What a wonderful Christmas we have had. This year our church had a live nativity. It was the first year we have done this and it turned out very well. The planning started last July. Live animals were “booked” and to everyone’s surprise we had a live camel, along with sheep, a donkey, goat and a miniature cow. We had adults and children from our church dressed as Mary, Joseph, shepherds and kings. Many children participated and it was very touching to see the children get so involved. The live nativity was held on the 22^nd and 23^rd of December, for two hours and it was our church’s gift to our community. The weather was chilly but not too bad!

Christmas Eve about 5 p.m., it began to snow and we had the most beautiful snowfall I think I have ever seen. It was one of those perfect snows that covered everything but the streets and driveways. Thank goodness our road department had pre treated the streets and highways and that helped. We ended up with about 4 inches of snow for Christmas Day.

My parents, our children and grandchildren were all at our house for Christmas this year. Our tradition is church on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas day, we have brunch and then open presents. I gave up wrapping gifts a few years ago. Everyone has a Santa bag and their gifts go in there. Looks good under the tree and a lot easier on me!

The two youngest grandchildren really made this Christmas fun! They were so excited about everything. Especially the empty boxes and tearing the paper off their gifts and helping others with theirs! It was a picture perfect day!

We are almost ready to say good bye to 2010 and hello to 2011. I wish all of you good health and much happiness in the coming year.

Janet

I have heard that statement many times during my life. The attached photos of our two youngest grandchildren Jathen and Ella Grace ,says it all. Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Kentucky.

Janet

This year marks my daughter’s third Christmas.  She is starting to understand more about the holiday this year and knows that we celebrate Baby Jesus’ birthday and that “Ho Ho” (in her words) comes and leaves us some presents.  We’ve been trying to teach her the spirit of giving, and she recently brought some new toys to a toy drive at the church where she goes to playgroup.  We’ve been reading stories about the holiday and the spirit of Christmas.  She is mesmerized with the Christmas tree this year and loves to walk around it and look at all the different ornaments (and sometimes take them off and play with them.) 

It is fun to watch her discover the joys of this season and this has got me thinking about all the different types of activities/traditions I’d like to incorporate into our family preparation for Christmas each year.  Here is a list I’ve started of some things we’ve done this year:

Make an Advent chain to count down the days until Christmas.
Read a meditation each day of Advent.
Decorate the house.
Hang Candy Canes on the tree.
Put up nativity scene without the baby Jesus.
Do some crafts.
Participate in a toy drive.
Send cards to friends and family.
Listen to Christmas carols.
Read Christmas stories.
Put out shoes on the eve of December 6 for St. Nicholas Day.
Make a visit to Santa.

Here are more things we plan to do this year:

Make Christmas cookies to give to friends and family.
Wrap presents.

Some things I’ve done in the past that I’ve really enjoyed:
Go to the Nutcracker.
Go to a performance of The Messiah.
Work in a soup kitchen.
Visit the tree at Rockefeller Center.
Go ice-skating.

If you celebrate Christmas, how do you make the holiday fun and meaningful for your family?

We had our first official snow this past weekend. It rained all day Saturday and then we had very cold, 25-40 mph winds and blowing snow all day Sunday. We didn’t have but a couple of inches of snow, but the first snow has happened! That’s important because everyone knows you can’t make snow cream until after you have the first snow of the season. Don’t they?

What??? You have never had snow cream? Oh my, that is as Southern as fried chicken, grits, fried green tomatoes (not the movie . . . the eating kind) and well, “fiddly dee” Scarlet O’Hara of Tara herself! We have been making snow cream since I was a little girl. It is fun and anybody can do it!

Here’s the recipe, it is simple but there are rules you have to abide by when making this delightful treat. You have already read about the first one . . . that first snow thing. The second important rule is stay away from “yellow” snow. . . I think you can figure that one out on your own. When you find a nice unspoiled place to get your snow, take a big spoon and lightly skim off the top layer of snow. Fill a large mixing bowl with fresh snow, add vanilla, sugar (to taste) and some people add just a tiny bit of milk to make it mix well. Then eat it before it melts.

That’s it . . . you now know how to make snow cream. Try it, the children will love making it!

- Janet

Christmas tree will be delivered tomorrow.  Where has the time gone?  I remember thinking Christmas would never get here when I was a child. Wasn’t that only a few short years ago?  Now it seems we go from August to Christmas!  Time flies by as I get older. My grandmother used to say that, but I thought it was just one of those things grandmothers said!  Now I know it’s true!

