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Holly Jolly Story Christmas 5x7 folded card
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Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
A Shutterfly Christmas (card, that is)
I have used Shutterfly in the past for many different photo projects. They regularly have excellent deals and promotions that make using them completely worth it! Not to mention the fact that the site is very easy to use. Last year I used Shutterfly to make our Christmas card, and this year as I was planning my Christmas card I went to their site to check out holiday photo card backgrounds and the Christmas photo card backgrounds. Here are some of my favorite backgrounds:
I love this cute little trees on both of these!
And how fun is this?! This would definitely be a cute one to use for the picture bloopers! :)
And this one is just so beautifully classic.
I found several others that I loved as well, and then I began planning how I wanted to set my children up for pictures and what I wanted them to wear. I am pleased to say that, with the help of my sister's photography skills, we captured some great shots and I cannot wait to finish designing our photo cards. Of course I don't want to ruin the surprise, so I won't be posting the finished product on here until after I'm sure everyone has received their Christmas cards!
P.S. After I finish up my Christmas card, I might just have to make one of these super cute photo calendars! And pictures of my kids in these calendars would make them even cuter!!! *smile*
I love this cute little trees on both of these!
I found several others that I loved as well, and then I began planning how I wanted to set my children up for pictures and what I wanted them to wear. I am pleased to say that, with the help of my sister's photography skills, we captured some great shots and I cannot wait to finish designing our photo cards. Of course I don't want to ruin the surprise, so I won't be posting the finished product on here until after I'm sure everyone has received their Christmas cards!
P.S. After I finish up my Christmas card, I might just have to make one of these super cute photo calendars! And pictures of my kids in these calendars would make them even cuter!!! *smile*
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Busy At Work
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While Tom was busy at work ON the kitchen this morning, I was busy at work IN the kitchen! Tom was temporarily setting the sink and countertop (until we get the new countertop that fits correctly in our space.) and I was baking some really pretty and tasty sugar cookies. It has been a lovely productive Saturday!
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Thursday, May 13, 2010
JOY
I feel compelled to share these sweet and precious thoughts from Bible study at church last night
Proverbs 24:10 If you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small.
Nehemiah 8:11 For the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Joy is an abiding sense of well-being which comes from knowing God. This joy gives me the strength to stand in the day of adversity knowing that "no power of Hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from His hand." Nothing can harm me in an ultimate way for the end of this journey for me as a believer always ends in VICTORY and being united in heaven with my Abba Father.
Proverbs 24:10 If you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small.
Nehemiah 8:11 For the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Joy is an abiding sense of well-being which comes from knowing God. This joy gives me the strength to stand in the day of adversity knowing that "no power of Hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from His hand." Nothing can harm me in an ultimate way for the end of this journey for me as a believer always ends in VICTORY and being united in heaven with my Abba Father.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Reasons to Celebrate!
I have so many reasons to celebrate this weekend. Of course, Sunday was Mother's Day, and I have the privilege of celebrating the opportunity to be a mother to my three blessings: Megan, Kyle, and Caleb. They are such an amazing gift! With the help of God, I want to live a life that leaves them a legacy of faith, and is an example of the life-changing grace of God.
Mother's day is also a wonderful day to celebrate my own Mom, another of God's precious gifts to me. I remember the first few weeks at home with my sweet Megan. I wasn't prepared for how much work being a Mother really is. I remember having no idea how I was supposed to get my tiny baby from sleeping in my arms to sleeping in her crib. My sweet mom stayed up many a late night with me helping me to get things figured out. She has continued to be a blessing with her help, her godly advice and gentle encouragement. I love her dearly!
I also am celebrating the amazing gift of life. A year ago I had my liver-transplant surgery. It was the beginning of renewed health and optimism as well as tremendous spiritual blessings! Sunday was exactly a year later, and everyday I marvel at how much energy I have! God has used this experience to change my life in so many many ways. I never want to forget God has done. I pray that he will keep using the things that I experienced through the last year to change me and continue to make me into his image.
And lastly, I had the opportunity to celebrate by enjoying some time alone with my husband! We spent Sunday night in Rochester. I had an appointment in the transplant clinic Monday morning (which went very well). My parents generously agreed to watch our little ones while we had a one night getaway! I soaked up the peaceful time with my husband without the little ones to interrupt conversations. It was sweet and wonderful and I loved it!
All of these precious gifts are from the hands of my heavenly Father. I cannot claim responsibility for any of it. All I can do is praise God for his mercy and his grace in my life. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him!
