Well, here we are, at last! It is Christmas Eve, and thank goodness because I don't think I can hold in all the secrets and merry making any longer!
We have cooked… oh how we've cooked. We made the raspberry bars and the cranberry cookies, the crab triangles and the sausage balls. At this moment the dip is in the crock, the beans are boiling, the rolls are rising and the mashed potatoes are next on the list. There is ONE remaining fruit cake and the chocolate pie will don her merengue tonight.
I am so happy to say too, that after all these years, we have tamales gracing our Christmas table. We always had them growing up, but I never learned to make them. My sweet friend Maria, did us the amazing honor of spending a day teaching my mom and I the art of authentic Mexican tamale making. They are heavenly all on their own, but even more so because they represent one more piece of my history, resurrected and passed on to my little boys.
The presents have been bought, crafted and wrapped. My little elves have outdone themselves this year. I can't wait to share with you, after it's all said and done, the neat things that they created for their loved ones.
The second annual Christmas Eve Eve concert was held last night, and was a roaring success. James played When the Saints Go Marching In, Away in a Manger and Jingle Bells on guitar. Ryder did a bit of Away in the Manger on piano and then added in a little composition of his own creation. Luke brought the house down with Rudolph, Deck the Halls and Silver Bells on fiddle.
And so the songs have been sung, the candles have been lit, the stories have been read, and now….
Now it's all over but the partying! (Let's play "Where's Jasper, shall we? Do you see him?)
We wish you all a warm and wonderful Christmas full of every good thing!
{ 24 comments }
Love the advent wreath!!! Loved it when you linked to it earlier. It made me smile to see that your little one was lighting the heirloom wreath!
Have a blessed Christmas.
you noticed!
My sweet husband surprised me with it. I could not have been more excited. I think it will go down in history as one of my very favorite parts of Christmas, and I know for sure that we’ll be so excited to see it unpacked each year.
Christmas blessings to you too, Jody!
I LOVE your photos — you more than any other bloggymama capture such rich moments! Thank you for sharing and Merry Christmas!
A very Merry Christmas to you and your family. May 2010 be full of joy, peace, and many magical adventures big and small. Thank you for the continued inspiration.
Here it is Christmas Eve and I have a pile of things still to do. Before I don my little elf hat and get busy, I wanted to stop by and wish you and yours a very merry Christmas. May this holiday season bring you much joy and laughter. May the gifts you give be received with delight. May your home ring with laughter. Merry Christmas to you and your Blue Yonder Boys.
Homemade tamales must be a very wonderful thing. We usually have them and they are technically homemade, but by someone else (We order them from a lovely lady my father works with). I can’t imagine how delicious they must be straight out of your very own kitchen. Mmmm…… Merry, merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Stefani! Have a wonderful, blessed day!
Merry Christmas to your gang Stef!
i LOVE that last photo of them all in their bags on the floor by the fire and adorable lit tree. makes me want to cry. (somehow you always manage to make me want to cry.)
merry christmas to you and yours.
Merry Christmas!
merry christmas stefani and the blue yonder gang! i might be emailing you with some tamale questions – i’m planning on making them on new years with my mom and kids, while my husband and dad make beer
tamales, beer, good.
Merry Christmas, Stefani to you and your family and God bless.
Well thank you so much for that! I hope that your Christmas was cozy and sweet, and that your new year is full of every good thing!
Thank you so much for your kindness, Lucia. And a bright, wonderful new year to you as well!
And a happy new year to you and yours!
Well all of the tamales in my past have been homemade in some home other than mine, so yes, to have them emerge from my own kitchen was nothing short of a christmas miracle. I actually got a little weepy. That might be the first time I’ve ever cried over food!… well, there was this one time when I was pregnant and desperately hungry, and the cashier at the Chik Fil A said that they no longer took checks, but that’s a whole other story
I hope your Christmas was wonderful, and that you are in for a happy new year!
Well that makes since because I do a good bit of crying myself. I’m a sap like that.
Happy New Year to you!
and to you!
ask away!!! It was time consuming, yes, but not so hard really. I think that homemade beer would have to be the perfect accompaniment to tamales!
And many blessing to you as well Mary!
I love that first picture so so much. And what a warm happy home you have!
will you teach us how to make the tamales? Happy Holidays to you and your sweet family.
Love the last photo of the boys in sleeping bags in front of the fire. Looks like a great way to end a day.
Merry Christmas to the Blue Yonder bunch from a bit farther north, where we woke to a full foot of snow on Christmas morning! It was magical for me, the displaced Texan in our family; I think it was magical for the little boys too. But Hubby? Well, Hubby have to drive us in it to Grandma’s house… Hope ya’ll had a wonderful holiday!
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