Posted by Cindy on December 14, 2009
My little guy will be three on December 23rd. Time flies!
Because of the busyness of Christmas and my nephew’s birthday soon after Christmas, we always celebrate Eli’s birthday just a tad early. Three year olds have FUN partying!
Our church celebrates Jesus’ birth a tad early, too. Last night was the annual Christmas pageant. My sweet little cow was more like a bucking bull who wanted out of his pen after the birthday party excitement. He lasted just long enough to sing his song (first thing) and was completely done being cordial and pleasant. Mahayla was the angel Gabriel (yeah, I know, we don’t have enough boys.) And Caleb was the wise man bearing myrrh. It was a busy day, but lots of memories were made!
Posted by Cindy on December 21, 2008
Great December Reading
Oh, and have you met God? Apparently Eli has! Every time he gets his busy little fingers on a Santa ornament he says, “God.” (Very reverently, I might add.) His innocent little eyes looking up at us with complete seriousness that he is holding God right in his chubby little hands. 
Posted by Cindy on December 18, 2008
This has been such a relaxing and awesome study! Using Easy Fun School’s free unit titled The Names of Jesus, we’ve spent a little time each day focusing on one of His names from the Bible and creating a scrapbook-style keepsake for each name.
I chose not to include most of the other suggestions from the unit since we were already doing other things each day. It has given my children the chance to really focus on the meaning of each of Jesus’ names and plenty of time to create a daily scrapbook page.
Take a look at a few of their pages. What a great memory maker for them!
Posted by Cindy on December 15, 2008
Here’s one of my favorite and super-easy Christmas sweets.
Pretzel and Nut Bark
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup thin pretzels broken into small chunks
2/4 cup salted nuts of any kind (I use mixed nuts)
1/3 cup white chocolate chips or almond bark
2 Tablespoons (more or less) of Christmas colored sprinkles (any style)
Line 13×9″ pan with foil so that the foil hangs over the edges. In a large bowl, microwave the semisweet chocolate chips 1-2 minutes. (Stir the chips after one minute, microwave in 30 second increments until chips are melted.) Stir in pretzels and nuts. Spread in pan.
In a smaller bowl, microwave the white chocolate chips or almond bark for 1 minute or until melted. Place melted chocolate in a plastic ziptop baggie. Snip the corner and squeeze the chocolate over the bark in the pan. Lightly cover with sprinkles. Chill for about 1 hour (until firm).
Lift the bark out by the foil, then peel the foil away. Break the bark into pieces. Keep chilled until ready to eat.
Posted by Cindy on December 12, 2008
We’ve made oodles of cookies and sweets this year – many of them the old standby recipes like peanut butter fudge, chocolate chip cookies and magic cookie bars.
I thought I’d share one of my favorite indulgences this time of year that’s maybe not so ordinary, but very easy.
Cream Cheese Cookies
1/2 pound butter, softened
1 package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chopped nuts (I prefer pecans)
2 cups flour
Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar. Stir in vanilla, flour and nuts. Roll in a damp cloth (or waxed paper) and place in refrigerator for at least a couple of hours. Slice thin (about 1/4″) and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or just until edges begin to brown.
For what it’s worth, these freeze well and taste just as good frozen as fresh!
