It Wouldn't Be Christmas Without...

My favorite Christmas Movie, "White Christmas"  with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and



I have to watch it every year, and usually more than once.  I can't explain why this is THE Christmas movie for me, but it is.  It's a little corny, a little sappy, and a whole lot sentimental for me.  I even had it as one of our first VHS movies after we got married.  I just love it.

The song above is the finale, and this is one of the sillier songs from the movie  "Sisters"




What Movie means Christmas to you?

It Wouldn't Be Christmas Without...Music Edition

I am such a sucker for Christmas music.  I LOVE it.  Every year I add to my collection, which has gotten significantly cheaper since the advent of iTunes-thank you Apple.

I love it all instrumental, choral, country singers, jazz singers, gospel singers, I just love it. I love the silly ones-although not "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" so much, I love the sappy ones, and the religious ones.

 My kids now tease me and groan when it's time to permanently tune the radio to 99.9 KEZ-the local Christmas only music station-the day after Thanksgiving.    Although to be truthful when they aren't around I have it playing before Thanksgiving, I just try and show some restraint for their sake.


Here are two of my favorites, it's just not Christmas for me without these two specific versions:

Silent Night by Mannheim Steamroller

and Silver Bells by Martina McBride

And a fun new version I just discovered this year by Meaghan Smith



And my favorite version of Rudolph by Jack Johnson

A Legacy of Love

Today is my Mom's birthday, she passed away five years ago this month, so this is my way of remembering her and enjoying (and sharing) some pictures of  days long gone, and the love that still holds true.

Here she is with her brother, aren't they cute?  Something so fabulous about the clothes, and the sweet innocence of these pictures, I love them!

 And as a majorette in high school, I love thinking about  her like this, young and loving life.  So excited to be heading out to march in the parade (the Christmas parade it looks like).

And here she is in front of her boyfriend's house (my Dad) love the tilt of her head, and that great car!

 On her wedding day, she married in 1959-gotta love that ball gown style skirt and the long gloves-just like a princess.  My sister blew this one up and gave it to all of us at Mom's memorial service.  I love it, it hangs in my dining room.

Mom & Dad leaving their wedding, that car is just so cool!  And here they are with their parents, such style.  I love the way my father's parents have their fingers linked.

 And below, before they had kids, enjoying a little ski vacation.

 This one seems a little distorted, I'm not sure why-but she's teaching my two oldest how to use sparklers.  She was an amazing Grandma.

And here, two years before she passed away.  She had always wanted to take all her kids and their families to Disneyland, and that dream came true.  Each family is wearing a different color shirt-my family is in the red.

Happy Birthday, Mom!
Above all my mom was about family, she loved her family and gave her all to every one of her children and grandchildren.  She loved my children in a way they will never forget, and will always treasure.

I will always remember the legacy of love you gave to each of us.

  Linking up with Miss Jenny's AlphabeThursday-click to read more fabulous posts inspired by the letter L!

Wrestlemania

Our 9th grader, Quinn (3rd from the right above), has introduced us to many new things over the past 14 (almost 15! gasp!) years.  Always one to try new things and competitive to the end, his latest new thing is wrestling.  He joined Poston's 9th grade wrestling team, and wrestled for the first time in an official meet earlier this week.

It's a whole new world, and one I don't quite understand.  I have no clue what the fouls are, or how most of the points are scored.  It looked like it hurt-a lot!  And the uniforms are weird.  There's just no other way to describe them, let's be honest.  But he's really enjoying it, and it keeps him busy and active-two things we both like.

I went to the meet and enthralled with the whole process, and I cheered, loudly I believe.  But still not as loudly as my friend Jenny-I don't think I can even compare with her vocal capabilities.  Hope he wrestles next week-can't wait to cheer him on again!  I still think what they wear is weird, c'mon what kind of name is "singlet"  shouldn't they at least change that?

Holiday Baking Traditions

Linking up with Jen at Denton Sanitorium

image found here

The number one holiday baking tradition in our home is Toffee.  Growing up my mom made mountains of Christmas goodies, but this was my favorite.  I am not nearly the cook or baker she was, so my repertoire is limited in comparison, but I have mastered the fine art of Toffee making.  It helps that it is an insanely simple recipe.

There are tons of recipes on the internet, and almost all exactly the same!  The ingredients are basic, and I bet you have them all (or most) on hand already.

TOFFEE
2 c. sugar
1 lb butter (that's right-4 cubes baby!)
1/2 c. water
Dash of salt
(1 tsp. Vanilla-optional, but kind of yummy!)
Milk Chocolate Bars or Chips
Nuts if desired
Buttered cookie sheet

*Melt the butter over low-medium heat, don't boil it.  As the butter melts get your cookie sheet ready, I use the papers from the butter cubes to butter my cookie sheet-waste not, want not!

