Imperfections...

This is my favorite night of the year...

...Sunday School pageant.

 

I love it so much cause this is what it is really about,

celebrating with our families the true meaning of Christmas.

 

I love the imperfection.

 

Rocco the donkey was singing too loud, and dancing away.

 

 

 

And the suspense...will my other donkey say his line?

 

 

He did.

 

I even love the photo shoot after with the cousins

& trying to get everyone to look the same way.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday school is such an important part of our kids' lives.

 

I am soooooooo thankful for the amount of time

their teachers pour into my children.

 

Bible stories spill out of my kids all week,

as things we do at home trigger memories

of what they learned in Sunday School,

& my heart leaps with joy when they know things

I didn't teach them...about God.

 

That's why buying teacher gifts is one of

my favorite things to buy each year.

 

I like to get them something I would want.

 

This year...

 

journals.

 

 

We will let them choose the one that speaks to them.

 

 

 

(this one is a planner)

 

Each teacher is so different.

 

But I want each one to know how much I appreciate the time it takes away from their families...to bless mine.

 

The cards are simple card stock,

not anything pretty that you'll see on Pinterest.

 

Just hand cut trees,

 

 

 

The message is simple & handwritten.

 

 

 

And even though it's not much...

 

 

I hope they know how much they are loved.

Teachers.

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

BTW the lil' trees are in high demand

if you have a pack of little boys.

 

 

 

Oh & here is a little blooper reel from my picture taking :)

 

Kit

 

& then  Roo.

 

 

 

 

Roo

 

and while I was taking the picture of the stack...

I was lying on the floor with Kit sitting on my back :)

 

But it's all good cause if he wasn't there...he was here:

 

 

 

 

The Best Gift of All

You all know how huge the SISTER part of my life is. 

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be

the sister in the middle...closest to both.

So you can imagine how badly I wish Annie had a sister.

Not sure how she would survive without one.

For her cousin Zadie's birthday both

Annie AND Zadie got a special gift.

Annie gave her this card:

Their gifts?

A sister.

They believe it in their hearts.

I do too.

Happy Lil' Apple

When I saw Coco Rose's Apple Cozies POST,
I was in LOVE!!!

Not just a "Those are sooo cute." love,

but a "I NEED ONE NOW!" love.

I mean look at hers!

(Thanks for letting me use the pic Coco Rose Diaries)
Perfectly adorable!
(She is AMAZING!)

Since she doen't sell them I jumped on Etsy
& found where I could get one.
(I am a bit needlework challenged, to put it nicely)

Success!

I found

Early Girl
had the best prices online AND they are the cutest too!
Can't go wrong!

I can't even tell you how happy Annie was!

I guess it was quite a hit at school

& the apples were pretty happy, all snug in there, too :)

If you need a good gift.

Get one before she runs out because

I am going to order more myself!

Why, Thank You!

Who needs New Years Resolutions?  You just need some new Post-it notes like these I received from my cousin Angie:

Why, thank you!

Wait until you see what she got me for Christmas :)

(Next Week's Love It)

Thanks Angie!

Holushkawhat?

    I love family recipes!  I am not the best cook but I do love the tradition of passing down recipes from generation to generation.  Out of the 3 girls in my family I am the one who enjoys making Holushki.  Mostly because the other 2 don't like to eat it.  But I love it!  And this year I taught my daughter how to make it.  We always make it for Christmas Eve at my mom's. 

Holushki is a Slovak dish.  It is bacon, saurkraut, and potato dumplings.  I am sure I lost a lot of you with the word saurkraut.  But, if you do like saurkraut then you should really try this one.  (Husbands love it :)

First cut the bacon strips into fourths and fry them up.  It is much better soft (not crunchy) in this recipe.

While that is frying we use potatoes, flour, & milk to make the dumplings.

Annie shredded the potatoes.

(Get them into the milk fast so they don't turn brown)

Then add the flour, it is really lumpy!

Then you are ready to drop them into a big pot of boiling water.

I use a wooden spoon & cut them into the pot.

The smaller the dumplings the better.

Let them boil for 5 minutes.

Pull them out and rinse them with cold water.

Dump them into the bacon pan (I like to a little of the bacon grease & some butter)

Add the drained saurkraut.

Stir & enjoy!

It is even better a few hours later when the flavors have all soaked in!

I keep all my family recipes in this little photo album a friend gave me for my wedding.  (Thanks Pam)

This recipe book would be a great Christmas presents for daughters!   You don't have to fill it all up...just include a few & they can add to it as the years go by!  Even little girls would like their own recipe books!  I might just have to start one for Annie this year & put her first recipe as Holushki, she loves it too!

1lb. bacon
2 medium potatoes
1 small can saurkraut
1 C milk
2 1/2 C flour
butter

Fry the bacon up soft.
Boil water.
Shred potatoes.
Mix potatoes, milk & flour to make dumplings.
Quickly cut the dumplings into the boiling water.
Boil 5 minutes.
Drain & rinse dumplings in cold water.
Dump bacon, drained saurkraut, & dumplings together, stir in some butter (1/2 a stick or so)
Done!

Shell Jars

    The first time I took my baby girl to the ocean she was 5 weeks old.  We actually DROVE from Minnesota down to the Gulf Coast.  She did such a good job & only cried in Nashville!  We traveled with my parents as they were looking to buy a Beach Condo.   We hit many of the gulf towns but spent much of the vacation in Orange Beach, Alabama, where my parents decided to buy.

    While at the ocean I collected Annie's first shell off the beach.  When I returned home I made a special jar for her to collect 1 shell from each trip to the ocean.  It is very special to her.

    I hope this is an idea you can use!  They make GREAT baby gifts and are so smple to make.  I just took an old jar & used a hot glue gun to attatch a shell to the top.  The letters are just scrapbook stickers.  Let me know if you try it!    

Each shell is numbered.  This shell is for her 4th trip to the ocean.  It has the year, her age, our destination, & tells who traveled with us. 

Here are just a few pictures from that first trip.

I had my mom snap this one just as her feet touched the ocean for the very first time.  It sure makes me smile to remember that day.