Wordless Wednesday

Twas the day before Christmas...

Ho Ho Ho!

I'm on break!! Last week we had a fun week of holiday festivities. Kenzie had her Jingle Bell Jog at school. Ethan and I had our Christmas program at school. Santa even visited the kids at home on a fire truck! I was even excited to CLEAN the house on Saturday. Amongst all the cleaning and frivolity I missed the signs that I was getting sick. So I spent yesterday and so far, today, in bed or on the couch. Yuck! But, looking on the bright side...at least I didn't have to go to school today. And I have time to get over myself before Thursday. Some things I'm looking forward to in the next two weeks:
*baking cookies with the kids
*keeping the house tidy
*sleeping in whilst the children destroy the tidy house
*CHRISTMAS!!!
*Family time (Kristen, Mike and Livi are coming down Wednesday)
*A night out with Hubby Matt and some friends to a wedding OOH LA LA!
*Time in ATL with LeeAnn Happy Birthday to me!

Lots of fun stuff to look forward to! I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year!

My Favorite Sweet Treat of the Season

Cake Balls
"This recipe is very versatile and heavily addictive. You can mix and match cake and icing flavors as well as the chocolate coatings. If you want to go the extra mile, cake balls can be rolled in nuts, sprinkles, coconut, etc. or double dipped in white and dark chocolates. Chocolate confectioners' coating is also called Almond Bark in some stores."

PREP TIME 40 Min
COOK TIME 30 Min
READY IN 1 Hr 10 Min
Original recipe yield 3 dozen

INGREDIENTS
1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 (16 ounce) container prepared chocolate frosting
1 (3 ounce) bar chocolate flavored confectioners coating

DIRECTIONS
Prepare the cake mix according to package directions using any of the recommended pan sizes. When cake is done, crumble while warm into a large bowl, and stir in the frosting until well blended.
Melt chocolate coating in a glass bowl in the microwave, or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
Use a melon baller or small scoop to form balls of the chocolate cake mixture. Dip the balls in chocolate using a toothpick or fork to hold them. Place on waxed paper to set.

The picture above is not mine...I was drooling too much to think about getting out my camera.

A Stable Warm and Dry

Working at a preschool amongst very creative women, I have seen some super cute craft ideas for Christmas! Being the overachiever that I am, I set out with too many ideas in mind to accomplish in a two week period. Knowing how pressed for time I was before Thanksgiving and how I stressed myself out, I figured I'd save a couple of those ideas for next Christmas. But this one, I couldn't pass up!

My craft supply of choice:
a styrofoam espresso cup!

I have come up with a lot of ideas on how to use them. We made Indians last month. We made spiders for halloween. They are the same size as the little clay pots-but they cost $1.99 for 40. And these won't shatter if you drop them. (But they're toast if you step on them.)

So this month I wanted to make a Nativity scene for the kids to take home. We used kid-sized shoe boxes that I spray painted brown. We added raffia in the box for hay, and they decorated 2 medium size cups for Mary and Joseph and the small cup for baby Jesus. Two tongue depressors were painted brown and glued to the top of the box, and a laminated star glued in the middle of those. To the top of the box I glued a Bible verse from Luke. Voila! A child-crafted nativity scene! And I have to say, they were absolutely darling! Do you have a favorite Christmas craft?

I'm crawling out of my hole...

...to bring you these pictures. Yes, I am alive. Just like I was turkeyed out in November, I am holiday-ed out in December! We have been busy at school and at home. 'Tis the season! I took too many pictures to get my Christmas card pic. So here are the pictures...












And the winner is...

You'll just have to wait for your card! Ha!

Harvest Moon Beach Bash

We attended our church's first annual Harvest Moon Beach Bash tonight at a local state park. The pavillion was on the beach, and we got to see lots of cool stuff like....



the full moon. We watched it rise over the clouds on the horizon, and it was absolutely beautiful. Then we saw...



this cruise ship leave port to head out to sea. I wouldn't mind taking a little vacate on this baby! It was so close to where we were I almost wanted to wave and yell 'Bon Voyage'. But the finale of the evening was...



watching the Endeavor launch from the Cape and fly through the night sky. Wow! I don't think I had seen this since I was in high school, and it was incredible!

The kids had a great time running around on the beach and playing in the sand. Matt got to smoke a cigar, and I got to lounge in a beach chair a stones throw from the waves. Lots of people showed up, and a good time was had by all.

Playing Catch Up-Part 3

Kenzie's party with the fam was great! Matt's parents were able to make it down, and it was nice to have everyone together. Another big event in October were the Fall Festivals-Ethan's, mine, and our church's. Here are some MORE pictures...























Make sure to see Part 2 below!

Playing Catch Up-Part 2

The last post I showed pictures of our second annual camping trip with the neighbors. We went to Disney to camp at Fort Wilderness and we attended Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Loads of fun!!! Here are some pictures of Mackenzie's birthday party with the fam.
















Make sure to check out Part 1 below!

Playing Catch Up-Part 1

I put too much pressure on myself-for no good reason. I have wanted to post pictures of the kids from Halloween, from our Disney trip, etc. To make this quicker for me, I'm just going to post pictures and you can make up captions amongst yourselves.