Christmas Eggnog

Each Christmas Eve while the children have a little nap I prepare the Midnight Feast.

One of the main features of this meal is the traditional Eggnog.
I am told that our children would not think this is a complete celebration unless we have this yummy drink.

There is often some left over which is quickly dispatched by breakfast time on Christmas Day.

I would like to share our recipe that is a big hit when ever we have anyone visit and we have this special drink.

Our Traditional Christmas Eggnog: 
12 eggs
1 cup sugar (no not these days, maybe 1/2 -3/4)
4 cups of cream chilled
4 cups of milk chilled
4 extra cups of milk  (you could add whisky but this is for children in our family)
2-4 ounces of vanilla
grated nutmeg

Beat egg whites till foamy
Gradually add sugar until whites are beginning to stiffen
In another bowl beat egg yolks till they drop from the spoon in  a heavy ribbon

Combine the two mixtures

In another bowl whip the cream until it is stiff  add to the above mixture  and stir gradually
Stir in the milk
Pour into serving bowl and add the vanilla then sprinkle the top with  nutmeg.

This is the double batch from last year :)

I do hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think.

Blessings,

Christmas Day 2013

After the late  early morning of Christmas Eve  preparations it was a later start to the excitement of this most looked forward to event.

The manger scenes are set and ready for the obvious fact that today is the birthday of Jesus and so we celebrate this as much if not more than our own birthdays, which if you know us are usually celebrated with great ceremony.

I admit that with the excitement of getting to those long awaited presents that we forgot to sing "Happy birthday to Jesus" like we planned, but we did have the doors closed and children lined up to enter the room as we played the little music box to walk in at a sedate pace. No.... not really they all rushed in and over to where they had placed their Christmas bags, as they heard the sounds of Silent Night from the music box.

Everyone sits down and we start from the youngest to the oldest each year.
The opening of the bags is a VERY long drawn out affair as we all take turns opening the bags as everyone watches to see what the gifts are.

I think this allows each person to enjoy their own gifts as well as the others to appreciate the gifts given and be part of the excitement of the gift giving.

It also allows the virtue of patience to be exercised as well as the anticipation to build for the older ones as they see that, yes the Christmas lists they have written out and were hoping that they were getting things from have at least been partially filled.

This can take quite a bit of time and so after we have finished with the bags we tend to have a bit of a break and start to prepare the late lunch, practically dinner of our traditional roast, chicken, pork and turkey breast with baked veges with gravy and apple sauce.

All morning we were snacking on left overs from the feast on Christmas Eve!

During this time the 'head Elf' was putting together the 6 bikes that were given as gifts.
Usually this is done before Christmas Day but we had been not very well and so the time to do this was not able to be used in this way.

Really it was fine as Stephen started with the little ones and worked his way up.

Anxiously awaiting the arrival of Braedon and Anna-Lisa so we could open the gifts under the tree.
These are gifts from the children to each other and us and are usually hand made with some of the older children buying gifts.

Again this took a long time and I was checking the cooking of the dinner as we were going through in  a similar way as the bags but this time we just randomly pull out a present and hand it out, while still watching and sharing the joy of both the giver and receiver of the gift.

AS it turned out we pretty much finished as the meal was ready and sat down and enjoyed this tradition.

As usual everyone was too full to eat the sweets of boiled pudding and home made Christmas Ice Cream and so we have that later in the evening as everyone is starting to be a little peckish.

After this it is pretty much bed time for all including a tired Mum and Dad.

As we retire for the night our wise men begin their journey from this point around the room to reach the infant Jesus on Epiphany and our celebrations of the 12 Days of Christmas will start as well.

Again I am thankful for the memories we build in the times of celebration within our family circle.
Thankful especially on this day for the birth of our Saviour and thus the cornerstone of my Faith and life.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Lead up to Christmas Eve (and the Midnight Feast)

Finally getting back to this post. Sigh......

My laptop computer has been broken since the start of Advent and thus I have had to fight the children for the use of one of our only 2 computers in the house, so my ability to post, even when I am keen has been severely hampered, sigh again........ hint, hint......

And so on with the original post-

The last few days, well the last week of Advent leading up to Christmas eve were in fact a source of ongoing hardship for us as a family, a series of unfortunate events as much of the last year has been really.

