This post was most recently updated on May 18th, 2015
First of all, let me apologize for the lack of Farm Mama posts over the past few weeks. Between winding down the kids’ activities for the year, getting ready for Christmas (which was a frenzied process since we didn’t even start decorating until December 10th and hadn’t done ANY of our shopping before the 19th!) and preparing for a mega cold, snow and ice laden weather front … well, I was distracted.
The good news is we got fences mended and the cattle moved home from the other place so they have a safe, warm place to spend the winter. We also managed to knock out some pretty spectacular gift shopping in one day and got all the decorations up a whopping 4 days before the big event. Yay, us!
We managed to have a pretty successful holiday, overall. Our annual Tour of Lights (which is a fancy way of describing us driving around town with hot chocolate, looking at people’s decorated houses) was a little more fun this year due to the scavenger hunt element: I handed out a list of specific items for the kids to look for as we toured. I used a printable from the Internet that was clearly designed for a more sophisticated, metropolitan area than our tiny little town – we never did see a lighted dolphin. Anyway – the kids had fun with it and next year I think I’ll do a little pre-tour research and make up my own list with some things that they might only find around here. The highlight of our light-seeing trip was, hands down, the house on Walnut Street, where the owner rigged up his lights (generously spread around the yard, trees and house) to a radio receiver so they flashed in time to Christmas music broadcast on a specific station. These lights have been up for a while and every Monday night, my girls have been making me walk the block and a half from their dance studio to that very house so they can dance to the music and watch the show. But this was the first time my boys had seen the house and we were all very entertained. It’s just the checkers, as my daddy would say.
I won’t go into all the gory details of the gift-stravaganza that occurred on Christmas morning. Suffice it to say that even though we had a leaner holiday than years’ past, the kids were plenty happy with their haul. At the end of the day, the three oldest all commented on what a great Christmas it had been. The Sissies were thrilled with the drum set and guitar they found under the tree and our oldest son hasn’t taken off his new set of BDU’s and Army boots since opening them Christmas morning. Although the insignia says ‘Major’, we expect him to increase in ‘rank’ the longer he wears them … Get it? Rank? Tee hee … It took less than 30 seconds for the dog to tear the tail off her new stuffed lobster, rip out the squeaker and give us a look that plainly said, “Why do you get me such weak companions?” And the baby has barely put down the new toy smart phone we got him, unless it’s to play with the different toy smart phone my parents gave him. So, everyone seems pretty well satisfied. And for the first time, our 11 year old daughter decided to use some of her own savings to get gifts for the whole family. This is especially momentous because she’s the (sad to say) most selfish of our children – I’m hoping this wonderful development is the beginning of a new, more considerate and less self-absorbed path for her.
Of course, for us, the most looked forward to part of any holiday is the food, and Christmas is certainly no exception. This year, the Sissies took to the kitchen and made batch after batch of cookies. It’s so nice for them to be able to do this and they have such fun in the kitchen. If only they would be as excited about cleaning up the mess they make! My son got into the spirit and whipped up his favorite candy treat – homemade peanut butter cups. Only he makes them like a bar in a pan because he’s too anxious to get to the eating part to go through all the trouble of making the little cups. I contributed pies, which are always in demand, as well as some particularly yummy marshmallow rice cereal treats made with those divine caramel vanilla marshmallows. Yum. Coupled with the special batch of peanut butter cookies my daughter made her Daddy for his gift, I thought we would all be in a sugar coma by the time it was all gone. But then my parents borrowed my big mixer to make candy and showed up at our house Christmas morning with a 9 x 13 pan full of even more treats. Yikes. When dinner time rolled around, no one was particularly hungry, but somehow managed to make room for the succulent (there’s just no other word that would adequately describe it) pork roast my darling husband smoked in apple wood, the cheesey crock pot potatoes, homemade bread, cranberry salad with pristine white frosting made from cream cheese and whipped topping, roasted asparagus, steamed green beans, delectable cheese log and assorted crudite heaped on my sturdy dining room table in my tiny dining room. Praise Jesus we’re not having any more children, because by the time all 6 of us crowded around the table, along with my parents and brother … there was hardly room for the Trophy Dachshund to shark around our feet. Not that she didn’t find a way to wedge herself at the feet of my mother, who is well known for dropping food both accidentally and on purpose. Needless to say, we were all well-fed and the leftovers have been feeding us since. I love Christmas!
Naturally, the reason for the holiday itself wasn’t forgotten or pushed aside in our celebration. We are always grateful for the precious Savior, born on this day and his birthday is celebrated in much the same manner as other birthdays in our house – give or take a little pomp and solemnity. We talk about his life, his teachings and what kind of man he was. And we endeavor every year, to incorporate more Jesus and less materialism into our holiday. Which is getting a little easier since the economy is so crappy and we simply can’t afford to go crazy with gifts, right? No – seriously – it’s getting easier every year because we see how a few well chosen, well thought-out gifts show our kids we appreciate their hard work and growth through the year, while at the same time, showing them that the true gifts in life are not purchased with cash or credit, on sale, with a coupon or at a BOGO special. I hope all y’all had a wonderful, blessed, joyful day, whether you spent it with family, friends or in quiet reflection of the reason for the whole season.
