Christmas Custard

Sharing a cup with dad and sister Cindy.


The

"famous"

recipe!

Stirring until just the right consistency.

Beating the egg whites before adding the vanilla.

Folding in the egg whites.

Stir until there are absolutely no lumps!

Perfect! Time to pour it up and chill completely!

The Wood family has had a tradition over the last 80 years that still stands today. It is "Boiled Custard", but I prefer the name "Christmas Custard", because it just sounds better! If you ask Jerry's 86 year old father, he can't remember if anyone before his mother (Jerry's grandmother) made the custard or not...and he doubts that she started making it from a written recipe...she probably just made it up. This special custard was, and is, only made between Thanksgiving and New Year's. It was a treat Jerry and his siblings always looked forward to. After his grandmother passed, Jerry's dad started making the custard. Now, Jerry makes it. Jerry decided to make a batch Saturday night before going to his dad's house. Jerry's mom would always tell him, "I think this is the best batch you've ever made". Well, she would have definately said that this year, and it would have been an acurate statement. It really was a perfect batch of "Christmas Custard"!

What goes up, MUST come down.

My least favorite part of Christmas is the taking down of all things Christmas. I gave Jerry a ZZ Top cd for Christmas, so when we started the undecorating process, he put in it, turned it up, and showed me a new way of taking down the decorations. Funny...we decorate for Christmas listening to Christmas music, and we take it all down listening to ZZ Top! ( I have a video of the "dance" but for some reason, it won't load...sorry!

Merry Christmas!

Santa Jerry hands out the gifts.

Family portrait. "Don we now our gay apparel!"
Mrs. Claus and Santa are pooped after all the gifting!
Annee and Emmee enjoying their new fleece blankets.

Pink fleece for Lucee!

After our family Christmas Eve celebration, mom and Phyllis came to our house. We have an unspoken rule for Christmas morning....NO CAMERA"S! (hence, only pictures of us and the girls on Christmas morning!) So after making my traditional "Christmas Morning Coffee Cake", and Jerry making a huge breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, and gravy, we exchanged gifts with each other. I was pain free until about noon, then had to take pain medication and wait for it to work before making our non-traditional Chicken-'n-Dumplings late lunch. They were worth the wait, and we enjoyed a late afternoon Christmas meal together.

Once again, I am reminded of just how blessed I am in all areas of my life. I am so thankful for the birth of baby Jesus, who chose to leave the splendor of Heaven to become like us, for the single purpose of making a way for each of us to have the gift of eternal life. What a Savior!--it's a plan for salvation that none of us would ever be able to dream up on our own...it just doesn't make sense to us that He would come to this earth as a baby, subject himself to temptation, hate, and the brutal beatings He endured. But because of His love for each of us, that's exactly what He did.

Happy Christmas Eve

P and her Papa enjoying the train.

G and Uncle Nathan watching the train.

Christmas music provided by P and G.
"I can open it!"
"Thank you G!"
"Are these mine? Oh boy!"

The gifts were ready, the plans were made, and the food prepared for the Sorrells Family Christmas Eve traditional gathering. We would gather at Janice and Bruce's circa 1905 home anytime from 3 p.m. on, with the Christmas Eve Service starting at 6:00. We'd eat before (and after), and exchange gifts after the service. Jerry and I planned on leaving home by 2:00....until I started having horrible lower back pain related to my recent kidney stone/removal. I called the doctors office, and they basically told me to take the pain medicine, and give it time to work. After an hour, I thought it had time to work. So after another pain pill and a muscle relaxer and 2 hours of lying perfectly still in bed, I thought that I might actually live and be able to make the hour ride. Jerry had already called to tell them we wouldn't be able to make it...and I have never missed a Christmas Eve family gathering--daddy missed it once when he was in the hospital, but i think that was the only time a family member missed Christmas Eve. So, we started gathering everything we needed, got ourselves ready, and headed out. Needless to say, they were surprised, but happy to see us...there was no where else Jerry and I wanted to be. So, I just took pain med's every 2 hours, and a muscle relaxer every 3! And I actually remember the evening! The food was wonderful--the visiting time priceless, and watching the little ones enjoying the train around the Christmas tree was precious! Enjoy the pictures of our little ones during our Christmas Eve together!

