Category Archives: Holiday

Lent

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Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season. Easter is probably my favorite holiday. I love the meaning of it the most. It has gotten more and more commercialized over the years but has seemed to stay purer in some ways. I think the reason is Lent. I think that for many people, the time of reflection, sacrifice, and prayer leads to this fact. We don’t come up with lists of things we want or feel the pressures to fulfill somebody’s every desire. We don’t have a thousand parties or activities to attend. We tend to be stiller and more reflective during the 46 days leading up to Easter.

I have always tried to make this time one that really draws my family to the Lord. I want them to really think on what it means to be THAT LOVED. I want them to think about what it means to have owed a debt and the fact that someone thought they were WORTH THE PRICE.

This year, we are doing something extra. Right now, I have about 30 activities (I need 10 more) that we will do each day. Some are the simplest little things, like hold the door open for someone, make a dinner with everyone helping, and try not to complain all day (that might actually be the hardest one). Some require more work. One is “egging“. We “egged” several people last year and we loved doing it and the people that we “egged” loved it too.

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Others are making a dinner for someone and making resurrection eggs.

resurrection eggs

photo credit: Christianbook.com

If anybody out there has some suggestions or other ideas of things to fill the rest of my days, I’m ready to hear them.

 

Mardi Gras

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I hope this Mardi Gras was a good time for everyone. It is one of my favorite days to celebrate. Having spent a couple of years living in New Orleans, I learned to love the whole season! Ever since my oldest was a baby we have had a party. She would ride around in her little yellow and red car and throw bead necklaces at her grandparents. Over the years we’ve made masks and King cakes and homemade necklaces. We’ve had the grandparents over and we’ve just had our little family for the celebration.

I love that even as the years go by we still celebrate this day in our own way.

Happy Mardi Gras y’all!!

General Tso’s Sauce {Low Carb}

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Many years ago, when I was still living at home, my parents fell in love with a Chinese restaurant in our town. We ate there all the time. We also ate there every Christmas Eve after our church service. So, every Christmas I want Chinese food. I never have it, but I always crave it.

Right after Christmas I decided I was going to try to make my own General Tso’s sauce. I was pleased with the results and have made it twice now. It is very easy and quick to make.

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Low Carb General Tso’s Sauce

2 Tbs. oil

6 Tbs. Rice vinegar

6 Tbs. soy sauce

1/2 cup water

5 Tbs. Splenda

1 tsp. xanthan gum

3 tsp. red chili paste

3 tsp. chili garlic sauce

Put all the ingredients into a small sauce pan. Stir. Cook on medium heat. Bring to a boil. Stir constantly until the mixture is thickened. Remove from heat.

 

I make this in a small sauce pan while I have my chicken in a wok on another burner. Once the chicken is done, I move it onto a cookie sheet and finish the vegetables in the wok. I let everyone decide how much sauce they want. More for me because I like the heat and less for Olivia since she doesn’t.

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I hope you enjoy this if you try it!

 

 

Snowglobe Cupcakes

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Back at Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law told me about these cupcakes she’d seen on Pinterest. She said they looked like snowglobes and were entirely edible. We’d made gelatin bubbles for my son’s birthday so I already knew how to make the globes. I thought these would make great desserts for our Christmas Eve gathering.

We started the process, two days before. I had one of my daughters make the globe part. She’s a master with gelatin, so the process went really smoothly. I bought jelly candy lollipops for the inside of the snowglobe. Christmas Eve morning, I made the cupcakes. Later in the day we decorated and assembled the cupcakes.017015.JPG022

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They were almost too cute to eat!

Teacher gifts

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I always like to give my kids teachers some kind of gift at Christmas to let them know how much we appreciate their time and effort with our children. This year the Wednesday night choir and mission teachers got Bath and Bodyworks hand sanitizers and small chocolate candy bars. My children will be handing out homemade Sugar Scrubs to their Sunday school teachers tomorrow.

We make these in small Mason jars. It’s simple but I love it!

All Natural Sugar Body Scrub

1/4 cup sugar

melted organic coconut oil

4 drops of essential oil of choice (we used grapefruit)

I put the sugar in the jars, pour in the oil and the essential oil. Stir and add more oil to get the perfect consistency. It should be soft enough to apply without losing a lot in the transfer from jar to body. You have to play around with it until it seems right to you.

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We are crafting, creating, baking, and wildly cleaning around here!

Gift Giving {Books}

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There are two books that I love and want to share with as many people as possible. I give these books to every child I buy gifts for and recommend them to adults with little ones. At the last baby shower I hosted, we requested that people bring books instead of a card and I gave these books.

The first book is The Jesus Storybook Bible. It is the very best children’s Bible I have ever seen. It weaves the Bible stories all together to make the message of the Bible more transparent.

