To all our beloved friends and family who have seen us through this year of tragedy and rebuilding—-we are so thankful for you. Your thoughts and prayers and words and meals and gifts have meant more to us than you will ever know. We celebrate with you God incarnate, come in the flesh, to bear our sins and suffering. He is our light and life. May you be blessed with His everlasting love and peace, this Christmas, and always.
Merry Christmas from our house to yours!
xoxo

We are so blessed to be loved and supported by such a wonderful family—-sisters,  brothers, grannies……

cousins…….

Aunt Gina……

Auntie Julie, Auntie Sue-Sue, Grandma (who came all the way from Minnesota!)
A big smooch and thanks to dad (Stevie) for being so patient and supportive with all the late nights, missed meals and occasional crabby girls!

It was my very favorite Nutcracker performance and I highly doubt it will ever be topped.  I could be slightly biased though

Welcome to the party! Merry Christmas Y’all!

This is a party of appetizers. You share (with links or pictures) your favorite appetizer recipe(s) for Christmas and then link up here (to your blog or Facebook page) so we can all get some new ideas for fabulous starter food. If Thanksgiving food is all about the meal then Christmas food  is all about everything else—-the tapas, the sweets, the breads, the drinks, etc.
Monday (or now if you’d like)—-Appetizers
Wednesday—–Sweets
Friday—-Breads, Breakfasts and Drinks
Sounds like fun and I will participate myself sometime tomorrow when I get all this technical mumbo jumbo figured out.
Start linking tonight if you’re ready

Here’s the code for the party button if you’d like to display it on your blog.  If will link back to the party and is kinda cute if I do say so myself.  Just copy and paste the following  crazy stuff into the HTML tab of your blog and magic will occur.   If magic fails to occur, let me know.  I’ll sprinkle more fairy dust.

<a href=”http://www.lifeingraceblog.com/2011/12/christmas-cheerappetizers-link-party.html”><img src=”http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6455740323_7c6fd13415_b.jpg” width=”875″ height=”450″ alt=”christmas cheer”></a>

Now let’s get cooking!

p.s.  If noone shows up to the party, I’ll be forced to make full page collages of the foo dogs all week.  And judging from your comments, some of you would be very afraid

p.p.s.  I know some of you have had trouble with the photo button but I think it’s working now.  You could also just drag the photo onto your desktop and then add to your post and make the photo a link similar to the way you’d make a text link.   If you post the ‘html’ code I’ve given and then hit ‘publish’ without going again to the ‘compose’ tab, it should work though.  For some reason when I switched between compose and html, it adds stuff to the html code which makes is then not work.   See what I mean about blowing up the internets?

I have the most wonderful family and am truly so blessed by them all!

Enjoy a few photos……
Grannie’s always in the kitchen cleaning up my mess!

We broke out the Thanksgiving ads after dinner but I totally wimped out on the midnight shopping run. My sister, on the other hand, is made of steel and shopped all night long. I’ve never been much of a black Friday shopper. I think I’ve been twice—both with my Iron Man sister—and I do love to go and drink coffee and people watch. But at midnight? At the Walmarts? That’d be enough to push me right over the edge  on which I’m always dangerously teetering.    We’re all better off if I sleep and then properly caffeinate before I’m allowed in public.

I did no shopping to speak of and no Christmas decorating.   We’re trying to embrace the church’s calendar more and more every year and today is the first day of Advent.   I posted on our Advent traditions here. We will slowly begin our decorating this week although I can’t find a spot in my living room anywhere to put a tree?!  I have, however, found a perfect spot on the screen porch!

On Saturday, I took the girls to the Moscow Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker.  Since they are performing in our local Nutcracker the week before Christmas (and my little Emme was chosen to play ‘Clara’), they literally sat on the edge of their seats and took in every detail.   We had  so much fun
And I close with this.  In lieu of post Thanksgiving regrets and new resolutions for working out,  I propose we all embrace the poncho.   It’s the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” garment  of fashion.

For all you know I had carrot sticks and water for Thanksgiving.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Hope your weekend was full to the brim!
xo,
edie

But all and all, we’re pretty solid, you and I.  I would totally hold your hair back in a crisis.  I adore you.  I do.

So, I wanted to say thank you. For meeting me here so faithfully after all this time, through all these trials and all this joy.
For rescuing me from despair when my life fell apart.
I am so humbled that you come. And that you make it okay for us to be who we are.
You are like family to me. I couldn’t be more blessed by having you in my life.
A few goodies and links to say thank you!
I made this banner 2 Thanksgivings and 2 kitchens ago and hope to make time to print it out again this year. Link up in the comments if you print it and post about it!

