Christmas is coming

Do you like advent calendars? 

 

 I remember fondly, as a little girl having an Advent calendar taped to my bedroom door and my mom tenderly helping my chubby fingers open each door to see the newly revealed picture of the Christmas story. 

This "Perfect Advent Calendar" is a little different.
Inside are numbered envelopes and 30 cards with ideas of things to do for each day during advent.
{30 so that you can pick and choose what works best for your family.}

 

It takes a little bit of preparation, but not too much. Mostly it takes looking through the cards along side your calendar to figure out and plan the best times to do them.  For example, one card says to watch a Christmas movie as a family with popcorn and snacks.  Another says to go for a drive to look at Christmas lights.    
Once you have decided on when you want to do that activity, then you place the folded card into the numbered envelope.

 

 Most of the activities are either free or of low cost. I plan to post about each one as we do them.  

 

Matt helped me string up all the cards over our front window. The younger kids were SO EXCITED! 
It's our only decoration up at the moment.


This is how I am wrapping gifts this year. I bought a few rolls of plain brown packing paper at the Dollar Store and bought pretty ribbon at the local craft store. I love how they look - simple and sweet.

Happy THANKSgiving!

 

"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

~Psalm 103:1-5

{I think this is from an old Ladie's Home Journal Magazine, but I'm not sure.}

 

"Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

~Psalm 106:1

 

There is so much for which I am thankful.   Where do I start? My top three four....

• My salvation in Christ
• My husband of 24 years and my 8 beautiful children
• Special family and friends who know me  - and love me anyway!
• Good health to enjoy all the above.

 

May today be a day full of joy and thanksgiving for you! 

With fondness,

Carol 

 

 

Swag

Every now and then Daddy brings home unexpected swag from work.

He couldn't resist the little sized tee for Mary Anne.

 

" I love Windows phone....and the lollipop too."

A Gem

I found this little gem the other day at Good Will.

It is such a great little read.  Charles Spurgeon really had the gift of being able to understand the truths of the Bible and put them into practice practically - and encourage/exhort others to do the same.
I'm just so tickled that I found this!!

Wallets

WOW! The Holidays are here...well, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas the corner after that! 
This is my favorite time of year. The smell of wood smoke and the crisp weather outside beckons us to come {or stay}inside where it's warm and cozy. The kitchen always smells of something delightful baking or simmering. Plans and lists are being made with thoughts of hospitality and gifts, menus and shopping lists too.

Trying to make some Christmas money, Hannah has made a darling little wallet.  It has three pockets perfect for holding ID, credit cards,  folded bills, and even a pack of gum (Trident size).  It has a snap closure. They are perfect for when you need just a few essentials and not a big, bulky wallet, but they also make perfect …..

Gift Card Holders!

If you are thinking of giving a gift card to someone this Christmas {or birthday} consider presenting it in a handmade Hannah Wallet.  She is selling them for $4.  There are LOTS of colors/patterns to choose from.  Below is just a small sampling. 

 

Leave a comment or send me an e-mail {carol@hfhco.com}, if you have questions or would like to order.

Apples

 
Of all the fruits, apples are so versatile. You can eat them whole, or make apple crisp, or apple pan dowdy, or apple butter, or apple sauce, or apple pie, or apple dumplings or......
apple cider!

Saturday was a beautiful fall day in the Northwest.  It dawned quite crisp, with some snowflakes, in fact!  I could hardly believe my eyes.  It all melted away by mid day, but the day remained quite crisp.  The skies were clear and blue.  Our lawn and driveway are covered in golden yellow and orange maple leaves. 

 Some good friends of ours have a cider press. They brought it over and our families spent the day squishing apples into cider.

They have made cider many times before so they have a pretty good system which allows them process a lot of apples. Good thing, because we had five big boxes and they had six. All those apples yielded about twelve gallons of cider.

I have never tasted anything like fresh cider. It is so different from store bought.  The flavor is so apply!  I know, that sounds so obvious, but really, it’s just amazing!

Even though it takes some strong arms to run the press, the kids had such a great time working together.  

Making cider is a sloppy job and best done outside. They washed the apples and cut them into small pieces. Our water is really cold straight from the faucet. The apple washers' hands got pretty cold.  After washing, a couple of the others, cut them up small enough for the hopper. One part of the press makes into small chunks, the other presses those chunks into the cider.

 

As they worked the press, one of them would bring the cider into my warm kitchen for the moms to strain.

All afternoon, the kids laughed and joked and had all sorts of fun, but they were so glad when they were all finished and could come inside our warm house to thaw out.  The wood stove made the house warm and cozy, as did the stew and fresh French bread that we had simmering and baking.

It was a delicious meal, topped off with fresh, warmed, sweet apple cider.

Really, a perfect fall day!

Good Fun

Last year just for fun, our church held a talent show one fall Sunday evening.   Sign-ups were taken beforehand from those who wanted to participate.  This being a “church event”, I sort of expected a pretty straight-laced evening.  My kids worked on a skit about a magician.  While there was nothing objectionable in it, I secretly hoped that it would be okay in the midst of the other more “pious” entries.

