Keeping Christmas Simple

Since Trevor and I've been married, for the most part we've kept Christmas present giving simple. As we started out, 12 Christmases ago, we agreed we would stay within a budget and purchase gifts that we could afford. Some years we didn't get each other anything, some years we bought a together gift of something needed or just bought for stockings, and then there have been a few years where we did purchase gifts for each other. Even our first year together, we decided not to buy gifts but that we would make something for the other. That's when I discovered my husband's talent in carpentry. This was my gift!!

That Christmas was so sweet and special.

For the most part, we've done really well sticking to a budget. We always wanted to make sure we had some funds to buy presents for family. Over the years, especially our second Christmas, money was extremely tight. We were both seminary students and had moved to New Orleans. As I love to give and enjoy picking out presents for others, I had to learn to be creative in order to stay in a budget. That particular year, we combined gifts for couples in our family. Over the years, as I've really learned who God made with my likes and dislikes, I realized how much homeade gifts mean to me and how I enjoy making gifts. I guess I'm kind of old- fashioned. I think how our society over indulges themselves and sometimes I wish I lived in a more simpler time period where "stuff" really was not the focus. So, since God placed me in this place and time, I'm gonna try to keep my home focused on keeping Christmas simple and to adopt traditions and gift giving that glorifies God. - Not the way our world abuses it today!

I also attribute this to my upbringing. My parents were always thinking of others and lived it out in front of me. Every Christmas Eve for most of my childhood and until I was in college, my parents invited a couple from our church to eat Christmas Eve dinner with us. This couple did not have children and didn't have any family close by. My brother and I kind of adopted them as grandparents and always looked forward to spending Christmas Eve with them. I have so many wonderful memories of them, who've both gone on the be with the Lord.

Another year, as a family, we went and bought a Christmas tree, some decorations, and groceries for a family who faced financial difficulties and who were in great need. When we went to deliver the "goodies", no one was home. So, we left the items on their porch. I can remember being so excited. We weren't able to see their expression but what an impact that made on my life!

Another year we delivered presents to a family with young children who were not able to afford gifts. I could go on and on. An important part of this that impacted my life is that we would pray for and with the families.

So as an adult, I want to continue looking for opportunities to bless, encourage,and be the hands and feet of Christ.- Not only at Christmas, but throughout the year.

Christmas is in the air

Well, the countdown is on.... Thanksgiving is over and I can officially play Christmas music in my house. Yes, I married to a man who does not want to listen to Christmas music or watch Christmas movies until after Thanksgiving. I totally understand that Thanksgiving needs to be celebrated first but I think why not enjoy Thanksgiving while listening to Christmas music... heehee! But I must confess that I have secretly been listening to it for several weeks now!!
Well, we had a great Thanksgiving and I really enjoyed being with family. Especially my niece and nephew of whom I don't get to see enough of....

                                                  

Oh, yeah, I promised a picture of the pumpkin roll- although it's half-eaten!!

We had a really fun day filled with love and memories! 

Now, it's on to Christmas... Trevor and I usually decorate the house and tree the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year since we were away with my family we decorated Saturday and Sunday. I love decorating for Christmas... it brings back so many memories of when I was child and how much fun it was to decorate with my family - So thankful for so many wonderful family memories as a child. 

Of course, since I've been married, I've kept some of the traditions from my childhood but Trevor and I have made some new ones as well. A few years back, friends of ours introduced us to "themed" trees. They had several trees in their house and all were decorated with a theme. We thought it was pretty cool so we started the tradition. Every year since 2004, we have had a themed Christmas tree. Our first themed tree was a candy tree. Of course, I've taken pictures every year and I scrapbook the memories. It's so fun to look back and see all the different trees and ideas we've had.  Well, this year we've struggled with ideas. So, I'm just going for a primitive looking tree. 

Ok, the picture is not the greatest... (Dear Santa, I need a camera for Christmas!) but I bought fabric and cut strips and tied them to the tree. I also bought some little brown stars from here and used them as ornaments. It's still a work in progress. I took an afghan that my mom had made and wrapped it around the bottom as a tree skirt. I think it turned out cute but I love primitive decorating so this is right up my alley!!

                                    My tea cup tree in the kitchen.

And yes, you are seeing correctly! One of my wise men has been be-headed... eek! I use to leave the whole set out all year but one summer about three years ago, I bumped knocked over the table I had set it on and I had decapitated one of my wise men. So sad... So since then, I only leave out Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus year round and of course the "special" wise man gets to set out as well. Trevor hot glued his head back on but I was moving him and picked him up by his head.... not very smart!!! So now he's headless again! 

 8 days until my Christmas break begins and 19 days left to Christmas... I'm choosing to bask in God's love, enjoy the blessings He gives me everyday, and take each day as a celebration and an opportunity to share what God has done through His son Jesus and what He is doing in my life.

