Tried a recipe idea I saw...

using my Momma's homemade salsa...and it is delicious!

The recipe said to mix a can of cranberry sauce with salsa.  (I like the whole-berry kind better.)

Since I had another package of fresh cranberries, I cooked them up and added them to the salsa.

It is soooo good!  Gotta love those semi-homemade recipes.

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred..."

"and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time."

~Laura Ingalls Wilder

We know that Jesus is the reason for this season.  Because God sent His Son as a baby to live, to serve, and then to die on a cross, we have the most precious gift...the gift of eternal life!  John 3:16

We have all been offered that wonderful gift!  We just have to receive it.

I liked this little quote I read the other day...

There has been only one Christmas - the rest are anniversaries. 

(...or birthdays...if you'd rather...)

Jesus was born to die. 

We, who have accepted His gift, are blessed to then share that gift with others!

And Christmas is a wonderful time to do that!

A time of sharing...

A time of remembering...

A time of worshipping...

A time of celebrating...

A time of many traditions...

We will pull out the decorations, Christmas books, nativity scenes, and play Christmas carols.  We will gather with family and friends.  We will eat special Christmas treats shared by our grandmothers.   We will spend time teaching our children these important thoughts and truths...and have some fun through the whole process!

We are going to have a little fun on December 1st at our house...

BUT

...we are not going to forget what Christmas is all about.

"When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things..."

 "...not the great occasions...give off the greatest glow of happiness."

~Bob Hope

So many different things are part of Christmas traditions...cookies, cards, carols, trees, programs, ornaments, snow, gatherings, parties, lights...

Our children have been commenting about this or that thing that we have done in the past.  They are looking forward to some of those special things.  Program practice is in full force.  They were so excited to hear Christmas music playing on the radio.  With the colder weather, they are hoping for snow...soon.  They keep asking if we will make certain treats to share with others.  I don't think we can skip some of the traditions that we have started in these last ten years...the kiddos look forward to them.

I am getting mentally prepared...making lists, listening to them, and looking for fun little things to add. 

There is one little thing I want to do with them this year...

and it will play off of the little idea that "noone did it".

But I still have another day to get myself prepared for those simple traditions...

that come only at Christmas time...
the first thing...
to decorate the house.

The difference between sympathy and empathy!

Ted is taking a Quantitative Literacy class right now as he continues working toward his degree.  I honestly feel sorry for him and told him so, "And I'm sorry that I can't even help you with it...I thought it was a literature course...whoops!"  That was all the sympathy I had...I offered coffee and made a yummy supper. 

Teddy, however, got it!  Ted went in to say good night and was lamenting that his head hurt from trying to figure out his schoolwork, "I have such a headache from all those numbers and graphs." 

Teddy said, "Yeah, Dad, I get those kind of headaches when I do my penmanship paper!"

These pictures make me smile!

Mari brought a box-o-fun and sweets!  We brewed a pot of DD coffee and disappeared to the craftroom...candles and Christmas music...to spark creativity.

We told the guys when they left that we would look the exact same when they would return.  We did...our beverage choice changed as the afternoon hours arrived.  We finally had to stop...not a whole lot of cards put together...but the sissy time was time well spent!

I'm tired...and I have an attitude.

The sickness I tried to will away...went no where but to my throat.  I am tired of coughing.  The people around me are tired of my coughing.  I have tried many different "remedies".  Honey with lemon, hot tea, Nyquil, water, cough drops, coffee with NO cream, various mints, pop, ice, gargling with peroxide, salty things...

It is a dry cough...that causes coughing spells that make my eyes water and nose run.  My throat and chest is sore from coughing.  I've slept in the recliner since Wednesday...moaning, so I was told.  I am tired.  I pushed through all the festivities and tried to be bright...but I have nothing more to give now.  I just want sleep.  I don't want to cook.  I want to sit in the chair and do nothing...but my family wants more than a bowl of cereal for supper.  I made a pot of DD coffee, added cream, and took out the treat that my sis brought me.  We didn't have time to eat this treat together...so much food...ugh!

After an hour snuggled up in the chair with a blanket, a truffle, and a cup of coffee...I'm not feeling so grumpy now.  I know what to make for supper...turkey pot pie (and all the turkey will be gone!).  The kiddos are playing nicely.  Ted is doing schoolwork.  We made it through the day after Thanksgiving weekend.  I am looking forward to an early bedtime...hopefully...in a bed...all night. 

Sometimes the best attitude adjustment is plain old rest!

After the decorating at church...

with our family and some friends...I'm sort of in the mood to decorate our house for Christmas.

The Christmas music filled the building as we set, fluffed, wired, and arranged.

It is a lot of work to drag out all the totes. 

I'm not sure I'm ready to turn the house upside down quite yet...it means cleaning and dusting too.

But I know it will be worth it...so pretty and cozy.

The plan worked!

Not wanting to throw away something that was partially broke...I used some plaster of paris to make stands to fit inside new planters at church.  Worked great...and it is beginning to look alot like Christmas.

A Houseful of turkey

 The first turkey!

The oven bag makes a perfect bird every time!

The second turkey!

A part of our festive breakfast.

The third turkey...and many more.

