Insta Friday!

Hi There!
The first week of Christmas break is coming to a close and I can hardly believe it.
On Monday, we headed to Wisconsin to spend the night at an indoor amusement and water park!
Let me just say, it was way more fun than I thought it'd be.  I think the kids having a blast is what made it so great.  My daughter kept (and keeps) on saying, "this is the best Christmas EVER!" to which my eldest replies, "it's not Christmas till SUNDAY!"   Ah, eldest kids.  We know it all.
Here are some cell phone pics of our little 2 day adventure.  

On the ferris wheel.  I asked him to make his excited face.

Ferris Wheel!

It was pretty high up!  My husband is the little white dot down there. 

Me and EJ on the indoor go-kart track.

We went to a restaurant where they handed out moose antler hats.  The kids making their best moose faces...

 In other news...

I made this cowl neck thingy and took a pic of myself to show a friend.  I look like a crazed bandit.

Front row at Matthew West/Mandissa concert!  It was so good.

I took a pic of this and posted on FB.  I predicted that this $3 toy would be the most fought over gift we got for the kids.

Well friends.... Gotsta get to baking!  Happy Christmas Eve, Eve!

First Snowy Day

Today is the first day of winter break for the kids.  How fun is it that they woke up to the first snow fall of the season?  They ran around the house and screamed with excitement. 
After what seemed like hours of getting them booted, gloved, snowpanted and scarved up, they were ready for their first adventure out in the snow!

 Miss wasn't too pleased with the buckles of her snow pants...

Attack mommy!

"I've been hit!"

There's the smile I know and love ;)

Snow-sicle

First snow man!

Ready...

spin...

Fire!

Super fun ride ;)

 

 

 

 

Have a fun weekend!  Stay warm.

Tis the Season to Bake Your Tail Off

In an effort to try new recipes for Christmas goodies this year, I hit up Pinterest for some new ideas.

I wasn't disappointed!  Check out some of these delectable goodies I'm dying to try this year.  And after eating them, I could die.  What about you?  What are your faves?

Candy Cane Blossoms

Homemade Chocolate Covered Marshmallows

Double Chocolate Cookies with Peppermint Surprise

Vegan (!) Chocolate Spritz Cookies with Peppermint Cream

Toffee Crunch Cupcakes

Colorful Swirl Christmas Cookies

Apple Cider Caramel Cookies

Gingerbread Man Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Dark Chocolate Orange Truffles

White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

White Chocolate and Nutmeg Bars

Too many kids...

I only have three kids and when I tell people that they say, "WOW, three?"  Really?  Three is now considered a "WOW" number of kids?

The following comments are as much to myself as to anyone else who has ever had the notion that a family has "TOO MANY" kids.

If you know someone who is pregnant and already has the number of kids you deem "enough" keep it to yourself.  Instead, congratulate them.  If they're your friend, support them.  Encourage them.
Did you know that children are a gift from the Lord?  Whether its the 2nd born or 10th, still a blessing.

So what if they need to buy a bigger car or perhaps a conversion van?  It's a car.  And you don't have to drive it.  Or put gas in it.  So why are you concerned?
So what if they need to put two or THREE kids in one room (gasp!)?
So what if they can't buy as many Christmas presents or have to dress their kids in hand-me-downs?
How are they going to pay for 4, 5, 6 college educations?  Guess what?  They don't have to worry about that for EIGHTEEN years.  Let them get that van paid off first.

Am I done having kids?  My friend was "done" three kids ago and here she is with five.  I think God changed her mind for her ;)

Next time you see a mom with her oodles of kids at church, or in the store or wherever, resist the urge to say, "boy, you have your hands full!"  say instead, "wow!  you've been quadruply blessed!"  It will remind them of that fact-especially if they are in the process of searching for kid #4 who ran off.  Moms don't need to be reminded that they have their hands full.  They need encouragement.

To my friend who just found out she's pregnant with her fourth, I congratulate you.  You make super cute kids and I'm glad there will be another one running around soon ;)  Soon enough, you will be holding that little one in your arms and wonder how you ever lived without him/ her!  I think you'd feel that way if it was your 2nd or 10th.

Do you have a full quiver?  I'd love to hear from you.  What crazy comments have you received at the store or from someone in regards to the number of kids you have?

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.  (Psalms 127:3-5 ESV)

my little people.

Make Christmas Count

Hi There!
I wanted to take a moment to stop and tell you about something that I'm participating in.  I saw an opportunity to be a part of a gift guide over at the "life rearranged" blog.   I really like Jeannetts blog, especially with a blog header says, "life doesn't always go as planned.  help others anyway".

In this case, the money she's raising through her blog is going to help adopt a special needs child in Eastern Europe named Xander.  You can read about him here.

This week only, 13 shops (including mine) are giving a percentage of their earnings toward Xanders adoption fund!  I'm very excited to see how much can be raised, especially since there is a $1,000 matching grant available!  Jeannett is also giving away a DSLR, a Kitchen Aid Mixer, a Drill and a Kindle to help spread the word about this mission to make Christmas Count for Xander.

So if you have some more Christmas shopping to get done, why don't you take a minute to browse some of the shops that are participating?  There are 5 pages so you have to click on "older post" or "newer post" to view all of the shops.

Click here to browse my shop

Thanks.  Have a blessed weekend!

James 1:27  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Jesse Tree Ornament Exchange Party

Keeping kids focused on Christmas and what it's truly about is hard.  Heck, it's hard for adults.  Presents, Santa, cookies, presents, lights, trees, presents-As a Christ follower, these are not the first words I want my kids to say when I ask them what they think Christmas is about.
So when my good friend, Gina, called me and told me about an idea she found on Pinterest for a Jesse Tree Ornament exchange party, I was all about it.
She found this website that explained the process, had their own party AND that sells a devotional to go through the 24 days leading up to Christmas.

In short-The Jesse Tree is made up of 24 ornaments.  Each ornament has a significant meaning as it relates to Christmas.  24 women each make 1 of the same 24 ornaments.  You get together and exchange them.  You go home with 24 different ornaments!  Then, starting December 1st, you read the short devotional for the day and then hang that day's ornament on the tree.  Get it?  Got it?  Good.

Here are some pics from our party!  It was so much fun.   All of the ornaments looked so great.   It made it super exciting when a one of the women's water broke upon entering the house.  She stayed for the whole party (3rd kid)!  What a girl.   She now has a beautiful baby girl ;)

Getting the ornaments arranged...

Fabulous ornaments!

Fabulous treats!

We had the ornaments arranged by the day of the advent they correspond to...

Love the donkeys!

This ornament is customized with a pic of each family!

Baaaaaa

The devotional book...

Ladies in red

Me and my girl, Gina.

Last night, my husband and I showed the kids all of the ornaments and explained what we're doing.  We're all really excited to start tonight Jesse-tree-ing it up tonight!
Do you have any fun traditions that you do with your children?  I'd love to know.