Thanksgiving - Stuffing Results

In "Thanksgiving Eve," I told you that I was going to be making the Stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner. I was so tired Thursday night and did not post anything Friday. So, I wanted to give you an update today on how my Mom's/Nana's stuffing turned out. 

Everybody really enjoyed it. My mother-in-law had nice things to say about it as did my wife. However, the biggest compliment I received was from my mom. She said, "It tasted just like mine." Success! 

Thank you for the help Nana. Oh, and I should note, that the stuffing is all gone. That is always the first of the leftovers to be eaten up.

What are you Thankful for?

On Thanksgivings past, I never really focused on what I was thankful for. This year started out no different. My son, whom I love very much, cried out at 6:15 am. Typically, when he cries like that, he is up to stay up. This time, however, he decided to go back to sleep. I was optimistically thankful.

The way I figured it, he wasn't going to stay down for very long. I was half right. About two minutes, literally two minutes, after I had hunkered back down into my bed, my dear, sweet Jillian decided to wake up. My thankfulness quickly disappeared. Just as quickly, it was back again.

I was holding Jillian in the kitchen while her waffle was toasting, and I knew I needed to get out of my funk. It is one thing to be grumpy on a normal day off. But, to be in a lousy mood on a Holiday is unacceptable. To get help myself out, I asked Jillian what she was thankful for. Without hesitation, she responded with a smile that would brighten anyone's day, "my famiwee (family)." That got me thinking about how I would answer the same question were someone to ask me.

I am truly thankful for all of my family. God blessed me with an loving wife, the best children, parents that love me, a big brother who has always looked out for me, and in-laws who I do not think of as "in-laws" but as family. Thank you to my former boss for laying me off, otherwise I probably would not be working for the great company for which I am working today. Finally, the friends that I have are the best kind of friends I could ever ask for.

These are just a few of the things on my thankful list. What is it that you are thankful for?

Thanksgiving Eve

Tomorrow is the Big Day - Thanksgiving Day. In tonight's post, I am going to focus on the food part of the day, and tomorrow, I will focus on what Thanksgiving means to me.

This is the second time that my wife and I are hosting Thanksgiving Dinner. The first time was when we lived in Harrisbrug and had my dad and Shannon's mom and dad. That was when we were a family of three and a half - Shannon was pregnant with our second, Jillian. This year, we will have my wife's mom and dad and my mom, brother, and nephew, plus the five of us. You may be thinking we are crazy for bringing two families togehter on a holiday; but, it is not that way for us. Our families get along.

I have to say thank you to my mom for relinquishing dinner at her house. Most of our married life, my wife and I have been going to my mom's for dinner. We asked my mom if we could give turkey day a shot this time around. She graciously agreed. However, just because it is at our house does not mean that we will not have my mom's stuffing. I will be the care taker of that dish. Fortunately, I have made her recipe before just not on Thanksgiving. I should note that I found out tonight that the recipe is actually my grandmother's recipe. I am definitely feeling the pressure now. I cannot let those two wonderful ladies down. Nana, if you have some time tomorrow, can you give me a little guidance from you place from in heaven?

I did take some of the pressure off of myself by cutting up my celery, onions, and bread tonight. With three little ones, we have to get that prep work in when we can. That is why Shannon and Molly already baked the Carmel Apple pie. Shannon is also prepping the mashed potatoes and Sage butter (for the turkey), and she made the "kid's dessert" - a pie sized sugar cookie with Pumpkin pie orange frosting. Get it, it is a Faux-Pumpkin Pie.

We are also going to have Brussel Sprouts picked straight from our garden. I am really excited about those too. I planted two of the plants from seeds in May and they are finally read to harvest. The entire family has been waiting six months to sink our teeth in those beautiful little green orbs.

Everyone in my house is on pins and needles waiting for tomorrow to come. We still have a good bit of work to do; but, I think the prep work we did tonight will help ease some of the stress tomorrow. Besides, my wife and I make a good team. Remind me to tell you about the year we hosted Christmas about ten days after moving into our current home. Yes, I know that was crazy. Like I said, we make a good team.

