All posts in Holiday Messages

The Sun Is Gone!

by admin on December 26, 2011 in Dem Kids Sayed WHAT?, Feeling It (Thankful), Holiday Messages with No comments

Christmas was a full day.  We had all stretched our energy to the max by the time we where heading home from connecting with my side of the family that evening.  We had just pulled away from my brothers home when my youngest piped up. “THE SUN IS GONE!” he spoke with earnest concern.  We tried to ease his mind by explaining it would return come morning.  He then asked who runs the sun.  We explained God runs it, he he he.  At that point my clever five year old daughter jumped into the conversation, “Hows he control it?  With his hand or with a controller?”  Between giggles we managed to share how he generally speaks things into being.  He is that powerful that his very WORD makes something of nothing thus something happen. “I would like to control the sun,” she then added.

“And what would you do with it if you controlled it dear,” asked her Dad?

“Oh pretty much what God does with it,” she said matter of factly.

“If it works for him it must work of us I guess,” I chuckled in reply.

Indeed I am thankful for God’s control over it all.  This is a broken world, but he knows that, lived through it when incarnate in Jesus Christ, and has and sees the very biggest of plans and reasons to it all.  He holds the mysteries and we can only trust him as we haven’t his clarity on LIFE itself!

I have no idea where the kids little minds come up with this stuff but I know it all seems to fit in some way and this conversation really added to my Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

TTFN

Christmas Eve Snippets

by admin on December 24, 2011 in Domestic Damsel, Feeling It (Thankful), Foodie Like Me, Holiday Messages, Mama Heart Mushings, People In My Heart with 1 Comment

Has been another day of cooking in the kitchen and yet, unlike so many previous years, I am happy there… prepping the ‘pigs in a blanket’ and the cake of ‘gingerbread’.  We will have a house full of family tonight for our Christmas eve ‘Scottish Tea Party’.  This is something we do every year with the kids and this year it just worked out that more people are coming.

 Has been a day of making sure the house is nicely prepared for guests and so I have less to do tomorrow.  New Christmas decorations (like the mitten garland) are up and the floors are sparkling. Fresh sheets are ready for the guest bed and clean towels.  For the first time ever we are also having a sleep over on Christmas!  My sister and her daughter will be with us since her man is away with work.  The home will be all the cozier with extra loved ones to shower with generosity.

Has been a day of receiving early gifts!  Our neighbors are always so kind, today was no different.  They stopped in with WINE and CHOCOLATE for us!  Later my mother arrived (the folks are staying at my big brothers) with my first lesson on my sowing machine AND a pretty box of sowing tools!  Grand moments of generosity sent our way!

The anticipation is building and the kids are almost bursting with cheer and excitement.  We had cornflakes for supper and it just added to their joy at how special holidays are!

I anticipate a lovely evening over tea and shortbread and then a reasonable early night so I can be ready for gifts, stockings and then a brunch with loved ones!

Thank GOD for holidays!

TTFN

Bake Off Day Two

by admin on December 22, 2011 in Domestic Damsel, Foodie Like Me, Four Little Eggs In My Nest, Holiday Messages, People In My Heart with No comments
(My sister and I, in two of my favourite and most faithful aprons!  Working hard, but not too hard!)

 Christmas bake off day two 2011 was a big success!  We got so much accomplished so quickly!  We made many many cranberry tarts and fudge walnut tarts!  I added extra dark chocolate to the fudge ones and MAN the samples we had where LOVELY!

 Add my sisters daughter to the mix and we had an audience of up to five kids and a dog, when all in attendance.  I so appreciate my kitchen at times like this.  The open concept means the kids can literally hang around and easily see what is going on, without being under our feet.  They have gotten very good, and fast, at pulling up chairs to get a spectator spot.

(My youngest two kids hanging off the half wall of my kitchen.  Eyes glued on what their Auntie is making, TARTS!)

 Before the afternoon was through Mirelle got the Dutch Almond Spice rolled out and filled with their soft sweet filling.  Flaky pie crust filled with ground almond flavored with a little spice and lemon, sweetened with icing sugar.  They come out so lovely and golden thanks to an egg glaze. )

(Almond Spice log, ready for the oven)
(Fresh out of the oven! I feel like they could be such pretty little gifts if wrapped with a Christmas ribbon like a wreath is)

We all had such a great day together.  My playlist of favorite Christmas music on repeat; tea and coffee available to us at any time.  A plate of lovely home made treats to refresh and fill us with energy (gifted to me JUST that morning by a good friend).  We rolled up our sleeves, dawned our aprons and joyfully enjoyed one anothers company and conversation, while working in the kitchen!  The kids played really good for us, so in no time we where able to head off to meet and greet the mall Santa.

