MY favorite Christmas Stories

So, I happen to know Santa Claus.  He's a pretty cool guy.  He's done some amazing things over the years, and I'd like to share some of them with you.

Kindergarten Christmas in Recovery:
This is not as bad as it sounds.  The year I was in kindergarten, I had tonsillitis.  A lot.  So, I had to have the darn things taken out.  Before Christmas break.  Before the holiday party.  In kindergarten.  I was bummed!  However, in the present exchange, the person who drew my name gave me a coloring book and crayons to have with me in the hospital during my recovery.  It was awesome.  I know that Santa had a hand in making sure my Christmas was wonderful that year.

Christmas in June:
Santa is around all the time, not just at Christmas. One year for my birthday in June, I had one of the most wonderful Christmas experiences a girl with a summer birthday could have – Christmas dinner in June. In Florida. In a restaurant decorated for Christmas all year long. It was a place called The Paw Paw Tree, and my grandfather Higham made a big to-do about it. I was smiling ear-to-ear the entire meal. We had turkey and ham and stuffing and mashed potatoes and pie and apple cider...it was amazing! Since I almost never spent a Christmas with Grandpa Higham, it was a true blessing. That was Santa’s way of reminding all of us that love of family is important.

Santa knows WHERE you are for Christmas:
Santa can find you if he needs to.  One year we were going to be traveling to Ohio to visit my grandparents, and we were worried that Santa wouldn't be able to get us our presents.  We wrote him a letter to let him know, and he came through!  While we were at Sunday School and Church the day before our trip, Santa dropped off our presents early so we could enjoy our family Christmas.

Similarly, another year, Santa managed to find us AT our grandparents' house.  He even managed to put out all the presents under the tree in the living room WHERE WE WERE SLEEPING. Amazing.


Santa sends you what you need, even if it is far away:
I was let go from a job, for the very first time in my life, on December 11, 2007.  I had just financed a vehicle and been proposed to in September that year.  I was planning a wedding, and a future, with JR, and I had no idea if any of it was going to work out.  I was devastated.  I talked with my family often during that time, and my kid brother, with whom I have always had (and will always have) a close, special, different relationship than my sisters, said he would drive up on Christmas day with his daughter Courtney so I could be with family at Christmas.  I was so touched, and excited, and weepy... It's quite a haul from NW Tennessee to Chicagoland...especially in December.  It was late and cold and dark when my brother called to let me know he was close by.  I talked him through the winding road back to my apartment, and I ran down the stairs to grab my brother and niece in a big hug.  What happened instead is pure Christmas magic.  I got to the bottom of the stairs as the truck was pulling up.  Instead of my brother in the driver seat, it was my DAD!  He had made the trip with my brother because he knew I needed him.  That visit made all the difference to me.  I cried and cried when they left a few days later, but I had been able to spend some part of my holiday with family - family who love me so much they sacrificed time together to give me a bright day!

How could I not love Christmas with all these wonderful stories?  There are so many more, but these are the stories that make my heart sing...

Cake!

So, I don't think it's a big shock that I LOVE cupcakes...and honestly, I am not picky.  I am very happy with the 6 yellow cupcakes with butter cream frosting I can get at the grocery store...especially on Friday when they are offered at the reduced price of $2.22. Now, I do prefer if I can get a mixed pack of 3 yellow and 3 chocolate, but I'll still settle for the 6 yellow.

As much as I love eating cupcakes, I love decorating cakes even more.  I am by no means a professional, but I have been decorating cakes since I was young, learning tricks and techniques from my grandma and my mom.  I decorated a sheet cake to look like a folded western shirt for Father's Day when I was 12.  I carved and decorated cake to look like a giant glazed donut in my 20s.  I made a birthday cake in the shape of a beer mug for my father-in-law a few years ago.  I've even made some, ahem, bachelorette party cakes...  I've made countless bunny-face cakes for Easter, and tons of heart-shaped cakes for Valentines' Day (none from shaped molds). 
About a year and a half ago, my dear friends Lee Ann and Jeremy were expecting a baby for the first time.  While shopping with Lee Ann at one of our favorites stores (JoAnn's), we saw a Wilton Cake Decorating Toolbox (with 101 tools) on sale.  And Lee Ann had a coupon.  And she really thought I should get it so I could start really getting into cake decorating.  Especially since she had a baby shower coming up...I was roped in, and I thank her for that every time I make a great cake.

