It's Christmas Eve and I'm feeling SO incredibly grateful

Our daughters are all cozy and tucked in, greatly anticipating Christmas morning. @jasonrussell and I are relaxing while we wait to make absolutely certain that the girls are asleep before we set out the gifts, so I thought I would share a little bit about our weekend while we wait. I am going to do a bit of boasting in this post because I am so very thankful for all of the blessings in my life. But please read to the end to give me suggestions on how to help those in need.

It's very cold outside, but the fire is burning bright, and we are thankful to be sheltered and warm in our home

My birthday is on Christmas Day, so I have the privilege of having the day off work to spend with my family every year. However, it can be difficult to celebrate with friends because of the holiday. Birthday celebrations are very important in our circle of family and friends, so my amazing loved ones arranged a surprise birthday party for me! I was so flattered and beyond surprised! My sister @jessicalayman started planning with @jasonrussell and so many of our friends joined in to make sure my birthday was special. @kayladenise and @johnbutler hosted the party at their house, and @juju88 made sure I was distracted ;)

Look at banner! Haha...If any of you out there are fans of the show "Arrested Development", you'll understand what I'm talking about ;)

My sister made some delicious spaghetti for dinner!

My niece made cupcakes and sent them for the party

They also spent time putting together a picture slideshow of some great memories, and that made me tear up a bit because they know how much I cherish photographs and memories! There were acoustic instruments all over the place, and everyone played and sang together, and my heart felt so full!

I didn't take many pictures because I was busy having fun, but here's a blurry shot of @johnbutler, @rockchickjen, @hangrydwarf and their boy Jaiden. There were a lot of Steemians there, and these guys even rocked an #openmic entry that I recorded on my phone. I need to get it to them soon!

One of my sweet best friends @kayla.denise got me this gift set which I will definitely put to good use!

And my life-long friend @adrianecastaneda got my this super cool Himalayan salt lamp!

Because my in-laws kept our daughters last night, we got to sleep in late today (Which was amazing because I have been working like crazy lately!) When they got home, we decided to spend the afternoon/evening baking and making a delicious Christmas Eve dinner.

On the menu tonight: Pan-seared steak, salad and mashed potatoes with brown gravy

The girls and I baked chocolate chip cookies for Santa (and for Christmas goodies!) We like our cookies soft and chewy, so I always use my mama's trick by replacing the granulated sugar with vanilla pudding mix.

We also prepared a breakfast casserole for the morning, so all we have to do is pop it in the oven for a few minutes and breakfast is served!

There are many variations on this Cheesy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole, but I usually just cook like my mom taught me: A little of this, and a little of that. From the photos, it just looks like a ton of cheese! But I use chopped turkey ham, shredded hashbrowns, chopped peppers and onions, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and of course: Cheese!

The girls sat out snacks for Santa and his reindeer ;)

To conclude this post, I have so much to be thankful for and I want to find a way to give back to the community through Steemit. This time last year, I was at an all-time low...physically and mentally. Although I had my family by my side, I was recovering from a heart surgery and my anxiety and depression were in full force. I have seen so many acts of kindness on Steemit, and I would like to give back to the community, even if it's just a small amount. I know that so many people out there are feeling lonely, cold, hungry, or depressed at this time of year. If you know of someone that could use a little holiday cheer, please drop a comment here or if you'd like to be more discreet, shoot me a message on Discord. (melodyrussell)

Merry Christmas to those of you that observe the holiday and happy, positive thoughts to everyone else out there, no matter how you spend this time of year. Thank you to the people of Steemit for being such an uplifting and positive factor in my life.

All my love,

Mel