I feel like Christmas baking should always be a group event.  Good friends and loving family are a must!

Well, other then the fresh cakes of gingerbread, that I will prepare Christmas Eve for our tea, and the pancakes and pigs in a blanket for Christmas brunch (all of which really need to be made the day of to enjoy most), I am done my Christmas baking!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

TTFN

Lovely Weather For A Sleigh Ride Together

by admin on December 21, 2011 in Adventure and Me, Dem Kids Sayed WHAT?, Holiday Messages, Little Things, My Romance with No comments
 Can you hear the sleigh bells jingling?  
Ring ting tingling too?!
Pops and Grams (my husbands folks) where kind enough to let us know about their community winter day in the park, Sunday past.  Oh what a grand opportunity to bask in Christmas feelings!  A sleigh ride is a sure fire way to take me back and make me all sentimental.  
We had neighbours, up north, who had two very strong (mid-sized) ponies to pull us on what we called hay rides; probably since there was a lot of straw involved.  We often came home with it up our jackets and down our ski pants.  Sleigh rides are so civil down south!  There was only one boy who kept hopping off and on and he got ‘spoken to’.  
(Garnet and I, our first photo together.  Also our first Christmas holiday together.)

Back home we spent more time wrestling off and on the ride then sitting and looking around.  It was one big brawl from start to finish.  Mr Hillier only ever stopped the ponies if we fell so far behind that we couldn’t catch up, weighted down, as we where, by our snow gear.  We laughed so hard and loved ever minute of it.  I remember it was one of the first things I had to do with him, when Garnet and I where dating.  My brothers took it upon themselves to immediately try to throw the city boy off.  It took a lot of work, Garnet is a stubborn and big fellow.  He was game right away though.  I remember I got him worse then anyone else; he was hanging on by his hands at one point and I coyly unhinged his fingers till he rolled away, carrying my brother with him.  My brother had been hanging on to Garnet’s foot trying to pull him off from that side.  My boyfriend landed safely… on top of my brother… knocked the wind right out of him, it was all terribly funny!

Well the ride this Sunday was really genteel and sweet.  We climbed up and sat orderly.  The kids gushed about the horses and the ride.  My sister and I broke out in ‘jingle bells’ with her daughter and my youngest boy at one point.  All adding up to romantically Christmas-y memories to keep.  It was such mild weather for this time of year and thus truly was ‘lovely weather for a sleigh ride together’.
My youngest pointed out the ‘horse’s bums’ and my second youngest thought they might not be real horses but was pleased when we told her they are.  All four kids really enjoyed the hot chocolate served in the skating shed.  We finished this romantic evening with coffee and soup at Grams and Pops house, just a couple blocks from all the fun.  
I couldn’t help stealing glances at Garnet through it all, remembering our first sleigh ride together, up where I come from.  I can get so enamoured with him still.  Ahhh romance always adds to this time of year.  
Wishing you a very merry Christmas!
TTFN

Christmas Treats That Schmeck

by admin on December 20, 2011 in Book Flavor, Foodie Like Me, Holiday Messages, People In My Heart with No comments

‘Food that Really Schmecks’ by Edna Staebler

I have mentioned this favorite old cook book before. I ‘inherited’ it, if you will, from my grandma. Her and my mother have enjoyed their copies of it for many many years, and so I had to have one too. Full of sweet stories and lovely practical Mennonite recipes, I have come to enjoy flipping through it time and time again as well. A favorite recipe that stopped me in my tracks the first time I had a gander was “Cranberry Pie”, or tarts if you put it into little shells instead.

Oh how pretty cranberries are. They are a favorite of mine and yet because of the punch-y bite they carry it can be hard to use them in large amounts. Some might have assumed this pie would be too tart right away, but seeing as my other total favorite pie is JUST rhubarb I figured I could handle it. Well hello cherry pie taste with no pitting! Yup, as lovely as cherry pie but FAR easier when making the filling from scratch!

I just boiled up a batch of filling today, in preparation for day two of my holiday baking cook off tomorrow. It looks so amazing on the stove, such a beautiful colour! I can’t help but feel cheery while cooking it:) This is a beautiful Christmas treat that will brighten up any holiday gathering!

Bellow is the recipe for the filling. Other then that all you need is a top and bottom pie crust from your favourite pastry recipe.

