Christmas Wrap-Up

We had a lovely Christmas together...spending time with family is always a good thing! I know many people are hurting during the year...but, especially during the holidays. My heart just hurts thinking about some of the things you ladies are going through...Please know that I'm praying for you.

We started with the Christmas Eve service at our church. After church, the kids got to open their gifts to each other. They had so much fun shopping for each other and then wrapping the gift. It did my mommy's heart good to see their little faces light up when their sibling opened their gift!

Christmas morning, we read Luke 2:1-20 (a tradition in our house before we open gifts). It is always good for us as a family to remember THE GREATEST GIFT ever given~JESUS CHRIST!

After gifts were opened~did I mention that Hubbie got me Pioneer Woman's new cookbook?~we had breakfast, then got ourselves ready for the rest of the day. We drove to my parent's house (about 1 1/2 hours) for Christmas dinner. Yum! Mom is a great cook. On the menu was: fried chicken, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, yeast rolls. Of course, no meal is complete without dessert...spice cake, cookies, applesauce cake, cookies, pineapple upside down cake, more cookies...Mom made dozens of cookies...I'm sure Dad doesn't mind having the leftovers. :)

On Saturday, 12/26, our son turned 5 years old! We started our day with a quick clean-up from Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa came over and we had Christmas with them. Then, out to Applebee's for the birthday lunch. After lunch, we headed back home for birthday cake and birthday presents. What a fun day we had. His favorite birthday gift was Spike, Jr., a dinosaur that walks and roars and laughs...

Sunday was church, Monday we stayed home, and on Tuesday, we drove round trip to see some family out on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. We had Christmas with them and enjoyed spending a little bit of time with them.

Wednesday, we did stay home, and today, we are home...I sure have enjoyed having Hubbie home...He returns to work on Monday (but he gets to work from home), and we start school again on Monday.

For now, I am thinking about my goals for 2010--nothing concrete yet. I prefer to not make "resolutions" as I do not keep them very well! I'm hoping that this blog will help keep me accountable. :) I hope to share some of those goals in the days ahead.

Here are just a few photos I'd like to share with you from our last two weeks.

Have a safe and happy New Years Eve!

Beautiful falling snow!

We got 23" of snow!

The kids playing on the deck.

Our oldest daughter's creations...

And our son's creations...

Lots of fun for everyone!

Daybook for December 22, 2009

Good morning! I am linking up to The Simple Woman's Daybook today. Hop on over there for lots more of these fun lists...Have a great Tuesday!

FOR TODAY...

December 22, 2009

Outside my window...
sunny and 34 degrees (and almost two feet of snow on the ground)

I am thinking...
about our 13th anniversary yesterday

I am thankful for...
a wonderful Hubbie

From the learning rooms...
all is calm, all is still, for now...

From the kitchen...
sour cream cutouts and chocolate pretzel snacks

I am wearing...
comfy PJs

I am creating...
memories with my children...

I am going...
nowhere~ I hope!

I am reading...
the latest issue of Taste of Home (still!)

I am hoping...
that we can get up the mountain to Grandma and Grandpa's house

I am hearing...
the furnace

Around the house...
are lots of white Christmas lights

One of my favorite things...
my husband's kisses

A few plans for the rest of the week:
finish wrapping gifts, do some more baking, decorate the gingerbread house with the kids, Christmas Eve service on Thursday night, Christmas on Friday, our son's 5th birthday on Saturday

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

we were at a Bass Pro-Shop recently and this was one of the shoppers :)

Isn't he beautiful?!?!

Happy

13th Anniversary to us! :)

On this day, thirteen years ago, at 3:30 PM, we said our vows before God and our guests...to honor...to love...to cherish...til death parts us...

In celebration, we went to O'Charley's for dinner. After the kids were tucked safely in their beds, we exchanged anniversary gifts...

I am blessed to have you as my husband! I am looking forward to the next 75 years with you!

I LOVE YOU!

A Beautiful Place...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

to our oldest daughter, who turns nine today! Just a few short years ago, I was in labor on this day...At 7:34 PM, our world was changed forever when she made her entrance!

She is a huge help to me and a good friend to her little brother and sister. She plays Lego's with her brother and walks her sister around the house, holding her hands to make sure she doesn't fall. What a blessing she is to our family!

We love you, Sweet Girl, and hope you have a terrific day!

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY!

Here are a few pictures of when you were 4 years old...

