Christmas Weekend- Christmas Eve

I don't even know where to start when it comes to summing up Christmas weekend so I think I'll just narrow this post to Christmas Eve. 

First, the weather was great!  Sunny and about 40 degrees with NO SNOW.  I don't mind a brown Christmas at all. 

Second, I did some last minute baking which included chocolate chip butter cookies, brownie cookies, (which didn't turn out very well) S'mores bars, mint meringues and a peppermint ribbon cake.

I went to my aunt Terri's house in Wisconsin for Christmas Eve.  If you remember, my Gramma passed away in February.  Christmas Eve was her birthday so a lot of the focus of the day was on my Gramma and watching her open all her birthday/Christmas presents.  I wasn't sure how everyone would handle the day without her and I think most of us did just fine.  We didn't mention her collectively as a group but tears started to fly when some gifts were given.  My sister gave every person/family an ornament that was heart shaped wings with her picture in it.  My aunt Donna gave some of us a framed picture of my Gramma as a baby with her mom.  My Gramma's mom died when she was three.  Finally, my Aunt Terri gave some of us a santa boot with an LED candle in it to be lit in my Gramma's honor.  

Opening presents on this side of the family is a chaotic mess:

We ate lots of food as usual.  We go overboard with all different types of appetizers to graze on through the afternoon and then we had ham, turkey, Italian sausage and hot dish.  We have many foods that have become tradition but one that my Gramma used to make was Liver Pate.  It sounds horrible but is completely delicious.  We had it again this year so I'm happy to know that someone will continue to make it for future Christmas gatherings.

As for football, the Vikings thought they would give us fans a win, which came against the Redskins, which may end up screwing up their draft pick.  As of right now, we will have anywhere from 2nd to 6th pick in the draft.  Not only may the pick be affected, Adrian Peterson went down in the game and has torn is ACL and MCL in his knee.  Add in a concussion for Ponder later that game and we're down to bare bones with no depth in any position.  Joe Webb is extremely athletic and has been the rally man to get the job done for us.  Word on the street is that Ponder is starting on Sunday against the Bears in the last game of the season so let's just lose and write this season off.  We'll see.

On the agenda for tomorrow's post:  Christmas Day