I hardly know where to begin telling you about my week. Last week, on the evening of Saturday the 19th, my stepson and his wife stopped by for the night and to drop off their cat and dog for us to watch while they went to visit other family. Our nephew and his fiancé also stopped by for dinner and to visit for a few hours.
I had prepared a family favorite for dinner—chicken enchilada casserole. Not exactly health food, especially with the guacamole and tortilla chips, but definitely comfort food. We have cheat night on occasion and don’t feel guilty about it. After everyone had stuffed themselves, we sat around the living room talking and just having a great time.
On Sunday afternoon, our kids set out to visit other family for a few days. We had the house to ourselves (along with Tom, the cat). Most of the time between Sunday and Tuesday was spent wrapping Christmas presents and birthday presents and enjoying the gorgeous weather we were having. The daytime temperatures were in the 70s and the nighttime temps were in the 50s; not bad for late December, even in Texas.
Our kids came back Tuesday afternoon so we could get up early the next morning. Wednesday was my husband’s 56th birthday, and we were going fishing to celebrate. It’s the first time all of us had gone fishing together on our boat, which made the day even more special. The plan was to try to catch more catfish for Christmas dinner since we froze the fish from our last fishing trip.
Aside from being windy, the weather was absolutely perfect. The first place we anchored the boat at was probably a little too shallow because no one even got a nibble on their bait. We moved to the place on the lake that was so successful for us just two weeks ago. My stepson caught the first catfish; it was a good sized one and it put up a good fight. After he caught the second fish, we were all starting to feel like it was our turn to start catching fish.
Our daughter in law caught the next two. These were her first freshwater catfish. I think she was surprised how hard they fought. Since they live in Houston, they do a lot of saltwater fishing in Galveston. Catching catfish down there is a bit different than fishing from a boat in 20 plus feet of water.
So at this point, husband and wife were tied at 2 fish each. This husband and wife duo was tied at zero fish apiece. The tie didn’t last long, though, because my stepson caught his third fish. It was the biggest one yet. Since it was my husband’s birthday, I really wanted him to catch a big fish, too.
At this point, we had been on the lake for several hours; the wind, at times, was a bit annoying. But we hung in there and my prayer was answered. My husband pulled in fish number 6. We had enough fish for a fish fry with 5 fish, but it only seemed fitting that the birthday boy should catch one, too. After all, it was he who had made this fishing trip possible; and he was owner and captain of the boat!
We were planning to leave the lake by 4pm, and I have to admit that by 3:30 I was feeling a little dejected about being the only one to have not caught a fish. I used all my tricks for luring fish to my bait. Usually, if I ignore my rod, a fish will find my bait irresistible. I dosed with the rod in my hand, I set the rod down and browsed Facebook on my phone, I got a snack out of the cooler, I walked around the boat, I turned my back on my rod completely. Little did I know that my husband had prayed for me to catch a fish too.
It’s a good thing he was watching my fishing rod because when the catfish took my bait it almost pulled my rod in the water. I literally had to dive on it to keep it from getting dragged to the bottom of the lake. That fish put up a big fight. Turns out that it was the biggest fish of the day. It was the perfect way to end the fishing trip. I was definitely smiling.
My daughter came home the next day, Christmas Eve. We had a big dinner of smoked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, butternut squash, and green beans. After dinner, everyone opened one present. It was great to all be together again.
On Christmas morning, we gathered in the living room to open presents. Everyone received such thoughtful gifts; some were practical, while others were creative and fun. One of the gifts that I gave each of the kids was an air freshener holder for their vehicle. After all the presents were opened, we went into the dining room to create our own personal fragrance for our car using essential oils. I showed them how to combine different oils to create the perfect scent for them.
As we were wrapping that up, the guys were starting to get the fish ready to fry. Those 7 fish made 8 pounds of fileted meat! We sure had a feast that night with fried fish, onion rings, fried jalapeno peppers, French fries, and hush puppies. It was not a traditional Christmas dinner but it sure was tasty.
After dinner, we girls went back to the kitchen to make beeswax candles scented with essential oils. Both of my girls made two candles each. We had such a good time being creative together. I can’t wait to hear how they like their personally created fragrances.
The next day was Saturday, and it was also my daughter’s 22nd birthday. She opened her presents in the morning after we sang happy birthday to her. Upon her request we ate barbequed ribs for lunch, smoked by my wonderful husband; he is such a fabulous cook. She had to leave at midday to be back in time to go to work, but we made the most of our time together.
Saturday afternoon was a lazy time for the rest of us. We spent the evening watching the storms roll across Texas and tried to figure out when our stepson and daughter in law should go back to Houston. They left around noon today. They took the long way back but were able to avoid much of the bad weather.
That brings me up to date and explains why this post is a day late. The entire week was incredibly laid back and relaxing; no pressure, no deadlines, no stress. I really believe that it was the best week all year. I hope your week was filled with wonderful time spent with friends and family, as well. May we all ease back into work next week and spend the last week of the year in retrospect of 2015, and in anticipation of great things for 2016.
Matthew 2:9-11 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
