'Twas the Night Before Christmas

We all have treasured memories and magical times from our youth. Some of my most magical memories are from Christmas Eve. It was a special day for our family. Growing up we never missed the family gathering at my grandparent's house to celebrate together on Christmas Eve.

My aunt, uncle, and cousin met up with my family at my grandparent's house each year on Christmas Eve. I don't remember a year that we missed Christmas Eve until I was grown up and moved far away from home.

These Christmas Eve celebrations were usually joyful occasions, but as we got to our teenage years there were some grouchy teenagers there, namely my brother and I.  Especially when Grandma forced us to bring our band instruments and play. My brother and my cousin were good and I was not, but Grandma did not care. We played Christmas carols and she was happy.

One of my favorite memories of Christmas Eve was how Grandpa would label our gifts from him as from Santa. We all knew his handwriting even as kids, but the joy these gifts from Santa brought were fun. I always treasure that he went this extra step to make our Christmas magical.

Grandpa always bought chocolate covered cherries for the ladies in the family. He would buy the cheap red Queen Anne's boxes you see in the stores. They are not fancy and now that I am an adult I am not that big of a fan, but it was his thing and we loved it. My dad has carried this tradition on since my Grandpa passed away. It still brings joy to my heart to see those red boxes of chocolate covered cherries sitting under the tree.

Each year on our way out the door, Grandpa would say, "Make sure you are watching for Santa on the way home. You might see Rudolph's nose or hear the sleigh bells." My brother and eye would keep our eyes peeled the whole way home looking for Santa Claus.

So tonight, love your family. Remember the good times. Make Christmas magical. Oh, and read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas".

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"  ~ Clement Clarke Moore 

O Christmas Tree

What kind of Christmas tree do you get? Growing up we always had a real tree. I love the smell, the feel, and the look of a real tree. I have fond memories of going to the Christmas tree farm and cutting our own tree. The joy of decorating the tree was glorious.

Thankfully, we have had several opportunities in Little Bear's lifetime to go cut down our own tree. When we lived farther north it was wonderful at Christmas time. The tree farms were like magic. Living here the soil is sandy and the very few tree farms are different. The type of trees is just not the same. They consider juniper's to be Christmas trees and some other strange varieties as Christmas trees.

I had my first fake tree as an adult. I was newly married to my first husband and he wanted a fake tree. Not gonna lie having a fake tree broke my heart a little.

Now, with Popeye, we have decorated fake trees more often than I would like, but sometimes it has been out of necessity. We have celebrated Christmas with extended family at Thanksgiving several times and put up the fake tree before tree farms were even opened. Then, there have been a couple of times that we have had an extremely early Christmas before deployments. A fake tree works for that and I still find joy in decorating it. Honestly, some of my most memorable Christmas decorating memories have been with fake trees.

First, there were several years my grandparents had a small fiber optic Christmas tree. This little tree was in style when they bought it. My grandparents thought it was so neat. The rest of us liked it the first couple of years and then the tree started making a high pitched noise. The noise was terrible. We mentioned it to my grandparents for a couple of years and they could never hear it. They finally agreed that it must be true since we all complained about it two Christmas seasons in a row. That was the last of the fiber optic tree.

This year and last year we had a small fake tree. We decorated well before Thanksgiving last year. Decorating that small fake tree as a family knowing we would not actually be celebrating gathered around it together on Christmas morning was a mix of sadness and joy on my part. The best part was in the several months we left the Christmas tree up Little Bear and I laughed about decorating with Popeye. We wore our Santa hats and decorated. We laughed and made memories.

This year we decorated that same little fake tree before Thanksgiving. We celebrated Christmas at Thanksgiving with Popeye's parents. I won't let the fake tree stop me from joy at Christmas, but I won't lie and say I don't miss a real tree.

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels

I love salty and sweet snacks. Salty and Sweet is my favorite snack food category. When Popeye and I got married his sweet grandma sent me a recipe for a salty and sweet snack he loves. When I read the recipe I was thinking it sounded a little odd, but it isn't. It's really perfect.

