Baking Day

Quick post after a LONG baking day!! The kids and I spent the day in the kitchen making all kinds of goodies. For now, we have pumpkin whoopie pies, chocolate whoopie pies, haystacks, peppermint candy bark, white chocolate cranberry cookies, pecan tassies, angel whispers and sugar cookies. I think that we will still make chocolate chip (my brothers' favorite) and maybe one more. I LOVE to bake!! The kids all helped (most of the day!) and after lots of messes, clean ups, dishes (did I mention that my dishwasher is not working right now??!!), more messes, more clean up and lots of delicious smells, we were able to wrap some things up to give away and call it a day.

Cranes Roost Light Show

For the second year in a row, we added something new at Cranes Roost in Altamonte to our holiday events. Cranes Roost is behind the mall and is basically just a lake with a sidewalk around it and some stopping points, benches, etc. Not too long ago, they added a fountain with a light, water and music show.

During Christmas, they play various Christmas songs and coordinate the lights and water to follow along with the music. They do an amazing job! This year the music included the Charlie Brown Christmas song. You know, the one where each character is dancing a certain way and EVERYONE in your family just has to choose a character and jump up and dance like they are! Well, you may have guessed, the girls and I did just that! I think we may have embarrassed Mark a little, but we had fun anyway! Here are some shots of the water and lights:







It was another lovely night together.

Frosted Window Panes

OK, OK, so they are not truly frosted window panes. But, in Florida, in the winter, you take what you can get! It actually got cold enough this week that our window panes looked like this:



I am still dreaming of a white Christmas, though!

A Co-op Party

This week we had our last co-op for 2009. We had most of our regular classes, except that the little group did a couple of fun projects instead of their literature class. In preparation for a special Meals On Wheels delivery this week (more details later!), Dawn had the children make pretzel rods dipped in chocolate for those recipients.

Amber and Delaney work diligently:


Some of the finished products:


Helen, Melissa and I matched - how fun!


Max, Nina's youngest, let me get in some long overdue snuggle time - I just love him!!


After co-op classes, Melissa graciously offered to host a party for the kiddos. We began with a fun game for an inexpensive gift exchange. Here is what we did in case you want to try! Each child brought a gift that was $3 or less (or a baked good). They all sat in a circle holding a gift.


Now the fun begins! I read a version of Twas the Night Before Christmas that was a tad different. Throughout the story, there are a bunch of extra "lefts" and "rights" added in. Each time they heard left, they had to pass the gift to the person on their left and if they heard right, they passed it right. The gifts made their way around and around and back again before we reached the end and they got to keep the gift left in their hands! (or, they could trade if they wanted to!) It is a lot of fun and a neat way to do a gift exchange:


As if all of that wasn't enough fun, we then moved on to gingerbread houses! Each family brought a few kinds of candy and we all shared each others. We just used graham crakers, but we used hot glue to hold them together for better stability.

Here are Corbin, Jonathan and Tyler with their (unfinished) projects:


Caleb, Andrew and Jack show off what they have completed so far:


(From back to front) - Madilyn, Charlotte, Christina, Delaney and Amber show their projects:


MaKenna's creation:


Holly's creation:


Everyone had a great time, their were sugar highs and sugar crashes (didn't even mention the cookies and hot cocoa Melissa served!), laughs, fun and memories made that will last longer than the projects!

Mom Time

This week started with an annual event I have with my homeschool mom friends - our Fuzzy Slipper/Cookie Exchange party. We have done this for several years now and it gets better all the time. Basically, we meet at a host home, bring a munchie, wear our fuzzy slippers (though most of us forgot them!) and bring a 1/2 dozen cookies per mom that they get to take home. Then, we eat, laugh and talk for hours! Such a fun time with like minded people. Although some were missed, we still had a great time with the 7 of us who were there. And, we got to take home a bunch of yummy cookies, too! I am thankful for this group of ladies - some who have homeschooled as long as me, some not as long and some just getting started. We are all on a different part of the same path and have so much to learn from each other. I am blessed to call them friends.