Blessed

Can you believe there is only about a week left in this month?! I guess I anticipate this time of year so much that it seems to come and go so quickly. Today was my last day of work for the week. We had a Thanksgiving chapel this morning and my students made me proud!! They quoted a Bible verse and recited a poem. They dressed up as pilgrims and Indians.... they were so cute and did an awesome job! I am SO thankful for my job! 


Speaking of being thankful.... my heart is full today! As this is Thanksgiving week, I have been really thinking about how blessed I am. Okay, so this sounds like I'm not thankful any other time, but I am, it's just that this time of year really helps me to stop and focus on the goodness of God. How he even cares about the little things in my life and how he knows me even better than I know myself. I am so thankful I serve a living God who is constantly with me and helping in this journey of life. 




              Shout to the Lord, all the earth, Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 
              Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. - Psalm 100




This Thanksgiving I'm very thankful that I'm able to spend time with my family and enjoy all the wonderful, yummy food that my mom will be cookin' up! I'll be bringing the pumpkin roll, again! That seems to be my job every thanksgiving... not that I mind because I think I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Hopefully, I'll be helping mom out in the kitchen when we get there. Oh, and the shopping.... I always go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. When Trevor and I got married, we decided it was easier to alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas every year with our families. So, this year I get to shop with my mom. And yes, we get up early and are usually ready for lunch by 9am.... heehee. I'm also hoping to get my family to play some board games on Friday, after the shopping of course.... oh, and the nap and dinner.  Ok, so we'll see. But mom if you're reading this.... pull the games out and dad  - chinese checkers... although you're usually the only one who can beat me (heehee)! I'm also looking forward to a little getaway with my honey tomorrow. I'm SO excited!! 


I hope that you enjoy your Thanksgiving and remember to cherish the special times that God blesses you with your loved ones. Treasure the memories and  maybe even start a new tradition. Also remember those who are less fortunate, and be a blessing to someone else. Share the love of Christ with someone by sending them a card, inviting them to your Thanksgiving dinner, or taking dinner to them. Pray and ask God how He would have you reach out to your neighbors or those who are hurting. 


Well, I'll leave you with my pumpkin roll recipe. It's very easy and delicious! I'll have to show you a picture next time.... I'm not making it until later tonight..


Pumpkin Roll

ingredients:
3 eggs, beaten
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 C. pumpkin
1 C. sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp ginger
3/4 C. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. nutmeg


Beat eggs till frothy. Gradually add sugar and lemon juice. Add pumpkin. Combine flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Mix until well blended and add to pumpkin mixture. Spread on a 15x10 waxed paper lined jelly roll pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15min. Turn onto dish towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll up and cool.

Icing:
6oz. cream cheese
2C. powdered sugar
4 tbs of soft margarine
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat until smooth. Unroll bread, spread with filling and reroll.
Refrigerate.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Renewanation

Last Tuesday night, I attended a benefit banquet with the staff from my school. The banquet was for an organization call RENEWANATION and included area Christian schools, churches, businesses that have supported them. This organization was birthed out of a pastor's heart to see every child in America be offered a Christian based education. Their mission is to secure a bright future for America and the world by instilling a Christian worldview in the hearts and minds of children.

Ok, so I must admit I really wasn't looking forward to going last week. Actually, I was looking forward to the dinner part. The banquet was held at the Hotel Roanoke and I knew I would at least enjoy a nice dinner. I know, that sounds awful, but it's the truth. Lately, my weeknights at home have been few and far between and I felt like this was just "one more" thing added to list of places to be. Well, I must say, I am so thankful I went and when I left I felt refreshed, encouraged, and  sensed God speaking to my heart. And an added bonus, my school was one of three in our area to receive a $10,000 grant. What a HUGE blessing!

The speaker for the evening was Dr. Jeff Meyers from Summit Ministries in Colorado. Wow, did he have a powerful message. He challenged us, as Christian educators and parents, to not sit on the 'sidelines" and continue to allow the world to take control of the minds of our children and youth. He reminded us of how important it is to take every situation to teach our children to have a Biblical worldview. He referenced Deuteronomy chapter 6, specifically verse 7-9 ... You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
He gave a really neat example of this. As a researcher, he had done tests on the effects of video games and the brain. So, he said he came home from work and told his children that they wouldn't be playing video games for awhile. Of course, his kids quickly tried to convince him that there was a "new" kind of game system that kept the body active while playing. Their example was playing tennis... so he said okay, you want to play tennis, then get in the car. He took them to play tennis. Then he said they continued to push and said they could also act out bowling on this game system. He said, ok, you want to bowl.... then get in the car. He ended up taking them bowling. Finally, his kids told him that they actually liked to play the "shut 'em up" games. He said, ok...... get in the car.  LOL! He took them to buy airsoft guns and they played in their backyard that evening. His point was that as he was playing with his children, he was also teaching them, spending time with them, using the situations to talk about God.  One morning as he was coming downstairs for breakfast, he said he could hear his children discussing "deep theological" issues like Clifford. You know.... the big Red Dog! lol   Their discussion was whether Clifford really loved God or not. So as he was listening, his three year old said... "I don't think he loves God because he never talks about him." This really made me think. A biblical worldview does not just happen by chance or just by going to church.... it starts in the home and then filters out into other influences... school, church, etc.  Because their father spent time playing with them and while playing, talked about God... he was instilling a Christian worldview in their hearts and minds.

