" And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His Name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the LORD God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David" (Luke 1:30-32).

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Christmas Cookie Fun

Baking with Mommy is so much fun!

We danced around the kitchen singing, "Ta-daa!"

Lena was amazed.
"Mommy, two rollers!"

Frequent breaks to kiss baby Shae Shae were taken

All ready to paint the cookies with icing!

Finished product to serve to Daddy. I think my little helper may have taken a couple of bites!

A Little of This and a Little of That

Thanksgiving was full of lovely smells and tastes. We visited Mr. S's side of the family. Much time was spent in the kitchen talking, cooking and tasting. So enjoyable ...

tired after all the festivities

We've been "Christmasfying" our house, and having fun in the process. We got a "real" tree for the first time, which was fun for Lena. We made it a fun process, and stopped at Smokin' Lil's afterward to bring home some yummy Southern BBQ.

I wanted to let her help me trim the tree, but abandoned that idea after about ten minutes of too much fun! While she was upstairs snuggly wuggly in her chair watching Little Bear, I snuck into the girls room and put up their little tree. Ah - it does resemble Charlie Brown's Christmas tree, but it is special nonetheless. We weren't disappointed at Lena's reaction when she saw her special surprise. After kissing the tree and running around her room in delight, she pulled at Shana's sleeper, saying "Look baby Shae Shae, its for you!!"

We had a brunch at our house last weekend, and my sis-in-law gifted me with a couple of recipes from her never ending supply of cookbooks and magazines. I wanted to share this recipe with you ...

Upside-Down Banana-Walnut French Toast Recipe 1 hour 15 min prep

An ooey-gooey do-ahead (1-24 hours) egg bake that will knock your socks off.

SERVES 10

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

1/4 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

3 medium bananas, sliced

1 loaf sliced unfrosted firm cinnamon-swirl bread

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Spray bottom and sides of a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray or grease with shortening. In a large bowl, stir together first four (4) ingredients then gently stir in the bananas. Spoon this mixture into the baking dish.

2. Reserving heels of bread for another use (feed the birds, they love cinnamon bread) arrange 2 layers of bread on banana mixture, tearing bread to fit if needed.

3. In a medium-size bowl, beat eggs, milk and vanilla until well mixed. Pour over bread. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 1 hour but no longer than 24 hours.

4. Heat oven to 325°. Uncover casserole and bake 45-50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve portions upside-down, spooning sauce from bottom of dish over each serving.

We're still spending a lot of time at home. Shana has gotten sick twice already, and she is only 8 weeks old. It has been really cold too. We are finding plenty to do at home. Lately it has been a never ending round of tea parties. Lena, basket over her arm, cooks many delicacies that Shana and I are obligated to try.

happy Shae Shae

Shana is growing quickly and I have learned to cherish these times. I don't know when Lena grew so fast. I must have blinked -- so I'm keeping my eyes open this time!


Hope your home is full of love and warmth and wonderful memories this week ...

Dearest Friends

He has done so much.

Did you have moments this past year when you felt the warmth of a caring look?

Or perhaps, you looked around at those you loved, and at that moment you knew that you were blessed.

Those moments were from Him.

Did you go through times of suffering, knowing that the Master Potter was molding and shaping you?

Did you feel pain, physically or emotionally?

Those times were from Him.

Did you enjoy the comfort of a warm, dry, home, while the weather raged outside?

That was from Him.

I love to feel my husband's big hand close around mine. In those moments I feel so safe. It is hard to express the wonder of knowing that our Father knows every hair on our heads. Safe? Yes indeed. Loved? Absolutely.

This Christmas season, may we all reflect on all He has done for us in the past year.

Have a blessed holiday!