This Christmas we chose to stay in Texas so that we wouldn't have to fight crowds, long lines, delays, and germs found in every airport. My parents and brother were nice enough to fight crowds, long lines, delays, and germs so that they could spend Christmas with us.
It was a very special Christmas because of this little guy.
Here are some of my favorite photos from Christmas weekend (I chose not to edit any of these to save some time)
a particular someone was the center of attention
my Christmas gift---project life
He's not ready for his rocking giraffe, but I found it on Zulily and couldn't pass it up!
HIs zany zoo is from Kiki and Grandpa (my parents)
We're celebrating in our new home with my parents and brother. So blessed and excited to have a little bundle of JOY this year. Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!!
I made THEM....the thing I've tasted once (because my cousin Kate made them for me) and the recipe I thought was too complicated for me. You see, I'm not a baker...I don't like measuring ingredients and to be honest flour and I don't get along. Not because I'm gluten intolerant, but because I swear it goes everywhere as soon as I open my jar. I decided to get over my flour phobia and start baking this Christmas. I've made several batches of cookies, Almond Butter Toffee, and PW Cinnamon Rolls. In fact, I found the entire process rather cathardic and I think I want to try making soft pretzels next!
On Friday afternoon I made sure I had all the ingredients for the Cinnamon Rolls, so that on Saturday I was ready to tackle this notion that I'm not a baker. Food Network had a PW Christmas episode over the weekend and she made her famous Cinnamon Rolls. I watched her as closly as possible, over and over until I felt like I had it down. I made the dough on Saturday and kept it in the fridge until today. I then rewatched her making the cinnamon rolls this morning and would do a step and then watch the next step. I guess you could say I was cooking with The Pioneer Woman!!! I wish...talk about something on my bucket list!!!
1. She says you can make the dough and then start making the rolls. I don't buy that because the dough is extremely sticky when it's warm or room temperature. The chilled dough was still sticky, but it was easier to work with. I also floured my countertop before rolling them out even though she doesn't mention that.
2. Cover the dough in the fridge with a damp towel, otherwise you're going to get a dry crust over the exposed areas. I covered mine with a dry towel and won't do that again.
3. Rolling out the dough into a rectangle took a little more skill than I expected. Granted the last time I rolled something out was probably many years ago....seriously!!! And I need a good rolling pin. I really like this one, I wonder if it's any good?!
4. The first batch I made looked a little funky due to my lack of skill with rolling out the dough, the second batch looked much better. Note, when I say batch I am talking about the fact that you split the dough into two batches when rolling it out.
5. I used 8, aluminum foil cake pans. This recipe makes a lot of cinnamon rolls, be ready to share them. I believe that you can cut the recipe in half without too much trouble.
6. The frosting is REALLY sweet...the next time I make them I'm going to figure out a way to cut down on the sweetness. I did not have maple flavoring, so I used some vanilla instead.
7. When she says to pour the frosting over the cinnamon rolls when they're right out of the oven she means it. I waited a few minutes on the first batch and they looked so different than the second batch.
8. Using a serated knife to cut the dough is helpful
9. Plan to use one of the pans for just the ends of each roll of dough because the ends look a little messed up, but still taste good.
10. This really is a very easy recipe that requires some time. I found that making the dough one day and then making the cinnamon rolls another day made the task manageable.
So this may be the easiest toffee recipe ever! My Mom developed this recipe for microwave cooking classes that she taught long ago (when microwaves first came out). Although I really don't cook in my microwave, as she does, this is one thing that I make every single Christmas because it's so good and SO easy!
3 oz milk chocolate (I use 1 ½ Hershey bars for each batch)
Take a 2 quart glass measuring cup and put the stick of butter in the bottom.
Use the butter wrapper and rub the excess butter on the wrapper along the top of the measuring cup. This will keep the toffee from boiling out of the cup.
Pour sugar and salt over butter and top with water.
Place in microwave on full power for 7 minutes. Then continue cooking in 30 second intervals until the hot toffee mixture reaches the color of light brown sugar. While the toffee is cooking, butter a metal baking sheet and spread out the almonds on the middle part of the sheet.