A crafty platter of sweet turkeys!

"Hey, Ted, what's your email?"

"Could you text me instead?  I'm on the computer."

Mari's new fur collar.

We noticed...the kiddos take up more room now! 

The familyroom was a sea of bodies as we watched the football game...and then a Christmas special.

Growing children now mean more sister time!   We had time to sit and do nothing...all together.

Weekend-O-Fun

We got to sneak off for a double-date! 

 It was so fun to see the kiddos all together.  When they weren't outside enjoying the beautiful weather, they were finding all sorts of things to do.

We are so thankful for the time we had together!  The time did seem to fly by...but we packed it with lots of activity and good food.

Thankful for an opportunity to eat turkey with family!

The happy cooks.

Thankful for family, food, cousins, home, and God's provision.

Thankful for cows, family, music to sing and to listen to, cousins, and children who obey (which was followed by giggling children).

Wow!  Oven bags are the way to go for a moist turkey!

"Let's eat until we get sick."

"Hey, Teddy, did you kiss the cook?" asked Uncle Brad.

...and we used fancy paper plates!

"Mom, what's for supper?" asked Ashlynn when the kids came back from the park.  

 All the adults groaned.  "How about...pie!" said the moms.  "For supper?" the kiddos gasped.

Yes!  Pie and coffee...there is Chex Mix...we will think about supper...later!

Football, pie and coffee, naps, movies, the park, surfin the net, talking and laughing...

we are blessed beyond what we deserve!

 

Gathered and Cozy!

Cousins arrived safely...and all the kiddos disappeared outside and inside and all around for hours.  Everyone has gotten so big...no more little children running back and forth screaming for joy.  There is constant chatter and laughing as they move from room to room...and it is fun to listen to them!  The girls kept chatting till midnight...the guys and the parents gave up before that.

Adults rested, talked, and visited in the coziness.  I have a feeling the time is going to feel like it flew by!

We sat so long and talked that supper had to be dealt with...before we got to the pie!  My sister is so smart...she rolls her pie crust in a large ziploc bag...no messy, floury counter...cut the sides of the bag and flip it in the pan.  I laughed...she asked me if I had pre-made crusts...NO..."Do you know how easy and fast it is to make?"  Brad says she is the queen of pre-made.  It was funny to me...who does everything from scratch...but to be fair...I have more time to do it that way!  We like semi-homemade ideas, right sis!?

The pies look and smell yummy!  She did a great job!

My sis came with plans!  A box of stamping stuff, treats, and coffee...for some serious sister stamping and talking time!  After the turkey...everyone will have to fend for themselves...

well, sort of...we'll still be in yelling and requesting distance of our husbands and children!

Thankful for time with loved ones, noise of laughter, smells of coffee, tastes of good things...

Happy Thanksgiving!

A list of thankful thoughts have filled my mind these last few days leading up to this day...a conscious practice of naming some of the blessings in my life and the reasons why.  When I focus on what the Lord has done and is doing in our life, I can't help but be thankful every day.  I need to remember to give my thoughts a voice...every day of every year of every season!

Thanks to God

Thanks to God for my Redeemer

Thanks for all Thou dost provide!

Thanks for times now but a memory,

Thanks for Jesus by my side!

Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime,

Thanks for dark and stormy fall!

Thanks for tears by now forgotten,

Thanks for peace within my soul!

Thanks for prayers that Thou hast answered,

Thanks for what Thou dost deny!

Thanks for storms that I have weathered,

Thanks for all Thou dost supply!

Thanks for pain, and thanks for pleasure,

Thanks for comfort in despair!

Thanks for grace that none can measure,

Thanks for love beyond compare!

Thanks for roses by the wayside,

Thanks for thorns their stems contain!

Thanks for home and thanks for fireside,

Thanks for hope, that sweet refrain!

Thanks for joy and thanks for sorrow,

Thanks for heavenly peace with Thee!

Thanks for hope in the tomorrow,

Thanks through all eternity!

As His child, I am thankful for our home.

Home is a shelter from storms - all sorts of storms.

 ~William J. Bennett

Our home has always been a place of peace and safety.  I didn't say it was always quiet and tidy.  Even amid the chaos of babies and toddlers, there was always a peaceful attitude.  The relationships built in our home are restful even in busy-ness.  Everyone is taught to help to ease the burden.  There is structure and order to our home.  God's love is taught here.  Joy is found in resting in God's care.  Thankfulness is practiced here.  There are quiet, settled hearts that live here who then seek to share with others.  Our home hasn't just happened.  It has been work and is still a work in progress.  It is not a perfect home...there are dust bunnies and clutter...there are disagreements and discussions.  When we don't know what to do...we know Who to go to for help!  Anything that is not peaceful, quiet, and safe is not welcomed here.  We have worked too hard and sacrificed much to build our home according to what God expects...

other opinions matter little to us. 

We will continue to be pro-active in our protection of what God has given to us...

and it doesn't matter who or what it is.  If we as parents don't...who will?

That is what God intends for His children...

homes that are full of obedience, love, joy, thankfulness, peace...

and safety.

Home ought to be our clearinghouse, the place from which we go forth lessoned and disciplined, and ready for life.

~K. Norris