Christmas Eve Morning Cooking

This year was definitely one of the best ever!! The little elves and the big ones helped to make it all very special. We did LOTS of cooking together. Here is one of my little helpers licking the bowl after we mixed up banana bread for a special visitor we were expecting. Around here you just about have to stand in line to be the bowl licker!!

Here's the bread all warm and yummy from the oven courtesy of my Paula Deen Christmas cookbook!!!

Wrapped and ready to give away!!

Christmas Eve morning Daddy elf made us delicious pancakes straight from the North Pole(by way of Williams -Sonoma)

The little elves could hardly wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh we can't wait to gobble these up can we.....................

What could be better after a huge breakfast of pancakes than baking Christmas cookies!!!!! Oh what messy fun we had. There were red sprinkles decorating everything in the kitchen including us!!

Most were round, but we did have a few Christmas trees and Santas mixed in.

I think I'll have one or......................

maybe two!!!! I hope your Christmas was as delicious as ours was!!! More to come of Christmas morning treasures.

Until next time.........

But this precious treasure-this light and power that now shine within us- is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own.

2 Corinthians

4:7

Remember that He is our greatest treasure.

Robin

Our Greatest Gift

Can you believe that this little fellow, just five short months ago, probably wondered who in the world I was and what I was going to do with him???? Here we had only known each other for about an hour.

From wondering to wonderful excitement!!!!!

My sweet little girl who is always filled with song.

Three of my precious ones.

After our sweet Anna Kayla was born we were unable to have anymore children. So after many years of prayer we turned to adoption (I was adopted so it seemed like the most natural thing for us to do) that’s when we were blessed with Land. Even though our family seemed complete my heart yearned for more. How could I possibly ask God for more when I had already been given so much. But I did…………..on more than one occasion, and He blessed us with two more special gifts. For all of them I am forever grateful.


I remember the year that Land was born our church wanted him to be the baby Jesus in our Christmas Cantata. He was only six weeks old and I was concerned about him being in the arms of a stranger for even a short length of time. I had waited so long to hold this precious son of mine and it was hard for me to let him go for even a little while. Knowing this, I can not even imagine how God must have felt when He sent us the greatest gift of all, His son.




It is my prayer that this Christmas season, and after, that we offer more of ourselves through our praise, worship and obedience than ever before to the One who has given us so much…………..the greatest gift of all, the gift of salvation.


From our family to yours……………………Until next time.........


With each new day may Jesus be born afresh in your heart:
“Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David”
Luke2:11

Merry Christmas!!

Robin

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful...........

and not because there is snow.......for the past few days the temperature has been hoovering around 70 degrees!! We do live in the south, but even this is unseasonably warm for us. So to help us stay in that Christmas spirit we cranked up the air conditioner(yes, it's true) put on some Christmas carols and baked some snowman cookies. Here are the little ones waiting(not so patiently) for them to come out of the oven. Every few minutes there were squeals of are they done yet!!!

Ahhhhhh......... finally they are out of the oven(gotta love those break and bake cookies when you are in a hurry for a snowman flurry)

Yummy, yummy in our tummy....................

Land even got a Christmas chill with a strawberry milkshake!!!

Then Emanuiel had to go outside just to check and make sure the snowmen on our front porch weren't melting!!!

No matter what the weather, I'm just glad we are all together!!!!

Until next time.....................

He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down.

Job 37:6

What ever weather your having right now..............winter's frosty air or balmy breezes; remember the One who has all the forces of nature in His control and rest in His care.

Robin

Four Word Wednesday!!!

If this...........................

then this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

***Update***

Before anyone panics, I was only in the kitchen baking when this happened!!!! My darling husband would NEVER sleep on the job if he was in charge!!

Mommy's Little Helper!!!

If your house is like my house the laundry basket is NEVER empty!! It seems to take on a life of its own in my closet and mysteriously fills itself to overflowing daily. So much of my time is spent in this room here. Now I have a little helper who LOVES laundry time!!! Yes, it's true, he loves to help me sort, put the clothes in the washer and especially take them out of the dryer!!!

For some reason he is the only other person in the house that takes pleasure in this task. Recently while we were busy in the laundry room...............this is what Clara Beth was doing!!

Aha!!! Caught watching "Frosty the Snowman"!!!

and Land was enjoying yet another game on his Xbox!!!!

While down the hall my little helper and I were busy folding away, only to realize that tomorrow there would be even more laundry to do!!! I can already see the excitement in my little helper's eyes. Now if he could just pass that on to the others we would be on to something!!!!

Until next time.....................

During this busy time of year (when there's even more to do than usual) call on the One that is our true helper in all times.

Remember this verse when you seem to be juggling an impossible number of tasks:

All those who know Your mercy, Lord,
will count on You for help.
For You have never forsaken those who trust in You.
Psalm 9:10

Have a marvelous Monday!!!!!

Robin

Making A Gingerbread House..........And Memories!!

