As I mentioned in my previous post, we had some guests over for Christmas brunch this year. We always love having the missionaries in our home. I'm sure they were missing their families this holiday season ... so we tried to drown their sorrows with some tasty cuisine. On the menu this year, cinnamon apple french toast (ice cream on top optional), cheesy 3-meat omelettes (another skill picked up from my days at the Sunbreak Cafe), bacon, sausage, hot cocoa, and southern style biscuits. By the way, that's Martinelli's apple cider in the wine goblets ... we affectionately refer to it as "Mormon Bubbly" and you'll often find us enjoying it on special occasions instead of alcohol or wine.
If you're thinking that one of those Elders looks an awful lot like Donny Osmond ... that's because that is Donny's nephew. Elder Osmond does not prefer to be referred to as Donny and Marie's nephew ... as much as he loves his Aunt and Uncle ... that gets old. He is actually the son of Jay Osmond ... the fabulous drummer in the Osmond family... and he is very proud of his dad. Also, not all Mormons are related to the Osmond's ... just in case anyone out there was wondering ;-)The girls happily enjoyed their breakfast at "the kiddie table" ... complete with apple cider in their Little Mermaid goblets. Anders was up for the early morning stocking festivities but then he headed back to bed and we couldn't rouse him for breakfast ... good thing or I may have been stuck at the kiddie table too ;-)
Last year we had Elder Brinkerhoff and Elder Asay over for Christmas Eve dinner.
We really love these guys ...
... and we missed having Jolien here to celebrate Christmas with us this year.
Last year after dinner we convinced Elders Asay and Brinkerhoff to join us as we reenacted the nativity scene ...
... they were more than willing to oblige us .... hee, hee, hee ... too much fun!!!We're a long way from our families so it's always fun to have others that are also far from their homes join our holiday festivities.
After the missionaries headed to their next appointment, Per and I headed out on a morning walk. We did the 5 mile loop in our neighborhood and hopefully burned off some of our caloric intake at breakfast! We returned home to a couple little girls that were anxiously looking forward to getting in the hot tub with us. (Little Mermaid is number one princess in our house these days - poor Snow White ... long forgotten)
Christmas Day was a sunny, warm, beautiful day in middle Tennessee... perfect for some outdoor activities.
The day passed much too quickly and before I knew it, I awoke to "the day after Christmas" mess. We had a house to clean, Christmas skirts to start and finish before church on Sunday, and then I had a talk to write for church service on Sunday (yes, I was given a speaking assignment for sacrament meeting). Good thing I like to stay busy!!!Alas, we finished the dresses and my talk went well today ... as for the house ... well, it's still in need of a good cleaning and I'm headed to Atlanta tomorrow morning to visit a couple of my hospitals. Poor Per will likely end up tackling the clutter while I am away for a couple days ... can you say STUD!!!
But the dresses (actually we just did skirts this time) turned out great. The girls had a lot of input on the design this time (we didn't use patterns this time - just picked out an inspiration skirt from a catalogue picture) .... more tulle ... pleats not ruffles ... flower accents or bows? ... FLOWERS!!!
And so another year comes to a close ... and now it's time to look forward to a new year. My research and preparation for my talk today on reflection, remembrance, and eternal progression helped me focus on some new goals for 2009. Goals that will bring me closer to my Savior and help me keep things in perspective in my life. Maybe I'll post a link to my talk a little later ... for those that are interested ...
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