<3 My sentiments exactly.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
TTFN
Archive for December, 2011
Sleeping At Last – Snow
Day One Of The X-mas Bake Off
(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
Roll Out Pumpkin Sugar Cookies (Recipe Request)
(Phew, thought I lost this recipe… It has been a few years since my eldest daughter and I used it last. I am looking forward to making it with the kids again.)
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup packed organic coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/2 cup solid pack pumpkin puree (or yam)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 1/4 cup chick pea flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch salt
- In a medium bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and orange zest. Stir in the pumpkin or yam. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well.
- Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt; stir into the pumpkin mixture. Chill dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes and place onto an unprepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven.
- Decorate, when cooled off, with frosting or candy.
TTFN
Count Down!
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:)
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
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
Merry Christmas to Me?
While shopping for gifts, last month, I picked up a little something for me. Call it my early Christmas present to myself:) This cute little sweatered hot water bottle is a perfect gift! It has proven to stay cozy warm most of the night and my icy feet are no more. I slept SO good with it to snuggle. When you have cold feet like I do and live in a climate such as my family does I no not why I haven’t had one sooner. So glad it’s sweet little sweater, red with a white snow flake in the centre, caught my eye and reminded me that I could use warmer toes all winter long! My first hot water bottle and I am sold! It will make my winter so much more bearable! The sweater makes my heart warm with it’s cuteness and the warm water makes my feet cozy all night, and it all makes me grin!
Merry Christmas to all!
TTFN
Ellem – ‘It’s Cold Out’ (song with lyrics)
Tis A lovely little winter tune:) Happy Winter!
TTFN
Expectations Meet Grace
(My families dainty Christmas tree, all decorated up by my three eldest children.)Just watched a program about expectations. It shared the importance of finding the fine balance between bonding and empathising with the people you are close to and then expecting them to be like you.
When you start to see the similarities you will often assume they see, think and will react in the same way as you, or that their life is very much like yours. The fact is no matter how much we empathise, or connect, with people we are putting our slant on that too and we have to remember they are their own person.
The best thing we can do for those we love, in this regard, is empathise with them and wrap that in love so it doesn’t leak into unrealistic expectations of them. Expect too much, and then others failing you hurts, but it wasn’t that person who failed you as much as it could be you putting too much on them.
Assume the best of people when they make decisions that ‘let us down’. Seek to understand where they are coming from, and that it might be unlike anything in your world view; then offer your loved ones a large dose of grace.
TTFN
The Engagement (Marriage Monday)
Under A Tree
Two young people sit under a tree, at their favourite city park.
He is reading to her, from Galatians…
She is leaning against him.
Mid sentence he turns her around and asks ‘Will you marry me?’
In shock, she threatens that this had better not be a joke.
In a demanding voice she points out he seems surprised that he asked, and had better be very very sure.
The color returns to his face and he starts to giggle while assuring her of his sincerity.
There under the tree two young people kissed, for the first time.
They both where trembling.
She cried and said yes.
He hugged her close.
The children near by, in the park, christened the event with an chorus of ‘ewwwwwww’!
There was no ring, but they didn’t need one to know their hearts where stuck together.
There was no bowing of the knee, no ceremony and honestly no planning, but they didn’t notice.
All they saw was one another and all they would remember was the question, the answer and the kiss.
He is reading to her, from Galatians…
She is leaning against him.
Mid sentence he turns her around and asks ‘Will you marry me?’
In shock, she threatens that this had better not be a joke.
In a demanding voice she points out he seems surprised that he asked, and had better be very very sure.
The color returns to his face and he starts to giggle while assuring her of his sincerity.
There under the tree two young people kissed, for the first time.
They both where trembling.
She cried and said yes.
He hugged her close.
The children near by, in the park, christened the event with an chorus of ‘ewwwwwww’!
There was no ring, but they didn’t need one to know their hearts where stuck together.
There was no bowing of the knee, no ceremony and honestly no planning, but they didn’t notice.
All they saw was one another and all they would remember was the question, the answer and the kiss.
Over a month later they returned and he bent to one knee, she put on her best surprised face and he unrolled his sock and took out a ring for her. It had been their secret for a month…
And it all started under a tree in their favourite park.
~
P.s. When we renewed our vows, on our tenth anniversary, we went back to that tree and took photos together, thus the two photos at the top of this post. The first is us in 1999 and the second is us in 2010.
TTFN