*When the butter has melted add your sugar and water, and a dash of salt.  Cook and stir over med-high heat until it looks like this:
image found here



The most important thing is cooking it to the right stage-which really means the right color.  It should be the color of a brown paper bag, you might be afraid it will burn & want to rush and take it off before it gets that it reaches that perfect golden brown hue, but resist the temptation at all costs!

When it looks like this (or reaches a temp. of     if you want to be technical)  take it off the heat and add vanilla if you want.  Stir well, don't worry about the bubbling, that's totally normal.

Quickly pour in the buttered cookie sheet, spreading as needed with a wooden spoon.  Let cool slightly and gently pour chocolate chips over the top, or break Hershey bars into the small rectangles and place on toffee. As the heat from the toffee melts the chocolate spread it around with the wooden spoon or spatula.

If you like nuts in your toffee you can add slivered or chopped almonds, pecans, whatever!  We don't like that so much, so I leave them out.  I've seen them sprinkled over the pan before the toffee is poured in, or on top of the toffee before melted chocolate is poured (melt in microwave), or even sprinkled on top of the chocolate, before it's cooled.

So many options!  It's fun to experiement.

I found a great step by step tutorial here: petitelefant (that's where I got the picture of the toffee cooking)  if you'd like more precise (or you just like to see pictures).

We also make Sugar Cookies, and I don't have a special or fancy recipe for those, but I do have a tip from my friend Jen @ Denton Sanitorium & it has greatly improved our sugar cookies!  Instead of sprinkling flour before you roll out the dough sprinkle sugar.  Just regular white sugar.  It serves the same function as  the flour, but gives the cookies an excellent sugary "crust" on the bottom & it doesn't dry out the dough by adding excess flour.  LOVE it!

I love making holiday treats, and am bummed I didn't leave out my recipe books to share more, but here's another favorite.  This one is from the allrecipes.com website, and it looks very similar to the one I've used from the Better Homes & Garden red & white cookbook (a true classic).  Go here to see more recipes and pictures of variations on this recipe.


Cream Cheese Mints (from allrecipes.com)

• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 drops peppermint oil
• any color food coloring paste (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, and confectioner's sugar. Mix in peppermint oil. Color as desired with food coloring paste, or leave white.
2. Roll mixture into small balls, and place on waxed paper. Flatten with a fork dipped in confectioners' sugar. Let dry for about 2 hours on waxed paper, then freeze or refrigerate.

Kiss My Keys Goodbye

I've always love the sound of the piano keys playing a melody.  I took lessons as a child, and learned to play well enough to plunk out the tunes I wanted to hear.  I never reached the skill level it takes to accompany a choir, or even to feel comfortable playing in front of an audience, but it was enough to soothe my soul.

Having the talent and the skill to accompany a group in song has always been a skill I admired, and really wanted to give my children the opportunity to grow that talent.  But, as I've said before, we moved around every 3-6 months for the first decade or so of our marriage.  And moving a piano was not in the cards.  So I bought a little keyboard and tried to make do.  It just wasn't the same.  I quietly longed for the day we would settle down enough to buy a piano.

Christmas was quickly approaching, and my husband was oddly silent about gifts.  Usually he badgers me to  tell him what I'd like, teasing that if I don't tell him I won't get anything at all.  Not this year, I knew he had something up his sleeve, but no idea what it was.  A few days before Christmas he sent me out for the night.  I had strict instructions to do whatever I wanted, go shopping, relax with a book, grab a bite to eat, whatever-as long as I did NOT come home until he called.  I was in the aisle at Target browsing the books when he called and let me know I could come home anytime, but I was to go through the front door, not the garage door when I got there.

I arrived home and entered the front door as instructed, and saw 5 happy little faces clean and ready for bed, all in their jammies, and beaming with excitement.  They could hardly contain their glee as they laughed and pointed at the large object in the corner concealed with every blanket and pillow in our house-or so it seemed.  My husband refused to tell me what was in it, only that it was my Christmas gift & I could open it then, or wait for Christmas Day.  Those 5 little faces demanded otherwise, I knew there was no way I could wait a few days and deny them this moment.  So I opted for the immediate gratification and "opened" the gift right then.  This is what I saw:

A beautifully restored, antique baby grand piano.  I cried.  I laughed.  I loved it.  My husband is not  a musical guy, and he is not the most patient man either.  I knew this task must have been a hard one for him to accomplish.  It was a gift of love.  Only given because he knew I wanted one, and would never demand, just dream.

Although I had never dreamed of a piano like this, in my imaginings I had only thought of a simple, usable upright.  Steady, musically sound, and servicable.  

This was a thing of beauty.  As an antique it had beautifully carved legs, and details on the music stand I adored.  I loved it.  It was more than a piano, every time I played, or heard one of my children play it was like hearing my husband tell me how much he loved me.

Now we're moving again, and I've had to sell my piano.  It just doesn't fit in the new place in life we're carving for ourselves.  And now my living room looks like this...

