my blessed life

May your new year be a blessed one!!

Even though we had made graham cracker gingerbread houses earlier this month, that just wasn't cutting it for Vince . He decided he wanted to design one himself. So while we were at my parents' house I whipped up some gingerbread for him and he cut all the pieces out. Of course gingerbread never bakes out like you plan it (at least in my case), but it turned out to be a charming gingerbread chateau. Our Gingerbread Chateau Christmas 2008

Steviewren at a little birdie told me so generously gave me The Christmas Spirit Award:) I {heart} Christmas, so I was happy to receive it. Thank you, Steviewren!! I'm supposed to list 5 of my favorite things about Christmas, so here goes....in no particular order... tucking my kiddos in for the night with their Christmas trees as their nightlights--their little faces are always filled with wonder:) receiving Christmas cards from family and friends, especially the far away ones that send pictures! watching old classic holiday movies with my family (because we know all the lines by heart!) reading The Advent Book each night to The Princess and Mr. B--they get so excited thinking of what will be behind that night's door discovering what *gag* gifts my dad and sister have bought for our stockings, they're very creative:) This list certainly isn't conclusive, because I could go on and on since I do really love so many things about the holiday season. I have enjoyed sha...

Vince and I have been married for 11 1/2 years now and for the last 10 of those I have been making us the same special Christmas breakfast each year. It's really pretty simple, but it looks like you went to a lot of effort. I got the egg recipe from the owners of our favorite bed and breakfast. We spent our wedding night there and also an anniversary and birthday or two (way back in the day before kiddos-ha!). If you're ever in the Fort Smith, Arkansas area I highly recommend Beland Manor . It's a special place. Christmas Breakfast Menu ******* Shirred Eggs Candied Bacon Crescent Rolls with Mom's Apple Butter ******** Shirred Eggs (from Mike & Suzy at Beland Manor Bed & Breakfast ) 1. take as many ramekins as you need for servings 2. in the bottom of each ramekin place some cooked pieces of ham or bacon 3. top meat with some shredded Swiss (provolone, mozzarella, etc.) cheese 4. gently crack an egg over the cheese without breaking the yolk 5. pour he...

This next week is going to be a busy one, so I thought I'd better get crackin ' on my Christmas posts right now while we're still at my parents' house and they can entertain the kiddos while I blog:) Our Christmas day was a wonderful one. We have been at my parents' home in Arkansas this week and it has been a great family time. Christmas morning came early with the kiddos bouncing off the wall to open gifts! I always love watching their faces light up with excitement over their gifts. Christmas morning pics with the kiddos and my parents and sister.... Here are a few shots of the kiddos with some of their gifts.... And the kiddos with their stockings....

This has been a wonderful Christmas! This year has held many challenges and struggles for me and my family, yet through it all God has been so incredibly faithful as only He can be. Last night we attended Christmas Eve communion at my parents' church (also our home church). It was so beautiful! There were several thousand there and yet it was very intimate. Each of us singing the Christmas carols of old, lighting each others' candles and sharing in the Lord's Supper. It was a holy moment for me and my children. I shared in communion for the first time with my daughter. And watching my children's faces light up as they watched the entire sanctuary become illuminated solely by candlelight was precious. 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Ligh...

Yeah, yeah, I know I said I was taking a *bloggy break*, but I just couldn't resist sharing this picture with you:) We took the kiddos for their annual picture with Santa last night. We don't "do" the whole Santa thing at our house, but he is a fun part of our Christmas celebration. We like to talk about St. Nicholas and how we get the story of Santa. And the kiddos always have fun going to see him--and I love the pictures. Didn't it turn out cute?

Here's a little Christmas card for you! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with your friends and families. May it be very blessed! I'll be taking a little bloggy break this week as we celebrate the holidays with our family and friends, but you'll hear from me soon. I'm too addicted to this thing:) And besides, the holidays do give one much blog fodder, right?! Merry Christmas!!

This past weekend we were in Oklahoma City celebrating Christmas with Vince 's side of the family. Everyone was gathered at his grandparents' house. We arrived on Friday evening. After dinner we decided to drive around and see some Christmas light displays. That was a lot of fun! There was one house that had what looked like millions of lights very beautifully done and a couple of their trees just took your breath away. They looked like pure ice! Of course pictures of lights never do them justice, but I tried to take a couple. (they had tons of *presents* piled under the trees) We visited another home that actually had six... yes, six ....metal storage buildings full of Christmas villages on display. The owner opens them each evening during the holiday season for people to go through and view. He also had a massive doll collection and about a zillion other smaller collections of random things. The collections were way over the top for me, but it was fun to see and the kiddos we...

Hanging out at Nana & Papi's..... Listening to Christmas music from my childhood.... Playing this game with the kiddos...