The pdf files for the letter are here for you to download and print.
G in Give
I in Give
V in Give
E in Give

T in Thanks
H in Thanks
A in Thanks
N in Thanks
K in THanks
S in THanks

Here are some links of food I’m making, in case you need a few last minute ideas.

Obviously, this list isn’t complete.   At least my family hopes not.

But these were easy to find and I hope all your dishes are wonderful and tasty!

Chocolate Banana Cream Pie by Emeril—don’t make it until Thursday, it doesn’t ‘keep’ well.

Green Bean Casserole–-Alton Brown (an alternative to the cream of mushroom version)

Red Velvet Cake—Cuisine at Home  (I’m making the one from Cuisine at Home, which has no online link but it’s close to the one I linked to.  It’s made in 2 8×8 pans and then the cakes are sliced in half to make a 4 layer cake.  The sides aren’t frosted so you can see the red—it looks amazing!  I made the cakes already and froze them and will ice them on Thursday.)

Parker House Rolls—Martha Stewart  (I make these every year and they are amazing!)  Make on Thursday.

Vicki’s Olive Salsa—appetizer    (Stevie LOVES olives and thinks it’s a downright disgrace not to have olives on the Thanksgiving table.)

Crab Rangoon Dip—appy (new for me this year)

Oyster Dressing-–Pioneer Woman   (I make sausage dressing too but I LOVE oyster dressing and so does Grannie.   And I think we’re the only two but try it and lemme know!)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins—I already need to make another batch!  They disappear so fast and are perfect for a lazy after-Holiday breakfast!

And here’s my fail proof turkey method—–LOW and SLOW.    We don’t eat until 6 pm so my timing is based on that.  If you plan to eat at noon, you need to put that baby in the oven at 2 or 3 am.

I start with a 20-22 pound turkey and soak it in a salt water/apple juice brine either overnight or at least for a few hours.  (about a half handful of salt and one container of apple juice and then submerse in your sink by filling the rest with water.      At 6 am, I turn the oven on 300 while I prepare the turkey.  I pat the turkey dry and stuff it with sausage stuffing.   I them rub softened butter over the outside skin.    Put into the oven and leave at 300 for an hour and a half.  Then reduce the temperature to 250 and cook for several hours.   At around noon, I check it to see how we’re progressing.  If it seems to be cooking along very well, I often turn the oven down to 200 and leave it for the rest of the afternoon.   Sometimes, I turn it down to 200 but after checking it at 3 pm, if it’s not starting to fall apart, I increase the temp back up to 250.    There has never been in the history of the world a juicier turkey.

LOW and SLOW.

It’s the key to all of life.

******************

I leave  you with this prayer for the home!

Lord God, our home is among the most precious gifts we receive in this life.

We realize this all the more as we remember our Lord Jesus. He set aside home and family. Having no place to lay His head throughout His ministry, he chose to sojourn among those He came to save. We prayerfully invite Him to dwell in our earthly abode even as He continually invites us by Word and Sacrament to dwell forever in our heavenly home, which He prepares for us.

Make us ever grateful for this shelter from life’s storms.

Keep this house always the home of comfort, joy, peace, and forgiveness.

According to Your will, protect this home from the spiritual assaults of Satan, but likewise make our home a fortress against the calamities of nature and the wickedness of sinful man.

Grant us the virtue of hospitality, the joy of harmonious living, and the blessing of gathering around Your Word and bringing our families’ prayers before You.

May all who dwell in our home be blessed by Your presence and Your peace,

and may all who go forth give thanks for the grace they receive from You, through us, Your dear children

We receive Your loving kindness in our home as a reminder of the eternal home we inherit through Your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.
Amen.
{prayer taken from the Lutheran prayer book which can be purchased at Concordia Publishing House.}

Sweet blessings on your  home this Thanksgiving season.

Beeeecaaaaause I’m easy come,  easy go. Little high, little low. Any way the wind blows, doesn’t really matter to meeeee, to me.

Wonder which will be harder?  Keeping this table in its’ current state of glory til Thursday or getting Bohemian Rhadsody lyrics out of your head and mine.

I see a little silhouetto of a man.  Scaramouche!  Scaramouche!  Will you do the fandango?

I think we have our answer.

I’m not finished yet but I am liking the general explosion of color. I don’t like labeling holidays with mandatory colors. Thanksgiving can be magenta and kelly green and cornflower blue if she wants to?! Who went and made brown the boss of Thanksgiving? I rebel. I return to Thanksgiving all the colors of April and June and September. I think Freddy would totally be with me on this one.

