Deck the Halls

Another benefit of watching church on TV is you can log in to watch your kids give talks!

They both did a great job kicking off #LightTheWorld

 

We took Michael and Courtney to the airport at noon and then suddenly the house was quiet again.

I started bringing up Christmas decorations, then got sidetracked going through some old memento boxes that have moved from house to house and we rarely even look at them. 

I spread everything out on the storage room floor and started tossing away most of it.

Dan came down and went through his things that I wasn't sure if he wanted to keep or not. 

We got rid of four boxes of stuff!

Monday morning I woke up at 5:00 a.m. Wide Awake!

Guess my body is ready to get moving and make up for those Covid sleepy days.

I had a great workout and energy all day! I'm officially 100% better!

I ran all over mailing packages at the post office, waiting in the long line to drop off donations at Savers and stopped at Home Depot to buy Amaryllis for neighbor gifts.

I bought 64 (after opening every single box and checking to make sure they hadn't started growing, 

like what happened two years ago and I had to return them all.

After I bought them, I remembered I needed packaging tape and Command strips, 

so with my full cart I went and found the last couple of items.

A gentleman at checkout (the second time) commented on how many I was buying.

I told him they were for neighbor gifts and he said he didn't like to give gifts. 

He said, "I'm kind of a Scrooge." (Which wasn't entirely true because he was fun to talk to!)

I told him I loved giving gifts and he thought that was a woman thing.

Then he said he'd always considered buying an Amaryllis, but never had.

I said it was so fun to watch grow. And everything was included in the box (dirt, pot and bulb)

so it was pretty easy. I said, "Since you're here at Home Depot, you must be good at figuring things out."

He said he was and that maybe one day he'd buy one.

I grabbed one from my cart and handed it to him. 

"Merry Christmas!"

He was delighted.

Kids are Home!

Best news, I am feeling MUCH better! 

I even woke up on Friday with NO headache. Finally!

(Except I was up all night with the worst stomach ache from eating Thanksgiving pie.

I haven't had sugar in four months and I paid for the modest indulgence.)

Marty and Lizzie came over in the afternoon and Courtney and Michael

arrived that night. Both couples had been with their in-laws for the Holiday week.

(Michael's parents and family gathered in Utah!)

We sat around, got all caught up, and played some Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit.

It feels like it's been so long since I've seen these kids!

Saturday everyone slept in and then Nick made eggs... with Creme Fraiche, of course.

After brunch, we hiked in Millcreek at snow gate.

It should be noted that Dan grilled the best steak and chicken and 

Michael and Courtney made homemade tortillas for tacos for dinner.

Afterward, Marty and Lizzie were off because they have talks to prepare for tomorrow!

Friday night Lizzie had to work. Isn't this a fun pic we captured of her on her zoom call?!

Creme Fraiche

 The other day I was sitting on the couch and Nick came down to the kitchen and started making eggs. Looking into the fridge he asked, "Mom, do we have any creme fraiche?" 

Um, No, Nick. I don't even know what that is.

Exasperated sigh. Do we at least have sour cream? 

Unfortunately we don't have that either. 

I'm seriously signing up that kid for a cooking camp next summer. 

I found a day camp in New York so he could go in the day and be with Courtney in the evenings.

He said he'd do it if his other friend (whose parents are chefs) can come too!

(If we can have camps next summer. Isn't it weird to think that no one did any camps last summer? No high adventure, EFY, BYU lacrosse camps, neighborhood lacrosse camp, swim classes. So weird.)

When I went Thanksgiving food shopping, I bought Creme Fraiche.

Apparently its a Gordon Ramsey thing. And the eggs he made with it were delicious!!

Also, he can crack eggs one-handed.

I'm not sure where Nick got such fancy tastes...

In other amazing cooking news, Chris' turkey turned out amazing!

He called a couple hours into cooking -- just about when he was supposed to be at the church.

At 500* it had started getting pretty brown, so they turned the heat down (good instincts!).

He FaceTimed again to ask if it could make anyone sick if it wasn't completely cooked. He also showed me that the temperature popper hadn't popped yet.

(They didn't take out the top rack so the turkey was jammed against the top of the oven! 😂)

I said it was probably fine. Just don't eat the bloody parts.

Then his comp cut off a piece of leg to taste it. 

He started groaning and I wasn't sure if it was good or bad.

But then he exclaimed, "It's the most amazing-tasting turkey ever!"

(Sidenote: It's the comps SECOND day in the field!)

Chris called a third time that night to report that the turkey was a HUGE hit!

He's pretty much the cutest thing ever!

Chris posted photos of Mexico on Facebook for #givethanks

I got a kick out of this exchange in the comments.

Finally, last week when our YouTube Sacrament Meeting ended, a different Christian music and worship group started playing. Hearing another group sing praises was so touching. 

I love that our ward family extends to our Christian family.

I love that we can connect with other worshippers over YouTube!

I love knowing all over the world people are testifying and inviting others to Come Unto Christ.

I love that people believe in prayer, are willing to pray for others 

and that others have faith to request a prayers on their behalf. So unifying.

I am grateful for the faith of strangers that builds my own.

Ending the day with stunning colors.

Thanksgiving!

What a wonderful day!

We loved that we could celebrate Thanksgiving with Duncan, Kristin & Curtis and

Kory, Amy, Clarie & Colin!

Four of us already had Covid so we felt like we were a pretty safe group.

Having the children here added the extra energy and fun that every gathering needs.

Sharing the food duties between three different families made the prep enjoyable 

instead of overwhelming and the feast was delicious!

We got started a couple days in advance. I made Kathy's chocolate silk pies.

Also the cranberry sauce.

Getting started on pies

Nick made the stuffing from my old newspaper clipping recipe.
(He chose to wear the mask while cooking.)