We loaned our second car to our son as he had someone run into him and damage his car enough that he had to have it in the repair shop until just before Christmas. Then our own big van broke down again, seriously this is just such a financial drainer of a thing now, and we needed to get our small car back from Braedon and Anna-Lisa and share this car among all of us

Then to top it all off we had a really big hit of a gastro that went through the family and we were recovering on Christmas Eve, in fact we were not sure we could even get to Mass for a while but managed when we had no recurring instances for some hours.

So in fact we kind of lost the plot on the last things we had been planning to do in our Advent Study as well as other last minute things.

Our children were most upset as they really wanted and had planned to be part of the Bethlehem that is put on one of the local parishes every year. We loved it last year and all year they had been planning on being involved with this. 

Of course we did not want to infect others and really how much fun is it to be dressing up and  then throwing up over the people coming to be part of this reenactment.

Again all is in motion for next year on this. 

Thankfully we were able to call on Braedon and Anna again to pick up the last minute groceries and the presents we had on lay by for a long time and deliver them to us later in the day. It was a awful day in town and we were so thankful they could do this for us.

This was the sunset on Christmas Eve from our back yard................

So very very beautiful and not to hot at all!

While the little ones slept prior to being woken up for Mass we (the older kids and I) prepared the feast for when we came home.

Our cookie baking schedule was quite reduced due to the illness but we had some of each type of cookie for the feast but sadly no one was that interested in eating too much, although the eggnog was still consumed at a good rate.

Fruit cake, chocolate chip shortbread, yo yo's, stone fruit and Corinthians sticks

Fudge and Coffee Balls

More fresh fruit which is highly popular

Lebkuchen cookies, Speculaa cookies and sugar cookies

Home made Eggnog

After the family photo some of the children get into their pj's as we start the feast

The Christmas bags are then placed out ready to be filled and the children go to bed while Stephen, well me mostly every year put the presents in the bags before heading off to bed around 6 am on Christmas morning.

The presents under the tree are actually family gifts. Gifts the children have either bought or made (mostly made especially for the younger children) for each other and for us.

So after filling the bags, checking all is good for the night, you know -last minute things like changing the altar cloth to white, putting baby Jesus into his manger bed and the small but significant things that say CHRISTMAS MORNING in our home, it was off to bed to be roused by excited children at around 9am.
I know!! They are so good but remember they did not get to bed till about 3:30am themselves.

So a Merry Christmas Eve was had by us and celebrated in a subdued fashion but still with all the joy and faith we have for the Birth of our Lord!!

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Annual Christmas Family Photo (almost)

Each year after Midnight Mass, so at least around 1:30 am on Christmas morning we have our annual family photo.
While the children were little and we did not have a timer camera we would quickly get someone take the photo at Church before we came home to our Midnight Feast.

For quite a few years though we have had both a camera with a timer and a son who knew how to set it up.
However said son did not come over after Mass and the camera did not have any battery so we used my I-phone which we could not put a timer on.

Consequently we are missing both our older boys from the photo this year and both Stephen and I took turns taking a photo with the other of us in it.

Naturally we could not get everyone looking happy at the same time and for some reason the picture quality is not good either.

Oh well at least we have a nearly complete family photo even if it isn't very good.

The only way I get them to have the photo at all is due to the fact we cannot start the 'feast' until we have the photo done.

So this year we have an almost family photo but I hope to have a really good one for next year.
Alright guys you hear that I want a really good family photo next year!!

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Feast of the Holy Family - 5th Day of Christmas

Today the 5th Day of Christmas we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family in our Liturgical Year.

It is one day each Christmas Season when I think of our family and how we are doing as a model for each other in the way we encourage each other in the special bond of -Family.

Our family circle is different each year with children getting older, some moving away form home following their own paths, others reaching out in the community while still living at home.
Some years in the past we have been blessed to have a new baby welcomed into this family circle and today I could not help but think of our own little ones not with us.

I have been a little slow in thinking up ideas for celebrating feasts over the last few weeks and months, especially after our lead up to Christmas with a most debilitating illness that spread through out our entire family.

However my main focus was to spend some time together in a very relaxed manner.
So after a HUGE folding up party this morning, and some resting and board game playing for others, we had planned on going to the playground after an evening Mass with some bought chips from the local Fish n Chip shop.

Of course this was too simple wasn't it?
Yes- the fish shop is closed until the 6th and NO the only other one we knew of on the other side of town has closed down.
So off to plan B and C.
We bought some cooked chooks, bread (hope we feel OK tomorrow) and coleslaw to take to the playground together.

