My Strangest Christmas Gift Ever + Our New Year's Eve Plans

This was one of my Christmas gifts from Chad

Please continue to read this blog before spreading vicious rumors around town!

Before I explain this gift, let me go back a few days/weeks. It's no secret that my knee is giving me complete fits. It's swollen every day, needs to be drained again, and it hurts to get up from any sitting position. I've resorted to putting stacks of thick blankets or pillows where I plan to sit so that I won't have to strain to get up. It has helped. But, come next week, I may have a meeting of the minds with my doctor. This can't be normal.

Right before Christmas I made a visit to a dear friend where she shared some Christmas goodies with me plus some interesting information. She's in her mid-70's, a truly God-fearing woman, a great cook and she's wise. She knew of my problems with my knee. She had a possible solution, but it is a bit strange. She said she and others in our church had begun to eat a "snack" before going to bed every night. Before she began this snack, she could barely raise her arm because of inflammation in her shoulder. Now she can raise it completely with no pain. I'm not sure where she heard of this not-at-all-medically-proven concoction, but here it is. Get a pint of gin and a box of golden raisins. Soak the raisins in gin for one week. Then every night eat 9 raisins. Doesn't that sound weird? But, ya know, short of illegal drugs, I'm willing to try anything that might help this knee.

Then I realized that would mean that I had to buy liquor. Mmmmmmmmm. A problem in my mind. (I'll get to that later.) I didn't want to go to the local liquor store and, with Christmas just two days away, I didn't have time to traipse over Greenville to find an out-of-the-way store. I sure as heck wasn't gonna ask Tom, the chairman of the deacons, to go. My friend said her husband would buy me some. I refused. Then I thought of one of my sons. Not that they frequent liquor stores. But I knew they wouldn't mind doing this task. I got Chad first. He didn't hesitate. He called back quickly. He has such a funny, devious mind. He said he needed to buy me something else for Christmas and he wanted to wrap up the gin and raisins and shock the family. I loved that idea! Christmas morning, when I opened up that gift, there was silence. First I opened the raisins and just raved over them. Abby, who knows me better than I know myself, had a huge question mark over her head. She said, "Mom, I know that raisins aren't something you've ever craved. What's going on?" I told her I just loved raisins and I continued to open the other package. When I opened the gin, you could have heard a pin drop on that carpet. It was hilarious. Of course, I had to explain the "plan". It was a hoot. On New Year's Day I begin my regime of eating 9 raisins. I dread it because I fear it will taste horrible. But I'll give it a try.

I need to also explain, to those reading who don't know me very well, that I am a complete a non-drinker. I'm not a prude about alcohol; I just choose not to drink. When I was a teenager, I made the choice not to consume. I didn't believe it would be the right thing to do. Anyway, my Daddy was the county Sheriff and he & his deputies would have had my hide if they found me drinking. When I was in my twenties, Tom & I lived in Alabama. We had a group of good friends who, on special occasions, would fix strawberry daiquiris. I tasted it and thought, "My gosh! It's Nyquil!" I tasted wine and champainge and thought same thing. Then I decided that I just didn't like the taste of alcohol. When I was in my thirties, I had a family member who had a problem with alcohol. Then I decided that me and my chlidren could have the predisposition to become alcoholics. I decided that I would be sure my children knew the ills of liquor. When I was in my forties, I'm sure I told my boys and Abby too many times not to drink. If I overdid it, my sweet adult children, I apologize. It came from a pure heart and the true desire for you not to get in trouble and not to develope a problem later in life. I'm in my fifties now. If I drank anything with alcohol in it, I'd have to be committed. I get high on laughter . . . . my body couldn't take anything stronger!! HA

Tom & I are keeping Cady today until tomorrow. We can't wait to bring in the New Year with our second granddaughter inhouse. For the record, Tom & I will be drinking the following tonight.

My favorite - Sparkling grape juice!