Pretzels Before Being Microwaved

Salty and Sweet - Cinnamon and Sugar - Crunchy Salted Pretzel Nuggets.... What gets better than that? Basically nothing. One of the best things about it is that it is gastroparesis-friendly, or at least enough for my GP. The one problem with this snack is I always manage to eat too much of it!

This recipe is ridiculously easy.

Ingredients:

1 pound pretzel nuggets or whatever 1/3 cup sugar 1-2 tsp cinnamon 2/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Mix oil, sugar, and cinnamon. Pour over pretzels in a microwave safe bowl.
Stir until all the pretzels are coated with the sugar mixture. Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir.
Microwave again for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir after each 30 seconds or 1 minute. They will probably need 5-6 minutes total in the microwave.

The Christmas Bell

My grandma and grandpa always loved decorating for Christmas. They would start decorating soon after Thanksgiving. I remember going to visit them in the weeks before Christmas and they would pull out all the Christmas stuff and my brother and I would help them decorate. They had a fake Christmas tree, lights for the house, wreaths, mistletoe, and an adorable Christmas village. 

As we decorated my grandma would talk about where she got each piece. Many of their decorations had some kind of sentimental value. She treasured each one of them no matter what they looked like. 

The quaint Christmas village buildings were gifts from my cousin over the years. He started giving them to her long before I can remember. By the time I was in college it had become almost a city instead of a village. 

There was a fuzzy bell shaped ornament that had been a gift from some old friends. This bell was old and faded as long as I could remember. Every year as I helped hang ornaments on Grandma and Grandpa's tree, I tried to hide this tattered looking bell
out of sight.

The unsightly bell still makes an appearance for Christmas. When my family went through Grandma's things they sent me several of her ornaments and decorations. I somehow got this ratty old bell. This year when I pulled it out one of the Santa's on it had broken off. I lovingly glued Santa back on and hung the bell on my Christmas tree. I see it and want to laugh and cry all at the same time. I find my eyes misting with tears because I miss decorating with Grandma. Then, I laugh since this ugly bell, that I tried to hide each year, is now something I faithfully put on my own tree now. 

A Boatload of Memories, More Laundry, and a House to Clean

Getting ready for company is always fun. You anticipate your guest's arrival for a while. In most cases, you try your absolute best to make everything look perfect. You look forward to friends or family coming to visit, but you dread the thought of extra scrubbing and dusting. It's the nature of the beast, I suppose.

I know I am not the only one that dreads the cleaning. I'm not going to lie, I am not the best housekeeper. I keep things sort of clean, but we have our own system for organization and sometimes it consists of a pile of papers here and a pile of books there. Other times
our system gets knocked over by Little Bear as he runs past. Then, we just have a mess.

When people come to visit our piles get picked up and put away. When Popeye is in charge of cleaning the piles just get moved and hidden. We move the furniture and vacuum underneath it. We scrub everything an extra time or two. I actually get out the duster and dust all the knick-knacks and picture frames.

When people arrive then the real fun begins. We hang out, we enjoy each others company. We eat good food. Life is good.

Then, our company leaves and we are left with a boatload of memories, more laundry, and a house to clean. Thank goodness the memories make it worth the cleaning and then some.

10 Great Gifts For Elementary Age Boys

Sometimes it can be really difficult to shop for elementary age boys. Having one of my own I know how hard it is. He has things he loves but I don't want to get him the same type of gift every single holiday. I also want to get him things that are fun, but will require using his imagination and his brain while he plays.

1) Kinex Sets

Kinex sets are an amazing gift for elementary boys. My son got his first set around the age of 5 and has loved them ever since. He now builds complicated projects and all kinds of simple machines with them. There are a wide variety of Kinex sets from simple sets to fancy sets that allow you to build roller coasters.
You can buy Kinex Sets here for $17 and up.

2) Lego Sets 

We all know kids love Legos and there are some amazing and fancy Lego sets out there. There are also some really great inexpensive Lego sets. Kids can sit and play with Legos for hours building all kinds of fancy and imaginative creations. We really love the Lego Creator sets because they have instructions to build 3 different things from one set of Legos.
You can buy Lego sets here for $4 and up.

