Southern Christmas

Christmas day, what a blessing! It is snowing heavily where I am and I am so thankful to be safely inside. Please remember to pray for those who may still be on the road.

Luke 2: 1 – 20

¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Here are some pictures from the Christmas Eve table for Tablescape Thursday (since these pics didn’t make it earlier)

And, the scene outside on Christmas eve:

Wishing you peace and goodwill in your heart and home and a very Merry Christmas!

Today’s Lagniappe: Eggnog French Toast
Something yummy for Christmas morning and for Foodie Friday with Gollum!

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I love going out in the cold December nights to drive around and look at Christmas lights. Here are a few pics I snapped this past week:

When we got home from checking out the lights it was such a clear and beautiful night that I decided to get a picture of the stars. After I downloaded the picture, I used the auto-tone option on photoshop and it turned out like this:

I thought that was so spectacular. You can just see the tops of the trees  in the bottom of the picture. They are somewhat illuminated by a street light.

Merry Christmas eve, eve, eve!

A little outdoor red for Outdoor Wednesday with A Southern Daydreamer and Rednesday! with It’s a Very Cherry.

Today’s Lagniappe: The Best Party Mix – Ever!
My mom used to make this party mix when we were growing up. It is spicy and delicious. I think I could actually live on it (for a while anyway). You’ll never find this version in a bag at the grocery store!

1 box rice chex
1 box wheat chex
1 box corn chex
1 large bag pretzel sticks
1 box cherrios
1 lb. pecans
1 lb. cashews

1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup cooking oil
3 tablespoons tobasco
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon onion powder

This makes a whole lot, so you will need large pans for this.

Pour all of the chex cereals, pretzels, cherrios and nuts in a very large mixing bowl (may take more than one) Mix them up and pour them into shallow pans Mix, melted butter, oil, tobasco and all the spices together. Pour the butter mixture evenly over the cereal mixture and stir to coat.

Cook 1-1/2 hours at 250 stirring every 15 to 20 minutes.

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