'Tis the Season to be Sneezin'

I'm willing to bet that we can agree on at least three things:

1) Adele is an amazing singer

2) Fried chicken is a food group

3) Christmas is an absolutely incredible time of year

Even if we'll be building sandcastles this year instead of snowmen...

Seriously, what is with the weather?!?

But I adore Christmas- the true reason for it- and all of the decorating, food, and hustle and bustle.

Use 'hustle' in a sentence as it relates to Christmas:
"I'm going to hustle to button my pants after that party."

Even though we've been inundated with home repairs after a fridge leak, nothing was going to stop me from putting up three Christmas trees and remembering every single decorating detail.

Like changing out the china to the Christmas pattern.  This is the last thing on Ryan's priority list, next to counting the beans in a bean bag.

It could be the middle of March, and I would fawn all over a Christmas decoration when I see one in a store.

I can't help myself.

And I feel like I'm being followed.  It's almost as if Ryan has a radar when I go in Hobby Lobby.  I found his initials displayed on one of the shelves during my most recent trip.  I can't make this up.

Husbands be like...

There was one thing about this year that would be different, and that was the fact that we remodeled last August.  We closed in our two story great room and added a fourth bedroom.  I may or may not have asked our contractor - with a straight face- if he could cut a circular hole in the upstairs bedroom for the top of the tree.

"Ma'am, that's against several fire codes."

"Well, alright..."

So what would we do with our Christmas tree?  I couldn't bear to sell it.  It was our first married tree, and when we assembled it in 2011 I came home with one box instead of two and only had half a tree.  you can read about that memory here.  So...the tree was sent home with my parents to store it for an undefined amount of time.

Due to my habit of having them store things, my Mom probably thought it would stay in her attic forever, but what happened next we'll just call divine intervention.

I happened to be talking with our music minister about how nice the decorations in the sanctuary looked when I said, "You know, I really miss that big Christmas tree we used to have every year."

And then...the idea came.  Donate the tree to FBC.  The rest is history.

This tree is incredibly special to me, and I wanted it to have a good home.  I was raised in this church and attended the nursery, GA's, many plays, got married there, dedicated our daughter there, presented a "Night of Worship"...the list continues.  It was such an appropriate home for our tree.

I am so thrilled to know that it will not be collecting dust in the attic somewhere or thrown away, but it will bring joy for years to come for hundreds of people who wish to celebrate the true reason for the season, and that makes my heart so happy.

Ryan is happy, too, because he doesn't have to assemble it anymore.

In other news I have been struggling for MONTHS with a cough and congestion.  It's especially frustrating when it affects my singing, so I sought expert advice from an Ear, Nose, & Throat doctor and an allergist.

After my initial allergy appointment he recommended that I have a skin test for different kinds of allergies.  When I asked him what kind he rattled off about for or five things they'd check for, and I said, "okay."

Fast forward to the testing appointment, and I'm lying on the table waiting for the test when a woman walks in with two MASSIVE trays.

"How kind!  Are you giving complementary samples?"

"No, we're testing you for SEVENTY EIGHT types of allergies...one scratch at a time."  By the end of that test I looked like a porcupine after a trip to the acupuncturist.  Do porcupines even get acupuncture?!  I'll research that later.

The results would be easy to see: if I was red or irritated in one of the areas then I had an allergy to that particular thing.  By the end of the 15 minutes I had so many welts on my back that the nurse had to call in an assistant to measure them with- guess what- another stick.

I was so allergic to dust, trees, and grass that they had to give me medicine and postpone the rest of the test for a week, the second of which I had last Friday.  The bottom line: I'll be getting allergy shots for the next FIVE years.

And while I normally put needles in the same category as horror films and chicken liver I'll endure them if it will make my life better.

My allergist- who came highly recommended- told me that in all his years I'm one of the worst cases he has seen.  He actually called me "impressive" and said that on a scale of 1-10 in severity I am a 10.

She's a 10!

Well, that's not exactly a compliment...

I finally know the answer as to why I've been struggling with a cough for four months, and after many, many prayers I now have a solution, even though it will take another couple of months to get back to normal.

Lots of exciting things happen in December, and this year happened to mark Emerson's step up to the two year old classroom at daycare.

"Why are you so jolly, Ross?"

