Christmas Letter 2014

Merry CHRISTmas!

It has been several years since I have sent out a Christmas letter. 

I usually enjoy handcrafting Christmas cards, but this year I simply ran out of time.   I had time to only make a small handful of cards.  If you were one of the few

(and I do mean few) 

 who received a Christmas card from our house, 

count yourself as lucky! 

 And so that no one should feel forgotten, I decided this evening that it might be nice to take the evening  to reflect on the year 2014, 

and of course share my thoughts with all of you.  

So grab a  cup of coffee or perhaps some tea

 and get settled into your favorite chair......

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This year has been filled with adventure, blessings and anticipation,

kind of  like the very first Christmas!

As I sit here, 

it's quiet

it's cold

and an icy rain is falling from the sky. 

And in the words of Clement C Moore..

Not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse.

I can however hear the 

fire crackling in the wood stove. 

So there's no 

Jack Frost nipping at my nose!

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Anticipation

Earlier this year,

 we learned we were getting a new grandbaby!! 

So we have been waiting with

  expectancy for this new little blessing. 

He or she is due to make his or her

 arrival the day after Christmas. 

 As you can imagine, I'm growing impatient! 

 I just can't wait to get my hands

 on that baby and shower kisses

 all over its little cheekies!

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We spent most of 2014 anticipating the wedding 

of Andrew to his bride, Ashley.

But before the wedding,

we enjoyed showering Ashley with love and presents! 

Blessing

Andrew and Ashley were married on a glorious day in September. 

The wedding went off without a "HITCH"

He got a wife; we got another daughter!

Here are a few of my favorite pics from that day!

Adventure

Much of 2014, has been quite an adventure. 

 I don't think either of us would call it a 

FUN adventure.

Nonetheless, it has been an adventure in the sense that we have been doing something different-

by breaking up the monotony of life. 

We have been trying to make the best of a less than

 ideal situation.

Many of you already know that we have been living out of two homes.  Since July, we have spent most of our time living in Rockville, Md where  Dave's current project has taken him.  We are blessed that I can go along and stay with him at what we refer to as, 

"the villa"

We have been experiencing a little culture shock.....

just a little.... 

City people

WE ARE NOT!

We are definitely country folk!

deer huntin'

diggin' in the dirt

peace and quiet lovin'

Country Folk!

And speaking of deer huntin'...

Here is one blessed fellow...

Dave that is, not the deer!  

He recently bagged a buck on a hunting trip to Canada.

AND he's also blessed to be grandpa to these two little deers!

Did I mention another is on the way??

This year, Dave and I celebrated....

10 years of being leukemia free

and

35 years of  doing the 

dance known as marriage!

It's been quite a ride!

So we decided to celebrate by taking

 a trip to Tennessee  with some special friends.

We had a great time and look forward to taking another trip!

SOON!

I hope you all have enjoyed sharing the highlights of this last year with us.  

I also hope you have some highlights of your own to reflect on. 

 Life can be brutal sometimes.

But if we focus on the moments that bring us joy

they have the ability to overshadow the difficult times. 

It is our hope that you will not 

only take time to reflect on 

the joyful moments of life, 

but that you would also

 take time to ponder the giver of 

ALL JOY.

FOR HE IS CHRIST THE LORD....

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

For both of us,

Tammy

T'is the Season for COOKIES!

So it's the season for cookie baking.  

And like all households,

we have our favorites.  

I'll confess that these buckeyes are my all time favorite!

But each year I try to select the cookies that

 are of  different colors, tastes, and textures

 and cookies that will create a pretty platter 

 for serving family and friends

 and giving as gifts.  

Today, I want to share just one unique recipe.

I got this from an old friend who always made

it sound like the recipe was some kind

 of  a family secret. 

 But today, 

THE CAT'S OUT OF THE BAG!

This is a molasses ginger cookie, 

shaped like a banana...

hence the name

Banana Gingers

 The recipe is not really that much of a secret.

It's the pan they are baked in that is the biggest secret!

My tricky husband has a metal bender

so he made me my own cookie sheet

 for creating these little jewels.  

The cookies are dropped by tablespoons

 and as they puff up, 

they take on the shape of a banana.

Once they cookies are baked they are

rolled in powdered sugar.  

 Beautiful!

And tasty too!

Here's the recipe....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Banana Gingers

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup molasses

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup shortening

1 egg

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp baking soda

4 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

 Mix shortening and sugar,  Blend wet ingredients.  Add dry ingredients.  Drop by teaspoons and bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.  Roll in 10x.  

Have a great day!

Christmas Scrapbook (pt1)

*****Today's post is in the form of  scrapbook pages from my digital scrapbook.  Please feel free to click on the pictures to get a better look! I certainly enjoyed creating these pages, I you'll enjoy viewing them.  *****

As you can see, we had a delightful Thanksgiving with the family.

We are still waiting on the the newest addition to the family.  Hopefully sometime in the next 2 weeks he or she will make an appearance!

In the meantime, we're making preparations and enjoying all things Christmas.  And that includes watching little Jack play Jingle Bells in his first piano recital. 

 When he heard the applause of the audience, he lit up like a Christmas tree, and began to clap for himself.  

So Cute!

The decorating is  done....

Check it out!

 

That's all for now. 

Check back soon for part 2 of our 

Christmas Scrapbook.

In the meantime, enjoy this beautiful season of 

love!

And don't forget to keep it simple!

Tammy