We had a Merry Christmas!
And we hope you did too:)
Here is our Christmas in pictures…
Christmas Eve:
Christmas:
I didn’t take any pictures of our meals or stuff this year, so all you get to see are people! We still have more Christmas celebrating to do this weekend and then New Year’s Day it will be time to put away the decorations. That always makes me sad:-( Have a wonderful day and a Happy New Year if I don’t post again before then…
Filed under News | Comment (1)Welcome to our home!
Today is Boomama’s Christmas tour of homes and I wasn’t planning on participating, but after seeing some of the blogs I decided that I would do it. The idea is to post some pictures of your home decorated for Christmas or of some of your favorite Christmas items or collections. I’ll just let you browse the pictures (click for larger) and then you can read below if you want to know any more!
The first picture is of our large tree, which isn’t very large, but is about all we can fit here without a fire hazard. We just have lots of family ornaments…not a theme like many people do now. Some of the ornaments are mine from when I was little and most of them are either the kids now or ones that we have bought or received as presents since we’ve been a family. And yes…I’m done Christmas shopping and they are pretty much all wrapped and under the tree:)
The next picture is of a new addition for this year. Kristopher was wanting a small tree and we passed some in the store and I told him we’d think about it and then the next thing on the wall was a bunch of trees for $1! I didn’t have to think anymore:) It has some of our smaller ornaments on it and it sits on the kids book/toy shelf. I think there must have been a fire on top of it since the firetruck basket has been elevated to that height!
Third, are my favorite red and white candles in a chimney box. The chimney was one of my Aunt’s decorations that she gave to me several years ago and I love it. I bought the candles at JC Penney last year and the year before. I wish I’d gotten more, they are my favorite Christmas candles.
The next thing isn’t really a Christmas decoration, since we leave them out all year, but it is about Christmas! We bought 4 coasters from Wendell August Forge in Grove City Pennsylvania this summer with a little display rack. We don’t use them as coasters since they are so nice, but I love to look at them. The coaster that is displayed now is Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus for obvious reasons…we also have “Praying Hands“, “Noah’s Ark” and “Blessing“. If you want some beautiful pieces that have been handcrafted go check out their stuff!
Next up is another new display for this year in our home. I already had the little church, but I saw the [sparkly ivory] snowflakes and [ivory and gold] candles when I was shopping and thought that would be beautiful for our kitchen bar area. I really like how they look and they are right next to the tree so that is probably my favorite corner (all my books are there too).
Last I love this little snowman candy dish and mug tray. I’ve had these for a few years and I don’t use them too much during the holidays, but I love to look at them. The snowman makes me smile every time I see him:) Behind him you can see the back of another little snowman and candle that sit by our telephone. I have lots of snowmen placed around the house just because they make me happy.
That about covers it. I’d like to have some garland somewhere, but I just don’t. Merry Christmas to anyone still reading! Here’s some punch since you came to visit and I made you look all around:)
Christmas Punch from my Nana
2 Quarts Cranberry Juice Cocktail
Juice of 4 Lemons (3/4 cup)
1 Quart of Orange Juice
2 Quarts of Ginger Ale
1/2 Cup Sugar
Thin Orange Slices
Thin Lemon Slices
Halved Maraschino Cherries
Mix Juices and sugar. Heat well. Cool. Pour into punch bowl over ice. Add chilled ginger ale, pouring slowly down the side of the bowl. Makes about 6 quarts. Trim with floaters (1 orange slice, 1 lemon slice, 1 halved cherry) put in an ice mold made with ginger ale and fruit. Enjoy!
I also wanted to put in this picture of Taylor because she was following me around and holding her bear:) She kept asking me what I was doing and wanted to be in a picture too. So here she is!
Pay It Forward
I found this great thing to do today. Apparently there are many bloggers out there who are going to be paying it forward over the next year. The idea is that the first 3 knitting commenters on this post will, sometime over the course of the next year, receive a handmade gift from me in the mail. I found out about this on another Tabitha’s blog and I was her first commenter, so I’m in!
Here are the guidelines off of her (and many other knitters) blog:
I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week or even next month, but you will receive it sometime within the next 365 days, that is my promise!
The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.
Want to participate? Be one of the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post and make the same promise on your own blog.
Not So Random Acts of Kindness and 365 days to do it!!! How can you lose??
So, Gentle Knitter, if you’re interested in participating, just be one of the first three knitters to post that you would like to PIF! Good luck!
I really hope that someone out there actually reads my blog and wants to participate! Unless someone tells me otherwise I would be open to having non-knitters participate if you make something else, ie if you sew or do papercrafts and can make something like that to Pay it Forward from your own blog. If you do comment/sign up make sure you leave me some way to contact you so that I can find out where to mail your gift. Have a great night:)
Filed under News | Comments (2)Children’s Christmas Performance
Last night was the Children’s Choir performance at our church. First the 2-6 year olds (which both of mine fall into) did a little nativity and some songs. Then the 2nd grade -6th grade (maybe) did their play/musical. Kristopher was a shepherd and he is the one in the pictures with the very light (looks almost white) robe and headpiece on the left side, with the sheep of course! Taylor was a lamb, but unfortunately she slept through the whole performance and didn’t get to sing…not that she would have anyway. I have the little girl who stands there looking mean instead of singing. But she still could have been awake! Anyway, she was on stage – the lady behind the kids (Mrs. Patsy) held her up there while they sang. You can kind of see the front part of Taylor in one of the pictures. Apparently Kristopher was sleepy too because after every third line he yawned really big. Next year I’ll make sure they both take a good long nap before the performance!