We also had Uncle KK visit with us for a few days, and the next week she pointed to his chair at the dinner table and asked where he was!

The many emotions of a toddler while eating.

When in doubt, take a trip to the park!  I have so many memories here.

Despite our lives being CRAZY (you wouldn't believe it if I told you all the details; maybe you would)... it wasn't about to stop my decorating.  I still put up 99% of my decor.

Last Wednesday we had a Christmas dinner at Nanny and Papa's.  It was Emerson's first time trying some new food and Papa's first selfie.

I also had my fifth annual Christmas soiree last Thursday with these awesome guests!

We couldn't leave Bernie out of the picture!

In addition to the meal I always enjoy making sweet treats, so I had been on a Pinterest plunder the week of the party trying to figure out what I'd make.  These cute Santa hats caught my eye.

But they didn't quite turn out right, because I used the wrong size pretzels...

Real fake vs real life.

And THEN...I found this "cake" tree.  I showed it to my grandmother the night before and she said, "Katharine, I think those are rice krispy treats."  

"Oh, well," I thought.  "I can still make it work."

NAILED IT!

The cake didn't hold up at all.  It looked like this dessert had lived through the apocalypse, Titanic, and the Day After Tomorrow.

But it was the thought that mattered.  And the taste.

I can't believe that Christmas is FOUR days away.  I  Emerson decided to write her first letter to Santa this year.  At least she was honest!

A few weeks ago my mother came in the kitchen as I was decorating a Christmas tree with ornaments spread in every crevice.  

"What is that doing in my house?!?"

"I'll be out of here in a minute.  I'm just going to go outside and take a few pictures of Emerson." 

And I am so glad I did.  She wasn't quite cooperating at first, but I put chocolate baking chips in the tree and let her find them.  Then the smiles and laughs came!  She is the most wonderful gift our families could imagine.

Christmas is such a joyous time of year.  But let us never forget that every detail of it is because of a king who was worthy of the finest throne but humbled himself, was born in a manger, and wrapped in clothes that most of us would put in a giveaway pile.

This was Jesus.  How sweet are babies?  You can't imagine anyone doing them harm, and they deserve to be loved all of their lives.  Jesus Himself came to earth as a baby.

I can't imagine having church nursery duty in Bible times.  Did Jesus even have a dirty diaper?  What disposition would they circle on His daily daycare sheet?

Circle word here:

Your child had a Good, Miraculous, Divine, day.

I play and sing for weddings all the time.  I watch sometimes as the family is totally stressed at the last minute, and all kinds of mishaps are happening.  The one piece of advice people always give is this: "It will all come together.  At the end of the day they'll still be married."  And that made me think...

If the packages you ordered for Christmas don't arrive on time, if you burn the casserole for the party, or if you break a heel on the way into church, just remember...it already HAS come together.  Christmas can never be taken away.  The King is still on the throne, and He already sent His son to take your sins.   You can't order that from Amazon.

"And IIII...Will Always Love Food"

Thanksgiving: one of my FAVORITE times of the year.  

That's not a stock market report.

Or a receipt.

This is the average number of calories consumed during Thanksgiving.

Seriously, I think I consumed one millionnnnnnnnn.

Or nine hundred and ninety nine thousanddddddddd.

You'll get that if you saw this lady on Jeopardy.

When you grocery shop prior to the big day, you must make sure to include all the essentials.

The days leading up to Thanksgiving were completely packed.  I played piano for a wedding, had church and the community Thanksgiving service, played for a funeral (God bless Mr. Lindsey; he was such a kind soul), and worked on top of that.

I was in serious need of a break.

And sometimes that break comes in the form of eating out with friends.  It's what we do.

Of course, there is always room for playtime.

One afternoon my Dad watched Emerson while I ran some errands, and here is the scene that unfolded when I came home...

HAHAHA!!! Who is babysitting WHO!?!?  One is sleeping while the other is still awake watching TV.  Absolutely hilarious.

We have two Thanksgiving meals each year: lunch with Ryan's family (at Rene' and Steve's) and dinner with my family.  Each year I try to bring something different to the table; literally.

Although my food pyramid typically consists of Skittles, Starbursts, and Smarties, this year I reached out to my awesome friend Ellen, because not too long ago she made some homemade bread for our family...and the entire loaf was finished in less than a day.  Just as the Holy Spirit inspired the authors of the books of the Bible, Jesus Himself worked hand in hand with Ellen in the kitchen while she prepared this bread.  It was that good.

