Christmas, Christmas, and more Christmas

We had the longest Christmas EVER this year! But it all started with Christmas at our house on Christmas Eve morning by our "Jesus" tree and moved westward.

[A couple of years ago I couldn't find the box of ornaments for the tree and got a little desperate (or out of a reasonable amount of time), so I went and bought sets of ornaments to tide the situation over with. I went with a "Jesus" theme-putting pictures of Him in little gold frames, adding gold bulbs that had the Nativity scene in gold glitter on them were perfectly accented with word ornaments of "JOY". Gold bows and other red and gold bulbs completed the tree. I loved it. Jeff added his own touch last year by buying ropes of red and gold lights to add more color to the tree which already had the sparkling white lights.]

This year the kids announced that they found the box of previous ornaments--oh well. Maybe another year. I'm still in love with my Jesus-themed tree because it's so desperately hard to focus on the true meaning of Christmas in our materialistic world. The tree became my focus of trying to keep the true meaning of Christmas somewhat real in the hearts of my children. All Christmas trees are beautiful and unique. We celebrated around three different ones this year....ours in Spokane, my brother James and his wife, Jen's tree in Maple Valley, and my parents in Tumwater. All were vastly different from each other, as you can note from the pictures below. But each represented the same joy and holiday cheer in their own ways.

Our tree had all the gifts from Santa and Grandma/Grandpa Eibert. Jeff and I keep saying that we are going to "scale back" every year--I think we did pretty good this year and limited the number of gifts to four per child. I never thought that would be a problem, but when I go shopping--everything seems like such a great deal and so "perfect" for someone. But I reigned it in and stuck to the plan. I like simplicity, practicality, whimsical, and fun. And so--that is what they got--one of each.

The mini-tree at Grandma's had the much-expected Christmas jammies. The 14" tree at James' had the gifts for cousins and extended family.

Now for some of the Gifts:

Braden loves to build things. He got an Erector set, similar to the one that Nathan got last year for Christmas. I may have made a mistake....because it's Nathan that loves this more than Brady. It just goes to show you that you can't always win in the best planned department.

Cameron is infatuated with automobiles. He's constantly scanning the internet, gleaning information about different motors and cars. I'm still laughing about the tidbits he found out about Volkswagen Rabbits. His dad thought that he would love an actual model of a V-8 engine, one where he could see how all the belts and fans work as the motor operates. We were dead-on!! He loved it.

Jeff's grandma is 87 years old and lives in St Louis, Missouri with her daughter Gale. They've been incredibly generous and thoughtful with my kids over the years. They've never forgotten a birthday, Easter or Christmas. This year we put the money they sent for the kids in each of their stockings. If there was ever a "money shot"--this is it!!

Jeff's mom is a master with yarn and a hook! She crocheted each of the kids a hat and scarf. Grandma and Grandpa Eibert included Toys R Us gift cards as well. All of the kids LOVED their own personal wears and hooped with delight that they got to have a trip to their favorite toy store. Ashley was particularly delighted that her gift included a card to Claires' in the mall. Earrings and "foo foo" jewelry is SO her!! Grandma and Grandpa are rolling with the times...Ashley is a teenager now and was totally pleased with the difference in her gift!

Nathan and Jessica immediately modeled their sets. Nathan loves that his is in camo colors. He was doing some hand gestures. Jessica is darling in anything--but pink was the right choice of color for her!

What do you get the kid that doesn't play with toys, already has or read all the new book releases, and is still on the fence with any hobbies or interests? Clothes. That's right. Ashley got a box of clothes that was pretty stellar. Hehehe. That's because I bought them. She got 4 new church outfits, some T-shirts, and new PE clothes for school. I'm such a bargain shopper that her one case of clothes cost about the same as the big toys for each of the other kids. Cha-ching!!

Wii....XBOX...games, games, games. It's amazing what thrills little hearts. For Braden, Lego Star Wars was just as exciting as a pair of Eskimo boots for little Jessica. Oh the differences in girls and boys.

After a quick clean-up and breakfast, we packed the van and headed out for a 300-mile drive across the state to Maple Valley, where we would meet up with the Isaacks clan for Christmas dinner and a gift exchange among the cousins. It was a small gathering by our family standards, since almost half the family was missing. But we still had 17--with eight of them 13 and under.

