Teacher's Gifts {Reindeer Feed}

Good morning and Happy Sunday to you! "This is the day that the Lord hath made, and I will rejoice and be GLAD in it!" Due to the unavailability of a church building (our new church building is yet to be completed), the church we attend has only evening services on Sunday evening. It has been different, but we have adjusted. Thus, I have a little time to blog this morning!

Is your season merry and busy yet? The business will pick up for us this week. We have one Christmas party tonight, after church, and two parties tomorrow. Grace's GEMS (God Expects My Service) club, and Elijah's Cub Scout  parties are both tomorrow...ugh...does anyone have any extra energy to spare?  I am still working on getting all the party food, teacher's gifts, and friend gifts completed. Grace's GEMS club requires for her to make a homemade gift for her Big Sister, and I wanted to be able to do something for the kids' teachers. So...where to go for inspiration, but Pinterest?

Yes, I am actually using some of those hundreds of ideas I have pinned to my boards on this amazing but addictive site. Well, maybe not hundreds, yet, but getting close to it. 

Years ago, someone brought some Reindeer Feed to the clinic I worked at, and I ate so much as to about get sick! It was delicious! I have looked for the recipe, in vain, since then, and finally find it this year. {I pinned it to Pinterest, if you are interested}. So I made up a batch of it yesterday, and packaged it an original, festive way....inspired by....yep, you guessed it....a pin from Pinterest. Gracie and I stayed up last night working on it together. What a lovely time of mother/daughter fellowship it was!

Here is how they turned out:

The one on the right is for Elijah's Cub Scout master, and Elijah would not hear of putting a bow, even if it is made of twine, on a man's package!

Did you think I was going to leave you hanging without the recipe? Here you go, enough for one batch:

Reindeer Feed






2 1/4 c. Cheerios
3 1/4 c. Rice Chex
1 1/2 c. pretzels
3/4 c. M&M’s
3/4 c. peanuts

Stir gently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
In the microwave melt one bag of white chocolate chips according to package directions.  Let cool slightly and then mix into bowl a couple of spoonfuls at a time.  As soon as everything is well mixed, dump mix onto your cookie sheet and spread out evenly.

Watch for little (and big) hands snitching your stash, it's sooo good to much on! :) 
As for the packing, well, that will have to be a different post. Little ones are up and needing Mommy's attention. Have a great day!

Thankful for Thanksgiving

Hello Blogland! Here we are on the post side of Thanksgiving--wondering what to do with all that leftover turkey ( chicken turkey salad, anyone?), and why are the buttons of my clothes suddenly pulling a little bit more than before? Maybe it was that extra piece of pecan pie, or the sampling of every single dessert at the church Thanksgiving dinner? {wouldn't want anyone's feelings to get hurt because they didn't see a slice or dip of their sweet concoction on your plate, now, would we?} 

Thanksgiving was a whirl, but a whirl of  warmth, love, and family.   We started early on Thursday morning and squeezed in visits with both sides of John's family. John's aunt and uncle on his Mom's side have the most beautiful place in the country! They purchased an old, dilapidated "dog-trot" style house several years ago and restored it to a  livable condition.  It is rustic, historic, and absolutely breath-taking! There is plenty of room on the rolling hillside for kids to romp and roll and rice tricycles down at break-neck speeds (I'll give you one guess at who tried that stunt). The house boasts an end-to-end front porch complete with swing and rockers. I could sit on that porch all. day. long. and gaze at the view of the pasture across the street (breath-taking), and John and I did just that for most of the day. 

John has been sent to south Louisiana to assist with an audit that will last well into and maybe past January. He is gone four days a week and need I say I do not like it? I just do not SLEEP well with my other half gone, laying awake listening to every sound, and when I do drift off I start awake with every groan and creak and falling of ice in the refrigerator. But last week, they sent him home on Tuesday night and we got to have him home for five whole days. That, my friends, was the best part of my Thanksgiving. 

There were so many sit-back-and-watch-in-contentment, sweet moments, that probably would just sound sappy to anyone else, but I tucked them into my heart, to keep me warm on the cold, lonely nights of the week ahead. Moments of a Daddy bonding with his little girls, and a little boy tromping around the house in his "huntin' boots", shadowing his Daddy's every move with hero-worship in his eyes. 

