Christmas

I LOVED Christmas this year.  I cannot even express how wonderful it was to spend it with just our little family +1 (Mia, the Golden Retriever).   We spent Christmas Even with my friend Necia and her family and another man and his daughter from church.  There was such a sweet spirit as the four little girls played together and as the adults chatted.  It was so fun to get to experience some of the excitement of Santa again.  Ryan even got to play the part of the reindeer after the girls went to bed and "eat" the "magical reindeer food" that was carefully placed in the lawn for them to eat.  The original meal was planned from only 4-6 but we ended up staying until 10pm just laughing as Ryan and Barry (Nec's husband) shared story after story.

This picture will NOT go the right direction and it's driving me crazy. But I wanted to post it! I gave these girls this little Christmas tree and Necia said that it was one of the best gifts they've ever received.  I bought that tree when I was maybe 12? Maybe older, I don't remember. But each year I would go to Hobby Lobby and buy new mini decorations to add to my collection.  They LOVED it.  I love it, and I'm so glad it has gone to a good home and to someone who will appreciate it more than me.

After we left on Christmas Eve we went and saw a house in town that has their lights coordinated to music.  This is the first tradition Ryan and I have made together since being together. Hooray for tradition!  Ryan's family always opened all their presents on Christmas Eve and while we did not, I gave in and we opened a few.  We'll probably make this a tradition, too because Ryan insists.

Cinnamon rolls seem to be a common tradition for Christmas and I wanted to make them on Christmas morning and found an overnight recipe to do most of the work at night. BUT, I didn't realize they needed to rise once at night so that recipe was thrown out the door and I was a little tired and frustrated. Ryan could sense this and was a CHAMP.  The dogs must have known it was Christmas morning because they were up at 3:00 a.m. and would NOT settle down and go back to bed.  My sweet Ryan got up with them and took Mia out to the bathroom FIVE TIMES.  The stubborn thing kept telling him she needed to go but would not.  Despite his frustration, to make my life easier, he began making my cinnamon rolls so I wouldn't have to wake up early to get them to rise in time to eat.  He had my computer open and was googling things like how to scald milk (I would have done the same thing!).  At about 6:00 a.m. I finally woke up to see what he was up to and to have him come back to bed. It was perfect timing because he was frustrated and needed my reassurance that it was time to leave the dough to rise and go sleep for a few hours.  It could not have worked out more perfectly.  We both slept a few more hours, then I let him keep snoozing while I finished the cinnamon rolls.

Church wasn't until 1:00pm so we had the whole morning to open presents and just enjoy the day.  Opening presents was more fun than I've had in awhile because we had no idea what the other one bought for us!  Ryan's favorite gift was the Husker's Rex Burkhead (#22) jersey and I LOVE the world map he got me.  I wanted a map to pin places we've been and want to go.  Well, he found even better - a scratch off map!  The countries are that copper scratch-off stuff you find on lottery tickets, etc.  He then mounted it on a cork board so we can pin places AND he printed of pictures of where we've already been together. LOVE HIM.  He was so nervous for my gifts, but he passed with flying colors.

I don't know if any of you actually read all of that, but it doesn't even begin to explain how good of a day we had together.  We finished it off by making Cafe Rio pork salads which turned out GREAT (except our homemade tortillas need some improvement).  I sense a new Christmas tradition!