Mettle Monday: A Narrow View

I am at yet another fork in the road in my relationship with Christ. You know the ones where religion and truth split. Yep that is where I am right this very minute. And as I chose relationship over religion, this road is getting less comfy. Self reflection has become more and more humbling as I see ALL that I lack and how very far I still have to go. I am coming into a greater understanding of God's grace and a greater need of it and pray that I never stray so far away from this truth: Any goodness that shines through in our lives is not of our own doing but God's glory shining through into the world. Anything that is not true, not noble, not right, not pure, not lovely, not admirable, not praiseworthy.... these things ARE from the very depths of my heart. When we come to realize that we ARE really that evil, that hateful, that detestable in the sight of God's eyes; then and only then do we realized our dependency on Christ.

I have been thinking alot on these verses:
Romans 7
¹⁴ So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. ¹⁶ But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
 ¹⁸ And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. ¹⁹ I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. ²⁰ But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
 ²¹ I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. ²² I love God’s law with all my heart. ²³ But there is another power  within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. ²⁴ Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? ²⁵ Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord....

I think there is a deep cry from heaven for the church to grow up! To go beyond ALL earthy things and to really live out all our lives with a Kingdom Focus. I've started reading the book Radical by David Platt and God is really using this book to cut between the bone and marrow of who I am and who I think I am. In his book he talks about how self centered the American church has become and God is showing me how self centered I am, how what I do isn't really for him but for me. I'm determined to cut out all the fluff and really get to the heart of why God wants me here and somehow I think it isn't to have a nicely decorated home or to be able to fix a 9 course meal to entertain family and friends. No I think that what God is seeking from me and from every believer is how we deal with each day and each moment He gives us to minster to the lost, to our persecuted brothers and sisters and finally to take the focus off our ourselves and to be able to live our lives in complete obedience to God's plan for our lives. To go where he tells us to go, to suffer for the strength of our faith, to view every person we see as someone who may not know the salvation Christ has given us AND be willing at any cost to share Christ's message with them. I know I am very far from being able to do this and that is why I say that I have come to a fork in the road between religion and relationship. As I travel down this narrow road only one thing is certain He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Worship with Me Sunday: Stille Nacht(Silent Night)

Today is the first day of Advent. Each week the kids and I will be learning a carol and if I can find the history behind the song, reading up on that as well. This week is Silent Night. This year I'll be doing a 4 week count down of crafts for Advent and a 25 day devotional count down from Danielle's Place.

The item list for the 25 day devotion is here and below is the list of supplies you will need to do the crafts for this week.

Sunday:
paper for advent chain

Monday:
Green (5-8 pieces) and yellow(1 piece) construction paper
white paper and brown crayon
hole punch and scrap colored paper

Tuesday:
pipe cleaners
pony beads (color of your choice)
scissors or wire cutters

Wednesday:
cardstock to print off nativity scene
pg 1
pg 2


Thursday:
Cardboard or cardstock
yarn or shoestrings
tape
hole punch
crayons

Friday:
chocolate cake mix
2 eggs , oil
1/2 bag of chocolate chips
1/2 bag mint chips

Saturday:
print off lyrics for Silent Night by Monday to teach all week!!!

As you start or end your day, take time to sit down and reflect on the grace we celebrate at Christmas. Truly Christ's birth is the single event that changed the world FOREVER!!!!

What's Up Wednesday

Whew, another week down!!! Anyone getting excited? I am very excited that I am almost ready for Advent!!! Here is the Advent Paper Chain print off as promised!!! Note that pages 1-10 are if you are doing a single color and 11-20 are designed to be done in two colors. I had a time with figuring out how to correctly print front and back on my printer so make sure you allow yourself a little extra time to figure that out. The dates go on one side and the scriptures go on the flip side. So for the single color you will print off page 1 which has scriptures numbered 1-6. Then you will flip your paper how ever you need to for your printer to print off pg 6 which has the devotions for Dec 1st-6th. And to make things even easier for you I'm going to list the items you need for the devotion part, you just might have most of these items around your house!!! I'm going to put my items in see through gift bags and place an index card with the correct number in the front to kinda hide the item inside. I've not gotten to that yet, so you will have to come back next week if you want to take a look at how we are doing it. This year it is all about easy easy easy!!! Okay here is that list!!!! BEFORE we go any further, I want to give credit where credit is due!!!

