Baking and Decorating

I'm sure that the majority of my readers are my Facebook friends too, so you've probably already seen my recent pictures. But here is a look at what we did yesterday:

Ryan had the day off. So we decided to finally get in the Christmas spirit. While Abigail was napping I went out in search of Christmas lights and the ingredients for Peanut Butter Balls. I had to go to three stores before I could find three boxes of white Christmas lights on green strands! I've told you before how crazy the drivers are in Louisiana, so add in the holiday frenzy and it's utter chaos out there. When I returned, we woke Abigail up from her nap. At first she was not too happy about being so rudely awakened but when we told her she could "bake" with daddy and mommy had bought Christmas lights she jumped straight out of bed and started jumping up and down and clapping! She put on her new apron set from Uncle Jon and Aunt Mellissa. I snapped a picture of my two chefs before the fun began.

Here is a picture of the action. There is no picture of the finished product because well, they looked a little sad. While Peanut Butter Balls are easy to make and require only a few ingredients, someone, didn't read the instructions and we ended up with something that more or less resembled a bomb instead of a ball! They still taste good though! While they were busy "baking" I was busy putting the lights on the Christmas tree. I must confess that I became quite aggravated with my task and eventually put myself in time-out. After a little prayer and self-reflection, I came around. Abigail was so happy and ready to decorate.

This is the first year that she's really been interested in decorating and baking. Last year she helped put one ornament on and that was enough for her. She also helped make Christmas cookies last year but was more concerned about eating instead of baking. This year she was ready and excited for both. I have so many fond memories of decorating the tree and other family Christmas traditions and I pray when Abigail is older, she will feel the same.

The finished tree. She informed me that we needed a star for the top. Someone gave Ryan and I an angel topper several years ago but instead of staying lit, it constantly blinked on and off. It really gave me the creeps so we got rid of it. LOL! If you gave the angel to us and you're reading this...SORRY! :) One year, I purchased some branches and stuff to stick out of the top but it only lasted that year and ended up getting trashed. Maybe we'll get something to go on top eventually.

After we were done, Ryan gave Abigail a bath while I made supper. I tried my hand at gumbo. I think it turned out pretty good. It was a starter recipe. Next time I will be tweaking it and putting my own spin on it. Later after everything was cleaned up and we were finally ready to relax, Abigail decided she wanted to stay up all night. Somehow, she's gotten it into her head that because her daddy and I don't go to bed when she does, that we stay up all night. I decided to let her give it a try, knowing she wouldn't last all night. I think she finally gave it up about 11:30.

We slept in today and it was much needed. We have had a pretty busy week so we decided to just be lazy today. I did do a couple of things around the house and make lunch. I was able to finish a book I had been reading. Abigail watched some TV and played with her toys. We also played a game of UNO MOO that she got for her birthday from David and Lindsey. We were so busy being lazy though, that we forgot to take a nap. She fell asleep early. So now, I think I'm going to eat some supper and start a new book.