Care for some visual aid?

This is Beamie (John's Mom), with Emma and Bear on said rustic swing.

My very own sweet man, carving up the turkey! 

Tomato pies, a recipe I stole from my Mom and is always a crowd-pleaser! 

Cousins playing in the countryside. 

I snuck in a side shot of the Great-grandparents and all the great-grandchildren (minus two) while having a photo session. I'm sure the official photographer got a better shot. 

 Thank goodness for Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Almost-Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving. I would love it if the world skipped Halloween and put all of its energy into Thanksgiving. Because it is hastily squeezed in between Halloween and Christmas, I try to milk all I can out of it. This week I've been pondering, and encouraging my children to ponder about all that we have been given, and the One who has given it all to us. We've voiced our thankfulness for both the tangible and intangible--Legos,Cowboy boots,  Polly Pockets, purses and shoes (per Emma), pillows and beds, washers and driers, family and friends--and even potato chips and Blue Bell (by a certain daughter of mine who loves to eat). But as I sit down and deeply consider, I'm most thankful to be a child of God. Looking around at the turmoil of this world, of this city I live in, and even in the lives of the family next door, I'm so thankful for the still, sweet peace found in living under the shelter of His wings. He's my storm shelter in the tornado of life. If not for Him, where would I be today? What kind of life would I have lived for the last 30 years? What kind of parents would have raised me, if He had not saved mine before my birth. What kind of man would I have married if He had not saved my husband before our marriage?

So even though I don't want to take for granted all the blessings in my life (my van is running good, the heater works, my husband has a good job), I know it's all because of Him. For Him, I'm the most grateful. To Him, I give the praise.

I don't know about you, but I'm gonna put away some turkey-lurkey and all the trimmings tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Now That I'm 5....

............I can "squish" the meatloaf for you, Mom!

....I'm too old to drink out of sippy cups now...

...I'm not supposed to ride in a carseat anymore....

...no more little-girl hairbows for me--just clippies! (this one is definitely NOT going to fly!)

And, terror of terrors:

...am I old enough to wear heels yet, Mom?

Just about when my Mama-heart was about to quake within me, she woke up one morning and said sleepily, "I wish you could still pick me up like when I was little, Mommy." Whew...there's still some little girl left in there, after all :).

Our Easter Weekend In Pictures

My Easter wreath--finally finished!

Our weekend began on Good Friday, when we enjoyed a rare visit from John's brother-in-law and niece and nephew (John's sister passed away 4 years ago at the age of 32). It was the first time the girls have played together since they were babies....

The girls watching Ainsley's pet butterfly (no, I'm not kidding).

Elijah & Kaleb having fun in the Bouncer.

Ainsley

John, my husband, just because he's so good-lookin' ;).

Sisters Forever! My but I have beautiful daughters!

Our neighbor was talking about boogers, trying to get them all to smile. It worked :).

The only decent pic of the three of them. They've grown so much since last year!

The Best Moments

This year, Christmas was a leetle different for us. For the 2nd time ever, I did not make it home for Christmas(the first being I was great with child and hypertensive and the OB said "No, you cannot travel 350 miles to spend Christmas with your family in Alabama." Worst. Christmas. Ever. Bleh). This year, my parents came here. We had a great time, but honestly, I'd rather be "home" for Christmas.

Besides that minute detail, this Christmas was the most fun I can remember (of my married life). Maybe because the kids are all getting old enough to really participate and get excited. We did not wrap any presents, or at least put them under the tree, until a couple of days before Christmas. I only had to re-wrap one gift (Miss Emma's doing), so all in all, they resisted temptation pretty well. When the gifts started piling up, the stars in their eyes begin to light. And not for the reason you would think children would light up at the sight of gifts. No, this year, they were more excited about the giving part.

We have a wonderful neighbor who has adopted our kids as surrogate grandchildren (or maybe they adopted her). She came to me about mid-November and asked me if she could take each child to town with her, one at a time, to do something special for Christmas. She explained that when her grandchildren were little, she would take them to the Dollar Tree, one at a time, and let them pick out a gift for every member of their family. With no interference or direction about what to buy, she just let them choose on their own. Oh boy. I knew right away this was going to be interesting. And it WAS.

