Saturday, January 23, 2016
Friday, January 22, 2016
Guest Post by Lily: Christmas Eve/Christmas
Christmas Eve:
We were driving home from my Grandpa's Christmas dinner in the thick snow, when my dad asked my mom if we had done donuts before, and she replied with an "I don't think so" and we turned around our car and began driving to the wide, open church parking lot. Then they kept saying that we were going to make donuts at the church. I had never done it before, so when we pulled in I thought we were going to make edible sugary donuts. I shouted out, "We're making donuts at the church at ten thirty while it's snowing on Christmas Eve!" When they began driving in tight circles I realized that we were making the donuts right then. And right then is when I understood. I laughed! Silly me for thinking that we were gonna "Make donuts at the church at ten thirty while it's snowing on Christmas Eve!" Well, we were doing just that, but I thought we were going to eat our donuts. I laughed after that. We drove home in our snow-coated van. Then we each opened our Christmas Eve gifts. Me and Amara both got some sew-your-own-pajamas patterns, and some soft, cute fabric. Then me and Amara went downstairs and climbed into our bed. I closed my eyes with much anticipation and excitement. Then I fell into the land of dreams.
Christmas Day:
I opened my eyes and shook Amara awake. "It's Christmas!" I whispered excitedly. I swung out of bed and we ran into our mom and dad's room hurriedly. We climbed into bed with them and talked to them. Just then my dad grabbed my mom iPad mini and gave it to her. What she saw on the screen was an e-book titled: Lani's Book. She clicked on it and joyfully received my dad's sweet, written words in an e-book he created just for her. That was a happy moment, but it was a little section of the gifts she and us were about to receive. If you don't believe me, take a look at the following pictures:
We were driving home from my Grandpa's Christmas dinner in the thick snow, when my dad asked my mom if we had done donuts before, and she replied with an "I don't think so" and we turned around our car and began driving to the wide, open church parking lot. Then they kept saying that we were going to make donuts at the church. I had never done it before, so when we pulled in I thought we were going to make edible sugary donuts. I shouted out, "We're making donuts at the church at ten thirty while it's snowing on Christmas Eve!" When they began driving in tight circles I realized that we were making the donuts right then. And right then is when I understood. I laughed! Silly me for thinking that we were gonna "Make donuts at the church at ten thirty while it's snowing on Christmas Eve!" Well, we were doing just that, but I thought we were going to eat our donuts. I laughed after that. We drove home in our snow-coated van. Then we each opened our Christmas Eve gifts. Me and Amara both got some sew-your-own-pajamas patterns, and some soft, cute fabric. Then me and Amara went downstairs and climbed into our bed. I closed my eyes with much anticipation and excitement. Then I fell into the land of dreams.
Christmas Day:
I opened my eyes and shook Amara awake. "It's Christmas!" I whispered excitedly. I swung out of bed and we ran into our mom and dad's room hurriedly. We climbed into bed with them and talked to them. Just then my dad grabbed my mom iPad mini and gave it to her. What she saw on the screen was an e-book titled: Lani's Book. She clicked on it and joyfully received my dad's sweet, written words in an e-book he created just for her. That was a happy moment, but it was a little section of the gifts she and us were about to receive. If you don't believe me, take a look at the following pictures:
See? Well, we opened a ton of gifts that day, and it would take FOREVER to record every moment of it, so just take a look here to see what we got. And that ends this post. Bye!
Thursday, January 21, 2016
What's Happened In The Last 10 Years?