Goodreads says,

“The Moonbeam Award Gold Medal Winner in the religion category, The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the Story beneath all the stories in the Bible. At the center of the Story is a baby, the child upon whom everything will depend. Every story whispers his name. From Noah to Moses to the great King David—every story points to him. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle—the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together. From the Old Testament through the New Testament, as the Story unfolds, children will pick up the clues and piece together the puzzle. A Bible like no other, The Jesus Storybook Bible invites children to join in the greatest of all adventures, to discover for themselves that Jesus is at the center of God’s great story of salvation—and at the center of their Story too.”

storybook bible

The second book is The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde. I love this story so much and I usually get teary at the end. Oscar Wilde has a number of children’s stories and they are all really good; but this one is my favorite. I don’t want to spoil the book because the end is the best part. Just trust me.

Goodreads says,

“This magnificent new edition of Oscar Wilde’s beloved tale tells the story of the selfish giant who built a wall around his beautiful garden to keep children out. It was always winter in the garden, for no other season would venture there. Then one morning…..”

selfish giant

If you’re looking for books to give as gifts, these are great ones to consider.

 

Grow Your Heart

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Pretty much everyone has read How the Grinch Stole Christmas or at least seen the movie. Well, since I can feel a little Grinchy about Christmas this new Grinch Good Deeds Grow Your Heart program is perfect for me. .

Along with our daily Advent scripture reading, we will be racing to do as many good deeds as we possibly can for the next 24 days. The best part of all is that at the end of the 25 days,you can send in your good deeds letter and Random House and First Book will donate a book to a family in need in your own community. How great is that?!good-deeds-letter

There are lots of printables on Seussville.com.  There is even a printable activity book.

We introduced the whole thing to our children last night at dinner. I made Grinchy Spicy Broccoli and Chicken Casserole, Grinch Cookies, and they had Grinch Punch (Lime Sherbert and Ginger Ale) too.

We read the book and we went over the Good Deeds Journal. They got started right away doing as many good deeds as they could.

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“Then the Grinch thought of something
he hadn’t before!
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought,
“doesn’t come from a store.
Maybe Christmas…perhaps…
means a little bit more!”

Hopefully, this along with our daily Advent reading will make the holiday seem more like it should. I would love to think that my own little Whos would celebrate Christmas even if the Grinch had stolen all that we think makes up Christmas; that their spirits wouldn’t be dulled by a lack of presents or a tree. I want love to shine through this season just like it did all those years ago in a simple stable.

 

Getting Ready for Advent

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If I am completely honest, I have to admit that Christmas is not my favorite holiday. I don’t know when or exactly why it happened, but for as long as I can remember, Christmas makes me kind of sad.

I want to love it for my kids if nothing else. So I am really trying. Last year we celebrated Advent and it really did help us take time to reflect and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas.

Last week I went out to Hobby Lobby and got little envelopes that the Bible verses and the message about their treat or activity will be in.

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I found a list on Pinterest last year for the verses and plan on using it again this year. It comes from a great site called The 36th Avenue

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photo credit: The 36th Avenue

I came up with the little gift or activity for each day.

Some include:

Drive around and look at lights

Christmas movie night with a Christmas snack

Starbucks gift cards

Books

Make and decorate cookies

Go to a Christmas concert

Make ice cream cone Christmas trees

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making ice cream cone Christmas trees 2014

We’ve decided to do another activity to help turn the kids attention to others instead of themselves. I hope to share that with you tomorrow.

In the meantime, if anybody out there has suggestions or some ideas of ways to make Christmas more meaningful and enjoyable, I’d love to hear them! I can use all the help I can get.

Corn Casserole {Thanksgiving recipe}

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049For most people who celebrate Thanksgiving, there are foods that make Thanksgiving… Thanksgiving and not just another day with another meal.

Where we live most everyone will have turkey, ham, dressing, and gravy. For dessert there will most certainly be a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie. Of course, there will be way more food than just these items, but what they are will vary by family.

In my family there will be corn casserole, deviled eggs, green bean something, scalloped potatoes, some broccoli dish, a sweet potato item, and too many pies to mention.

I asked my youngest daughter what was her favorite part of Thanksgiving and she said it was the corn casserole. So, I thought I’d share it with y’all.

This is not low carb of course, but it is delicious.

CORN CASSEROLE:   Paula Deen’s Corn Casserole Recipe

Now, the only difference between Mrs. Deen’s recipe and mine is that we don’t put cheese on ours.

Ingredients

  • 1 (15 1/4 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
  • 1 (14 3/4 oz) can cream-style corn
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
  • 1 (8 oz) package corn muffin mix

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray an oven safe dish with cooking spray and pour it all in. Bake about 45 minutes or until browned on the top.

This is super easy and fast to put together and it is always a hit!

Thank you Paula Deen for sharing this recipe with the world. It’s a family tradition and a truly delicious dish.

As always, I’d love to hear from you. Did you try it? What foods are your family eating this year? What makes Thanksgiving Thanksgiving at your house?