Happy Birthday Jesus!

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=oar123wgUH4

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Candy Sleds

We made some cute little candy sleds to hand out to the kids lastnight at church after the Christmas program.


They are pretty simple. Just takes a fun-size candy bar and 2 miniature candy canes and a couple of gummy bears for each sled and melt some chocolate bark for the "glue"

I think the kids really liked them. And Jeremiah had fun passing them out! Randy and I were both kind of shocked that all 3 kids actually participated and did very well in the play this year!

Putting up the Christmas tree

It was really fun this year kicking back and watching the kids do the tree. Usually I struggle to bring the tree up from the basement because Randy is usually hunting, but he was actually here to bring it up for me. YAY! Also, I usually assemble it myself, but I just sat on the couch and enjoyed watching Jeremiah do it this time. Then the kids had fun decorating it while Randy and I just kicked back and relaxed and talked about how they are growing up too fast!

The following picture is blurry as a result of Hannah running right in front of the camera just as I was taking this picture, but I posted it because we all thought it was rather interesting the way the lights look in it.

They had a lot of fun and did a pretty good job without our help!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all and let's not forget the true meaning of the day which is the birth of Christ! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Our Gingerbread Creations!

I've been wanting to do a gingerbread house project with the kids and not only did I finally get around to it, I was also able to get "daddy" involved!

What's funny about the picture above is that I was getting ready to take a picture of him assembling his house and as I started to take the picture he was going to lick his finger and I caught Randy being Randy!!!

Here are the houses made with graham crackers and royal icing, along with the toppings of gumdrops, M&M's, Mike & Ike's, pretzels, and cereal.

Here is Jeremiah creating his house.

And Hannah and Micah creating theirs. This is right up Hannah's alley as she is our little artist! However, we were ALL having fun. Even Randy said he was having fun being a kid again!

Here are the front sides of our finished houses. From left to right they are lined up from the youngest creator to the oldest: Hannah, Micah, Jeremiah, Mommy, Daddy

And these are the back sides, lined up in the same order.

Mommy and Daddy's up close. Mommy did a log cabin and daddy added an addition to his!

Back side of Mommy and Daddy's houses.

One tired mommy (with daughter) who still has to clean up the mess and put these pictures on the blog! We had lots of fun though! A great family fun night, and maybe some day we'll make bigger ones. I thought it would be best to start out small and see how it went. I'd say it went pretty good!

The Candy Cane Legend

THE LEGEND OF THE CANDY CANE

According to legend, there was a candy maker who wanted to invent a candy that was a witness to Christ. First of all, he used a hard candy because Christ is the rock of ages. This hard candy was shaped so that it would resemble a “J” for Jesus or, turned upside down, a shepherd’s staff. He made it white to represent the purity of Christ. Finally, a red stripe was added to represent the blood Christ shed for the sins of the world, and three thinner red stripes for the stripes He received on our behalf when the Roman soldiers whipped Him. Sometimes a green stripe is added as a reminder that Jesus is a gift from God. The flavor of the cane is peppermint, which is similar to hyssop. Hyssop is in the mint family and was used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice. Jesus is the pure Lamb of God, come to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world. So, every time you see a candy cane, remember the message of the candy maker: Christ is born!

Ssshhh...don't tell Randy!!!!!

boiling the mixture to make the caramel

then stir in the pecans

then drop into blobs on parchment paper

then they get dunked into chocolate

Here they are - homemade turtles. Ssshhh...don't tell Randy they are done!!!! These are his and my favorites of my homemade holiday candies. I think Hannah likes them too, but praise the Lord the boys don't like them....more for us! Actually many of them go onto the holiday goodie plates we pass out!

....more goodies to come.....

Rocky Road

This is one of our favorites around here! It is rocky road and it is so simple to make. I just melt some chocolate bark, add Rice Krispies and marshmallows, stir and scoop out onto waxed paper to let cool. It has become one of our holiday candy favorites!

My sugar shakin' elves

My sugar shakin elves have been busy sprinkling the covered pretzels with red and green sugars!

....more candy coming!!!

Toffee Time!

boiling the mixture, then adding the nuts

pour into pan

score into bars, then dunk into chocolate

here they are!!!

It's that time of year for doing my holiday baking and candy making! This is my toffee which are almost like little Heath bars. It is one of the favorites among the goodie plates we give to nieghbors/family/friends.

More goodies to come..........