Have A Fun and Safe New Year's Eve!!

Happy 3rd Anniversary, Abby and Matt

December 30, 2005

Mr. and Mrs. Matthew James Ivester

The most fun wedding party ever! Abby still loves these girls and keeps up with them. Which also means she's been in a few weddings and will be in another wedding in the spring. Yea, for Amy Crook!

Just before entering the reception area. (I do believe they are excited!)

Abby, I'm writing this in hot pink b/c that's your favorite color and the color you used for your wedding. It fits you. It's a very vibrant color and very pretty. You and I had such a wonderful several months planning your wedding. It was so much fun. Honestly, we did not have the first argument or disagreement or bad attitude. Amazing, huh? I was so excited for you. You waited for the right man that God chose for you. When Matt came along, it was a fast and furious romance. But I also felt a complete peace that you had found the man God had placed in your life. You got just what you prayed for: a man who is your Daddy made over! Matt could be Tom's son. They are both analytical thinkers, conscientious planners and hard workers. They are both men who love the Lord and pray and try to live a life that pleases God. He is just the kind of man I prayed for to make my daughter happy. However, the best thing about you and Matt and your marriage is this:

Cadence Grace Ivester

She is a beaut! I love her with all my heart and more. Thank you for giving me GrandGirl #2. I will always try to be the Mimi to Cady that your Mimi was to you. Enough said.

I love you both, Abby & Matt. Congratulations!

The Magic Number Is Eleven

Eleven . . . count 'em 11 people have been struck with the stinking virus. Adger and his wife Jan are the latest victims. I didn't realize that Jan had been sick with the virus Christmas Eve night. Adger wasn't too informative when he came over on Christmas Day. As with most men, he just said, "she's not feeling good." A man of many words. Adger came down with the virus Sat. night while out of town. Not a good time to get sick.

I'll keep you informed if the numbers continue to go up. But I don't have any more family, except for Mark's family, so I doubt the number will increase to an even dozen.

Today I've not done very much. Don't have any energy. I'd love to get all my decorations down, but that ain't gonna happen (Mrs. Esther Johnson would love that good English sentence.) I've just layed around, watched alot of TV. I watched lots of Jon & Kate Plus 8 on TLC. Last night I read their book "Multiple Bles8ings" about surviving life with twins and sextuplets. What an eyeopener! I recommend the book, if you are interested.

Mark returns in just a few hours. He'll come retrieve Brady dog. Can't wait to see him. I may provide him with supper, but it's a sure bet Tom & I won't be partaking in the meal! Unless it's dry crackers and apple sauce!

What A Way To Lose Weight!

The virus has hit our family like a tidal wave. I do believe that dear Aunt Jane may have spread her Christmas "joy" with us. The following people have succumbed to the virus: Tom, Joy, Abby, Matt, Chad, Michelle's uncle Norman, my brother Jerry, and his wife Wendy.That's all the confirmed sicknesses recorded thus far. And oddly, we all began to get sick around the early morning hours of Sat. Dec. 27. Thank the good Lord Mark and his family are in another country! Matt's parents drove over to retrieve Cady b/c Abby & Matt were so sick. I have an acronym for this virus:

V - violent,

I - icky,

R - regurgitation and

U - unceasing
S - s*** (fill in with your most disgusting noun.)

All I have to say is yuck. Some were affected with the big D, some only have the big V, and some unlucky individuals had both. Matt went to the E.R. b/c he was so sick and last I heard Jerry was taking Wendy to an emergency clinic. It's a truly vile virus. Now, I'll move on from this crappy blog to things more pleasant.

I love Christmas! It can't come again soon enough.

The day after Christmas we had some relatives visit us. Matt, Abby, Cady, Chad & Michelle came to see them also.

Our niece Mary and her husband Chris visited from Tenn. Mary is expecting a baby boy in about 5 1/2 weeks. (We hope she doesn't get the virus)

Tom's sister Joan drove over with Mary & Chris. She's getting ready for grandbaby #4. Cady got lots of attention that day.

