Seizing My Day

It has been a while since I have featured Merlin

don’t think for a minute

it is because he has been behavin!!

because he ain’t!!

=)

anyway…

Merlin got to open his presents FIRST on Christmas morning!

we figured it would give him something to do

while we opened ours

a little more peacefully!!  =)

Look at those Giant Paws!!

They are ALL FUR!

they look HUGE!

anyway

I am not the kinda gal who would normally buy presents for a dog

for Birthdays or Christmas

I would just randomly pick up a toy for them

when ever they need something to chew!!

but

the kids really wanted him to have presents

to open Christmas morning!

so Merlin was given

a couple presents

complete with wrapping paper!

no ribbon or tape!!

mmmm…

smells like chicken!

even our neighbors bought Merlin a present

……

never mind that that duck was toast in 10 minutes!!

hope they didn’t spend “too” much on it!

Seriously!! Look at the fur on his feet!!

tomorrow Merlin  “gets”  to visit the groomer!

his feet look crazy huge when the fur grows on them!!

Never mind we are supposed to get SNOW this week… (yay!!)

we don’t want snow balling up in those furry feet!!

hope he doesn’t get too cold with shorter fur!!

So anyway…

most of these pics are far from fabulous!!

I have had little time to play with my new little cannon snap and shoot

indoor lighting is not the camera’s strong point! *ugh*

anyway… Merlin  LOVES  this huge bone….

but he doesn’t chew it…

he sleeps with it

he sniffs it

he licks it

he protects it from the cat

he plays with it

he loves it

but he doesn’t chew it!!

He got that as an early Christmas present!!

I needed him to behave one day last week…

so I broke out a pressie!!

This world has few toys that are Merlin proof!

Merlin can  destroy most toys in a matter of minutes!!

Hartz has CHEAP… Wonderful toys that are Merlin proof!!

Hours of entertainment for him

and us!!

God Bless Hartz!!  =)

there is a ball in those hairy feet!!!  =)

Merlin is such a CRACK UP with these Hartz squeeky balls!!

he has that same over excitement

the one that kids get around this time of year!!

huh?  who me???

I am So glad I bought him 2 of them…

a blue one and a green one

I think he likes the green one best?!!

Merlin is in the land of doggy bliss!!

he plays with them by himself

dropping them

kicking them

squeaking them

batting them around

it is hysterical!

he rolls around with them in his mouth!

I am not sure who is having more fun

Merlin

or me!!

He LOVES his new chicken flavored bone too!

only

I wonder if this new “chicken”  bone

is laced with more than just chicken flavoring??

if you know what I mean?!!

Don’t ya think he looks a little um…. high??  =)

Maybe I am wrong.

I don’t know.

but he sure has been extra “Happy” the last couple days!

I think Merlin had a Great Christmas!!

I am not sure who is happier…

Merlin…

or me?

A happy dog = a happy owner

or maybe that should read

A happy “occupied” dog = a happy dog owner!

or

maybe these guys are happier???

I love you kids…

hello…

kids?

are you happy?

hello?

anybody want some chocolate?

hello??

kids?

my world has forever changed!   =)

they are actually really good about techy time

I love that my kids are so easy going that way!

even with the New Exciting Wii!!

My heart is happy…

seeing ALL  my “kids” blissfully happy

even if it is with their new toys!

ha ha!

=)

I am hoping to relax a little this week!

I think I might just get my wish!!

I Hope you are enjoying these days after Christmas as well!!

Can you believe that it is almost 2011??!!

crazy!

Blessings~

Jenn

1.  Family

we have some new family members

that joined our family Christmas morning

the kids were SOOOOOOOOOOO excited

to receive a Basset Hound Webkinz!!

Abby LOVES Charlie

the Pioneer Woman’s Basset Hound

My little girl and her best friend quote the dialog from this blog post

about Charlie eating sausage

it is SOOOOOOOOOOO funny!

She has already named her Webkinz Basset “Charlie”  =)

do you all know what Webkinz are?

if you have children ages 4-10

It is a Fabulous online world

where you buy a stuffed animal

then adopt the stuffy virutally

and play games and take care of it

virtually

they build it a house and feed it and play with it

and you get to keep the stuffy too! =)

2.  Motion Blur

Sammy could not stop moving

waiting to  open presents

Hope

and

Excitement

anticipating the magic of opening the Wii…

(they did in fact get the Wii… as they had hoped!)  =)

our world has changed forever!