I just reconnected online with one of my best friends from high school. She filled me in on her life in a nutshell since the last time I saw her (close to 10 years ago). SO MUCH has happened since then. Now, it's my turn to tell her what's gone on in my life, and where do I even begin? It's amazing how fast time goes and all that has happened in ten years. So, since I'm taking the time to let her know, I thought I'd record it here, as well. I've included a few links to my blog posts, too. So, here's what's happened in the last 10 years, in a nutshell:
2006- My cute little Lily would've been a year old. Our little family of 3 was living in a 2 bedroom basement apartment in Provo. We had great neighbors. We ate every Sunday dinner at either Steve's parents house or my dad's house. We also hauled our laundry over there on the weekends so we wouldn't have to pay to use the laundry facilities. I was a stay-at-home mom, Steve had quit college to get more jobs to pay off the debt we accumulated when Lily was born and when Steve got sick and couldn't work most days for 2-3 months. We made the decision to send Steve back to college to finish his degree, have him quit work so he could finish school quickly, and we moved in with Steve's parents in American Fork. We literally had less than $100 dollars in our bank account (but at least we had paid off our $3000 credit card debt). We filed for government assistance to help us pay for food and health insurance, and I took a once-a-week job restocking the break room at my dad's office. Then at the end of the year, I got pregnant with baby #2.
2007- Pregnancy nausea/dizziness and poor air quality in the winter kept me indoors most days, sick on the couch, watching my daughter play. I had gestational diabetes again, so that meant tracking all my food and pricking myself to test my blood. Spring came, Steve graduated, I felt much better, and we began looking for jobs. Steve got a job teaching 2nd grade in Roosevelt, Utah, so we would have to move by August.
My daughter Amara Leta was born August 1st, and we moved 3 weeks later to the only apartment we could find, but it was in walking distance to the school, which was nice. It was an exhausting time. We met some great friends. In church, Steve was with the scouts, and I did activity days for girls.
2008- I started our family blog at: steveandlani.blogspot.com
I convinced my mom and stepdad to come live by us. My mom, her husband, and stepson moved in with us for a few months until they could find jobs and a place to live. They slept on an air mattress and on a couch in the living room of our tiny 2 bedroom/1 bath apartment. They were such troopers! It was nice to have non-picky eaters, that I could cook for and they would actually be grateful and eat my cooking.
2009- We built a house in Ballard, 5 minutes away, with my step-dad as contractor, and we moved in on Halloween. It was so weird having so much room and privacy, but it now feels cozy and "ours." Our new ward was great, and Steve was called to work with the young men and I was called to be in the primary.
2010- Lily started kindergarten.
2011- I saved 12 bucks on facepainting. You've got to read that blog post. It was pretty much the most impressive thing that happened that year.
2012- I got sick the day after my birthday, it took months of testing to diagnose me, but eventually, it was discovered that I have POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), an autonomic nervous system disorder (basically anything that happens automatically in your body, like blood pressure, heartbeat, hormone regulation, digestion, among many, many others, suddenly and for no determined reason, don't work properly in me) and I also have a heart arrhythmia known as non-sustained ventricular tachycardia. I got quite sick and lost 20 pounds in 3 weeks when I could barely eat more than a few crackers and dried strawberries. Then another 10 pounds came off in the months that followed. It's been a rollercoaster of symptoms- I'll feel just fine, and then I'll feel dizzy or naucious or out-of-breath or whatever. The doctors tried a myriad of medications to relieve symptoms, but there is no cure, and the meds only made me feel worse. So, I've made some diet and lifestyle changes, and I listen to my body. I have developed a greater gratitude for the abilities I do have, and a testimony of prayer and God's goodness through this time.
Amara started kindergarten during this time, and for fear of being alone during an attack, I decided to spend my time at the school, helping out in Steve's classroom. My first daughter was actually in his class that year, so it worked out well. Everyday I felt some symptom or another, especially at night, but all in all, I felt well most of the time, with only a few days each month that really put me down.
2013- I began homeschooling my kids. It's been an overall good adventure of learning for us all.
2014- My girls and I started a blog to help us document our nature studies: wildwestgardeners.blogspot.com
2015- I was called into the Relief Society as the secretary, which has required a lot of time for meetings, visits, and other things. I spend 4-6 hours a week on that. It was really taxing at first, and calling people I didn't know was really hard, but it's much easier now, and I've gained more confidence on the phone.
We also finally paid a professional and got some landscaping done around our house.
It's 2016 now, I feel well the majority of the time. My symptoms are WAY milder than before. I love my God, my family, good food, the beautiful outdoors, homeschooling, HGTV's show "Fixer Upper," gardening, blogging, reading good literature, get-togethers and genealogy. That's me... and that's ten years at a glance.