Normally I have most of the shopping done by now. This year, I don’t know what happened. The younger grandchildren’s gifts are purchased and ready to gift wrap.  Jathen has his Black Velvet Eton Suit from Strasburg, and I can’t wait to see him in it!  Ella Grace helped select her Christmas dress a few weeks ago when we went to the Nashville Strasburg store.  I got the email about the latest sale and just had to order the cream silk short sleeve bishop dress.  It was one we saw at the Nashville store and I just couldn’t resist getting it for Ella Grace. Toys are easier to select, because they don’t have a lot yet, this is only their 2nd Christmas.  
 
The “big kids” are just a little more difficult to buy for than the little ones.  There are so many gadgets out there that it is hard to know what they have, what they want and what they need!  Ours don’t really “need” anything.  They have all the technological gadgets a teen could want!  They like getting gift cards and money to shop the after Christmas sales!

Whatever gifts we give or we receive, we are happy to spend the holidays with our family.  Everyone comes for Brunch on Christmas Day.  We eat, open gifts and then just enjoy the rest of the day. Can’t it get any better than that?

-Janet

We went on another shopping trip to the Orlando Strasburg store.  When you are 8 years old, their dolls are just what you want.  My daughter asked for this doll the last time we went shopping at Strasburg.  We decided we would stay focused on the dress that she needed on that last visit.  We went back on a birthday trip to Orlando, and this doll was the perfect gift.  My daughter still loved her as much as the last time.  The doll is well made and dressed exquisitely in a beautiful Strasburg Dress.  Of course Strasburg sells matching doll and girl dresses so the purchase did not stop at the doll.  She was allowed to pick one dress on this trip.

The doll is definitely well loved and has become a welcomed member of the household.  She fits perfectly  into a little girl’s world.  Hmmm!!!  I wonder what the next trip to Strasburg will entail.

This kid loves being outdoors! You can’t blame him with all the gorgeous weather we have had lately. Mid 70s everyday! The leaves on the trees in Florida are finally starting to fall. Occasionally we get a nice, crisp day and Ike gets to wear a sweater; that will most likely only be worn once before he out-grows it. I love this photo of him studying the pretty leaves. Yay for cooler weather, pretty leaves, and warm sweaters!

-Courtney

Did I mention our little guy just started walking? Learning to walk is quite the task, for mom and baby! He is kind of steady on his feet… just enough to stand still for a moment, then he gets brave enough to take a few steps and quickly decides that maybe walking isn’t so safe and looks for something to grab a hold of for balance, which usually ends up not being within reach… so he decides to start stepping quickly in hopes of reaching the wall before he falls, but ends up tripping over his own two feet… and as he clumsily falls, you as a mom, sit there and pray he doesn’t hit his head. When the head bump does occur, you sit there for a moment… assess the situation, try to figure out if it really hurts… but don’t look afraid as you decide! Then find a good medium of consoling your little one while at the same time trying to keep him tough. Of course I know once he does get the hang of this walking, it will be a constant chase!

-Courtney

It is officially time to get excited about Christmas! Haul out the Holly! Set up the tree! Gather this year’s Christmas cards. Bake cookies. Untangle the tree lights. Buy everything you can that is pine scented! I love this time of year…

Our son is 1 year old now, trying to walk, and definitely getting into everything! I don’t even know if we will chance putting up our ornaments this year. It will be so delightful to watch him tear open presents on Christmas morning, whether he realizes what the present is or not…

Even more important than all the traditions, we will introduce our son to the real meaning of Christmas, the birthday of our savior Jesus. Of course he will not fully understand it this year, but one day he will.

We just ordered my son the Strasburg’s Rubyteen Corduroy Bubble to wear for Christmas. I am excited Strasburg offers a bubble style for winter because we rarely have a cold Christmas, and it is really cute! I love the sweet little stitched Christmas tree on front and the detailed trim around the collar and arms. I am looking forward to its arrival in the mail!

- Courtney

Our family is very thankful for our little guy, Ike, who brings much joy and laughter to our lives. We thank God for his good health, especially after being in the NICU for 7 weeks! And we are always thankful for our dear family and friends.

We are also thankful for the opportunity to blog for Strasburg and to work with a staff of dedicated people with positive attitudes and a great sense of style! Thank you Strasburg for making great quality clothes that not only look precious, but also lasts long enough to pass down to other children and at the same time not go out of style! In this picture this is another second-time-around Starsburg outfit that still looks new and is still in style!

- Courtney