The Truth Behind Our Christmas Card

I LOVE Christmas cards.  The month of December is my absolute favorite time of year to check the mail.  In this world of social media and digital everything, there is something so special and exciting about getting pictures and cards from friends and family that make the effort to place a real stamp on something.  We love to hang them in our house and pray thankful prayers for the sweet families that we are so blessed to have in our lives. I also love taking our Christmas card pictures.  Why wouldn't I?  We have the perfect family, and the perfect kids who happily smile for the camera and make the experience so enjoyable.  (Anyone that actually knows my family is already laughing at the last sentence.)

Let me give you a little background of our "perfect" Christmas card picture this year.  It looks something like this: The week before the picture, I am trying to plan out our outfits....because, clearly, if we are going to sit happily in a field at sunset, like we do most evenings in the fall, we need to all be color coordinated.  This is usually somewhat challenging, because solids are the way to go, and solids apparently aren't "in" for babies.  Since shopping with a two year old and a baby is such a relaxing experience, I usually choose the "buy everything remotely cute and take back what doesn't work method."  Phil loves this method and is super thrilled to not only pay for formal pictures, but also pay for new outfits for the entire family (well for everyone but him...it always seems to work that way. ;))

The day of pictures this year, I dropped Cole at school and headed to get an eyebrow wax...because clearly I needed freshly waxed eyebrows to go with my new outfit.  As I was laying back relaxing in the chair and the skin was being ripped from my face, my cell phone rang.  It was Cole's school (which is NEVER a good phone call to get.)  The sweet preschool director on the phone said, "Cole is okay, but he's been crying all day and saying his ear hurts.  We think you need to come get him."  Oh no...not on picture day!  (Selfish mom confession, this may have been my first thought.) I called the doctor and made an appointment as I headed to Cole's school.  The doctor confirmed that, sure enough, he had his first ear infection since he got his tubes back in January.

Since it was a beautiful day and rescheduling with Phil's schedule is nearly impossible, we decided to take the pictures anyways.  Just getting Cole dressed for the occasion was a battle in itself. Now I was running twenty minutes late (and I am someone who HATES to be late.)  I arrived flustered and already sweating.  Thankfully with some medicine and tylenol, Cole was back to himself, but like any impossible two-year-old, he was being SO disagreeable.  The first time Cole ran away screaming, Phil threw his hands in the air, and said "I give up, this is pointless at his age."  You give up?!  What do you mean you give up?  We JUST got here.  This is no time to give up!  We will look like one big happy family if it kills us.  Isn't that what Christmas is all about?!

So there we were...Cole with an ear infection, Phil sweating and in a bad mood, me irritated at Phil for being impatient (oh and sweet Annie just sitting there smiling...thank the Lord for sweet Annie.)  Cole was running away towards the playground he could see in the distance, and Phil was having to chase him, tackle him, tickle him and throw him in the air to get him to smile for the pictures. At one point Cole tackled Annie and was basically wresting her in the dirt. I have to give a shout-out to my friend and amazingly talented and patient photographer Jamie, because she is clearly a MIRACLE worker for getting this beautiful picture and so many other good ones that day.

The gorgeous pictures don't necessarily tell the entire story of what our family looked like that day (although I am pretty sure Jamie has some hilarious outtakes).  So why "fake" it?  The truth is, the picture with Cole's HUGE smile perfectly describes Cole at his best.  That is the two year old that I adore and that is constantly making us laugh.  The smiles on mine and Phil's face may not reflect our attitudes towards each other that day, but they do reflect the love we have for each other and our little family.  Annie's calm nature came through in her sweet little grin.

A few weeks later we attempted a grandparents photo shoot, and Phil and my brother weren't able to be there (since the first attempt at pictures was cancelled because half the family had the stomach bug.)  We had a very similar experience to our family pictures.  The toddlers were running in different directions, the babies were crying and kicking off their shoes, and my dad was complaining that his knee hurt.  Bless Jamie's heart, because she had to WORK to get some pictures that day.  We laughed so hard we cried, and somehow we ended up with sweet pictures like this one...pictures that show Nanna and Mac at their best, loving on their sweet grandbabies that adore them.

So no, we don't take these pictures so our family looks perfect.  Clearly, we are far from it.  The pictures don't tell the entire story. There are so many moments in between the big smiles that might not look so picture-perfect. The pictures represent us at our best, which is exactly how Jesus sees us.  In a world that can be dark and negative, Jesus is the light that shines in all of us and the reason for all of the good we see.  Christmas is a time to celebrate his birth and to worship the one that sees the best in everyone.

So when I look back at our Christmas card this year, I will smile.  It is the perfect representation of our family at our best.  Please keep sending us pictures of your smiling faces, too.  They brighten our house and remind us just how much our Father loves us, by putting such special people in our lives.

REJOICE!  Merry Christmas, Love, The Adra Family.

P.S.

I also attempted to surprise Phil with a picture of me and the kids, and well, this was the best we got.  You can't win 'em all!

Meal Planning- The EASIEST and most delicious baked chicken ever (courtesy of my SIL!)

I am going to include the baked chicken recipe and also the recipes for the two EASY sides I always make with this meal: sautéed spinach and yummy rice (wish I could come up with a better name, but it is yummy!)

