This weekend we had a lot of family time and we loved every minute of it.?? In total, Jim and I have five Christmases each year.?? 1.?? With our children?? 2.?? With my parents and siblings and nieces and nephews.?? 3.?? With everyone from number 2 and my grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins.?? 4.?? With my FIL and MIL and 5.?? With my MILs family

Saturday we had Christmas (1) with our kids.?? :)?? I had plans on making a nice Christmas dinner for us this year but Jim said he really really wanted Jimmy Dean sausage with sage for dinner so I went the breakfast for dinner route instead.?? We had eggs, blueberry pancakes, hashbrown casserole, and sausage.?? I made a lemon meringue for dessert and it was so good.?? Good lemon meringue recipes are to come by but mom found one I love last year.

Last night we celebrated Christmas 3 leaving 2, 4 and 5 for later this week.?? :)?? Check out this food list from last night (and this is just off the top of my head):?? Roast, Ham, Turkey, Dressing, Mashed Potatoes, Spiced Yams, Green Bean Casserole, Cranberry Relish, Fruit Salad, Romaine Salad, Crescent Rolls, Olives (Black and Green), Deviled Eggs, Cheese Ball and Crackers, Chocolate Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie, McKinnely Pie, Bannana Pudding, Pineapple Cheesecake, Buckeyes, Fudge, Fruit Cake, Baby Ruth Bars, and Grammy ordered Spiced Peaches from Georgia and Dewars Candy from Bakersfield.?? Those two things, along with the Peppermint Bark (I LOVE Peppermint Bark) – were the only three store bought items on the menu – everything else was home made.?? My family knows how to have a party LOL.?? :)?? Am I forgetting stuff?

Uncle Dale and Aunt Karen came in from Apple Valley, CA for Christmas and Aunt Karen said she was very surprised when she saw Tori because Tori looks so much tinier in person than she does on my blog.?? I keep hearing this from people and am making a point to note it because someday when I look at the pictures I want to remember that they were not representative of her diminuitive size.

As I sat there just enjoying my family last night, I was overwhelmed with how much love I have for each one of them.???? We are not perfect people.?? We have had struggles just like every other family.?? But we love one another well.?? In adversity, in triumph, and well…in stupidity too hee hee (we all have stupid moments don’t we?)?? See note at end of this about??the word “stupid”??:).?? Every member is priceless and precious.???? We have been so lucky too because God keeps gifting our family with more and more treasures both in babies and in marriage.?? This was Rob and Cat’s second married Christmas and Cat is an absolute gift.?? I adore her and so do all of our children.?? She is such a kid magnet.?? Next year, we get Michelle for keeps and we are anxious for that as well.?? Michelle is such a great match for Dusty.???? She is the wind beneath his wings quite literally – she is like a little hurricane all by herself.?? Cracks me up.?? If you want a job done, just get Michelle on it.?? :)?? :)?? Michelle and I speak the same language so I get quite a kick out of her.??

The kids have so much fun that they all start crying when they have to leave the party.?? Promises are made that they will soon be reunited later in the week but to no avail – they just keep on cryin’.?? ?? We are having two slumber parties this year.?? One at Sweetie’s and one at Grandma’s so that will keep the kids happy.?? I like to stay the night at my mom’s on the eve to the eve because we have a traditional german dinner on Christmas Eve and those krautnettle balls take forever to roll so it is a family project that morning.?? Last year, Sweetie got sick so Michelle and Jodi and I rolled them.?? Good times…good times.?? 🙂

I know I am going on about details no one but me cares about so I’ll end this now.?? Going to eat left over’s at Aunt Beck’s today.?? Life is good.?? 🙂

Note:?? Jodi and I have a little dispute going on over a conversation we both had with Karsyn over the word stupid.?? I think Jodi is much more at fault for the final outcome than I.?? I’ll let you judge.

A while back, Jodi and the kids were over.?? Jodi was talking to me about something and as she left the room she used the word stupid.?? Karsyn then looked at me and said “I can’t say that word until I am older“.?? (ROFL!)

Oh really??? So I then say, “Well I say stupid but we use that word about things not about people.”?? (Okay “usually” just about things but I didn’t need to give Karsyn that much detail right? 😉

Recently Karsyn blended both her mama’s words and mine into a final conclusion.?? She is now telling people:

“I can call PEOPLE stupid when I am older“.?? Hee hee.?? I think this is entirely Jodi’s fault.?? I think I was pretty clear about what I said.?? 🙂 🙂