Why You Need to Cut Your Church Staff Some Slack at Christmas

If you've never worked in a church at Christmastime, or had a spouse or parent who worked at a church at Christmastime, then you may not know the immense amount of STRESS that comes with this holiday.

In the Christian church world, Christmas Eve is the Super Bowl.  It's the celebration of the birth of the Savior of the world.  It's a month long building of events and concerts and plays and markets and parties and dinners, all culminating in THE EVENT, Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve is the single most attended service of the year in churches, by Christians and non-Christians alike.  And I have to tell you, that's a lot of pressure for a church staff. In many cases, it's the only chance people will give the church, so you gotta get it right.

Keep in mind that people who work at a church also have families, and family parties, and neighbors and traditions, and school events, and shopping and all the things everyone else has to do.  (Yes, I know other people have jobs at Christmastime, but trust me, it's different!  I've been on both sides of the fence.  It's different!)

And when your family is dressing up all cute and feeling all warm and snuggly and festive as you attend the Christmas Eve service together, keep in mind that the folks who work at the church are attending ALL of the services while their family is most likely at home, celebrating without them, or "making the most of" the fact that their family member isn't there with them.

And they've probably been there for hours getting ready for the service.  No details have been left to chance.  The candles, the music, the lights, the message.  It's all been thought about for a long time.  Even if your church does it simply, it's still a massive undertaking for the staff.

Why am I writing all of this?  It's not because I'm counting my blessings that I don't work in a church anymore.  I loved working there and often miss it.  (Well, parts of it.)

I'm writing this because this Christmas I want you to cut your church staff some slack.  I want you to shower them with grace.  I want you to withhold how you wish they'd put real trees up instead of artsy lighted tree branches.  And don't feel the need to critique the marketing of the Women's Christmas dinner that you missed. I want you to be thankful that there WAS a Children's Choir performance and that your child got to sing in it, even if they didn't have a solo.

I want you to appreciate that someone had to set up and tear down and set up and tear down and set up and tear down the insane amount of extra events that people seem to want to plan AT church at Christmastime.

Please, take the time to send them a card and write a meaningful note in it.  Not just for your Senior Pastor (though he's clearly important) but to any staff member that you interact with regularly.  Or give them a gift card (even it's $5 to Starbucks) or just do something nice for them!  Mow their yard.  I don't know and it doesn't really matter.  Just be thoughtful is my point.

And best of all, when they ask you to, or better yet, BEFORE they ask, volunteer to serve.  You'll have plenty of chances.  There will be Children's events and Student events and Women's events, and OF COURSE Christmas Eve.

All that to say, this Christmas, let your church staff (if you have one) inhale the beauty of the season by helping them a little bit more.

Sometimes My Imagination is Impressive

I have long since been an "upcycler," long before I even knew there was such a thing.  For those of you out of the know, an upcycler is someone who makes something better out of something that some might consider trash.  It's not the same as a recycler, so don't be confused.

What I have never been is a crafter.  I'm not particularly gifted in that way, but I am resourceful. So sometimes, when others might see something and think it is trash, I see something and see it as "potential."  (My husband calls this hoarding and will frequently say things like, "Carol, is there a reason we're saving old shoebox lids?"  . . . he's learned not to throw things away.)

Anyway, one day I was cleaning my bathroom, and I was shocked at how much toilet paper we go through in a week.  What brought this horror to my mind was that there were 11 empty toilet paper tubes in my trash can.  ELEVEN!  (Of course it is possible that it had been more than a week since I had last cleaned that bathroom.  Also possible is that I hadn't emptied the trash the last time I cleaned the bathroom.)

But nonetheless, ELEVEN empty toilet paper rolls!  I started thinking what I could do with those rolls (other than recycling of course) and continued to think about it the rest of the time that I was cleaning the house.  And then it hit me!  I could make a nativity scene out of them.

True story.







So, I collected my materials:

10 toilet paper tubes

2 glue sticks

Crayons

4x6 pieces of scrapbooking papers (these are the perfect height and width to go around a toilet paper tube

Flesh-toned Construction paper (this was all I had for the faces)

Scrap fabric (I cut mine into 4x6 rectangles)

Ribbon or twine to tie around the "waist" and headpieces of the characters and to make wings.

