Monday, December 26, 2011

Thankful!

So today as I sit back and think about all the family fun we've had the past couple of days, I also have been praying for each of you as we celebrated Jesus birthday.

I bet many of you are like us starting Christmas Eve starting our progressive Christmas festivites going from house to house, visiting with family with lots of laughter and sharing stories of the past year, weeks or months since we last got together, enjoying delicious food and exchanging gifts. Christmas is my favorite time of year, the joy of the season, the anticipation of watching the children celebrate, and now it's over for another year but we are able to take Jesus with us and celebrate Him in our lives each and every day. I was blessed this Christmas to spend time with many of you and yes, Santa was very good to me as well.

We are off to enjoy some non-traditional Christmas food, Spaghetti!

Hope you all enjoyed Christmas with family and friends and celebrated the birth of Christ.

Have a blessed day and Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Tis the Season of Sweet Treats!

As Christmas draws near I know many of you, like me, find yourselves making your traditional sweet treats to take to every house you visit during the holidays and/or to give as gifts.

This year I cut back my sweet treat selections and made a couple of my favorite and easy recipes that I would like to share with you and I added Reindeer Cupcakes for all the little ones in our family. Unfortunately our camera is broken and can't locate the usb adapter for my phone so no pictures to go along with my post today.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter (soft but not melted)
2 cups peanut butter
chocolate bark

hand mix your peanut butter and butter together, place in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds, take out and stir, heat for 30 more seconds, take out and stir. Add powdered sugar, stir until all sugar is blended, it will be stiff. Roll into small balls and place on wax paper and refrigerate for at least 1 hour if not longer.
Heat your chocolate bark in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute, stir, heat for 35 seconds, stir, 30 second, stir, 25 seconds stir until melted but not burned.
Using two spoons, place your peanut butter balls in the chocolate roll over and place covered balls on wax paper. Once all are done, refrigerate until serving. Makes approx 60 balls.

Orange Coconut Balls
1 can frozen orange concentrate
1 box powdered sugar
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 stick butter soft
1 package fresh shredded coconut

Stir together and roll into balls. Roll in coconut and place on wax paper. Refrigerate until serving. Makes approx 40-50 balls depending on size of balls.

Reindeer Cupcakes
1 box milk chocolate cake mix (follow directions, use hot water for your water measurement and add 1 large heeping spoon of sour cream to cake mix).
chocolate icing
1 pkg vanilla wafers
1 pkg small prezels
2 single pkgs of m&m's (need brown and red ones)
1 pkg. mini marshmellows

Make 24-30 cupcakes (fill 1/2 full so don't overflow on top when baked). I used holiday cup cake liners. Lightly ice with chocolate icing. Add prezels for antlers. Add a vanilla wafer to each cupcake. Using icing place mini marshmellows for eyes on each vanilla wafer. Add a red or brown m&m, m side down with a dot of icing to hold in place and you have Rudolph and Friends.
Super cute and easy to make. 1 box of cake mix made 30 cupcakes tonight.

Bon Appetit and Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Greetings!

Hello friends, family and bloggers. Sorry it's been a while since my last post. Life has just been so hectic lately.

Family Update:
Mother and Terry were both in the hospital same week. Terry is fine, Mother is still dealing with prolapse issues but saw a new doctor today and was encouraged. My car is now running to get me to and from work only but at least I can do that. Greg had a setback with his recovery from his auto accident this summer and Mike is doing better with all his heart issues. Brad is busy traveling with work so all is well in his world.

Thankful and Giving Back:
As I hear news of so many friends and family losing jobs due to cut backs and losing homes due to hard times and even have a friend who lost his car to theft, I pray and thank God for all we have and for giving us the ability to help others when we can. So many times I think wow, how much more can I take, really dropping something else in my lap is more than I can handle, but I am still very lucky and have to remind myself of that and know God is by my side at all times. If you are feeling down, know that God is by your side, holding you hand or holding you up. Sending prayers and blessings your way.

Have you thought of others this Christmas Season? Bless others around you! Your coworker may not be able to have christmas for their child or even pay their utilities-help them out; your neighbor may not have family in town and would love an invite to join your family for Christmas; invite your coworkers, neighbors, family and friends to join you at Church. Think of others and how the little things make go a long way in anothers life. Give back this holiday season!

Hope you remember the reason for the season and have a blessed day!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Praising God (especially when you think you can't take anything else)

The old saying "when it rains, it pours" comes to mind when I think of the past week. It's one I don't want to re-live ever again. I'm praising God and thanking him for renewed strength. Here's a brief look into my week...

My car died - officially as of last Sunday, time to look at replacement but new isn't in the budget so going shopping for a gently used SUV in the mean time and then maybe in the next year or so upgrading. With this said, Terry has been taking me to and from work for almost two weeks. This too is getting old. I like the independence of my own transportation.

My Mother has had uterine and bladder prolaspe since October and has he outpatient surgery postponed twice. An ultrasound showed irregular findings which turned into a D&C and Hysteroscopy (camera view), her BP has been very high so the cardiologist required admission and overnight stay at house. The "C" word has been discussed by the doctor prior to this week’s procedure but we won't know anything until the biopsy results come in next week. The good news is the Doctor said her uterus looking good considering the ultrasound results. If all is well and nothing contains the big "C" then she will be scheduled to get a bridge device to set things back where they belong. She is very uncomfortable and has lots of pain in the back and legs because of the 2 displaced organs. Please remember her in your prayers.

So I get home Thursday evening from being with Mom at hospital and the first time I've been home since Monday to find he needs to go to the ER with his heart. So off the ER we go at 9:30 pm Thursday, he is admitted at 2:30 am and his heart was in a-fib, irregular racing heartbeat. They were able to trip it back to normal rhythm with medication and we didn't get home until 10:00 Friday night.

I am praising God that Terry's heart is back in rhythm and that my Mom is home recovering. I am really praising God that I actually got a good night’s sleep last night, first time in 5 days.

Remember God never gives us more than we can handle, even when we think we can't take anything else; he is there for us to lean on and renew our strength. Today I am renewed and ready for a new adventure, hopefully one that does not involve a doctor or the hospital.

Have a Blessed Day!