A Thousand Words Thursday

These photos are from our recent visit to Winter Wonderland, which is a display of antique dolls and Christmas figurines as well as a holiday lights display. It has been a long tradition in my family to visit this time of year. I love taking my family there now and seeing the delight in their faces. They sure had fun posing for these silly photo ops.

For more Thousand Words Thursday stop by Cheaper Than Therapy.

Wordless Wednesday

Somebody got a big surprise in their Christmas stocking. Can you guess what it was?

Be sure to stop by these fabulous blogs for more Wednesday fun:
5 Minutes for Mom
7 Clown Circus
Momdot

A Colonial Christmas

We had the pleasure of visiting one of our favorite spots...Colonial Williamsburg. All decked out for the holidays, it was quite a beautiful sight. Here are some highlights of the greenery and holiday cheer...

Christmas Recap

Christmas this year went by so fast that even my pictures are a blur!

I apologize for the poor photo quality. Apparently I had the camera settings wrong (or someone's little fingers got where they oughtn't have been). I guess I was too busy trying to capture the flurry of events to notice or correct it.

Quotable Sunday

To the New Year:

Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to. ~Bill Vaughn


An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. ~Bill Vaughan


Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits. ~Author Unknown


A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other. ~Author Unknown


Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~Benjamin Franklin

The merry year is born
Like the bright berry from the naked thorn.
~Hartley Coleridge

A happy New Year! Grant that I
May bring no tear to any eye
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I've played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year.
~Edgar Guest

For more Quotable Sunday, visit A Daily Dose of Toni.

Aloha Friday

Aloha! And Merry Christmas!!! I hope you all are having a beautiful day surrounded by loved ones.
My question today is simple...

What was the best gift you received this holiday season???

Stop by An Island Life for more Aloha Friday fun. If you are playing along, be sure to link up!

Merry Christmas!

May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through! ~Author Unknown

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time. ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. ~Washington Irving

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. ~W.T. Ellis
Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love! ~Hamilton Wright Mabie

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself...
~Norman Wesley Brooks, "Let Every Day Be Christmas," 1976

Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles. ~Author Unknown

Remember
This December,
That love weighs more than gold!
~Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. ~Author unknown, attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby

A Thousand Words Thursday

A Rare and Wonderous Sight Around Here...

SNOW!

Happy Holidays! May they be filled with joy and wonder.

For more Thousand Words Thursday stop by Cheaper Than Therapy.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm a little late getting my post up, but wow, has it been busy around here! We're trying to get the kids on a new schedule. I'm weaning Mr. Man (read getting up a lot at night and losing sleep) and trying to finish wrapping, baking, cleaning, etc. Blogging has fallen by the wayside.

Anyway, I guess my WW is not wordless at all.  I wanted to post a tribute today in honor of a wonderful friend I lost last year at this time. He was such a love and I miss him dearly.  Merry Christmas Max.






I hope you all have a blessed and happy holiday. Remember to hold your loved ones dear. 
May the true spirit of Christmas bring you great joy!

Be sure to stop by these fabulous blogs for more Wednesday fun:
5 Minutes for Mom
7 Clown Circus
Momdot

How Candy Canes Are Made

How It's Made - Candy Canes - For more funny movies, click here

Aloha Friday

Aloha and Happy Friday. Hard to believe next Friday is Christmas! My question for you...Are you all shopped and wrapped and ready? Or, will you be like me...madly wrapping late on Christmas Eve?

Thanks for stopping by today. Your comments are always appreciated :D
Have a wonderful weekend!
Stop by An Island Life for more Aloha Friday fun. If you are playing along, be sure to link up!

A Thousand Words Thursday

For more Thousand Words Thursday stop by Cheaper Than Therapy.

Note to Self:

Be thankful for the sticky fingerprints on everything, for it means your child is able to explore his world.

Be thankful for the poopy diapers, for it means your child is healthy and nourished.

Be thankful for the toys strewn from room to room, for it means your child is playful and active.

Be thankful for the sibling arguments, for it means your children can stand up for themselves.

Be thankful for the whiny pleas for attention, for it means you are wanted.

Be thankful for the wilted dandelions in your pocket, for it means you are appreciated.

Be thankful for the dirty laundry, for it means you have been blessed with another day together.

Be thankful for the noise, noise, noise, for it means you are not alone.

Be thankful for the hundredth time you've heard "MOM!" today, for it means you are needed.

Be thankful for the sloppy sticky kisses, for it means you are loved.

For all the worries, arguments, cleaning, grooming, reprimanding, reminding, mending, preparing, purchasing, tutoring, chauffeuring, challenging, chasing, crying and sleeplessness, be thankful. For it means that you are a mother, and there is no greater gift than that.

Wordless Wednesday - In Memory of Bryson Ross

This post is dedicated to the memory of sweet little Bryson Ross, who left this earthly world on Monday in a tragic accident. He was only 2 years old. My prayers go out to his family.

This Week In History

December 14

* 1782 – The Montgolfier brothers’ first balloon lifts on its first test flight.
* 1819 – Alabama becomes the 22nd U.S. state.
* 1962 – NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.