Cotton balls

Flexi Straws

I started with the Shepherds

The girls colored the faces of the shepherds and the sheep.  Then they glued the scrapbooking paper around the toilet paper roll and glued the faces on.   I cut one toilet paper roll in half for the sheep and let them glue on cotton balls.  While they were busy with that, I "dressed" the shepherds with their head pieces.  I stapled the fabric to the sides for extra support, and then tied the raffia ribbon on the waist of the shepherds, and lastly shoved the flexi straws through the belts to resemble staffs.  Voila.  Shepherds and sheep.

Then we made the Wise Men.

We constructed these the same way as the shepherds.  I love their faces!  We started off making them all different, but that was too much trouble and the girls couldn't agree on the fabric and the ribbon, so we just gave them all the same fabric and ribbon (which I ended up liking way better!)

Then we made the Angel.  

We had enough toilet paper tubes to make a host of angels, just not enough patience! We tried lots of fabrics, but nothing seemed right, so we settled for looping a piece of gold, wired ribbon and stapling it to the back for wings.

And lastly, we made Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. 

Do not be distracted by the fact that the baby Jesus has a mustache.  I mentioned that the girls decorated the faces, right?  :)

We made Mary and Joseph the same was as the other characters.  We made the manger and the baby Jesus by cutting a 1 inch strip out of the center of one of the toilet paper tubes.  We wrapped the cut out piece with swaddling cloth, tied it on, and THEN glued on the face.  We (and by we, I mean "I") took the other (larger) piece of the toilet paper tube, spread it open, and stapled raffia ribbon in it to resemble hay.  Then we simply placed the baby Jesus on top of it.

Here's a picture of the whole gang!

All that to say,  some might have seen merely empty toilet paper tubes, but I saw this.  Sometimes my imagination is impressive.  Just sayin'

The Secret is Out

Several years ago, my then soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Christina, and I were talking about what we wanted to make for our Christmas "goodies."

I told her that one of the things I had always wanted to make was peanut brittle, but every time I had tried, it had turned out tasting like c-r-a-p (sorry if that is offensive to you, but no other word accurately describes how my brittle had turned out in the past).




She told me, very excitedly, that she had actually made prize winning peanut brittle at the county fair when she was in high school.  Prize winning brittle?

Could it be this girl who was about to be in my family had brought with her the answer to my life-long desire of brittle making?  (okay, it wasn't actually a life-long desire, but it was a desire).

When we started talking about how to actually make peanut brittle, I realized that what she was a prize winner at was peanut patties . . . you know the pinkish round things that they sell at truck stops?

Sooooo . . .  we searched the Internet (believe it or not Pinterest was not around yet, or at least not popular enough for anyone to know that they should go to Pinterest to find a delicious recipe for peanut brittle!)  And after many hours of searching, we found the perfect recipe.  It's called "No Fail Microwave Peanut Brittle" but trust me when I tell you that name is TOTALLY not true.  They should have maybe called it "No Fail Once You Have Figured Out How Your Microwave is Going to Work Peanut Brittle."  But I guess that name would have been too long.  Regardless, it's a very misleading name.  (My point is you are likely to burn your first batch.  Watch the microwave carefully!)

We made some, adjusted the recipe, made some more, adjusted the recipe, and finally landed on our own version of  Carol and Christina's Microwave Peanut Brittle.

As a Christmas gift to you, I am going to give you our secretly perfected Microwave Peanut Brittle, though I did have to console Christina at the gym this morning when I told her I was giving away our secret recipe!

Carol and Christina's Microwave Peanut Brittle

1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of RAW peanuts (YES, THEY HAVE TO BE RAW!!!)
1/8 tsp of salt
1 tbsp butter (not margarine!)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp baking soda (must be fresh!)

Here's how to make it!

First off, let me help you by telling you to get a microwave safe measuring cup that has a handle on it!  It is KEY to making this!  I like this one. 

Next, butter a cookie sheet.  Don't forget this step. There's no picture of this, but if you don't know how, just cut off a tablespoon of butter and rub it onto a cookie sheet until it's covered with the butter.  Don't use a cooking spray for this step.  Or margarine.

Place first 4 ingredients (in order) into your awesome microwaveable measuring cup with the handle. DO NOT STIR.  Microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Remove from the microwave, by the awesome handle, and stir.  It will look like this when it comes out of the microwave.  After you stir it (not whip it, mind you, just a gentle stir) put back in microwave and cook for 3 more minutes on high.  Work fast.

 Remove from the microwave using the amazing handle, add 1 tbsp of butter, NOT MARGARINE, and WITHOUT STIRRING, put it back in the microwave, and cook for 2 more minutes.

Notice how brown it is starting to look?

This next part is tricky, and I was working solo, so I don't have a picture of it.  Instead, I have inserted a picture of me and Shannay which I think adequately depicts how excited I am about the awesomeness of this peanut brittle.  

  

Here's the tricky part.  Work fast.  Remove brittle from the microwave.  Add 1 tsp of vanilla (it will bubble and sizzle) and 1 tbsp. of baking soda.  Stir.  When you stir, it will foam up.  You have to work fast.  Stir quickly, and then pour out onto your buttered cookie sheet.  It is best to use a wooden spoon for this part and you need to press out the peanut brittle until it is thin (but not see through).  If you don't get it thin enough, you can't break it, and people can't eat it.

Here's how it should look when it is cooling.  It needs to cool about 20 minutes.  Then break into bite-sized pieces.  But don't worry, if it's not cool enough, you'll know because it won't break.  It will just bend. Oh, and BE CAREFUL!  This stuff is sharp.  I have actually cut myself badly doing this.  (But, sometimes I am klutzy, so you might not have that problem.  And also, spellchecker autocorrected clutzy to klutzy, so don't think I'm trying to be cute or play fast and loose with the English language.)

But I digress.

Finally, put your bite-sized pieces into a cute dish and give it away as a present.  Or eat it all yourself.  But be advised, in no way should this be considered healthy.  Eat at your own risk.  Also, make at your own risk.  Don't blame me if you burn yourself or cut yourself, or break a tooth.  That's my disclaimer.

All that to say, I hope you enjoy this delicious recipe.  And if you see Christina, tell her thanks.  She might still be a little sad that I shared our secret recipe.  But, well, the secret is out, so . . .

Cookies with The Joneses

Well once again, "Cookies" has come and gone.  "Cookies" (in it's present form) is a tradition that started in our family in 1997, when Mike decided that he wanted to deliver cookies to the families for whom he was a Deacon. (I seriously struggled with that sentence!)

He only had 10 families, but as soon as I did the math (not a strong suit in my case) I realized that was 10 DOZEN cookies, and that didn't even count any for our own family to eat or to give away to neighbors, etc.

Soooooooo, being the creative mom that I am, I encouraged the boys to invite some friends over and we made a competition of it.  Boys will do just about anything if you make a competition out of it, INCLUDING decorating cookies for hours.

Downside to boys decorating cookies is that they are BOYS!  They do weird things like lick their fingers, and pile on too much frosting and too many sprinkles!

So we had to make some rules.  And that's what started, "The Rules."

Of course, we have added to The Rules over the years as the need has arose arisen arose. Whatever.

For example, there's the rule of submission (not meaning you have to bow down to my authority).  In order to submit an entry into the official competition, you must decorate at least 6 total cookies.  We had to make this rule because one year a person, who shall remain nameless (but she knows who she is), created only one cookie.  In two hours, she made one cookie.  It was a masterpiece.  And of course it won!  But others whined, revolted, suggested that it was not fair, and so the 6 cookie rule was born.

And you have to name your cookie that you enter into the competition.  I don't know how this rule came about, but I think it was because we had two cookies that were really similar and so when the vote happened (yes.  we vote.  by secret ballot), there was some confusion as to the winner.

One year, we invited a lot of people over (thinking "more people, less time decorating") but that was NOT a good idea!  So from that day forward, we have pretty much only invited one family over to help us.  Thus the coveted "invite."  (I don't know if it is actually coveted. I just like to make stuff up like that so the night sounds really mysterious and awesome.)

Here are the official rules:

1.  You may not lick your fingers.  If you do, you have to wash your hands immediately.

2.  Less is more.  That means don't pile up a bunch of junk on your cookie.  They just don't taste good that way.

3.  The Rule of Submission.  You must decorate a minimum of 6 cookies in order to enter 1 cookie into the competition.

4.  You must name your entry.  The more creative the name, the better.  This year's winner was "Harry Connick Ginger."

5.  The Vote is by secret ballot.  Each person gets one vote and you cannot vote for yourself.

6.  You may not eat any of the cookies on decorating night because the frosting must dry for at least 12 hours!

There's probably more rules.  We make them up as we go sometimes.

The winner is awarded something different every year.  Sometimes they get a really awesome handmade trophy.  Sometimes they get a Cookie Winner Ornament.  Sometimes they just get a collective round of approval (laced with a little jealousy by the losers!)


