I was the first one up this morning. I woke up at 5 a.m. Since it getting so cold out and we are using the rocket heater all night I now cook breakfast, make coffee and heat tea water on it. First thing I did this morning was get the water going for tea and made a pot of coffee. I would hold off cooking breakfast until after everyone was up and had opened their presents. I told them all they could sleep in till 8a.m. if the kids let them sleep that long.
When my tea water was hot I poured myself a cup and added a tea bag to it to steep. I put the tea pot down on the little metal rack the guys had made for me to place food to keep it hot. When the coffee was done I placed it on the rack next to the tea pot. Both would stay hot enough till the rest got up.
After that was done I got my bible and sat in my rocker that Steve had moved close enough to the heater for me to stay warm in the mornings when I was up by myself. I opened my bible and turned to the story of the first Christmas. I marked it with a piece of paper with the intentions of reading it to the kids later tonight. Once that was done I pulled my chocheting out of my basket that I had next to my rocker and started working on the pair of house slippers I had been working on while I drank my tea and enjoyed my "me" time. Hardly any of us getting any "me" time any more and what little we get we tend to cherish.
Around 7 am I had that pair of slippers done and had just started on another pair when I started hearing the rest of the house stirring. With in minutes here they came. By 7:30 everyone was up and their first cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate of the day. It was wonderful to see how big Kyle and Amy's eyes had been when they first saw all the presents under the tree this morning. Amy was so sure Santa would not come last night. No one had been able to convince her that he would find her here since she could no longer write a letter to him and mail it at the post office. When she looked at me after seeing the tree I told her "See I told you Santa had magic. He always knows where the kids are." She ran over and gave me a big hug and told me she was very glad I was so smart.
I thought since the kids had very little truly happy times lately we let everyone open their presents first and then I would fix breakfast. I got my digital camera and then had my sil take pictures while Tammy and I handed out the gifts. We went in order going around the room making sure every one got one gift first starting with the kids. Nikki helped Maci open her first gift which was the stuffed dino Nikki had made her. Then Kyle opened his wooden cars JR had made. Amy opened the doll and doll quilt her grandma made her. John opened the checker board and checkers that Stevn and Mike made him. Dave opened deer hide knife sheath that Mike had made him. Jen opened the earrings and necklace set that Tammy made her and sil opened the dream catcher that Jen had made her. The guys oohed and awed over the bow and arrow sets that John and Dave had made them. They loved the furry rabbit hide that was put on where they would be holding the bow and the feathers that stuck out at the bottom of each bow. Each one had only one color of feathers on it so the guys would be able to tell which bow was theirs.
Then it was Mike and Jen's turn to hand out gifts. They had made all of us a beautiful pair of moccasins complete with Native American designs on them made from the seed beans. Jen was Native American and she knew all about things like that. They had also made Steve and JR deer hide pouches to wear on their belts to carry ammo in. Tammy and JR then handed out all the gifts they had made. Tammy had made all the women earrings and necklace sets and the guys got home made clubs that JR had made on the lathe that John had in the garage. He has even used nylon rope to make a handle to carry them around their wrists. Then Nikki handed out her gifts which were small packages of home made coconut oatmeal cookies that I had helped her bake. My sil was next to hand out the gifts from her and Dave. She had made the kids a bean bag game using some jean material I had to make the bags and filled them with uncooked rice. She had taken two cardboard boxes I had and decorated them with stickers and markers to toss the bags in. She made Maci a little doll to cuddle with. She crocheted winter hats for all the guys and scraves for all us women.
Last it was my turn to hand out the gifts I had made from John and I. I had made Buckeye candy, Mounds candy, peanut butter fudge and chocolate fudge the yesterday and every one got their own box of home made candy. After I handed out our gift I got ready to go start breakfast when Steve says "Just a minute Mom I have two gifts to give out". I forgot he had said he had to make two gifts and he couldn't tell me what he had needed. He left the room and came back a couple of minutes later with two big presents and handed them both to me. The first one was a set of solor dehydrators that he had made out of window screen mesh and wood. The second was a drying rack for drying herbs on. He had heard me say that I was going to be lost with out my dehydrator this year but I could not use it because it meant running the generator for hours at at time and I didn't have the gas for it. He had found the directions for making the herb rack when he was looking in my How To book for the solar dehydrator directions I had in there and that Mike helped him build them since he never built anything with wood before. We all loved our gifts and we all felt this was the best Christmas we ever had. Everything about this one was special. God had helped us make it this far so we took a few minutes offered up our thanks and then got started with our day. Tammy cooked oatmeal on the rocket heater while the rest of us cleaned up the mess from opening presents and the guys replenished the wood supply for the heater.
After breakfast was eaten and cleaned up I gathered up the making for our big Christmas dinner. The guys fired up the rocket stove and hooked up a tank of propane to the propane heater John had for heat in the garage. We had not used it so far but we would need it today with all the cooking we were going to be doing and the fact that is was only 20 degrees out according to the thermometer. Tammy, Jen, Nikki and I made two chocolate pies, two cherry pies, dinner rolls, fresh bread, candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, the smoked pig, cranberry sauce and I had pulled out some of my mango chutney, waxed cheese, town house crackers and a summer sausage I had in storage. As we were cooking I started coughing and my throat was getting sore. By the time we got the dinner cooked and in the house I could barely talk. The dinner looked wonderful but I could not taste it and could barely swollow any of it.