ShellBell opened Santa on Dec. 26. Brady dog is helping her. We're dogsitting until Mark returns from Canada.

Sheets for their new king-size bed

Daddy Tom and ShellBell

Tom & Brady today. Sadly, we haven't felt like playing with him very much.

Doesn't Tom look thinner in that picture? He hasn't weighed; neither have I. But Abby has lost 5# and Chad has lost 6#. Jeepers. Hopefully, the last few days of 2008 will be better than Dec. 27 and 28.

Christmas Day 2008 (with lots of pics)

Christmas Day started out not so great. Jane spent the night with us (tradition, of course!). After Christmas Eve supper, she started not feeling so well. She was nauseated all night long! What a way to wake up to Christmas. She left around 8:30 this morning to recuperate at home. Before everyone else arrived, Tom & I took the time to sanitize the entire house b/c no one wants a virus on Christmas Day, especially a less-than-2 mo.-old baby. (Jane may have had food poisoning from a fast-food place, but ya never know.) When Adger came, he said Jan was not feeling well, so we were missing two not counting Mark, Andrea, & Brie. Speaking of them, Mark texted me a picture of Andrea's parents' backyard. You can barely make out the grill.

Thoughtful as I always am, I texted him the picture below.

We missed Jane, Jan, Mark, Andrea & Brie!

Chad spent the night will us. ShellBell had to work. Her anesthetist group had the Christmas Day rotation. She doesn't have to work this day again for seven years. What might have been a fairly uneventful day turned out to be a crazy day at the hospital. On the news last night we saw where a guy was trying to out run the police and caused a terrible accident. Many innocent people were injured including the nut driving. Michelle said patients were lined up all morning to have surgery from this accident. Then a woman, who is on a blood thinner, fell and hit her head. She had to have emergency brain surgery. And someone had to have emergency heart surgery. She left this morning in the dark and came home in the dark. We were going to visit her at her mom's tonight but they had a house full of relatives so we'll catch her tomorrow. We missed you, ShellBell!

Chad had a plan this morning for Christmas Day breakfast (just Tom, Chad & I were here at the time.). He has a coworker from Wales who makes great Scottish Eggs. Chad & Tom made this unique breakfast. It's a hard-boiled egg wrapped in a thin layer of raw sausage then dipped in a beaten egg then rolled in bread crumbs. Then it's cooked in a deep fryer just until golden brown. It was absolutely delicious. My new favorite thing. And it was not at all greasy. Here is a picture of the finished produce cut in half.

You should try it some time. Sorta like an egg/sausage biscuit w/o the biscuit but with a slight crunch.

Tom & I had a surprise this Christmas. Our children decided that it was about time for Tom & I to have our own Santa bag. Chad made us leave the den. When we returned, he had put all our gifts in our bags. So sweet. Thanks, kids!

One of Chad's gifts was a 30th anniversary Star Wars book with pop-ups. But this is not just any pop-up book. It's unbelievable. Check it out at amazon.com and you can see a video about how it is made.

He's trying to re-enact the next picture.

Chad has been a Star Wars fan for years and years. In 1980, he received several Star Wars items. Here is a picture from the past.

Chad is 5 and Mark in the foreground is 2 1/2.

In their stockings, Santa put some lottery tickets. Here is a picture of Matt feverishly scraping away with a coin to see if he won anything.

Final count: Matt $0, Abby $0, Chad $13. Haven't heard from Mark & Andrea

By this time, Jerry, Wendy and Adger had joined us. Now it was time to eat soups along with Beano. Of course, Cady drank liquid.

We had a birthday cake and candle for Jesus.

I decided that Jesus would like Chocolate Eclaire Cake and a Care Bear Candle. We sang Happy Birthday in our nice voices, unlike the usual harrowing rendition of the song.