As it turned out it was a lovely pleasant evening.
Nothing exciting- we ate, played on the equipment went for a walk around the various gardens and had an ice cream on the way home (some of us anyway)

However it did remind me again that it is the beauty of the everyday that creates memories.
It is how we learn to treat others first in a family setting .
It is the opportunity we have to grow from learning to be patient, loving, kind and caring among the people God has out into our family.

And while our family has a long way to go to be like The Holy Family, we are blessed to have that chance to strive each and every moment of the day, and that through the trials and joys of those everyday events we build up a strong base from which our children can then go forth and live their Faith in the world outside that  blessed family Circle.

May God bless you and strengthen in Faith your families on this most special feast  day!

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Merry Christmas to you All

Merry Christmas to you all from our family to yours, and may you be blessed throughout this Christmas Season and beyond.

May the gift of our Saviour be yours and may you share this gift with those you reach in everyday life.

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

(This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

And everyone went to their own town to register.

 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.

He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”

 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen,  which were just as they had been told. Luke" 2:1-20

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Our Advent and Christmas Book Lists

I have a love of picture books especially that I love to read during the Advent and Christmas Seasons.
Today as part of our Advent planning Vellvin and Rogan got out our Books and pilled them all up. Then they chose the ones we are going to use for each day of our Advent Study.
We have a theme for each day and have written up on paper a very detailed list of what we want to accomplish each day, and we are selecting from our supply of  books which particular books we will use for each individual day.
I am hoping to get the first week of our plans posted very soon.

As we love books and know many others do too. I am posting part of this post from my Book Blog

I have been making a wish list of sorts of some I would love to buy and read to our children and thought others would like to see what we like to read. I will post them here as well.

Not all our Christmas books are about the actual Christmas story, but if not they do usually have something to do with the traditions of Christmas or about a Christmas virtue so to speak.

These are  books that are new for us this year (so far)~
A Christmas Dress for Ellen
Little Fairy's Christmas
Penny's Christmas Jar Miracles
The Christmas Eve Ghost
Annika's Secret Wish
The Gift of the Christmas Cookie
The Wee Christmas Cabin
A Child is Born
The Shepherd's Christmas Story
The Little Drummer Boy
The Little Christmas Tree
And here are the books on my Christmas Wish List (still)~

These are the other books we own that I have made up into different lists that you may enjoy looking at~
Advent and Christmas Chapter Books
Advent and Christmas books List 1
Advent and Christmas Books List 3
Countdown, craft and activity books
Board books
Advent and Christmas Books from 2009 

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Epiphany 2013 - Part 2

The second part of our Epiphany celebrations is usually the King cake and then the presenting of the gifts of the Three Kings to the Infant King.

First we make a King Cake and then I place three beans in instead of the traditional one. As we have found we like to have the choose of kings for our presentation to be from the  finding of the beans in the cake.

As we keep the  preparations to a minimum, we use birthday crowns I have made in the past and have the capes or robes of the Three Kings from our play cloths for the dressing up part of this celebrations.
Dressing up is a very important part of our celebrations and is always a fun thing to do!

As I could not find the containers for the gifts from last year, I asked my trusty helper Rogan if he would take care of that for me. So in our wooden box we have the chocolate coins for the gold. the small bag with stars has cinnamon sticks for frankincense and the cardboard  cornucopia with cloves for the myrrh.

We place them together on a table for the three Kings who found the beans to choose their gifts and their costumes.

Arwen

Corbyn

Myffwyn
The infant King awaiting His gifts

And with His gifts afterwards

Trahaearn had to dress up when the others were finished doing the actual 'play.' He was so sweet. He kept presenting the gifts over and over again.

These photos are blurry for some reason. Perhaps the movement of the participants.
But the children insisted that they needed donkeys or camels so Eden became a donkey for Arwen

Myffy was too giggly wiht her transportation, ie her buddy Braedon.

And Rogan volunteered to be the camel for Corbyn

These were some of the pictures that were coloured in for the day while listening to The Hobbit

And our little ones before we pack up our decorations which we do on Epiphany had to create a small home for baby Jesus.
As I had not turned the actual video on for the re-enactment of our presentation of the gifts. I did ask the children to do it again, which they were happy to do but alas they were a little silly by that stage.

Blessings to you and your homes,