Eventhough I'm not a parent, God has called me to be a teacher. I pray that I am instilling in my students a christian world view and that I'm taking every opportunity to teach them about God... not just during our Bible lesson but in every part of our day.

A challenge to you.... are you taking every opportunity to develop a Biblical worldview in the lives of the children in your life?!

I encourage you to check out the renewanation website.

Have a blessed week!!

Weekend Adventures

I love the weekends! Don't misunderstand, I really enjoy my job but I also really enjoy the weekend. Lately, the weekends have been quite busy but in a good way. This weekend started off by Trevor and I having our date night. We enjoyed a drive on the Parkway, dinner, and some shopping. Oh, yeah, we even watched a movie.... shew...that's a lot for one night. Anyway, the highlight of our weekend was traveling on Saturday to see our nephew play football. He is quite the little football player and we were so glad we were able to spend some time with him and the rest of the family.

                                                                    the "game" face




Oh, I almost forgot to mention that his team won their game and are going to the championship.

This weekend also consisted of more cooking with apples. I was finally able to make applesauce and I was surprised at how well it turned out. I was afraid I might not have the right kind of apples but I used golden delicious and it worked fine. And actually, it was very easy... which makes me happy :) ! So here's how I made it...


First, I sliced and peeled about 10 medium sized apples.

Then, I tossed them into a pot with about a cup and a half of water on medium heat for about 35-40 min.  After the apples had cooked up I added, (I'm not really sure on this part because I was guessing), about a 1/2 C. to 3/4C. of sugar and a few dashes of cinnamon....  because my man likes cinnamon applesauce. Then I used my Kitchen Aid to blend it all together.

I completely let it cool before I put it in the refrigerator. I was really surprised at the taste! It was really good.

Here are the other two apple recipes that I made last week:

Apple Bread

3C. chopped, pared apples                                                   
3C. flour                                                                                 
1 tsp cloves or nutmeg (I used both)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 C. sugar                                                                         
1 1/4 C. veg. oil                                                                        
4 eggs, beaten
1T  vanilla
2tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients  and beat on low speed for 1 min. Beat on medium speed for 1 min. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Cool  for 10min.

Apple Crumb Pie

4 C. sliced apples                                    
1/2  C. melted butter                                
2/3C. sugar                                                    
2T flour                                                            
3/4 tsp cinnamon                                            
1/4 tsp nutmeg                                               
1-9' unbaked pastry shell

 TOPPING:

1/2C. flour

1/4 C. brown sugar

1/4C butter

Pour melted butter over sliced apples and soak a few minutes. Combine sugar, flour and spices. Remove apples from butter ( reserve any that is left and use in topping). Coat apples with sugar mixture, pour into pastry shell. Combine topping ingredients and crumble over apples. Bake 400 degrees for 40-45 min. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Have a blessed week!

Apples and Pumpkins and Happy Birthday!

This past weekend, as a b-day present, Trevor took me to the Apple Barn to pick apples. When we got there, we found out it was the last wekend of the season and most of the apples that were left were higher up in the tree. No problem for us, we just grabbed one of the step ladders and picked the best apples we could reach.

We picked Rome, Winesap, and Golden Delicious and enjoyed eating a few along the way. We ended up picking 24lbs of apples.

From the Apple Barn, we went to Ikenberry's fall festival. We bought a pumpkin and mini hay bales and finished our time out by eating at the Three Little Pigs. Yumo!

When we came home, I decorated my front porch and began coming up with plans for cooking all those apples! I ended up baking two loaves of apple bread and an apple crumb pie.

I hope to make applesauce, fried apples, and applebutter. We shall see...
I'll share the recipes on my next post and let ya know how it goes. It was a GrEAt weekend!!

Fall Fun

In  case anyone missed it.... it's officially FALL!! As of last Friday, the fall season has begun and if you have read any of my other posts you'll know how much I LOVE fall. To celebrate the beginning of this fav season, this past weekend I traveled to my parent's house for a little visit. I left Friday right after work and came back Saturday evening. It was a short trip but loaded with fun.

