Christmas, 2023

Or, Getting Busy Yall

We did a lot. Rosie had to help me remember what happened when. No, it wasn’t because I couldn’t remember for THAT reason. It was just fast and furious. And today, it will be fast and… God willing… quiet.

Peanut Butter Balls.

The 14th annual making of the balls. Punny jokes abound every year with this one, but I will try and keep it civilized on this post to keep our “family friendly” status.

Rosie is getting older, and able to help out so much more this year. Mercy? She just talked to herself about various things in the next room; but hey, this too was a big step: Mercy could entertain herself.

Delivering the balls is fun too- it is an unannounced visit, so we catch people in a frantic state sometimes. God bless the holidays.

That Steak though.

Christmas at the Registers is great. Their gifts are always thoughtful. They do a great job hosting, and things look great. But let me tell you about that steak.

My father in law makes a banging meal every year. One year it was scallops- and he puts in the work to know details how to make the dish perfect. For scallops, one of the tricks is to put the oil directly on the scallop, not the pan; there is a reason for this, and Ted would be happy to share. The result of this grunt-work is a dish that delivers. This year, it was a USDA Prime cut of a prime rib. This is my go-to at any restaurant when it is being served, and Ted’s version was over the top compared with any restaurant.

Ok, enough about that. We also did presents, and more and more, these years are 100% about watching the joy for these kids. I grew up with Jake and Matt- we had a different kind of experience Christmas morning. We would have fun, then get in some sort of fight afterwards, then make up, and yada yada yada; these cousins, maybe because it is girls instead of boys, they are just so kind and awesome to one another. It is so fun to watch them open presents and be nice to each other.

Happy Birthday Jesus.

Pour one out for the Peascoes, who had a bout of the flu in their household. And the Torres, who, for some reason, left the south to move back to the North. We missed them.

All that aside, this is a tradition we really enjoyed: doing the “Happy Birthday Jesus” party with Joe and Sara Steinwedell. They have some awesome kids, and they always seem to pick up right where they left off. Rosie can hang with those country boys no problem.

Mercy on the other hand…

It was a lot of fun to see them and hear about their year. Things are hard sometimes, so it is that much more important to have brothers in Christ that are there alongside you.

We hosted brunch again.

This year we had power, so that was a plus; and the weather was amazing, so the kiddos were running around, also having a blast. Everyone behaved themselves. Grandma did not get up on the table and dance (this is a reference to how, as a child, I was told my “Grammy” would get up on the table and dance if I ate all my vegetables).

This was Taylor’s mom’s side of the family, coming in hot from the Raleigh/Cary area.

Taylor worked real hard to make everything work smoothly. And it worked. It was just a nice, uneventful breakfast where we got to catch up with everyone, and for that, I am grateful.

More Christmas?

Yes. There was more. Ok, even I am getting a little tired at this point. But, it is important to honor the other important parts of the holidays:

We did the candle lit Christmas Eve service at our church, Church of the Redeemer, and really enjoyed it. Mom joined us. This is the sign I am getting old: The traditional Christmas carols are more and more becoming the highlight of Christmas for me.

Then, Christmas morning at our house; Christmas night at moms with Evan and Matt and the girls, and then the disaster that was left behind.

Highlights from those last parts? Rosie and Mercy are awesome. The highlight at my mom’s house was watching them play with their bigger cousins- Lila and Amelia are so kind to them.