Christmas -- and Cinnamon Rolls!!

Almost a month has passed since Christmas, and it is about time that I posted some of our family pictures from that special time. If you read the last blog entry "Happy New Year!", you know something about the unexpected journey we had through the Christmas season with Neil's mother.

In the midst of that challenging time, we also had many blessings. Being together was at the top of that list. Having Atherton there for us to provide a room for Neil's mother in skilled nursing right when she needed it was way up there, too!


It's always great fun to have David (and usually Mea, who we so missed this Christmas) come during the holidays and have time with Chris, Rich, Jon, and now Trisha . . . and with us, of course!! This was Uncle David's first chance to meet his little niece, Trisha Lynn.


Other than being together, enjoying the Christmas story as we begin our Christmas festivities, doing Christmas stockings (probably the favorite Christmas tradition for all of us), exchanging gifts, and eating, the other big family tradition is the making of homemade cinnamon rolls. Originally, this was a New Year's tradition, but a few years ago, David & Chris asked, "Mom, where are the cinnamon rolls?"

My response, "It's not New Year's yet," received their comeback, "But we're not going to be together on New Year's!" I think the hidden (?) message was: we like homemade cinnamon rolls!! So whenever we're all together during the Christmas/New Year's time, we make cinnamon rolls.

When I say "we", what I really mean is Grammy and the grandbabies. Although the cinnamon roll tradition began years and years ago, the "Grammy and Grandbabies" tradition began when Mea was very little. We would pull a kitchen step-stool up so she could reach the counter, and Mea and I would make cinnamon rolls at night, wildly anticipating a yummy breakfast treat in the morning.

When Jon arrived on the scene, he was added to this Christmas tradition. Actually, last year I realized that doing this with Mea (then 8) and the "help" of a two-year-old necessitated extra adult hands, so Christy joined us as well. Here's a picture of the four of us a year ago, Christmas 2007:



In Mea's absence this year, Jon and I did most of this task,


adding Trisha and Christy as supervisors, although next year Trisha will play a more active roll in the cinnamon roll process:





Believe me when I say that baking with my babies (and grandbabies) is sheer joy! The final results -- in this case fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast -- is wonderful, too, but it's the "doing it together" that makes this so special.