Once the hot toffee is ready, pour it over the almonds. DO NOT SCRAPE THE BOWL because it gets grainy if you do this.
Let the toffee cool for a minute and then top with chocolate. Let the chocolate melt and then spread it with a knife.
Place in the refrigerator and cool. Once cool break it into pieces and enjoy.
I wonder....does every new mother, who is a Christian, have a completely new perspective on Mary, the Mother of Jesus??
This year more than any other year I have thought of Jesus's mother, Mary. I hold such tender thoughts of her now. I was raised in a Catholic faith where Mary is very revered, something I never quite "got" until this year. I certainly don't believe in worshipping her, worship is set aside for God the Father, but I certainly believe she deserves great reverence. Reverence means "regard or treat with deep respect"...yep, she absolutely earned that.
Can you imagine??? You're engaged, you're very young, you're an ordinary Jewish girl, you have little means, and an Angel comes to you and says you will bear, birth, and raise the Son of God??? Can you imagine??? The pressure, the insecurity, the fear, the calling, the amazement of it all??? She didn't totally understand, but she submitted to God's will, was obedient, and believed!
As a new Mother I feel pressure to do things right...to not expose him to harmful influences, to read to him daily, to teach him to be sweet, patient, independent, to cope, to problem solve, to be an example of God's love, to teach Him about Jesus's love and sacrifice, to teach Him about God's creation, about good and evil, and on...and on....and on..........
I also know, without a shadow of a doubt that God specifically selected Karsten for us...and us for him. God knows his future, the good plans He has for him, his gifts and talents, the great purpose He has for his life....and He chose us to be a part of that. I know that there will be times when I just don't feel equipped to raise him, I won't know how to lead him, I will be at a loss for words or ideas, I will feel insecure in my role as his mother, and I will continually have to give my dreams and desires for him back to God....the one who entrusted him to us.
All of that saying...Karsten is so special (as every child is), but no child was, is, or every will be as special, as set apart, as Holy, Mary's firstborn. She knew who HE was. HE was her Savior and Son all wrapped into ONE. Can you imagine??? I know that God annointed her and gave her unfounded grace, peace, and mercy...but she was still human with fears, doubts, insecurities, cares, burdens, and love overflowing for her son.
I will never forget seeing Karsten for the first time. I saw God's fingerprints all over him...I'd imagine Mary saw the same thing that night so long ago. Remember Jesus is fully human and fully God. He cried, and got cold, and drank milk from His mother, and fell asleep in His Mother's arms that night. Can you imagine??? What were her thoughts late that night as she looked into her son's face, as she unwrapped him to look at his ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes, as she heard the angels singing??? She wasn't in a home, she wasn't in a comfortable place at all, she was in a stable surrounded by animals and dirt and manure. Can you imagine??? You have to give birth to the Son of God, the Most High in a place like that. And yet, when you look at your child and realize the gift you've been given everything else melts away.
Can you imagine???
Here are a few of my favorite Christmas songs about Mary. They sang this one on Sunday and although I knew it (because I love Barlow Girl) I really heard it for the first time and it brought me to tears.
and another favorite Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant
What lessons can we all learn from Mary??
1. Entrust our children and our plans and dreams for our children to God.
2. Be available, submit, and be obedient to His will for our lives.
3. Understand that God's plans rarely line up with what the world expects us to do. We may be ridiculed, mocked, lose relationships, but being at the center of God's plan for us is the safest place to be.
This year I resolved to find and buy an Amaryllis and a Christmas Cactus. I found the Christmas cactus at Lowes in the outdor garden section and got the Amaryllis bulb and pot at HEB. Each were under $7. If you live in a colder climate you may find the cactus inside the store. You can find Amaryllis or Paperwhites just about anywhere, already packaged and ready to take home or give as a gift. I've seen them at Target, Lowes, etc. My Amaryllis won't be blooming for Christmas, but maybe in late January I'll have something brightening up my home. I'd actually like to get some paperwhite bulbs and plant them indoors and "force them to bloom". It's on my list...just need to make it happen!
