Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Eve ~
I've been baking up a storm today - 2 apple pies and 3 Cranberry Eggnog Braids so far - so I'll just pause a moment to wish you a joyful and blessed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! We are having our traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner tonight - crab-stuffed mushrooms, tuna spaghetti, shrimp fettuccine alfredo, meatballs, salad, garlic bread, with cream puffs and Christmas cookies for dessert. Tomorrow morning is a sausage-egg bake, orange wedges, and the Cranberry Eggnog braid. Then dinner tomorrow evening will be glazed ham w/ pineapple sauce, mashed potatoes, cauliflower & broccoli casserole, Holiday Ribbon Jello, and whole wheat rolls, followed by the apple pie. Yummmmeee! Does it seem like FOOD is a big part of my holiday celebrations? I really do like to cook, and my family likes to eat, so the combination works out great!

My husband and 2 of the kids are out braving the MALL, finishing up some last minute shopping. You know, one of these days I'll figure out how to get my Christmas shopping done ahead of time....yeah, right. I don't even like to THINK about Christmas ( although it is my favorite holiday and I LOVE Christmas!) until after Thanksgiving. I did start ordering gifts online the day after Thanksgiving ( I refuse to join the mobs in the stores on Black Friday), but when you are buying gifts for 7 people, plus grandparents, it takes a while! My kids are apparently a lot like me, because most of them were out doing their Christmas shopping yesterday!

I am very blessed to have all my family - plus my "adopted daughter"- home for Christmas. My prayers are with those families, like my friend, Lea's, who are missing their soldiers serving far away. And for those like Kate's, dealing with illness and hospitals and separation during the holidays.

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