3) Books

There are so many books that are great for elementary school kids. My son has loved The Indian in the Cupboard, Pippi Longstocking, many of Beverly Cleary's and Roald Dahl's books, The Magic Treehouse series, and so much more. Reading opens the doors to the world. It gives children insights to the world and how things work, as well as teaching them fact and fiction. The world of books opened my eyes and my imagination so much as a child. 

You can buy books on amazon.com new and used for $4 and up. 

4) Sticky Slugs

We have all had sticky hands and enjoyed them, but sticky slugs are even better. They are fun. They are sticky and they are just plain awesome.
You can buy a pack of sticky slugs here for about $7.

5) Nerf Guns

This Nerf N-Strike Elite Target Set comes with a Nerf gun and a target. I love this set because of the target. I love a good old fashioned Nerf gun fight, but frankly, as a mom, it is nice when my kiddo has something else to shoot at.
You can buy this Nerf gun set here for approximately $20.  

6) Science Kits

This Mindblowing Science Kit is pretty awesome. It comes with everything you need for several experiments. The kit has great directions. It does recommend adult supervision, but they are really fun experiments to do with younger children and older kids will enjoy them, too.

You can buy the science kit here for about $10.

7) Stomp Rocket 

Stomp Rocket is awesome. My son has a blast with it. He can play with it for a long time by himself until he gets all the rockets stuck on the roof or in a tree. The wind always blows them off so he can play and have more fun. 

You can buy stomp rocket here for about $15. 

8) Minecraft

Minecraft is a fantastic game, even though it can quickly become an obsession for kids. It requires, skill, critical thinking, imagination, and logic to make things work properly. My son LOVES Minecraft. In the last year, he has become a huge fan and would play all the time if we would let him. It can be played on numerous platforms including PC, Xbox, and Playstation.
You can buy Minecraft here for  $13 and up.

9) Art Kit

If you have a little artist in your life, an art kit and some paper is a great gift. Most art kits come with a huge variety of mediums, including paints, colored pencils, markers, and pastels. These give kids a variety fo tools to work with to create their own masterpieces.
You can buy a great art kit here for around $30. 

10) SnapTite Model Kits

SnapTite makes great models for both beginners and more advanced model builders. One of the best things is they have some really great models that kids will love. They have Star Wars models, cars, planes, trucks, ships and more.

You can buy SnapTite Models here for $10 and up.

Thanksgiving Blessings

Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God has done.
~Count Your Blessings Johnson Oatman, Jr.

Some of my favorite blessings

Thanksgiving is a day that we have set aside to count our blessings. We tend to celebrate this day with friends, family, and other loved ones. Being a military wife we have had some interesting Thanksgiving celebrations. 

Last year Little Bear and I celebrated Thanksgiving by ourselves. We had finger foods and watched Christmas movies all day. It was a nice relaxing day. We spent it together thinking of Popeye and talking about how grateful we are to have him out protecting our country and our freedoms. 

Several years, Little Bear and I have gone "home" to visit family while Popeye was gone. A couple of years ago we were blessed to meet my niece for the first time and celebrate Thanksgiving at my brother's house. The blessing of Thanksgiving with family is always nice. 

We have also had years that Popeye was home. Some of these Thanksgivings, we celebrated as a family of three. Others we hosted Thanksgiving for relatives. One year we hosted some friends from Popeye's work that could not go home for Thanksgiving. 

Little Bear's First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time to remember all the good things in life. God has blessed my family so much. He has given us the blessing of love. Popeye and I have a wonderful marriage. Little Bear is a joy to us and our family. He is such a happy kid and always makes us laugh. We have love of our family both near and far. 

God has blessed us with faith. We have hope even in the hard times God will bless us and watch over us. God has given us a wonderful church family. They encourage us and pray for us. 

God has blessed us with health. Even with gastroparesis, things could be so much worse. I am thankful that God has given me the energy and health to enjoy life and enjoy family. 