Amaryllis
The Christmas Cactus will stay in my home all year long and is supposed to bloom around Christmas every year. If I take care of it I should have it for years and years to come.
Here I go again...another chocolate peppermint recipe. If you like the combo as much as I do you MUST make these cookies. They are DIVINE....truly a favorite of mine. I got the recipe from Becky Higgin's blog a few years ago and have made them almost every single Christmas.
Brian needed to take a dessert for a Christmas party at work and this was just thing...of course, I kept a few to nibble on today ;) I'd say the recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies. I used the Pampered Chef Medium Scoop
Bag of crumbled peppermint pieces (I use Ande’s brand) Not crushed peppermint candy
Melt butter, brown sugar, and water in a saucepan over medium heat until melted and then add chocolate chips, stirring until completely melted. Cool for 10 minutes. Put this in a mixing bowl and beat in 2 eggs. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix together and chill for about 45 minutes.
Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and place on cooling rack. Sprinkle peppermint crumbles on the top of each hot cookie and do not spread. The pieced will get soft at first and then keep their shape once cool.
About these crumbles: You can find them near chocolate chips this time of year. In my grocery store they were also in the special holiday baking section. They only have these specific ones at Christmas so stock up. I got an extra bag to have at Valentines Day :) One bag will cover about two batches of cookies. You can also use Ande's baking chips, or an Ande's mint but they're not quite as pretty as the peppermint crumbles
Chocolate and Peppermint are a match made in heaven. This time of year this dynamic duo is in full glory. Oddly enough though...I really don't like peppermint mochas. Now I could drink a Gingerbread latte every single day and everytime I go to Target this time of year I stop at the Starbucks inside the store and order up a tall, with whip, and savor it as I stroll through the store.
But this post isn't about gingerbread, this post is about Chocolate and Peppermint. This recipe is adapted from a recipe I cut out from Cooking Light several years ago...back when I cut out recipes...now I just pin them!
I cheated and used a Choclate Fudge boxed cake mix because I had it and my time is valuable, but I did make the frosting and it was delicious!!!
Last year I made a Christmas banner for our fireplace and after storing it in a zipock bag among our Christmas decor, I put it up on our mantle again this year. I decided to make a few more for gifts and wanted to share the simple template I use. I'd suggest printing the template out on cardstock or regular paper and then trace it on cardboard to make it durable. This template can be used to make birthday banners, other holiday banners, banners with your child's name, etc.
Here's one I made for a baby shower last year
and here's my Christmas one
This takes awhile to make, but it's a great activity to do while you're watching a movie or tv show!
scrapbook paper (I used my Christmas stash, so I have a different pattern for each flag, but you could certainly use one design more than once) Also, look for double sided paper
Flag Template (download and print from link above)
pencil to trace
scissors
some kind of circle punch or a small glass or candle holder to trace
letter stickers
adhesive
ribbon (forgot to picture)
hole punch
To spell out Merry Christmas I traced and cut 15 flags, using one for a space. Then cut them out and punch holes. Punch out or cut out circles (I used a scallop circle punch). Adhere them to the flags. Arrange flags in a complimentary way. Add letters to circles. String with ribbon! Enjoy! Store in a ziploc plastic bag.
I have high hopes of posting 12 Christmas ideas this year (between Dec. 1st and Dec. 24th)....not ideas found on the internet, but Christmas ideas I'm actually implementing (although I will certainly find some ideas on the internet). I have a list of ideas, now I just need to create and share them with you.
Today's idea is actually something I created several years ago, but never used. It's a December Daily album. You can find alot of great December Daily ideas on Ali's blog. She has done this kind of album for many years, always different...always creative...always inspirational. If I would have been on top of things I would have shared this last week so you could get your album ready, but I didn't. I will say that you can make this a simple thing. Just get a photo book and stick your photos and memories inside the pockets. I used scrap paper and stickers when I made my album. If you have a stockpile of scrapbook supplies then just use what you have!!!
Here are my foundation pages
(so I did kind of do one page a few years ago, but I'll just cover that up and start fresh today) The reason you see layers is because I used some "clear" paper. I also used envelopes, frames, etc