You should have seen him chop onions like a true chef. When he got out the second onion, like the recipe calls for, I told him to not use it. I always halve the onions in every recipe. He put his hand up and said, "Mom, I'm making the stuffing." Touche. Turned out delicious! (Even though he omitted the cranberries because, you know, it was his stuffing.) I was thrilled he was happy to help.

I set the table the night before.

No fancy centerpieces. But it looked inviting.

When going to bed, I got a text from my neighbor to three of us who can see each other's homes from our windows. She was thanking us all for our beautiful lights. Her girls love looking out the windows just before bed at the "magic lights." I do too!

Thanksgiving morning, Dan and I took a walk.

We arrived home just in time to start prepping the turkey.

I had the turkey sitting in front of me and had just started cutting open 

the plastic covering when Christopher called via FaceTime.

First he asked if the "sprite in the butt of a chicken" would work on a turkey.

Then he asked if he could substitute Red Bull.

I advised that the sprite was generally for cooking on the grill.

And was the turkey for just him or for others? 

For the District. In that case, hold the Red Bull.

He had volunteered to make the turkey for his District-wide Thanksgiving!

He called at the perfect time for me to walk him through the steps. Find the neck. Find the packet of giblets. Good thing he called because he was pretty sure neither existed.

I was able to show him where to look by demonstrating on my turkey. 

He eventually found them. We each rinsed, patted dry and basted together.

He mentioned he needed to have the turkey to the church in two hours.

Dan did a rush Google search for fast-cooking turkey. Did you know you can cook it at 500?

Meanwhile I wanted to try the turkey in the steam oven. 

We've had great success with chickens so thought turkey couldn't be that much different.

We basted with olive oil, salt, pepper, seasonings and left the juice from the wrapper in the bottom tray (because several people said the steamed turkey doesn't leave much dripping for gravy).

Combination Steam at 355 with the temperature probe set to 165.

After this pic I remembered it needed to be on the rack, not directly in the tray.

The 16 lb. turkey was golden brown and cooked through in 1 hour 10 minutes!!

We let it rest 40 minutes before carving.

You couldn't get any easier or faster. I'll totally do this again for a big group!

Just after the turkey was finished, everyone else showed up.

Kristin brought pumpkin pies, cherry pie, pecan pie, corn and green bean casserole,

rolls and mashed potatoes.

Kory and Amy brought chocolate flan cake and sweet potatoes.

Dan made the gravy while I made the salad. Nick made his special lemonade.

Everything was delicious!

Dan's funny face angle is due to a sty that surprised him yesterday and clearly making him subconsciously hid that side of his face! I keep telling him it's fine! 

 The food was wonderful. Being together was even better. We haven't seen Kory and Amy and the kids for a while which made our celebration extra special. And, they're engaged! 

After they left, we all piled in the truck and took food and pie to Aunt Marge. Then finished the evening watching What's Up Doc with Barbra Streisand and Tatum O'Neal. It's one of the "other" Shaeffer's favorites. I LOVE having a favorite movie and getting to share it with someone else! We loved that they wanted to stay and watch together! 

This whole week has been special working on #givethanks instagram and blog posts and having my feed filled with positive messages of gratitude. We don't always know the hard things that people have gone through, but I do know people who participated who have lost babies, had cancer, infertility, never married, never had children, unfaithful spouses--just in the last year. 

It's a lot due to the optimistic family I was raised in and the propensity to look for the good,
but I believe we can always find many things to be grateful for.

I am grateful that even in the midst of a pandemic, we had people to gather with, delicious food, plenty of it, laughs, recovery from sickness and hope for gathering in larger groups in the future!!

Them. #givethanks

Them. #givethanks 

Not What I Imagined, But Beautiful

My parents divorced when I was 25. For the next year I was consumed with anguish and thoughts of how to get them back together. Even though I was an adult, I still ached and grieved for what felt like the loss of our family. 

But time healed the pain. My parents each met new loves who we all adore. They are fun, funny, thoughtful and wise. Best of all they’ve poured love on us “kids” and our children too. 

It wasn’t the story I imagined, but the way it was written has turned out beautifully. I am so grateful to have Dimitrios Hoularis and Diane, Luke, Sam and Max Adair as my family. More people to love who love you right back is a wonderful thing! #givethanks 

Growing Up Adair #givethanks

My childhood family was Mom & Dad, Grandma Regan, six kids and Aunt Marge who came every summer. Our home overflowed with optimism, we were expected to have a positive attitude and were taught, “With God, nothing is impossible.” 

After chores and piano practicing, we jumped on the tramp, rode bikes, and climbed trees. Any ailments could be cured with vitamin C and water. I often had knots in my hair, scraped knees, bare feet, and always a big smile. 

My dad loved to laugh, tease and play games. My mom sees the bright side in any situation and has fun even amid chaos. When we fought, my mom would say, “You’ll be best friends when you grow up!” And she was right. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my sisters and brothers. They are my best friends. Their spouses are my best friends. Their kids are the best. I am blessed. 

#GiveThanks Day 3

Chris was serving a two-year mission in Hermosillo, Mexico, teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ when, because of Covid, he had to leave suddenly. He was reassigned to Wichita, Kansas. He loves Kansas, but he misses Mexico.

This week we had the following conversation:

Chris: If I don’t get to go back to Mexico to finish out my mission, I’ll be heartbroken. 

Me: God knows you—he knows how sad you’ll be. 

Chris: He doesn’t just know me, he’ll be sad right along with me! I’ll be crying and he’ll be crying with me! He’ll say, “I knew you weren’t going back and I knew how sad that would make you! My heart is breaking too because I love you!”

I am grateful that my son has learned that God is a God who weeps. No matter what hard things we’re going through, God feels it too. Best if all, he has promised to walk by our side.