Merry Christmas!!

Merry, Merry Christmas!! May your home is filled with lots of joy and blessings!

"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” - Luke 2: 9-12

Virtual Gingerbread House

Here is a fun activity I found on a friend's site. Enjoy!!

Build your Gingerbread House here

Peanut Brittle

I have never made peanut brittle before...but decided to try some for this year's Christmas baking and it was SOOO easy and turned out great. The recipe is from a cookbook called Gift From the Christmas Kitchen.

Peanut Brittle

1 c sugar

1/2 c light corn syrup

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 c roasted peanuts

1 tsp margarine or butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

Spray cookie sheet w/ cooking spray. In a glass bowl stir sugar, syrup, and salt with wooden spoon until mixed. Microwave on High for 7 -8 minutes until pale yellow. Stir in nuts. Cook for 1 more minute. Add margarine, vanilla, & baking soda until foamy. Pour on sheet and spread evenly. Let cool; break into pieces.

Cute stuff..

Obviously Joshua is the cutest boy on earth...but man, the more he talks the cuter and cuter he gets. He currently is obsessed with pointing out EVERY trash can he sees. He also is obsessed with throwing trash away. He will find the tiniest string on the ground and says, "trash, trash, trash". It also melts my heart that I pointed out Baby Jesus in our nativity and then two days later he is pointing to it saying, 'Baby Jesus'. Ahh!! I just love it!

Christmas Dinner Entertainment

This year I have made Christmas Crackers for all my guests. I used a wrapping paper tube and cut into smaller pieces. I glued wrapping paper around each one and tied each end with a ribbon after putting little prizes inside each. I glued name tags on each of the crackers. This will indicate where to sit as well as have a question on the back that my guest must answer before they can open their cracker. Questions might include: What is your favorite Christmas tradition? etc

We will also be playing a few games between dinner & dessert. I found quite a few good ones at THIS site. It should be lots of fun!

Great Kid Sites & Free Stuff

I love how many websites now have pages to print and color, games, videos, storybooks, etc. Here are a few of my favorite sites. Also, for Christmas, I'm printing lots of coloring pages and making a coloring book for Joshua - which is basically free and a great stocking stuffer.

1. Boz the Bear - This bear teaches all sorts of pre-school stuff like colors, numbers, etc with a message about God. They also have lots of family activities that go along with their books and videos. I really love Boz & so does Joshua!!

2. Disney - Lots of links to any of their shows online.

3. Veggie Tales - Who doesn't love Bob the tomato & Larry Boy!!

My favorite places to shop online

I did almost all of my shopping online this year and saved a bunch of money using coupon codes that you can also find online. Here are a few of my favorite shopping sites.


1. Etsy - This is a site full of crafters and their products. This is a great site for unique items and a way to support other crafters!

2. Amazon - This is just a given. Amazon is great. I have even bought items like my digital camera and found them always to be quick and the lowest price around.

3. Gooseberry Patch - Everything on here is just SO darn cute!

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Guess who is afraid of Santa?

Christmas Eve Gift

I like to open one gift on Christmas eve which is usually Christmas pajama's. But this year, I've decided to add another gift for Joshua to unwrap on Christmas eve - a box with a picture of baby Jesus inside. Now, Joshua probably won't really understand this year - but hopefully in years to come it will be a great reminder to us all that the real gift of Christmas is the gift of Jesus.

Baked Grits

Being a southerner, I figured it was high time for me to learn to make grits. So this morning I made my first batch and boy were they delicious!!

Baked Grits
6 c water
1 1/2 c instant grits
3/4 c butter
1 lb Velveeta
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
pinch cayenne
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp Worcester
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium saucepan boil water and stir in grits. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add in all ingredients except eggs and cook until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and add eggs. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake for 1 hour. Yum!

The Snowflake Poem

Here is the snowflake poem I mentioned earlier...this is a great idea for a winter baby shower as party favors.

As God creates each snowflake to be unique & special - so He creates each child. Hang this snowflake on your tree as we pray for (insert baby name here) that she will know how delicate she is in the tender arms of her creator.

At Home..

I love this picture that I snagged last night of Joshua. It says to me that Joshua is so comfortable and happy in his home - which makes me so happy.

Dishcloth Apron

Here is a simple dishcloth apron from Real Simple Magazine. All you do is get a dishcloth, sew two buttons (one on each side) to the top corners and then tie with a ribbon.

Christmas Banner

Look at this fun banner that Monica at The Homespun Heart is giving the pattern away for. This is the one I made this morning - so much fun!!

Help! Snowflake Poem

I'm looking for a poem that is attached to snowflake ornaments that are given as favors at a baby shower. The poem says something about how each snowflake is different like the child that is expected and when you put the ornament on your tree remember to pray or something like that. Does anyone have a copy of this poem? Has ever heard of it or anything? Thank you!!!

Joshua's Tree & Our Big Helper

Here is a picture of Joshua and his tree. I told him to smile for the camera and that is the grin he gave me.This other picture is of Joshua being a big helper with one of John's honey do projects.