Today and everyday be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving with Skype

Grandparent's for Thanksgiving

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; his love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34 

Pine Cone Turkeys & A Lovely Centerpiece

I am the worst about decorating for each holiday and season. The last couple of years we have decorated more than ever. By decorating I mean I bought some window clings at the dollar store and Little Bear put them on the windows.

This year for Thanksgiving my in-laws are coming. I am sure you all know how it is, you have company coming, especially in-laws and you want your house to look its absolute best. We have been working on remodeling and some other odds and ends that needed to be done, but I wanted to have at least a couple of cute decorations, too.

The first thing I did was run to Pinterest. It's my go to for craft ideas. I found several things I liked but none were exactly what I wanted so I took the bit and pieces I liked and I added my own spin on them. It helps that Little Bear has an amazing collection of pine cones that he has collected over the last 3 years.

I made a centerpiece with a wooden bowl I found at Marshall's, a bunch of Little Bear's pine cones, a candle in a glass holder that I found at the dollar store, and some little pumpkins and squash that I found at the dollar store. I started by putting the candle where I wanted it then I dumped pine cones in and artfully arranged the
little pumpkins and squash for a bit of color. I love the way the centerpiece came out.


Our other Thanksgiving craft is pine cone turkeys. Little Bear helped with this craft. It has googly eyes and he cannot resist playing with googly eyes. This craft used the hot glue gun, which is now my nemesis since it gave me a blister today. For this you need pine cones, fabric fall leaves, googly eyes, and orange foam or felt. When you pick out your pine cones try to pick some that will stand up on their own.

The first task I gave Little Bear was to cut me triangles for our turkey's beaks. Then, with my help we hot glued the little beaks and googly eyes on. Then, we took our fabric leaves and figured out what order Little Bear wanted them in. His favorite color is red so most of our turkeys have red leaf tails. The leaves get glued to the back of the pine cone and you have cute little turkeys.

10 Gifts For Your Favorite Cook

Images from Amazon.com

Every year there are new gadgets and tools for the kitchen. Sometimes home cooks love them and other times they are a waste of space and time. If you know someone that loves to cook here are ten great ideas for your favorite home cook.

1) Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook

This is easily the cookbook I use most in my kitchen. My mother gave it to me as a gift when I moved out of her house at 21. I have used it for years. If I ever have a question or am looking for a basic recipe I go to this Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook. It's red plaid cover is classic and will give you a wealth of basic cooking information and recipes. 

You can buy this cookbook here for about $30.

2) Knife Set 

I love ceramic knives. They are sharp and easy to clean. The last for ages as long as they are cared for properly. They also do not need to be sharpened as often as steel knives. The blades of ceramic knives are extremely sharp but need to be used and cleaned with care to avoid chipping them. They are much better than other knives in the same price range. 

You can buy ceramic knives here for under $20. 

3) Silicone Utensil Set 

Silicone utensils are extremely easy to clean. The problem is sometimes they are really expensive. This set is a great price and has a huge variety of utensils. It comes with a total of 8 pieces. It gives you basically everything you need to serve food and comes in fun bright colors. These silicone utensils are a favorite in my kitchen. 

You can buy this silicone utensil set here for around $25.

4) The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook

For people who love to bake or are interested in learning to bake "The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook" is an amazing book. It has lots of information about baking. It also has a wide variety of recipes. The recipes in here range from cookies, bread, pastry, and more. It is really an amazing baking guide. I use it often in my house. It comes in hardback, paperback, and flexibound. 

You can buy the book here for anywhere between $12 and $40 depending on the binding.  

5) Stock Pot 

Every kitchen needs a good stock pot. Stock pots are great for making stock, soups, huge batches of chili or spaghetti sauce. There are so many uses for a good stock pot. I love an 8 quart stock pot. It is a great stock pot without being too huge or too small. You need a good pot that is not too flimsy. If your favorite cook cans a larger stock pot may be better. 

You can buy a good stock pot here start at $25 and going up to $35 depending on the size. 