Diane and Melissa, having some pre-party fun:



I can't even begin to explain how long it took to get this next picture. Oh boy!!! So much fun began at the end of the party in trying to get a good shot. My tummy still hurts from laughing so hard! Good ab workout ladies! Left to right - Beth (the little angel!), Dawn, me, Nina, Amber, Helen, Melissa and Diane:



Same time next year?

Christmas Candlelight 2009

Tonight was our annual Candlelight service at our church. What an astounding evening it was. A Night of Christmas was both fun and inspirational and I consider myself blessed to be a part of such an amazing and talented group of people.

Here is a picture of our family from the evening in the lobby:



It wouldn't be Christmas without Brother Urshan singing White Christmas:



Caleb and one of his best friends, Andrew, wait for service to begin:



It was an amazing evening filled with my favorite things - friends, family, music, Christmas and best of all - Jesus! We even had snow!! I hope that your season of advent is full of all the things that you love the most, too.

Walk Through Bethlehem

Another of our family's annual traditions is to go to a wonderful event called Walk Through Bethlehem, put on by a local church. We love including this event in our schedule because it brings the time of Jesus to life in a very real and visual way. The people there do an amazing job with their roles.

We were taken through the town of Bethlehem at the time of the census - including the tax on each person, the Roman guards and all! We were shown the various shops that would have been at their market and the types of goods they offered as well as how they are made, how they live, what their everyday lives would have been like. And all the while, we were hearing rumors of a baby born in a stable - could it be the Messiah, the promised one? Following the path, we found the stable, the baby and his parents and stood in awe at the miracle of the first Christmas gift - for God so loved the world that He gave.

What I love about their production is that they don't stop the story at the manger. They take you to the cross. Because, although it wouldn't be Christmas without a manger and a stable full of hay, Christmas isn't Christmas without the reality of the cross. That is why He came.

Random Thoughts of the Season!

I haven't posted in a couple of days because I managed to let the battery die on my camera and keep forgetting to charge it! But today, I realized that I don't have to post a picture to blog - silly me! Hopefully, you can forgive me and I will get that battery charged and back to normal my life will be.

I find that every year at this time, the hard thing is to find balance. While I always want to simplify life in general and the commercialization of Christmas specifically, it can be challenging in the world we live in. There are so many wonderful opportunities - parties, outings, get togethers, events, etc. - and many of them honestly focus on family togetherness and the birth of our Lord. I love doing things like this, finding the most meaningful and fulfilling and then getting rid of the rest. Balance. It doesn't come easy. The smallest things can push us off the center of this precarious board. Nevertheless, I do seek to find that right mix and maintain it.

One of my favorite holiday activities is baking with the family. While we haven't started any official holiday baking just yet, lots of little odds and ends have gone on - with a little too much sampling along the way! Some of our favorites for this season are: Pumpkin whoopie pies, Pecan Tassies, Snickerdoodles, Coconut truffles, Homemade Candy, Magic cookie bars, Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies - oh, I just can't wait to get started! What are your favorite cookies/goodies?

Since I have no new pictures, I will leave you with one of my favorite Christmas movie scenes to enjoy:

A Crafty Christmas

A dear, sweet friend invited us and a few others over this afternoon for some fun, fellowship and crafting. We had such a lovely time with the families who were there! In the midst of all the busyness, it is nice to just stop sometimes and take the time for those who truly matter to you. We are blessed indeed. I hope that you are finding fun, meaningful ways to celebrate this fun yet meaningful season.

Snuggling for days 5 & 6

Saturday was a full day for our family - we headed out to Ft. Christmas for their annual event called Cracker Christmas. Mark helped build a lot of things out there when he was still a teenager, so it is neat to go and here him tell of what he did and to see the changes since then! So, Cracker Christmas is a great event where they open the whole fort - the buildings, the fort, etc. - to the public and invite about 150 craft vendors, food vendors and demonstrators. We enjoyed the cool day walking around together, exploring, learning and talking to people about the olden days of Florida. We were also able to mail our Christmas cards from there so they they will be postmarked from "Christmas, Fl" - how neat is that?

