Hi Gals! Well we are on the Count down to Christmas aren't we? I can't believe how quickly it has come! This is my favorite time of year. Isn't it amazing that the Son of Heaven came and put on skin-wow! Emanuel-God with us! I was so fortunate to share this with a third grade class this year with a friend of mine, Jennifer! WE had a BLAST!!!! Talk about getting into the Christmas spirit! Going into a secular school and sharing the history Christmas is breathtaking! Their faces are priceless, their hearts are truly beautiful, their souls-hungry for truth. Aren't we all! Whether you know Jesus or not, we all hunger for Truth. Jennifer and I really were the ones that were blessed as we shared-a reminder of WHY we celebrate Christmas! I think the point I came away with was Emanuel-God with us!
My mom treated me to a weekend away and we had a soul spa-a Deeper Still conference in Birmingham. One of my brother's friends got us a ticket and boy was it great! The three speakers were Kay Arthur (she still blows my socks off), Priscilla Shirer(the chic has it going on), and Beth Moore (need I say more...no pun intended-lol). The week before we left, mom gave me the Michael W. Smith cd- A New Hallelujah. Check out the song Deep In Love With You. Beautiful. Now you girls go grab that thing put it on your iPod and tell me thank you later. You will have your own little praise time; I promise!
Now, here are some of my steps to a sane Christmas.
It begins today.
1. Bake ONLY 3 different goodies. Mine happen to be: sugar cookies, Muddy Buddies (not overly Christmas like, but who doesn't LOVE this stuff?), and Buck Eyes.
Sugar cookie is from a mix and the boys will decorate.
Muddy Buddies-easy. The boys can shake the bag!
Buckeyes-I remember these as a favorite "goody" that came our way at Christmas. The boys can roll these little chocolate gems.
2. While baking, I will run laundry. House will be messy and that is OKAY!!!!! My only goal for today is baking and washing clothes.
Wednesday:
1. Cleaning house. Boys have Christmas decorations to make, so they will work on this while I clean. We'll see how it pans out. :)
2. Weds. night I will do the Christmas Cooking grocery run. Maybe. I am getting older you know, so I might exert all the energy I have cleaning. Grocery may have to be pushed to Thursday.
Thursday:
1. Iron-MAYBE
2. Paint ornaments with the boys. We bought the plastic, clear balls from Michaels and some cute ribbon and paint. I will let you know what we come out with! I am a craft gal that doesn't have a plan, just throw some supplies out and let the kiddos go at it! They usually do better than I would have anyway!
3. Grocery-I am TRULY A WALMART gal. Sorry you Publix fans, I tried. I really did. I watched my receipts and I save about $25.00 at least(actually that is a generous figure) at Walmart. I will tell you I DO NOT get my meat at Wally World. I like Sam's or our friends
Suzanne and Jeorge for organic meats. You really HAVE to try their homemade jams! I ordered jams for stocking stuffers for family this year.
Friday:
Sip coffee, enjoy family (my brother Brad is coming and we are sooooo excited!), and prep food for a fun and hopefully tasty Christmas morning brunch with all of our family-except we will miss Aunt Brooke and Uncle Daniel, but they will be enjoying time with her sweet family.
Saturday:
Rejoice with family about Jesus' Birthday-I surely need a Savior!
Sunday:
We'll be on the Big Jet in the sky on our way to see Daddy George, and our FABULOUS cousins! We can't wait!
Now, a confessional. We are Dave Ramsey fans. We are not overboard, but thankfully, he has helped us shape our finances very early on in our marriage. I am not sure, but I don't think I am doing my best in this area. Is that weak or what? Okay, I am sure I am not doing my best. We are hitting the envelopes again next week. I really love the envelope system. From what I hear you can do it online, but if you know me well, you know it's a stretch for me to download pictures. :) So, I am actually excited to have the envelopes going again. It is called Financial Peace for a reason.
Now, girl go get yourself that cd or download A New Hallelujah and get going. I am off to start the laundry mountain. I think I need to be secured by bungee cords in order to do this! LOL!
Get your Christmas lights plugged in, turn your music up, and by all means, dance a little as you do your work!
Recipe for Extraordinary Ohio Buckeyes:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup margarine
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups semisweet, milk chocolate chips
Toothpicks for dipping
Line cookie sheets with wax paper and set aside. Mix peanut butter and butter until creamy. Add sugar a little at a time. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll peanut butter mixture into 1-inch balls. Place on wax paper and freeze for 30 minutes or until firm. In microwave-safe dish, melt chocolate chips in microwave on high for about 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until chips are melted. Do not scorch. Insert toothpicks into frozen peanut butter balls and dip balls in chocolate. Let cool on wax paper. Store in cool place. Makes about 100 buckeyes.
