Our Very Busy Christmas

All the hoopla and excitement, and now it's over. We stayed busy for 2 weeks straight - something going on every single night. It took forever to copy all 400-something pictures on my computer. Yeah...you read it right....over 400 Christmas pictures!!! Am I insane or what? So, instead of posting 400 pictures, here are 23. Hope you had a great Christmas!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

In the past few posts, I've shown you my poor attempts at baking Christmas goodies. But behold, I bring you good news of great joy! I have a found a recipe that I have tried and conquered! Not only did they turn out great, they tasted great too - especially with a glass of milk!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

3/4 cup butter, melted 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 6-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips (or 1/2 of the regular sized bag) 3/4 cup powdered sugar 1. In a mixing bowl, mix the melted butter, cocoa pweder, and sugar. 2. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. 3. In a separate mixing bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 4. Slowly mix in the wet ingredients. Then stir in the chocolate chips. 5. Refrigerate for 2 hours - or overnight. 6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 7. Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar. 8. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 12 minutes. *Makes about 20-25 cookies

And to leave you with another one of my child's antics...

It wasn't just one finger picking - it was a double picking. I couldn't stop laughing. (I guess my laughing isn't going to help matters when he starts doing it all the time.)

Birthday Shout Out and Advent

Some old man I know got even older last week!

Happy birthday, Dad. I love you.

So, doing my advent activities isn't as easy as I had planned in my head. I sat down one day and strategically placed activities on certain dates to try to keep them in the flow of our normal lives. But I'm just not doing good at all.

As of tonight, we've only completed 4 activities:

1. We were supposed to read the legend of the candy cane, but the library was out; so instead, we read about Mary's baby.

2. We cooked dinner for our grandparents. Menu - chicken casserole, green beans, and sweet potatoes

3. We had red and green pancakes for breakfast.

4. We made Christmas goodies to share with others.

reading about Mary's baby

red and green pancakes for breakfast

Jason rolling out cookie dough to make candy cane cookies our cookies actually came out right this time!

and they taste great too!

More Stuff

Last night, mom, Kelli and the kids, and I, attempted to make some goodies to share with friends. I love the Ritz crackers with peanut butter dipped in white chocolate. I found out how to make them, so I didn't think it would be all that hard. Well, this is how they turned out:

They didn't look good, but they sure tasted good!

~

This morning while I was washing clothes, Gavin mysteriously disappeared. I noticed he had gotten really quiet and I didn't hear him running around anywhere. So, I called for him several times and never got an answer. When I went into the kitchen, I found him with his face up next to the washing machine and humming to the tune of the spin cycle.

~

After I put Gavin to bed tonight, I went back in to check on him and make sure he was covered up. This is how I found him:

Gavin makes me laugh so much.

Stuff

Ray's girlfriend, Katie, graduated yesterday from SMC.

Congratulations Katie. We love you.

Then, Jason surprised me with tickets to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra last night! It was a great show. I was hoping I could get some good pictures, but my camera couldn't quite handle the excitement. These were the only 2 that came in clear.

Then today, Jason and I took Gavin to get his first haircut. I loved his curls, but they were starting get a little out of control, and his hair was getting nappy and tough to brush down. He looked like a ragamuffin. We took him to the barber that always cuts Jason's hair - Sonny. Sonny cut Jason's hair for the first time when he was little, so I thought it would be neat for him to cut Gavin's hair for the first time too. Gavin liked it at first, but after a few minutes, he started getting wiggly and didn't like it so much.

Before...

After...

And now, we're home...sick with the croup. Gavin has had some congestion for the past few days, but I chalked it up to just another cold. He was coughing some this morning, but as the day wore on, it sounded worse. I went ahead and took him to the doctor this afternoon just to make sure it wasn't anything more than a cold. Well, I was wrong. Gavin has the croup. So, I had to buy a nebulizer (sp?) so that we can do breathing treatments for a week and he was also given a steroid to take. My little buddy is so sick. I cried when I had to give him the breathing treatment. I hated holding him down and putting the mask on his face. He was terrified. He screamed. So, please say a prayer for Gavin. We'd appreciate it.

Christmas Favorites

I love Christmas music! I love to sit in the living room at night with only the Christmas tree lights on and have Christmas music playing - especially Manheim Steamroller or Transiberian Orchestra! It feels good and puts me in a good mood. I also love to use my Christmas china. It sits in my china cabinet all year, just waiting patiently to be used. I look forward to cooking for my whole family so we can use all my Winterberry dishes. What's your favorite thing to do at Christmas-time?