EDITED TO ADD: voting is closed on this contest now. If you voted, thank you very much!! **************************************************** I just wanted to post a quick plug for my very talented hubby, Vince . Today is the last day to vote for his Circuit City, "Take My TV " video. If you or people you know are able to go to the link below, click on the VOTE tab and then vote *thumbs up* for him, we'd greatly appreciate it. His username is LEADRUNNER . www.youtube.com/circuitcity (You do need to have a YouTube account to vote). Thank you!!

Sorry I haven't been around for a few days! We have been busy with Christmas, you know... We travelled to Arkansas on Thursday and then on to Oklahoma City Friday afternoon. We are having our Christmas celebration with Vince's family today. Then we will be back in Arkansas for my family's holiday fun. So in other words: busy, busy, busy!! I'll be back in a day or so with a *real* post! Hope you're all having a great weekend and enjoying this wonderful season!

For the main course of the Bloggy Progressive Dinner I am reposting a recipe from a couple of weeks ago. It's one of our absolute favorites! We've even served it for Christmas dinner before. I usually make it with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but it works great with Cornish hens and I'm sure turkey would work great, too. Baked Chicken Breasts with Wild Rice Dressing 2 boxes long grain & wild rice mix 1 med. onion, minced 3 Tbls. butter, melted & divided 1 large apple, peeled, cored & chopped 1 egg, beaten 1 Tbls. parsley 1/8 tsp. thyme salt & pepper 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ~~~~~ Prepare rice according to box directions. Saute onion in 2 tbls. butter. Combine rice, onion, apple, egg, parsley and thyme; stir well. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Place chicken breasts on top of rice dressing. Brush them with the remaining butter and salt and pepper them. Bake @ 350F for about 40 minutes or unti...

Well, the last few days have been pretty busy around here. I've felt like an elf, just minus the striped tights and little red hat. I'm a little behind on blog reading, too, since my computer has been at with the geek squad for almost a week now (we're waiting on a diagnosis) and I'm sharing my husband's laptop. He's in the middle of a big video editing project, so he's been on the computer almost non-stop the past few days. Sunday night some of our best friends came over with their kiddos and we made gingerbread houses, graham cracker-style. It was so much fun! The kiddos all had a great time! My little boy really cracked us up though. Each month he gets an issue of Little Kids' National Geographic and this past month was, of course, a holiday issue. When I told him a few weeks ago that we were going to make gingerbread houses he got so excited and ran for his magazine. He opened it right to a layout on how to build gingerbread houses and told me ...

How are you enjoying the Bloggy Progressive Dinner? There are a lot of great recipes out there! Today is the *Salad Course*. This is one of my family's favorite salads~not just at Christmas, but year round. It's a classic, so you may have tried it, but if not you should! Orange Mandarin Green Salad 2 green onions, chopped 2 celery stalks, chopped 2 Tbls. fresh parsley (or 1 Tbls. dried) Romaine lettuce, leaf lettuce, iceburg lettuce 1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained 1 pkg. almonds, sliced 1/4 cup sugar ~~~~~ Sugar almonds on low heat until sugar is melted and almonds are coated. Cool on wax paper, then break apart. Combine lettuces, onion, celery, parsley and orange slices. Pour dressing (below) over salad and toss to coat well. Add almonds, mix well and serve. Sweet & Sour Dressing 1/4 cup salad oil 2 Tbls. sugar 2 Tbls. vinegar 1/2 tsp. salt dash freshly ground pepper dash hot sauce ~~~~~ Mix well. Refrigerate several hours ahead, if desired. JesseLeigh at Parent...

We've moved on to the appetizers in the Bloggy Progressive Dinner! I LOVE appetizers, they can pretty much be my whole meal. Here is a very simple one and the best part is you can MAKE IT AHEAD!! Hope you enjoy it. Marinated Cheese (from Southern Living) 1 (7 oz.) pkg. Italian dressing mix 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup white vinegar 2 Tbls. minced green onion 2 Tbls. water 1 1/2 tsp. sugar 1 (8 oz.) block Monterey Jack cheese, chilled 1 (8 oz.) block Cheddar cheese, chilled 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, chilled 1 (4 oz.) jar chopped pimientos, drained assorted crackers ~~~~~ 1. Whisk together dressing mix, oil, vinegar, onion, water and sugar; set aside. 2. Cut each block of cheese in half lengthwise. Cut each half crosswise into 1/4" slices. 3. Arrange cheese in rows in a shallow 2-qt. baking dish, alternating Monterey Jack, Cheddar and cream cheese. Pour marinade over cheese. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. 4. Drain marinade; arrange cheese on a platter in rows. Top with p...