Celebrating Christmas The Sturdivant Way

This year my family loaded up their cars and came to my house for

our annual Christmas party.  This was a first and I was so excited!!

One by one the cars climbed the driveway and the families started 

piling in. Arms were loaded with food and gifts and "Merry Christmas"

greetings filled the house.  Hugs were plentiful and I couldn't stop

smiling.   I love my family Christmas party!!!  This is the one time 

we can all count on being together each year and I'm so grateful we've

continued to make it a priority in our busy lives.  There were a few

family members who were missed (darn it), but we had folks travel

from Richmond, Va.,  Raleigh and points in between to be here. 

So how do the Sturdivants celebrate Christmas?  We start off with a

Dad in his traditional red vest.  Can't have a Christmas party without

the red vest.   He and Yvonne (my stepmom) set the tone with their

festive clothes.

and the Santa Claus socks were pretty cute too.

Add some sisters,

a brother,

throw in husbands, wives and lots of kids (some big, some little),

and a cat

or two

and you have the makings for a fine party.

We cook and we eat.

The patriarch is in charge of cutting up the meat, 

with help from his daughters,

who are really just there for quality control purposes.

The desserts were awesome as usual.  Sherri's carrot cake ( a favorite

of Charles and Cindy) and a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake

didn't make the picture, but were oh so good!

After consuming too much food, we start congregating towards the tree.

Our gift exchange has evolved to keep up with the growing family.

The adult kids donate to a charity, chosen on a rotating basis.  This

year Charles chose Baptist Children's Home in memory of our mom 

who was adopted as a baby.  

The kids opened their gifts

and the whole group played Bingo. 

We had lots of prizes and everyone was a winner, eventually. 

Abbie enjoyed eating the bingo markers when the players

weren't looking.

The adults played Dirty Santa, which lived up to its name this year.

There were a group of sisters (who will remain unnamed) who all

wanted the same gift.  This was not the gift, although it was a nice 

one and Brooke was glad to be the one to take it home.

The male members of the family challenged each other with some games.

The musicians played.  Don't you love this picture?  Ben is completely

unconcerned that Abbie is screaming her head off to get to the piano.

Now she's happy.

As the evening approached, some of the family went home  

and others stayed for the long haul.

We were getting tired, and the activities were slowing down,  

until we decided to pull out the board games.   Scattergories is a favorite

and guaranteed to liven things up.

Think, think, think....and then laugh at the crazy answers! 

Whew!!!  So there you have it - a Sturdivant Christmas.  It's loud

and a little crazy and I wouldn't miss it for anything.  Another year of

memories...and you know how I am about making memories.

Photo credits: John Sturdivant and Cindy Sturdivant

  *MYOF Goal #12 - Nurture relationships with extended family

Waiting For The Tree

The weekend after Thanksgiving I started pulling out the Christmas

decorations.  A few boxes at a time, I worked to put everything in it's

place.  But I waited for the tree.  It was hard not to go tree shopping

when I saw other cars drive by with trees tied to the top or admired 

the lovely trees set up in friend's homes. But I was determined to wait.

We love having a live tree.  But in a house with wood stoves and a

fireplace, that tree can become dry as a bone in a few weeks time and 

pretty soon the floor is covered in needles and the branches are drooping

under the weight of the ornaments.  By Christmas day it's a sad sight. 

And that frustrates me.

So, the garland was hung, the candles were set out and the Christmas

china was placed in the cabinet, but I waited on the tree.

I'm not a good waiter, so it's been a test in discipline.  But finally this

week, the time had come and we went shopping for the tree.  We, being

mom and Travis.  Just mom and Travis.  

As I get older I've noticed that sometimes I will be going through the

motions of some activity and I will hear a sweet little whispering in my

head and heart that this "thing" that I'm doing is much bigger than I

realize.  I hear, "this moment is special, savor it."  As Travis and I

walked around the tree lot looking at trees together the whisperings

began.  It's been a long time since my firstborn and I did this.  In fact, 

it may be the only time we've done this, just the two of us.

When we unloaded the tree and carried it into the house, I heard it again.

When we were both under the tree trying to straighten it in the stand,

laughing at the cats who obviously thought we brought this tree in the house

just for them, I heard it again.  "This is special, really enjoy it."

As the decorations came out of the boxes and went on the tree, I was 

transported back to a time, when this man was a little boy, anxiously

fumbling through the boxes, pulling out ornaments one by one.

And I heard it again.

And when I watched him put the angel on the top, I was overcome with

gratitude for this gift of time...mom and Travis time.  A tender mercy from

a loving God.

It was worth the wait.  Good things always are.

Thank you Travis for your help and especially for the memory.  Moms
just can't get enough of these kinds of things.

Now it really looks like Christmas around here.

Building Houses and Memories

The heady smell of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg baked

into house shapes is a sure sign Christmas is almost here.

This tradition began years ago, after I attended a homemaking
class where I was taught how to make gingerbread houses.  Every
year I dig out Lindsay and Bev's recipe and pattern pieces and we
begin construction.  And every year, I say this is the last time we 
are going to do this...and by next Christmas we are planning it again.

It's not hard.  It just takes time to bake all those little pieces.  Thank
goodness Kenzie was here to help me with the baking process this year.

The real fun begins when you gather some friends, fill the table with
more candy than you can imagine and use mounds of royal frosting to
put together some magical candy houses..

The creative juices begin to flow and houses start taking shape.

Eating candy while you work is a perk in this job.   Skittles and Sour Patch

kids are my personal favorite.  Jessica and Tara are fans of the Twizzlers.

Sherri confessed to eating CowTails and I think Kenzie likes them all!

Except the ribbon candy-  we all decided it makes great chimneys, but

isn't tasty in the least.

Totally, caught in the act!

This year Abbie watched from her high chair while sampling some 

of the goodies.  Next year, she will be big enough to help make her

own house.  (Am I already talking about next year?)

I like to watch each house take shape.  They are all so different.

We even had a chicken coop this year.

Building memories.  That's what traditions are all about.  

And that's why we do it. I'm such a sucker for tradition.

I'm just glad I have a year to rest up from this one.

*MYOF Goal #12 - Nurture relationships with extended family.