When I was a young newly married woman my husband and I
would split our Christmas day between his dad & moms and my dad & moms,
we always went to his mamas first thing in the morning for gifts and then an early
diner then on to my dad’s for a late diner, My Daddy was always so wonderful
about doing the dinner later so that we could be there. I think he knew it
would have broken my heart if I couldn't have been there with my siblings for
Christmas.
First thing on Christmas morning we would get up and open our
gifts to each other then head to Kevin’s moms to hang out with the family, later
on when we had our babies we would open gifts together and then have a little
breakfast………………which later on morphed into breakfast sausage casserole, cinnamon[Jc1]
rolls, orange juice, milk and coco before heading to Lavon’s to open gifts and
have diner.
As time went by we had three beautiful Children, sold the
little house in town and moved into the big house up on the hill and so the
change began……… the in-laws aged and my daddy who had done so much to help us
get our house set up on the hill had died, so many Christmases had come and
gone so very quickly and then the Christmas celebration came to rest in our
hands ……….. Well kind of.
Kevin’s mama Lavon was the matriarch of the family, she was
a very intelligent & strong woman and to be honest a little intimidating at
first (I am not easily intimidated) and she ruled over the holidays (with love)
ever since I had come to know the family.
Lavon had a gift for entertaining, her home was always beautifully
decorated, I absolutely loved her Christmas tree with white lights and white
decorations and glass it was just beautiful, she was also an amazing cook there
would be all kinds of homemade cookies, fudge, pies and then there was the Norwegian yummy's fattigmann, krumkake, lefse She also had certain dishes that she made for each holiday
that the family had come to love and expect.
I remember the first year that Christmas was to
be at our house, I was very nervous we were responsible for the family diner
talk about pressure …….. Well that’s what I thought anyways till mama Kellogg
showed up that morning with her magic Mary Poppins plaid picnic bag, I have
never seen so much amazing food come out of a picnic bag, we had the turkey in
the oven and potatoes prepared for boiling, she comes in and starts pulling out
an endless parade of goodies out of the amazing picnic bag seriously the most
glorious bounty of food, green bean casserole, stuffing, pies, cookies, lefsa,
fudge, potato rolls, pistachio salad,
veggies for a veggie tray and later as Johnnie got older she included homemade
baked mac and cheese and her favorite napkins,
it was like the bag had no bottom and she would just reach down and pull
out more and more goodies from a bottomless well of goodness. This went on
until her last Christmas with us, she was really struggling with her health
that year, I could tell it had really taken a toll on her as she had to sit a
lot and take breaks, as we were sitting taking a little break and having coffee
she shared that it bothered her that she couldn't do the things she so loved to
do, I could see the sadness in her face and I came to realize that for her
cooking and all the hoopla wasn't just for the holiday it was an expression of love for her children.
That last year she still had made so many of her dishes in her little apartment
and filled that magic bag with so many delightful treats, I know it had to of
taken her hours if not days to prepare everything as she couldn't stand for
long periods of time without becoming exhausted, it is amazing what the power
of love can help you accomplish. That
was our last Christmas with her, her legacy lives on in our memories and
traditions we are passing on to her grandchildren.
She is so very much missed and I will always remember her
magic red plaid picnic bag.
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