Kristopher has another performance at school next week, but we are not making a big deal out of it since it is about Santa and Reindeer and we don’t do any of that stuff. I don’t want to encourage things we aren’t going to do, but I will go watch him sing.
I was able to go shopping all by myself on Saturday, in Paducah! Kody watched the kids so that I could have a day all to myself. I left around 11 am and got back at about 8:30…so it was a good long day. I hardly had to wait in line at all, even at the mall, which was nice and I was able to go to all the places that I wanted to without any whining or complaning or screaming! It was perfect and I am finished with my shopping, except for a couple of gift cards and movies that I can get at Walmart. I’m hoping to wrap a few of the things today. I need to get started with that so I don’t have to do so much on Christmas Eve. I love to wrap presents – It’s probably one of my most favorite things to do (other than crafty projects, of course).
Well, I guess I better go get started on something. I’ve got more baking to do too. We’ve almost finished off my first round that I did two weeks ago. I hope you’re all having a wonderful Monday!
PS – I got a really cool button last week that everyone should go get! If you’re an organization that would like to get lots, look here. I keep my button on my purse so that everyone knows it’s perfectly fine to wish me a Merry Christmas…none of that happy holidays junk for me!
Filed under News | Comment (0)In Honor of BooMama’s Soup-tacular…
…I give you three soups that we like to eat when it’s cold! Are you ready?
This Savory Beef Stew is probably my favorite, but we haven’t had it since Kristopher was a baby. I don’t know why, since it really isn’t that hard to make. I guess I just haven’t thought about it until this week, when I read that BooMama planned this soup-tacular. If you want to know more about that go to her blog and sign the Mr. Linky if you post a recipe of your own. So…on to the Beef Stew…
Savory Beef Stew from a little cooking mag called Betty Crocker Simple Winter Meals (from Jan 2002) – page 62
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil)
1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
1 medium onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1 dried bay leaf (I didn’t use this)
2 cups water
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
12 small new potatoes (1 1/2 pounds), cut in half
1 bag (8 ounces) baby cut carrots (about 30)
1. Heat oven to 325. Cover dried tomatoes with boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes; drain and coarsley chop.
2. Mix tomatoes, beef, onion, salt and bay leaf in ovenproof 4 quart dutch oven (I used a roasting pan). Mix water and flour, stir into beef mixture. Cover and bake 2 hours, stirring once.
3. Stir in potatoes and carrots. Cover and bake 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes or until beef and vegetables are tender.
Makes 6 servings.
The second recipe we have eaten quite a bit in the last 2 years. Someone brought it to our family after Taylor was born and it sounded so easy that I had to try it. It is a great meal when you are busy and cold (like on Christmas shopping days….anyone?).
Vegetable Beef Soup from Kristen
1 can corn (15 oz)
1 can sliced carrots (15 oz)
1 can sliced new potatoes (15 oz)
1 can green beans (15 oz)
1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
1 1/2 pounds stew meat (I use less because we aren’t big meat people)
1 packet of Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix
Add all ingredients to crock pot. I drain the potatoes and green beans, but put in the other juices. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Eat and enjoy!
The last recipe I have for you is also a vegetable soup, but doesn’t have any meat. This one is even liked by Kody – the vegetable hater! It is a clone of Frisch’s Vegetable soup, which I think is the best, that we found on the internet. I don’t have any idea where we found it now, I just saved it to my files. So here is the best Vegetable Soup:
Frisch’s Big Boy Vegetable Soup
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup ea. diced: carrots, celery
1/2 cup ea. frozen vegetables:
peas, corn, cut green beans, baby lima beans (can use canned baby limas)
1 can, 14.5 oz, diced tomatoes with juice
2 quarts beef broth
1 quart water
1/2 teaspoon ea. thyme, garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup potato, diced
1/4 cup pearl barley
1/4 cup long grain rice
Salt to taste
In a large soup pot, sauté onion, carrot, and celery until onion is soft but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add rest of ingredients except potato, rice and barley. Bring to boil and lower to simmer partially covered for 30-45 minutes.
Add potato, rice and barley, bring back to boil, lower to simmer, partially covered, for another 30 minutes or until potato, rice and barley are done. Add salt and pepper.
I don’t use any rice, I just put in extra barley because we like it that way.
I hope that you are all having a wonderful day and staying warm! Here is a picture just so I don’t bore you all to tears with these recipes. We ordered Taylor a new bed from Amazon a couple of weeks ago and it arrived last night. She fell asleep in the car today and I laid her in it (that’s why she still has a coat on). She didn’t wake up because of the wierdness. I just hope that she’ll sleep in it tonight! She has been sleeping with us for two years now and it is time for her to have her own sleeping space.
I am very happy with the bed so far and it was easy to put together. So, if you need a good bed for a great price go check it out! Have a lovely day everyone:)