My mom and dad--Grandma and Grandpa Isaacks

Jeff and Jolinda

The Joes............Jr and Sr. Joseph's wife, Fumi and baby, Rika were home sick. But Joseph has obviously mellowed into parenthood nicely, because his daughter, Nayu (2 1/2 yrs old) convinced him to wear her princess crown. [Let me tell you--no one saw that coming 10, or even 5 years ago!]

John, Megan and Jordyn (2 1/2 yrs old). Jordyn's going to have a baby sister in April.

Jen, James and Adrienne (almost 4 yrs old).

My handsome boys--Nathan and Braden with dad.

Cameron should be called the token pale "Camerai" in this picture. His Aunt Fumi is from Japan and got each of the kids treats and toys from Japan. Cameron was very pleased with the samurai hat and candies.

There was no end to the fun and games. Braden decided that if he didn't like cucumbers, they shouldn't be wasted....so he gave himself a quick spa treatment between courses.

Grandpa was hanging out by the fudge and fruitcake...with a birds eye view of all the funnies going on.

Grandma and Joseph

One of Ashley's Christmas gifts can't exactly be seen....but if you know her well, you'll note that something is missing. Her glasses. She has taken to contacts quickly and now we get to see her beautiful green eyes better as well. Maybe after the braces come off next Fall, we'll be seeing her beautiful smile as well.

Nathan--looking good

Cameron and dad

Jessica has a way of always being so cute. She was thrilled to play with all three of her girl cousins. They were all princesses playing Ring-Around the Rosy together, and had a great time. Peals of laughter and squeals were heard throughout the house.

Girl Cousins---Jessica Eibert, Adrienne Isaacks, and Jordyn Isaacks

Jessica (5), Ashley (13), and Adrienne (4)--it's fun to see the family resemblances and similar coloring from different sets of parents

Nayu Isaacks--she took the longest to open all of her gifts, but was very pleased with all the new toys and books.

Jordyn, was the hardest to get to smile for pictures...and this was the best I got. She's a live-wire and caters to no one's pleas to smile unless she wants to. That probably best explains their latest family picture ;)

I know that most people wouldn't post pictures of what they had for dinner. But I'm not most people and what we had for dinner was really impressive this year because it wasn't Thanksgiving Part 2. We had the most amazing roast beef, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, salad, and tons of festive goodies. Delicious. (Martha, Emeril, Paula, and Sandra Lee would have been proud).

My mom makes the only edible fruit cake I like. You won't gag on it because it's moist and tasty. You wouldn't call it "traditional" though, because it has some changes in the recipe that have greatly improved it's longevity--especially in the annuls of the Eibert recipe collection. The secret...gum drops instead of that nasty candied fruit.

And what Christmas is complete without Fudge? It's a family tradition. My favorite always has been Rocky Road, loaded with tons of marshmallows and nuts. I know that I've aged to the right degree of "motherhood", because I now make Fudge at Christmastime as well. I use my mother's candy as the standard of what it should look and taste like. I think I may now be a close runner-up to hers, but it has taken hundreds of pounds of sugar and butter to get the knack of it.

MARSHMALLOW FANTASY FUDGE

4 cups sugar

1 cube butter

1 canned Evaporated Milk

Bring to a rolling boil. Turn the heat down and continually stir with a wooden spoon for 10-12 minutes. Check with a candy thermometer; pull it off the heat when it reaches 238-240 degrees. Add 1-2 tsp vanilla and 1 bag of milk chocolate chips. Pour in a little more than half of a 16oz bag of miniature marshmallows. Stir till everything is smooth and melted. As it starts to cool down, it'll get really hard to turn. Add the rest of the marshmallows and 1 cup of finely crushed walnuts. Pour into a greased, glass baking dish. Sprinkle with more finely chopped walnuts. Let cool. Cut into squares when it is room temperature. Hmm. Delicious. This year, I followed the recipe and used white chocolate chips and added dried cranberries and pecans. I loved that combination. The chocolate and peanut butter version wasn't too bad--but I am going to perfect it so that it was a layer of peanut butter fudge on top of the creamy milk chocolate instead of mixed together. But alas, that is for another year!!