December 15

* 1891 – James Naismith introduces the first version of basketball, with thirteen rules, a peach basket nailed to either end of his school's gymnasium, and two teams of nine players.

December 16

* 1773 – American Revolution: Boston Tea Party – Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawks dump crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.

December 17

* 1770 – The Baptism of Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer, is recorded. This is the closest record of his birth.

December 18

* 1620 – The Mayflower lands in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts with 102 Pilgrims on board.
* 1888 – Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discover the ancient Indian ruins of Mesa Verde.
* 1966 – Saturn's moon Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker.

December 19

* 1776 – Thomas Paine publishes one of a series of pamphlets in the Pennsylvania Journal titled The American Crisis.

December 20

* 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.

* All facts in this section are taken from Wikipedia.org under the article name corresponding with the date. For example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_1.

More history fun: Stacy at Stacy's Random Thoughts wrote an interesting post about St. Lucia's Day, December 13th.

Bah Humdog

Our Great Dane Puppy is not so sure about her first Christmas and all the festivities going on at home. Watch what happens when she discovers a present under the Christmas tree.

Quotable Sunday

My quotes today are about being a child at heart. Do sugar plums dance in your head on Christmas Eve?

In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Happy is he who still loves something he loved in the nursery: He has not been broken in two by time; he is not two men, but one, and he has saved not only his soul but his life. ~G.K. Chesterton

The great man is he who does not lose his child's-heart. ~Mencius, Book IV

So, like a forgotten fire, a childhood can always flare up again within us. ~Gaston Bachelard

When I grow up I want to be a little boy. ~Joseph Heller, Something Happened, 1974

I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then. ~Bob Seger, "Against the Wind"

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. ~Pablo Picasso

One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. ~Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, 1943

Everybody's 12 years old in an apple orchard. ~Rachael Ray, Rachael Ray Show, while making autumn stew, original airdate 11 October 2007

The reluctance to put away childish things may be a requirement of genius. ~Rebecca Pepper Sinkler

Adults are obsolete children. ~Dr. Seuss

A grownup is a child with layers on. ~Woody Harrelson

One of the virtues of being very young is that you don't let the facts get in the way of your imagination. ~Sam Levenson

Each man carries within him the soul of a poet who died young. ~Sainte-Beuve, Portraits littéraires, 1862

Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. ~Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten


For more Quotable Sunday, visit A Daily Dose of Toni.

Snow Ball Cookie Recipe

I'm trying to get started on my holiday baking. My mom always used to make about 10-12 varieties of cookies. As a kid, I loved them. It was a special part of Christmas to share all those cookies with friends and family. Looking back, I don't know how she did it...I get exhausted making 4-5 recipes.

I enjoy some old favorites, but also like to try new recipes. Here is a tasty recipe for almond snow balls. Yummy :D

1-1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/8 teaspoon almond oil or 2 to 3 tsp. almond extract
1 cup finely ground blanched almonds
3-1/2 cups sifted flour
Confectioners' sugar

From Christmas-Cookies.com

Cream shortening, butter and granulated sugar; add eggs and beat until light. Mix in almond oil and ground almonds. Add flour to creamed mixture and mix thoroughly. Chill dough or not.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 F. Scoop dough into small balls (I use a 1-1/4" ice cream type scoop) and place on ungreased baking sheets about 2" apart. Slightly flatten top with a dampened cloth-covered glass. Bake until set but not brown, about 14-16 minutes. Sift confectioners' sugar over cookies as soon as you take them out of the oven. Cool on cookie sheet. When thoroughly cool, but not cold enough to stick to cookie sheet, remove cookies from cookie sheet and roll in additional confectioners' sugar. Enjoy!

Do you make Christmas cookies? What is your favorite recipe? If you have one posted on your blog, please leave a link in the comments for all to share :D

Great Stocking Stuffer Ideas For Kids

Here is a list of deals I have come across that make for some great stocking stuffers or last minute gift ideas. I love giving books and educational games to kids and there is no shortage of super sales this time of year!

Usborne books always has great internet specials, and they have some wonderful holiday book selections as well as classic children's favorites. We use Usborne books in our homeschool studies and I am always impressed by the great quality of all of their products. All my kids enjoy the Snap games and the jigsaw books are favorites too.

Dover Publications is another one of my favorite book stops. They are having a big sale until December 14th and offer a books for all ages. Shop now and save $20 off of a $40 order with coupon code HLC4. Be sure to check out their sticker activity books if you have young ones. I love to keep a stash of these for car trips, or anytime we have to sit and wait. My kids love them.

You may also want to check out the sale at Barefoot Books. They offer beautiful children's books and toys which bring art and culture to life for kids. They are currently offering 30% off your order and free shipping. Enter SNOWY at checkout and shop by Dec 15th.

Here's something new I found that I think my younger two will love! Crayontown Coloring sets from Crayola...too cool!

Find more deals on children's activity books at Amazon.

And lastly, what kid doesn't like to build, mix, throw and explode things? Find fantastic fun science activities at Steve Spangler's site.