November Happenings

I got so caught up in my political post a few weeks ago, that I forgot to post these pictures. (By the way, thanks for sticking around.) Here are some pictures of our everyday happenings:

Gavin adores Karis.

Jacob celebrated his 9th birthday.

Happy birthday, buddy.

Gavin found a wooden horsey to play on at his Mema's house.

Ray is now a first time homeowner. My little brother has grown into a smart, handsome young man. He's worked hard for what he has. I'm so proud of him.

And to leave you with a giggle...

"Why did Kristi put a picture of socks on her blog?", you may ask. Well, here's why:

I went out with mom last night, and Jason did a little shopping with Gavin while I was gone. When I came home, I started going through the Target bags and saw several packs of socks. Gavin was needing some socks, so Jason picked some up for him. I pulled out a pack of plain white socks, a pack of white socks with navy and red on the bottom, and then I pulled out those socks - pink and lavender.

Confused, I asked Jason, "Honey, who are these for?" thinking they were for my friend's little girl.

He said those were for Gavin!

I laughed sarcastically and said, "really?" Jason looked at me funny and was honestly confused by MY question.

Then he said, "You don't like them? I didn't know if you'd like this turquoise color or not, but I figured he could use the others."

TURQUOISE? Does anyone else see turquoise?? When did pink and lavender become turquoise?

I haven't laughed so hard in my life! Jason is colorblind - for real, no joking. He really thought those socks were blue. Poor thing, but what a sweet thing to do to take care of getting Gavin some socks.

New Decoration

This is the newest member of my Christmas decorations:

This year, I'm going to do an Advent calendar. I got the idea from this really creative mom when she posted this last Christmas. (I hope you don't mind that I'm being a copycat.) I was sharing the idea with my sister, and we're going to do it together with Gavin and the kids. I thought it was such a cool thing to do to keep the right perspective during the holidays. I was going to buy a plain white box that had drawers that I could decorate myself - one that could be a craft project for me, but I decided that I don't have time to fool around with it right now. I'd never have it finished by December, so I bought one already made and waiting for me on the shelf from Target for $30.

The idea to this Advent Calendar is to do a special activity each day to count down till Christmas instead of using candy. I've been brainstorming activities for the past month. I've "stolen" a few ideas from Jaime, and I've found some others online at different Advent idea sites, and there are a few that I've come up with on my own. However, I don't have 25 yet. I still need 2 more.

Here is what I have so far - in no particular order. Can you think of 2 more?

1. Watch a family Christmas movie together.
2. Make a homemade gift for a teacher.
3. Make a list of 10 things you are thankful for.
4. Make 2 cups of hot chocolate – one for yourself and one for someone else.
5. Cook red and green pancakes for supper while wearing your pajamas.
6. Bake cookies or a treat for a neighbor.
7. Drive around to look at Christmas lights.
8. Make Christmas granola to share with family and friends.
9. Make a homemade gift tag for someone’s Christmas present.
10. Read about the tradition of the candy cane.
11. Make a homemade Christmas card for a friend.
12. Enjoy a quiet family dinner with Christmas music.
13. Sing Christmas carols together with only the tree lights on.
14. Visit an older couple from the church or neighborhood.
15. Help a needy family or donate to a charity.
16. Cook dinner for your grandparents.
17. Read the Christmas story and act it out.
18. Give someone a thoughtful compliment.
19. Go on a family outing together – ex: live nativity
20. Turn the TV off and play a game together as a family.
21. Make a Christmas craft to display.
22. Bake cupcakes and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.
23. At dinner, share your favorite Christmas memories.
24. ??
25. ??

What else can we do to fill those empty spots?

Did it go to private?

Ok, I've gone to the "Permissions" tab under Settings and entered the email addresses of those who said they'd like to continue to follow this blog. I don't know if I did it correctly - hopefully I did. I'm guessing that readers have to sign in or something? Let me know how it worked for you.

My Blog

I have obviously gotten something stirred up with my last post where I expressed my personal opinions. What did I expect, right? But I do not apologize for what I believe. However, I created this blog for family and friends; and because of the several "anonymous" comments made to my recent post, I realize there are more than just family and friends reading what I write. Because of this, I will be making my blog private. If you are interested at all in keeping up with Gavin and the Varner household, please email me your address so that I can add it to the "safe" list. mkridgeway@hotmail.com Thanks, and Happy Blogging.

