Christmas 2006

I will never forget Christmas 2006. 'Twas both ludicrous and lovely. The original plan was to feast on Christmas Day in our Church's spacious parish hall with my parents, brother, Aunt Pat, Uncle Bobby, John's Mom, sister's family, and friends Omar, Lorena, and their baby Judah. Plans, schmans. John's sister Beckye had emergency gall bladder surgery and their Mom kindly stayed behind to cook for Beckye's family. Our Church's plumbing backed up so we decided to cram everyone in our apartment with a functioning toilet and kitchen. My asthma flared up so badly that I paged a doctor on Christmas Eve for a prescription. John woke up Christmas morning with a mild form of food poisoning. The caterer cooked a delicious Cajun-spiced meal, but forgot to give us 4 pounds of dressing, and we forgot to double-check our order until Christmas Day.

In the end, Christmas Day was fabulous. We missed John's family something fierce, but everyone else graciously packed into our living room like sardines. We snacked on homemade Chex mix and fudge, laughed, quickly made Stovetop stuffing, feasted on turkey and side dishes, and opened bountiful gifts. Before the meal and gifts, we went around the room, each person reading a few verses of Scripture. Reading the Bible before gifts was a tradition Papaw started and one that will continue.

John and I recovered, his sister is OK, and we can't help but laugh at the holy-day fiascos. Most everything seemed traumatic at the time, but we learned to thank God for a warm home, family, friends, and the reason to gather - a celebration of Christ Jesus's birth and our salvation.

Now get comfy - here are a ton of Christmas pictures...

My late grandmother Nina's reindeer decorations:



My Mom's touch:



My Mom insisted we visit The Blue Hand on the 23rd; she and I love that eclectic shoppe. I found a musical staff coat rack to hang above the fireplace. However, it is not for coats. I hung Papaw's and my late father-in-law's bolo ties from the hooks, the music staff honoring Papaw's career as a minister of music:





Nativity by a bottle of cognac:



This little star is a glowing Christmas Cookie candle:



Mulled wine is my favorite holy-day beverage which I will drink the remaining days of Christmas 'til Epiphany!







Johnny and I exchanged mushy Christmas cards with our gifts:





The tree, and Milo on his perch:





Ornaments - the first two blue stars were also purchased at The Blue Hand:



















This is art by my friend Robyn: