Life With The Stanfords

Just one more little Christmas get-together...

Yesterday, we went to Forest Hill to see Jade's papa and stepmother. They are sweet people. Jade's stepmother's folks run a big nursery (plants, not children) in Forest Hill. Jade's folks live behind rows and rows of landscaping plants.

Grandpapa and Kayla know how to pick really neat presents. They gave Blythe a Ponyville Amusement Park...

They gave Owen a Many Repair Truck...

They gave Ethan Star Wars figures...

Claire got some really pretty jewelry and Evelyn got a baby Elmo. Aunt Nichole and Uncle Frank joined us as well. Since they live in New Jersey right next to NYC, they are privy to some really cool, unique gifts. Claire and Blythe both got the cutest Chinese fabric coin purses from Chinatown. And check out the cutest shoes ever...

I must find an adorable mandarin collar dress to go with those.

We had a great day with Jade's family and then headed back home. So now I have one birthday party and one New Year's Day party to look forward to this week. Did I mention that five of the seven people in our family have December birthdays? Perhaps Jade should start going away on business in the Spring. What do you think? 

Girl, you sew crazy!

Just wanted to recap for you my greatest sewing accomplishment ever -- eight pairs of pajama pants in one day. Now, to many seamstresses that I follow, this would be child's play, but I am so bad at completing things. I'm one of those fast starters and slow-to-never finishers all the self-help books talk about.

But I did it!!! I did not add to my collection of fabric this time, and my kids and nieces and nephews liked them. They didn't like them like a light saber, but they liked them. Here are Ethan and Owen modeling the motorcycle line:

 

And here we have the lovely Blythe in a pair from our Strawberry Shortcake collection. I love this fabric because it's silky on the outside, but soft and flannely on the inside:

 

In addition to the pajama pants, I also made Lazy Day skirts for Macy and Lily. Here's free-spirit Lily in her skirt with Heather Bailey-designed fabric:

 

OK, remember this day. I may never accomplish such a feat again. If I try to, remind me what it was like to stay up all hours sewing the pajama pants on the eve of my birthday. It wasn't crazy fun. Still, if I planned better, I could maybe make smocked camisoles for the girls and tailored shirts for the boys, and...

Happy Birthday, Rosemary Claire!

Today is Claire's twelfth birthday. She turned 12 at 8:45 a.m. this morning.

My whole world changed on December 27, 1996. Life was no longer all about me. The meaning of life and death, love and sacrifice, and so many other unexplainable things came into perfect focus that day.

I am simply amazed every day at this young woman growing up in front of me. She scares the heck out of me. You know, kids are like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're going to get. Raising children is like riding a rollercoaster. I hate rollercoasters.

What I mean is that I want to perfectly line up Claire's life for her, make all her choices, avoid every mistake for her and put her in a "happily ever after bubble". Rollercoasters don't let you do that. You just hang on for dear life and try not to throw up along the way.

Claire, like my other children, is my treasure. I would die for her without hesitation. I cannot believe that God would give me such a gift. He has given me this smart, beautiful creature with steel bars around her soft, little heart. Oh, and did I mention her ironclad will? She may just be president one day...of something.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, I love that girl. I am so glad she was born. I love who she is and the adventure that she is.

Lord, it's a cruel world. Watch o'er my child. Father, help her to be wise. Make straight and level paths for her feet. Grow her up to be just like You. Bless her, Father, with exceedingly, abundantly above all she could ask or imagine. Give her boundless love for others, unwavering courage, and undying faith. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Happy Birthday, Claire.

Love, Mama

A Christmas Story in Four Parts

Christmas day was lovely. It's amazing how many activities a person can fit into one day. As I mentioned in the previous post, we didn't get home until 1:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve.

Part I - Home

Our whole family slept late on Christmas morning. We ate our traditional Christmas breakfast of breakfast casserole, ambrosia, cinnamon rolls and wassail. The kids said I make the best breakfast casserole ever (it doesn't matter that mine is the ONLY breakfast casserole they've ever had).

Opening presents was great. The kids loved everything they got. Here are some favorites:

Claire's favorite gift (and just about her only gift) was her iPod Nano.

The boys loved their "light savers".

Everybody loved Blythe's dollhouse.

Isn't it funny that an 11-year old girl and a 5-year old boy can enjoy playing with a dollhouse as much as a 4-year old girl? Now, I would NEVER buy a dollhouse for my 11-going-on-25-year old girl because she is way too grown up for that, right? And I would NEVER buy a dollhouse for my very manly 5-year old boy because dollhouses are for girls, right? But here's one of the advantages to many children. Those guys can enjoy the dollhouse "on the down low" because of their sister, and no one has to know about it. Except, of course, for you guys. And you won't tell, right?

We all loved the basketball goal. Ethan will be playing Upward Basketball for the first time in January, so he needed a goal to practice. The kids were so excited when they made a basket.

Part II - Dad and Gay Nan's home

We went to my Dad's house for lunch and opening stockings. My stepmother, Gay Nan, always puts great stuff in our stockings. Everyone gets one, including the big kids (like me). We get stuff like pieces of our china collections or cute jewelry or stuff like this:

Also, and this is kind of like Willy Wonka, we get a "ticket" for a family vacation. That's one big stocking!

Our famly is getting big. We can't all eat in the house at the same time anymore - at least not comfortably. Fortunately for our kids, it's usually about 75 degrees on Christmas day. That's good because they have to eat outside.

 

See? No shoes? No problem!

 

Is this sweet or what?

 

How good is Jesus that he lets us blow out the candles on His birthday cake!

I had to throw in this picture of my 6'8" brother-in-law, Jonathan, eating his gumbo. He doesn't just give away smiles for free, so this picture is priceless. Doesn't he look cute and cuddly?

 

Part III - Jonathan and Candice's home

My sister hosted the dessert and presents portion of our progressive Christmas celebration. She makes a chocolate praline cake that is to die for. So as not to hurt its feelings, I also had to have a big wedge of the almond torte with cranberry sauce.

Here's a picture of Junior Olivas. He spent Christmas day with us because his mama and sister were working. Junior lost his dad, Jose', in September. Sweet kid. I used to teach him in Bible Drill. His mama, Hilda, helped take care of me when I was on bedrest with Evelyn. Pray for the Olivas family. This is their first Christmas without Mr. Jose'.

 

What words caused this happy stampede?

a) Your broccoli's ready!
b) Come clean up your mess!
c) Time to open presents!

If you said, "c", this isn't your first waltz around a Christmas tree. I had to include this picture of my sister getting her present from my niece, Macy. I just think it looks really sweet and conveys a lot about Christmas...

Part IV - Uncle Charles and Aunt Peggy's home

After we let the dessert settle in a little, we headed over to Aunt Peggy's house to see what kind of food she had to offer. Uncle C and Aunt P hosted over 50 people at their home Christmas Day! That's a lot of food...and good times. 

What a great family. There were people playing ball in the front yard, putting together Lego toys on the sidewalk and all sorts of people out on the front porch talking.

I always have a great time catching up with my cousins. It's bittersweet to grow up. When I was a child, I spent every Christmas with my cousins. We would run and play and talk about our toys. Now, we catch up in passing, between serving plates and watching the kids.

Here's a picture of my Aunt Peggy:

Aunt Peggy is my late mother's sister. She keeps the memory of my mother really alive. Aunt Peggy is a thinner version of my mother and her voice sounds so much like my mother's did. She tells me stories about my mother that I never knew. I am greedy for those. Aunt P is also sweet like my mama was. She has taught Children's Sunday School in her small church for over 35 years. I love her and Uncle Charles a lot.

Whew! What a day. My cup runneth over. We are so very rich. Thank you, Jesus, for another very, merry Christmas.