3.  Pretty Package

I did not intentionally take a package picture!

this is a crop of a full tree shot that I happened to take!

thus the blur …  cropping that much added some…”texture” … =)

4.  Glow

I love the glow of the tree at night

when the kids are in bed

the house is quiet

all the lights are off

except the tree

the kids are in bed

the house smells like wet dog Pine

the kids are in bed

Peaceful!!

=)

5.  Sparkle

sparkly Christmas art

drawn by Sammy on paper

his pattern hot glued by Mommy onto fabric

fabric watered and painted by Sammy

it turned out Wonderful!!

I LOVE it!!

I should do a whole post on this art….

the kids love it

I love it!

Grandparents will love it!!  =)

It was well worth the effort!

………………………………………………………….

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Full of Love, Family, Good Food and time to relax, enjoy each other and play!

Blessings!

Jenn~

Merry Christmas!!

This little song is a beautiful reminder …

we all have a simple gift to give Jesus…

our hearts. our minds.  our lives.   =)

the young gal who posted this on you tube wrote the lyrics out herself.
it may not be perfect… but her heart was in the right place!! =)
Aselin Debison does not have this song on her you tube postings/channel…
so I went with this one!

It is a beautiful song ~ I hope you take 3 minutes  49 seconds to listen!

Blessings~

Jenn

Merry Christmas!!

Crafting with letters

one of my favorite things…

need a quick Christmas gift idea?

all you need is magnets and scrabble letters

the old magnet from your 2010 magnetic calendar will do.

and a little hot glue!!

or you could just put them on the tray too

randomly around your house.

or gift them!

its fun.

try it!

or put them outside…

I am still trying to create a sign that says this…

a sign that I love.

the first two attempts didn’t turn out.

too plain?!

We make Christmas Scrabble gifts for Abby’s teacher every year.

Name plates usually.

with Scrabble letters and the tray.

Abby paints the tray and spells out Mrs. Soinso.

Simple, creative, fun… loved by all.

This year her teacher had a really LONG name…

we modified our traditional name plate this year

I couldn’t reveal her real name…

but this one made me giggle

made me think of Mrs. Pigglewiggle

Abby cut out squares of scrapbook paper

and we hot glued the paper to the letters

magnets to the paper

Magic!

Lucky us the school has magnetic framing!!

Perfect!

Mrs. Lilpigsee LOVED it!  =)

Her past teachers have loved this gift over the years

We started making this gift 3-4 years ago?!

fun, fun, fun.

I made this 5 or 6 years ago??

I don’t love it..

but I do  like it

Lots of folks comment on how cool it is

I might redo it one day?

if I am feeling creative.

I made one for a friend

with her family’s names on it

can’t show you just yet…

sorry.

=)

anyway

I love playing with scrabble letters

the problem is

they are hard to come by in the thrift store

and I am out of popular letters!!

come on people donate your old games you don’t use … um…

please!!

I can give you my address

and save you the trouble of taking it to the goodwill!

Ha Ha!!

I might have to resort to ebay??

sheesh!

=)

my sisters and I had this Santa photo take for our mom

when I was 21 ?

exactly 20 years after the first one was taken

same places on Santa’s lap…

different Santa.

I am trying to find inspiration to frame them?

I am thinking maybe full names instead of first initials?

2011 will be exactly 20 more years… yikes!

I might have to talk my sisters into doing it again this year

If mom were alive she would have loved it!

darn it   *sigh*

moving on before I go down that path!

It is 9 am

and my kids are still sleeping…

quiet.

ah.

I think I need to leave my kids a message on the table this morning

before they wake up  =)

we are hosting a wee cookie party this afternoon

with neighbors who have become good friends!

but first we have a few things to do…

I love the power of words

Scrabble is the BEST!!

Do you play?  =)

time to join the real world

and wake my children

maybe I will get to visit your blogs today??

and see what y’all are up to these days before Christmas!

2 days.