My Thoughts on the Election

Yes, this post is political, and it is long, but this is my blog, my thoughts, my soapbox. I voted yesterday. Even though I waited for 2 hours, I made my opinion count. It was worth it. I've watched several interviews on TV and listened to people express their views and share who they were voting for. Many people gave clear thoughtful explanations for their choice, but do you know what I heard the most??? ... "It's going to be cool to have the first black president in history." ... WHAT? Is that why we're voting? To make history? To be a part of something "cool"? It has nothing to do with what direction we want America to go? People can be so ignorant. I don't care for neither McCain nor Obama. But to me, McCain was the lesser of the two evils. You know, everyone is complaining about the economy. Well, I don't like that the stock market is crazy, that my and Jason's retirement is being played with, that there are questions about insurance and healthcare stuff, and conflicts over income taxes. But you know what? That's all about money. I already know that America is going down hill anyway - we're getting close to the end times. Forget stuff connected with money - I'm concerned about things that have to do with moral value. My main concern is of 3 things. Three reasons why I DID NOT vote for Obama: 1. He supports abortion. The Bible clearly states: Psalm 51:5 – “I was born a sinner – yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.” (NLT)(meaning that we are a "person" starting at conception) Jeremiah 1:5 – “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.” (NLT) (we are a "person" before being born) Proverbs 6:16-19 - "There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers." ("hands that shed innocent blood" - anyone who helps or has a part in abortion) *I CANNOT and DID NOT vote for someone who believes it is ok to inject a saline solution into the mother's womb to basically burn the baby (or fetus, as other's would say), and poison the baby!! *I CANNOT and DID NOT vote for someone who thinks it's ok to pull the baby partially down the birth canal, stab the base of the baby's skull to make an opening, and then suck it's brain out!!

THIS IS NOT OK!

2. He supports homosexuality, and also believes that homosexual couples should be allowed to adopt children, teaching them that their lifestyle is ok. The Bible clearly states: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination" (Lev.18:22) "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them" (Lev.20:13)

THIS IS NOT OK!

3. He wants to bring all of our troops home. (Duh, don't we all?) Although I want our troops home as well, we can't do it. If we pull out, it leaves too much open room for the war to come over to American soil. It gives them opportunity to create another 9-11. That war isn't going to end.

And also, on a side note, Obama has Muslim in his family background. No, he isn't Muslim himself, but his father was before becoming an atheist. It may sound silly to you, but it's scary to me. The Muslims are the ones wanting to take out America, so it seems like we would want to steer clear of embracing anything with Muslims. (Just a thought.)J As I was watching the election results last night, Channel 7 news was interviewing a church member where there was a congregation of people in a church singing praises to God that Obama is leading. So, from what I get from this is that these people believe that God is happy with someone in the presidency who is for abortion and homosexuality? That doesn't really make sense; especially since the Bible strictly condemns it. I can't understand how Christians (those who say they are followers of Christ) can vote for Obama, considering what he believes in. You either stand for Christ and His principles, or you're against Him. Do I respect Obama? Yes. My mom and dad taught me to respect everyone. Do I support Obama? NO. I just wish people would have not been so blinded by the "first black man to be president" craze and really thought about the moral issues at hand. I hope America likes what it got. Yeah, we made history; but I just hope America won't BE history in 4 years.

Halloween Friday Five

Five Things About Our Halloween:

(I was going to post this Friday night, but I was too tired.)

1. We didn't go to many houses because Gavin is still too young to really trick or treat, and of course, we didn't need the candy. But we did go to our next door neighbor's house, Mom and Dad's house, Jason's dad's house, and to see Jason's mom.
2. Gavin tried to grab tons of candy. We let him do it for picture purposes, but then we gave it all back!
3. When we were driving to meet Jason's mom, we cut through Lyman Mill Village to get to Hwy 290. BIG MISTAKE! I remember a long time ago when my sister and Paul lived in the mill village, they had a ton of kids come by. But nothing like what we saw Friday night! There were lines of cars and people, and it took us about 7-8 minutes, no lie, to get through the stop sign. I have never seen so many people on that street in my life. I guess I need to remember for next year - the mill village is the place to go!
4. We stopped by Duncan First Baptist (where we met Jason's mom) to see the festival they put on. It was really nice. They had inflatables and games, and someone singing on the stage, had door prizes, food, and other stuff. It was a little too old for Gavin to really do anything, but it was a nice family event.
5. I love Halloween because we always go to my parents' house for a bon fire and we roast weenies for hot dogs and roast marshmellows too. A lot of mom's friends come by, and usually Sherriff Chuck Wright stops by too (my brother and Chuck's son were friends in high school and they live right down the road from mom and dad) - but I don't know if he came by before we got there or not. The weather was nice and cool for the bon fire. I was able to enjoy it for a little while, but Gavin was so worn out from all the excitement and busy-ness that we had to call it a night so we could put that little turtle to bed.