Back soon with an upstanding Thanksgiving post.  I knew this one was a goner when Queen popped into my head.

My profuse apologies. You should probably find a real blogger to follow now.
This may be the beginning of the end for me.

Here’s Freddy himself. Try watching it just once. I dare you.

mwahhhhhh!

I’ve joined The Nester’s Christmas Tour both in 2009 and in 2008. I love that girl.  She  gives me a goal for finishing my decorating.

I haven’t finished decorating yet, despite her promptings but I’ve decided to tell you about my Christmas journey anyways.

This year has been different for me.    This is my first Christmas in the lake house.   And honestly, I’ve had a hard time completely letting go of the other house, at least in my heart.  I have so many wonderful Christmas memories from that house.   It’s different here.

And then with that geographic change came a heart shift.

I found myself not wanting a fancy, glitzy perfectly decorated house.

I wanted to slow down.   To take an Advent journey without all the rushing.   A quiet journey of waiting and hoping and longing.

For the Christ who would come in lowly means to a world that is messy and hurting and broken.

I’ve been a little hamstrung.  Wanting to ‘get in the spirit’ but not knowing for the life of me how to usher it in.

Not depressed.  Not a Scrooge.  Just quiet.   And waiting.

Slowly, but surely, a few decorations go up.  Not in my normal frenzy.  But a few things here and there along the way.

I missed this party and this one and especially this one, since I have no tree yet.

But I didn’t miss this or this.

I think I like my new Christmas.   You have to slow down to see it.

So instead of spending lots of time and money decorating, I’ve decided to do a few things different.  I’ve been:

1. Studying the poem “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” by John Milton. I’m leading my bookclub discussion this Thursday and I picked this poem, partly because the girls and I are memorizing the first four stanzas and partly because I find it so fascinating that Milton wrote such a brilliant piece at the age of 21. Wow! So, I’m taking copious notes and reading lots of commentary. You can read the poem here.

2. Hand-Writing my Christmas cards. Novel, huh? I haven’t handwritten cards in many-a-year, since the computer generated labels became so avant-garde. It’s all so old-school and fun.  I love writing—with a pen!
3.  Baking like there’s no tomorrow.   And then freezing it all for the holiday rush.

Which means  I always have a sink full of dishes.  It looks less messy from this point of view.  Don’t let that fool you.   It’s messy.

And that candle?  Winterberry from Target.  Hands down the best Christmas-y scent I’ve found this year.

4.  Doing a lot of arts and crafts with the littles.  Today? Snowman paintings to go along with our snow.   We painted the Voyage of the Dawn Treader ship this weekend and hope to brave the snow to see the movie later today.

Maybe I’ll finish this tree, maybe not…..

Still no ‘big’ tree.   Maybe soon?

This year, this is our Christmas journey.

Less decorating, more living.

Less shopping, more giving.

Less running, more being.

Enjoying all the little gifts along the way.

Christmas is coming.   I hope we don’t miss Him.

From our house to yours, may the perfect love of Christ be your light and life.

the feasting begins
the carnage
the clean-up crew (my brother and sister whom i affectionately call ‘brother’ and ‘sister’)
still cleaning
we didn’t eat a thing, lookin’ slim and trim

that’s my story and i’m stickin’ to it.

Hope your day was filled with all the things you love!

ps. I published this post without adding all the links and now I have to leave. Check back later for links and sources.

Prayer for the Home:

Lord God, our home is among the most precious gifts we receive in this life.

We realize this all the more as we remember our Lord Jesus. He set aside home and family. Having no place to lay His head throughout His ministry, he chose to sojourn among those He came to save. We prayerfully invite Him to dwell in our earthly abode even as He continually invites us by Word and Sacrament to dwell forever in our heavenly home, which He prepares for us.

Make us ever grateful for this shelter from life’s storms.

Keep this house always the home of comfort, joy, peace, and forgiveness.

According to Your will, protect this home from the spiritual assaults of Satan, but likewise make our home a fortress against the calamities of nature and the wickedness of sinful man.

Grant us the virtue of hospitality, the joy of harmonious living, and the blessing of gathering around Your Word and bringing our families’ prayers before You.

May all who dwell in our home be blessed by Your presence and Your peace,

and may all who go forth give thanks for the grace they receive from You, through us, Your dear children

We receive Your loving kindness in our home as a reminder of the eternal home we inherit through Your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.
Amen.
{prayer taken from the Lutheran prayer book which can be purchased at Concordia Publishing House.}

Sweet blessings on your  home this Thanksgiving season.