I still need to wrap!!

and make Frango Fudge!

and buy groceries

and clean

and decorate cookies

and

and

and

*sigh*

Smile

Breathe

Enjoy the day!!

Blessings~

Jenn

So I was baking pumpkin bread yesterday
which had nothing to do with Christmas crafts

or baking
or pirates
until I started to hear this:
Sammy

“aye matey…”

“and then he blew off her mothers arm”

me…

“huh?”

Abby

“agrrr… and then this guy had to walk the plank”

Sammy

“yeah… and then he was eaten by a shark”

(or something like that)

both kids

“agggrrrr”

(**insert sound effects like cannons and guns**)

of course at this point I had to investigate!

sorry about the blurry pictures…long story!

…camera drama…

I am using my old broken camera again…

*sigh*

No worries… my new one should arrive today!  =)

ANYWAY

my littles had this fabulous pirate world going on

on the stairs  =)

complete with knights and cannons

I think the knights were supposed to be protecting this family

only….

it looks like a pirate managed to get into camp

and is now hiding under that sleeping little boy!

???

Abby was keeper of the animals

she will be tending to animals all the days of her life!

little animal lover!   =)

don’t look too closely under the stairs

I think there is a dead guy under there!!

???

it must have happened when this knight feel asleep at his post?

apparently the badger was no help at all !

this blurry little guy must be a young knight

he didn’t seem to be helping either

hiding behind his shield!

No wonder mom’s arm got blown off!!

….

this pirate seems innocent enough

standing there with his parrot

but you can never trust a pirate

EVER

or your arm might get blown off!!

or you might have to walk the plank!

Sad but true

you probably can not even trust Johnny

*swoon*  =)

Ah!!!!!

Pirates are climbing the walls!!

Carry on knights!

just please try not to blow off mom’s arm again!

I need them to wrap YOUR Christmas presents!

kapeesh?!

(how does one spell kapeesh?)  ha ha!!

…………..

What a great way to start Christmas break!

That was only Monday morning fun!!

Cookie parties and play dates consumed our afternoon!

I love this week before Christmas!

(especially when my shopping is done!!!)

we will be playing pirates

baking

crafting

having another cookie party with friends

our week is full of fun with friends

and enjoying NO School!!  =)

wrapping pressies

I LOVE wrapping presents!

Once upon a time I used to wrap with hot chocolate with candy cane in it

NOW… Decaf with Irish Cream!!

its tradition!!  =)

I am so thankful for time to play!!

** since my shopping is all done**

Yippie!!

So though Pirates shouldn’t really have

anything to do with Christmas…

I just couldn’t help but post this pirate world!

I love finding my kids playing like that!!

only now…

I need to recover from my pirate wounds!

Stay away from Christmas pirates!!

Just sayin… you might loose an arm!  =)

Hope you all are enjoying family and friends this week!

Do you all have any pirate fun planned this week?!!  =)

Are you last minute shoppers …

or are you done as well?!

or were you done weeks ago?…

(don’t tell me the truth if you were!!)

ha ha!

honestly..

we cut back our giving list this year

mutually…

with extended family and “family friends”

Whew!!  It made a HUGE difference!!  =)

that is my secret this year!

and

our Christmas cards are going to be New Years cards…

via email even this year!!

*sigh*  I confess… I am NOT perfect!  ha!

and

the kids and I went internet shopping for the hubby!

love it!!

took us 20 minutes!!

I could probably even tell you what we got him..

b/c he rarely reads my blog!!

but I won’t… just in case!

My point is…

I have been trying to SIMPLIFY our Christmas this year

bringing us back to one of the most important commands Jesus gave…

loving one another!

spending  more time with the family and friends God has blessed us with!

anywho…

I have 4 kids today…

and some fun Christmas crafting to do!!

Maybe tomorrow I will show you some of our Christmas crafty fun…

I have not been good about getting any Christmas recipes or crafty things up these days!!

*alas*  tis a busy time of year!

back to that not being perfect… *snicker, snicker*  =)

Blessings y’all … Enjoy whatever it is you need (get) to do this week!!

Jenn~

1.  Winter

this one I am kinda cheating…

my son took this pic on my birthday (Dec3)

you see my sister Linda has NEVER been pictured on my blog yet!!

really?  how can that be??