Then we broke into our "crackers". Everyone put on the silly hats and we all read the stupid jokes. Chad truly had the worst joke of all.

Chad is smirking at the world's worst joke.

Inside, were prizes. Great prizes. Below are some that were mysteriously left behind. Notice how huge the paper clip is and how teeny the tape dispenser is (I put a quarter beside it for comparison.)

Where did my miniscule note pad go? Who stole it???

Papa Tom & Ab

So what does everyone do immediately after consuming too much food? SLEEP!

Two sleeping beauties

Even though our numbers were down this year, those present had a tremendous day. Lots of talking, laughing, eating and thanking God for family. I love my family!

Have A Wonderful Day Today!!!!!

Merry

Christmas!!!!!

A Christmas Riddle For You

What do the following things have in common? my ottoman, Tom's sock and a furious Abby Rucker Ivester? The answer is Riley, the dog.
The Ivester's spent Christmas Eve Eve (another tradition) at our house last night. They decided to go fetch their two dogs so the entire family would be together at our house. Almost as soon as Riley entered the den, he began to "mark his territory" on my green ottoman, Tom's sock-covered foot, the carpet and rug. That was about 2 hours after Mark's dog Brady came over and in less than 1 minutes, Brady threw up all over the den carpet. And, later, Riley threw up (just a wee bit) on another part of our carpet. Our den has truly gone to the dogs! And I think our granddogs need therapy or medication!

Abby was this mad about Riley's mess. Poor Tom has one sock on and one sock off!

Riley didn't make all this wetness. Matt & Ab put some upholstery cleaner on.

However, the night was not ruined by the dogs. We had Christmas early for Mark, Andrea and Brie. They left early this morning for Canada. I just got a text picture. Andrea's parents' home has 1 1/2 feet of snow! I think Andrea's mom met them at the airport with a snowsuit for Brie.

We had a great time last night eating dinner and opening gifts with them. We'll miss them for Christmas but I know they must be having a blast with the Dafoe's and all that snow.

I'll end with some pictures.

Brie looks like she's getting ready for Canada.

She was dressed very fashionably last night.

Before bed time, we got to see Cady take a bath. She was so cute. Maggie dog was trying to help.

Here is very clean Cady!

Christmas Traditions, Alive & Well

Before I get to the Christmas traditions we've experienced this week, let me tell you about something that happened one night this week. A very thoughtful couple from our Sunday School brought supper to us. I suppose they felt sorry for me, hobbling around on my bum knee and for Tom b/c I don't cook much right now. Anyway, they brought over a PILE of delicious food. Sandy was dressed to the nines, as usual, and Don was in work clothes - old jeans, tattered sweatshirt, well-worn baseball cap - you get the picture. Sandy & Don are always the first to respond to a need - Sandy with food and Don with manual labor. Don had just returned from a workday for someone in need. When he walked in, he said, "I'm all dirty; you don't want to hug me." I quickly responded, "Oh, I love dirty old men." Open mouth, insert foot. I immediately tried to get myself out of trouble by explaining how I so appreciate men who like to get their hands dirty by helping others. Well, Don also has a great sense of humor. He didn't let me by with that flimsy explanation. I have a feeling that my Sunday School Class will hear about this tomorrow morning.




On Thursday, I went to an annual gathering of good friends. This group (plus or minus a few) have gotten together every year for at least 15 years. This is not an exclusive group by any means. It's just one of those "let's do this again next year" kind of things. It's a group of ladies who either don't work anymore or work parttime. I think it may have begun years ago when we entertained a new minister's wife and I think that may have been the time a waitress spilled a tray of sweet tea drinks in the lap of pastor's wife. (Normally, we'd have all busted out in fits of laughter, but we didn't know the personality of our guest, so we sat in awkward silence for what seemed forever. The guest handled it nicely. We behaved ourselves nicely, too.)
This group may not see each other many times during the year, especially to chat incessantly. But we always know we have each other's back. We've all gone through trials in our lives when we've supported each other. Some in this group are presently facing serious trials. Since we're all Christians, we know for a fact that each of us is lifted in prayer during the good times and the bad times. That's so comforting. Here's the group that convened this week:



Thursday night the Ivester's and Tom & I met in Fountain Inn for our annual carriage ride. The weather was perfect. We didn't even need coats so there was no worry about Cady getting too cold. Great time had by all!