My whole reason for this trip was to go to the Burke's Garden Festival with my mom (my dad tagged along this year too). This festival is small but encompasses many of my favorite things. We started off our day at a little Presbyterian church. They had baked goods, canned vegetables, and yard sale items.  From there we went to more yard sales that were located close to the house. Finally, we headed across the mountain into the "Garden" (as it's known). We were able to check out local produce, canned goods, baked goods, crafts, and more yard sale items. And of course lots of pumpkins and gourds.

We had so much fun. And to me, the day was perfect. 

Ok, so I didn't get any pics of the actual festival because the beautiful scenery was too distracting.

After the festivial, we went back to the house to make grape jelly. My parent's grape vine was full of grapes this year and so I wanted to learn how to make jelly. Mom and I had a great time together in the kitchen... as always.  As this was my first time, I realized I had the easy job. My mom had juiced the grapes before I came which made the rest of the job much easier.

We made seven and a half pints of grape jelly. Of course, I had to quickly try some leftovers on toasted bread.... and it is delicious!

So, as I traveled home Saturday evening (listening to the VaTech game) my heart was full and my car was full of all of the goodies I was brining home.  I'm so thankful for family and the fact that I was able to learn something new this weekend! I pray that God will continue to help me be content with the simple things in life.... because more than anything, all I need is Him!

Happy Fall!!

Goodbye Summer + 11 year Anniversary

The past few weeks have just flown by.  Every year I look forward to summer break and every year summer break seems to come and go with a blink of an eye. But I must admit, I'm a fall gal. I just adore the fall season. Everything about it just makes me smile! Anyway, more on that later. As I'm facing my last week of freedom before I go back to work, I've been trying to savor every moment and working around my house finishing up projects and organizing to help things run more smoothly during the school year. I've also been working in my classroom decorating and planning. I'm really excited about the school year and looking forward to what God has planned.

Well, on another note, a few weeks ago on Aug. 5, my husband and I celebrated our 11year anniversary... of which I can't believe we've been married this long. I must say it's been a great journey so far and I'm looking forward to the next 11 years! This year we decided to stay closer to home and take a few days to do some fun things and just be together. Our first day together we decided to go on a hike. It was such a beautiful hike!  We didn't want to carry our camera so these pics are all taken with our cell phone... so they may be a little blurry.

                          Ok, so I had to be a little goofy along the way... or "nerdy".

We also went to the movies to see Captain America, ate at a couple favorite restaurants... Tokyo Express and Red Lobster, and enjoyed relaxing around the house. It was a great refreshing time... oh yeah, and I made Trevor look at all of our scrapbooks.He was SO thrilled.... LOL!

Where Have I Been?!

Ok, school's been out since the first of June and two months later I'm blogging again! I had originally planned to be a little more consistent this summer with blogging but it seems I've been a little occupied and busy... I guess you could say the lazy days of summer have taken over.  So I guess I'll take a few minutes and catch you up on what we've been doing.

Well, I ended another school year  the first week of June and said good- bye to another group of sweet second graders. Usually the week after the school year is over, my honey does something for me. This year, to celebrate, he took me to  The Peaks of Otter for a restful day of reading and relaxing. Then of course we had to eat! Then I started my job with the fair... busy, busy for a couple of weeks. Then we've spent time with family.....

Family Reunion

                                Some of my cousins that I had not seen a couple of years.

                               My cousin, Jennifer, who was the flower girl in my wedding!! She's all grown up now. I feel old!


We also hosted a get together for our church choir at our house. We had lots of great food and fellowship.

I also finished painting my kitchen and Trevor and I have had lots of "fun Fridays" together. My mom came for a day  visit and I took her to the White Oak Tea Tavern... a great place.  We had a great day of shopping and just being together. Then this past week, Trevor was on a mission trip all week so...... I traveled to my parents house to spend a few days with them and boy did we have fun! My mom and I did some shopping and cooking.

She taught me a new recipe.... Southwestern Chicken and black bean dish. It was so delicious.

We read a few books...

                                 Yeah, notice the cookbooks... we love to cook together!

My dad had taken the day off and we traveled to the Virginia Highlands Festival and we were able to eat lunch with my brother. It was such an great day.

Then we checked out White's Mill and mercantile.

                      This was the neatest little store... just my style... country as can be!

                                     This is a pic of the countryside by my parent's church.


It was such a great little trip... lots of memories! I want to always make sure I soak up all the time I am able to get with my family.

Well, it's been a busy summer and the one good thing is... it's not over yet! I have a about four weeks until I go back to work.... YEAH! So I'm gonna keep having fun and making lots of memories!!!

The blessing of summer. God is good!!