them with our distant cousins, the Vaverkas, but it was still with my family nonetheless.

After we got home, I was greeted by my favorite musical on TV, The Sound of Music. I watched it for a while before Tevis came over. When he finally got here, I gave him his present, a cologne by True Religion called Drifter, which he seemed to love. We spent the rest of the evening making the topping to my cheesecake and visiting Wyatt. (Wyatt was thrilled to see his "bro", which is how he now refers to Tevis.) After Tevis left, I watched the ceremonial airing of the Midnight Mass from St. Peter's in Rome. It is probably redundant to watch Mass after already going, and I inevitably fall asleep during the homily, because of the translator and the fact that the Pope speaks very slowly, but I still enjoy watching it and marveling at the beauty of the basilica, while further reflecting on the message of Christmas. (I fell asleep just before Communion, by the way...a personal record for me!) A great evening was had by all on Christmas Eve!

Christmas day was just as good, as it was a day full of family and fun! When everyone finally made it over, we had a great lunch of pork loin, mashed potatoes, and veggies. After lunch, we got around to opening presents, and my serene, tidy living room suddenly turned into a wrapping-paper strewn, frenzied madhouse in a matter of a few minutes. As for me, I got a springform pan (to make my cheesecakes!), a skillet set, a saucepan set, some Tupperware, a paring knife, a Betty Crocker cookbook, a some lotion/bath gel/perfume, and a necklace. Do you notice an overwhelming trend there? I am super-duper excited about my cooking paraphernalia, as I am ready to cook when I go back to my dorm! Everyone else liked their presents, as some of the highlights were a steam mop for my mom, new jeans for my dad, chimineas for Gina, Emily, and their families, a scarf for Taylor, a Shark sweeper for Cody, a Lego model set for Wyatt, "cowboy clothes" for Kyle, a John Deere truck for Andy, and I'm not sure what Cole's favorite gift was, but ours was having him here to love and hold!

After everyone calmed down from the present high, we had some dessert. The red velvet cheesecake was well-received, although it was a mite bit rich, as I will further discuss in an upcoming post. We also had a fruit salad that my mom made, the dessert from the day before, which we never got around to eating with the soup, and a coconut cream pie, which we forgot to get out on Sunday...oops. After everything was said and done, Cody helped Wyatt assemble his Lego set, Kyle played with Andy's tractor, Andy napped, and Cole mostly ate, so he can get big enough to run with the big boys. I think that most of the adults, except Mom and possibly Emily took a nap at some point, so that was an added bonus to our already great day!

I hope that everyone else had a great Christmas celebration, and remembered the reason for our celebration. As Wyatt told us, "Christmas isn't just about presents. It's about spending time with family, and Jesus's birthday!"