The Ivester's waiting for Papa Tom, who was held up at work.

On Friday I kept Brie most of the day because THANKFULLY Mark had two closings. Abby and Cady came and spent most of the day with us. It was fun to see my two G.G.'s together. (Pictures are at the end of this blog). While we were visiting, Tom and a friend put up decorative molding below the upper cabinets to hide our new undercabinet lighting. Lynn had a nail gun which made the job so much faster and easier. They finished in record time. However, Abby & I were in and out of the kitchen several times trying to heat bottles while stepping over and around the hose of the nail gun and those two working men. But I did not complain. The kitchen project is progressing very well.

Friday night was the annual Pie Bakeoff of the Rucker boys, Matt and my brother Jerry who was ably assisted by Abby. My kitchen quickly became a complete mess of mixers, blender, pots, pans, sugar, flour, butter, etc.

In this mess, you can see the new molding Tom added. We need to prime and paint.

Chad came in last for the pie bakeoff. He had told us he was making his famous blender pie, but that he also had a surprise. Here is Chad as he arrived.

We got so excited that he'd brought us doughnuts; but, no, it was his ingredients for his surprise dessert. Love the Krispy Kreme hat!

Here is the cooking gang: Abby, nutty Chad, Matt, Tom, Mark (he's insane or he's had too much sugar) and you can barely see my brother Jerry.

While everyone was busily cooking, I was in the den with the noncooks playing with Cady and Brie. All of a sudden, I heard Tom say, "Dadgummit!" I could tell in his tone of voice that something had gone terribly wrong. It became clear that the problem had nothing to do with cooking. Remember the new molding Tom & Lynn added to my cabinets? Look at the picture below.

See the nails coming up from the bottom?

They had miscalculated the length of nails they needed. Tom explained how they made the mistake which made sense to me but I can't explain it on my blog. At first, of course, I thought it was a hoot! I tried to stifle my laughter b/c Tom was not happy. Then I thought, knowing it was along the front and edges of my cabinets, "Oh, I hope it didn't go through my bottle of glue.". I immediately checked that cabinet and all was well. But upon closer inspection, I found a few items that got nailed down!

See the cinnamon? It won't move! It's nailed down! HAHA My paprika was nailed down, too. I also found a glass juice pitcher broken. So far, no other casualties!

So, try to picture this in your mind: my kitchen is complete chaos with all these tall, large men + Abby measuring, mixing, cooking and deciding who gets to use the oven first - all the while Tom is handsawing and hammering those crazy nails. I sat in the den and just died laughing at the noise! And the G.G.'s didn't care either. It was truly a night to remember.

But back to the Pie Bakeoff. Here is a list of the cooks and their creations. Chad made Paula Deen's Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding and Blender Pie. I was impressed with Chad's going outside his box and doing a Paula Deen WOW! Matt made a caramel pie. He used a double boiler and caramelized sweetened, condensed milk plus he made the Graham cracker crust from scratch. Impressive. Mark (this was his first year to participate) got a recipe off the internet b/c it sounded good but very simple. It was a Brown Sugar Pie. Honestly, it was just like a pecan pie without the pecans. It was very good. Tom made his mom's Buttermilk Pie. Now, I know it sounds yucky and I hate buttermilk, but this is one of my favorite pies. And it was delicious. Jerry and Abby made two pies: coconut and chocolate. Not just plain pies, they made them from scratch and the meringue was Food Network worthy. Here is a picture of their pies b/c they were the "prettiest" (and also great!)

