It has been a whirlwind of activity this Christmas. Our extended family celebration is always held on Christmas eve when we usually have our traditional Slovak meal. Mom and Dad have always hosted in the past but since so much of their time has been spent in North Carolina overseeing the addition to the mountain house, I was asked to host this year. Yeah! My mom was so sweet and said that I could cook whatever I wanted the only thing we
had to serve was the sauerkraut soup. The soup was fabulous this year since they had just returned from Slovakia in the fall and my cousin had sent some beautiful mushrooms for us to use. So instead of pork chops and homemade sausage, I roasted two eleven pound standing rib roasts, au gratin potatoes (the potatoes were from my mom's garden in NC), green beans and portobello mushrooms stuffed with spinach and goat cheese. The previous three days was spent baking which is a favorite time for me. I usually work late into the night when my cookie monsters are asleep. My Grandma Fabry was a skilled baker, I always think of her more than ever when I am doing my Christmas cookies. So many of my memories are of her doing the same thing and it fills me with nostalgia as I recreate in my own kitchen what she has instilled in me.
Christmas Eve we had over my Mom and Dad, my brother and sister-in-law, my two nieces and two nephews and my nephews wives, and my sister-in-laws parents, altogether there were eighteen of us. After dinner, which was yummy, the kids were so excited to tear into the mountain of presents, who wouldn't be. The younger grand kids all got wii's and Grace got a "Bitty Baby" from my Mom and Dad. She was so cute and glowed when she saw it. She immediately said "Baby!" My nephew Chris did a great job putting Bitty Baby's crib together and helping the kids assemble and unscrew those evil little wires in the packages. He just got married this fall and he's off to a great start and will make a wonderful father some day. We really appreciated him taking on the assembly job.
Later that evening during candlelight service, Larry and I were cracking up laughing so hard at Grace. We were seated pretty close to the speakers and she was getting down to the music. The girls got rhythm and loves to dance. A few minutes and a bottle later, she crashed and napped on my Mom's shoulder, which is heaven for my Mom.
Christmas morning was spent just the five of us. The boys were so cute. We heard them get up and Benjamin said to Josh "don't touch anything, or you will ruin the surprise" We knew we had to move fast then because they can only wait so long. For the record it was 7:15 a.m. Grace who weeks before was unwrapping presents wasn't into that and instead just wanted to sit or stand on all of the big boxes. It was a wonderful time for us and our thoughts were of family and friends far and near this holiday. Larry and I would like to wish you all a New Year filled with prosperity and good health. May God bless you all. Go Gators!
I don't want you to think that I am not supervising my children but obviously a pattern is developing here. This time it was her brother's "blendy pens" that were the object of her desire. There is no stopping that girl once she spots a marker. I'm not sure if she is imitating putting makeup on or just likes the colors but as far as I can tell, green seems to be her favorite. Now whenever I hear one of the boys yell "Mom, Gracie's got the markers", my first reaction is to grab the camera. 