6) Grill Pan

A good grill pan can be a huge deal. There are lots of varieties of grill pans. You can get cast iron grill pans and non-stick grill pans. You also have choices of round and square shaped pans, as well as pans that are oven safe or not. When looking at grill pans, I wanted one that is non-stick and can be used on my glass top stove as well as in the oven. This grill pan is my favorite because it is dishwasher, oven, and stove top safe. It is easy to clean and can hold quite a bit of food. 

You can buy this 11 inch grill pan here for around $35. 

7) Spice & Seasoning Sets

Food Lovers are often open to trying new spices and seasonings. There are so many great seasoning mixes out there that cannot be found at your local grocery store. You can find some lovely spice gift sets with a wide variety of spices. These spice sets come in family favorite spices, with both sweet and savory spice mixes, a grilling spice set, a set of flavored salts, holiday seasonings, and even a spicy set. The best thing about these is they are made in the USA.

You can buy some great spice mixes here for between $25 and $30. 

8) A Recipe Journal 

At some point most cooks come up with at least a recipe or two of their own. When they do they need a place to write it down, besides a scrap of paper that will get lost soon. A recipe journal is a great place for that. It will also make a great item to pass down in the future. 

You can buy a recipe journal here for around $5.

9) Cookbook for Kids

Cooking with kids is often hard, but some of the best memories are made cooking with your children. Many of my treasured memories are cooking with my mom and many of my favorite recipes are things I learned to make with my mom's help and have tailored into more adult recipes now. Kid's cookbooks, such as "Cooking Class: 57 Fun Recipes Kids Will Love to Make (and Eat!)", have great skills and lessons in them as well as recipes written to make cooking easier and more fun for children. Learning to cook also teaches kids math, reading, hand eye coordination, and helps them learn to follow directions. 

You can buy this cook book here for under $15. 

10) Chip and Dip Serving Set

If your favorite cook loves to entertain a chip and dip serving set is a great gift idea. This chip and dip set by Le'raze also can be used as a cake stand which makes it multi-purpose and awesome. It is great for entertaining at sports parties, holiday gatherings, and family events. 

You can buy this chip and dip set here for around $30. 

A Book Lover's Gift Guide

Images from Amazon.com

Every year my sweet Popeye has a hard time shopping for me. A couple of years ago I started making wishlists on Amazon to help him out a little. Since then I have gotten some really great gifts. Some purchased from my wish list and others that are just items based off of things I put on my list. Having a gift guide can be a huge help to people that feel lost when shopping. Lately, I have been reading up a storm so here are ten gifts for book lovers.

1) Reading Journal 

This little journal is a hardcover journal that has pages inside to fill with information about the books you read. You can write in here about your favorite book current books you are reading. There are pages to list the title, author, and other information about each book. Each of these is accompanied by sections that you can record your thoughts and feelings about the book. 

You can buy the journal here for under $10.

2) First Lines of Literature Coffee Mug 

This coffee mug is awesome. Most of the book lovers I know, including myself, love to sit and read with a cup of coffee or a cup of tea. This mug is covered with amazing first lines from classic literature. Best of all it is a huge mug that holds a whopping 16 oz of your favorite drink.

You can buy the mug here for around $15. 

3) Antiquarian Bookplates

For book lovers like me who love to have actual books, these bookplates can be a wonderful addition to their home library. This set comes with 53 bookplates in a variety of sizes. Many of these bookplates have nice quotes and beautiful images on them. 

You can buy bookplates here for under $10. 

4) The Book was Better T-shirt

We all know book lovers say "the book was better" regularly. Let's face it, the book is usually better. What book lover would not love a t-shirt that says it for them? These shirts come in a variety of colors. The best thing about these shirts is they come in men's, women's, and youth sizes. 

You can buy the t-shirt here for $20 and up. 

5) Book Tissue Box Cover 

This tissue box cover is perfect for all the times a tissue is needed while reading. This means the times when a beloved character dies and it feels like you've lost a friend. Don't deny it... All true book lovers have been there. 

You can buy the tissue box cover here for around $15.

