done

I got the list all done.
Paul was too scared to stay up at the alter with all the other kids dressed up as Marys, Shepperds, prophets, wise men and the 1 Joseph so he came running back down the aisle to me. He was dressed as a Shepperd, complete with his stuffed lamb and his walking stick and his head scarf that Giselle did up for him. Giselle was Mary again with her Bitty Baby Sarah sitting in for baby Jesus.
The craziness should start about 7 and Paul will have eaten all the candy in his stocking by 8. The Baked Blueberry French Toast should be done cooking by 8:30 and be all eaten by 8:45 so present unwrapping should start by 9. By 10 I'll have all the paper and boxes and bags put away or in the trash and I'll be ready to start thinking about working on the turkey.
Oh, I didn't tell you about the turkey, did I?
It's a 17 pound Heirloom turkey that Edgar and Gayla killed and cleaned for me last Thursday. The turkey was hatched and raised on the farm this past year. It's a beauty and you wouldn't believe the amount of fat on that bird! The skin is really thick so that should roast up wonderfully tasty. BUT I'm not going to stuff it; I don't want to loose any stuffing inside of the bird so we'll be having dressing instead. And as an extra treat, the feet were inside of the body cavity with the neck and gizzards. The kids really got a kick (haha) out of seeing the feet no longer attached to the body. Paul wanted to know where the head was, Giselle wanted to know why they had cut off the toe nails.

I'll leave you with a quote that I read in a Land's End Christmas email that I got earlier today.
"A hug. A kind word. A hand to hold. The greatest gifts of all. May you give them freely and receive them abundantly. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year"