It was the highlight of every family gathering. My husband's grandparents, his Dad & step-mom, his Mom and my parents were all recipients of some quirky, and some downright hilarious gifts:

*My Dad (who is a few hairs away from complete baldness)--a hairbrush (!!)--from Elijah

*Papaw Bobby -- a bobbing dashboard hoola girl :)--from Gracie

*Poppy--a crystal growing kit (What in the world?)--from Elijah

*Beamie--a pack of hand sanitizer and a water bottle

*John (Daddy)--an oversize Santa hat (from Grace)

I received an antebellum woman porcelain figurine from Elijah and a snow globe from Grace. How sweet is that? I was touched that they picked things of beauty and fascination (to them) for their Mom *tear*.

Miss Patsy (said neighbor) was tickled because Grace picked out this horrible dinosaur mask thing for Elijah, and when it was his turn to go shopping, what did he do but pick up that very mask and say he wished he had one! I'd say she knows her big brother pretty well.


Children have such a beautiful way of reminding us of the simple truths. I walked by my foyer table one day, and noticed my oh so precisely arranged nativity scene had been re-arranged a little.



Does this strike you as deeply as it did me? The face of every animal and every person was turned to gaze at the beautiful, brand-new baby Jesus. It looks as if they couldn't get close enough, couldn't get enough of the miracle of Him. Even the little sheep have their noses pointed to the manger where He lay. Little Miss Gracie, with her innocent child-play, stopped her Mama in her tracks that day and reminded me to forget about the list, the baking, and the decorating, and fix my eyes on Him.

Another moment of note happened on Christmas morning. Elijah, always the first to rise, had been dying to get up since 6:45, but I managed to keep him in bed until 7:15. He woke his sisters up, and they ran giggling down the hall, only to be stopped by their Dad. "Follow me", he told them, and then proceeded to lead them all over the house, single file, before finally leading them to the tree. The kids loved Daddy's "Christmas march", and I hope it's something they do until they are 20!

Mom with her re-upholstered purse I made her out of a skirt and a woven purse (more about that later).


Listening as my Dad read "Fancy Nancy" to the girls--french accent and all!








And last but certainly not least, Christmas dinner. Turkey, mashed potato, pea salad and cheesy olive bread with snickerdoodle cake and pecan pie for dessert. Our meal was simple but flavorful and filling, and I spent more time with my family and less time in the kitchen as a result :).



My centerpiece was compiled of live holly branches from our neighbors' tree, some feathers from Hobby Lobby and those twirly things I pulled off the tree. That'll do it!


As I recall these moments, I realize how blessed beyond measure I am. The words of the Psalmist ring truer every year--"He daily loadeth us with His benefits."

Christmas Pics '10

We have not had out kids photoed professionally in over 3 years!! Isn't that sad? And Miss Emma-Rae has never had her pictures taken. Ever. :(

Somehow the extra $$ just isn't ever there. But I do have a pretty good little camera (although I am wanting a new one BAD) and usually do their Christmas, Easter, & Birthday pics myself. Here's this year's photo shoot.

And might I add, I do have some pretty good-looking subjects :).

Memories At Thanksgiving

{Alabama road where I roamed as a child}



Farewell, Thanksgiving. After the weeks of thankful anticipation, you came and went in the blink of an eye. Every moment was savored and enjoyed; maybe that's why they slipped through my fingers like sand. Time flies when you're having fun.



We traveled across two states to my hometown in Alabama for Thanksgiving this year. Usually, we host Thanksgiving at our house for DH's side of the family, but this year we rearranged things a bit. My Dad's older brother (his only living family member) and 3 of his 4 daughters, along with their families, made the trip all the way from Georgia, and we had a family reunion Thanksgiving. None of us had seen each other since my Grandmother, "Nanny" passed away, six years ago in January. It was time for a reunion, don't you think?