Here are some pictures of the 2012 Cookies night:

Shannay enjoying her cookies. 

Nikki enjoying hers!  (They got to break the rules and eat one!)

Very seriously at work.  

Zack and his Grandma Nana.

The winning cookie "Harry Connick Ginger."

Tabulating the votes.

The Victory Dance.

All Smiles with her trophy.  (Yeah, we spare no expense for our winner!)

So happy for Grandma!

Grandma's Victory Dance!

Our honored guests, Seth and Shawna Johnson

Fun Night.

The Johnsons and the Joneses

All that to say,  Cookies 2012, you're in the can.

Why to the North Pole, Of Course!

This past weekend, we took the girls to see the North Pole Express in Grapevine, TX.  Downtown Grapevine is so beautiful and quaint, and totally would have been worth the trip (if we hadn't been traveling with TODDLERS!)

Several people  told us (AFTER I paid the $18 a person for the tickets) that the ride was somewhat "lack luster."

By lack luster, they meant that the ride was not going to, in any way, resemble the movie The Polar Express.  For the most part, they were right.


As we prepared to board, we were ushered into a tent where we were entertained with a show, a mini hit parade of Christmas songs (most of which children would NOT know, but that the grown ups enjoyed).  The Conductor, a Tom Hanks type character, came out and nervously told us that the train was in the station and that we had to board AS SOON AS POSSIBLE because it was Christmas Eve and the train could not be late!

And then the train arrived, (a fact that caused Nikki to just about flip out!) and we were ready to board.

NIKKI WHEN SHE REALIZES THE TRAIN IS COMING!

The promotional brochure told us we would travel through the Christmas tree maze as we prepared to board the magical train!  True to it's billing, we walked through the maze, which was in fact a very clever way that they hid the barricades that guided the crowds in an orderly fashion to the train.  I supposed you could call it a "maze" if by maze you mean walk in a straight line and go the only direction that you are allowed to go until you are instructed to get on the train.  But when you're 3.5 feet tall, a "maze" of giant Christmas trees is pretty impressive no matter how it's laid out!

Then we boarded the train that would take us . . . "Why, to the North Pole, of course!"

It was 81 degrees outside.  It was 2:30 in the afternoon.  It was very, very sunny and bright.  It's Texas.

Only the magical imagination of a 4 year old could imagine this train ride was going to The North Pole.

And that's just what happened. Nikki was amazed that the conductor punched her ticket! And they were both thrilled when he stopped to take a picture with them!

And though the train only traveled forward about a half a mile, and then backward about a half a mile, the magic of Christmas transformed it into The Polar Express, complete with a visit by Santa.

I suppose the more sophisticated traveler would have doubted the destination.  I suppose they might have doubted that caribou on the track was what stopped the train and caused it to have to back up.

But that's the beauty of being a child.  Their imaginations are not yet cluttered with harsh reality (though in the case of Nikki and Shannay they certainly could be).

They laughed and sang and squealed with delight.  And they even looked out the window with wonder at the dry Texas landscape.

All that to say, it was a great weekend.  I learn a lot about joy from Nikki and Shannay.  A lot about joy.

HO! HO! HO! and Happy Birthday

I have possibly mentioned, once or twice, that I am a fan of the Christmas season.  I love everything about every second of it. I acquire and abandon new "traditions" on a regular basis and am totally okay that we don't do the same thing in the same way every year.

For example, when my boys were younger we read "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  (It's only 85 pages long and seriously one of my favorite stories.)  We read it so much that I could recite much of the first page.  "The Herdmans were the worst kids in the history of the world.  They lied, and cheated, and smoked cigars, (even the girls)."  And every year I looked forward to the reading.

And even though we don't read it anymore (but mostly likely will start soon with the girls), I love the memories I have of reading that story.

I also used to buy the boys an ornament every year that was somehow related to what they were doing that year.  My thought was that when they were grown and moved out of the house, they would take their lifetime of memories and ornaments with them to start their new lives.  It never occurred to me that they would have other thoughts about their own Christmas tree.  (duh!)

But I'm okay with that too.  I loved doing it, and I still love unwrapping those ornaments and remembering their childhoods.  And I'm buying the girls ornaments too.  And if they grow up and don't want them for their tree, well that's okay too!

(I'm starting to realize some of my traditions might be about me.  Tee hee)

And I used to buy a new nativity set every year (well, technically I still do this), but I stopped putting them all out last year (courtesy of Simple Christmas, thank you very much Brian Mann!) and gave myself permission to "downsize" Christmas.