OCD Joy put sticky notes to indicate the pies. Look at that meringue! And ya'll thought our guys (+Abby) were baking Mrs. Smith's pies!

After the pie baking, we all piled into cars and drove around to see Christmas lights. This year Abby & Matt told us about a house near their neighborhood. When you arrive, there is a sign telling you to turn your car radio to a particular station. Then you just sit back and listen to the music and watch the house lights flick on and off to the beat of different songs. It was amazing! Loved it. We always take the same routes to see lights. Then we came back to eat pies.

Here is our gang eating pies (Jerry, Mark, Chad, Abby, Jane, Matt & Andrea)

Michelle couldn't come b/c she was gone for the evening. Missed you, ShellBell!

I agree with Abby that last night was absolutely the most fun we've had in a very long time. I couldn't find my walkie talkies (think I left them at the lake) so we talked via cell phones. We sang Christmas carols as we drove around. We even harmonized over the cell phones. From start to finish my cell phone went from 4 bars to none!

Now I'll just add some pictures of my G.G.'s from yesterday.

My sweet precious G.G.'s!

Brie on the right reached out and took Cady's hand. So cute!

Cady was sacked out!

Brie is totally taking after her father. She loves to be nude! Mark never has been shy about streaking around the house.

Christmas Past + Christmas Family Traditions

Ok, I realize that the picture below is in black and white. I'm old - I get that. I love this picture of my Aunt June, a big-nosed Santa, my best cousin Sherri and poor me trying to get Santa's attention. I am a middle child. I'm the one with not much in her baby book b/c mom was so busy with my sister Jane. And, of course, I'm the one NOT being held by Santa. I remember, like it was yesterday, the day that picture was taken. I guess I was about 5 and Sherri was about 4. The photographer told me to hold up my hands like I wanted Santa to hold me. Well, gee, I DID want Santa to hold me. I honestly don't remember if Santa wrapped me in his arms or not. At least I'm smiling in the picture and not showing my dismay. No hard feelings, Sherri. You can't help it that you are a year younger than me.


Below are some pictures of Christmas past.

Christmas Eve 1977. Chad, age 2 1/2. Mark was 3 weeks old and at home. Don't ya just love Chad's Big Bird hat?

Christmas 1986 - Chad (11), Abby (3) and Mark (9)

Christmas 1987 - Mark (10), Abby (4), Chad (12) and probably the last time I got Chad to wear cutesy Christmas clothes b/c the next year he was a teenager. Notice Mark is wearing Chad's red sweater from the previous picture. Gotta love those hand-me-downs!

Christmas Family Traditions (most of which are still observed!)

(1) Candy Advent Calendar (just another excuse to eat chocolate)

(2) Gumdrop Christmas tree - I'm doing that tomorrow; I'm a little late this year.

(3) Gingerbread House - I've retired this tradition for the last few years. However, I plan to reinstate this tradition when my G.G.'s get old enough to help me.

(4) Candy - Peanut M & M's, little Ande's, and wrapped Peppermints in Christmas jars sitting on the countertop for anyone and everyone to enjoy. Mamu (Tom's mother) used to have soft peppermint sticks. I can't find them anywhere. Help, anyone?

(5) Peppermint Mocha creamer for coffee. This is a fairly new tradition that I and my girls enjoy - only available during the holidays.

(6) Mimi's Party Mix - the "original" Mimi, my mother. She made the best. I have her recipe. I always make a huge batch and give most of it to Adger in Mimi's old, very large, very orange Tupperware container.

(7) Near Mark's birthday, Dec. 3, we always decorate the family Christmas tree while listening to Disney's Christmas Favorites tape (1978) which is always played on an antiquated cassette player.

Notice the old paint splatters on the cassette player.