Mother's day is also a wonderful day to celebrate my own Mom, another of God's precious gifts to me. I remember the first few weeks at home with my sweet Megan. I wasn't prepared for how much work being a Mother really is. I remember having no idea how I was supposed to get my tiny baby from sleeping in my arms to sleeping in her crib. My sweet mom stayed up many a late night with me helping me to get things figured out. She has continued to be a blessing with her help, her godly advice and gentle encouragement. I love her dearly!
I also am celebrating the amazing gift of life. A year ago I had my liver-transplant surgery. It was the beginning of renewed health and optimism as well as tremendous spiritual blessings! Sunday was exactly a year later, and everyday I marvel at how much energy I have! God has used this experience to change my life in so many many ways. I never want to forget God has done. I pray that he will keep using the things that I experienced through the last year to change me and continue to make me into his image.
And lastly, I had the opportunity to celebrate by enjoying some time alone with my husband! We spent Sunday night in Rochester. I had an appointment in the transplant clinic Monday morning (which went very well). My parents generously agreed to watch our little ones while we had a one night getaway! I soaked up the peaceful time with my husband without the little ones to interrupt conversations. It was sweet and wonderful and I loved it!
All of these precious gifts are from the hands of my heavenly Father. I cannot claim responsibility for any of it. All I can do is praise God for his mercy and his grace in my life. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him!
God's Word Protects Our Hearts
Over the last several weeks God has been teaching me about how important it is to be careful with my mind... Impressing upon me the need to be careful, not just for my sake, but for the sake of protecting my children's purity and innocence. Our pastor has had several messages lately in which he has briefly touched on the fact that the world's philosophies are wrapped up in pretty little feel good packages and made to sound great, but, when it comes right down to it, go against what the Bible says.
Then a friend of mine published an article on her blog, A Moment Cherished, about protecting our children's innocence and I enjoyed some good discussions in the comment section about what it means to protect our children's minds from the evils of this world. I was reminded of how God protects and shelters us, and how He desires us to soak up light from his Word for when we are full of light it is easy to see the darkness.
Of course on Mother's day both our pastor, and our Sunday School teacher touched on the fact that as parents we need to make what we are trying to teach our children real in our own lives. I was also reminded how easily it is for our hearts to be slowly pulled away from God. It happens without us even realizing it at times... It's a slow fade...
Romans 16:17-19 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
Hebrews 2:1 We must pay more careful attention therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
God is still working in my heart about how this is to be manifested in the workings of our family. For the time-being he has impressed upon me the need to really be a student of His Word, and to be very careful about what I read by mere men because it is so easy to be led astray by flattering words and feel-good philosophies.
Then a friend of mine published an article on her blog, A Moment Cherished, about protecting our children's innocence and I enjoyed some good discussions in the comment section about what it means to protect our children's minds from the evils of this world. I was reminded of how God protects and shelters us, and how He desires us to soak up light from his Word for when we are full of light it is easy to see the darkness.
Of course on Mother's day both our pastor, and our Sunday School teacher touched on the fact that as parents we need to make what we are trying to teach our children real in our own lives. I was also reminded how easily it is for our hearts to be slowly pulled away from God. It happens without us even realizing it at times... It's a slow fade...
Romans 16:17-19 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
Hebrews 2:1 We must pay more careful attention therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
God is still working in my heart about how this is to be manifested in the workings of our family. For the time-being he has impressed upon me the need to really be a student of His Word, and to be very careful about what I read by mere men because it is so easy to be led astray by flattering words and feel-good philosophies.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
More Baby Shower Fun: The Food
As promised earlier this week, here is the menu and recipes from the shower. Samantha and I got together on Friday and spent the day baking and preparing our refreshments. That was almost as much fun as the actual shower! All of the food was very very good, and we received lots of compliments and requests for recipes. I think a good recipe deserves to be enjoyed, not hidden away in my recipe box, so I'm happy to share them!
The Menu:
Breakfast pizza (the shower was at 11 a.m.) purchased from a local pizzeria and cut into triangles to dress it up a bit.
Fresh fruit: grapes, strawberries, and apple slices.
Veggies, apple slices, and Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip. This peanut butter dip is amazing, and healthier than most dips. It is great with so many different things. Pretzels, mini rice cakes, apples, bananas, veggies... I'm sure there is more that would taste good with it that I haven't thought of yet.
Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip
1 cup Vanilla flavored yogurt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
Mix all ingredients together until smooth and serve with your favorite fruits and veggies.
These sticky buns are AMAZING! I mean, the best I have ever had by far. Mmm.... I'm getting a craving for them right now just thinking about how good they are.
Easy Sticky Buns
16 frozen bread dough dinner rolls
1 lg pkg (or 2 small) cook & serve vanilla pudding (NOT instant)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine
The night before place frozen roll dough in greased pan. Mix pudding, brown sugar, and melted margarine together and spread over top of frozen dough. Let rise overnight. Bake in the morning at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Turn sticky buns out of pan upside down while still hot or they will stick in the pan. These are just as good cooled as they are warm.
These frozen fruit cups were a great cool refreshing treat. These would be great to make and keep in the freezer for the summer as a healthier alternative to popsicles.
Frozen Fruit Cups
6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed slightly
6 ounces frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed slightly
11 ounces can mandarin oranges, drained
20 ounces can crushed pineapple, drained
20 ounces frozen strawberries (2 pkgs), thawed slightly
10 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed slightly
3 to 4 bananas (more if desired), diced
4 cups ginger ale (more if desired)
In a very large bowl, mix all ingredients together. With a measuring cup, fill individual plastic cups with mixture. Place cups on a flat surface such as a baking sheet. Cover loosely with wax paper and freeze. Thaw at least 30 minutes before eating. (note: if you don't thaw them a little they will be hard as a rock and very difficult to eat)
Instead of doing a typical shower cake, we decided to make cupcakes. We made a batch of Pillsbury Funfetti cupcakes, and used store bought icing tinted blue with chocolate sprinkles on top. We also made a batch of Rich Chocolate cupcakes with store bought chocolate icing and little white sprinkles on top. I don't care for chocolate cake mixes so I found this recipe. I thought it turned out very good, although I think I overcooked them slightly. I have a much harder time telling when chocolate things are done since I can't easily tell by the color.
Rich Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients one at a time. Mix well. Pour 1/4 cup batter into muffin cups. Bake @ 350 for 18-20 minutes.
And to add the finishing touch to our table, Aunt Laurel made these cute little molded candies. I'm not sure you can tell by the pictures, but they are in the shape of booties and pacifiers. They looked absolutely perfect and were the extra little bit of teal that our food table needed. I don't have the recipe for these, although I believe she just used the little melting wafers that can be found at most craft stores. Aunt Laurel also made the cutest little feet cookies to give out as the favors. Unfortunately, I don't have the recipe for those either, but I may have to ask her for it because they really were very good!
So there you have it, our party menu. We had 32 people at the shower, and we had more than enough food. However, I did have a mini panic attack the morning of the shower and sent my husband to the store to get more, but I shouldn't have worried, we had plenty with lots left over.
The Menu:
Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip
1 cup Vanilla flavored yogurt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
Mix all ingredients together until smooth and serve with your favorite fruits and veggies.
Easy Sticky Buns
16 frozen bread dough dinner rolls
1 lg pkg (or 2 small) cook & serve vanilla pudding (NOT instant)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine
The night before place frozen roll dough in greased pan. Mix pudding, brown sugar, and melted margarine together and spread over top of frozen dough. Let rise overnight. Bake in the morning at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Turn sticky buns out of pan upside down while still hot or they will stick in the pan. These are just as good cooled as they are warm.
Frozen Fruit Cups
6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed slightly
6 ounces frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed slightly
11 ounces can mandarin oranges, drained
20 ounces can crushed pineapple, drained
20 ounces frozen strawberries (2 pkgs), thawed slightly
10 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed slightly
3 to 4 bananas (more if desired), diced
4 cups ginger ale (more if desired)
In a very large bowl, mix all ingredients together. With a measuring cup, fill individual plastic cups with mixture. Place cups on a flat surface such as a baking sheet. Cover loosely with wax paper and freeze. Thaw at least 30 minutes before eating. (note: if you don't thaw them a little they will be hard as a rock and very difficult to eat)
Rich Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients one at a time. Mix well. Pour 1/4 cup batter into muffin cups. Bake @ 350 for 18-20 minutes.
So there you have it, our party menu. We had 32 people at the shower, and we had more than enough food. However, I did have a mini panic attack the morning of the shower and sent my husband to the store to get more, but I shouldn't have worried, we had plenty with lots left over.
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