joyous christmas day

christmas is here, christmas is finally here......

the excitement, anticipation and build up has nearly worn us all out. but, we welcome this glorious morning with open hearts and gratefulness for the miracle of life, the birth of a son in a distant past that forever influences our lives for good as we learn through Him,

the worth of souls......

merry christmas everyone!!!

(santa is still visiting our house!)

we woke up later this year, it is nice having teenagers who would rather sleep in longer!!!

a tradition we have is for all the kids to line up youngest to oldest on the stairs and come down in order into the christmas room......as in days of old, there is still much pushing, shoving and gloriously, boisterous chaos!

let the celebrations begin.....

what a fun morning we all had together giving, opening and sharing gifts carefully and thoughtfully chosen.....oh, and.......a lot of laughing, teasing, and joking as well.........

we received everything we could have ever wished for or wanted and more...... except for one thing.......

we missed having our oldest and only nicole daughter & sister here with us.....

i had to settle for a phone call (in my nice, new, flannel, christmas pajamas) to wish her joy and happiness this christmas morning....

one other thing would have been nice as well......

snow!!!

there is not a hint of it anywhere, except way up in the mountains!! it is warm and balmy today.......

aftermath!!!!

everyone is starving and in the kitchen......

except for margo (wearing her new ballet gear) she doesn't want it to end!

yesterday, the kids made our traditional christmas morning breakfast:

egg & sausage bake

(make this on christmas eve, then you can enjoy all the fun on christmas morning)

12 slices white bread, crusts trimmed, cubed

1 1/2 lbs. bulk pork sausage

1/2 c. onion, chopped

1/2 c. green pepper, chopped

1/2 c. red pepper, chopped

6 eggs

3 c. milk

2 t. worcestershire sauce

1 t. dry mustard

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1/4 t. dried oregano

Line greased 13 x 9 inch pan with bread cubes; set aside. In a skillet, brown sausage with the onion and peppers; drain. Sprinkle over bread. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, pepper and oregano. Pour over sausage mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake, covered, at 325 F. degrees for one hour & 20 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Yields 12 to 15 servings.