This Advent Countdown is from

Danielle's Place of Crafts and Activities 

the only thing I did was create the double sided Advent Chain. 

1. quarter
2. piece of grape gum
3. smiley face
4. fish
5. birthday candle
6. whistle or bell
7. cracker
8. cotton ball(s)
9. torn piece of a map
10. soap
11. a heart
12. cross
13. tablespoon of salt
14. tablespoon of sand
15. flower
16. raisins
17. seeds
18. print off Pslams 100 and roll it up like a scroll
19. stone
20. aluminum foil
21. mustard seed
22. dove
23. piece of fabric, some type of cotton
24. marble
25. baby

I still have 2 more sets of Christmas cards to finish but did get 4 sets done and have half of the items from the item list above. I am working with the Youth Director at our church and we are doing advent sets for all our AWANA kids; I am super excited about this project.

Kelly if you read this, you rock!!!!!!

And as we enter into Week 5 here is what I'll be working on:

• finishing Christmas Cards and addressing them
• get remainder of Advent items and put together Advent Kits
• Begin working on sewing project 1 and cardstock project 1 (gotta keep them a secret somehow)

Sorry for the lack of pictures. My camera is hiding or hidden under the pile of crafts items on my table!!!

Have a safe, wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!!!

Tweaking the grocery list

So I recently went from buying groceries the day after payday to shopping every Monday. Although I don't like to go every week this is working out really well for us right now. We are military and I try to shop the commissary but with it being about 20 minutes away I really have to plan in order for my trips to be worth it. I've posted on how combining my menu plan, grocery list and weekly schedule really helps me out. Last week I tweaked my grocery list by adding the ingredients to three recipes we use weekly and have now given them a coveted place in our weekly menu!! Seeing that I missed sharing recipes the last couple of weeks in my What's Up Wednesday post, I hope this will make up for that oversight ;)

Homemade pockets
this recipe is from Cooking During Stolen Moments

For the dough:

1 T. (or 1 packet) yeast

1 c. warm water, divided 1 t. sugar

1/4 c. melted butter, cooled to room temperature (I melt the butter the night before, then put a top over the pot and let it sit overnight so it is ready for me to use in the morning when I start these!!)

2 1/2 – 3 c. flour

1 1/2 t. salt

In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 warm water. Stir in the sugar and let sit to proof for 5 minutes. Pour in the melted and cooled butter and the remaining warm water. Add 2 c. flour and the salt. Mix for two minutes. Work in as much remaining flour as needed to make a dough that is smooth but not sticky. Knead on a floured surface or continue beating for about 10 minutes. Add a bit more flour if the dough starts to get sticky while kneading. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Let rise for 1 hour. Punch down dough, cover and let rise for at least another 30 minutes. Divide dough into 15 evenly sized balls. Roll out into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Place filling on one half of the dough. Fold the remaining half over the top. Pinch closed and then seal with the tines of a fork. Repeat until done. If desired, brush melted butter over each pocket and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-18 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

Breakfast Cookies

½ cup butter, softened                

1 cup peanut butter

1 1/3 cups brown sugar

2t vanilla

1/3 cup water

2 eggs

1 cup each all purpose & whole wheat flour

2 cups quick cooking oats

½ cup wheat germ

1t each salt, cinnamon

2t baking soda

With electric mixer beat together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla until creamy. Beat in eggs and water. Mix together flours, oats, wheat germ, salt cinnamon, and baking soda. Combine with peanut butter mixture. Drop by ice cream scoopfuls 2 ½ inches apart on greased cookie sheets; flatten slightly. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then place on a cooling rack. You can store these in a airtight container for a couple of days.

Story-time Mac n Cheese

16oz pasta

¼ cup butter

1t Adobe or garlic salt

½ cup milk

¼ cup each parmesan and cheddar cheese

Cook pasta, drain. In sauce pan heat butter, garlic salt, milk and Parmesan cheese until combined. Pour over pasta and serve.(I cook, drain and rinse the pasta before we go to the library so that when we get back home all I have to do is add the remaining ingredients and warm it up.)

Happy Monday!!!

Worship with Me Sunday: Agnus Dei

"The gospel does not prompt you to mere reflection; the gospel requires a response."

pgs 20-21 Radical by David Platt

2010 Advent Countdown

Okay, am I the only one that is in complete awe that N-E-X-T week is Thanksgiving?!?!?! Maybe that was the motivation for me getting so much done this week. One thing is for certain, we had a busy busy week!!!!!

We started working on painting the house, again.

Me, working on painting all the picture frames. This seemed like such a good idea at first!

Joel completing his first Bakugan battle. Even though he lost he was still excited.

Getting their game on!!!

The newest member of our family, everyone meet Rover!

One of the things I like best about Advent is that it's almost like Family Fun Night every night. This year I decided to go with an Advent Countdown I found on Danille's Place. And as much as I love how the scriptures are tied in with the nightly devotion it didn't have anything for little hands to do. So I cam up with this:

Nov 28: Advent paper chain	Nov 29: Hand Christmas Tree	Nov 30: Candy Cane Ornaments	Dec 1: Cut and Paste Nativity	Dec 2: Star Sewing card	Dec 3: Make Christmas cookies	Dec 4: Christmas Carol Silent Night
Dec 5: Popsicle stick manger	Dec 6: Spoon Angel Craft	Dec 7: Make a Jacob's ladder	Dec 8: Play dough Nativity	Dec 9: Paper bag donkey	Dec 10 Cookie Party	Dec 11 Christmas Carol Away in the Manger
Dec 12: Decorate a crown	Dec 7: Christmas Card puzzles	Dec 14: CD Star Ornament Directions	Dec 15: Hand and Foot Angel Directions	Dec 16: Make Christmas cards for teachers/ instructors	Dec 17: Give M&M Christmas Poems out	Dec 18: Christmas Carol Joy to the World
Dec 19: Handprint wreath w/ prophecies about Jesus	Dec 20: Star table topper	Dec 21: The Greatest Gift Card	Dec 22: Print your own Nativity	Dec 23: Cinnamon Ornament or Popcorn Garland	Dec 24: Tell or read about the birth of Jesus!!	Dec 25: Christmas Carol Review!!!

But have no fear if you don't like either of these ideas. Just head on over to Crafty Crow and you are certain to find something to your liking there!!!! Also if you come back next week I will have a download of all the scriptures we are using for our paper chain ready and waiting for you to print off!!!! But for now, take a look at all the progress I made!!!!!

• Make "To Make" gifts list (I have figured out what everyone is going to be getting!!!!)
  
• start buying looking at containers for fudge  (I was able to get containers for the fudge and cookies in a jar!!!)
  
• create What I'm making Christmas Gift List (list has been printed and finalized!!!)
  
• start on Advent reading list(need to finish paper chain with scriptures) and gather project ideas
• figure out how much fudge and cookies I'll be making (going to make two batches of fudge and instead of baking cookies this year I'm doing Cookies in a Jar!!!)
  

 My main focus this week is going to be on finishing up the Advent paper chain and gathering all the devotion items I'll need and finishing up Christmas Cards. I still can't believe we are only 6 weeks away from Christmas. I hope I can keep the motivation up and actually complete my 12 weeks till Christmas Planning this year. Check back next week and see if I'm still on board!!!!!


Until then stop by The Happy Housewife and see a post she did on some FREE gifts, except shipping, that Vista has going on right now!!! I'm working on one of the calendars! Speaking of F-R-E-E, The Idea Room has a link in her column where you can get a free 8X10 Canvas. Not sure how long these deals with last so go check them out soon!!!!!!

Worship with Me Sunday: Love Song for a Savior

1 John 4:19-21 We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.



In open fields of wild flowers,
she breathes the air and flies away
She thanks her Jesus for the daises and the roses
in no simple language
Someday she'll understand the meaning of it all
He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on her lips
Someday she'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He'll call her and she will come running
and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and she'll pray,

"I want to fall in love with You"

Sitting silent wearing Sunday best
The sermon echoes through the walls
A great salvation through it calls to the people
who stare into nowhere, and can't feel the chains on their souls

He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on our lips
Someday we'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He'll call us and we will come running
and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and we'll pray,

"I want to fall in love with You"

It seems too easy to call you "Savior",
Not close enough to call you "God"
So as I sit and think of words I can mention
to show my devotion

"I want to fall in love with You"

"my heart beats for You"

What's Up Wednesday

I remember a time when it seemed like the closer you got to the holidays, the slower things seemed to move. Yeah, well those days are long gone and it seems like some days I blink and my day is over. This week just flew by for me, how about you?!?!?!

Each week before I get lost in all the To Do's of the week, I like to pause a moment and share some snap shots of our week. This week it was birthday celebration at Glen Care and this is a very exciting day for the kids cause they know there will be cake and ice cream. But I want my kids to really be apart of this ministry and not just show up, so I stamped some cards for each of them to color and decorate and as you can tell they enjoyed this greatly!!!

CJ was so very proud of her work and she enjoyed passing them out as well

Like a true artist, JJ had to sign his name, lol

LJ was really happy about drawing some "extras" on the card just not liking getting his photo taken

 The photo above is my favorite picture of the week and will always remind me of the wonderful joy children bring to this world. CJ has been eying this piano since the first day we went to Glen Care. I'm not sure who she asked but one of the other women who organize and do a fantastic job of providing this birthday celebration each month asked Mr. Arnold if he would play a tune for my CJ. Well that tune ended up in about 10 minutes of everyone singing Christmas songs and you could just see the delight in each of the residents that came to the birthday celebration. What I thought was even neater was one man, I had not seen him before,who made sure that everyone who was having a birthday this month got a  card. They really care for each other and I am so thankful that the wonderful women of Providence Baptist Church have such a giving heart and keep this ministry going.It has given our family an opportunity to just step right in and be blessed beyond words to fellowship side by side with them!!!





So this week I'm back to the drawing board to come up with another template to help me keep up with all the ideas I have for gifts. Last week I was suppose to gather materials needed for "To Make" gifts, but honestly I can't remember what which person I was going to make what gift for. So since Big Daddy has a couple of days off, I'm going to take advantage of this time to get ALL my thoughts together on paper so I will have a good shopping list in hand for Weeks 6 and 4. So for this week I have an adjusted To Do List:

gather materials needed for Make "To Make" gifts list
decide on outfits for Christmas photo Blue jeans, white shirts and a accent of red for each person. JJ wants a vest, LJ wants a hat, CJ wants a dress but I want her to have a sweater, Big Daddy will get a tie, and I want a scarf.
schedule photo session we just might have a neighbor take the pics this year, not sure yet?!?!
make personal phone calls to get addresses I still need
start working on 2010 Family Letter
start buying looking at containers for fudge
create What I'm making Christmas Gift List
start on Advent reading list and gather project ideas
figure out how much fudge and cookies I'll be making

Yes, I think this will keep me plenty busy for the week.

Menu Planning (and some) Monday

I thought it would be fun to show you how I menu plan, grocery shop and keep up with my appointments during the week. For the last couple of years I've been going through planner after planner because they just didn't meet my specific needs. About a month ago, I came up a simple design to combine my weekly appointments, menu plan and grocery list and it has worked like a charm. I keep it above my stove and since I'm at my stove at least 3 times a day, this keeps my schedule only a glance away. I decided to add my grocery list because I am always forgetting what side dish I planned for a main meal. While shopping, if I see that Italian diced tomatoes are on sale, I just look quickly at what I needed diced tomatoes for (this week it's stuffed tomatoes) and I know if I can get that instead of regular diced tomatoes!!! I put the exact measurements of what I will need that week to help me better judge when I need to get more of a certain item. I transfer any meals not eaten from the week before onto my new menu planner in red, helping me to remember that I really need to get this meal cooked or find a different way to use up the main ingredients for that specific meal.

Sunday B Waffles L Leftover Chili D Hamburger Helper			Church AWANA
Monday B Waffles L leftovers D Southern Style Pork Chops & potato salad			Drop off train table
Tuesday B cereal L mac n cheese D Mexican Corn Chowder			10 SFST 2:30 Glen Care b-day party 3:15,3:45 gymnastics 6:00 Glen Care
Wednesday B Breakfast Cookies L homemade pockets D Macaroni & sausage bake			3:00 dance Family Fun Night
Thursday B Oatmeal L sandwiches D Stuffed green peppers
Friday B Pancakes L leftovers D Potato Supper
Saturday B Cinnamon Rolls L Sandwiches D Minestrone
Baking Brown sugar 1 1/3 cups Vanilla 2t All Purpose Flour 4 cup Whole Wheat Flour 1 cup Quick cooking oats 2 cups Wheat germ ½ cup Baking soda 2t Yeast 1T Sugar 1t Miscellaneous Peanut butter 1 cup Velveeta 1 ½ shredded Oatmeal packaged Pancake mix Beverage		Canned Goods Creamed corn 2 c.o. celery diced tomatoes Frozen Cinnamon rolls Mixed vegetables 1 ½ cup Bread 2 loaves		Dairy Butter 1 cup + 2T Milk 2 cups ¼ cup parmesan Half and half 2 cups M.Jack 3 cups Eggs 5 Mozzarella 8 slices Meats & Seafood 3 chicken breasts Bulk sausage 1lb Gd beef 1lb Smoked sausage 1lb Sandwich meat	Produce Onion 2 Garlic Green peppers 8 large Potatoes 6 Pasta, Beans & Rice Elbow 1lb + 1 ½ cup Rice 1 cup	Condiments, Spices, & Oils Garlic salt 1t Chicken bullion 1T Cumin 1t Salt 4 ½ t Cinnamon 1t Olive oil ¼ cup Pepper 1 t Parsley 1T Garlic ¼ t thyme Cleaning supplies

On the left is a print out of what is above, in my post. On the right are the recipes I will be using this week.

So this is a bit of work this year but I'm hoping that when this time comes around next year all I will have to do is add a couple of new recipes or if I'm in a rush I wont have to even plan, it will all be done!!!! At any rate it is what is keeping me sane at the current moment and that is all that matters right!!!!! Well I'm off to get some more ideas for recipes next week and you can too if you check out Menu Plan Monday!!!

Worship with Me Sunday: There is a fountain filled with Blood

We recently transferred our letter of faith from Koza Baptist to Providence Baptist. Being military we have moved alot and joined alot of churches and always seek not to compare churches but enjoy that which God has lead us to. One of the things we are greatly enjoying at our new home, Providence Baptist, is all the hymns that are sung. Praise and worship is very simple here, some guitars, a banjo every once in awhile and a piano but no less meaningful. We have been surpised at our great enjoyment of this "simple" worship style and this is actually one of our favorite parts of Sunday morning!!!

Psalm 147:1 Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing

praises to our God,how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

And the donation goes to.........

I am very excited to be able to donate $25 on behalf of Gwen and her family as they begin their ministry with Wycliffe Associates. I can't wait to see how God provides for this family and what path God has laid out before them!!!!!!

What's Up Wednesday

Hey there!! Well don't forget that today is the last day to link up and possibly win a $25 donation to a charity or ministry of your choice!!!!!!Check back tomorrow to see who will be getting the donation!!!

Here are JJ and CJ playing Barber Shop in my clean towels

and here LJ is helping JJ with his bible study. Great kids!!!!

This picture just makes me laugh. CJ is modeling a new hat and poncho I made her!

Over the last couple of weeks I have been working hard on getting my Master Christmas List filled out, finalizing my make and bake gifts along with working on getting a list of freezer meals I want to make. Whew, I'm just tired thinking about all the work that is still yet to be done. Since I didn't share a recipe last week, I'm making up for it this week and stuffing this post with plenty of recipes for your holiday season. So are you ready?!?!