I'm loving that smile!

I cannot remember why we had the table in front of the fireplace...hmmm.

Christmas, 2004

Making the gingerbread house...

Kindergarten graduation, May 2006...such a happy little girl! You had a proud momma and daddy that day, too!

Simple Woman's Daybook~12/14

Happy Monday! Today, I am linking up to The Simple Woman's Daybook.

FOR TODAY
Monday, December 14, 2009

Outside my window...

foggy and cold~34 degrees!

I am thinking...

that I have a wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally!

I am thankful for...

a great church

From the learning rooms...

gearing up for the last week of school before Christmas break!

From the kitchen...

old fashioned oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins

I am wearing...

my pink and green pj's and warm socks

I am creating...

a birthday banner for my oldest daughter

I am going...

nowhere~ I hope!

I am reading...

the latest issue of Taste of Home

I am hoping...

that I will get the Christmas gifts wrapped this week

I am hearing...

Christmas music via http://www.rejoice.org/

Around the house...

it looks a lot like Christmas!

One of my favorite things...

coffee with peppermint mocha creamer

A few plans for the rest of the week:

birthday girl tomorrow, church Wednesday night,

Hubbie off work on Friday, Cookie Party at Grandma's house on Saturday

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Double Tree Hotel Cookies~YUMMY!

Happy Birthday to My Hubbie!

Some characteristics about my Hubbie~

my best friend in the world

the most wonderful husband a gal could ask for

a good listener

a great dad

the sole provider for our family

one of the hardest working people I know

the one I laugh with

and the one I cry with

the one I hold hands with in prayer...

Happy Birthday, Sweet Hubbie! I love you!

Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Hubbie's birthday last night, and what a fun evening we had! On the menu~nothing fancy~but definitely comforting...

This recipe is my version, but there are lots of different varieties out there.

Poppy Seed Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 16 ounce sour cream
2 sleeves of Town House crackers
1 stick of butter
poppy seeds

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray.
• Mix soup and sour cream together. Add in the cubed chicken.
• Melt butter in microwave.
• Crush the crackers into pieces. Toss with butter. Shake in some poppy seeds. (We do not like a lot in ours. In fact, last night, I totally forgot to put them in!)
• Mix a couple spoons of crackers into the chicken mixture.
• Place the chicken into the casserole dish. Top with the remaining crackers.
• Bake for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly.

We also had baby lima beans and croissant rolls. For dessert, we had Hubbie's favorite dessert~homemade cheesecake with cherry topping.

I enjoyed cooking for my sweet Hubbie!

Hope you have a great Wednesday! It's cold and raining here...what a great day to stay inside! :)

Plans for the week...

Here it is Monday evening, and I have not posted yet!!! The day just seemed to fly by. Ever have those kind of days?

We have a busy week with schooling, celebrating Hubbie's 35th birthday, and finishing up decorating the house.

We will be celebrating his birthday tomorrow since we have other plans for Thursday...on the menu will be poppy seed chicken, and for dessert--that homemade cheesecake that I wrote about here. Of course, it will have cherry pie topping. Yum! I hope you all have a great evening.

Mom and Dad

Today is Thankful Thursday~already!

I am so thankful for parents who love the Lord Jesus and who taught us three kids to love Jesus, too! My parents are great and always an encouragement and blessing to me. Mom and Dad have always been hard workers and taught us that hard work was a good thing!

When Dad lost his job in 1976, what did Mom do? She went out and found a job to help support the family! No, it wasn't the most glamorous job in the world...but it helped keep a roof over our head and food on the table. They both sacrificed much to send all three of us to Christian school and then on to Christian college.

Even during difficult times, they still relied on the Lord for His strength...what an example to my brother, sister, and I!





I love you, Mom and Dad!

Give A Little Support

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

I wanted to share a little something...as I was reading the October/November edition of Taste of Home, I ran across an article about some patriotic women who bake for our deployed soldiers. What an awesome way to show our appreciation for troops in harm's way.

Check them out! Operation Baking GALS




I'm going to get involved...maybe it will be in time for Christmas, too! I hope you have a wonderful day.

Welcome, December!