{all the cousins, except for my brother, Jonathan (died 1991), and another cousin, Sandra, who had to work)


My brother, and his family of 6 (www.naturalmamax4.blogspot.com), now reside in the "homeplace", my Grandparent's house, where they raised four boys and farmed for a living. We all gathered here to give thanks, and it really was a good day. Despite John coming down with strep throat, Emma falling off the top bunk, Grace throwing up at the dinner table, and cousin Jamie falling in a hole and spraining her ankle, we still managed to have a great time. Some of us cousins haven't spent much time together as married adults, and it was fun to get to know the newer versions. Our children met some of their 2nd cousins for the first time, and I believe lasting friendships were formed.


{a hayride full of cousins. I love how my daughter, Grace, is captured in a full belly-laugh)


{gathering of great-grands. Eight were missing. My two girls were napping, and Leta's oldest was absent, as well as Sanda's four and Cynthia's daughter}

It was bittersweet for me, reflecting on days that are now by-gone. I found myself fighting a lump in my throat, thinking about the precious ones that are already in heaven, making it even sweeter. Both grandparents, two uncles, and my own sweet brother were not there in body, but certainly in spirit. I saw Papa Cooper in my Dad's soft, smiling mouth and twinkling eyes. I heard Nanny in Uncle Vernon's laugh and saw her in his gestures. I heard Uncle James Harold in my brother Bradley's voice and was reminded of Jonathan when I looked in my oldest nephew, Emory's eyes.



My Mom surprised me with a stack of pictures that I had never seen before, snapshots from childhood and before. And as I looked at faces that I will never again see in this life, I was thankful, for the time we did have with them and the memories we will never forget, that death cannot rob us of. And for the hope of heaven and the final reunion of all reunions.


{Jonathan and I, a couple of years before he died}

Now that's something to be thankful for.

*Thanks to Leta & Lisa for all the awesome photos!

A Plethora

(Just to clarify)--Plethora:

–noun
1.overabundance; excess: a plethora of advice and a paucity of assistance.

LOOK-"paucity"-a new word! It means "smallness of quantity". Therefore, paucity and plethora are antonyms! Ya learn somethin' new every day! (and if you're scratching your head at "antonym", try wikipedia, and if you're wondering what in the world is wikipedia, well....figure it out :).

Here's another interesting definition:

2.Pathology Archaic . a morbid condition due to excess of red corpuscles in the blood or increase in the quantity of blood.

Obviously totally unrelated to this post, so...moving on...

A plethora of events and sweet memories over the past few weeks...

We had a wonderful time celebrating Memorial Day with two of our church "families"-- one where we attended and served as youth pastors for 5 years, and the other our current home church.



Elijah, using his water gun to keep cool on Memorial Day at the park.


We spent two weeks in Sweet Home Alabama, also known as L.A. or Lower Alabama (not to be confused with LowEST Alabama, which would be the coast). My, I'm informative tonight. Bear with me.

We were able to spend the weekend as a family lounging around the family pool at my Mom's..aahh...


We said goodbye to Dad on Sunday (sadly) and geared up for some busy, fun times!

The first week was filled with youth camp activities, also known as "church camp" to some. This camp was started at my home church when I was 17, 13 years ago (now you know how old I am!), so it is a special yearly revisiting kind of thing for me. It was indescribably influential in my spiritual growth as an older teen. The services were phenomenal! LOVED seeing the youth of today (the future church) getting blessed and encouraged!

This year was the first year of corresponding Junior Camp, for ages 5-11, where I dedicated most of my time. My kids had a blast! Here's a peek at some happy kids with their crafts from "Super Hero Training Camp":



Monday, June 14th, we celebrated Grace's 4th birthday! I am so proud of my baby girl. She is truly a joy to have as a daughter. She is smart, sweet, and thoughtful of others--always willing to share with her siblings and friends. I'm a very proud Mommy! In celebration of her 4th year, we had a small family party on Monday and on Tuesday, I took her and my niece, Erin, to see the play "Willie Wonka, JR." at the local Ballet & Arts Theatre. It was really cute and the girls loved it!


The rest of the week was spent lounging around the pool, reading, and just enjoying being near dear friends and family. Here is Emma with her namesake, my great-Aunt Emma. Please excuse the cloudiness, as there was a smudge on the lens of my camera.



