Christmas Gifts

As promised in yesterday's post, today I'm sharing the wonderful gifts I received from my family on Christmas Eve.  Since we open our gifts by order of age from youngest to oldest, I was next to the last to open my gifts, but they were worth the wait.

When granddaughter, Brooke, went on a church youth retreat in Frankenmuth, MI this past fall she purchased my Christmas present.  She definitely knows what her Nana likes!  ;-)  A Delft Blue windmill teapot [that actually turns] a matching tea canister, and a pearl necklace.

From Steve, Sharon, and Brianna, I received an ancestry DNA kit.  After all these years living on the planet, I'm finally going to discover my exact origins.

Izzy gave me a lovely Vanilla Creme bath set [shower gel and body lotion].

Jeremy, Samantha, and the kids gave me an Amazon gift card and two tins of Harney & Sons tea [Paris Blend and Darjeeling].

Lori gave me a beautiful Christmas teapot.  I ordered the same teapot from Simpson & Vail [Brookfield, CT] for a friend's Christmas gift.  When it arrived I was disappointed I didn't order one for myself, so when Lori asked for suggestions, I mentioned the teapot and she ordered it.  I'm really enjoying Cardinals for Christmas.

Lori also gave me a professionally restored original historic photograph of J.L. Hudson's Department store taken in 1960.  It'll be a great addition to my visuals when I do a Hudson's presentation.

Brandon and Venessa gave Jerry and me a Tim Horton's gift card and two hand soaps [French Lavender and Beautiful Day] and a Winter candle from Bath and Body Works. [Jerry took the Tim Horton's gift card since he's the coffee drinker, hence the reason it's not in the picture.  ;-)]

Tiffany, John and Evie gave us a gift card to Olive Garden.

And from my hubby I received an Amazon gift card and four Tartan Plaid dinner and salad plates from Williams Sonoma to add to my collection of plaid dinnerware.

As you can see, it was a very Merry Christmas!  What did Santa bring you?

I close this post with two photos of great-granddaughter, Evie, taken at her paternal grandmother's house on Christmas Day.  They're just too precious not to share.  Evie is definitely God's gift to John and Tiffany this Christmas season, as well as all the family.

The cute ruffled panties were worn by Tiffany, 26 years earlier.  How quickly time passes!

CHRISTmas with the Barkey's

Christmas Eve began by worshipping at Orchard Ridge Church of the Nazarene.  Before the service began I took a picture of granddaughters Brianna and Brooke.

Christmas is children, and we loved hearing them ring their bells.

Pastor Steve gave his Christmas message, "Jesus, the Light of the World," and inspired us to let His light shine brightly through us.  Remember the children's chorus with the index finger pointed upward symbolizing our candle/light while we sang, "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine..." 

The service concluded with a beautiful candle lighting, illustrating that light dispels darkness.  [I lightened the photo so you could see it.]

When church was dismissed we made our way home.  It began snowing around 1:30 and made roads treacherous for travel.  Dinner was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. but it was around 5:00 before everyone started arriving.  The adult table was set and waiting.

It was little Evie's first Christmas and we all enjoyed her so much, especially Lori [her Nana].  Ellie and Landon thought she was pretty special too.  

After dinner, Papa read the Christmas story from the Book of Luke.  Ellie listened while sitting on her Daddy's lap.  [I was listening even though I was taking pictures. ;-)]

Then it was time to open presents.  Everyone wanted to open gifts individually this year [starting with the youngest first] so they could see what everyone got.  It's chaos when everyone opens at the same time.  Little Evie being the youngest went first - with the help of her Daddy, of course.

Ellie [in lower left corner] was patiently waiting her turn, following Evie.

Brooke made a lot of the Christmas gifts she gave, including the adorable hat Evie's wearing.

~ Ellie ~

~ Landon ~

~ Brooke and Izzy ~

Izzy got a...

...beginner's sewing machine and case [and other things].  The guys had to keep tabs on football scores, hence the football game on TV in the background.  The snow storm knocked out our cable connection so their watching was short-lived.

~ Brooke's turn to open gifts. ~

~ Brianna ~

Brooke made her Uncle Jeremy the Michigan State sock hat he's wearing, while Landon helped his Dad unwrap his other presents.

~ DIL Samantha and Lori waiting their turn. ~

~ Steve, Sharon, Brianna and Brooke ~

~ Jeremy, Samantha, Isabella, Landon and Ellie ~

~ Grandson Brandon and Venessa enjoyed their first Christmas together as newlyweds.  ~

The beautiful kids, grandkids, and great grandchild all began with Pa and Ma!  ;-)  I love my family, and thank the Lord for each of them every day!

After opening all the presents, it was time for the annual watching of Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation DVD.  We paused half-way through for our birthday cake for Jesus.  [Sorry, I forgot to take a picture!  ;-(]  We had fun with It's a Wonderful Life trivia game too.

We gave both of the boys moose mugs [from the Christmas Vacation movie] which came with a 'Jelly of the Month' certificate.  ;-)

The three youngest grands brought their pj's because they thought they were going to spend the night due to the snow storm.  At the last minute Jeremy decided to tackle the drive home so they'd be home for Christmas morning.  Sam said they got home at 2:30 a.m., but the kids were ready to climb right into bed.

