Lots of Family Christmas Celebrations - Part 2

Christmas Day at the Farm!!  When we moved out to the newly finished Barn at the first of December we dreamed about a magical Christmas morning - and it certainly came true. Fortunately, Santa knew the new address (thanks, Snowflake!) and spoiled the kids with lots of good gifts. We also had a few fun things for them under the tree.  And we were grateful that Gia could spend Christmas Eve and Day with us, too!

(Funny story about this picture: Gia routinely puts her dirty laundry in a garbage bag on her return trips home, and last year Aunt Wyllene accidentally threw away her clothes! Thinking it was trash!  So we got her a nice cotton laundry bag - sort of as a joke, but hopefully she'll use and enjoy it).

The food for Christmas lunch did not disappoint.  Ms. Leron requested my customary bread dressing, although no fennel bulb because, ugh, DUBLIN KROGER!!  This year I made without the fennel and added herbs de provonce and YUM. Also made some homemade gravy - which will be my new go-to receipe!

(My Grandmother's beautiful China makes the best Christmas plates!)

The Cowart Family joined us for Christmas Day lunch and...another funny story...they're actually relatives and not just good friends! Thanks to 23andMe, James and Lucas discovered that they share a great, great grandmother and are fourth cousins.  This is one of my favorite stories of 2022.  We've been close friends with them since moving to Dublin - and now we can say we're family!

We ended the cold, cold (so cold it froze our hot water line and we had no hot water for three days!) Christmas night filled with gratitude. (Not so much quiet because, hello, so many new toys to play with!)  Part of James' and my traditional gifts to each other include a meaningful glass ornament for the tree to reflect upon the year. This year he gifted me a beautiful one to remember our wonderful 7 years in Dublin, and I got him a Radko "Charm at the Farm" ornament to remember our first Christmas at the Farm.  

And it was a GREAT first Farm Christmas.  Memories that we'll treasure forever!!