2006- My cute little Lily would've been a year old. Our little family of 3 was living in a 2 bedroom basement apartment in Provo. We had great neighbors. We ate every Sunday dinner at either Steve's parents house or my dad's house. We also hauled our laundry over there on the weekends so we wouldn't have to pay to use the laundry facilities. I was a stay-at-home mom, Steve had quit college to get more jobs to pay off the debt we accumulated when Lily was born and when Steve got sick and couldn't work most days for 2-3 months. We made the decision to send Steve back to college to finish his degree, have him quit work so he could finish school quickly, and we moved in with Steve's parents in American Fork. We literally had less than $100 dollars in our bank account (but at least we had paid off our $3000 credit card debt). We filed for government assistance to help us pay for food and health insurance, and I took a once-a-week job restocking the break room at my dad's office. Then at the end of the year, I got pregnant with baby #2.
2007- Pregnancy nausea/dizziness and poor air quality in the winter kept me indoors most days, sick on the couch, watching my daughter play. I had gestational diabetes again, so that meant tracking all my food and pricking myself to test my blood. Spring came, Steve graduated, I felt much better, and we began looking for jobs. Steve got a job teaching 2nd grade in Roosevelt, Utah, so we would have to move by August.
My daughter Amara Leta was born August 1st, and we moved 3 weeks later to the only apartment we could find, but it was in walking distance to the school, which was nice. It was an exhausting time. We met some great friends. In church, Steve was with the scouts, and I did activity days for girls.
2008- I started our family blog at: steveandlani.blogspot.com
I convinced my mom and stepdad to come live by us. My mom, her husband, and stepson moved in with us for a few months until they could find jobs and a place to live. They slept on an air mattress and on a couch in the living room of our tiny 2 bedroom/1 bath apartment. They were such troopers! It was nice to have non-picky eaters, that I could cook for and they would actually be grateful and eat my cooking.
2009- We built a house in Ballard, 5 minutes away, with my step-dad as contractor, and we moved in on Halloween. It was so weird having so much room and privacy, but it now feels cozy and "ours." Our new ward was great, and Steve was called to work with the young men and I was called to be in the primary.
2010- Lily started kindergarten.
2011- I saved 12 bucks on facepainting. You've got to read that blog post. It was pretty much the most impressive thing that happened that year.
2012- I got sick the day after my birthday, it took months of testing to diagnose me, but eventually, it was discovered that I have POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), an autonomic nervous system disorder (basically anything that happens automatically in your body, like blood pressure, heartbeat, hormone regulation, digestion, among many, many others, suddenly and for no determined reason, don't work properly in me) and I also have a heart arrhythmia known as non-sustained ventricular tachycardia. I got quite sick and lost 20 pounds in 3 weeks when I could barely eat more than a few crackers and dried strawberries. Then another 10 pounds came off in the months that followed. It's been a rollercoaster of symptoms- I'll feel just fine, and then I'll feel dizzy or naucious or out-of-breath or whatever. The doctors tried a myriad of medications to relieve symptoms, but there is no cure, and the meds only made me feel worse. So, I've made some diet and lifestyle changes, and I listen to my body. I have developed a greater gratitude for the abilities I do have, and a testimony of prayer and God's goodness through this time.
Amara started kindergarten during this time, and for fear of being alone during an attack, I decided to spend my time at the school, helping out in Steve's classroom. My first daughter was actually in his class that year, so it worked out well. Everyday I felt some symptom or another, especially at night, but all in all, I felt well most of the time, with only a few days each month that really put me down.
2013- I began homeschooling my kids. It's been an overall good adventure of learning for us all.
2014- My girls and I started a blog to help us document our nature studies: wildwestgardeners.blogspot.com
2015- I was called into the Relief Society as the secretary, which has required a lot of time for meetings, visits, and other things. I spend 4-6 hours a week on that. It was really taxing at first, and calling people I didn't know was really hard, but it's much easier now, and I've gained more confidence on the phone.
We also finally paid a professional and got some landscaping done around our house.