The first cake I made for public consumption after this purchase was, indeed, the baby shower cake.  I had an idea in my head of a bear on blocks and all kinds of fanciness...then I got nervous and decided to go with something a little simpler for my first attempt at using fondant on a cake...

The base and paci are cake covered in fondant; the paci handle is molded chocolate.

The result was a pacifier cake, and I was very proud of it.  I could see every tiny imperfection, of course, but I was still happy.  Luckily, my mom had made many, many things out of Candy Melts white chocolate while I was growing up, so the handle was easy enough to do.  The round ball was a cake mold and maybe a little more advanced than I should have tried for my first attempt at fondant.  Everyone was happy with it, and it tasted good.  Score!

I have made a few other cakes in the last year, but nothing too exquisite... until yesterday.  I made the birthday cake for our now one-year old Goddaughter - Jeremy and Lee Ann's little girl.  Lee Ann told me "ladybug theme."  I've been looking at photos of cakes online for the last several months.  I found one that fit what I was thinking of doing, and here is what I ended up with.



Ladybug cake!  It's all cake and fondant!



A close up of the topper.

The "smash cake" just for Analee to enjoy (and make into mush and get all over herself.

A ladybug on top of a two-layer cake.  Everything was cake, including the ladybug body and head.  I started with all white fondant and colored it myself.  The green border and grass is butter cream frosting.  The smaller flower "smash cake" was covered in butter cream with a fondant ladybug accent.

I am very proud of this cake.  I only cringed a little when Lee Ann made the first cut...then, we all enjoyed eating the cake, especially Analee:

Analee elbow-deep in her cake!

A Perfect Thank You / A Night of Reflection

(Copyrighted Image)

My husband, as a thank you for my taking care of him this past week while he has been sick, took me out for sushi and a movie.  He told me the movie was a surprise, and I was honestly scared.  This man once took me to see a "surprise" movie that ended up being Paranormal Activity.  It scared me so much that I was sitting on the edge of the seat rocking back and forth.

This, however, was a wonderful surprise.  After reading one of my recent blogs and its comments, my husband decided to thank me for taking care of him by treating me to a movie I wanted to see...along with about 50 school-age girls and their mothers.  He took me to see Ramona and Beezus.

My heart was overflowing - he had done something wonderful for me, and I felt like it was more than enough to thank me for my taking care of him while he was sick - I feel like that is my responsibility.  His appreciation was awesome.

The movie was wonderful.  All at once, it made me happy to be a wife, a daughter, a sister, and an aunt.

I am Dorothy Quimby (Ramona's mom) - the wife who tries to hold it all together and be supportive even in tough situations, who loves her family very much and tries to take things in stride.

I am Ramona - the daughter who always felt like she was just a clumsy mess, getting in the way of everything, and believing the rest of the family would be better off without her...I learned, over time, that I was an important part of the family, and we all were better because of each other.

I am Beezus - the oldest sister who had to be a grown-up sometimes while she was still young, the sister who had to put up with the annoyances of younger siblings, but who still loved them with her whole heart and would do anything to ensure their happiness.

I am Aunt Bea - the aunt who lets my nieces know that I believe they each hung the moon, who takes each one on a special outing alone, and who takes them all out together whenever I can.  I am the aunt who teaches them the lessons their parents try to teach them by phrasing things the way I know they understand (and they will listen, because I am not their mother).

I laughed and cried and cried and laughed throughout the movie.  It brought back the memories of the Ramona books for me, and the memories of my childhood with my younger siblings...

Go see this movie.  You will not regret it.