It's already December 1st! Wow! This year has really passed quickly! From reading your blogs, it sounds like everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday. We had a really nice Thanksgiving with our family. We spent part of the day with my Hubbie's family, and then the rest of the day with my family. On Friday, Nanny watched the kiddos for us while Hubbie and I did quite a bit of our Christmas shopping...it is amazing to me that once you get out of this DC metro area, life seems so much more calm...the stores were not busy, crazy, etc. There were actually very kind people working at the stores...I think I may have to shop out there again! :)

This is a very busy month for a lot of reasons...

7th~Remembering Hubbie's Dad~PopPop~(He's in Heaven now but this is his birthday)
10th~Hubbie's birthday
15th~Our oldest daughter's 9th birthday
20th~Grandpa's birthday
21st~Poppy's birthday
21st~Our 13th anniversary
25th~Jesus' birthday~The most important celebration this month!
26th~Our son's 5th birthday

Add in Christmas programs, Christmas Eve services, Christmas parties, etc, and you have an extremely busy time of year. Yet, it is also extremely blessed! Looking forward to all that the Lord has in store for us this season.

I had hoped to have our Christmas tree up by today...however, it's still in the basement in our storage room...maybe by the weekend? We'll see...and then I'll be able to post some pictures. :)

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Giving Thanks Week

Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful Monday, and are looking forward to Thanksgiving! Check out this blog for some great Thanksgiving ideas!

On Sunday, our pastor reminded us that we could take just about forever thanking God for His physical blessings to us...however, how often do we remember to thank God for Who He is?

So, today, I am thankful that God is my protection. These verses from Psalm 91 are a blessing to me.

v. 1~He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

v. 2~I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

v. 4~He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

v. 11~For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Aren't you thankful for God's Word?

Blessings to you today!

Pumpkin Week~Part 4

Yea! It's Friday! When I was a school teacher, everyone in the class looked forward to Friday. I still look forward to them because it means the school week is almost over, and that the weekend is almost here. ;)

Hubbie and I are very blessed. He is able to work his 80 hours in 9 days, and gets every 10th day off work, so we get to spend the day together...looking forward to some quality time with him. :)

Here's the final recipe for "pumpkin week". Can there be anything better than cheesecake?!? The recipe is from the Kraft Foods magazine, food & family, fall 2009.

Pumpkin-Swirl Cheesecake

25 ginger snaps, finely crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmet
dash of ground cloves

Directions:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Mix crumbs, nuts, and butter; press onto bottom of 13 x 9 inch pan.
• Beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each just until blended.
• Remove 1 1/2 cups batter. Stir remaining sugar, pumpkin, and spices into remaining batter.
• Spoon half the pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of half the plain batter. Repeat layers; swirl with knife.
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.
• Enjoy!

Have a wonderful Friday, and a great weekend.

Pumpkin Week~Part 3

Today, I am thankful for good Christian music. The following song has been in my head ever since I woke up, and now that you read it, it will probably be in yours, too! ;)

This is the Day

This is the day (This is the day)

That the Lord hath made (that the Lord hath made)!

I will rejoice (I will rejoice)

And be glad in it (and be glad in it).

This is the day

That the Lord hath made!

I will rejoice

And be glad in it.

This is the day (This is the day)

That the Lord hath made!

I think music can be:
a balm to a hurting heart
an encouragement to a sad heart
healing for a broken heart
an outlet for a rejoicing heart

What a blessing that we can sing to our Savior! I am so glad that during church services, we still sing out of the hymn book. Some of my favorite hymns are How Great Thou Art, Make Me A Blessing, Grace That is Greater, To God Be the Glory, Amazing Grace, and It is Well. What is your favorite hymn?

Now, on to a recipe! But wait! Just a quick update~yesterday, I made the pumpkin roll with Splenda...it turned out okay. The roll did not rise as much as it does with sugar. It tasted pretty good, though. The filling was delicious! I think I could have eaten just that! :) Hubbie found an easy recipe for sugar substitute powdered sugar. (1 cup of Splenda + 1 tsp. cornstarch + a food processor = powdered sugar) I used that in the recipe as well.

Today's recipe is another one that sounds really yummy, but I have not tried it yet...I guess I better get moving on these recipes, huh? :) This is from my Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Pudding

15 ounces solid pack pumpkin
12 ounces evaporated milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk baking mix
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons vanilla
whipped topping

Directions:

• Mix together all ingredients except the whipped topping. Pour into a greased slow cooker.
• Cover and cook on Low for 6-7 hours, or until thermometer reads 160 degrees.
• Serve in bowls with whipped topping.

Have a wonderful day today!