Anywho…

for exactly 40 days…

in Winter…

Linda and I are both 40!!!

yep.  same age for only 40 days every year!!

my poor mama had one baby in Jan of 1970 (her)

and another baby in Dec of 1970 (me) !!

2 babies in 11 months… YIKES!

Since we have NO snow right now…

and SNOW is Winter … right?

I was forced to dig in recent archives!

I found this picture of me wearing my favorite winter scarf…

it was just too cool not to take the opportunity to post this fun fact about me

the first day of my sister and I both being 40… for 40 days!!  =)

alright… I am done.

2.  Wind

I could not manage to get both flags flying out at the same time!! =)

not a great picture either!

3.  Remember When

the Avon lady used to come visit your mommy

in the 70’s

and she would bring little tiny green lip stick samples?

they were SO cool!!

oh… you don’t remember this?

and she brought your mommy perfume in cute little bottles…

and they ALL had that same round ball on the top?

back in the 70’s …

don’t you remember that?

Bueller?

what?  you weren’t even alive in the 70’s?

oh.

nevermind.

4.  Black and White with selective coloring

my mommy left this ornament to one of my babies

just weeks before she died

she made a list

giving each of us girls a few of her treasures

she didn’t have much

but I love these little things that remind us of her

I miss her like crazy at Christmas time…

*sigh*

5.  Framed

my  baby girl 10 years ago…

with all that dark thick hair!!

I love that my babies had thick hair!

y’all know I can’t pick one framed picture

of only one of my babies!

this little peanut was very jaundiced

and had poor circulation

he really isn’t that white…

(well)??

a picture of a picture is always worse…

it was sunny June and …

he looks like we had him out in the snow in December

in that onesie!!

ANYway!!

I have to leave you with this framed picture…

we lived in a little rich community back then

it was a blink of an eye … kinda small village

we rented the basement of a nearly 1,000,000 dollar home…

it is how they roll in BC, Canada…

renting the basement floors…

smart really.

anyway…

the community had Santa come to the village hall on a fire truck

We went… but

we didn’t really know if we wanted to “do the Santa thing” or not

so when Abby asked who the big fat man in red was

we said…oh Santa… he gives kids candy canes at Christmas…

and that was that…

until the next year…

when Aunt Kelly gave her the Polar Express Story book…

and the church bells down the road rang out

while I was reading her the last page

the page where he heard the bells but his parents didn’t

MAGICAL moment!!

My little girl went running to bed yelling

“hes weal… hes weally weally weal”

(he’s real, he’s really really real”)

and she hopped into bed so he would come!

Santa became a part of our story that night…

though that was the ONLY year she went anywhere Near him!!  ha ha!

Speaking of Christmas time:::

6 more days folks!!

Still so much blissful fun to have!!

We are mostly excited everyone in our wee family are healthy

well..enough to go to finally go to church for the first time in Dec!!…

ONCE in December before the Christmas service is better than none!!  (sheesh!)

I Hope your 6 more days are Merry and Bright!!

Go build a memory with someone you love!

Blessings~

Jenn

Nine days people  =)

9   ~   N i N e

more days until Christmas morning…

the panic is settling in now  =)

crazy days of many crafts, art projects, helping in the kids classes, baking,

teacher gifts, neighbor “gifts”, shopping, Christmas letter still to write (*sigh*)

daily advent, regular life, home schoolin…

breathing…. slowly….

remembering the magic

remembering the love

remembering the beauty of it all

N is for Nativity scene…

Celebrating the Birth of our Savior Jesus Christ…

Nothing is more important during this busy season to us =)

Making sure our children grasp how deep the love of Jesus is.

Why he was born on Christmas morn….

Every year we read these “Nativity books” to them

and a lovely Away in a Manger book we have too… (not pictured) =)

This tradition always sparks conversation about God in our lives… beautiful!

N is for New traditions.

This year we will read the account of Jesus birth from the Bible.

I think they are ready for the Written Word in the Bible …

NO pictures !!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

N is for New …

New Cell Phone

I was the girl  when cell phones were the new rage

what back in the early 90’s??  =)

who said ” I will NOT be a girl who can’t live without a phone”

“who needs a cell phone… sheesh…”

“we live just fine without them…”

” people can leave me a message on my home phone”

“Good Grief!! “

“what is wrong with this world?”