Jason carved our pumpkin. I was so proud. Here it is:

Can you tell what it is?

Jason found the template for Blue's Clues on the internet. He followed it to carve our pumpkin. Didn't he do a great job?

Nivens Apple Farm

Jason and I took Gavin to Nivens this afternoon. It was the only time we could go, since Jason has been working so many hours on a project for BMW. The cold wind today cut our trip short, but we still had a good time.

Weekend Recap

We had a busy busy weekend, but it was so great. First, before I continue, we need to celebrate a weekend with no injuries for Gavin! No bumps, no emergency rooms, no blood, no cracked open foreheads, no smashed fingers. Woohoo!

1. On Friday night, Jason and I had plans with some friends of ours to go the Byrnes/Dorman game, but then, as you know, it was postponed till Saturday. Since we both already had babysitters lined up for the night, we decided to go eat out and then come back to the house and play Wii - well, the boys played Wii, while Tina and I watched. It was nice to have a fun adult evening (but I secretly missed having Gavin home).
2. On Saturday afternoon, I went to pick Gavin up from his Mema's house (Jason's mom). He loves to stay at her house because he gets her undivided attention and she let's him do whatever he wants (I guess that's a grandma's right). I had errands to run, so I asked her to go with me and I'd take her to lunch for keeping Gavin for us. We ate at Olive Garden - I love that place. But our lunch only lasted for about 30 minutes before we had to go. Gavin was WILD, and there was nothing I could do to get him to calm down. Usually, he's easy to take out, but something got into that boy and he couldn't get himself together. To keep it short, just know that just about everyone in the restaurant knew we were there, and they were all staring! I apologized to the waitress and told her please bring the bill quickly because I had to get Gavin out of there! He was asleep within 5 minutes of being in the car. (I knew that was the problem - he was just tired. I should have known better.)
3. Our church had a Pumpkin Patch party Saturday night. I was so excited to go to it - last year, Gavin was too little to do anything fun. We played with some other kids and went on a hay ride. Everything else was for older children, not much for Gavin's size. I was a little disappointed, but I have to remember that most carnival things aren't for 1 year olds.
4. Our family always takes the traditional trip to Hendersonville to get apples and enjoy the Fall weather. When I say family, I mean everyone - Me, Jason, and now Gavin, Mom, Dad, Ray, Katie, Kelli, Paul, Jessie, Jacob, Karis, and my grandma, and grandfather. We always stop first at The Dish Barn and A Day in the Country to see the new stuff they have out. Then we trek on up the road to Lyda Farms. We always get a sample apple to eat, and then buy different kinds to split. We used to have a picnic on their field area, but my grandparents don't get around well anymore, so we just eat at Binion's for lunch now. After we leave Lyda Farms, we drive down to Chimney Rock and walk the street and get ice cream. Then we head down Hwy 9 to come home. It's an all day affair, and very tiring (especially since there's so many people), but I look forward to this trip each year. We changed things up a little bit this year. We stopped first in Columbus to see a waterfall before having lunch. Then we went on to the apple orchard, and then to get ice cream; but this time we didn't go to Chimney Rock to get the ice cream. Instead, we went back to Columbus and ate a little ice cream shop before heading home.
   

War Wounds

Well, my child definitely all boy... I told you that over the weekend he fell and busted his forehead on some steps. You can see some of the bruise in the picture, but it does not do justice to how purple and large it was earlier this week. And then today, Kelli called me and told me that Gavin fell forward on the concrete and busted his lip and skinned his nose.

He's already covered from head to toe in bruises, so I won't be surprised when DSS starts calling my house.

Scrapbook Retreat

I went on a scrapbooking retreat this weekend to Springmaid Mountain in North Carolina. We went with the ScrapHappy store in Greer. We left Friday morning (I took a personal day off from school.) and came home this evening around dinner time. I worked on our beach pictures. Because this was Gavin's first year at the beach, I took a MILLION pictures; so instead of putting those pictures in my regular 2008 album, I made a seperate 8x8 album just of our vacation. I got all 23 2-page layouts completed and put in the album! That's a big deal to me, because I'm slow as Christmas when I'm working on a page. Anyway... My sister Kelli and I were in charge of cooking for 50 women. This was the first time I've ever cooked or been in a commercial kitchen. It was pretty fun. I really liked the gas stove. The pots got hot really fast. Our menu for the weekend - Friday night: hamburgers with fixings, homemade potato salad, chips Saturday morning: sausage biscuits, grits, eggs Saturday lunch: homemade pimiento cheese, homemade chicken salad, veggies & dip, chips Saturday dinner: grilled chicken salad with fixings, more potato salad (by request), apple slices with fruit dip Sunday morning: grits, breakfast casserole Sunday lunch: turkey/ham sandwiches with fixings, pasta salad Sunday dinner: layered cheesy spaghetti (with corkscrew noodles instead of regular noodles), apple walnut salad with raspberry vinegarette, cheesy garlic bread Monday morning: grits, mixed fruit, toast with jelly Cooking for 50 women was fun, but hard. Do you know how hard it is to please 50 WOMEN??? I have never met so many picky people in my life! Let me just tell you a couple of things that some women said that just ticked me off:

• We made a grilled chicken salad one night for dinner. We used mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow & red bell peppers, and other yummy toppings. We went ahead and made the plates for them because we learned the night before that some people don't understand how to be considerate and save enough food for others. We also thought that if we made the plates for them that it would move the line through the kitchen faster. Well, there were several women who said things like, "Can you redo my salad and pick out the tomatoes", or cucumbers, or something else. I understand that not everyone loves all those veggies, but couldn't they have just scooched what they didn't like to the side of the plate, instead of complaining?
• The ladies were encouraged to bring snacks and sweets to share with the whole group. One lady made a peach cobbler and an apple crisp. We decided to pull those 2 desserts out and have them after lunch one day. Also, we put out a dish of brownies, and also a dish of homemade cookies. So - we had more than plenty for dessert. After we ate, this one lady came up and was mad because the peach cobbler was gone before she could get any. Poor thing.

This was just 2 things - and even though they don't seem so bad reading about them here on my blog, when they actually happend, and with the sarcastic, hateful tone of voice that was used - it made my blood BOIL! Where are people's manners? I wanted so badly to tell some of the women that if they didn't like what we were cooking, they could drive 5 minutes down the road to Burger King or Bojangles and get something different; and I wanted to tell the people who were so picky about what they ate, that they should have brought their own dag-gum food!

But it was fun.

Here we are doing our thing:

They had a beautiful Fall display.

This was just a really cool layout that a lady did.

On another note...

Jason kept Gavin while I was away this weekend. He is a great dad, but 2 things happened that made me want to come home early.

1. On Friday, Gavin was pushing his toy vacuum cleaner and pushed it faster than his little feet could keep up. He fell forward and busted his lip. Jason said the blood ruined his tshirt.
2. On Saturday, Jason and his mom took Gavin and visited his brother Tim. While there, Gavin fell on the bottom step on its corner and busted his forehead. Jason said it swelled up real bad almost immediately and the swelling took up half of his forehead. They took him to the emergency room just to make sure everything was ok - which it was. I wanted to rush home right away to hold my baby.

Gavin is totally all boy and he's covered with bruises from head to toe. I know this won't be the only time he gets hurt, but this was just a really bad time to get hurt - while I was away. It made me worry.

Well that was my weekend. I hope yours was interesting too.

Happy Birthday, Kelli

Today is my sister's birthday. She's only 6 years older than I am, but everytime we go out, and I have Gavin with me, people think that Gavin and I are her children. We laugh so hard when people make comments. I love my sister. We have such a great relationship - she's one of my dearest friends. I wait for her phone call each time I'm off of work to see what our plans are for the day. I don't know what I'd do without her.

Happy birthday, Kelli. I love you.

Friday Five

Five things I'm looking forward to this month:

1. Next weekend, my sister and I are going on a girls only scrapbooking retreat. I'm even taking a personal day off on Friday, and not coming home until Monday afternoon. I'll be working on our beach pictures. I have a TON of them.
2. My friends from school, Meredith and Amy, have started a new tradition. We go out to eat with each other on the third Wednesday of the month. No husbands, no children. Just us girls.
3. On the 20th, Kelli and I are taking the kids to Reidville Rd Methodist Church for pictures with their Fall display. Kelli said that the display is supposed to be there that whole weekend. So, check it out for a free photo opp.
4. At the end of the month, my whole family will take our traditional trip to Hendersonville for a picnic and to pick apples and pumpkins.
5. I love Halloween. We always make a bon fire and roast weenies and marshmellows while trick-or-treaters come by at Mom and Dad's house. I can't wait to dress Gavin up and take him to our parents' house. We bought him a turtle costume from The Children's Place. He looks hilarious. Jason and I put it on him soemtimes just so we can get a good laugh.

I LOVE OCTOBER.

It's my favorite month of the year.

Another Day

Another Day in the Life Of...

Lord, help me.