It's 2016 now, I feel well the majority of the time. My symptoms are WAY milder than before. I love my God, my family, good food, the beautiful outdoors, homeschooling, HGTV's show "Fixer Upper," gardening, blogging, reading good literature, get-togethers and genealogy. That's me... and that's ten years at a glance.
Monday, January 18, 2016
Christmas Isn't Just For Kids! Our Christmas Gifts 2015
Guess what! We woke up Christmas morning to winter wonderland! Snow piled 8-12inches (depending where you measured) on the deck, on the cars, on the whole world! Outside was calm and peaceful, and remarkably beautiful in all the stillness that amount of snow creates.
We stayed at Steve's parent's house for our Christmas break, and we had Christmas morning with them. There were many, many gifts to open this year...
At this year's Christmas Devotional, I was impressed by these words he gave,
These words rung so true to me. He talked about the glimmer of lights, delightful decorations, and feeling special in anticipating our intended gifts. What? You mean it's okay to say Christmas is also about receiving? Introspectively, I realized that as a teen and also as an adult, I've focused for so long on giving, giving, giving, that the childlike luster of the season has dulled through the years. I purposely tried not to even think about the gifts I would be getting. Some would say, it's better that way, so you're not disappointed, but honestly, it sorta dampers the gift when you open it, even if it was something you really like. Maybe this sounds selfish, but I discovered this year that there is joy in BOTH giving AND receiving, and I had been missing my opportunity for joy in receiving by blatantly ignoring it.
We are given many gifts from our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and our gratitude is of prime importance, but let us not forget that these gifts are given with the intent to make us happy, and excited, and overjoyed, and desire for more. As we experience the joy in recieving gifts, it changes the way we give gifts as well. It makes us want to try to have someone else have that same wonderful experience as well. The gifts we give at Christmas can and should be like that too. It's okay to be excited to receive, in fact, it's a sign of gratitude to the gift-giver that you appreciate being thought of. I certainly realize that giving brings incredible joy, especially if you give generously with intent to please or even surprise someone. Now, this year, I realized that I finally found something that I had been missing for so long. Christmas this year was so much more magical as I looked forward to not only giving generously, but also looked on with excitement at the gifts I would be receiving as well.
I let my kids secretly go online shopping with me for their sister and their dad. Amara knew she wanted to give Lily the White Kyerum deck for the Pokemon card game. Apparently, it's pretty powerful. What she didn't know is that Lily wanted to give her the Black Kyerum deck, again pretty powerful. So on Christmas, Amara opened her gift first and was so excited to see that Lily gave her that deck, but she was even more excited to see Lily open her gift, so she found it under the tree, and Lily opened it right away...
Lily's eyes lit up as she unwrapped the White Kyerum deck, and both girls had a good laugh. Neither of them were expecting to receive those gifts, and I was the only one who knew that they were secretly giving them to each other.
It was the joy of gift giving and receiving!
When I asked Steve what he wanted for Christmas earlier in the month, he responded exactly as I had thought he would, with the single word, "Nothing." But I wanted this year to be different. Remember, I had been inspired by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and I wanted to bring back the magic. So, I didn't take that for an answer.
"No, Steve. Really, what do you want, if money wasn't an issue, what would do you really want?"
He was a little annoyed that I didn't accept his swift answer as I usually had in the past, so he obliged me with, "You want to know what I really want? I want five-thousand dollars!"
I thought he was just be short with me, so I prodded, "$5,000.00? What would you even do with that?" To which he responded with a short, but costly list of technology that he needed/wanted in order to do some of the cool things he'd like to do with his photography and which he would need if he were to ever start up his own business.
I could tell he had thought and thought on that, because he knew the prices and the products he wanted, but he knew five-thousand was an insane amount to spend on himself, so he didn't even think it could be possible. I said, "Huh. I see." And I left him in peace.
I knew we didn't have that kind of money in our bank account, but the thought occurred to me that I should check our other bank account that we hardly ever use, yet we sometimes will deposit in it since it is local, and the bank we actively use is 2 hours away.