I can't take credit for this delicious and easy baked chicken recipe.  My sister-in-law, Stephanie, made it up, and it is one of our favorites. (I got her permission to share it on my blog!)  It was included in a cookbook my Aunt Lauren made for me as an engagement gift, that is compiled of recipes from friends and family (side note: this priceless cookbook is one of my favorite gifts EVER!  I love looking through it and making recipes from all my favorite people!)  So here is this simple recipe that you will LOVE:

From the Store:

2 chicken breasts with ribs and skin (I LOVE the Publix Greenwise split breasts w/ribs)

olive oil

kosher salt

pepper

That is ALL...and you probably have 3 of the 4 ingredients in your kitchen already.

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Wash the chicken breasts and place in a medium sized casserole dish.

2. Pour olive oil on top of chicken breasts (I always hate when recipes don't give amounts, but you really can't mess it up.) 

3. Add kosher salt and pepper.

4. Place chicken breasts (uncovered) in oven and bake at 375 for an hour. (Cooking time can vary....these are usually large chicken breasts so can sometimes take longer.  I take them out at an hour and cut open, and if they aren't done, I add 5-10 minutes.)

5. ENJOY!  This is seriously my favorite way to make chicken.  

Sauteed Spinach

My mother-in-law made spinach this way one time when she was visiting, and I have made it weekly since.  It is SO easy and a great way to get your greens.

From the Store:

1 bag of spinach

grape tomatoes

salt

pepper

1. Heat a large pan on medium to high heat.

2. Wash the grape tomatoes and slice them in half (I use the brand with Elmo on the sticker, because Cole always spots them...Once he even opened them and poured them out in the store, because he thought they were "Elmo Balls."  That was fun!)

I only use about half of the tomatoes, but this is a personal preference.  

3. Pour olive oil into bottom of the pan and add the tomatoes. 

4. Next, pour the bag of spinach into the pan. Drizzle olive oil over the top and add salt and pepper.

5. Stir the spinach and add a little more salt and pepper.  (The whole process should only take about 5 minutes.)

6. ENJOY!

Yummy Rice:

I got this rice recipe from my best friend, Katie.  She used to make it all the time when I lived with her.  I am waiting to find out where she got it so I can give credit.  I think there are a lot of versions of this recipe out there, so here is how I make it.

From the Store:

2 cans beef consomme

1 onion

1 cup of original condensed rice

sliced mushrooms (optional- I almost always make it with mushrooms, but yesterday they didn't look good at the store, so this time I didn't include them)

butter/soy sauce (to sauté the mushrooms)

1. Chop the onion. (Or you can use a can of french onion soup!  If you do that, only use 1.5 cans of the beef consomme.)

2. Add the rice, onion, and beef consomme to a large pan.

3. Bring to a boil, uncovered.

4. OPTIONAL- saute mushrooms in butter/a small amount of soy sauce while you're bringing the rice to a boil.  Add to mixture.

5.  Cover rice and leave on low heat. It takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes, depending on how hot your burner is.  I think it tastes better if you cook it longer on lower heat.

6. Stir occasionally. 

7. Enjoy!  You will know it is done when the liquid is soaked up.  Make sure not to leave it too long, because the rice will burn and stick to the bottom of the pan.

This is what the meal looks like all together.  I also like to dip my rice and chicken in ranch (because I like to dip everything in ranch!)  Cooking timing tip: I typically start the rice right after I put the chicken in the oven.  Once the rice is ready, I put it in a dish with the lid and make the spinach.  Usually by the time the spinach is done, the chicken is ready!  ENJOY!!!

Recipe Card: Baked Chicken.

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Wash the chicken breasts and place in a medium sized casserole dish.

2. Pour olive oil on top of chicken breasts (I always hate when recipes don't give amounts, but you really can't mess it up.) 

3. Add kosher salt and pepper.

4. Place chicken breasts (uncovered) in oven and bake at 375 for an hour. (Cooking time can vary....these are usually large chicken breasts so can sometimes take longer.  I take them out at an hour and cut open, and if they aren't done, I add 5-10 minutes.)

5. ENJOY!  This is seriously my favorite way to make chicken.

Recipe Card- Sauteed Spinach.

1. Heat a large pan on medium to high heat.

2. Wash the grape tomatoes and slice them in half.
3. Pour olive oil into bottom of the pan and add the tomatoes.
4. Next, pour the bag of spinach into the pan. Drizzle olive oil over the top and add salt and pepper.
5. Stir the spinach and add a little more salt and pepper.  (The whole process should only take about 5 minutes.)
6. ENJOY

Recipe Card: Yummy Rice
1. Chop the onion.
2. Add the rice, onion, and beef consomme to a large pan.

3. Bring to a boil, uncovered.

4. OPTIONAL- saute mushrooms in butter/a small amount of soy sauce while you're bringing the rice to a boil.  Add to mixture.

5.  Cover rice and leave on low heat. It takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes, depending on how hot your burner is.  I think it tastes better if you cook it longer on lower heat.
6. Stir occasionally.
7. Enjoy!  You will know it is done when the liquid is soaked up.  Make sure not to leave it too long, because the rice will burn and stick to the bottom of the pan.