World Peace or....

At least now I know what's important to God.

Christmas Emotions...

Santa Torturing Morgan

While I normally love this time of year, I must confess that this year's preparations for my favorite holiday have left me feeling frazzled. Part of this may just be that my entire family is currently recovering from a nasty flu or stomach bug and we leave for Illinois tomorrow. All of the "things" - shopping, gift wrapping, baking/cooking, decorating, writing cards, celebrations, and other "obligations" - have served to steal my joy on a few occasions this Christmas season. I'm hopeful that our travel up to Chicago (which is currently buried in snow and enduring single digit temperatures) will go smoothly and that once I'm with my family, I will experience a fresh wave of joy.

I don't think this was what God had in mind for me... or for any of us as we celebrate the reason for Christmas: the coming of his Son to save us from our sins. After this holiday season ends, I need to sit down and re-think what I did wrong this year and what can be cut out next year so that I don't miss out again next year. Particularly as Morgan gets older, I want her to know the true joys of Christmas ... and get to experience it with joyful parents!

All that being said, I wish you, my dear friends, a Merry Christmas filled with joy recognizing the blessing we have in the Son who came to bring our salvation! I value each of you and am grateful for the friendships you have blessed me and my family with this past year.

With love,
Barb

Morgan's Christmas Portrait

Mmmm, Mmmm....Good?

Yeah, seriously. I'm not sure which part of this recipe is my favorite ... the "Be sure lymph glands are removed" in ALL CAPS or the cavalier "Cut off front and back legs" or the gentle prompting "If you haven't tried this, don't miss it." Wha...?

In case you're wondering, I found this recipe in a compilation cookbook at a garage sale this past week. The cookbook was assembled by a group called the Woman's Exchange (which I've never heard of and now translate to read "Redneck Biddies") out of Memphis, Tennessee in 1967.

My sister Steph is a fan of these compilation cookbooks so I decided to flip through this one despite its age (and other warning signs). I didn't see any knock-out or even particularly repulsive recipes to influence my purchase decision until I got to this one! I figured for 50 cents I had to add it to her collection. I just hope Barbecued Raccoon doesn't end up on her Thanksgiving table this year (thankfully, we celebrate Thanksgiving down here so I don't have to find out :).

P.S. I personally think the best source for raccoon is the side of the road contrary to Mr. Johnny Jacobs. (And why is a dude in the Woman's Exchange anyway?!?)

Jealousy

No, this isn't what it seems; Sasha did not urinate on Morgan. (If she had, she would be now be residing at the pound.) In fact, Sasha seems to really like Morgan - mostly to lick and occasionally smell. And Morgan really likes Sasha as well - which means I'm never getting rid of that dog! What's actually happening here is that Sasha is stepping over Morgan while the two were playing together on the floor. This just happened to be the shot Jonathan captured while snapping photos of their playtime. Lovely...

We returned yesterday from a quick trip with the family to L.A. for the weekend so stay tuned for a picture-filled account of our travels (once I have more energy to write it!).

I think I shall call you Pimpy...

We celebrated Christmas today with Jonathan's family and had a REALLY great time. Everyone got and gave such wonderful gifts! One gift in particular, however, warrants such special attention as to have a blog devoted all to it :)

Here's a little background to preface this unique gift - three years ago Jonathan's parents had four long, tall boxes wrapped for us and Jenny and Brian under their Christmas tree. We tried and tried to guess what was in them, but Jonathan's parents smiled coyly and said we'd never figure it out. Later that night when we all opened them simultaneously, we found out how right they were! We each received a three foot tall wooden nutcracker (yes, that's right I said nutcracker).

The Twins

This year was the same routine - early in the holiday season Jonathan's parents hinted that they had already picked out our gifts and suggested that we would be surprised. While Jonathan and I were shopping at Sam's, we saw a seven foot tall wooden nutcracker (yeah, I know ... almost as bad as a ten foot inflatable nutcracker). However, we rationalized that at $150, they wouldn't buy it. Well, they didn't get that nutcracker, but they were able to find the next generation in the nutcracker collection from three years ago! This time they only got one per family (which is good otherwise we'd be working on a nutcracker army at this house!). They got us once again and all six of us had a good laugh.


As you may be able to tell, this nutcracker is a bit more blinged out than his brothers. His green coat is actually laden with glitter! Plus he's sporting gold chains and applique. And let's not forget that fly mustache. Hence, I have named him Pimpy. So now I realize that "the twins" are the only nameless nutcrackers in this home. Any ideas?