Our daughter, Lori, stayed the night, and we enjoyed having her with us on Christmas Day.  I loved watching the Queen's Christmas message on TV, and later we watched five episodes of The Crown, season two on Netflix.  

I hope your Christmas was merry, bright, and filled with God's blessings!   

Santa was very good to me, but since this is already a very lengthy post, I'll share what I received tomorrow.

The Eve of Christmas Eve

Today's been a busy day on the homefront getting ready for tomorrow afternoon and evening.  

Most of the Christmas Eve dinner has been prepared and just has to be heated tomorrow.  I'll set the table as soon as we get home from church, and then I'll be ready for the family to arrive.

Our Christmas menu seldom varies:  Spiral baked Ham; Cheesy Potatoes; Pecan topped Sweet Potato Casserole; Corn Pudding [Susan Branch's recipe], Amish Noodles; Green Bean Casserole; Strawberry/Pretzel Jello Salad; Rolls, and Birthday Cake for Jesus.  

Last year I departed from the norm and made a Cassata Cake, but I'm back to tradition this year with a Chocolate Mound Cake.

It's currently 31 degrees in Southeastern Michigan, and tomorrow will be a high of 26 with snow in the evening.  Mother Nature is going to honor us a White Christmas!  The cold temps mean I can use the attached garage as an extra refrigerator.  ;-)

Yeast rolls are rising and will be just right for popping into the oven first thing in the morning.

I managed to get a tea-themed Christmas tree put up.

The Polish Pottery teapot [marked by the arrow below] was a gift from Frieda in Texas, and the inspiration for doing a tea-themed tree this year.  I have more ornaments, but ran out of time and energy.  I've been fighting an infection the past few days, and the Dr. changed the antibiotic this morning.  This one makes me sleepy.  Next year I hope to find a child's toy teapot for a topper.  My hubby will drill a hole in the bottom for the top branch to go through to secure it.  This year, however, a star works. 

Jerry brought up all the gifts from the basement where he busily wrapped them in his shop.

He left some room for our kids when they bring their presents tomorrow.

Of course, we all know the greatest gift is the Christ-child who left the splendor of Heaven to come to earth for a few brief years, and then became the Saviour of the world to all who believe.

Two red cardinals adorn our Christmas tree.  If my memory's correct Jeremy made the first one pictured below when he was a young boy.  [If not Jeremy, then Steve.]

The second one is a newer addition. 

I knew the Cardinal is the bird that symbolizes Christmas, but I wanted to know why, so I researched it.

Northern Cardinals are non-migratory, and are around all year.  They're often seen in evergreen trees.  Their bright red color cheers up the gray wintry skies and landscape.  But more importantly, they're a symbol of faith representing the blood Jesus shed for us on the cross.

I probably won't have a chance to blog tomorrow, so from our house to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!  

Count Down to Christmas

House decorated:  ✔

 The Nativity set our kids gave us last Christmas is prominently displayed. 

 Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

 My Mother's ceramic Christmas tree is in place.

The 9 ft. Christmas tree in the family room is decorated.

The lighted ceramic church, houses and tearoom are on the mantel.

There's a lot more I could have done [and may still do a bit more yet], but the older I get I remind myself, what goes up must come down!  It's festive and fun putting it up, but not so much fun taking it all down and packing it away for another year.

Grocery shopping for Christmas Eve and Gift shopping:  ✔     

Finished it yesterday [Tuesday].  Jerry has most of it wrapped and will add the bows tomorrow, and put them under the Christmas tree.  We shopped for 18 this year.  The list grows as the family expands. One new granddaughter this year [by marriage], and one sweet, baby great-granddaughter.

While shopping at Partridge Creek outdoor mall on Tuesday, I passed a Teavana store that was still open.  I was surprised because I thought Starbucks was closing them all.  I liked the sign affixed to their front door and took a picture.

I went into Forever 21 to buy a gift for my granddaughter, and noticed they have the Scripture John 3:16 printed on their bags. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."  Like Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A and other faith-based businesses, they immediately won my admiration for openly declaring their faith.  

Christmas cards mailed:   ✔

It gets more difficult every year to find tea-themed Christmas cards, but I found two this year.

Inside the card is the meaning of the Friendship Teapot.  The handle represents caring arms to hold you with understanding and support.  The spout stands for the pouring out of tears and laughter.  The porcelain signifies the beautiful relationship shared - a rare and precious treasure.  ~ Patricia Weaver.

I ordered mine from Walter Drake, but they're available at Miles Kimball too.

The card above is called Holiday Tea with artwork by Susan Winget.  A product of LANG Companies, Inc.  It's a petite card and not full-size.  Walmart carried them online.  I love the red cardinal which is the bird that symbolizes Christmas.

My baking isn't done yet, but I'll start working on that tomorrow.  One of my blog readers from Biloxi, Mississippi sent a surprise package containing pecan halves.  Thank you, Sarah!

My first thought was to make a full-size pecan pie, but I'm thinking I may make petite pecan pies instead.  And I'll save some for the topping on the Christmas Eve sweet potatoes. 

Only five days until Christmas!  Are you ready?