Celebrating the Season of Christmas

Last night we went to Tyler and Casey's to celebrate Christmas with them and Asher and Leila. Casey prepared a delicious meal, then we enjoyed watching Asher and Leila open their gifts. Asher was quick to identify his presents as soon as they were placed under the tree, but he was so patient to wait until after we finished eating to open them. He showed Leila hers, Tyler his, and Casey hers, and he had his ready to open. Then, he helped Grandpa and Lala open theirs as well. We had a great time! After the gifts, Asher engaged grandpa and I in ""hide-n-seek", of which he is a master player...and Leila gave grandpa some serious love! We had a great time, and really enjoyed sharing in the Christmas season with the Wood's.

Favorite Things

Needlepoint ornaments I made my first "independent" Christmas...1981.
Purchased various "book" ornaments in 1981...real pages with songs on each!

Gift from students Aaron and Tina, siblings, 1987.

Hand cross-stitched by Teresa, dear friend, 1994.

Our first Christmas, 1992.

Vancouver Island, Jerry and I--a Christmas shoppe between Victoria and Mt. Washington.

Myrtle Beach...198? with Vickie... The Pottery Barn, I believe.

Vancouver Island

We have many crystal pieces...Nativity Scenes are a favorite...this

one probably from Eureka Springs.

The verse that gives the true meaning of celebrating...

without the birth of Christ there is no Christmas.

One of the things I love about decorating for Christmas is unwrapping favorite things...whether it be ornaments with special memories, seasonal gifts given by special people, or just remembering the trip that led us to the special ornaments. So, I thought I would share a few of my favorite Christmas things and why they are special to me. This is by no means an exaustive list...there's not enough blog space for that!

Thanksgiving 2008

My great niece "kicking in the leaves".
Emmee and Grasen playing in the back yard.

Waiting for turkey time!

Grasen digging for shells in Navarre sand! Great idea, Aunt Phyllis!

The morning after--3 sisters going shopping at 6am...thought about 4 am,

but changed our minds!

This year we gathered at my sister's house. It's a lovely home, with room for all of us, and is centrally located in the state. Jerry and I picked up mom on Wednesday and arrived on Wednesday. We are the turkey cookers, so we had to be there to start the bird Wednesday night. I wish I had taken pictures of the process, but it's difficult to photograph and prepare the bird at the same time. So, you'll just have to suffer through my narration! This year we had a 21 pound bird--a BIG bird! Washing that bird was not an easy task...but we managed, dried him off, oiled him down, and covered with salt and pepper. We put him on the roasting rack in the roasting pan (breast up), poured about 1/2 C of beer (a BIG can of beer) in the bottom of the pan, and put the beer can---well, up the turkey's butt. Hence, "Beer-Butt Turkey". The oven was preheating to 400 while we covered the turkey with foil and tightly secured it so no moisture could escape. When the oven was ready, we put the bird in the oven...where he stayed at 400 for the first 1 1/2 hours. Then we reduced the heat to 250. I guess it was 7pm by the time we put him in the oven. At 7am, we took him out to check for doneness. Well, that bird just fell apart! I literally pulled the breast bone out without any trouble! So, I resealed him, turned the oven off, and put him back in the oven to rest. When it was time to "carve" the turkey, I was ready with reinforcements--brother-in-law Bruce! We were amazed to discover that there was nothing to carve! The meat just fell off the bones! So tender, moist, and delicious! Definately our best "Beer-butt Turkey" ever! Mom made delicious dressing and gravy, family arrived with all the trimmings,Phyllis read a Psalms of thanks, and we (17 of us, I believe) had a feast! I did manage to take a few "after" pictures, though!

"Tis the Season??? already???

Don't you love the flamingo pants? They just scream "Christmas is coming!"

What a patient and precious hubby!

Coffee table with cracked balls and a runner made by my mom.

Our 3 dogs share a stocking...sorry, girls!

Dining room table.

Ahhhhh! It's lovely!

We decorated early this year--weekend before Thanksgiving. Had to...or we wouldn't have a chance before Christmas gets here. We love to decorate the house. Let me rephrase that---we love a decorated house! A couple of years ago we had to replace our tree, so we purchased a 9 1/2' slim, pre-lit tree...now we don't have to rearrange the living room to put it up. Downside? It won't hold all of our ornaments. We do have a system, finally, that makes decorating the tree a bit easier. We get the tree down from the attic, and assemble each section before adding the next section. While I'm finishing up arranging the branches and checking the lights, Jerry starts unpacking the ornaments and putting the hangers on...then we're ready to trim the tree! Next comes the dining room table, the entry buffet, and the living room. So, this is what Christmas looks like at the Wood home! Enjoy!