The Greatest Gift

Merry Christmas, y'all! Hope this year has been blessed.

Billy had Friday off so we spent the entire day baking yummy desserts for our Christmas Eve dinner with my mom, step-dad, brother and sister. We love cooking together so it was a fun day for us. We made lemon and chocolate tartlets and the most sinfully. chocolate. cake. EVER. Chocolate is my happy place and this cake delivered. It's called an inside out german chocolate torte. And I'm finishing off a piece of it right now :D Saturday morning we spent time just the three of us and it was very sweet. And Luke was clueless. I made a big breakfast for us and we stayed in our pj's opening gifts. We only got Luke a couple of small items but several family members mailed him gifts....it looked like a day care through up in our living room! It was very fun and we are so blessed to have such thoughtful family members. Luke has enough new toys to last him until next year :) Later that afternoon we went on over to Billy's parents house and had a great time with them. Luke was SOOOO cranky, wouldn't eat and took forever to fall asleep. I was afraid he was getting sick. Today we realized that he's not sick, he was just working on cutting 4 teeth. Yes 4. At the same time. It was such a fun Christmas with our little family and I can only imagine how next year will go. Today the snow was fabulous and while it would have been fun to play outside or stay inside and watch movies all day, we went shopping instead :) Had Luke been able to walk or had he been just 3 weeks old and wanted to snuggle and sleep all day, we would have stayed home. But instead of carrying around a 26 pound child in the snow or trying to keep him (and us) from going stir crazy by staying inside all day, we ventured out and found some fun deals. I love spending days with my boys!!

So all in all, it was a very merry Christmas for us and a great first Christmas for Luke. We are grateful for many things this year. I am especially grateful for the gift of parenthood. Being a parent brings on so many new lessons, emotions, and opportunities for growth. God has used these past 10 months to stretch me in many new ways and I am thankful for the new and fresh glimpses of His character that He has shown me. We are often reminded that God delights in giving us such great gifts, much more than we delight in giving a good gift to a loved one. And being on the "parent" end of Christmas this year, I was just thrilled to share gifts with my little one. Though we didn't get Luke many gifts for Christmas (I think it was 4, if you count the 2 books I got him...and the other 2 came from yard sales :)), I was SO excited to give him something. I was looking forward to watching him learn how to play with it, explore what it does...I felt like a child, giddy with delight, knowing that I was giving him gifts. I got him those gifts because I love him and I find joy in giving him gifts. As I soaked in God's goodness on Friday night I was blown away and almost caught aghast at the idea that not only does God delight in giving us wonderful gifts, but imagine His excitement, anticipation, and astounding JOY knowing that He gave us the GREATEST gift. Nothing can top His gift of Jesus!

Snow day :)

Exploring new presents

Two sleepy heads on Christmas morning

Five Days of Favorites: Day 5!

This is the perfect day for my last day of favorites! We are a family that loooove soups. Soups make a day so cozy, you can make them in bulk and save them for another rainy or snowy day, and you can typically stretch them pretty far for low cost by just increasing the broth, noodles or potatoes. Here's to a lovely snowy and rainy day :)

Day 5: Chicken Florentine Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 c chopped onions

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

1 can (15 oz) Italian Style tomato sauce

5-6 cups chicken or turkey stock or 1 can (46 oz) chicken broth

1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey

1 1/2 c cooked orzo or other small pasta

1/2 lb fresh spinach, well washed and shredded

1/4 c fresh basil leaves shredded or 1-2 tbsp pesto sauce

1/4 c grated parmesan cheese

salt

ground pepper

1. In large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions, sugar, Italian seasoning & red pepper.

2. Saute 2-3 minutes until onion is translucent.

3. Stir in tomato sauce and stock; reduce heat to med-low and simmer uncovered 8-10 minutes until slightly reduced, stirring occasionally.

4. Stir in shredded chicken or turkey, orzo, spinach, basil, parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.

5. Cook 4-5 minutes longer until heated through.

6.. Serve with hot crusty garlic bread.

Tutus for Everyone!

Check out the latest from Moms Sew Sassy - 15% off little girl Tutus and free shipping on all products for those of you in the RDU area.

Happy Shopping!

Five Days of Favorites: Day 4

I'm on a blogging roll this week! Another great recipe that we love to use during football season and on lovely snow days. Here comes day four favorite, chip dip for a crowd (Compliments of Jenna Liberto :) )

Cream Cheese Dip:

1 can of stewed tomatoes

2 blocks of cream cheese

1 can of green chiles

1. Melt cream cheese in medium saucepan

2. Add tomatoes and chiles with juices - try to break up tomatoes if possible

3. Bring to a boil

4. Serve with chips!

Five Days of Favorites: Day 3

A staple in our house during Christmas...well, actually all year round, is chocolate. This next recipe is a fun twist on snickerdoodles and it makes for great gift boxes! I just sent off over 60 cookies to my relatives to enjoy over the holidays. Hope you enjoy, too!

