Our small group will be here in one hour. Thankfully, I can close the bedroom doors. And since everyone is bringing food, I won't have to stress about the full success of a meal weighing completely on my shoulders. I love to have people in our home & I want them to feel at home here. I think that's what I loved most about being a youth pastor's wife - having 20 teens rummaging through my kitchen cupboards, saying, "Got anything to eat?" and then whipping up something yummy & impressing them thoroughly. My grandma was a great hostess & always invited people over for holidays...or any occasion worth celebrating. I guess in a way, I want to carry on her legacy by doing the same thing.

When I was in high school, I got to be a part of my best friend's family tradition. Every Christmas they made sweet & sour meatballs. I remember sitting in their kitchen early on a Saturday morning, rolling meatballs to broil. The sauce tasted so good...until I found out what it was made of. Grape jam & chili sauce; 1 part jam, 2 parts sauce. I had forgotten all about it, but went looking online & found the recipe. Now, I'll have to decide whether to tell the "secret ingredients" to our company! :)

Well, enough yapping. I'd better get ready!