Now we are at home and back into the swing of things again! I am on the verge of beginning a Master Bedroom Makeover, which I hope will come together quickly. I will keep you updated!
It's so good to be back and catch up on everyone's blogs.

I leave you with a request: please remember our family in your prayers as we have some family issues that have escalated into a legal matter, and a court hearing will be held on Wednesday in an attempt to settle them. I am praying that everything will work out for the best for all parties involved. Love you, my blog readers!

Holiday Highlights

Wow! Looking back at my Christmas, it seem it was all somewhat of a blur! Know what I mean? Don't get me wrong, it was great, but to tell you the truth, I'm glad it won't come around again for another year. I caught myself thinking, "Why can't this be simpler? Why are we all running around like chickens with our heads cut off?"

This Christmas Eve, I got to go to my maternal grandparent's get-together, which I haven't been to in about 3 years. My mother's side of the family is, well, the word eccentric comes to mind. And loud. Loud and eccentric. And large. That fits. After about an hour in their presence, stick a fork in me, I'm done. It's like when you're in a hot, stuffy, room and you just need some fresh air. The noise, the chaos, the attempting to have a conversation in the midst of it all is suffocating. Seriously, my Mom is the only sane one of the bunch. Hehe...if any of my aunties are reading this...you know I love you :).

Christmas eve night, my son made a blanket tent in the middle of the living room and excitedly declared that he was going to sleep there all night and wait for Santa. Now, we've had the Santa talk--Santa is not real. Although it is fun to pretend about Santa at Christmas, he is just a made-up person that does not exist. Mom & Dad buy your presents and put them under the tree. The real reason for Christmas is celebrating Jesus' birthday, and why He came (abbreviated version). But I guess Gran-Gran and he were having a little fun 'pretending', so I let it go and played along. I really didn't think he would do it, but he did! He slept there, on the floor (on a blanket) all night. I think each of us got up and checked on him at some point in the night, and someone covered him up with an extra blanket. The next morning, he as so excited, thinking Santa had came in and covered him up while he was asleep. Isn't that cute?

Christmas morning, my Mom fixed an awesome breakfast for us. One of our traditions is to have sparkling grape juice served in wine glasses for breakfast. None of us drink, so it makes us feel fancy, I guess. After breakfast, it's a mad scramble to get everyone dressed and Christmas dinner started. The more kids we have, the madder this scramble becomes. Which brings me back to the previously mentioned 'simplicity'. Or should I say the absence of it. From there on out, we are rushing, plowing through the day, so we can get the dinner perfectly cooked and on the table. Sometimes I wish we could just have a small, simple meal that does not require such stress. Or maybe I'm the only one feeling the stress?


Aahh...I could really dig into this breakfast right now. Suddenly my oatmeal doesn't look so good!

When my brother and his family arrives, we open presents. This is a wonderful, chaotic time of ripping paper and exclamation. I just said wonderful and chaotic in the same sentence. We started a new tradition this year--starting with the oldest child, the grandchildren will take turns reading the Christmas story each year. My 7 year old nephew read it this year, having been practicing for a few weeks, and he did a great job! Next year, it will be my oldest son reading it. Wow! Hard to believe.

The madness and mayhem:


I got some awesome gifts from my family--a new "flat" wallet from my Mom with (the best part) some cold, hard, cash tucked inside. And from my dear sis-in-law--THIS.


AWESOME! I've just recently discovered the Pioneer Woman's blog, so I was tickled to get her awesome cookbook! But I said awesome already, didn't I? Thank you, Monica!!!

Saturday, we left at lunchtime to meet up with John's sister and her family, who live about 2 hours from my parents. We went to the mall, where I shopped a little and Gracie got to go bunjee jumping! Well, you know, the scaled-down version they have in the mall. She's my little daredevil. Loved it! Elijah got to ride a train, too! Thank you, Wendi, for a great time! And the great pics.





Wendi & Ben adopted three children from Columbia, three years ago and are in the process of bringing another little sister home! If you'd like to read about their journey and donate to their adoption fund, go to www.iwillnotleaveyouasorphans.blogspot.com

That about wraps it up! Exciting weekend, huh? It's good to be home!