New Beginnings

Happy (Belated) New Year!

I know, I know

I'm a little late on the new year greeting!

But I've been distracted...

VERY distracted.

 

 We had a wonderful Christmas with the family.

All our traditions and plans went off without a hitch.

We weren't sure how Christmas would play out since our daughter was expecting the day after Christmas.

She however, made us wait on the arrival of our newest little bundle of pure joy  until after New Years. 

On January 4th

Eliza Mae made her way into the world

AND into our hearts. 

She was well worth the wait!

What a fantastic way to begin a 

new year!

Now that the baby drama has calmed down, its time to look forward to the new year that awaits us....

a new year that will undoubtedly

fly by!

The new year is such a great time to make changes...

Get a fresh start...

to evaluate what is working in your life...

and what is not.

It's a great time to set new goals...

And begin new habits.

(For some great tips on goal setting head over to 

Sugar Pie Farmhouse) 

As for myself,

I've made a few changes.

For one

I no longer use this..

I have come into the 21st century.

I am now using 

OneNote

One Note is an organizational app that I can use on my computer

 and my phone...

and sync one to the other.

And who doesn't want to be more organized?

With living in 2 places

it has become a necessity if I'm going to keep all these balls in the air.

I unfortunately live by my lists.

But at my age...

I gotta have lists!!!!

Honestly, I have been dragging my feet on this phone technology...

Proclaiming it to be unnecessary.

   Its only been since we have been living this dual lifestyle that I broke down and upgraded to a new "smart phone".  

And YES, it's smarter than me!

I have to admit...

I love it!

 I especially love its 

GPS so I don't get lost when I'm out and about. 

And all of the apps available for download....Wow!

I don't make "resolutions!"

Resolutions are made for breaking,

don't you know!

But I do have a plan to spend a few minutes each morning with God.

This year,

I am following Joyce Meyer's 

The Power of being Thankful

devotional book.  

And to simplify things,

I have downloaded on my Kindle.  

And hey, I have an app for that on my phone too!

So no matter where I am, I have no excuses to spend time with God.

And of course, my prayer list is on One Note!

Not only a that-

But I have determined to consciously live in a perpetual state of 

Thankfulness.

It's not that I'm not a thankful person....

It's that I think when we are conscious of our blessings...

we live a richer life...

we're focused on the positive...

which crowds out the negative.

So of course,

I have a thankful list too!!!

I'm trying to find something... 

no matter how small...

to be thankful for

each day!!!!!!!

Do you have goals or changes for the new year.

I'd love to hear about them!

Until next time...

Try and keep it 

SIMPLE!

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......

Internet picture

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!

Internet picture

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!

Internet picture

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!