One More Sleep Til Christmas

The night before Christmas Eve, we went to my mom’s side Chamberlin family Christmas party where my wonderful Aunt Holly brought my Great Grandma Emily’s green celery, radish and olive jello that I politely refused not to eat. Yes, traditions are important, so I’m glad others got a bite.

Kyle and I rotate every year with our families on who we spend Christmas with and this year, it was with Kyle’s family. I married into THE best family and I have loved learning about all of their traditions. An amazing thing we did for Christmas Eve to remember the true meaning of Christmas was we made and frosted cinnamon rolls for those we love and those who serve our community. We also put together envelopes and bags of money to hand out to others who seemed like they needed it. On each bag was tied a note that said “You’ve been R.A.C.K.ed! (Random Act of Christmas Kindness)”. It ended up being the neatest activity and we had some awesome experiences. We would put bags in people’s carts and hide to see their reaction when they found it. One couple pulled it out and the woman started crying. It really put the spirit of Christmas into our hearts and I look forward to it in the future.

Christmas Eve dinner was wonderful. We had it at Kate and Dave’s house with other family and the food and festivities were perfect for Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning was crazy with all the kids but also because my family has three missionaries out and they all called in during the morning. I felt like I was going back and forth between families the whole time but it was neat to talk to the missionaries and also see all the kids so excited. I love Kyle's family and we had a great Christmas Eve and Day.

*It's always a 6-8 profile call with our big and spread wide across the nation family.

Off to a Great Start

We officially started our Christmas break with Kyle's family. My wonderful mother in law set up a hot chocolate station once we got there.

And she has the most beautiful newly remodeled dream kitchen! We immediately got going at Kyle’s house too with festivities. Kyle’s mom gave all the girls gold star-shaped earrings along with the poem Choose Something Like A Star by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Gosh, I love this family.

Kyle’s sister Becca and her husband Art got a new puppy and I could NOT hold him enough. He would let you hold him like a little toddler baby.

It took a while for Rufus and Gus to be okay being in the same room but even then, Gus was not willing to back down from his post. 

Another first stop we had to make was to the local Harmons to stock up on some McConnell’s Ice Cream which I first posted about here. It is by far our favorite ice cream mainly because the ingredients are as natural as they can get. It’s made in California but the sad thing is, it is only sold on the west coast including Harmon’s locations. We made sure to get plenty while we were there.  

We fulfilled the tradition of eating out with all the couples at the Mandarin. I also love the tradition of ‘phones on the table’ so no one can use them and so we actually talk to each other too.

It’s also a tradition to see a movie near Christmas Eve. We had already seen the Hobbit with my family so Kyle and I went to see Mockingjay and were the only ones in the theater (I guess the movie had already been out for some time). It's so so good to be home with family for Christmas.

Oh There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays

So far, spending Christmas at home has been a little stressful only because we never see our families and want to make sure we spend as much time as we can with both of them. We flew in at night and immediately the next morning, we didn’t waste anytime and drove up to help my mom make all her Christmas candy (one of my favorite activities). We made maple fudge, peanut  butter fudge, chocolate nut fudge, divinity, turtles and caramels. It’s the biggest fight of the year not to constantly take bites of every one of them!  I also had to grab some photos of my mom’s decorations to remember. Oh how I love being home for the holidays!

We've got quite the family.

I've always loved my Mom's Santa collection.

My family has three missionaries out right now....THREE! Three times the blessings and I love hearing from these guys every week.

My wonderful Grandma Jean cross stitched all of her grandkids names and put it inside a mason jar for an ornament. Those are the only ornaments I remember seeing on their tree. An amazing way to see what was important to them.

Candy making begins!

Caramel....

Maple Nut Fudge....

I love this sweet Gypsy dog.

And Mud Face...the cat with the bluest eyes.

Making the turtles. We top cashews with caramel and then cover them in chocolate.

The hardest part is cutting them up and wrapping each of them before you get the chance to throw it in your own mouth.

Peanut Butter Fudge has always been my favorite.

There they are....ready for send off!

My Great-Grandma Emily has THE best Divinity recipe. There was no snow on the ground yet so this was the perfect substitute. Yes, there really is no place like home for the holidays.