I went in to the local bank to check, and HOTDOG! That account has been accumulating for a few years, and there was Steve's gift. I just had to withdraw it, wrap it, and wait. I wanted it withdrawn in thousands, but the bank only carries hundreds, so I had 50 hundreds to give. Amara helped me, as we bought a really cheap box of chocolates and a tin of cookies at the family dollar, dumped out the contents, and filled the empty containers with folded up hundreds. We wrote on the box and tin that these were not to be shared, and were Steve's only.
On Christmas, he opened it, saw the containers and fully expecting to find some crappy cookies and chocolates. Then, I insisted he should not share any of it with anyone else, and he decided to have a chocolate. He opened the box up, but when he saw the hundreds, his look went from confusion (What the?), to amazement (This is money! A lot of money! How much money?), to confusion (Is this real? Where did she get all this from?), and then to joy (It is real, and it's for me!). It was priceless.
The gift required a little explanation. I told him and his parents who were all in awe, that the money was ours and came from our hardly-used bank account, and that what he had sitting in front of him was five thousand dollars to be used for those expensive things he wanted to get for his photography or other business ventures. I then related the story of our conversation earlier in the month, and Steve didn't even remember telling me he wanted the $5,000. He really thought it was an impossibility, so he never thought about it again. That made it all the sweeter to see him open this gift. He loved it, and he's been buying up those few, yet expensive items he wanted.
He got all he wanted for Christmas, and some! We ended up wrapping the chocolates and cookies in another box for him to open last, and it said that, "These can be shared."
Amara asked Santa for this glow pet, but guess what! Steve and I had already bought her one, so Santa didn't have to :)
We had a wonderful time unwrapping gifts! I don't have pictures of what I got, but I was so spoiled this year! I'm so grateful for all those who thought of me and gave me gifts. I had requested to my sweet husband that I'd really like to open some gifts this year, and I'm looking forward to it. I told him he didn't have to spend a dime, but I wanted a surprise to open on Christmas. Let me tell you, he took that all to heart and spent hours and hours on my gifts. He created an ebook called, "Lani's Book," and it has poems and short stories he spent hours creating. When the girls awoke and came in our room Christmas morning, Steve reached over, handed me the kindle, and said, "Merry Christmas. I made this for you." It touched my heart as I scrolled through all his hard work and determination to get this done for me for Christmas. I read through some of it then, and I was not let down by the high-caliber compositions he put together. I seriously have an incredibly talented, smart, and sweet husband. When I went upstairs to unwrap gifts beneath the tree, I got all things I love- homemade gifts from the girls, a couple watches from Santa (a beautiful, 2-toned, dressy one, and a really cool PebbleTime smartwatch), A pressure canner (YES!!!), Cutco knives with lifetime sharpening (LOVE!) some undershirts, a cozy blanket, and other gifts I can't remember right now.
Steve told me later that when he was planning my gifts he decided he was going to give me something homemade (ebook), something I need (sharp knives), something fun (watches), and something he thought I would like (pressure canner). That was clever of him.
We spent the rest of Christmas relaxing at home with family and enjoying our new gifts. :)
I didn't take a picture of every gift, in fact, my phone camera wasn't working well at all, so I only got a few pictures. This year, I found so much joy in both giving and receiving. I was inspired this year by a couple talks given by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. He said at the 2012 LDS Christmas Devotional,
"This Christmas season and always, I pray that we will see the marvelous gift of the birth of the Son of God through the blessed eyes of a child. I pray that in addition to giving good gifts, we will strive to become good and grateful receivers. As we do so, the spirit of this season will enlarge our hearts and expand our joy beyond measure."
At this year's Christmas Devotional, I was impressed by these words he gave,
"As adults, if we’re lucky, every now and again we can briefly catch a glimpse of what it feels like to be a child once more.
"The thought that someone we love is doing something special for us—and our excitement about the special thing we are planning to do for them—warms our hearts and fills us with love and anticipation. Add to this the glimmering lights, the delightful decorations, the sublime scenes of Christ’s birth, and it’s no wonder Christmas is such a beloved time of year."