...so I thought I could make it, too.  I sent her a message, and she said she would gladly give me the recipe.  She then asked if I had a "starter."

A starter?  Somehow I didn't remember registering for that machine when I got married.

A KitchenAid? Yes.  China set? Yes.  A starter?  Somehow that wasn't a featured item in the Bed Bath & Beyond wedding catalog.  

#DontStartWithMe

Turns out that a starter is actually a PRE recipe for bread, and there are several different ones.  

Food for thought!  Literally. 

Well, I got so busy that I decided to look at the recipe two days before Thanksgiving and saw the first line  that said "five days in advance do this..." I was already out of time.  I fully intend to make this at Christmas.  Fully, as in I will be completely full by the time it's all said and done.

Every Thanksgiving morning I watch the Macy's day parade/national lip syncing competition.  Seriously, it is so painfully obvious.  

"I just wanna cook food for ya, food for ya..."

Five bonus points if you remember this Ashlee Simpson lip sync crisis.  

But I do really enjoy the floats and overall celebration of the parade...without having to maneuver through the crowd.

"And IIIIII will always love you food..."

Then it was meal and family time!  LOVE these people!

And as if that were not enough...we had dinner at my parents' house that evening.

We also visited with the awesome Jordan family on Thanksgiving Day, and I'm not sure if Dakota or Emerson enjoyed their game of fetch more!

Then came...shopping day! Each year Emerson's Christmas gifts get more fun to choose from, because there are way more options and less hazards as she gets older.  True story.

While my family usually goes shopping on Black Friday, we don't go crazy, and we most certainly don't push and shove anyone over anything.

Please remember this.  If you ever- and I mean EVER- see me fighting on camera over something as trivial as an item in store, please do me a favor and hit me in the head with a snow shovel.

Those fights are absolutely RIDICULOUS and make my blood boil.  There are people in the world who wait in lines on a daily basis to get safe water, and yet we have folks in combat over party supplies.  Unfathomable.

Say 'Buy one-Get one', one mo' time.

In any event, My Mom and I had a safe and customer friendly shopping experience on Friday.  And what started out as a "few stores only" turned into a six hour trip.  It was so much fun!

Poppy got the good job; keeping the Queen of Sheba while we were store hopping.

When we got home that afternoon something told me to go in one of our attics and see if there were any of our old toys that Emerson might like.

JACKPOT!  Who needs Black Friday when you have a mountain of toys to choose from?  The good, old fashioned toys that they really don't even make anymore.

From my magnetic/chalkboard desk to the circus lego set and yes- even a cardboard box- she was in complete Heaven.  And I didn't wait in a single line.

For her Birthday Emerson got this precious car from my parents.

There was just one problem; she was frightened of it! It was like a kid receiving a Range Rover for their 16th Birthday and then running away, screaming in fear.

SURPRISE!!!

Fortunately, out of nowhere, she finally hopped on it and realized how much fun it was.  And there was no turning back.

#BuiltBowTough

And we love Christmas lights! That evening we cuddled up in the Rogers' shuttle for a ride around town.  Clearly, Audrey was most excited about the trip!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving is decorating day!  Emerson was on fluffing duty.

And later that day Ashlyn and I enjoyed dinner and the new Hunger Games movie after a pit stop to finish decorating our tree.

So the food was prepared, families had gathered, all was well...there was just thing missing.  One major thing.  A piece of my heart named Jay.

Jay spent Thanksgiving in Chicago this year, and although I'm grateful that he was safe and sound and didn't have to board a plane...he was sorely missed.  When I count my blessings, Jay is on my list for so many reasons.  I adore him!  He made an all-sides giving this year, which looked pretty amazing.  Even so, I definitely noticed an empty chair for him at our table.

But this little pumpkin sure made Thanksgiving 2015 a sweet one to remember, and when she grows up one day, there may be an empty chair for her at our table.  Perhaps she'll be at college or will even marry someone and live far away.  But life is about revolving chairs.  My grandmother Alice's chair is empty, but Emerson Alice lives on in her honor.  It's a sweet circle of life.  And in this stage of life, Emerson is filling her chair...and my heart, too.