With that, I am going to enjoy a glass of wine with my wife and talk about our game plan for tomorrow. Good night to you all. May you have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Introduction to Advent

I have mentioned in other posts that I teach Faith Formation (CCD) at my church. This week's lesson was on Advent. I wanted to share some of the notes that I talked about in class with my readers. The Advent Wreath is a Christian Tradition started in Germany. Many of my notes below are geared towards to the Roman Catholic Church because that is where I teach Faith Formation.

Overview 


Advent is one of my favorite times of the year tied with Lent. They both hold special meaning for me. For Advent, I wanted to put together some interesting tidbits of information for my student's parents. I know how busy life can be with working, raising children, and trying to maintain a home. Then, when we start getting into the Holiday season, it is easy to lose sight of why we really celebrate Christmas.

The other reason for these notes is to explain the tradition of the Advent Wreath. We made wreaths in class this week. This is something that I knew I wanted to do when I first decided to be a Faith Formation teacher. This is a tradition that we follow in my home with my children. They really enjoy it. If you do not participate in this tradition already, give it a try. It only takes about 6 or 7 minutes a night. For my students, I included with the wreath “The Little Blue Book.” It is a book that contains six-minute reflections for each day of Advent and Christmastime. The books were provided by the Church. (If your church does not hand out "The Little Blue Book," you can find the daily Mass readings here.)

Here are some high-level notes about Advent:

• Advent marks the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church year.
• Advent comes from the Latin Adventus meaning “arrival” or “coming.”
• Advent is the season in which we celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ at his birth and when he will come again.
• The Advent Wreath is one of the traditions that we have to celebrate this season.

Advent Wreath

"Wreaths have always been symbolic of victory and glory. The basic symbolism of the Advent Wreath goes beyond this. It lies in the tension between darkness and light. It represents the long time when people lived in spiritual darkness, waiting for the coming of the Messiah, the light of the world. Each year in Advent people wait once again in darkness for the coming of the Lord, his historical coming in the mystery of Bethlehem, his final coming at the end of time, and his special coming in every moment of grace.” (pg. 47 “Catholic Customs & Traditions: a popular guide” by Greg Dues).

The traditional Advent Wreath consists of an Evergreen wreath and four candles (three purple and one rose/pink). “Three of the candles are purple, reminding us of the penitential nature of the season. A rose or pink candle is lit for the Third Sunday of Advent, also known as Gaudete (rejoice) Sunday. The name is taken from the entrance antiphon or Introit "Rejoice (gaudete) in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice." It is reminding us that the end of Advent is almost here, and we can hardly contain our joy.” (Source)



Light the candles in the following order:

• 1 Purple
• 2 Purple
• 2 Purple and Rose/Pink
• All four candles.

As the weeks progress, the light from the wreath gets brighter and brighter pushing out the darkness and bringing us closer to the light of Jesus and his coming. The wreaths we made in class have four bows (three purple and one pink) and the candle has four bows with the same colors. For those families that did not not have an Advent Wreath already, I wanted to give them an opportunity to try out this wonderful tradition that we as Christians have.

You can buy an Advent Wreath that is already made of you can make one like we made in class. Go to a Craft store and pick up a small wreath, some pink and purple ribbon, and a battery operated candle and make this wreath . Use hot glue to attach the bows to the wreath and candle.

Advent Wreath

Candle 

The idea is for you and your child to match the ribbon on the candle with the ribbon on the wreath. Light the candle and then read the day's reading in “The Little Blue Book” or from where ever you decide to get your scripture. When you get to Christmas, put the candle in the center of the wreath and then do the readings in the “Little Blue Book,” if you have one, for the rest of the Christmas season which runs through January 9th 2011.


Author's Thanks: I want to say thank you to my wife for tying all of the bows for my class' wreaths and candles, and for gluing the bows onto the candles. She also made a beautiful Advent Wreath for the Classroom too. I will post a picture after next week's class. Goofy me forgot to take a picture before I took it to the Church.

"You Can Snore in my Bed"

"You can snore in my bed." So says my three year old Jillian when I laid her down for her nap today. As I mentioned in "A Call to Snuggle," Jillian has taken to my wife or me laying down with her before she goes to sleep. It isn't for very long - maybe a minute or two.  I do not mind it because I know how quickly time passes, and soon she will be all grown-up.