These words rung so true to me. He talked about the glimmer of lights, delightful decorations, and feeling special in anticipating our intended gifts. What? You mean it's okay to say Christmas is also about receiving? Introspectively, I realized that as a teen and also as an adult, I've focused for so long on giving, giving, giving, that the childlike luster of the season has dulled through the years. I purposely tried not to even think about the gifts I would be getting. Some would say, it's better that way, so you're not disappointed, but honestly, it sorta dampers the gift when you open it, even if it was something you really like. Maybe this sounds selfish, but I discovered this year that there is joy in BOTH giving AND receiving, and I had been missing my opportunity for joy in receiving by blatantly ignoring it.
We are given many gifts from our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and our gratitude is of prime importance, but let us not forget that these gifts are given with the intent to make us happy, and excited, and overjoyed, and desire for more. As we experience the joy in recieving gifts, it changes the way we give gifts as well. It makes us want to try to have someone else have that same wonderful experience as well. The gifts we give at Christmas can and should be like that too. It's okay to be excited to receive, in fact, it's a sign of gratitude to the gift-giver that you appreciate being thought of. I certainly realize that giving brings incredible joy, especially if you give generously with intent to please or even surprise someone. Now, this year, I realized that I finally found something that I had been missing for so long. Christmas this year was so much more magical as I looked forward to not only giving generously, but also looked on with excitement at the gifts I would be receiving as well.
I let my kids secretly go online shopping with me for their sister and their dad. Amara knew she wanted to give Lily the White Kyerum deck for the Pokemon card game. Apparently, it's pretty powerful. What she didn't know is that Lily wanted to give her the Black Kyerum deck, again pretty powerful. So on Christmas, Amara opened her gift first and was so excited to see that Lily gave her that deck, but she was even more excited to see Lily open her gift, so she found it under the tree, and Lily opened it right away...
When I asked Steve what he wanted for Christmas earlier in the month, he responded exactly as I had thought he would, with the single word, "Nothing." But I wanted this year to be different. Remember, I had been inspired by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and I wanted to bring back the magic. So, I didn't take that for an answer.
"No, Steve. Really, what do you want, if money wasn't an issue, what would do you really want?"
He was a little annoyed that I didn't accept his swift answer as I usually had in the past, so he obliged me with, "You want to know what I really want? I want five-thousand dollars!"
I thought he was just be short with me, so I prodded, "$5,000.00? What would you even do with that?" To which he responded with a short, but costly list of technology that he needed/wanted in order to do some of the cool things he'd like to do with his photography and which he would need if he were to ever start up his own business.
I could tell he had thought and thought on that, because he knew the prices and the products he wanted, but he knew five-thousand was an insane amount to spend on himself, so he didn't even think it could be possible. I said, "Huh. I see." And I left him in peace.
I knew we didn't have that kind of money in our bank account, but the thought occurred to me that I should check our other bank account that we hardly ever use, yet we sometimes will deposit in it since it is local, and the bank we actively use is 2 hours away.
I went in to the local bank to check, and HOTDOG! That account has been accumulating for a few years, and there was Steve's gift. I just had to withdraw it, wrap it, and wait. I wanted it withdrawn in thousands, but the bank only carries hundreds, so I had 50 hundreds to give. Amara helped me, as we bought a really cheap box of chocolates and a tin of cookies at the family dollar, dumped out the contents, and filled the empty containers with folded up hundreds. We wrote on the box and tin that these were not to be shared, and were Steve's only.
On Christmas, he opened it, saw the containers and fully expecting to find some crappy cookies and chocolates. Then, I insisted he should not share any of it with anyone else, and he decided to have a chocolate. He opened the box up, but when he saw the hundreds, his look went from confusion (What the?), to amazement (This is money! A lot of money! How much money?), to confusion (Is this real? Where did she get all this from?), and then to joy (It is real, and it's for me!). It was priceless.
The gift required a little explanation. I told him and his parents who were all in awe, that the money was ours and came from our hardly-used bank account, and that what he had sitting in front of him was five thousand dollars to be used for those expensive things he wanted to get for his photography or other business ventures. I then related the story of our conversation earlier in the month, and Steve didn't even remember telling me he wanted the $5,000. He really thought it was an impossibility, so he never thought about it again. That made it all the sweeter to see him open this gift. He loved it, and he's been buying up those few, yet expensive items he wanted.