Some of my favorite things still happen today though.

For example, the weekend after Thanksgiving always marks the hanging of the lights.  Mike and one or both of the boys get out all of my Christmas boxes, 16 to be exact, then sort out all of the lights, map out a strategy, and hang the lights on the house.  I have gone outside many years to arguments, laughter, people hanging in ridiculously unsafe manners from very tall ladders, and a myriad of duct tape and extension cords that would put Clark Griswold to shame!

I usually try to stay inside once ladders
and rooftops are involved!

Mike unraveling a string of "new" lights after announcing
the icicle lights had been retired.

And we still have "Cookies."  The weekend where I bake dozens and dozens of cookies  and then we invite one set of friends over to help us decorate.  It's a fun night.  Lots of competitive decorating.  And at the end, a winner is awarded by popular vote.  This doesn't sound like too much in this one paragraph, but if you've ever been the "chosen friends" then you know it's a special, special night.

Zack and Christina in 2009 with Cookie Champion Jackie Key

Jacob with 2010 Winners Corina and Kristina Patterson

And Zack with 2011 Loser, Ben Rush (sorry Ben)

And we still go to Guadalajara for dinner on Christmas Eve (because when I worked at the church, it was just too much to do 4+ Christmas Eve services AND have a meaningful Christmas Eve dinner).

They would absolutely KILL me if they knew I had posted
this on the internet!

And we will most likely still open presents on Christmas day, though it will definitely be different without Zack and Christina.   And we'll still open our presents in age order.  And we'll still eat a non-traditional Christmas dinner, like mouth-watering burgers or fish tacos . . . who knows? . . . because I can't bear the thought of another turkey dinner so soon!

And we will most likely still play Trivial Pursuit after our not-so-traditional dinner.  Heck, I might even splurge for the new edition this year!

This year though, I'm thinking of adding some new things. (WHAT?!!!)

The girls made gingerbread houses with Zack and Christina.  I can see us doing this for years!  It was funny to watch them do this though!  Zack (who helped Shannay) is like his Mama; a teeny weeny bit controlling, and Christina (who helped Nikki) is totally a free spirit.  You can easily tell this by looking at the houses.

And we're going to Dallas this weekend to ride the Polar Express.  Maybe that will become a tradition.

The girls are going to see the Nutcracker.  I have ALWAYS wanted girls just for this very reason!

And we might even start the Elf on the Shelf (maybe not though!)

All that to say, I'm gearing up for the holidays.  HO HO HO!  and as Frosty would say, "Happy Birthday!"

All That to Say: Change

I'd like to begin this post by saying that I am sleep deprived, hormonal, and I watched a Hallmark Christmas movie at 3:30 in the morning.  Any of those things alone could cause the rush of emotions I have had today, but all of those things combined is like the perfect storm.

The movie was about a family that was blending.  Each of the parents had lost a spouse, each came to the new marriage with children, and for each family this was a first attempt at trying to take their separate holiday traditions and merge them into their new holiday traditions.

I'm here to tell you, I cried buckets of tears during that movie.  In fact, I'm kind of glad it was just me and our little 8 day old foster baby sitting there in the dim light of the TV.  Otherwise I would have had to make up some goofy reason for why I was crying.

I think in part I'm a little emotional because this is our first year with a married son.  And that changes things.  "Our" traditions will inevitably change as they must split up their time between two families, and at the same time begin to create their own traditions.

They are a family.  He and she.  We are now their extended family.  And with that comes change.

And that's not bad.  In fact, it's what every parent wants for their child.  They want them to leave the nest, get married, start their own family, make their own traditions, live their own life to the fullest potential.

But nonetheless, it's hard.  Especially at holidays.  And especially when "someone" has enough holiday traditions to choke a horse.  I've raised holiday traditions to an art form.  Really, I have.  And now, I must let go, change, adapt.

And as I watched this TV family navigate the waters of change, I felt emotional for all the change that we will most assuredly navigate over the years.  So I had a good cry.  And then I ate a cookie.

So now then, that's out of my system!  And, I'm looking forward to seeing how the years unfold.  Years of holidays and more marriages and grand babies.  In fact, I think grand babies may be the only thing that will ease the pain of all this adjusting.  Lots and lots of grand babies. (insert knowing wink here)

All that to say, the holidays will be different this year.  But different is good.  It signifies change, and change means growth, and growth means life.  And if the Hallmark families can do it, then I can too!