Christmas Recap

Well, another Christmas has flown by. We had a wonderful time celebrating this very special holiday. The 24th and 25th were filled with copious activities, scurrying from house to house. it was wonderful to spend quality time with family and friends.

We spent Christmas Eve with Todd's parents, sister, brother-in-law, and niece. Maddie joined the celebration around 8:30 that night after celebrating with Dad and his mom's family. Our niece is now nineteen months old, so she is now starting to get the hang of opening presents. It is so fun to watch. Maddie received a Barbie electric guitar from his sister and brother-in-law. She loves it! Todd and I can't wait to repay the favor of noisy gifts for our niece's birthday. Hee hee...

Santa came at some point during the night. Maddie found proof at the bottom of her Christmas tree on Christmas morning. Watching the magic and excitement in her eyes is one of my favorite things about Christmas. Her yelling "Santa came! Santa came!" through the house reminds me of my childhood. I cherish these years because I know they will not last forever. Santa was good to all of us this year. Despite the poor economy we were still spoiled. Santa Todd left not one, but two blue boxes from Tiffany's under the tree for me. I received two shiny charms for heart tag bracelet.

Mine is an "M", not an "A". Apparently there was a theme among the men we know this year. They were all told not to buy jewelry due to the poor economy and high cost of baubles. But they all ignored their wives. My mother-in-law received a new bauble as well as our friend Jamie. I think we were all excited that our husbands chose not to listen to us!! I also got my Cricut cutter (YAY!!) and cannot wait to use it! I have been coveting them ever since they arrived in to the scrapbooking market. Todd and I received our Thule cargo bin for the top of his car. This will be essential for any travel we do with two kids and a dog.

Todd was giddy with his new Thule toy. He never expected to get one and could hardly contain his excitement when he opened it.

Santa brought Maddie a pony, Madame Alexander doll, and some American Girl outfits. We were pleasantly surprised at how excited she was with her Santa gifts.

In addition to Santa gifts she received lots of darling clothes, a new Olivia book (one of her favorite characters), and many new toys.

Due to my bed rest and the pending arrival of our little one, Todd and I decided to do something different for our parents this year. Normally we buy lots and lots of gifts. Instead we went small this year. The "big" gift to both sets of our parents were 12x12 leather bound photo books that we made at Snapfish. Each book contained photos of our families from the past several years. There were pages of the kids and grandkids, family trips, holidays, our wedding, etc. Our parents were so touched. The books may not have cost the same as gifts from past Christmases, but they were the most treasured. Their reaction definitely gave me the warm and fuzzies! My mother-in-law cried. Very hard for pregnant me to hold back my own tears with a reaction like that!!! But I was so touched that she was so moved. Words cannot describe.
After the gift extravaganza we went to our bonus-family's (the Switzers) house for Christmas dinner. My parents and Grandma joined us for this entertaining and delicious holiday feast. We had a great time gabbing and noshing. Plus it was great to see the men in the kitchen doing all the work while the women got to catch up. How often does that happen?!? Celebrating the holidays with our bonus family has become another favorite holiday tradition of ours. It feels so good to watch all three families enjoying eachother's company and celebrating together. It puts an ear-to-ear smile on my face. Here are some photos from Christmas and Christmas Eve:

I also have a recipe to share with you. I made this decadent dessert for Christmas. It was super-tasty and rich! Yummy in the tummy!

Mississippi Mud Pie (Cooks.com)

2 pints vanilla ice cream

2 tbs. bourbon or Kahlua (I used Kahlua)

1 Oreo cookie crumb crust (ready-made from the grocery store)

fudge sauce (see following recipe)

2 pints coffee ice cream

whipped cream

Soften the vanilla ice cream in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, then spread it evenly in the pie crust. Top with half the fudge sauce and freeze for an hour. Soften the coffee ice cream and spread over the now firm first layer. Mound the coffee ice cream in the center as necessary. Top with the rest of the fudge sauce. Decorate with whipped cream and cover loosely. Freeze overnight or at least for four hours.

Fudge Sauce Recipe

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (remember, if you have a dog, keep this out of their reach!!!!)

1/2 C brown sugar

1/4 C granulated sugar

3/4 C heavy cream

1/4 C light corn syrup

2 tbs. butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbs. bourbon or Kahlua

Combine chocolate, brown sugar, granulated sugar, heavy cream, and corn syrup in a bowl and microwave three minutes. Whisk every 30-60 seconds. When the mixture has thickened somewhat, whisk in the last three ingredients.