Have A Blessed Christmas!

The Birth of Jesus
Luke 2

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyre'ni-us was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (because he was of the house and lineage of David,)

5 to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Sour Cream and Bob Books!

I finally got all my baking done this week and most of my plates of cookies delivered to friends and family! Of course we did a lot of sampling before we delivered, just to make sure everything tasted good. :)
Mr. Lovebug has been growing so much lately. It seems like I catch him doing new stuff everyday that I am amazed he has figured out already! If he finds a pen or pencil, he will go get a piece of paper and try to write on it! And I caught him trying to feed a bottle to one of Sweetie's babies the other day. Today he managed to grab a container of sour cream off the counter and sample a bit of it! How do they get so big so fast?

And speaking of big, I still can't believe I have a 5 year old who is starting to read! I have been working with Buddy on his reading for a little while now. We have been using Hooked on Phonics and he is doing really well with it, but he gets a little bored because it is a lot of repetition and lists of rhyming words with only a few stories thrown in. Last week when we were at the library I found a Bob book for him and let him try it out. He easily sounded out the words and was so excited to be able to read a book! Of course I wanted to share with you, so I started recording him while he read. Even with all the distractions he did great! (And no, I'm not threatening him with the wooden spoon! Mr. Lovebug found it and started banging on everything!)

We have a few Christmas parties next week, so we will probably have a busy schedule most days, but it is so much fun being busy for the holidays. I love how exciting it all is for the kids! Hopefully they will have the same kind of great memories I have of Christmas as a kid!

Tasty Tuesday: Two-tone Fudge!

(Photo courtesy of Taste of Home)

Fudge is one of my favorite candies to eat and it is so easy to make. I think I could eat a whole pan in one sitting if I let myself! I like to try out different flavors and I came across this recipe quite a few years ago and have made it every year since. It has become one of my favorites!

Ingredients
1-1/2 teaspoons plus 1/2 cup butter, softened, divided
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions
Line a 9-in. square pan with foil and grease the foil with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugars, milk and remaining butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a rapid boil; boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; stir in the marshmallow creme until melted and blended.
Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Pour 2-1/2 cups into ab owl; stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts until chips are melted. Pour into prepared pan. Add the butterscotch chips to the remaining marshmallow mixture; stir until chips are melted. Pour over the chocolate layer and gently spread to cover. Refrigerate overnight or until firm.
Using foil, remove fudge from pan; carefully peel off foil. Cut into 1-in. squares. Store in the refrigerator.

Linked to Raising Olives

Fun Homeschool Tools

I have been having a lot of fun doing homeschool preschool with the kids. Really it's more like play with a purpose. I've been trying to get creative and make a few things that we can reuse and I've found a few that both kids really enjoy doing and can still be useful for teaching them some of their basic school knowledge. I get most of my ideas from blogs and websites, but I honestly don't remember where I found these ideas, so if they are yours, thanks and I'm sorry I forgot! For those of you who are looking for some fun ideas for homeschooling preschoolers or just want something fun to do with your kids, feel free to try some of these out!

I Spy Jars

I filled a couple of jars about 3/4 of the way full of rice and then added a bunch of small shapes and trinkets to one and some beads with letters on to the other. The kids like to shake them around and see what they can find. For younger kids, you can make a picture list or list of the letters and let them cross them off when they find them. For older kids, you can ask them to write or draw what they find.

Sewing

I cut a few basic shapes out of craft foam and then punched holes around the outsides. The kids like to practice their "sewing" with these.

Mazes

My kids love mazes, but they do them so fast and once they are done, that's it, we just throw them away. There are a lot of free ones on the web, but printing them off just for the kids to use for 30 seconds and then toss, is such a waste. So I printed and laminated a bunch of them and now the kids can use a white erase marker, wipe them off when they are done, and reuse them again and again!

Beads

And if all else fails, get a big tub of beads. They are great for sorting, counting, or stringing. There are tons of different things to do with them, you just need to get creative!

Currently we are leaning towards homeschooling Buddy again next year for kindergarten, so I've been looking into some curriculums. There are a TON of options out there! If there are any homeschoolers who read this, I would love to hear from you on what curriculum(s) you use and what you've liked or not liked about any. Thanks so much!

Tasty Tuesday: Butter Mints

I just started my holiday baking today and made Butter Mints with the kids. It is a really easy recipe and fun for the kids to make! They are so good and melt in your mouth!


Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon Twin Brook Creamery half-and-half cream or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
Red and green paste or liquid food coloring, optional

Directions
In a large bowl, beat the butter, confectioners' sugar, cream and extracts. If desired, divide dough into portions and knead in food coloring.
Form into balls by teaspoonfuls; flatten into patties, or roll between two pieces of waxed paper to 1/8-in. thickness and cut into desired shapes. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Store in the refrigerator.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

We got our tree put up today! One of my favorite parts of decorating for Christmas is going to get the tree. No fakes at our house! The kids loved running around picking out the perfect one. (You need to watch out for stumps, though, as you run, as poor Sweetie found out very quickly!)

Now you can smell Christmas as soon as you walk in our house! We got the lights and ornaments up and also decorated the house. (Although the bottom half of the tree is rather bare and will have to stay that way since Mr. Lovebug's little fingers are quite facinated with touching all the pretty things!)

My Baby Boy is 1 Year Old!

My little Lovebug turned 1 today! I can't believe it has been a whole year already. Time sure flies when you're having so much fun! I think with each baby it seems like it goes faster and faster (probably because I don't have as much time to enjoy all the small stuff like I did then there were less kids!) We had a small birthday party with both sets of grandparents tonight.

Buddy and Sweetie helped with the present opening.

Lovebug got his first monster truck! Now he has his own toys to keep up with his siblings without them being stolen away!

He really liked his cake and made quite a mess with it.

Then he got mad at Grandma because she wouldn't lick the cake off his fingers for him!

The first year with our Lovebug has been very fun and we can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Happy Birthday Lovebug!

Tasty Tuesday! Toffee!

Toffee is another one of my favorites to bake for Christmas. It is so good and you can never eat just one piece! It is also really easy to make, so give it a try! Enjoy!

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Heat the sugar, butter, and water to boiling in a heavy 2-quart sauce pan, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook about 13 minutes, stirring constantly, to 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Watch carefully so it doesn't burn! Immediately pour the toffee onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Spread it to 1/4 inch thickness and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let it stand about 1 minute or until chips are softened. Spread the chips evenly over the toffee and sprinkle with pecans. Let stand at room temp for 1 hour or refrigerate until firm. Break into bite-size pieces.

Linked to Raising Olives