Guess what I got this year for Christmas...

Everything I ever wanted.

http://www.lauratrent.net/proofs/young120308/

Merry Christmas! Jesus Christ lives; He is King of Kings and LORD of Lords.

He was, and is, and is to come... Alleluia!

Just for fun...

Here are some goofy pictures. We are off to spend this weekend at AJ's for Christmas and then go to see my parents for Christmas Day. The presents are wrapped, bags packed; I've cleaned out the leftovers, taken out the trash, stopped paper delivery, and given myself a mani/pedi. Just kidding about that last part. Here's how I really look:

(Do you like the artlessness of my coiffure?)

Life lesson: Beans are NOT the "magical fruit". Prunes are.

Need some zip

I don't have any zip today. Don't feel like picking up and putting away things. Wish I wanted to though. Does wistfulness count toward housekeeping? This week has been much slower than last week, thankfully. The Christmas production, a Singing Christmas tree, went well. I always love being a part of Christmas musicals. So hopeful. I even made it through standing about 15 feet off the ground on a Styrofoam box for an hour and a half. Wearing a gold lamae cape and red stole. Hey, I'm in the Lord's army :)

Mom and Dad truly spoiled Jay and introduced him to Zwieback toast. He's been on a roll eating jar food. His stomach has been a little more turbulent, however. Mom and Dad baby-sat while we went to a company dinner. Good food and people, though a little long waiting for courses. It took about 3 hours from salad to dessert!

I wore some of my Santa duds early to the party. Now that I'm a mom, I definitely feel the need to jazz up my wardrobe. I wore black lace peep toe stilettos. My fab-ness was somewhat dampened due to the fact that the boss's sister was wearing the same top.

I'm off to shower, feed Jay, and maybe gear up to do the dishes.

The Tin Foil Story: A Guest Blog

When I called my Mom on Black Friday to wish her a belated Happy Thanksgiving, she had a colored rendition of "How Your Father Almost Set the Kitchen on Fire by Really Trying," which will be more commonly known as The Tin Foil Story. I asked Mom to capture the essence of this precious holiday moment, as only Mom can. Believe me, there are many more stories untold.

Mom writes:

So glad that you and your big, loving southern family had a fun Thanksgiving. I know you were the center of attention. We also enjoyed our smaller celebration. I prepared three holiday casseroles to take to Mamaw's house. I prepared them by removing them from their store-bought packages and placed them in foil pans - just to look more festive.

BY THE WAY, foil pans are only user friendly if you place them in ovens not microwaves. (Jaybird's aside: The foil pans were placed in the microwave at the insistence of my Dad. The oven at Mamaw's is not the most reliable and the dishes had already been lingering in a state of lukewarmness for a half hour. 'Nuking' them in the microwave is heartily endorsed by both mother and son, to the opposition of my mom. After 34 years, though, Mom doesn't put up much of a fight. Logic does not matter in affairs of your mother-in-law's kitchen. I do have to say that said microwave must be something of an anomaly, because it has a rack inside for double decker nuking, and the rack is metal!)

Back to our meal. We had a juicy turkey breast and dressing. We were making some gravy and somehow a pan with cooking oil overheated and we experienced a small smoke fire which was contained well by opening a few windows to get fresh air. Hey, the smoke alarm didn't even go off.

Well, it does work. In fact, when we heated the foil pans in the microwave and then placed the pans on the family table - what can I say - the first pan flamed up on contact with a kitchen cloth and there were flames everywhere. That alarm just went off in record time and the charred remains of the cloth were quickly dispatched to the kitchen garbage can before Mamaw was any the wiser.

In fact, the food was not harmed at all. The rest of the meal was a lot of fun with the retelling of old family stories and it was fortuitous that Mamaw didn't witness our flameout. All was well in Jackson: the town that time forgot. Where the men are handsome, the women are a piece of work and the children are bright as a new penny.

P.S. - You know me; I was the lone dissenting vote is the use of microwaving foil. But then, it's always something.

Thanks, Mom for sharing this heartfelt Thanksgiving message. Readers, this only scratches the surface of such stories. :)

'Tis the season!

Taking a break

Jay can hold his bottle!

Great friends

Grandparents and Grandkids


Grandma and Jay tell stories

One of the guys

Brothers

Grandpa and Jay

Requisite holiday bib shot

Merry Christmas!

I'm taking a moment away from the sheer exhilaration of laundry to jot down how we spent our Thanksgiving. It was a great holiday. I made a few dishes to bring, but managed to create a severe mess and didn't turn in until midnight. Everyone said they enjoyed the dishes, so I didn't mind. No cooking beats homemade holiday dishes. Or a leftover dinner of mashed potatoes and cake... which is what I had Thursday evening. Jay did incredibly well being surrounded by 16 other faces at Thanksgiving! He is cutting his lower teeth and must have chewed on every one's knuckles. The kid has a great immune system. No sicknesses (yet)!

I did a little shopping, though did not go commando warrior shopping Friday morning. It takes a special breed of woman. We did go one year just for the experience. However, we were up at various points in the wee hours due to our overstimulated baby in a new environment. We could've racked up some deals. Did you hear that a man was TRAMPLED TO DEATH by unrelenting crowds at a Wal-mart in New York? Insane. Some people tried to help him, but the frenzied masses kept coming, all to get their hands on some plastic toy or electronic that will probably be in the garbage in a few years. Um, glad I stayed home.

The most entertaining part of my weekend, as adolescent as it makes me, was watching Twilight. A-train, my brother-in-law, and his friend went with me and did their best not to burst out laughing at lines like: "You are my own personal heroin" or "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb." I, however, actually clapped like a little girl and welcomed all my imaginary friends as they came to play their part in the story: Bella! Jacob! Edward!!!

The movie had a John Hughes "Pretty in Pink" feel at the beginning. Outsider (Bella) arrives at her high school in a beat up truck and aloof Adonis (Edward) looks on smoldering. Can we say Molly Ringwold and Andrew McCarthy?

Cinematically, the landscape of Washington State was amazing. There was enough action to entertain the males (a 'bad' vampire is gleefully destroyed). And of course, the male lead is CRAZY good looking as the tortured vampire who does not want to be a monster.

Loved it! Of course, as a Christian, I cannot endorse Bella's desire to give up mortality. But as a work of escapist romantic fiction, sign me up for the fan club.

This week is full of activity with my Christmas musical this weekend. We are having Jay's Christmas picture taken and my folks will be here this weekend.

Let the season begin!