Monday, December 21, 2009

Tis' the Season to make memories!

~*~

Making memories...

"Honey, have you seen the kitty?"
"No, why?"
"Hmm, can't find him anywhere."
After a quick search, we finally heard a little meow coming from the Christmas tree...

Samson was sleeping under the warm glow of the lights!




Then we went to church and watched my Girl sing in the children's choir...

Ahhhh ~ Angelic voices!


Great job honey! Now let's get you out of that pretty dress so you can help Mommy make some cookies!



Magic Bars!

Peanut Butter Kisses

We call these Russian Tea Horns but they are also known as Rugelach



Traditional rolled out Sugar Cookies with frosting!

Chocolate Almond Toffee

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal cookies



Snowballs also known as Mexican Wedding Cakes

My Quality Control Expert... who said the Snowballs passed inspection! ha ha


My Man came into the kitchen and said that I should start to wrap things up for the night because it was time to go out and remember the reason for the season.... by visiting a Live Nativity scene! I couldn't agree more!






Since we were already out for the night, we decided to start our neighborhood light looking tour and we weren't disappointed with our annual favorites plus we found a few new ones too! So many of the homes that were vacant from last years foreclosures are coming back with new owners who celebrate the birth of Christ!















I know there are other ladies out there baking up batch after batch of baked goodies, but I encourage you to take a LONG break to get outside and enjoy this season with your family & friends making memories!

~*~

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Small, small Group Fun

~*~

Small, small group fun!

Recently we got together with our small group to finish and celebrate our 10 week church campaign on "Whats LOVE got to do with it?". I say small, small because about 15 people weren't able to come due to scheduling conflicts but that is to be expected this time of year. Our group leaders opened their home to enjoy a potluck dinner and games!

I just lurve seeing the variety of ways that people decorate their trees! Kind of like light-looking, I never get tired of it!



We got right down to business starting with a fabulous dinner of Spinach Salad...


a H-U-G-E Lasagna Casserole...



And here's Kim, our Beautiful Hostess who made the lasagna!


Family friends, Beautiful Heidi and Handsome Michael


Heidi and her beautiful daughter


And even the "Little People" joined us!



"Tween People"


After dinner the group showed my Man and I how to play the card game "SPOONS"! Oh my stars, that was hilarious fun! My stomach ached from laughing so much.


While we played cards, Hostess Kim labored hard the day before so the kids could create homemade Sugar Cookies, complete with homemade frosting! Let's go kids!



Bless your heart Kim because I KNOW those tiny little decorations were all over her kitchen floor! ha ha


TA-DA! The finished cookies ready for their photo-op!





For our dessert, I brought my Pumpkin Spice cake that I made at my birthday party last month. Mmmm, it was a hit!


It was a great night of memories and fellowship with our church family!

 
~*~

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Parade of memories!

~*~
Recently, we bundled ourselves up to brace the COLD temperatures to watch our little town street & boat parades. Here were some of the highlights!

These little dancers were so cute!


Love these old fashion cars!


Cute little Elves!


This was really cute! Grandma sitting by the fireplace reading stories to the children by the Christmas tree!


This one is for Sparky! Cute huh!

This one for the kids!



Here comes Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus handing out candy canes!



Here is a Hawaiian dancing group.


This cross was great when the sun went down because we could see it all over town!


These little darlings are the cast from The Velveteen Rabbit! Great story!


We missed their routine but they were adorable to look at in their matching outfits and tightly curled hair.


More dancers!


Bless the high school band cuz it was VERY COLD and they were shivering during their routine!



Santa getting out of his carriage to light the Christmas tree at City Hall!



Next up was the boat parade! My camera is GREAT for daytime but it's terrible for night-time but you get the idea! The cheers from the crowd determined the winners!









The kids had a blast and were ready to get home and thaw out again! ha ha

~*~