Santa Came to My House

As promised, today's post will share the gifts I received for Christmas.  It was a very tea-filled Christmas.  My family knows what I enjoy!

My daughter and her husband were in Savannah, Georgia last month, and while there they visited The Tea Room on Madison Square and bought me some wonderful Christmas gifts.  It brought back delightful memories from my May 2018 visit.

Their gift box was filled with lovely things...

The Tea Room's Christmas Box 

Containing:  1 oz. of their custom black Christmas Tea; 1 oz. of their signature Emperor's Bride;  1 oz. of Tea for Ruby, an herbal likened to a Ginger Snap Cookie; and  a 4 oz. package of Tee Kandis - the German name for sugar crystals [rock sugar].  Tee Kandis is a popular product throughout Europe and especially Germany.  Directions said to pour hot tea over the Kandis in a cup and listen for the crackle.  Walker Shortbread cookies and a tea strainer were also part of the Christmas box.

In addition to the Christmas Box was 2 oz. Asher's Georgia Peach tea; 2 oz. Savannah Breakfast; and 4 oz. Creme Brulee.

Also a teaspoon, and a Savannah teabag holder...

A Savannah toile tea towel with the The Tea Room embroidered on it and a teaspoon rest...

A package of Carolina grits and a Savannah mouse pad.  I see some Shrimp and Cheesy Grits in my future!  

And two commemorative magazines.  They really spoiled me!

Izzy made a collage of photos of her with Papa and me and gave me a box of my favorite candy - Chocolate Covered Cherries.

Gifts from Steve, Sharon and Brooke, and Jeremy, Samantha, Izzy, Landon and Ellie were:  Four teacups and saucers in the Plaid Poinsettia pattern by Grace China.  They ordered them from Replacements Ltd. since they came out in 2019 and are difficult to find in stores this year.

The sugar and creamer.  The only thing missing is the teapot.  It was ordered too, and was supposed to be delivered on Dec. 16th, but the USPS has managed to lose it.   Two visits to the post office has produced no results.  They don't know where it's at!  Grrrr...  It's presently out-of-stock at Replacements Ltd.  If/when it returns to stock another one will be ordered.

A pkg. of Green Tea Garden from the British Tea Pantry in Tecumseh, MI, and a tea-themed gift caddy filled with Carol Wilson's teacup notecards and notepad.

And one more tea towel - you can never have too many of them.

My hubby got me a Ninja 2-basket Air Fryer and Cookbook.  I can hardly wait to use it!

And Sarah Young's book, Jesus Lives - a companion to her Jesus Calling devotional books.

Jerry and I also received a couple of restaurant gift cards that we can use whenever our governor decides the restaurants can reopen!   We'll know her intentions on January 15th.

My sweet girlfriend gave me a 2021 gift subscription to Tea Time Magazine.  My  favorite magazine!  Thank you, Lori!

Yesterday an unexpected package arrived from one of my blog followers.  It contained some packets of Fraser Tea [blended in Livonia, MI - frasertea.com], and a Green Tea Mint Chap Stick.  Thank you for thinking of me, Laura. 

As wonderful as every single gift was, the greatest gift this Christmas was Jesus, God's Son, who came to earth in human form to be the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins and provide eternal life to every believer.  Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your incredible gift of love.  

My hubby and I plan to spend a quiet evening at home tonight welcoming in the New Year.   I recently read a great devotional about the New Year.  It recommended before setting any goals or resolutions to spend some quiet time with God thanking Him for who He is, what He's done, and acknowledging He's more than enough for whatever lies ahead.  And then asking Him what His goals for us are instead of focusing on our own.

Happy New Year!

2020 Christmas Day Memories

We were invited to our daughter and son-in-law's for dinner on Christmas Day, along with our granddaughter, Tiffany, her husband, John, and their two sweet little girls, Evie and Juliette [Jules].  John is the Worship Pastor at their church, and they always has a Christmas Eve service preventing them from joining our family gathering then.

Lori prepared a delicious meal that began with Italian Wedding Soup, followed by Italian stuffed Pasta Shells and other side dishes, but I only remembered to photograph the soup.  ;-(

[Lori and Dave]

After dinner, Lori got out the rocking horse that my hubby made for Brandon and Tiffany when they were little.   Evie is three [will be four in May] and she looks so much like Tiffany.