Yep… I said all those things

UNTIL I had a baby…

and then I realized being able to call my hubby

from the street by his office and say…

“hey honey, I am here to pick you up”

without having to drag the baby out of the car to get him

NICE

“hey honey, I will be late picking you up”

Nice

because I am always running behind

leaving him standing in the rain waiting an extra 10 minutes!

not nice

“hi honey, I forgot to put coffee creamer on the grocery list”

while he is already at the store buying milk at 9 pm =)

NICE

Cell phones really are wonderful…

(did I say that outloud?)

as long one is not being rude to the world around them while using it!!

I will NOT change my mind on that…

I hate seeing people NOT be friendly

for the sake of a cell call in the grocery line…

even the drive through at Starbucks!  really?

sheesh…

the clerk is a human who deserves respect and a friendly smile!

he/she is providing you with a service…

Be Nice!

(*cough* stepping down from my PLEASE be friendly box!!)

Seriously Smiling at a stranger can really make their day!

anyway…  the NEW cell phone….

N is for NO more home phone and NO more  CABLE …

bub bye TV!  bub bye extra phone bill …

Our New phones are Christmas gifts for each other…

my in-laws give us cash gifts every year

we bought these babies

yep… NOT one… but two =)

NO contract phones

and No contract plans are incredible!

which is the route we are going… (CHEAP!!)

Hubby rarely uses his phone for talking

(geek computer genius)

he will use his for coding Apps for android phones (its true)

he will mostly text and use the Internet/data plan

$25 a month!!  SaWeet!

Me?  I need to talk to the doctor,

the school, the children’s friends moms,

the chiropractor, the dentist,

the neighbors, my friends, family…

you know… I will TALK more…

For $40 … I get…

1200 minutes, unlimited texting, internet, data…

facebook, blogging!!

N  is  for    N n n n  I c e !!

never mind…

N is for Nana

I caught her waking up the other day

she rips the heads off mice with those sharp little teeth

Nice, eh?

Lovely kitty

I am finding NASTY treasures in my yard lately

You can thank me later for leaving those N pictures out!!  ha ha!

Bad naughty Kitty…

Why did she decide it was acceptable to start ripping up her “treasures” ?!

Nasty Nasty kitty!!  *shudder*

ew….ick

disgusting kitty!

(I am done)

Back when she just brought us the whole Mole  (ha ha)

or the whole squirrel (yep)

or the whole Bat (yep I said bat)

or the whole mouse

I had NO idea how great that was

to have a dead animal lying in my yard… whole

NO parts…

my life was “good back then” …

eeek!

life is so complicated…  =)

every day we have to sweep the yard for Nasty treasures…

little animal parts…

before we can let Merlin out…

or we will find him chewing on disgusting things…

(I am sorry… I really am… THIS is my real life people…)

Do NOT … I repeat…

DO NOT get a Cat

If you do … don’t let it outdoors !!

Never mind

Nana could care less what I think

she is just going to lay there ON my Christmas decorations

and have a bath

We still love you Nana!!

I took those pics with my “New” camera …

remember my NEW camera from my birthday at the beginning of the month?

these pics of Nana are the only successful pictures I took…

the detail on her tongue… (weird but so cool)

and her whiskers…

her NOSE

and the fur on her feet…

anyway…

I returned it.

the New Camera.

I was struggling with it…

and

it made me NERVOUS!

I will explain that saga another day…

maybe when my 2nd New camera arrives…

As a blogger you gotta love the Camera drama.

I told you…

my life is complicated.

Never mind…

I have other things to focus my attention on…

remember

there are only

NINE more days   =)

I NEED put on my boots (my RAIN boots)

and go shopping!!

oh… wait…

I have a child to educate!  =)

I am so close to being done!

SO close!

Is it just me …

or is it really hard to manage time during this wonderful Christmas season

and squeeze in blog time this month???  =)

I miss blogging when I can’t find the time!

and I hate that I have a billion blog posts that never made it to the “big screen”  …

ha ha!

Hope to catch up with y’all real soon

and see what kind of fun you have managed to post  =)

during this wonderfully busy Christmas season!

alrightygoodthen…

I am really going to get ready to go see my little girls first band concert today!!

