I know it's a little early...

 ...for Christmas cards. But, I've been thinking about it a bit lately. For the first time in about 3 years my family will be having pictures taken (other than the one for the church directory). And just in time for holiday cards. I came across two good deals from VistaPrint and I thought I'd pass them along.


Use this address : www.vistaprint.com/tree
Get 4x8 cards:

30 for $5.00

40 for $9.99

50 for $14.99

or if you don't need too many cards

Use this address: www.vistaprint.com/xmasdeal

Get 4x8 cards:

10 for $1.99

20 for $1.99

These prices do not include shipping. You will also find some good deals on coordinating gift tags as well as customizable ornaments & stockings.

And now, I'm expecting holiday cards from all of you :) 

Photo credit: Vistaprint.com

Christmas dinner - I know.... I'm a little behind

We love family gatherings. If there is a birthday, graduation, hair cut to be celebrated we'll do it. Well, maybe not the hair cuts but you get the point. My mom almost always hosts these and having to constantly plan and prepare can get overwhelming. So we decided that in order to lighten the load we would simplify and get together once a month and celebrate all the birthdays/holidays for that month. We would also take turns planning/hosting. My sister Cathy asked to host our Adult Christmas dinner at her house.

She went above and beyond to host a very memorable meal. Every detail was well thought out and executed to a T. I wish I would have taken more pictures to share. Her house was decorated beautifully with another Pinterest project around every corner. It was gorgeous. The meal, even though we were celebrating her birthday, was filled with dishes she knew would be favorites for the rest of us. A cheese tray with like 6 different types of cheese, yummy salad & sides, and a steak that my brother-in-law seasoned and cooked to perfection, so many special touches.

But my favorite part was in the dining room...

At first it looked simple. A photo tree on the wall. But upon closer inspection we saw photos of cherished memories...

 

My Wedding, My Dad's promotion, our beloved dog Berkley, the group at the Coney Island hot dog joint after my Grandfather's funeral, past Christmas gatherings, my Grandma, and so many more.

The photo tree included this photo, one of my absolute favorites, that my Dad recently took of a chair in my grandparents kitchen where my Grandfather would set his jacket and hat. It's been left untouched just as he placed them the very last time he wore them. And he was magnificent :)

Cathy spent hours gathering and printing photos and then sharing them in this special way with the rest of us. Her desire was for us to enjoy and celebrate the things most precious to her.... the family. I was blessed and she did an amazing job. 

Thank you Cathy for making another cherished memory!!

12 Days of Holiday Recipes - How the Wheels Fell Off

I don't know what I was thinking. Lately every plan I've made has fallen apart. I think it's just the season of life I'm in. Our days got super busy, the baby became super needy, and lots of things succumbed to neglect. I had purposed to make some goodie baskets for our neighbors and then some for my kiddos to give to my siblings for Christmas. I figured the best way to attack this was to just do it all on one day. One LONG, stressful, messy day, and then it would be done. I should have known better.

My first clue should have been when I turned on the oven to preheat. After a few minutes I smelled a horribly familiar smell and opened the door to find this:

 

When my brother was little he used to stick all kinds of things in the oven too, like my Dad's tape measure. So while this was a frustrating start, the memory of childhood made me smile.... and we trudged forward.

 

See... everyone was so happy... er...uh...well, almost everyone. See Black-Eyed Bart there? It was nap time. Shortly after I took this he went down and things went much smoother. 

We used some of this....

And some of this....

to make our goodies. 

The girls helped make some dark chocolate and peppermint cake balls and some peanut butter thumb print cookies for the baskets.

 

We also made a batch of butterscotch goodness to take to Grandy's house for our celebration with them.

 

I love Izzie's face here. Totally captures her little goof-ball personality.

I had mixed up the hot chocolate mix a few days before so we bagged everything up in cute holiday sacks. And while we were baking away we enjoyed a wonderful holiday fragrance filling the air from this... A simmer pot recipe I got on Pinterest. My mom made it a few days before and it made her house smell so welcoming for our church's Mother/Daughter Christmas Party. So simple, it was just an orange, quartered, a few sticks of cinnamon, a few whole cloves, and a good handful of cranberries. Cover it with water and simmer on low making sure not to burst the berries. You can leave this on your stove for a week or two. Seriously. Just add a little water to it occasionally. You'll know when it's time to throw it out because everything starts to look extra mushy and turns the same brownish/gray color. It smells AMAZING! In fact, I have a few cranberries left in the fridge so I picked up an orange at the store to make one last batch of this. 

 

 

So I didn't complete the full 12 days. I'm not going to sweat it. Heck, I just took my Christmas decorations down today.... almost 2 weeks later. I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Memories were made and lessons were learned (i.e. check the oven before turning it on). Maybe we'll try again next year. :)

Family Tree

So two of my sisters recently shared this song, said it made them think of our family. I finally listened to it and I agree. We don't all spend Christmas Eve at home anymore and there is no choosing of the tree. We adult children have our own and the decorations on each can vary widely. These days the ornaments don't last very long on mine before little hands remove them. Mom has her tree, too. Some years it's beautiful and fancy, some years it's covered with homemade ornaments and memories. This IS the best time of year. Not only because I get to spend time with my family but also because for many of us we share a Savior. And that makes the celebrations that much sweeter.

Family Tree by Dave Barnes (you can listen to it here)

Family car we barely fit
Christmas time had come again
Bundled up to fight the freeze
Picking out the family tree

We decorate with clumsy hands
And hope that Santa
Comes again
And the morning wake to see
Gifts beneath the family tree

And I don't know where I'm going
But I do know who I'll be
'Cause memories and names like these all hang
On us the family tree

We're older now
We all have changed
But we all have at the same old things
We'll spend the night with memories
Gathered round the family tree

And I don't where I'm going
But I do know who I'll be
'Cause memories and names like these all hang
On us

We're so much more than blood
We're more than names
We're bound by bonds that only God sustains

But, this time of year
We gather here
And I always know I'm home

There are voices now
Where silence was
The subtle signs of growing up
Where one is born another leaves
Branches on the family tree

Needing a second cup of coffee

And here we are again. I've fallen way behind on updating my blog. Almost three months since my last post. And the reason why... in a picture...



My handsome Si-burger has become an attention hoarder :) I don't seem to mind too much. His first birthday is just a few weeks away. I can't believe it. Look for a gushy post then.

It's finally starting to get cold (sort of). I've decorated my tree, hung the stockings, and for once I'm just about done with shopping and it's not Christmas Eve ;) I LOVE the Holidays. Yesterday I caught a few minutes of a show featuring the town of North Pole, Alaska. There it is Christmas all year, and for a brief moment I thought "Hey, I could live there". But who am I kidding. Even as I type this I am huddled under my covers, hoodie and fuzzy 'stay-at-home' socks on, sipping my pumpkin spice latte. I'd freeze there. A dear childhood friend leaves soon with her family to be missionaries in Poland. Brrrr.

Maybe this is why I don't post every day. I can think of things all the time to blog about but when I actually make time to do it all cohesive thought flees my body and we get the 'Ramble Post'. Sorry about that. I'll try better next time. But for now I leave you. The boy's awake and I'm needing a second cup of coffee.