After leaving there, we headed to Z night at Light Up UCF. This is the 2nd year that UCF has had this event - they create an outdoor ice skating arena, bring in a Ferris wheel and carousal and have various entertainment. This year, they had Z night with the local Christian radio station on the grounds with a huge outdoor screen set up where they showed the new Veggie tales Christmas movie. We were there early enough to get great seats on a big comfy sofa and snuggled up together - which was perfect for how chilly it was!



While we were there, a rocket went up and we were able to watch it for what seemed forever before it disappeared from view. The grand finale of the day was the light show. UCF has coordinated Christmas lights to perform to different instrumental Christmas songs. They do an amazing job with all the lights, the timing, etc. It is worth seeing! Here are some of the lights on display with the Ferris wheel and carousal:





It was a great day to be together and celebrate the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year!

DPP Day 4

Yesterday, our co-op group went on a field trip to Canine Companions for Independence.



While we were there, we learned so much about what their program is and what they offer to the community. How fun would it be to be a "puppy trainer" and be a part of raising a dog to be a companion to someone in need? Anyone with time and patience can do it! After they are with their training family for about a year, they are brought back to CCI for 6-9 months of training with a professional where they learn all the specifics of how to help someone with a handicap. The trainers work with the dogs while sitting in a wheel chair making sure they can follow their commands and do what is needed:



I was happy to know that the dogs to get some "down time" to just play and have fun. They have a playground area where they get to run around. Notice the slide with the dog on it? They seemed to love this equipment!



What a surprise when a few of the dogs noticed the children watching them and came over to say hello! We wondered if they were thinking "Oh goody, they brought children for us to watch today!"



It was neat to know that after all of their training, qualified families do not have to pay anything for their dog. What a blessing that must be for them! December is off to a great, busy start!

The Blessing of Friends who Pray

Thursday nights for almost 2 years now have been one of my favorite nights of the week. That is the night of one of our Ladies Prayer groups at my church and what a blessing it is to my life. I am so thankful to have that group of ladies who I know I can call on any time to bind together and pray with me and not only will they, but they will touch God for me.

Tonight, we did something a little different, though. One of my dear friends opened her home and had our prayer group over for a little Christmas get together! Everyone brought a little something to share and all of those little somethings = lots of necessary repenting! So much yummy food, such good fellowship and amazing women. My life is better because they are a part of it. Here is a picture of our group (minus Cara and Rosa - sorry guys! I forgot to get a picture before you left.)



Wonderful friends, food and memories!

Through the Eyes of a Child - DPP day 2

Christmas never meant so much to me as it did after I had children. Every year, seeing the sights of the season through their eyes is the most joyful thing in the world. I love that we still wonder in the excitement of it all together, even as they start to grow up. We love to just have some fun no matter what we are doing - like decorating for Christmas:

December Photo Project 2009

Well, November has slipped away in thankful tidings and here we are in December - the last month of another year, the beginning of the advent of the season of the birth of Jesus. What an exciting time! It truly is the most wonderful time of the year, a time to remember that He came. We needed a Healer, so He came. We needed a Friend and Comforter, so He came. We needed, most of all, a Savior, so He came. And He came as a baby in the most humble of circumstances to show us that we are able to see Him on our level right where we are. How amazing! No wonder the angels sang!!!!

Last year, for the first time, I participated in a fun blog event for December called "December Photo Project."



If you have never done it, you can get more info here. Basically, for each day from today through December 25, you post a picture a day about something meaningful to you about Christmas, family, etc. Then, we can share the wonders of the season together, through many eyes and experiences. I hope that you will join in the fun and celebrate the wonder of this season. My first picture will actually be a series of 3 of the same event. We decorated our tree before Thanksgiving this year (the best choice EVER - it was done before any holiday events started, so it was one less thing to think about!!). Here is a shot of each of my children decorating our tree:

Caleb:


MaKenna:


Holly:


We love decorating for Christmas and bringing things that God made into our home to remind us of His presence, His love and His provision. What about you? Will you join in the fun with me? I can't wait to see Christmas through your eyes!