So You Think You Can Dance II or Christmas Eve at the Inlaws

Is there a t-shirt that says, "I Survived Christmas"? I should have one. I am having the best day doing absolutely nothing. I haven't even showered today (is that TMI?). But I did have the most wonderful couple of days celebrating Christmas with friends and family.

My birthday was great, even though most of it was spent sewing pajama pants. Jade took me to French Market Bistro - our favorite restaurant. While we were ordering dessert, a couple we haven't seen in ages walked in for dessert. They sat with us at our table and we caught up with each other. That was the nicest birthday surprise.

Our Christmas Eve is always spent at Jade's Aunt Diane's house. Jade's family is so much fun. We always eat gumbo, have birthday cake for Jesus, play music together and sing a few Christmas carols. This year was no exception. Here's my Show and Tell:

You never know when Jade's family is going to break out into dance. One minute you're eating cheese and crackers and the next minute you're in a Fais do-do. Here's Paw-Paw Jeff and Grandma Mona cutting the rug. They're still the best dancers out there.

Here's something interesting about Paw-Paw Jeff. When he was a boy, he only spoke French, but at that time, Louisiana was trying to eradicate the Cajun French language. It was considered an inferior language. Cajun school children would be punished severely for speaking anything other than English at school. Sadly, it wasn't long before the Cajun French language was almost completely lost. Paw Paw Jeff speaks English, but it is beautiful to hear him speaking to his Point Bleau relatives. For more information about the French language in Louisiana, visit CODOFIL. OK, moving on...here's my new brother-in-law, Frank, getting in on the action.

 

Frank taught us all to say, "Buon Natale". That's Italian for Merry Christmas (um, his family is Italian, which is why he did that). This is his first Christmas in Louisiana. He and I love our in-laws because our own families don't dance and sing like this. It's really cool for us. Here's Aunt Diane teaching Ethan to play the spoons. Uncle Steve and Aunt Diane both play and sing Cajun music. I think that is awesome.

Here are Jade and his sister, Nichole, doing their cool dance.

 

We left Uncle Steve and Aunt Diane's house to go open presents. I just had to share this one photo of Owen. Remember hearing about the 1950's, when cowboys were cool? Every little boy wanted a cowboy outfit and some guns for Christmas:

 

Too much! Grandmom made those vests for Owen and Ethan and gave them all their cowboy gear. Guess what? Little boys still love cowboy outfits and guns!

What a great night! We got home about 1:00 a.m. Christmas morning and Jade took off to go get the basketball goal we'd been hiding at his boss's house. Dancin' all hours has its consequences, but it's worth it, ya' know.

Hmmm, 40...

Yes, today's the day. I am now 40 years old. I remember thinking when I was young that I would be 40 in the year 2008. 2008 was such an unfathomable number; I was pretty sure the world would end before this day ever came.

But here I am. It really is an odd place to be.

Still young enough to feel I have my whole life ahead, but experienced enough to understand the sting of death.

Still young enough to love fashion, but old enough to know a black turtleneck is always in style.

Young enough to eat burgers, but old enough to know Brie en Croute and Wine are so much better.

Young enough to still fear death a little, but old enough to really long for Heaven.

Today, I thought you might want to see what a 40-year old woman looks like on the inside...

That's the real me. I feel like everyday I play dress-up. And I pretend to be a grown-up. But on the inside, I'm still that chunky little girl without a care in the world. Still wondering what life's all about and what's around the next curve.

Hmmm, 40. Interesting.

Wonderland or Whirlwind?

Well, we're in the Christmas countdown now. Sorry for my absence. It is crazy up in here, ya'll! I just wanted to share a few pictures from the last several days.

I had my Girlfriends Party Friday night. It was a blast. I keep hoping the Lord will give me a bigger house so I can have all my friends over and not just eight. Here's my table...

Here are my friends crowded around the table in my little house.