Chocolate Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 egg

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp sugar + 1 tsp ground cinnamon to sprinkle on top

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on high speed for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup sugar, soda and cream of tartar until combined. Beat in egg & vanilla. Beat in cocoa powder and flour.

3. Drop by rounded tsps. about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

4. Bake 9-11 minutes until edges are firm and cookie begins to crack. Cool on wire racks.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Five Days of Favorites: Day 2

This yummy recipe comes from my amazing sister-in-law, Sarah. She's such a gem and such a godly example of a wife and soon to be mom. Spending time with she and Ray never disappoints and is always a great challenge to us. She made this recipe while we were visiting for Thanksgiving and oh my word, it is SO good!! And SOOO easy!!

Day 2: Apple Butter Pork

1-1.5 lb pork tenderloin

Dijon Mustard

Apple Butter

Cream or 1/2 and 1/2

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place meat in casserole dish and spread dijon mustard and apply apple butter on top so the pork is covered.

2. Bake for about an hour or until slightly pink in the middle. Remove meat from pan & keep warm.

3. Take juice & drippings from pan & mix cream & apple butter until it's a gravy consistency. Serve with pork.

Enjoy!!

Five Days of Favorites: Day 1

Forgive my lack of blogging lately, our modem died so blogging went on hold for a bit. In the meantime I've been cooking up a storm for my fellas and out of town relatives. My oh MY how much my role has changed now that I have a full-time husband! I love having him home, truly. But let's be honest...we joke often about his love language: food! And his little boy takes right after him :) When Billy was traveling 70% of the time that was 70% less meals I had to work on. And 70% less of a grocery bill. So in the past two weeks I have been on a deal searching, meal planning, grocery shopping, food cooking frenzy. I love trying new recipes from friends and I've found several favorites since we said the vows 2 1/2 years ago. In spite of the weather and season I thought I'd spend a few days sharing some of my fall/winter favs!

Five Days of Favorites, Day 1: Brunswick Stew

This is from a sweet friend that brought us a meal after Luke was born. I love it for several reasons. First, it's delicious. Second, it's very easy. Third, it stretches a long way, which is GREAT for the budget - and great to serve with friends :)

1 whole chicken (3 lbs)

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 tbsp veg. oil

3 (16 oz) cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained & chopped

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp white vinegar

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp flour

1 cup water from boiling the chicken

1 lb red potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 (16 oz) can baked beans

1 tbsp hot sauce

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1/2 tsp pepper

1 16oz can corn, drained

1 16 oz can lima beans, drained (** optional - we HATE lima beans so we never include them)

1. Cook chicken in dutch oven in boiling water to cover until cooked through. Pull apart and chop chicken. Reserve

2. Saute onion and bell pepper in hot oil in Dutch oven until tender. Add chicken, tomato & next 4 ingredients.

3. Combine flour & 1 cup water, whisking until smooth. Stir into chicken mixture. Add potato and next 5 ingredients

4. Cover & cook over medium heat stirring occasionally, about an hour - an hour and 15 minutes. Add corn and lima beans, cook another 10-15 minutes.

**Yields 16 servings

ENJOY!

Good times

Here are a few pics from Erin and I's first show with a Moms Sew Sassy table. It was a great success and we had a blast. There was a lot to learn but very fun...and very encouraging for us to keep moving forward and try another show!

Tree o' Little Girl Purses .. and Diaper Cases :)

Custom Christmas Stockings - These were for Tory and her lovely family (shadethatlamp.etsy.com)

Erin & I with our little table - SO fun!

Look for more posts on our etsy shop being added tonight and tomorrow morning!

Christmas Card Junkie

I absolutely LOVE this time of year. Even more, I love this time of year with my two precious fellas. Life definitely looks different this Christmas but I am so grateful. We kicked off the season this weekend by putting up our Christmas tree and decorating the house. And of course my yummy mulling spices and candles that keep the house smelling like Christmas :)

One of my favorite things about the season is all the Christmas cards we receive (which reminds me...time to send out Christmas cards!). I'm kind of a Christmas Card junkie. It's true. I love looking at Christmas cards sent to my house, sent to my parents houses, sent to friends houses, of people I know, don't know, people I wish I knew... I just love them. I love to get a glimpse of what friends and family are up to and I love displaying all of them in their many shapes and colors. I also love creating our family Christmas card. This year will be our 3rd Christmas together and after all my efforts in shopping around for the cutest card at the most affordable price I always come back to Shutterfly.com. They have the cutest and broadest selection of Christmas cards, hands down. Another great feature is their super easy-to-use editor tool which allows me to quickly and easily upload our own photos and see our custom Christmas card instantly before committing to anything. And most importantly, because I've signed up to their e-mail list I get tons of discounts and coupon codes which give me the best deal around for the quality.

When picking out our Christmas Card this year I found several favorites but noticed that I was mostly drawn to the reds and blacks with black and white photos. Check out a few of my favs (which you'll likely see tailored to our family soon!) and click on the photo to access directly at Shutterfly: