Christmas 2011 Pt2

via Anthro homepage

On the night of Christmas Eve, after the huge meal I made for Phillips side of the family, the boys and I made little sacks of "Reindeer Food" which consists on Oatmeal oats and glitter.  Surely you all knew that Reindeer love oats and glitter, it is a North Pole staple dish I hear. Plus the glitter helps the Reindeer find your house as it sparkles against the WHITE SNOW and Moonlight...YES!!! WE had SNOW this year. Can you believe it?! The last time I remember having snow on Christmas was 1997. So they boys got on their football jammies (I wasn't in the mood to buy christmas jammies this year...shame on me) and we proceeded out into the snow to sprinkle the Reindeer food in to lawn in hopes they would find our house. It wouldn't be hard since we are the ONLY house on the street without Christmas lights. Again I am ashamed.

Yes my little Beckham has on Flip Flops. We are so ill-equipped for snow here in West Texas. Don't laugh. 

I made a traditional holiday meal. It is Phillips favorite. I felt like since he works so hard for us through out the whole year he deserves to be rewarded with his favorite food. Turkey, Ham, Yeast Rolls, Stuffing (I invented my own I ran out of my normal ingredients and everyone loved it or so they say), Broccoli salad, Holiday Potatos (a Gillock tradition), Sweet Potatoes with Roast Marshmallows and Greenbean Casserole. I am hungry all over again. 

Christmas morning was a lot of fun. Phillips Mama, who lives in Lubbock, stayed the night with us so that she could see the children enjoy their presents that Santa brought them. Beckham had no idea it was Christmas. Sometime around 6:30am he came into our room crying that he was hungry and snuggled into our sheets like he does every morning. Silly boy. Parker on the other hand woke up about 30 minutes later and made a B-line to the playroom. He knows Santa always leaves them around his tree in there. We had to stop him in his tracks in order to get the camera ready. 

The next 20 minutes were filled with squeals of excitement and statements like "I have waited years for this" "Woooh how did Santa know I even wanted that" "This is the best thing ever" I love seeing my children so excited over little toys and character blankets, that is the item Parker has "waited years" for. 

Later that afternoon around 1:00 we went to my parents house for a Gourmet Christmas lunch. And when I say Gourmet, it was Gourmet. On the menu:

Rosemary Garlic Crusted Prime Rib with a Whisky Cream Gravy

Burgundy Mushrooms

Duchess Potatoes

Balsamic Cranberry Brusell Sprouts

It was beyond delicious.

Then we exchanged our gifts, where I got the prettiest crocheted scarf made by my mom, and a cute little ceramic travel coffee mug and another scarf (store bought) and matching hat. I loved it all. But especially the hand crocheted scarf. Homemade gifts are my favorite. The rest of the evening was spent watching the kids play with their toys and playing dress up in the multiple superhero costumes uniforms the boys received. 

Ellie has been wanting a Barbie Radio for a year. So Aunt Jen-Jen (that's me!) came to the rescue! She loved it! 

We ended our Christmas celebration with some pretty awesome friends. The Baileys came over with the intent to Watch It's A Wonderful Life with us but Katie and I ended up sitting in the kitchen and living room crying over the orphan and searching for ways to bring hope to the ones who feel hopeless. God has really awesome things for these sweet friends and I can't think of a better way to end a wonderful Christmas then by spending it with some dear friends talking about God and the Fatherless. My two biggest passions.  

This year we were a little late Celebrating Jesus' Birthday with a cake. Beckham fell asleep at 6:30 Christmas night and I didn't want to make it without him. So here is our belated Happy Birthday Jesus Cake. I am so ashamed at my icing skills. One would never know that I once took a 6 week cake decorating class. I obviously failed the class. This cake is proof. But I am certain that Jesus thinks its beautiful.