Christmas in Georgia

Christmas is already over?  Can you believe it?  This Christmas, much like the entire year, has flown by.  I can't believe that all the festivities are over.  Santa was very good to me, and I'm enjoying playing with all my presents.  But, I still have my Christmas decorations up though...they might stay up through January.  :)

Favorite ornament, could you guess?

We were thrilled to have Adrian with us in Georgia this Christmas.  It made it extra special, and it was my Christmas gift to get to entertain a houseguest.  I had to make sure that he didn't snag any of our kitties when he left, as he formed a special bond with each of them.  Below, proof that Lupe isn't always Satan.

I hosted Christmas Eve dinner for everyone at my house before we headed to church, with a lovely menu that included a beef tenderloin with a port sauce, baked mac-n-cheese, and asparagus with mushrooms.  Everything was delicious, if I do say so myself.  Usually I take lots of pictures of my feasts, but this time I forgot all about it.  So, I leave you with the aftermath... You know it's a good meal when your kitchen looks that bad!!

The Copeland Sisters (i.e. my Mother-in-law and Aunt-in-law) outdid themselves with Christmas day dinner, with enough food to feed an army!  I like nothing more than to eat my weight in anything that comes out of a 9X13 inch baking pan, so my heart was overjoyed with the selection.

Since this was my first Christmas (EVER) away from my family, I worried that it may be hard; however, my new family made it such a wonderful weekend that I had too much fun to think abut it.  I only teared up once, and that was during the candlelit version of Silent Night at the Christmas Eve church service. Doesn't matter if I'm in a big church in Atlanta and a tiny church in Hewitt, but that gets me every time.

Food and family - so much of what Christmas is all about.  But not THE reason we celebrate Christmas.  Sometimes it's hard to separate our secular holidays with our religious ones, but it's worth remembering:

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. (10) And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (12) And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  Luke 2: 9 - 12