Golden Traditions

In my final installment on holiday customs, it is appropriate that on Christmas Eve I touch on golden traditions.  These are the things that you can't remember NOT doing, because the tradition has been around as long as you have-though maybe you didn't always grasp its importance- and you'll be sure to see it continue through your children's children.

For me, it's about a bowl of beef stew on Christmas Eve.  When I was a kid, Christmas Eve was just about better than the morning to follow.  Around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, we'd head over to Grandpa and Grandma's house, and slowly (and loudly) the rest of the family would trickle in.  You see, at the height of those crazy wonderful years, there were twelve grandchildren in that house!  Enough to set any hostess on edge, but my grandma took it in stride.  Enjoyed it, even.  She and my grandpa made us all feel special and welcome, despite our volume.

When everyone was finally gathered and before the mad dash to open presents, we'd dish up our annual Christmas Eve fare, a big ol' bowl of stew with dumplings on top.  And just for a minute, there would be peace.  And warm hearts.  And full bellies.

In 2014, my grandma Sanna will have been gone 15 years.  Yet, the tradition of the beef stew continues.  I'm confident my family in Kentucky will be making it when they gather together tonight.  And my sister in Minneapolis.  And right here in Virginia, I'll brown the beef and add the broth and pop it in the oven on low heat until it's melt-in-your-mouth ready, and then we'll eat.  And our hearts will be warm.  And our bellies will be full.  And we'll continue that golden tradition, now long-held, that makes us feel a little closer to the ones we love, and to Christmas.

Sanna's Beef Stew

1 lb. beef stew meat

1 cup bisquick

1 tsp paprika

2 cans stewed tomatoes

2 cans beef broth

potatoes, onions, celery, carrots

Cut 1 lb. beef stew meat into smaller pieces.  Mix 1 cup Bisquick with 1 tsp. paprika.  Dredge stew meat in dry mix.  Fry in butter until brown on both sides.  Place in roasting pan and pour 1 can on stewed tomatoes and 1 can of beef broth over meat.  Bake at 325 degrees for one hour.  Meanwhile, cook potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion separately in water until tender.  Take meat and juices from oven and put in large kettle.  Add drained vegetables.  Add another can of stewed tomatoes and beef broth.  Simmer on low.

For dumplings, follow recipe on Bisquick box, but use part sour cream for the milk.  Cook dumplings in chicken broth in a separate pan until ready to serve.

Finding Joy

At Christmas, everything is amplified.  Beauty deepens and becomes more stunning.  Light intensifies and grows brighter.  Joy is heightened and shared.  But something else is being magnified this season too.  Sometimes all the brightness illuminates sadness, reflects grief.

This week, I visited a friend after finding out she has breast cancer.  Her kids are four and six years old and she is ready to fight, but she's terrified.  My aunt is spending her first Christmas without her father.  A long-time friend just lost her aunt to lung cancer.  A dear pal is still reeling from the loss of her brother and is beginning to realize that grief has longevity that transcends months, maybe even years.  And a local Virginia family is courageously preparing to say good-bye to their daughter, Ellie, after a year long battle with cancer.  These people can't compress, can't downplay, they can't diminish their grief just because it's Christmas.  Grief contracts.  It labors.  It can birth intense lonlieness and feed on isolation.  But it's not the end of the story.

This morning, Maddox and I prayed for Ellie Blaine.  I told her that Ellie may go to heaven soon, maybe even today.  "But Mom" she said, "she'll miss Christmas!"  No, no, baby girl.  She'll get Christmas.  Face-to-face Christmas.  Angels singing Christmas.  Glorious Christmas.  

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
"Peace on the earth, goodwill to men
From heavens all gracious King!"
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled;
And still their heavenly music floats
O'er all the weary world:
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o'er its Babel sounds
The blessed angels sing.

O ye beneath life's crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow;
Look now, for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing;
Oh rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing.
 
For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophets seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold,
When the new heaven and earth shall own
The Prince of Peace, their King,
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.

Tonight, we'll light a candle for Ellie.  We'll turn on the tree, all twinkly and bright.  And we'll remember that in all the darkness, a Light still shines.  Sometimes the darker things appear, the brighter He becomes.  "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:5

Established Traditions

In a recent post, I wrote about the excitement of new holiday traditions.  Today, I want to touch on established traditions- a custom that hasn't been around forever, but one your family has observed for a while and hopes to continue.  For the third year in a row, we have attended the Gingerbread House workshop at Boar's Head Inn in Charlottesville.  This two hour event is just as fun for the adults as it is for the children and Graham, Maddox, and I have looked forward to it each December since moving to Virginia.  However, this year for the first time, Henry and Harper attended with us.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't terrified.  I imagined our 3 years olds eating everything in sight, creating a frezied sugar rush followed by a meltdown, as per their usual.  It could be bad.  Really bad.