I cried when I was cleaning out the music from the bench.  I cried when I watched the movers break it down and load it up to drive to a new home.  I hope she loves it as much as I did.  You see, a husband was buying a gift for his wife.  Who had always wanted a piano just like this one...a gift of love, yet again.


This post was inspired by the letter "K"  and Miss Jenny's AlphabeThursday Class, read more posts here:

Leaving a Camera Unattended...

...is a temptation no household of boys can resist.  They usually erase all evidence before I get around to uploading the pictures, or checking the display, but sometimes they don't.

I came home to these beauties on my phone last week, they love to play around with the settings, these ones are a little bizarro.









The second one was easy to figure out, but that first one had me stumped...until I scrolled a little further into the camera...

Deck The Halls

So many of the feelings of the holiday season are wrapped up in how we decorate.  Growing up my home was always my favorite during the Christmas season.  I love the added coziness and warmth of those seasonal touches.  This year is a little different, as I try to pack up as much as possible I haven't really decked my halls.  And I'm noticing the difference in how I feel, it doesn't quite feel like Christmas.  I know I don't want to try and pack it up again on December 26th, so I'm dealing with it.  

Today I pulled out all our Christmas decor and  have been going through it and getting rid of what I don't love, or haven't used for a while.  I snapped some shots of a few of our favorite things, things my kids love and look forward to, and that speak Christmas to  my heart. 

I always loved the advent calendar when I was a child, so I have taught my children the joy and excitement of the holiday tradition as well.  We actually have 5 advent calendars, and the kids rotate through them (I think I actually have 8 & we use 3 the same every year, and change up the other 2).  Every day each child gets to do a different calendar.  One has mini Hallmark ornaments that correspond to activities-like a gingerbread house, a nutcracker ballerina, a snowflake, and we do the activities that day (if possible-that was much easier when they were all little).

Pictured here are the pieces to a wonderful advent calendar my sister made and gave us for Christmas one year.  The kids love to pick which one they are going to place on the advent tree (it's packed up or I'd show it to you-it's a quilted wall hanging with all different colors and sizes of buttons that these little ornaments hang from.)

Some of the calendars have tradtions within themselves, Quinn's birthday is the 23rd, and it's a rule that he always does the tree advent on that day and hangs up the Present.  In fact, the advent calendars are the only  Christmas activity allowed in our home on the 23rd of December.  No Christmas music plays, no Christmas movies watched, and no birthday gifts are wrapped in Christmas paper.

Another of my favorite decorations is my collection of Santa Claus figures.  Jeff started giving me one for Christmas our first year together, and though he laments roping himself into the tradition, I love it.  I have all sorts, ceramic, wood, cloth, folksy, whimsical, elegant, everything!  This is one of my favorites-

I snapped a shot before I carefully wrapped it up and placed it in a box.


Another tradition that holds a tender place in my heart is our ornament collection.  When I was a child my mom always bought a Hallmark ornament for each of us, and when we left home we took our collection with us to help us decorate our first Christmas tree.  My mom continued this tradition with her grandchildren, and each child has a different series of ornaments, sometimes the series would end and they'd start up a new one the next year.

Kiefer has the biggest variety-with baseball players, Snowmen, and Snoopy.  Quinn has had the whole series his entire life-the Lincoln train ornaments.  Tate has only had one series also-it's called "Sky's the Limit" and is made up of really cool airplanes.  Thane has had a few different ones, but most come from a collection of Gingerbread buildings that make up a little village, and light up when plugged into the tree lights.  Sage started with the sweetest collection of holiday music boxes, and when that ended she began a cute snowman series.  I have the Santa Claus ornaments, and I always find Jeff a fishing one.

I usually pick one or two up the day after Christmas that have something to do with our family that year, when the kids were little that meant Scooby Doo and Veggie Tales, then we added Luke and Obi Wan, and then Ron, Harry & Hermione joined the tree.  We have "New Home" ornaments, and ones to commemorate births, trips, and other special family memories.  We love pulling them out and laughing about why we have a Mohammed Ali ornament, or remembering the year we went sledding and ended up all over each other in a pile at the bottom of the hill-that's why we have Donald and Daisy flying off a sled & it's a favorite ornament.

I love the ones the kids make too, but the Hallmark ones hold a special place in my heart, made even more tender by the passing of my mom 5 years ago.  This way she's with us every December as we remember all the love she shared and the memories contained in those little boxes of decoration.

Linking up with Jen over at the Denton Sanitorium, go check out all the ways people Deck Their Halls!

Jingle Bell Jib Jab

Have you tried Jib Jab? It's so much fun, here are a couple of our favorites (starring my kids)

This one is sponsored by Office Max, you can do it yourself here:  http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/
They have lots of elf style dances and videos

Or try the regular site here:
http://sendables.jibjab.com/

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Linking up with Miss Jenny at

and Jen at Jen's Ink Pen Elf Yourself Link Party!