Recovery

Hi everyone!  Wow, what a whirlwind the last month has been!  We are in recovery mode right now.  Next year, I am definitely scaling down.  I take on way too much, and end up frazzled and don't even enjoy the Christmas season as much as I could.  Today it was so nice to just enjoy my little baby.  I had so much fun--not having to spend the whole day baking or whatever--just holding and playing with him.

Today we officially took down the Christmas tree and all the decorations, and got the house back to "normal".  It's nice to get everything all organized.  I'm also back to working on the kids' school and getting everything updated...correcting papers that haven't been done yet and developing a plan for the rest of the year.  This is the time of year that I tweak parts that haven't been working.  Today I worked on my high schooler's transcript and overall high school plan, and finalized his Composition and Personal Finance course work for the rest of this year.  Yesterday I ordered books from the library for the girls' history reading assignments.

Okay, well that's all I have time for in this post...short and sweet!  The baby has awakened and I need to finish up dinner.

God bless you all as you finish up this year!

Staying Peaceful and Not Stressed

I am so so busy right now that it is really easy to become completely stressed out and lose the joy of Christmas.  I keep having to stop and remind myself that it is CHRISTMAS and to be JOYFUL!  This post on another blog really helped me this morning:

http://womenlivingwell-courtney.blogspot.com/2010/12/this-means-war.html

Enjoy....and Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Day Menu

Because I do two dinners in a row, and because I have two different groups of people, and because I like to relax a little on Christmas, I usually do the same hors d'ouevres and drinks on both days.  I usually buy a lot and there is plenty for both days.

Dinner:

Prime Rib
Garlic Mashed Potatoes & gravy
Gourmet Holiday Yams
Green Beans (or casserole from night before if any left)
Rice Pudding
Rolls

Dessert:

French Silk Pie
Pecan Pie

Christmas Eve Menu

Well, I was planning to be superwoman....I really, really wanted to be....but alas, there is this thing called reality.  I am making homemade gifts.  I'm baking up many treats.  I'm making two big dinners, one Christmas Eve and one Christmas day, complete with hors d'oeuvres and dessert and drinks.  I wanted to make every single dish myself, and I have some great ideas!  But I finally realized that I was going to totally stress myself out doing that, and so I accepted help from my mom and sister on Christmas Eve.  Christmas day is all me. That being said, here is my Christmas Eve plan:

Hors d'oeuvres:

Crackers
cranberry chutney over cream cheese
smoked salmon
cheese
spinach & artichoke dip
roasted red pepper tapenade
tortilla chips
seven layer dip
olives

Drinks:

Punch
Hot apple cider
Cranberry juice

Dinner:

Honey Glazed Ham
Twice baked potatoes
Yams (mom bringing)
Broccoli salad (mom)--Christmas Eve tradition--soooo yummy
Green Bean Casserole (Pioneer Woman's version)
Jell-O Salad (sister bringing)
Rolls

Dessert:

Mom's Pumpkin Spice Cake
Fudge tray

Christmas Day Menu will be posted tomorrow!

Chocolate Covered Coconut Balls

Here is a recipe for one of our favorite Christmas treats.  If you like Mounds bars, you will love these!  They are pretty easy to make, delicious, and make great gifts.

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 T. vegetable oil

In a large bowl, combine powdered sugar, coconut, and walnuts.  Mix well.  In a small bowl, stir together melted butter, vanilla, and sweetened condensed milk until well blended.  Stir into coconut mixture, blending well (I start with a spoon and then use my hands) until mixed.

Form mixture into about 35 (1-inch) balls.  Place on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet and refrigerate until firm, 1 to 2 hours.

In a double boiler, combine chocolate and oil.  Heat and stir until chocolate is melted, then pour into a small bowl.

With tongs, dip chilled balls, one at a time, into melted chocolate.  Let excess drip off, then place back onto wax paper-lined cookie sheet.  Chill until set, then place in container and store in refrigerator.

*Note:  If you want a nice shiny look, you can do what my mother-in-law does and add a small bit of parafin wax to your chocolate.

Family Christmas Party

Well, the busyness continues!  Yesterday we went out to my aunt's house for our annual Christmas party.  I brought some of my homemade gifts, a tray of my fudge, and my yams.  It was good to spend time with everyone.  The cutest thing was Adam falling asleep on Grandpa's lap!  "Santa" came and brought big huge stockings for each of the kids.  Adam's stocking contained, among other things, a big huge bear.  I have never seen such a big stocking stuffer...it took two of us to pull it out of there!  You can see my husband holding the bear in one of the pictures below.  Here are pictures from the party:



Andrew and Santa




Annamarie and Santa




Abigail and Santa




And here are a few of Adam and Santa...





Who on earth is holding me???




Hi Santa!



Me, hubby, and the kids with Grandpa John and Grandma Debbie

 More pics tomorrow...I must get going.  I am also hitting the stores tomorrow to do some serious Christmas shopping.

God bless!!

Busy busy!

Hey there everyone...yes, I am still alive...just busy in the land of homemade gifts!  I can tell that blogging is going to be less frequent for me this month, but I will do my best.  The kids and I are busy making homemade hot cocoa mix, cookie mix in a jar, cranberry chutney, peppermint bark, and fudge...all to give as Christmas gifts.

I'm making this hot cocoa mix.  I've made two batches so far, which equals 16 quart sized jars.  We are putting a decorative top on the jars, and tying a candy cane and a bag of mini marshmallows on top with pretty ribbon.  I will try to get pictures up soon.  The girls are giving them to their piano teacher, horseback riding instructor, gymnastics coach, Sunday school teacher, etc.

I will try to post more in the next couple of days, with more recipes and pictures.  I hope you are all having a wonderful, busy month with friends and family.  We have a family Christmas party coming up, and the girls are practicing for the upcoming Christmas pageant at church.

JESUS is the reason for the season!