Notice the whiteboard and posterboard Christmas trees on the wall. This was not the perfect setting for a dinner party. However, you know the saying, "Life is what happens while you're making other plans." If I waited until I had a beautiful dining room to pull out the china, I might never see my china again. We had a great time! I tried out all new recipes for our dinner party. Here's what we had:

Sparkling Champagne Punch
Brie en Croute
Savory Blue Cheesecakes with Waldorf Salad
Wild Rice Soup
Pork Loin with Praline Mustard Glaze
Yeast Rolls
Triple-Espresso Pecan-Praline Volcano Cakes

All the recipes came from Southern Living with the exception of the Brie. That is a Pepperidge Farm recipe. Everything was excellent!

We had a great time talking and laughing. That party was my Christmas present to myself. I gave each of my friends three fabric fortune cookies in a takeout box. They turned out really cute...

Evelyn turned one on Saturday. That was the fastest year of my life. She didn't get a party because we already had two on the books. It just wasn't possible. The strawberry cake mix will have to be baked another time. However, we did take a couple of cute pictures to remember her by. Here's my Mamita, my Evey-Bevey, my Shaka-laka Buju-Beju (don't ask)...

You've heard me mention Clay and Sharon Clement before. They are lovely people, and they invited us to their home for their Christmas party Saturday. Their tree was so beautiful...

and their home was stunningly decorated...

Every time I looked around I saw something new. What's amazing is that Clay does all of this himself! What a guy!

Our Angel Tree Party was at church Saturday night. There were so many people there.

Angel Tree is for children of prisoners. People buy gifts for the children on behalf of their parent who is in prison.

It was so neat to be a part of that. We ate together, sang Christmas music and handed out gifts. How fun!

Sunday night we went to see The Nutcracker Ballet - A Tale from the Bayou.

 

My stepmother, Gay Nan, does this every year for the grandchildren.

One day my children will know how very blessed they are. The kids' favorite part of the ballet is when the children come out of the lady's skirt. Our Nutcracker is special because it takes place in the setting of the bayous of Louisiana. The first scene is of a Cajun grandfather pulling up in a pirogue and telling his grandaughter the tale of the Nutcracker. Other scenes take place in a plantation home, a snow-covered oak alley (fantasy indeed!), and the old State Capitol. It's a really neat interpretation of the story.

Afterward, we went to Coffee Call to get that most delectable of south Louisiana desserts - beignets! Here's a picture of Blythe enjoying them.

Can you see the powdered sugar from head to toe? I can't talk. I had sugar from head to toe as well. There's just something about beignets - You can't handle the sugar!

Alright, so I still have eight pairs of pajama pants to make, three cakes to bake, and a Christmas brunch to prepare, but other than that - easy sailing. Enjoy this wonderful week! 

This is all Martha's fault!

Well, I didn't disappear into the Boogie Wonderland. I've just been smacked down by Christmas. Actually, I did it to myself - as usual.

Here's what happens. I plan my holiday schedule taking care not to overschedule myself. I only take on projects that I can accomplish in the allotted time. I'm very wise.

However, earlier in the year, I have mentioned how much I would love to bake, cook, etc. for some function. And guess what? Now I have two additional functions to bake for! Ack! Suddenly, I'm Martha Stewart on steroids. Here's some of what must be accomplished in the next five days:

Three batches of fudge.

Dinner for eight at my house.

Gifts for eight at my house.

Cake(s) for battered women's shelter.

Desserts for Angel Tree Party.

Ten pairs of pajama pants sewn and wrapped.

Attend the Nutcracker Ballet with children.

Two parties.

OK, you know what? I think that's enough. I can't stand Martha. This is all her fault. Her and her pretty pictures of cakes and floral arrangements and charming crafts. I'm breaking out into hives. She's the one who makes me think I can do all this! Is there a spirit of Martha? Like, you know, there's a spirit of depression or a spirit of materialism? I think I'm in bondage to a spirit of Martha.

