Christmas Day

The kids slept in until at least 7, some until 7:30. Not as early as I was thinking they were going to be up. They ran out to check if Santa ate the S cookies and cocoa we left him. They had left him a special note asking for bells from his sleigh. He was pretty gracious and gave them each one! I wasn't fast enough to get pictures of them checking out Santa's note. 

 

 

Nathan got some Bionic Blox from Mommy and Daddy. They are really fun!

Esther was introduced to Playmobil toys for the first time. They now have a fairy line, which of course she was pretty excited about! 

 

Jacob really got into opening presents. Of course, he liked Nathan's presents better than his own. 

More "stuck!" when he couldn't get Nathan's new Hess truck from Grandpa and Grandma out. 

Daron finally got his BYU diploma framed. Now it can go up in his office next to his law school diploma and his bar license. He also got a 2 man tent for camping from Santa which he was pretty excited about.

 

After opening presents, a late breakfast, and getting dressed, we drove around town delivering cards and Christmas greetings to the many singles in our ward.  

Silver and white were the colors of choice this year. We invited 7 people over. It was a simpler menu this year so we didn't get started cooking until 4pm. Unfortunately, the pork was still frozen! So dinner wasn't ready until nearly 7pm. Oops. But it turned out yummy. Thank goodness for Cecilia and Ed's help in the kitchen! 

I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of our guests. I meant to but I was so flustered just trying to get dinner on the table, I snapped a few quickies and then we sat down to eat. 

I put these white beauties together myself - lilies, hydrangeas, daisies, and spider mums. Gorgeous! 

Cecilia made this darling place cards! And I finally got some white plates that I've been wanting for awhile. I found this nice basic set at Pier 1.

 Delicious spinach salad!

We had salad, roast pork tenderloin with root vegetables, ham, mashed potatoes with gravy (again hooray for Cecilia for saving me on the gravy!), toasty beans with parmesan, and hearty bread. We were supposed to have poached pears for dessert but they never cooked properly. Plan B was ice cream and leftover Italian cookies and cannoli. Perfect!

 

Each year I try to keep it simple but it always seems to go a little haywire at the end. I really enjoy having people over and feel that it is a way to show love and service to our friends. It was a nice day all in all. Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

Janis Family Christmas Eve 2013

Just a quick post.... Christmas Eve is here again! We invited some friends over for the usual pizza and festivities.

 

Daron was able to get around the kitchen alright despite his back still being very sore. The crust this year was probably the best we (Daron) has ever done!

Mozzarella, tomato, and basil 

And another one.

Sausage, mushroom, and olives

Ham and pineapple

Butternut squash, prosciutto, and shallots (dressed after cooking with mixed greens)

 

Mini cannoli and Italian cookies for dessert

 

Joseph and Mary (our friends the Erwins who are cute newlyweds!)

Jacob didn't want to be a sheep - he just wanted to hug baby Jesus.

Esther the angel holding the star over the stable. She was disappointed to find the angel was a boy.

Elders Sproul and Navaiz with Brother Lafon playing the Wise Men - King Herod in the background.

The kids got BYU pjs for Christmas Eve.

Jacob trying on Rob's shoes. He was so proud of himself for a moment until he realized he couldn't move. He looked all worried at me and said, "Stuck!"

 

 

Serious

Jacob takes meeting with Santa seriously. He wasn't afraid. He walked right up to him and held out his arms but sat there stone faced. Once he got a candy cane, he said thank you and walked away grinning. Silly kid!

Nathanism

Nathan: Mom, I don't really like my name. 

Me: Oh?

Nathan: Yeah, I want to change it. 

Me: What would you change it to?

Nathan: (wistful sigh) Lightning Bolt. 

Happy Halloween!

Whewph! I managed to pull off one more year of dressing up as a family. It is always hectic and crazy trying to put it all together, but I enjoy the challenge and the family pictures are always precious. The kids were pretty pleased with their outfits and will get lots more use as dress up clothes.

Han and Leia. My Han is much more handsome than Harrison Ford.

The trunk was rather hastily put together. Printed starships hanging from fishing line and a paper lantern Death Star. The key was the very loud Star Wars soundtrack playing!

This girl knows how to pose. Esther was Padme Amidala in a battle outfit. She pulled this off with ease.

 

Nathan as the amazing Luke Skywalker with his lightsaber (lightsaver as the kids call it) that he bought with his saved money at Disneyland.

I could not get Jacob, who was Obi Wan Kanobi, to hold still for a picture. Even this one is blurry as the boys were having a lightsaber duel.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

Relaxing at the Hideaway Ranch

Last Sunday evening after church, we drove down southwest of Dallas to a little ranch in Bluff Dale. It's mostly a couples retreat and they host weddings, business events, etc. but they have two family sized cabins. We stayed there for two nights.

Unfortunately, it rained. The fields and paths were just sticky mud. We did take a walk and do the scavenger hunt.

The ranch dog Rosco followed us around and the kids really liked him. We were going to do archery, play on the playground, play horseshoes, and ride ponies but the weather was just too wet. So we stayed indoors and played games, read books, took naps, and had a relaxing Monday!

Late in the afternoon, we took a drive into Glen Rose and visited Big Rocks Park. It's just that - big rocks to climb on!

Then we stopped at a playground and climbed on some fun equipment.

We drove home Tuesday morning, stopping in Cleburne for lunch. It was still wet and rainy, but we sure have needed the rain! We hope to go back some time when it's not so wet.