The first two recipes are for those on my Master Christmas List  that are designated as a bake or make gift.
Layered Fudge (just in case you missed it last week, here it is again. Yes it is that good!!!!)
2 tsp plus 1 1/2 cup butter
6 cups sugar
10 oz evaporated milk
2 jars 7 oz marshmallow cream
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter
Grease foil 9X13 pan with 2tsp of butter, set aside. In large sauce pan combine sugar, milk, and 3/4 butter. Stirring constantly,to prevent scorching, bring to a rolling boil and boil for 4 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and set aside. Dump each jar of marshmallow creme into two heat resistant bowls. Add chocolate chips and 1 tsp of vanilla to one bowl and peanut butter and 1 tsp of vanilla to remaining bowl.
 Pour half of sugar mixture into chocolate chip bowl and stir until smooth, then pour into 9x13 pan. Stir remaining sugar mixture into peanut butter bowl until smooth and carefully pour over chocolate layer in pan. Refrigerate until firm, cut and enjoy.

Cookies in a Jar
Layer the following in a mason jar.
     2 cups flour
     1 tsp salt
     1 tsp baking soda
     3/4 cup brown sugar
     3/4 cup white sugar
     chocolate chips (fills up remaining space)
tag with directions


The next recipe is one that I adapted from the cookbook Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer
Chicken a la King
Single batch                 double batch
1/2 cup butter               1 cup butter
2T cornstarch               1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4t pepper                  1/2t pepper
1/2 onion powder         1t onion powder
1T chicken bouillon      2T chicken bouillon
2 cups milk                  4 cups milk
1 cup water                 2 cups water
3-4 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
Melt butter in large pan. Add cornstarch, pepper and onion powder. Stir constantly for about a minute. Slowly add milk, water and chicken bouillons still stirring and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Add chicken and cook till chicken is heated thoroughly. We like to serve this over biscuits.  If you double you can freeze half of mixture for use later in December.

Okay so this isn't a freezer recipe but its a good one to have around the holidays for potlucks or a lunch to cook while you are out doing your morning errands.

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
16oz box cooked elbow macaroni
2T butter
24oz Cheddar cheese, shredded
2t salt, 1/4 black pepper
2 cans evaporated milk + water to equal 4 cups
Put butter in crockpot and add drained macaroni to coat. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cook on high for 2 hours or low for more than 2 hours.

 

A great trick I learned, while living overseas, was to thaw chicken(we could ONLY get frozen chicken) or beef stew out in Italian dressing and then it would be ready to heat up for dinner!!!! Or if you are pressed for time just plop your frozen chicken pieces in the crock pot and smoother it with your favorite BBQ sauce or marinade.

Here are a couple of new recipes that I will be trying out this year:
Chicken Tetrazzini by No Ordinary Moments
Curried Sweet Potatoes Shepherd's Pie  and
Chicken Gumbo Pot Pie by Good Housekeeping

Alright, I gotta pick up my speed a little as we say good bye to week 9 and hello to week 8 and all the work I have to complete!!!!

• gather materials needed for "To Make" gifts
• decide on outfits for Christmas photo and schedule photo session
• make personal phone calls to get addresses I still need 
• start working on 2010 Family Letter
• start buying containers for fudge

But you are not off the hook either!!! Would you mind linking up a cookie recipe for the holidays, your favorite freezer/bulk meal recipe, or a favorite Christmas gift you have made in the past. I've got a couple of Christmas gift ideas in my upper right column if you would like to check them out as well. Have a great week and I hope to see you again next week, I need ya'll to help keep me honest and on track this year!!!!!

Pigs are flying

and I have two very happy kiddos!!! I'm not sure where my resolve dissolved but last weekend we ended up taking in a stray kitty that a neighbor found. We were going to get them a dog for Christmas but after a mishap with a stray, JJ is terrified of dogs now and I wasn't really thrilled at all the expenses that were going to accompany welcoming a mutt into our family. So when JJ took a liking to Caroline, as he named her, it really was hard to say no. And this kitty is a perfect fit for our family: it leaves me alone, the kids can empty the liter box, Big Daddy feeds it at night and she lets CJ and JJ pick her up and lug her around with no cares in the world. And to think I had an issue with cats, what was I thinking?!?!