The morning was slow. . .we had breakfast casserole and got the doggie out. . .then I spent most of the rest of the morning in the kitchen preparing items for our celebration with the Maxwells after church. Tom stayed up on the dishes with all the meals - so thankful!! We went to the 2:30 p.m. Christmas Eve service then headed down the street for appetizers and desserts afterwards.
Barbara's island was FULL of food and drink. . .but the counter held what everyone ended up loving the most - riblets and small stuffed potatoes.
Stephen made guacamole, I made spanakopita, the deviled eggs, a cheeseball (not shown here), and the buffalo chicken dip.
I had to pass on dessert - which killed me - but that plate was NOT my only helping from the buffet.
After we ate we exchanged gifts with the Maxwells.
Tommy looks great in his new TN hat. The kids hit it out of the park with gifts for them - Ms Barbara got a Volunteer Christmas decoration and a TN football serving dish. And you can see the dog dig in to get her gift too! We got Maxwells a digital frame since they love pictures as much as we do :)
Tom and I were the last to leave - we came home to find these guys here watching a moving (that they have seen 100 times!) together:
Tom and I headed out to the deck to enjoy the mild nightChristmas morning didn't come TOO early. . .I needed to wake up in time to have breakfast done by 9 a.m. (the one day a year we make a point of making pancakes for Fred!) - and, of course, Santa still visits :)
Not much was left by the time I was ready to sit down and eat :)The kids gave Grandpa Fred his gift before he left the table because it was going to be lunch later that day - Marion's Pizza from Dayton, OH!!
The kiddos are so great and indulged me in stocking pictures (but we couldn't get one to move to the sofa - ha!)
Lots of super-thoughtful gifts!The aftermath:
I sat down (after 1 p.m.!) to watch a movie, and the others played a game. Check out the mug from my secret Santa at work, my new socks from Robert, and new LuLu slides from Erin :)
More games, football, and food!!
We all started a puzzle that Nana bought for me. . .
And an hour or so later the Bells and Maxwells left. . .Laura and I worked on the puzzle a little while longer, and we left this out to finish over the week:It was a beautiful, memorable, full day. . .absolutely perfect. Thanks for sharing it with me Blogworld!
Love,
Jenni
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