On the drive to the Boar's Head today, all the little ones napped.  Good start.  After we arrived and found our table, Maddox announced that she had to go to the bathroom and Graham offered to take her.  "No!" I insisited.  "You can't leave me here alone!"  Graham chuckled.  He evidently did not share in my anxiety about our twins being off the charts.  And, in the end, he was right.  The kiddos certainly had their fill of sugar while collecting candy for the house, but we kept them focused enough to continue participating in the activity.  Graham periodically walked H&H around to view the other gingerbread creations.  And a visit from Santa Claus left everyone dumbfounded and speechless.

I learned today that traditions don't have to be generations in the making in order to be special now.  And I concluded that most times my children leave me pleasantly surprised.  Our gingerbread house didn't look quite as professional this year.  But we had a heck of a good time creating it.  Three cheers for establishing traditions!

Stepping Stones

There's something about a birthday that makes a mom take time for reflection (and maybe a tear or two).  Today, my Maddox Olivia turns seven years old.  Maddy.  Maddy Poo.  Mads.  Maddy O.  Olive.  Olive Oil.  Our oldest baby.  Seven is no milestone- it's not a first birthday or a double digit day- but yet it is a stepping stone.  Because she is stepping out of being a "little girl" into early adolescence.  And believe me, I can see the change.  Things that were once "beautiful" are now "so cool".   Princesses have been replaced with American Girl dolls.  And we haven't done pigtails in years.  Yet, she still cries when she scrapes a knee.  She still wants me to lie down with her at night and tickle her back.  And, she hasn't quite broken the habit of calling a finger a "thinger". 

So today, I'm recognizing all the stepping stones that lead to milestones.  Because every year is important where these little lives are concerned.  And I'm grateful for all seven of hers.  Happy Birthday, my Maddox.

One year old.  Birthday at our home in Dupont, Washington.

Two years old.  Fancy Nancy party at GranJan and Papa's house in Georgetown, KY.

Three years old.  Saw The Princess and the Frog in Richmond, VA with aunties and cousin.

 Four years old.  Her little world got turned upside down by these two, but we still managed to have a special birthday party with friends.

 Five years old.  Special night out to see The Nutcracker ballet in Charlottesville.

Six years old.  12.12.12.  Celebrated with a surprise trip to Chicago to get her first American Girl doll and then a party at home with all these adorable rockstars.

 

New Traditions

By now, the Christmas season is in full swing for my crew as I know it is for yours.  All December long, we fill the calendar with special events and traditions unique to our family, many of which I'll be blogging about in the days to come.  Today just may have seen the beginning of a new annual event.  This morning, Maddox and I along with a few of our closest friends attended a very special holiday workshop at one of our favorite local gems, The Market at Grelen, in Somerset, Virginia.  I've attended events and workshops at The Market before and all are well-done, but today's was a truly magical mother/daughter event.  This Fairy Garden Workshop was themed for the holidays and was such a fun project to work on together.  Maddox and I got to pick our house, miniatures, and plants, and arrange them all in a 14x14 salvaged wood box to take home.  While M worked on a path leading up to the house, I planted small succulents around the yard.  She insisted on a mailbox for the fairies; I chose a wreath for the door.  Afterwards, we all enjoyed a Christmas brunch and a visit from Santa.

So, here's to traditions new and old!  And to making them with our families AND our friends.  Merry Christmas!

Better Together

With all the divisive chatter these days among mothers, I am left to wonder, is this what women are supposed to do to prove their own worth?  This parenting thing, it's tough enough as it is without the backbiting, who-is-better-than-who, endless fodder.  From comparing postpartum bodies to children's developmental milestones to food choices to schools, enough is enough.  We moms have just got to lose the pressure to play the one up game.  After all, aren't we in this thing together?  And doesn't one kind word from someone negate a day of tantrums, dirty diapers, and six piles of laundry waiting for us at home?

A good friend of mine, and fellow mom of multiples, recently suggested that we do a weekly swap of one of our twins.  The point is to get some one-on-one time with a child while the other sibling is having a raucous playdate with two friends.  Today, we had Holton, and I gotta tell you, that kid is just fun.  Everything is cause for excitement with this one and when he gets super pumped, he lets us all know.  "I go down the slide!" "I see the garbage truck!" "I make a cookie!  I make a cookie!"  Yup, he is a pretty cool bud for H&H and his mom and dad are doing an awesome job at this parenting thing.

So ladies, help a sister out this week.  Take a kid.  Send a card.  Give a hug.  Because we're all in this together and let's not forget it.