I don’t think I ever laughed so hard in my life.  While there were beautiful hymns played on the piano, and classical pieces sung, there were also really, funny skits and recitations that just launched the audience into a roar.  It was such a success that it is now a much looked-forward-to annual event.

Last night was the 2^nd Annual Talent Show.  This year it was limited to only 25 entries.  Prizes (1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd) were awarded for three categories:  ages 15 and under, 16 and older, and most funny.

Since last year’s event, the kids have thought of lots of possibilities for what could be done.   Originally, Caleb, Matt, and Hannah were going to do a Sherlock Holmes/John Watson/Irene Adler skit.  Time slipped away; a script just couldn’t be written in time.  

Hannah settled on playing a piano piece called “Pas Si Simple” (So Simple Step) by Yann Tiersen.    Her piano teacher required that she play the song by memory – no music in front of her!

Caleb, my Shakespeare lover, decided to recite from memory, a piece from Henry V.   It was Henry’s inspirational St. Crispin’s Day charge.   Our family loves Kenneth Branagh’s movie adaptation.  The music in it is incredible.   Caleb decided to use the music for the background of his recitation.   First he wrote out a brief summary background to explain to the audience.   This he read to us.  When, the music began, he switched to a British accent and began reciting with passion and emotion Henry’s charge to his sick, tired and discouraged men.   It was a goose-bump moment!

He recited from memory, the paper was simply his introduction

 

A few from among the other entries were a violin duet, a light show,  several silly songs,  a harp solo,  Scripture recitation, an accordion solo, and a classical Schumann performance.    What fun to learn that someone has a talent that you never knew they had. 

GUSHING NOW….. Hannah took 1^st place in her category and Caleb took 1^st place in his! They were superb!  Hannah played her piece perfectly – not one mistake.  Caleb did just as well. 

Caleb and Hannah both with 1st prize!

 

Following the awards, we enjoyed some fellowship and finger food.  It was a night of good fun.  I am so thankful for our church, not just the Biblical teaching, but the people who make it up. 

Dogs and Boys

Dogs and boys just go together.  They are full of energy and excitement, they are loud, they are often dirty, and they are fun.
I remember when my oldest son was young, about six or seven.  He wanted a dog so badly!  When we would watch a movie like Old Yeller or Lassie he would cry. We would ask him if he thought the movie was sad, but he would say, through his sobs, "No, I just want a dog of my own."   He wanted a dog so badly that he put his mind to saving every Christmas and birthday dollar so that he could buy a dog.  When he was nine, and the "I want a dog" was still as strong as ever, we knew he was ready and could handle the responsibilty.
We did the research on dog breeds.  The dog for our family needed to be good with children, not territorial with family, cuddly and short hair.  Caleb settled on a Pug and we agreed that was a good fit.
My husband found a local breeder and took Caleb to see the puppies.  He was in heaven!  He was finally going to get his dog. 
Having raised many dogs in his own boyhood,  Eric knew that dogs choose their people as much as people choose their dogs.  He and Caleb went into the large kennel with all the puppies and watched to see which ones went to Caleb.  Then, they had each puppy alone with Caleb.  All were sweet.  All were cute.  BUT - there was THE ONE that chose Caleb to be his boy.  
We actually had to wait a couple of days before we could bring him home.  The waiting was so hard, for the rest of us too, since none of us had seen him.
I remember the day they went to pick him up.  My son in the back seat with the dog crate on his lap and the biggest smile EVER!
When they brought him inside and opened up the crate door, this timid, little, wrinkly thing cautiously came out and went straight to Caleb.  We all fell in love with him.  So cute, so sweet, so friendly. 
We wanted to crate train him. That night we tucked the boys in bed.  We tucked Otis in his little crate too, making sure he was comfortable and cozy.  We turned off the light, began to walk out of the room, and ...whimper, whine, whimper, whine. 
We gave in. We allowed Caleb to sleep on the floor next to the puppy on a dog bed.  All was quite and we finally got to sleep.
The next morning, when I went into the room to wake the boys for the day....there was puppy on Caleb's bed, but not just on Caleb's bed - underneath the covers with his head on the pillow, right next to Caleb. 
Melt.my.heart!!  From then on, that's where he slept.  The two couldn't be happier.

Otis.  That's what his name was.  After the Pug in Milo and Otis, one of our favorite movies.
He was a good dog, always sweet with the children, even the baby who might pat his head a little too hard, or sit on him , just trying to get close.  He was a constant companion. 
He died suddenly just two nights ago.  He was nine years old.
You can read Caleb's blog for the story.
I am surprised by the amount of grief I feel.  I loved him and cared for him, but didn't have the bond that Caleb had; yet, the tears come so easily.  I vacillate between showing my children my emotions, so that they know it's ok to cry, and being strong for them, showing them that God's ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts, but so much higher are His ways and thoughts than mine. (Isaiah 55: 8) 
God gives and He takes away...graciously. 
I am so thankful for the joy that Otis brought to all of us for nine sweet years.   This house won't be the same without a dog. 
We might just have to change that.



He always found something soft to lie on.  Ellie thought he needed her "blankie".



Caleb and Otis romping in the snow.

I