Amara asked Santa for this glow pet, but guess what! Steve and I had already bought her one, so Santa didn't have to :)
Steve told me later that when he was planning my gifts he decided he was going to give me something homemade (ebook), something I need (sharp knives), something fun (watches), and something he thought I would like (pressure canner). That was clever of him.
We spent the rest of Christmas relaxing at home with family and enjoying our new gifts. :)
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Christmas Dinner & Traditions
I wrote this post on Christmas Eve, then I added the pictures later, before publishing. More than half of these pictures belong to my sister in law, which I borrowed from her blog post about this same event. Thanks Mandy for taking pics! And now I can publish it. Here's the post about our Christmas Dinner...
I just want to take a moment and stroll down memory lane. Tonight is Christmas eve, I'm lying in bed, lights are out, and I'm talking to my iPad. I just wanted to remember all these good times. My family just got back from a festive Christmas Eve dinner at my dads house in Orem. We had a warming feast, made with love of course. Each dish brought back lots of memories.
In front of me was a beautiful table setting. There was a centerpiece with fresh flowers. It reminded me of the centerpieces that my dad had me and my sister put together in the back shed as a surprise for his new wife Debby on their first Christmas dinner together....
My eyes traced away from the centerpiece and to the place setting in front of me. On the gold lined plate lay a cracker. I'm not talking about those salty crunchy snacks that go so well with cheese, I am talking about a cylindrical shiny gift that you hold on both ends and pull apart to crack into the hidden prize inside. Each cracker has a golden crown made of paper for us to adorn our heads, a little paper with jokes on it, and a small trinket. These have become a tradition at my dad and Debbie's Christmas dinners. It's fun to eat Christmas dinner with everyone wearing their paper crowns. This year, my cracker popped open to reveal three little heart shaped jewels hanging on three little rings. Steve got a pen, Lily got a little sprayer, and Amara got a bottle opener made of metal, which she ended up trading me for mine.
Our next course was French Onion Soup. This recipe is from my dad's dad, and is a tradition at these fancy Christmas dinners. French onion soup is served in these individual-sized ceramic brown pots with a long handle, with the hot soup inside, and floating atop the soup is a piece of sourdough bread with Swiss cheese melted down into the soup. It's very good, and Lily requested that she have a bowl of it this year. This year, my dad also made April's creamy tomato soup, which is absolutely divine. It's not a tradition by any means, but there are several people that don't care for French Onion Soup, Steve and Amara included, as well as other children and Spencer who can't eat onions. The soup when it comes out is hot from the oven and will burn a hole through your tongue if you try to sip it right away. I put three ice cubes in my soup and it was gone within 10 seconds, but the temperature was about right after that. I should also mention that Steve and Amara really enjoyed their soups also.
I just want to take a moment and stroll down memory lane. Tonight is Christmas eve, I'm lying in bed, lights are out, and I'm talking to my iPad. I just wanted to remember all these good times. My family just got back from a festive Christmas Eve dinner at my dads house in Orem. We had a warming feast, made with love of course. Each dish brought back lots of memories.
In front of me was a beautiful table setting. There was a centerpiece with fresh flowers. It reminded me of the centerpieces that my dad had me and my sister put together in the back shed as a surprise for his new wife Debby on their first Christmas dinner together....
It was so fragrant in there, like a pine forest. He had cut branches from various evergreens around his yard and neighborhood, and he bought some sparkley branches and decorative mini gift boxes situated atop long floral picks that we could intersperse among the green in the centerpieces. He wanted to surprise her. The centerpieces turned out beautifully and it was so sweet to be a part of. I can't exactly remember Debby's reaction, a good one though, but I do remember being a part of such a kind gesture of love, and the warmth that it always brings to my heart. The Christmas centerpieces were placed upon each of the tables for the big Christmas dinner. Subsequent Christmas dinners after that, my dad reused some of the glittery branches and what not to make more centerpieces for a few more years. All those are now long gone.