We have had a very busy Christmas this year. I just hope that in all the busy-ness, we can carry the spirit of Christmas throughout the year. To love more and give more of ourselves would make our world a better place and would truly count our lives more worthy as a gift to Him, whose birthday and life we celebrate this time of year. So as the year draws to an end...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Turtles are Delicious!!

We have a new favorite Christmas goody in our family that is not only delicious, but so EASY to make. I don't know what they are really called, but they look like homemade "Turtles" to me. They were introduced to me last year by my friend Kristine when one of her music students brought her a big bag of them. She shared a few and we made an instant connection when she explained how easy they were to make. There a certain combinations in food that just compliment each other and this is one of them. It has salty, sweet, soft, chewy, crunchy, nutty, and the "can't eat just one" factor. So you want to know how easy they are to make?

Fill a cookie sheet with pretzels. Unwrap the Rolos and place one caramel on each pretzel. Place in oven at 200 degrees for 5 minutes to soften the candy. Take out of the oven and press half a pecan down into the candy. Let set for an hour or so, or place in the fridge to harden the candy. You have a cute and yummy treat. Just to reiterate how popular these have been in my family...we've been through 3 cases of the 36ct Rolos. Yep. They looked awesome in cellophane bags tied with a lush ribbon as teacher gifts, on goody trays for the neighborhood and co-workers, and on the serving tray with other assorted festive yums at the big get-togethers. I do have to disclose that an entire tray went unaccounted for. Nobody saw or knows what happened to them. I had a Bermuda Triangle experience in my own kitchen. Hmmm...it was just easier to make more than do interrogations on 6 people late into the night, if you know what I mean. They are easy and tasty and worth the sharing...so enjoy!

One of our Family Traditions--Gingerbread Houses

I am a simple mother. I enjoy traditions and seasonal anticipation, as much as any other person but I'm low in the "experienced" category. I didn't grow up with a lot of traditions that caused me any wonder or awe. So starting a few family traditions for my children to remember and look back on has taken sheer motivation and planning on my part. Most of the time, the brilliance of an activity hits me in the past-tense and with the holidays, it's all about being timely.





It wasn't till I was in college that I found out that other families were doing quite a few awesome and exciting traditions year after year. [Just for the record--I haven't incorporated everything that I became enchanted with into our family--like putting coins in the stuffing at Thanksgiving, but my children have a few more expectations during the holiday season than either their father or I had.]




And one of those awesome traditions we started doing when the kids were really little--were Gingerbread Houses. And going back to my "simple mother" thought...I loved the notion of creating and decorating a cute winter cottage but going through the whole process of baking, piecing, icing, waiting, and decorating seemed a tad bit too time-consuming to become an on-going tradition. But, alas! Mothers are inspired when they are determined to give their children joy. After a couple of years of trying to assemble houses from kits and only to have them collapse--I found the perfect solution, my "secret weapon"--if you will.




Our Gingerbread Houses start with 1. a glue gun and 2. graham crackers. There lies the secret to successful and fast Gingerbread Houses! Simplification has meant "application" to our family history. (Who would have thought that hot glue would make or break a great tradition!) And much like the rest of my generation, I'm all about instant gratification and success. (Unexpected bonus: the kids don't eat the houses because of the glue.... Hmmm. The memory and the house lingers for a few days longer that normally expected).



Jessica's house definitely got more covered than the rest--because she used the biggest "utensil" she could find to apply the icing--her hands!! Not the frosting around her mouth. She wasn't shy about trying the goods as she worked.



Traditions are to create a sense of wholeness, a feeling of unity and love within a family. I knew that if any activity became too complicated for younger participants, it would run a muck and cause tension. And I didn't want our "traditions" and "holiday memories" to include heated arguments, vitriol, and irritation. And so this tradition has continued with a few changes to the production--some of which, I'm sure, will throw some future in-laws for a loop.





What it came down to with our building efforts, was that we were building more than just houses. We were forging memories, relationships, and righteous traditions. The kids loved spending this evening together and they created their own masterpieces...just like themselves. A glue gun and crackers made it as uncomplicated as it comes. It was fun and as the years go by, the houses are looking more refined and beautiful--like them!