While I'm at it, let me tell you about this mysterious tape player. I honestly cannot remember the last time I replaced the batteries in this thing. I would think they should be terribly corroded. I was recently wrapping gifts. I played the radio on this machine for about an hour when I looked and realized that I had not plugged it in. It was still running off batteries OLD, OLD, OLD! Must be Energizer batteries.

(8) This one has to do with decorating the tree. I've already mentioned this in an earlier blog, but when Abby puts up her 1983 baby cradle ornament, everyone (including her!) put their other special ornaments on top of hers and it completely weighs down the branch of our fake tree!

(9) I've collected Santa figurines for several years.

(10) I also collect Christmas music boxes - my favorite thing and I have several dozen. I'll mention those music boxes later during another tradition.

(11) I love Christmas mugs. Every night and sometimes during the day I either drink coffee or hot cocoa from a different mug. It's fun to look and decide which will be the special mug for the day.

(12) I love to listen to Christmas music all day long. I definitely begin this the day after Thanksgiving. Several radio stations play Christmas music 24/7. But I also listen to my Christmas cds as early as June. I just love Christmas music and I believe people can celebrate Jesus' birthday anytime of the year.

(13) Either Thanksgiving Day or the day after, we have the annual "caravan from the attic" bringing down my decorations. I'm always in the attic; I hand off to Tom, who lowers to Mark, who hands off to Chad, Abby, Matt, Michelle or Andrea - depending on who's available. We get this big job done in such short order! I love their help. They, once again, make this a fun event by cutting up the entire time.

(14) We Rucker's love decorating early for Christmas and we decorate alot! Love the festive look of Christmas!

(15) We all enjoy the Christmas "cantata" our church choir/orchestra/drama team produce each year. This is the first year in a long time that I was not a part of the music. My knee does not allow me to stand for long period of time plus it's difficult to get up from a sitting position. I'd be the laughing stock of the alto section in my present condition. I must say that I did thoroughly enjoy being an observer this year. I was so moved. I had tears streaming down my face. It was a very touching production. I do miss choir so much, though.

(16) We usually go to a local church for their "Journey To The Manger". It's a drive-thru, live reenactment of the birth of Christ.

(17) Roper Mountain Lights. Haven't done that this year, but it's always fun.

(18) Carriage Ride in Ft. Inn. We hope to squeeze this in on Thursday. This is the last weekend, so we'd better hurry.

(19) In mid-December, the men of my family + Abby have a Pie Bakeoff. Abby and my brother Jerry team up together. This year it's Friday night. Jerry drives from Irmo and is joined by Abby, Mark, Chad, Matt and Tom. Abby & Jerry always make Coconut Cream and Chocolate pies. The others bring their own recipes. You should see all those guys in my not-so-large kitchen. One year I found junk splattered under cabinets and on the ceiling. They are not neat. But they have the most fun! After baking pies, we all drive around and look at Christmas lights while singing Christmas carols. Our family has grown so that we now have to take two cars. So we carry walkie talkies. Last year I laughed til I almost wet myself laughing at the shenanigans going on over the air waves! Then we come back home and eat pies. The beverage for the night is Pet Chocolate Milk. It's gotta be Pet. This is a tradition started at the original Mimi's house years ago. Now our sons and son-in-law and Tom have gotten involved and it's so much fun.

(20) Christmas Eve is big at the Rucker's! We start out with a breakfast at Cracker Barrell. Well, now it's more like a brunch, especially since we now have grandchildren. But that's ok. As long as we're together, it doesn't matter what time we eat.

(21) We usually get together sometime during the day just to be together. Nothing in particular is organized. We just love to be with each other.

(22) We always attend our church's Christmas Eve service. So very special. My children always fight to see, not who will sit by me, but who is stuck sitting by me! That's because I always cry during Silent Night. No one is eager to console me, but Tom. During the song, you can see my kids straining to look down the pew to see how out of control I have become. One year, oddly, I did not cry and I gave everyone the thumbs up in the middle of Silent Night. Must have been the antidepressant HA

(23) For the past 6 years we have gone to Chad & Michelle's for goodies after the church service. However, this year they are homeless. They sold their house last month and moved in with Michelle's mom. They close on their new home in January. So we won't be going to their house this Christmas Eve.