So, Jillian,  made her snoring statement after I made a pretend snore noise in her ear, and after she had me hold her really, really tight. I have no idea how she was able to breath comfortably. I was getting ready to leave her room, and she could sense this by my movement because she says, "Stay a wittle wonger." What could I say?

I agreed to lay with her for one more minute to which she responded, "Snore Daddy." I complied.  Then she got inquisitive:

Jillian: "Do you like to snore daddy?"
Me: "No I don't."
Jillian: "Why do you snore then?"
Me: "Because that is the way my body works."
Jillian: "Oh, Snore Daddy."

Believe me, I know that I am in trouble. Not only is she really smart, buy I have a really hard time saying no to her. She definitely has me wrapped around her little finger - and I DON'T CARE!

Anyhow, it was time for her to sleep. So, I gave her a kiss on the top of her head and left her room, and I made a B line straight to my wife to tell her the good news:

Me: "Shannon,  Jillian said I can snore in her bed."
Shannon: "Good, you can sleep in her bed every night."
Me: (silence)

I guess I know to where I am getting bootedon the nights when my snoring gets too loud. Personally, I do not see how my snoring can bother my wife. After all, it does not bother my Jillian, AND, I sleep right through it.

Where'd it Go?

Apparently it has been time to gross out Mommy the last few days. I have to say that I am surprised by this because there is not a whole lot that affects my wife in that way. Thursday it was the Alternative Syrup that grossed out Shan. Last night it was a fly.

We have had this fly buzzing around the house for the last week.  That thing has been driving us crazy - especially my wife. She cannot stand any type of flying insect buzzing around the house. This particular fly must know how much it was driving Shannon crazy because it really only pestered her. Last night, my wife got her revenge, but the fly did not go down without a fight.

Shannon was sweeping the floor when the fly made its presence known. Now, Shannon was using a hand broom and dustpan to clean up from the mess that Coilin had made at dinner. That is when the fly started buzzing around her. That was a mistake. She was a little grumpy already (we will not get into that). Shannon swiped at the fly with great fury, but lost sight of it. That's when the following conversation transpired:

Molly: "Get IT!"
Shannon: "Where did it Go?"
Molly: "It's under you hand!"
Shannon: "EW!"

The little fly was still alive, well for a moment. With the deftness of a deadly ninja, Shannon crushed the fly with the hand broom. Bye-Bye, Mr. Fly. Good job honey!

Author's Note: My wife contends that she was not grossed out by the events described above. She said, "I just got the heebie jeebies." We agree to disagree. 

Stuck in the Driveway Part IX

It is Fiction Friday again. We are going to continue with our story from last week. Tonight we are going to learn a little bit more about Stan and his family.

Stuck in the Driveway Part IX


"Where is my son!"

"We are still trying to located him Mrs. Brogan," said Agent Walker.

"Mary Ann," Stan said. He pulled Mary Ann aside and began whispering, "these guys are professionals they will find him. You know how Johnny is. He was supposed to be home last night; but, shockingly enough he wasn't. He's probably over at B.J.'s house playing video games. What else would a college kid be doing over break? This isn't Agent Walker and his team's fault."

"Well, they should have back up plans," she hissed.

"They do, Mary Ann, they do. They will take care of him. Trust me," Stan said.

"Please don't say that to me anymore," Mary Ann replied. "You said that when you took on the new investors. Ever since then, things have gone down hill. Now, look at us. We are in Witness Protection. I can never see my parents again. The children have to give up all of their friends. We have to leave the town where we fell in love and started our family. And for what?" Mary Ann trailed off and sat on the floor sobbing. Stan tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away. Their daughter Elizabeth walked over and sat next to her and started crying with her.

Stan turned to Agent Walker, "Please find my son. She is losing everything else because of me. Please don't let her lose her son."

"We have a team headed to B.J.'s house now," said Agent Walker.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"I've got you right where I want you scum bag. Don't even move," a voice spoke into Johnny Brogan's ear. 

"You'll never take me alive," Johnny said.

