Thursday, December 24, 2015

Won't you come in for a visit?

 
 I bought a cloth placemat years ago and framed it. It looks so cute at Christmastime. This year it's a reminder of crazy weather conditions. This is the only snowman we'll see for a while. Today, on Christmas Eve, the temperature will climb into the high 60s. I am NOT complaining.
This is our homey little tree decorated mostly with ornaments from our children and grandchildren and former students. We believe in Santa, and we know that Jesus is the reason for the season.

When Liam came in and saw the tree, I had planned to point out all the cute ornaments and the manger scene to him. NOPE, that did not happen. He was thrilled with what else..."Balls, Nana, balls!" The lights splayed colorful "balls" all over the walls. He was in his glory.

 
Kitty sits guard over the stable. He's never nosed around in the tree before. This year I caught him knocking off certain ornaments, ones hung with thin gold string instead of hooks. He ate the string!

The sign: Grandma's Kitchen... Kids Spoiled Here
 
I have been baking (and eating) cookies galore this week. I baked chocolate chip, peanut butter, Russian tea cakes with ground pecans (our favorite), and then last evening I decided to bake another batch of chocolate chips since I had a bag of Ghiradelli chips left. Well, I spilled half the bag and had to trash them, so although I doubled the recipe, I had half the amount of chocolate chips. As if that wasn't bad enough, I mistakenly added double the amount of baking powder instead of baking soda. 
 
Those suckers raised up to muffin top size. So now we have cake-like chocolate chip cookies...the kind Panera Bread Co sells for $1.69 each.  
 
There is a home nearby that draws huge crowds driving by each night. Everyone calls it the Teddy Bear House. The owners decorate with hundreds of teddy bear displays and scenes. It is the most magical place. Although it was daytime, we took Liam by to see it. He was so excited, he ran down the walk. As I pointed out the many different scenes, he stopped and discovered his very favorite of all...and that was it! I couldn't get his attention after that.  
 
He noticed the pretend candy pieces and started shouting, "BALLS, Nana, BALLS!"
I'm sure he dreamed about the Teddy Bear House. He awoke from his nap laughing out loud.

May the magic of Christmas fill your homes and hearts. Thank you for your visits, your friendship.



8 comments:

noexcuses said...

What a lovely piece you have written and what a magical place your house must be today. I am happy for you and the joy that is experienced in your home, now and always. I enjoyed reading your baking adventure...oh would I love one of those Chocolate Chip Cakes! Merry Christmas to you and your wonderful family!

Susan said...

All sounds wonderful, Linda. May you and your family have a lovely, blessed Christmas. Susan

Connie said...

Linda, this is such a fun and wonderful post. It must bring you great joy to see things through little Liam's eyes. Your cookies sound delicious even if they didn't turn out the way you expected. Merry Christmas to you and yours! :)

Sioux Roslawski said...

That Liam! He's reminding you--and all of us--that we need to be thrilled with the small things. Balls. Teddy bears. Naps full of dreams.

Tammy said...

Now we know the secret to expensive cookies! Love Liam's sense of wonder. Brings back my son's babyhood when everything was a ball or a mode of transportation. Thanks for sharing with us, and Merry Christmas!

Val said...

Thanks for the tour! I hope No No Kitty is none the worse for wear after snacking on ornament string. Maybe he needs a puffy cookie. Wait until Liam gets to play in a big snow!

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

I love your pictures, Linda! The house looks festive, and Liam's wonder shines through. It's delightful to see a child experience things for the first time.

Happy New Year!

Pat Wahler said...

What a cutie! I'll bet Liam makes Christmas extra special.

Pat
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