Christmas Eve 2008

John and I did not receive any china as a wedding gift. I figured it was better than receiving one place setting and not being able to do anything with it.

When we were moving my maternal grandmother, Mema, out of her house and into my mom's, my mom found 5 *almost* complete place settings of china. It was not Mema's china and she had no idea where this box of china came from until Ana saw it. Ana, a close family friend who is practically family, said that when her friend got divorced, she asked Ana to get rid of some stuff for her. The china was in that stuff and when Mema saw it, she said she would like it. My mom called and asked if I would like the china and I said sure since I was getting my Papa's old china cabinet that belonged to his mother. When I saw the china, I couldn't believe my eyes. I'm pretty sure it is the VERY same pattern that I had registered for but never received! Also there were 7 crystal goblets. How blessed am I to receive this china?

I told John we would be using it for Christmas Eve and he couldn't believe I was going to let the children eat off my china. I believe that you shouldn't just let the china sit in a cabinet for the 60 years you are married. Plus, even though it is a retired pattern, I can still order more on ebay I'm sure.

I wish I had a video of my children sitting down to dinner that special night. They asked things like, "We are going to eat with these?" and kept talking about how "fancy shmancy" it all was. I really enjoyed their reaction and plan to serve many more "fancy shmancy" meals in the future.

I made Chicken Cordon Bleu the German way for John and I and Schnitzel for the children. As you can see, my Cordon Bleu took up half of my plate. It was delicious but I couldn't finish it.

Sorry Ethan, no china for you yet!

After dinner, I sang a song to the children called "The Most Beautiful Story That's Ever Been Told." It was hard to sing without crying and at the end I REALLY struggled but I plan to sing it to them every year. It really is a beautiful song.

Then we sang other Christmas carols and read some Christmas stories. It was a very nice Christmas Eve.