After dinner I was not feeling well at all so everyone told me to sit and rest and they would take care of everything. I went and sat in my rocker by the heater and Tammy made me a cup of tea and gave me a couple of Tylenol. I sure hope I feel better in the morning. I can't afford to be sick.
When my tea water was hot I poured myself a cup and added a tea bag to it to steep. I put the tea pot down on the little metal rack the guys had made for me to place food to keep it hot. When the coffee was done I placed it on the rack next to the tea pot. Both would stay hot enough till the rest got up.
After that was done I got my bible and sat in my rocker that Steve had moved close enough to the heater for me to stay warm in the mornings when I was up by myself. I opened my bible and turned to the story of the first Christmas. I marked it with a piece of paper with the intentions of reading it to the kids later tonight. Once that was done I pulled my chocheting out of my basket that I had next to my rocker and started working on the pair of house slippers I had been working on while I drank my tea and enjoyed my "me" time. Hardly any of us getting any "me" time any more and what little we get we tend to cherish.
Around 7 am I had that pair of slippers done and had just started on another pair when I started hearing the rest of the house stirring. With in minutes here they came. By 7:30 everyone was up and their first cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate of the day. It was wonderful to see how big Kyle and Amy's eyes had been when they first saw all the presents under the tree this morning. Amy was so sure Santa would not come last night. No one had been able to convince her that he would find her here since she could no longer write a letter to him and mail it at the post office. When she looked at me after seeing the tree I told her "See I told you Santa had magic. He always knows where the kids are." She ran over and gave me a big hug and told me she was very glad I was so smart.
I thought since the kids had very little truly happy times lately we let everyone open their presents first and then I would fix breakfast. I got my digital camera and then had my sil take pictures while Tammy and I handed out the gifts. We went in order going around the room making sure every one got one gift first starting with the kids. Nikki helped Maci open her first gift which was the stuffed dino Nikki had made her. Then Kyle opened his wooden cars JR had made. Amy opened the doll and doll quilt her grandma made her. John opened the checker board and checkers that Stevn and Mike made him. Dave opened deer hide knife sheath that Mike had made him. Jen opened the earrings and necklace set that Tammy made her and sil opened the dream catcher that Jen had made her. The guys oohed and awed over the bow and arrow sets that John and Dave had made them. They loved the furry rabbit hide that was put on where they would be holding the bow and the feathers that stuck out at the bottom of each bow. Each one had only one color of feathers on it so the guys would be able to tell which bow was theirs.
Then it was Mike and Jen's turn to hand out gifts. They had made all of us a beautiful pair of moccasins complete with Native American designs on them made from the seed beans. Jen was Native American and she knew all about things like that. They had also made Steve and JR deer hide pouches to wear on their belts to carry ammo in. Tammy and JR then handed out all the gifts they had made. Tammy had made all the women earrings and necklace sets and the guys got home made clubs that JR had made on the lathe that John had in the garage. He has even used nylon rope to make a handle to carry them around their wrists. Then Nikki handed out her gifts which were small packages of home made coconut oatmeal cookies that I had helped her bake. My sil was next to hand out the gifts from her and Dave. She had made the kids a bean bag game using some jean material I had to make the bags and filled them with uncooked rice. She had taken two cardboard boxes I had and decorated them with stickers and markers to toss the bags in. She made Maci a little doll to cuddle with. She crocheted winter hats for all the guys and scraves for all us women.
Last it was my turn to hand out the gifts I had made from John and I. I had made Buckeye candy, Mounds candy, peanut butter fudge and chocolate fudge the yesterday and every one got their own box of home made candy. After I handed out our gift I got ready to go start breakfast when Steve says "Just a minute Mom I have two gifts to give out". I forgot he had said he had to make two gifts and he couldn't tell me what he had needed. He left the room and came back a couple of minutes later with two big presents and handed them both to me. The first one was a set of solor dehydrators that he had made out of window screen mesh and wood. The second was a drying rack for drying herbs on. He had heard me say that I was going to be lost with out my dehydrator this year but I could not use it because it meant running the generator for hours at at time and I didn't have the gas for it. He had found the directions for making the herb rack when he was looking in my How To book for the solar dehydrator directions I had in there and that Mike helped him build them since he never built anything with wood before. We all loved our gifts and we all felt this was the best Christmas we ever had. Everything about this one was special. God had helped us make it this far so we took a few minutes offered up our thanks and then got started with our day. Tammy cooked oatmeal on the rocket heater while the rest of us cleaned up the mess from opening presents and the guys replenished the wood supply for the heater.
After breakfast was eaten and cleaned up I gathered up the making for our big Christmas dinner. The guys fired up the rocket stove and hooked up a tank of propane to the propane heater John had for heat in the garage. We had not used it so far but we would need it today with all the cooking we were going to be doing and the fact that is was only 20 degrees out according to the thermometer. Tammy, Jen, Nikki and I made two chocolate pies, two cherry pies, dinner rolls, fresh bread, candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, the smoked pig, cranberry sauce and I had pulled out some of my mango chutney, waxed cheese, town house crackers and a summer sausage I had in storage. As we were cooking I started coughing and my throat was getting sore. By the time we got the dinner cooked and in the house I could barely talk. The dinner looked wonderful but I could not taste it and could barely swollow any of it.
After dinner I was not feeling well at all so everyone told me to sit and rest and they would take care of everything. I went and sat in my rocker by the heater and Tammy made me a cup of tea and gave me a couple of Tylenol. I sure hope I feel better in the morning. I can't afford to be sick.