We had a great time making a Gingerbread House (yes, it was one of those kits) but we wouldn't have had any more fun if we had baked it ourselves. While Paul and the little ones were busy getting everything assembled I did bake some gingerbread in the oven. The yummy smell filled our home and gave us something else to look forward to when our house was finished.

What good and patient helpers he had. Of course they had to sample a gumdrop here and there!!

Clara Beth very carefully placing the candy on the roof.

Emanuiel had to find just the right spot for each of his pieces.

Even Land and I got into the fun(we look rather serious about it don't we) Notice Clara Beth having yet another gumdrop!

Ta Da!!! Our finished house!! Afterwards we enjoyed some warm gingerbread right out of the oven covered with whipped cream!! Our little house is now proudly displayed along with all of our other treasured Christmas decorations!

Until next time..............,

This little gingerbread house reminded me of how very much I love to be at home. Home is such a haven from the everyday stresses of the world for me. Even among the chaos and clutter it is still a place where I find peace. It's where my family comes together. Where we live, laugh, cry and love, but most importantly, it is a place where we honor God. May He always be the center of our home.

Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life,

and I will live forever in your house, Lord.

Psalm 23:6

Robin

We Need A Little Christmas............and We Got A Lot

Wow what a BUSY weekend we've had. It was packed full of fun Christmas activities. It started on Thursday night whit Land's band Christmas Concert. It was very hard to get any good pictures because we were sitting in a crowded gym. If you look really hard you can see him blowing away on his trumpet. Clara Beth and Emanuiel loved it. They both kept saying "Bubbie's blowing his horn". It was amazing how well they all played. This was the beginners!! Afterwards we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant and stuffed ourselves.

Friday night the Community Theater hosted "Cookies with Santa" and afterwards they showed the classic movie "The Grinch". Here we are after Clara Beth and Emanuiel have talked to Santa and told Him how good they have both been!! Land decided to skip this event and stayed with Anna Kayla and Greg.

Emanuiel is enjoying his cookies while keeping a close eye on Santa in his big red chair.

After they finished their cookies they got popcorn for the movie and Emanuiel is still watching Santa!!! Clara Beth seems to be more interested in her food!! That girl LOVES popcorn. As soon as we walked in the theater she said "oh mama I mell poptorn" and she was right. She had three bags!!!!(they weren't completely full) What a fun night!! They both enjoyed watching the Grinch on a big movie screen and I enjoyed watching them!!

Saturday morning we were up bright and early to get ready for our town's annual Christmas parade. Here is Emanuiel and Bekah Grace grabbing some good seats on the curb. This was Emanuiel's very first parade and he couldn't wait to see what was coming next!

Anna Kayla and Clara Beth anxiously awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus, he was rounding the corner on a fire truck!! How exciting is that. Nothing like a small town parade!!

After the parade we went to Anna Kayla and Greg's house for a yummy lunch of ham and cheese croissants. Then Clara Beth and Emanuiel got to open the Advent Calendar. Anna Kayla had filled it with enough goodies for all of us that day!! They were so excited to open the little door. Then they wanted to open ALL of them!! So cute.

Saturday night we went to ride on a horse drawn wagon through streets of beautifully decorated houses and a live Nativity scene. There was also petting zoo. Home made goodies with hot chocolate were enjoyed around little bonfires. Here is Emanuiel waiting to climb on the wagon. Clara Beth was so excited about going she could hardly wait but..................

on the way there she fell asleep and we could not wake her up!!! We rode on the wagon, looked at the animals, and ate goodies around the fire, then she finally decided to wake up as we were walking back to our car!!! Oh well there's always next year!! Land did make this trip with us.........he wasn't about to miss all the yummy baked goods they have every year!!

Now our weekend is over and it's time to be marching off to bed (literally). Here are my little elves, led by the biggest elf of all, headed to bed!!

Now I am off to wrap Christmas gifts so I can make the little ones MORE excited if that's even possible!!!

Until next time......................remember

A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great.
Proverbs 18:16

This week be a "gift"!!!!

Robin

Three Word Wednesday..................

Deck The Halls!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until next time.............................

Whatever you do, do everything for God's glory.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Robin

LOOK, SANTA CLAUS................

They don't mind Santa this year at all. They are completely in awe every time we see him!

Emanuiel loved seeing the Christmas tree all lit up in his room. I'm not sure what Clara Beth is thinking right now except that maybe he got in her way!!!

oooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....................

All ready for church.

What I saw right after I overheard Clara Beth saying Feng Feng let's flip!!!!! She is the only one that still calls Emanuiel by his Chinese name. He calls her Mei Mei and he doesn't like it if anyone else says Feng Feng(pronounced Fung Fung)she is the only one that can call him that. It's so sweet the way she says it even when she's asking him to do something dangerous like flipping backwards off of the couch!!!!

Until next time.........................

As we begin the celebration of the Christmas season let's not for one second forget the true meaning..............

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins"

Matthew 1:21

Robin