13 minutes long!!  she plays the quiet instrument …

well she will feel the love and support anyway!

I get to hear her and only her play at home!!  he he  =)

Have a Beautiful Day  !!

Jenn~

Always the last to join!! One day I might actually prep this Photo Scavenger Hunt post the night before Sunday?~!! wink, wink… who am I kidding!

Let the fun begin.

This week we were looking for

Holiday Colors, Winter/Holiday Icon, A Tree, Quiet and our Favorite Color

1. Holiday Colors

hundreds

and hundreds of

little tiny Christmas balls…

shiny and old…

you will see them again…

just wait

2.  Winter/Holiday Icon

Father Christmas…  Kris Kringle…  Santa Claus…  St. Nick

he is made of  Mt. St. Helens  ash…

from when she blew her top in May of 1980

I was a child at the time…

our lawn, house, car…  whole city…

was covered in 2-3 inches of the stuff!

crazy times!

anywho…

I love this St. Nick…

he is about 12 inches tall and thin

holding a wreath

he has a classic look about him…

and is made out of the elements of a wild childhood memory

he is one of my favorite holiday decorations

and by many considered an icon, yes?!

but…

maybe…

maybe this guy is a more classic icon?

I dunno…

I can’t pick just one…

(is it ok Ashley?? if  I sneak in extra pics sometimes?!)

seriously

can Christmas really take place without Charlie Brown

and his dog snoopy?

I can relate to Charlie sometimes.

really.

3.  A Tree

recognize the balls?

this is not my best photography…

but this little tree has a story…

it has been mine since I was 7 years old…

I have had it for 33 years… (yikes!)

I bought it for 25 cents… crazy!

at a Fun Night at Edison Elementary School in 1977

I think it was even a Halloween fun night??

it is a dangerous little vintage tree…

it says on the box it was made in 1948

the danger is…

one little bump

and ALL of those little balls fall off…

tink, tink, tink…

ALL OVER the floor!!

you have to Quickly and Painfully collect them all

before the dog gets them!!

and then you Get To

painfully put them all back on the little tree…

trying very carefully not to bump it again while you are doing it…

it is not as easy as it sounds!!

TRUST ME!

special memories that little 25 cent vintage tree has in my heart!

my loving mom let me put the balls on that tree for years

YEARS!  every time it got bumped…

because I HAD to have it when I was 7…

I like to think she smiles down from Heaven at me

every Christmas

when I pull out that tree…

4.  Quiet

sometimes when the kids go to bed

and the house is finally quiet

the lights are down low

we pull out the decaf

and a little Irish Country Cream

ah……. peaceful and warm and fuzzy!!

and QUIET!

have I mentioned my son…

the boy… the one I home school….

He chatters ALL DAY LONG…

ALL DAY … never stops talking!!

never quiet.

oh… and just for the record…

he talks in his sleep too!!

Makes the mommy smile

and even laugh out loud..  at times

I Need that peaceful Quiet sometimes!!

5.  Favorite Color

it changes…

I used to love reds and purples…

black is always a classic favorite with me…

but…

for the last couple years I am drawn to greens and blues…

do you see the little coats on the angel babies behind that tree??

relaxing colors… peaceful… calming…

speaking of peaceful, calm and relaxing…

It is SO time for bed ~

I need sleep!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hope you have a peaceful, calm, relaxing day!

tomorrow (today) morning… (now) really… when you read this…

I will be making 45 gingerbread boys out of applesauce, cinnamon and glue…

in 50 minutes… with 18 children tomorrow… er… today… Now…

that is 2 to 3 gingerbread boys per child… in one hour!!

My sweet man pointed out that is basically one a minute!

with the K-2 grade kids helping… wish me luck!!!

Speaking of calm… NOT.

Back to that sleep I need!

ta ta for now!

Blessings~

Jenn~

ps  I will try try try to get a few pics and write a post about the cinnamon, applesauce and glue recipe… it makes wonderful delightful smelling Christmas ornaments!  I have made them for years!!

ok… ok…

you want a sneak peek of one my kiddos made a couple years ago??

they make Great Christmas gifts for friends and family!!  😉

I have been a huge blog slacker lately

and I am even slacking on photography fun

This Weeks Alphabet Challenge

is brought to you by the Letter M

most of these shots were taken with my old broken camera

I have not had MANY opportunities to use my New Camera

Frankly, I am having a frustrating week with it!!

blah blah blah…

I am stretching it a bit with the letter M

Memories from My 40th Birthday ~ last Friday

M is for Mommy ~   that’s ME!

Dinner on a classy lavender table  =)

ha.

We always go to dinner at the restaurant choice of the birthday person

The mommy picked  a classy restaurant keeping everyone happy!

the love of a mommy with picky eaters!

….

On my 40th birthday

I wanted to build a memory with my wee family

Everyone agreed it would be fun to grant my wish

painting ornaments at The Painted Plate!!

MY little Man SaMMy painted a gingerbread boy

it looks like it was painted by a Little boy….. so it was!!

his art skills need a little attention!!  =)

Sweet boy!

*cough, cough*

his teacher will work on that next month!

My oldest child painted a bone

for her 1  1/2  year old puppy MERLIN

because that kid LOVES  her animals!!  =)

Sweet girl!

My Man painted a geek hacker code on a winter sweater!!

and… he is wearing a “Red Hat” shirt!

Red Hat is a Linux thing.

Linux is a free software program only geeks use.  ha ha!

for the record I LOVE being married to MY geek!!

even if he does make me use Linux!  =)

He is a genius ~  really!

Geek is short for genius… don’t ya know?

MOVING on…

Me, Myself and I…

we painted a traditional ornament

with a wee bird and snowman on it

It was a wonderful way to spend my birthday!!

speaking of Merlin

I have neglected him  on my blog lately

He has been in the Christmas spirit too!

blurry little ornament stealer

NOW …most of our ornaments are on the top 2/3rds of the tree!

M is for…. MERLIN!!!

imagine that being said in the same tone as “ALVIN!!

He is exhausting!

I just want you to know …for the record…

if Monster Merlin even hears my man stir in the house

he is VERY well behaved!!

and or he immediately STOPS in his tracks when he is being naughty!!

dang dog!!

I trained the MUTT!!

why does he torture ME??

I scold him, I discipline him, I ground him to his crate!!

RUDE!!  just rude.

just saying!  =)

sorry… where was I?

M is for Merry!

Merry and bright

Making Memories decorating the tree!  =)

the day after my birthday!

I have issues with the tree being up ON my birthday

its a childhood thing

that I never addressed in therapy!  =)

seriously…

My MIND is always Meandering

(is that spelled right? I am too lazy to look it up!)

M is for Manager

A Beautiful Little Manger ornament from Israel

the birth place of our Lord Jesus    =)

carved in wood from an Olive tree or maybe it was fig?

I have to say this…

One has to appreciate this tiny little fact…

There were/are palm trees all over the land where Jesus was born

and yet…

we use pine trees.

Just sayin!!

=)

Alrightygoodthen

One Last “M” for the day

Medicine

and Must have drinks

its been one of those kind of weeks!  =)

Sore throats, sniffles, coughing, stuffy head, ear infections…

On the up side of things

the blessing is

when one’s  monkeys are 10 and 8 …

weeks like these are More Manageable than when they were babes!

Hope Your Weekend is Full

of Merry and Bright Memories in the Making!

Blessings~

Jenn~

Just for the record…

because it IS a BIG one…

Yesterday was a Landmark day in our lives!!

My sweet man has been cancer free for 10 years!!

(later I will clip in a picture… I am on the wrong computer for that!!)  =)

10 years ago yesterday I left my 2 month old baby with family
and I drove my man to the hospital (once again)

to have (yet another) open chest surgery to remove his re-occuring cancer.
to remove more rib and muscle from his already scarred chest

His cancer was the kind of cancer that can only be cut out.
it was a blessing really.
to not have to go through chemo and radiation.

Those were not easy times in our lives…

My mom was battling a more severe cancer…
which she did not survive.
By God’s Mercy and Love we made it through those times.
and we are thankful for HIS Presence and Peace in our hearts.
We became Thankful for the little tiny daily things.
We are Thankful that we have celebrated 10 more Christmas’ together as a family!
Sometimes I forget my hubby is a cancer survivor…
I think because shortly after his 4th surgery…
my mom passed away.
and the memories of those times are not exactly ones you want to keep close to your heart…
you want to let them go and enjoy life today.
Not worrying about yesterday…
and trying not to worry about tomorrow.
a daily surrender.
anyway…
I forgot about that land mark day yesterday…
it was my man who reminded me it was his 10 year mark!
A beautiful thing to be Cancer Free for 10 years!!

perhaps I should buy him a latte today??!!  (sh…)

=)

crazy times.

moving on….

Let’s celebrate with butter shall we?!!

b is for butter

baby butter

can you tell how tiny those little butters are?

They are one of my NEW FAVORITE things!!

love love!!

Let me help you scale the size of these adorable baby butters!

this is half a stick of regular sized butter

Tillamook butter (my favorite butter)

These little tiny Land O Lakes baby butters

they are SO stinkin cute

they are as big as a bite sized peppermint patty

a little bigger than a date

and baby do I have a yummy recipe including those dates!!

weird I know.. dates are not my favorite snack…

but my mama’s Date Ball Cookies are SO yummy!

Every year my babies and I bake our favorite cookie recipe from both Grandma’s

and a couple of our own traditions… Gingerbread!!  Sugar cookies… both a must!!

I will try to work on the cookie recipes I am showing you today and post em tomorrow, K??!

back to scaling my baby butter…

3 little rolos

my lovely new favorite butter is the size of 3 rolos!!

I love them because many of my recipes call for 1/4 cup of butter

these little babies are 1/4 cup size!!

no more half sticks of butter left in my fridge!

so it IS a tiny bit of a hassle when you need a pound or 2 of butter…

lots of opening!!  ha ha

This weekend I baked my first Round of Christmas cookies

with a sweet, dear friend that has been in my life for more than 20 years!

I love you Sooz!! =)

We used a LOT of butter, flour and sugar

Joyful season, isn’t it?!

A time to forget you should be watching your cholestorol!!

kidding!!  I am being really good … I promise!!

kinda.

Dough baby

yummy dough!!

Dough that we turned into “galaxy balls”

it is my mama’s date ball recipe modified

after we made the dough we made little balls and

poked a hole in it

that is the fun part

then one hides candy surprises in it!

rolls it back up

and bakes em!

when they come out of the oven nice and hot

one might roll em in powdered sugar while they are hot

don’t burn your fingers!

and dip them in crushed candy cane in this case!

you can dip them in colored frosting and sprinkle them too!

Thousands of ways to decorate & sweeten up a Galaxy Ball!!

hm… after discovering Bakerella this year…

I can imagine the candy melt coating on these as well…

hm…..

Oh yummy… I heart Christmas cookies!!

MORE butter, more sugar, more flour, more pinches of salt

add a little red food coloring & peppermint extract

and we made candy cane dough

After we made the dough we divided it in half

and added food coloring to half

so we can do this

only try to avoid a floured surface… oops!

the first couple didn’t turn out so well…

because they were not moist

they had flour on them…

I am not a patient baker!!  =)

Ah..

There…

we pinched them and rolled them together

then we twisted them

one end twisting one way

the other end twisting another way

and

magic!

A candy cane!!

line em up

frost em with thin icing

this year I added peppermint flavoring to the icing

and candy cane

then we sprinkled more crushed candy cane

on the top of the icing

OH yum!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the record All my cookies are nearly gone…

are yours gone Sooz??

its Wednesday

We baked on Sunday

I love Cookies.

The End.

alrightygoodthen

I really need to get moving and a groovin!!

I have some Very Fun crafting to do for my kids classes in the next two days

my house still needs much of the decorating …

more cookies MUST be baked

home schoolin must happen… must stay educated!

Much to do!!

You know fun Christmasy family stuff …

plus real life…

it all MUST happen!

I will try to hop around later today b/c I NEED to see what y’all are up to!  =)

and I will try very hard to type out those recipes!

if you are interested in them??

Hope you are enjoying your families in the midst of this busy bustling Beautiful Christmas Season!

Ta Ta!!  Fa la la la la!

Jenn~

what is wrong with me today?  =)