"Oh, we'll get you and your little doggie too," the voice said.

"WHAT!" Johnny said, and turned around in his chair. "B.J., what is wrong with you. We are playing a perfectly good game of Halo 3, and you going to quote the Wizard of Oz. Seriously? You are crazier than your dad."

"Hey, we have been playing this all night," B.J. replied. "I am delirious and used up all of my good lines by 6 am. That was like 2 and half hours ago."

"Crud! So, it's like 8:30?"

"Yeah, Johnny, the clocks right on the DVR box." 

"Dang it! I promised my old man I would be home by now."

"Stan will be fine. He knows you are over here. Besides, he's never cared about you coming home here before."

"Yeah, I know," said Johnny. "He usually doesn't ask me to come home, that's why I was really wanted to do what he asked. I gotta go. 

"Are you kidding me," B.J. said. "You are leaving now? We've almost got this game mastered."

"I'm sorry man. I really need to split."

"Tell Stan, Mary Ann, and Lizzie I said hi," B.J. said. 

"Yeah, I will," Johnny said. B.J. looked guilty when he mentioned Johnny's sister. Johnny knew why. Elizabeth, or Lizzie to everyone but their dad, had told him that she and B.J. had started dating while Johnny was away at school last semester. Johnny was livid at first, but Lizzie explained that he hadn't tried any "funny business," and was being a perfect gentleman. She had asked Johnny not to say anything; that B.J. had wanted to tell him, but couldn't find the right time. "You look like something is on your mind."

"Just tired," B.J. said evading the question. 

"All right, man, I catch you later," and Johnny was out the door. He jumped in his car and headed towards the family business. Johnny figured that by now his dad would be at Brogan's, and he wanted to apologize for not being home. True, Johnny was 19, but he had always had a great deal of respect for his father and felt badly when he "disobeyed" him. 


He was approaching Brogan's and could see that his dad's car was not in the parking lot. That is when he remembered that all of his friend's cars were parked at his house. After their night out, Johnny, had driven everyone else home because they were all wasted. He told them they could get their cars tomorrow, and Johnny realized that he had something else to apologize to his dad about - getting him stuck in the driveway.

Johnny pulled into the parking lot at Brogan's and noticed a black sedan. It's driver's side door was open. Two men lay on the ground. One was by the driver's door and the other by the open trunk. He stopped the car and got out to see if he could help them. Johnny had a kind heart.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sergeant Owens heard the gravel crunching as Johnny pulled his car into the parking lot. ka-chunk a car door closed. 

"Hey Mister," Johnny called. "Are you all right." Sergeant Owens lifted his head. "Let me give you a hand." Johnny looks at the bruise on Owens' check. "What happened to you?"


"My driver and I were mugged," said Sergeant Owens. "Some man came out of the woods and attacked us." Owens pointed to the general location of Eddies hovel.


"Was he a white guy wearing army fatigues?" Johnny asked. Sergeant Owens nodded. "That was Eddie Bum, well Eddie DescenzioBev were all high school friends, and my dad says he wouldn't hurt anybody. That's why he had trouble in the Marines they say. He couldn't handle all those Kuwaiti kids getting hurt."


"Is that so?" Sergeant Owens asked. He couldn't believe his luck. Was this really Stan's son. The mission wasn't a total loss after all. "Thank you again for your help. What did you say your name was?" Sergeant Owens stuck out his hand.


Johnny took his outstretched hand. "Johnny Brogan, this is my dad's place. Wait a second. Is that my aunt's car?" Before, Johnny could get a good look at the yellow Pontiac Sunfire, Sergeant Owens had him in a choke hold. "Hey," Johnny wheezed, "what are you doing?"


"Getting some insurance," Owens said. He kicked his driver to wake him up. "Wake up Sanchez. We have what we came for." 


Sanchez got up and wobbled on his feet for a moment. "The woman is gone," Descenzio jumped us. He regained his balance.


Owens pushed Johnny into the trunk and shut the lid. "We have something even more valuable. We have Brogan's son. Sanchez and Owens got into the black sedan pulled out of Brogan's with the new cargo in tow.


To be continued...


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