Merry Christmas!

This Christmas season I've been pondering a quote from a little girl in my Sunday school class. I was telling the story of Jesus' birth and paused after the angel's announcement to Mary to ask the class what they thought Mary might have been feeling just then. The answer was, "Mary was probably freaking out!" That's probably not a bad modern translation!

But who wasn't freaking out in the Christmas story?

Zechariah -- certainly freaked out by the appearance of the angel in the temple and the fact that he couldn't speak for at least 9 months as a result of his unbelief.

Joseph -- who wouldn't be freaked out to discover your fiance is pregnant?

King Herod -- he might just be the most freaked out with a threat to his throne. He was someone who had killed his own sons (not to mention many others) in his jealousy to keep the throne of the Jews for himself.

Shepherds -- Scripture says they were "sore afraid" when the angels appeared to them.

Wisemen -- don't you think they were a bit freaked out by the warning in their dream not to return to Herod?

The only person who was never freaked out at any point in the story is Christ Himself. God (as manifested in the person of Jesus Christ) entered history "in the fullness of time", at the precise moment that was most fitting in God's eyes. Every minute detail was fulfilling Old Testament prophecies and pointing to the culmination of God's redemptive work on the cross. Christ's death and resurrection mean, for those trusting in Him, that we need not fear the most freaked out moment of all time -- when we stand before the judgment seat of Almighty God.

Christmas was the visible beginning of this great work of PEACE -- reconciling men to God. Rejoice in this incredible gift!

Getting Closer

I'm finally "home for the holidays"!!!! I've been out every morning (or entire day) this week and I'm excited that everything outside the home is finished. Time for some tea, a little sit down, some Christmas music, and the cooking, cleaning, wrapping, sewing, etc.

Laura and I have been wearing our red shoes a lot! She wears hers everyday and I'm kind of close to that this week. Must paint my nails red -- realized I had no red nail polish in the house since Emily moved out so I had to buy some! It's a waste to paint my nails because they are immediately ruined from dishes and cooking, but it does feel festive.

Andrew had a new stomach bug on Wednesday night. He's better now but we are all on the edge to see if anyone comes down sick tomorrow. I can't imagine two Christmases in a row with the stomach bug!

I've got to have surgery on my left eye on Tuesday. Sadly, my Grave's disease (thyroid) has spread to my eyes, causing problems with the left eye. Surgery should mask the problem and keep more damage from happening. Right now my left eye is bulging and opens far too wide. Surgery will bring the lid down and make me look normal again. It will be my first time to "go under." I hope I don't react to the anesthetic! Thankfully, Michael has next week off!!

I still haven't found my Christmas notebook in which I write down everything during the holidays. I'm willing to pay $5 to whoever finds it. Actually, I'm almost willing to pay more like $10 or $20, but I haven't told the kids that yet.

I can't wait to finish up the sewing -- I've had fun with it and hope the recipients will be pleased. And then there is the wrapping which I haven't started.......

I hope you all make lots of progress with your last minute preparations!

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas

It feels wonderful to be able to socialize again after staying home for a week or two. I think being with people is putting me more in the Christmas mood!

I've been using my biscotti as gifts. Might as well make something you are familiar with making! We are also making homemade marshmallows again, which are delicious with homemade hot chocolate (or Trader Joe's sipping chocolate).

We had a little gluten-free cookie exchange which was a lot of fun. We tried these cute snowman cookies which I saw on Pinterest.

And I think these chocolate mice are going to become a tradition in our family. They are just too cute not to make. (These did not yet have their eyes.)

And there are the homemade marshmallows....yum, yum!

One book we always read every year is Becky's Christmas by Tasha Tudor. I'm so afraid the library will soon retire the copy I check out and I'll be stuck waiting until the price of the book comes into my price range. Becky's Christmas captures so many of the traditions or philosophy's of Christmas that I enjoyed as a child (handmade gifts, sugar cookies, homemade advent calendars). I think the book has been inspiring to my kids too.

We also discovered Victorian Farm Christmas Special. Have I mentioned Victorian Farm and Edwardian Farm to you? They are BBC productions about what life on a farm would have been like in those periods. We LOVED them. Well, it looks like they made a 3-episode special, returning to the Victorian Farm a year later than the original program. If you have time, watch all three episodes. If you don't have time, watch the third episode.

And, now that it is 9:20p.m. I better head off to the workshop to get in a few hours of sewing.....

Elving in Earnest

We have emerged from the sickness cocoon and are attempting to re-enter the holiday life. My mind is in a bit of a whirlwind trying to figure out how to manage the baking, the sewing, the shopping, and everything else. I think it is all put down on paper now....One helpful thing is that my health has been better lately and I am able to get up early again!

This package was ordered by a friend and sent off during the week. I always want to keep these creations.....

I have been sewing and sewing plaid flowers this December. I can't get enough of them. Maybe because our family has always loved plaid and now plaid is "in".

Another baby gift was finished up at the end of the week. I always knit a pattern and then keep knitting it! But I liked the results.....

Yesterday was the funeral of our dear friend Margie. She loved plaid too -- and maybe that's another reason I've enjoyed making the flowers. Of course the day brought back many memories and made me sad too. Margie and I had some wonderful times together and they seem so far away now as Margie's illness meant we said goodbye slowly over many years. The best memories center around tea, stories of Scotland, and our trip together to Scotland (pictured below -- and don't laugh too hard at my clothes!).

Well, it's time to be off to breakfast with the sister's and then the children's Christmas piano recital and this evening the Nutcracker with Rachel!!!!

Christmas Cookies

Christmas baking is such a tradition around here. My favorite is the peppermint candycane cookie, which I'm not sure yet how I will transfer to gluten-free. Absolute standard is the decorated sugar cookie. Most traditional is Scottish shortbread made from my great-grandmother's recipe. My mental list this year looks like this:

regular sugar cookies

gluten-free sugar cookies

shortbread

gluten-free shortbread

regular candycane cookies

try a gluten-free candycane cookie

peanut clusters

macaroons -- both coconut and parisian

maybe chocolate chip cookies

maybe forgotten cookies

various biscotti

First, we have to get the stomach flu completely out of the house. I can't do any baking until we are not contagious! Last year we never even managed to give away any baking because we were so sick.

Peppermint Ice Cream

Did I forget to mention that I made peppermint ice cream to go with our peppermint cake on Sunday? It was scrumptious! You can find the recipe over here on The Cooks Next Door. Certainly worth making once this holiday season!

December Birthdays

We celebrated birthdays on Sunday -- mine, my sister Emily's and her boyfriend, Craig's.

After church, before lunch, the kids got busy decorating the Christmas tree.

Christmas is so much fun for kids!!!

Then we had Sausage and Kale Soup for lunch with bread and salad.

The three sisters together -- see my latest knitting project? That's my red Madelinetosh wool I brought back from NYC.

Check out the birthday cake!!! Made for us by Christina and requested by me from the Southern Living Peppermint Cheesecake Layer Cake!

One cake -- three birthdays.

It was everything I hoped for!!! yum, yum, yum!

Mom painted pretty packages and there was lots of gift-opening.

Plenty of tea and chat......

And the tree, as completed by the kids.....

Now, today, we are all in the throes of the stomach flu, unhappily shared among the family. Oh well, this means we should be well by Christmas, unlike last year when we ate chicken soup for Christmas dinner.