REMEMBER to make this ahead and cool in the fridge, even over night, because it really adds to the flavour!

Cranberry Pie

2 cups whole cranberries (fresh best but frozen are just fine)
1 cup chopped raisins
2 cups organic sugar (or coconut sugar, just add a half cup more)
2 cups water
2 generous tablespoons of unbleached flour
2 tsps vanilla
2 Tbsps butter

  1. Bring all the items listed to boil in a pot.
  2. Stir until nicely thickened.
  3. Turn the temperature down to low and let it stew down for 15 minutes.
  4. Cool thoroughly before putting into a crust. Best if it is cooled overnight in the fridge, for best taste.
  5. For tarts I will roll out the crust for the tops and use cookie cutters to cut out cute shapes in it, then just put a small shape in the middle of each tart.
  6. For pies I put it in a full shell top and bottom, putting a little design in it with a knife and then brushing the top with milk and sprinkling with sugar to give it a glow.
  7. BAKE at 350 degrees for about 30 in pie or tart crust(s).

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

TTFN

Day One Of The X-mas Bake Off

by admin on December 17, 2011 in Domestic Damsel, Foodie Like Me, Holiday Messages, People In My Heart with No comments
(Garnet’s sugarless blue berry pies, they are his priority this baking season. Yum, can’t wait.)

Mirelle started it… I was complaining about how I miss eating Christmas baking and she encouraged me to go for it again. We plan to get together during the holidays and make favorite items from our x-mas baking list but I woke up eager to feel like I had accomplished something so I crossed off a few from my list.

My Christmas Baking List

  • -walnut fudge pie or tarts
  • -cranberry pie or tarts
  • -ginger bread cakes (2)
  • -Scottish shortbread
  • -scuffles
  • -pumpkin spice roll out sugar cookies

And the last three are almost done. I am waiting for the scuffle dough to finish rising before I can work it into sweet little crescents. I must break for supper before making the butter icing for the pumpkin sugar cookies. Otherwise I feel well under way with the Scottish shortbread done and in the freezer. We will be enjoying them and the ginger cakes at our yearly Scottish tea on Christmas eve.

I put this off for a lot of years, with good reason… with Garnet being hypoglycemic it isn’t easy to make baking that is family friendly and secondly with moving to the city (and the crazy new life style that involves) and having my fourth child, I felt fine with just sluffing off the Christmas baking. We worked super hard at keeping this season nice and calm and it was so calm I guess I just needed a little nudge to give into the baking bug that was already niggling me.

I will for sure let you know how it goes when (and hopefully if) we, Mirelle and I and perhaps more, manage to do a together bake off night! Merry Christmas!

BESTEST BUTTER ICING 🙂

2 cups organic icing sugar
2 1/2 Tbsps cream (or whole goats milk works great)
4 Tbsps butter
1 tsp vanilla

Over medium heat melt the butter in the cream till smooth. Add vanilla and stir. Mix in sugar till smooth. Remove from the heat and beat with an electric mixer till thick and smooth.

TTFN

Count Down!

by admin on December 16, 2011 in Four Little Eggs In My Nest, Holiday Messages, Little Things with No comments

For the first time ever, we integrated a count down to Christmas for our kids. We are finding this untraditional advent calendar very helpful, with adding to all four kids excitement and yet making it easier to understand the wait.

Even our youngest has gotten into it. Before bed, every night, he tells me ‘An when cany cane gez too one iz Kissmas! Yahhhha‘! My oldest boy has been in charge of making sure the candy cane is moved down each morning. Gained this position by being the best at remembering. Most of the time he moves it and announces the new number of days left and often he will encourage the other kids to take a turn at ‘moving the candy cane down’. So cute to see them figuring it out so very quickly this year.

Honestly my littlest one didn’t really understand the whole Christmas thing only last year, but this year he can often be heard yelling ‘Oh iz gonna be KISSMUS SOON!’ and he freely offers hearty Mewy Kissmus!’s to anyone who passes him by.

Apparently even their cousin, my niece, is keeping an eye on our count down; so very cute.

This affordable and cute count down snow man is a nice addition to our Christmas decor. If he lasts I can see him being a beloved favourite of the kids. If he wears out, with much love, I think we will for sure have to have a more formal advent calendar in the future. Either way “MEWY KISSMUS” from our family to yours!TTFN

Families Be At Peace This Holiday:)

by admin on December 14, 2011 in Bits Of My Personality, Holiday Messages, Music Flavor, People In My Heart with No comments

Peace be unto all, especially your families. Be nice to each other this holiday season! As my mom always used to say, ‘If you can’t be nice to your (enter brother, sister, mother, grandpa, in-laws etc.) then treat them like acquaintances instead of relations!’