(24) Before heading to bed, we always read the Christmas Story from our large family Bible. Each child read 1/3 of the story then passes the Bible to the next. I must admit there were a few years when the Christmas Story took on a bit of humor, according to the giggles of my children.

(25) We always put a snack and beverage on the hearth for good ole Santa.

(26) To get the kids settled for the night, we always cut off all lights except the Christmas tree. Then the children would lay on the floor with their pillows. I would play several of my Christmas music boxes. This was originated to get the children wound down from the day's excitement. Tom took this time very seriously. Poor Tom. Over the years it became a thorn in his side, but it was a complete joy for the kids. Every year they "tried" to stifle their laughter but it never worked. Then as the kids got older, other body noises began to emerge and things went south from there. Now we just laugh and laugh when we think about those moments!

(27) After the kids were in their beds, Tom & I would begin filling the bags. The bags are 44" x 36" bags that we fill with wrapped gifts that are numbered. More about that later.

Christmas Day is so great.

(28) We always have cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. My kids prefer the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. Every year seems I buy more and more. One year Mark ate about 10, I think, and almost lost all 10. Competitive, I tell ya. Someone dares him and he can't turn down a dare.

(29) Before we allow the kids in the den, we always make them wait in the hallway. Here is what it has looked like over the years.

Not usually this patient, however!

Christmas 1978 Chad 3, Mark 1

Remember the Santa bags I mentioned. Chad & Mark are still using these same bags!

Christmas 1982 (I'm pregnant with Abby)

Christmas 1983 - Abby, 1
Notice that huge Playpen - our version of Pack 'n Play

(30) Call me OCD, but years ago I put into motion a more organized Christmas morning. I got tired of the boys diving into their presents, opening them in 2 minutes flat and Abby had only opened her first one. I had missed Chad & Mark's excitement b/c there was wrapping paper spinning around like a tornado and I felt I'd missed everything. I began the "numbered packages" system. Everyone has a Santa bag filled with numbered gifts in order. Everybody opened gift #1 at the same time. We take a few seconds to "oo" and "ah". I collect paper trash (another OCD problem I have - I hate the paper mess). Then we move on to present #2, etc. I honestly think everyone enjoys the morning better. We see what each other gets for Christmas and it lasts longer.

(31) Until I became blessed with six children, I always let my three search for their last gift. They followed clues all around the house until they finally found the last present. However, last year I declared a sad end to this tradition. It just became too much to handle on Christmas Eve to organize a hunt for six adults. Abby didn't like it very much but she understood. She always lets me know that it's not her fault she came last in the birth order and that she doesn't get to enjoy all the traditions as long as the boys did. Hmmmmmmm, I think I'll let Matt take over this tradition.

(32) For lunch on Christmas Day, we always have several different soups. Usually potato soup, vegetable soup and Santa Fe Bean Soup. I usually have a little pill on the place setting for everyone eating Santa Fe Bean Soup. Below is the pill.

Enough said!

(33) Crackers. Not edible crackers. This is the fun kind of crackers. These crackers!

You pop them open. Inside are silly paper hats, a small gift and a joke. We always go around the room and tell our joke. Dumb jokes, believe me! Here is a picture of a past Christmas lunch complete with our silly hats.

(34) Singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus!
(35) Of course, the most important tradition of all is giving money or items to someone in need, either through church or done personally. This is done in honor of Jesus whose birthday we celebrate and who died on the cross to forgive us our sins. He died for us. We should live for Him.

No more traditions. Just new pictures of my G.G.'s!

Cady with her pink hairbow!

Cady checking out Papa!

Sweet Brie sitting with Papa

Today she was all smiles in her Bumbo while visiting me.