6) Book Light 

Lots of book lovers enjoy reading in bed, long past the time they should be asleep. I know my husband hates when I leave the big lamp on my nightstand on so I can read while he saws logs. This little book light will give just enough light to read a book without illuminating the entire room. It is small and lightweight, also, which makes it easy to take when you travel.
You can buy this book light here for around $10.

7) Bookends

Bookends can come in really handy sometimes, like the times when you just got a new bookshelf and haven't had a chance to buy more books yet. They are also great when you have books on top of a shelf and want to decoratively display them. Bookends can be really simple or extremely ornate. This set is simply lovely. 

You can buy these bookends here for about $15. 

8) Kindle Paperwhite

If your book lover does not have room for a million books, a Kindle Paperwhite may be the perfect solution. It can hold hordes of books and is lightweight and easy to carry around. Kindle Paperwhites have the option of a black or white tablet. They are great for reading on the go.
You can buy a Kindle Paperwhite here for $119.99 and up. 

9) A Great Book Set 

Everyone who loves books has a series or an author they really like. Many times these books can be bought in a beautiful box set. Whether their fancy is Jane Austen or "The Lord of the Rings" or Harry Potter a nice looking box set can be a fantastic gift.   

10) Amazon Gift Card 

I know gift cards are often seen as a lazy person's gift, but for a book lover they can be an amazing gift. They can buy many real books or kindle books. Amazon's gift cards can be bought for any amount you chose. They can be sent as an actual gift card or via email making these a great easy gift for someone who lives far away. 

Amazon gift cards can be bought here for any amount you chose. 

Memorial Day

"Ask not what you country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." — John F. Kennedy

Memorial Day comes every year. What can you say that has not been said before? Today we remember the men and women who have lost their lives in the service of our country, fighting for our freedom.

This year Memorial Day has taken a deeper meaning for me. My sweet son and I spent Sunday afternoon visiting our local National Cemetery. I have been to National Cemeteries before, for a funeral and visiting Washington D.C. Looking at the rows of neatly arranged tombstones it always hits me how many men and women have served our country, but never more than today.

When you look up the hill, you see countless tombstones in their straight even rows. There were many families wandering through the rows, praying, crying, and saying goodbye once again. There were some families like us walking through paying our respects to the ones who have given it all. Many of the men and women buried here fought in wars long ago and made it home. Some gave their lives young, well before their time.

As we drove up to the cemetery, the drive was lined with our beautiful flag. The first thing we did was go to the visitor center building. From there you can see the Memorial Wall and the large flag. Across the street was the Memorial Walk. As we were about to cross the street, we met an older gentleman. He was trying to figure out where he needed to go to find his wife's ashes. The only other time he had been there was when her ashes were interred. My son and I, helped him scour the map to show him where to go. The reasons people are here vary widely.

I had been moved to tears multiple times as we walked. On our journey, we encountered a woman, sitting on the ground in front of a wall where ashes are interred. I felt a gentle internal nudge to stop, and if you know me you will know how hard it was to obey this nudge; I do not typically approach strangers. The woman was sobbing uncontrollably. I don't know who she mourns; I don't know how they died. We stopped and asked if we could sit with her and pray with her. She said we could. Logan and I sat with her and prayed. She grabbed my hand as I prayed, taking what comfort she could. After we prayed we just sat for a while in silence.  

Later, as we were walking through the graves there was an older woman standing alone. She was softly crying. I felt another tug at my heart to stop. We approached and I felt led to give her a hug. I asked if I could give her a hug and pray with her. Her response was "Yes, please." I hugged her and we prayed with her. She was so glad that someone stopped. Her husband had been buried one year ago that day. He was in the Navy. He made it home from war, to spend years with his family. Her grief was great for the love she lost.  

The National Cemetery provided an eye opening experience. As we drove the 45 minutes home, we had profound conversation about what Memorial Day is all about and why we remember the ones who gave their all for our freedom. Take today and remember all that has been lost, all that our soldiers and sailors have given for our freedom. Everyday be grateful for their willingness to die for our freedom. Remember the family and friends of those that gave the ultimate sacrifice.

“The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men.” — Minot J. Savage