Then it was time to open presents.  What fun it was watching Evie and Jules open all their presents.   Evie's favorite seemed to be the Fisher Price Little People Big Helpers Home, that was actually one of Jule's presents.

Evie opening her Anne of Green Gables doll and book.

~ Jules with her Raggedy Ann Doll ~

Jules getting ready to open her Fisher Price toy with a little help from mommy.

Tiffany looking through her Shutterfly album.  I didn't get a photo of  John opening his gifts.

It was a very Merry Christmas for our family.  I'll share the gifts that Santa brought me in my next post.

Christmas Eve Memories

Christmas Eve dinner was planned between 3:00-3:30 p.m.  The dining room table was set for 12, and a nearby card table was set for Landon and Ellie.  A buffet food table was set-up in the family room.   The tablescape was basic and not fancy.

Our meal was traditional with family favorites: Turkey; Honey-glazed/spiral-cut Ham; Southern Green Beans; Candied Sweet Potatoes; Green Rice [containing chopped broccoli]; Corn Pudding; Amish Egg Noodles;  Homemade Cranberry Sauce; Glorified Rice; Cinnamon Applesauce Jello mold and semi-homemade Rolls.  I don't ask the women in our family to contribute to the meal as they cook for their families all year long.  This night is my labor of love to them.  We are still eating leftovers!

After dinner and the tables were cleared, we all went into the family room where granddaughter, Brooke, read the Christmas Story from Luke Chapter 2.  

Then it was time to open gifts - youngest to oldest, so Ellie went first.

After gifts, we played Christmas Charades - a new game for our family this year.  It's for ages 8 and up so Ellie was happy that she got to play.

There was lots of photo-ops throughout the evening, and the girls [Brooke and Izzy] went outside for some shots of their own - 22 degrees outside and no coats!  ;-)

~ Our three children - Steve, Lori, and Jeremy ~

~ Three of our 8 grands - Izzy, Ellie and Landon ~

~ Lori and Dave ~

Steve, Sharon and Brooke.  Brianna drove home from Nashville, but didn't arrive until later that evening, so she wasn't with us.  We were glad they were out of COVID quarantine and able to be with us.

~ Jeremy, Samantha, Isabella, Landon and Ellie ~

Mother/Daughter

After the gifts, games, and time of visiting, we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and ate birthday cake and Christmas cookies that Lori made and brought.  Unbeknownst to me, I bought trick candles that don't blow out.  After Ellie thought she had blown them out the flame came back.  The take-away... you just can't extinguish the Light of Jesus!

It was a very fun evening, and Christmas Day had more fun on the agenda... next post.

A White Christmas for 2020

We didn't have to dream about a 'White Christmas' in Michigan.  When I lifted the window shade this morning I saw about three inches of white fluffy snow flakes covering the ground.  I quickly grabbed my iPhone to take a picture from the front porch.  My hubby was up ahead of me and had already shoveled the sidewalks and driveway.

My Christmas Cards finally arrived on Christmas Eve.  The card company sent them December 8th USPS priority 2-Day mail - 17 days later they arrived!  Grrrr!  I always try to send a tea themed Christmas card which gets harder and harder to find every year.  After searching the Internet I finally found the card pictured below.  They're individually priced instead of by the box.  Since I had never ordered from the company before and didn't know the quality, I placed a smaller order of 10 first.  When they arrived, I was quite pleased and ordered more.  It was the second order that was very delayed.  I'm trying to decide if I should send them out late or tuck them away for next year.  

From our house to yours...

Our family had our traditional Christmas Eve gathering yesterday around 3:00 o'clock.  There were 12 of us for dinner, and grandson, Brandon, came over later in the evening.  Below is a picture of the birthday cake for Jesus that I ordered from the bakery.  It was a delicious Cannoli [Cassata] Cake.

Dad & Mom / Papa & Nana [Jerry and me] before all the family arrived.

There are lots more pictures to share, but I need to stop for now to get ready to go to our daughter's for another family gathering.  More later...

Merry Christmas to all!