My eyes traced away from the centerpiece and to the place setting in front of me. On the gold lined plate lay a cracker. I'm not talking about those salty crunchy snacks that go so well with cheese, I am talking about a cylindrical shiny gift that you hold on both ends and pull apart to crack into the hidden prize inside. Each cracker has a golden crown made of paper for us to adorn our heads, a little paper with jokes on it, and a small trinket. These have become a tradition at my dad and Debbie's Christmas dinners. It's fun to eat Christmas dinner with everyone wearing their paper crowns. This year, my cracker popped open to reveal three little heart shaped jewels hanging on three little rings. Steve got a pen, Lily got a little sprayer, and Amara got a bottle opener made of metal, which she ended up trading me for mine.
Our first course this evening for the special dinner was my dad's colorful Christmas Jell-O. The bottom layer is green the middle layer is a fluffy pineapple cream cheese, and the top layer is Christmas red. The colors give this dish it's name and my dad has made Christmas Jell-O since I can remember as a child. I don't remember if we always had it on Christmas, though. Sometimes I remember having it on Thanksgiving, nonetheless, I remember that middle layer was my favorite. Two years ago, I made this Jell-O for Steve's family at Thanksgiving time. That's when I found out what was in the middle layer. I had called my dad to find out the recipe, and I discovered that middle layer is basically a cheesecake with some pineapple in it. No wonder I like it so much!
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| Dad making April's tomato soup. French Onion soup bubbling away in the big pot at the back of the stove. |
The appetizer was dad's famous crab stuffed mushrooms. These mushrooms came about when I was a child, and my dad needed to bring an appetizer to a ward party. He came up with this idea of making a stuffed mushroom, and it belongs solely to him. It was such a delicious invention, that it has been made many times since, and always has a place at this annual Christmas dinner. I have made it for my anniversary, my birthday, and for other special occasions. They're fairly simple to make and oh-so-tasty!
Our main dish this evening was a slow roasted sirloin roast beef, with a sprinkle of homemade seasoned salt, a spoonful of au jus made from the drippings, and a side of horseradish. Served on the side was rosemary roasted potato wedges, and almondine green beans. This year there was also a yummy homemade Christmas bread cut into squares. My dad wasn't too happy with how the dough turned out, because the yeast must've been too old and it didn't rise very much, so he just baked it all together on a big pan instead of separating it out into rolls. But it turned out really good. He had nothing to be depressed about. The kids especially devoured the bread, have third and fourth servings.
With our hearts warm and bellies full, the grandkids had a game of bingo and won quarters from grandma Debby, while we cleaned off the tables and put away food.
Then, we had a nativity play put on by the children and the adults with my dad as a narrator reading from Luke.
For dessert, we had brownies and ice cream.
Then the grandkids got to open their Christmas-Eve gift, pajamas. We even watched a little bit of a new DVD Debby bought with the Muppets singing at the Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle choir.
Then, we had a nativity play put on by the children and the adults with my dad as a narrator reading from Luke.
For dessert, we had brownies and ice cream.
Then the grandkids got to open their Christmas-Eve gift, pajamas. We even watched a little bit of a new DVD Debby bought with the Muppets singing at the Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle choir.
The festivities came to a close, we packed up, and drove back to Steve's parents house. The snow was coming down heavily, and the roads were white, everything was white! We drove very slowly home, and thankful we made it home safely. Just as we were pulling in to Steve's parents house, Steve stopped and said, "Wait! Have the girls ever done donuts before?" I assured him they had not, to which he turned the car around and drove to the nearest church parking lot. The girls inquired why we were going to church and not going home, after all it was past 10 PM, and Santa be coming soon. We told the girls on nights like this, the snow is just right on the road and it's perfect for making donuts at the church. Soon the girls understood what we meant as we drove circles in the parking lot and let our van tires slip around and create a nice, big, round, donut shape in the parking lot. Donuts in a parking lot, who knows, this could be a new tradition! I guess it could only be a tradition if the snow comes down just right on Christmas Eve, but for this one, it was the perfect way to end a magical evening.
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