And with that, enjoy some lyrics from a favourite band of mine. This Christmas song of theirs has really been a blessing to me this year.

“Christmas lights tangle in knots annually
All families huddle closely
Betting warmth against the cold
All the bruises seem to surface Like mud beneath the snow

So we sing carols softly
As sweet as we know A prayer that our burdens will lift as we go
Like young love still waiting under mistletoe
We’ll welcome December with tireless hope

Let our bells keep on ringing
Making angels in the snow
And may the melody disarm us When the cracks begin to show

Like the petals in our pockets
May we remember who we are
Unconditionally cared for By those who share our broken hearts“

~Sleeping At Last ‘SNOW’

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

TTFN

The Settling of Christmas Sentiment Upon My Heart

by admin on December 12, 2011 in Bits Of My Personality, Feeling It (Thankful), Holiday Messages, Life Keeps Changing, People In My Heart with 1 Comment


After a heavy hitter week I fell into loving my family for the weekend. We had faced scary days at school, emotions at an all time high at home and death of a YOUNG sister in the Lord. Although the whole weekend was a whimsical reminder of Christmas’s approach, Sunday was particularly sparkly with special moments.

My sister performed in a jazz choir concert the day before, so I was already full to spilling with Christmas tunes in my heart when I arrived at church for a music service Sunday. With the special service all about ‘hope’ I must have cried and smiled the whole way through. The music was so moving and the message such a strong supportive embrace to my raw little spirit.

A cozy road trip followed as we trucked out to my before mentioned sister’s place. We had three BIG reasons to celebrate with them and so stopping to get them chocolates was in order. My eldest daughter insisted on the ‘joy’ Christmas tree decoration for them too. Her and I agreed it was applicable in such a case, a triple celebration kinda case! Our two families shared ‘non-sissy sushi’, yup, the real deal! We chatted, laughed and toured their lovely new condo.

We hadn’t made it back to the city when we managed to arrange a stop in to my brother’s home. We had hopes of meeting his doubly expanding family and dropping off a special little someone some toy trucks. It was a blessing to find time to drop in on more family. Time that was squeezed right in and worked out just right.

What a tired crew we where as we finally arrived back home. A small cold supper and big mugs of tea where in order. I got my crew of four tucked into bed and then found the LAST shortbread cookie. Feet up, lights down, except the Christmas tree.

Sighs and tears escaped me as Christmas sentiment settled into my heart and I reflected on a week of pain and love. SO much blessing! Such a mysteriously marvellous combination of pain and love life is. Thank you Jesus for it all. For the rain and for the sunny day. Times of struggle and rejoicing educate us in such essential and different ways; giving and growing us so very very much. All that is good comes from you and you are so good to me Jesus.

TTFN

Give Christmas

by admin on November 17, 2011 in Bits Of My Personality, Do I Call It Parenting Advice?, Holiday Messages, People In My Heart with No comments

Tonight I am finishing up the initial wrapping of the Christmas gifts. Having young kids who can ‘accidentally’ spot them has taught me to wrap early to avoid worry. Most of my gifts are done up in packaging paper so my kids can spend a whole evening, later in December, coloring them and putting stickers all over them. All, even those in traditional colorful x-mas paper, are wrapped up with a ribbon of Christmas colored yarn. I just like the home-y look to it that way. The yarn makes me wrestle with my packages a bit but I don’t mind. I put the kids to bed, get a big cup of tea and go at it. If the kids are behaving themselves I love to put on the Christmas music while I am at it. Tonight I am humming away, all the lights are low and I am using candle light.

I am thinking about family as I wrap; remembering what a gift family is. I have relations who dedicate themselves to making Christmas a big celebration each year and all the way on the other end of the pendulum I have those don’t celebrate it. I love them all. No matter how you look at it holidays are about relationship. Relationship is needed in life and holidays put a spotlight on that human need. This year my family will include friends who don’t have relations near by to celebrate with, because I so believe family goes as far as your heart is willing to grow.

Most of all Christmas, in my home, is for my kids. I hope to bless them with some of their hearts desires and I also hope to broaden the desires of their hearts to beyond selfish wish lists. I am hoping we can teach them more about giving this year.

May you all GIVE some one a very Merry Christmas this year!

TTFN

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