I really do love every single one of those things I'm doing. I just wish I could spread them out a little more. Am I the only crazy one? Is everyone else curled up on the sofa with a steaming cup of cider in their hands???

So You Think You Can Dance!

It's not easy being a party animal. A work party, a fancy party and a birthday party all in one weekend sounds fantastic until you try to actually make it to all of them. Don't get me wrong, we had a blast! But I went to bed at 8:30 p.m. last night to recover.

Friday night we went to Jade's work party and had a great time. His boss, Miles Holley, cooked some awesome jambalya and Miles' wife, Melissa, made all the appetizers and played hostess with the mostess. We only get to see some of those people once a year so it's nice to catch up. Also, Miles made my night when he gave me a Treads and Care apron. It reads, "Our Food Is Good, Our Tires Are Better". I love it!

We ran home and dropped the kids off with Hannah and put on our fancy clothes. It being my "prom" and all, Hannah took some pictures of Jade and me before we left. As you can see, the black dress won. (Also as you can see, this is not your typical prom background - what with the Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling and the purple and pink fuzzy blanket at our feet.)

 

Notice the bangs. Those are new.

  

Oh my word, I love that guy.

   

Then we went to the party downtown. The Hilton was decorated beautifully. It was so much fun to see all the gorgeous dresses at the party. The band was great, so we had to dance. Um, except I can't dance.

I grew up Southern Baptist and most of us Southern Baptist kids weren't really encouraged to dance. Perhaps that's an understatement. As an adult, I understand the intentions of the instructions not to dance. Most of the dances teenagers do are like making love standing up. So I get it. Except--small problem--telling people it's a sin to dance is not biblical. So here I am as an adult and I'm a wreck at these functions because I don't know how to dance. Fortunately for me though, my good sense wins out and I realize as I look across the dance floor that I am not the only one without dance lessons. So I go for it.

Slow dances are easy. I basically let Jade hug me across the dance floor. For fast dances, I just move to the middle of the dance floor where I'm surrounded by people and those sitting at the tables cannot laugh at me while they eat. I'm not being paid to entertain, you know.

 

Here are our friends Skip and Cindy Sharrer. Skip is an elder at our church. Cindy is organizing the Angel Tree Party at our church. They are great people and fun to pretend to dance with.

 

Here are our hosts, Clay and Sharon Clement. They are my fairy godfather and godmother because all the invites to "balls" come from them. Clay is our financial accountant at church. Sharon teaches my preschoolers in Sunday School. They are the SWEETEST.

 

Clay is an interesting man. He is always impeccably dressed. He wears suspenders EVERY day. He dots all the "i's" and crosses all the "t's". But the man can boogie. It was midnight and we were all exhausted after a couple of dances. Here's Clay gettin' down after three hours of dancing:

 

Did I mention that we had a GREAT time? What a fantastic weekend! I leave you with this parting picture of the coolest guy in the universe. Eat your hearts out ladies. I give you -- Supah' Fly!

Frivolous List Friday (13)

Because of tonight's lunar fantastickness, this week's list is: Great Things About The Moon.

Like a woman, it changes moods so easily. A full moon can be sooo romantic in the Summer, very spooky in the Fall, whimsical when it has a rainbow light around it, awe-inspiring when it's low and huge and orange.

It reflects the Sun, which, if you're a bible teacher, is very useful in the spiritual analogies department.

The moon is fun to look at with the kids. Mine like to say Cookie Monster took a bite out of it when it's not a full moon. I know that's silly, but, whatever.

The moon lights up the night. When the moon is really full, it gives off a white light that is so fairy-like. Everything looks magical.

It makes for some good songs. Blue Moon, By The Light of the Silvery Moon, Yellow Moon, Moon Over Bourbon Street, Shine On Harvest Moon, what else? There must be tons more.

OK, have a great weekend. We are partying like it's 1999 this weekend. Will have fun details on Monday, I hope.