Saturday, December 31, 2011

From Our House to Yours

I wanted to create this post before Christmas....even had a catchy little title in mind...."it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"....but never had time to upload the pictures. As 2011 is coming to a close and I'm beginning to "think" about putting the Christmas decorations away, I wanted to share what Christmas was like at our house.....most of our family lives far away.....and we always travel home to visit them over the holidays.....so before I put the decorations away....here's a peek into our house....

Our daughter has always been the one to set out our Nativity each year...this year, our new grandbaby helped her. He mostly enjoyed seeing himself in the mirror...as you can tell from this picture!
                                                    A little garland for the stairs.....
                                                     Garland for the dining room windows....

                                              Santa and his sleigh full of toys and reindeer too....

                                                 Garland in the kitchen....
                                    Evergreen and Christmas knick-knacks in the kitchen window....
                                             A blurry pic of the Santa display on the mantle....
                                              Greenery and candles on the hearth....
                                               


                                                      Special tins and Christmas pottery....

                                                       A special Christmas gift...a new frame....
                                     From upstairs looking down onto the tree in the living room...

                                          Wreaths hanging from red ribbon on all the windows...

                                   
                                        Garland with lights and red ribbon adorn the front door...

                                                      Here's the house from the road at night...

                                               This is the bay window in the dining room....


                         and back to where we started....the most important part of Christmas....

                                                               the Nativity.....
                                                  and sharing our love with family and friends!
                                From our house to yours......May you have a joyous New Year!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Gift Wrapping 101

When I was in high school, our youth choir at church went on several tours each year. To raise money for the tours, we held numerous fund raisers, one of which was wrapping gifts at a jewelry store during Christmas holidays. My mother always helped at all the events and I have very fond memories of the many things we did together during these fund raisers. Learning to wrap gifts turned out to be one of those "great life lessons" that I had no idea would mean so much to me. This year, my daughter and I sat side by side and we captured some of the "gift wrapping lessons 101" in a few pictures so that I could share them on this blog:

1. It's important to be sure that your paper will reach around the entire box (guesstimate before cutting). Tape one end of the paper to the box and pull the paper tightly around the box. Folding the side of the paper before taping it will help make the wrapping look extra "nice". Hint: Pulling the paper tightly is one of the secrets for beautiful packages.

2. This next step is very important. To ensure the ends of the box wrap nicely, it's important not to have too much paper left to fold. This is the Goldilocks Principle---not too much...not too little....but just the right amount.... If there is "excess" you will want to cut it off. Fold the paper down gently, making sure the paper covers the end "at least" half way down. Trim the excess paper away.
 3. The above picture shows that there isn't nearly as much paper on the ends as in the previous picture.

 4. The next most important hint is to crease each fold "crisply". Look carefully in the above picture and you can see that that paper has been creased and the angles are very sharp.Run your hand along the edge of the box, and pinch the paper between your fingers...pressing tightly, forming a crease. Next, pull the paper down towards the bottom of the box and tape securely to box, being careful to place the tape in such a way that it doesn't "show" so much. You'll want to press the paper flat to the box, and make right angles of the paper. Look in the above picture very carefully and you should be able to see this.
 The above picture is a close up of what I'm trying to explain---folding edges and creasing them tightly....folding paper down towards the bottom of the box.
 5. The next step is to fold each of the sides towards the middle, creasing the folds carefully before taping. Once again, remember to use enough tape to secure the paper to the box, but try to be careful about where the tape is placed.
 Here's a picture of placing the tape carefully about mid ways down the box.
 6. Fold the remaining side towards the middle, press your finger along each fold...pressing firmly to get a "crisp" crease.
 Place the tape carefully in the center.

7. Look carefully at the point. When you lift the paper and get ready for the final piece of tape, if the paper on the point doesn't line up perfectly, it may be necessary to fold a little bit back/under as indicated in the below picture...fold just a little....and then the paper will make a perfect point.
                                                                        Like this:


8. Repeat the process with the other end of the box......the next lesson will be bow-making.....until next time....hope all your packages are wrapped perfectly! Thanks for dropping by!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Little Blessings


My little blessing and his mother are visiting with us for an extended vacation. I wanted to blog about his growth and development, but realized it was too hard without seeing him everyday. Now that he is with us, I am amazed by the new things he does each day. This week he began exploring his toes. We noticed he was looking at his feet with deep concentration. Then, he moved his hands closer and closer, finally grabbing one, and then grabbing both. He is absolutely fascinated by them. He sometimes can't even go to sleep because he wants to hold them. His mommy swaddles him to go to sleep. As soon as he wakes up, he wiggles out of the swaddling blanket and pops his feet in the air, as if to say---just checking to be sure they are still there!

I love toes too. To be perfectly honest, I am obsessed with toes. I love to look at people's toes. I'm always wondering if a person's personality is reflected in their toes. Probably not. But just like a snowflake, each person's toes are unique. 


I'm thankful this little blessing was able to put his toes in the sand at our favorite beach. He loved it. He celebrated his 4 month old birthday here today. Happy Birthday!


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The FIVE Love Languages of Children



When my daughter and I were shopping in Fairbanks this summer, we browsed through a small bookstore and noticed this book. Both of us were intrigued with the book and quickly scanned it enough to realize it was a must read/must have kind of book. Since I'm an Amazon one-click girl and have the Kindle app on my iphone and my ipad, I ordered the digital version later that day. The author explains the five ways that children "hear" love.



Do you know how to fill your child's emotional tank? Does your child need physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, or acts of service? Your child can receive love in all these languages, but most children have a primary love language. As I reflect on my own love languages I know that physical touch---in particular hugs and words of affirmation speak to me. I'm wondering if love languages are hereditary? I enjoyed reading and learning about the different love languages and I encourage you to discover your child's love languages.

Here's a link to help you begin:



I'm excited about filling up my new grandsons' tank with love!


1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.



Thursday, August 18, 2011

Fresh Raspberries and Lemonade Pie



I don't often experiment with recipes, but I took a risk while visiting my daughter in Alaska....this is a spin off from our favorite Key Lime Pie.....


one small can of frozen lemonade or one half of 10 oz. can of frozen lemonade (softened)

one 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

one can of sweetened condensed milk

one/half container of cool whip


Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a graham cracker pie shell. Cover and chill in refrigerator. Slice and serve with fresh raspberries.


(There will probably be a small portion left over.....Use leftovers to snack on---spread onto graham crackers or use graham crackers to "dip" into the filling.... top with raspberries.)


This may be my all time favorite recipe....I'm serious...this is good. You need to try it!



Tuesday, August 16, 2011

When Four Generations Get Together....

We cook and have dinner with friends....



Fajitas, Mexican rice, homemade guacamole, and raspberry lemonade....




We visit Botanical Gardens....





Get lots of sweet baby sugar....pick fresh raspberries from the garden...






Laugh....laugh....and laugh some more.....






Have play dates with friends....


Celebrate birthdays.....




Travel a long, long way just to meet the newest generation.....



Enjoy the sunshine....






Create new desserts....



Visit Santa Claus....








Walk through the vine tunnel at the Botanical Garden....







Eskimo kisses.....Treasured memories etched in our hearts and minds forever....