A little Christmas cheer

Rob and I both love Christmas. We love everything about Christmas. We love the songs, the lights, and the candy.  We really love Christmas Candy. If you came to our wedding you know how much I love peppermints! Most of all we love what Christmas represents: God’s love to sinners. At this very special time of year we are reminded that “while we were still sinners,” God sent His one and only Son. We are reminded that “while we were still sinners,” Christ was born, lived, was crucified and raised again to give new life for us. That cute little baby in the manger was and is a message of hope for those who believe in the man He came to be. He came to be Immanuel. He came to save His people from their sins. His gift to you and to me is new life in Him. All we need to do is accept His gift, believe and trust in Him.

So, as the holiday approaches and we look to joy for our gift in the little manger, we pray that you will find every joy in Him and be blessed by His precious gift.

Another wonderful part of Christmas for us is decorating our home in celebration of this wonderful time of year. Below I am attaching some pictures and little "how-to's" for the thrifty, crafty decorators this season.

 This is my cheapest holiday decoration: home-made Merry Christmas sign.  Of course, you can make it say whatever you want (Noel, Happy Holiday, Joy, Happy Birthday, etc.).  First, print the words in a XL font.  Then, cut them out.  Trace onto colored poster board.  I added a one inch strip to the bottom of the letters to connect them.  Cut the letters with an X-acto knife.  Add glue & glitter to the edges, fold and place wherever you wish.  I added some fake snow in the window for a little fun.


Of course, once again, I have used Ball jars, this time, above our kitchen cabinets.  For Christmas, we filled them with Christmas candies (we have an abundance of candy canes and peppermints at this time of year-- no surprise) and small ornaments.

Alternative: add candies to clear votive holders for a decorative centerpiece, table decoration or shelf decoration.

This was another fun Christmas words display.  I painted the letters "J-O-Y" (from Hobby Lobby) first with red on the side of the letters and then white on the face of the letters.  Rob wrapped them in garland above our kitchen sink.  I only wish we had a mantel for this fun Christmas greeting!

This last decorative trick came about because of our abundance of peppermint ribbon (we purchased 7 spools of it for our wedding).  Rob wraps 1-2 doors in the ribbon (as seen) and then staples our Christmas cards to the ribbon as they come in.  It's a fun way to celebrate the letters and love that people have sent us.  We usually keep the Christmas cards and put them up the following year, too.

Just some fun, festive ideas.  I hope you all have a VERY Merry Christmas this year!

Taco Bar Recipes

Tonight was our neighborhood's Progressive Dinner party and we hosted the hot food-- a taco bar. If you know us, you know how we both love Mexican food (both authentic and American style).  So we jumped at the chance to make some!  I (Leah) tried out a new recipe for slow-cooker chicken.  Now, I must admit this was the first time that I have ever used my slow-cooker to cook anything.  So-- I had to make sure that the recipe was fool-proof.  And it was!  The chicken was perfectly seasoned, moist and juicy.

Here's the recipe:
5 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I was cooking for 20+ people)
3 cups of chicken broth
2 packets of taco seasoning
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles

Dump into slow cooker, stir together and cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Drain the chicken, reserving some liquid.  Shred chicken (this was really easy-- Rob did it) and return to slow-cooker. Add some of the reserved liquid back into the slow cooker and keep warm until ready to serve.

I also made refried beans (without frying them!):
1 onion, peeled and halved
3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons of salt
2 cups of chicken broth
7 cups of water
1 3/4 teaspoons black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1 packet taco seasoning
1 teaspoon chili powder

Add all ingredients to slow cooker, stir together and cook on high for 8 hours.  Once beans are cooked, strain and reserve the liquid.  Mash beans and onion with a potato masher, adding reserved water as needed.  The recipe also called for 1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped to go in the slow cooker. I didn't remember to buy the peppers and thought it tasted good without.

And I made black beans (this is for you, Molly) by adding 1 tablespoon of oil into a skillet on medium heat.  Then, I added 4 cans of black beans (rinsed), 1/2 packet of taco seasoning and one onion, chopped.  I let them saute until the beans were well-heated, then simmered until they were ready to serve.

Sorry there are no pictures, but it was yummy!

A little fall decorating

I love autumn!  The colors, the fresh air, the swift breezes.  And, of course-- Fall Break.  This year, I wanted to use part of my extended break to make our house reflect some of the beauty of the season.  So, with the inspiration from a co-worker, I created a wreath for our front door.

Here is how to make it: go to Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's-- get a grapevine wreath, two different colored twiggy flowered things (yes that is the technical name for them) and a wooden letter.  Then hot glue and have fun!

Tips: I painted the "B" with the trim paint from the outside of our house so that it matches with the porch nicely.  I also would recommend getting one of the twig- things without styrofoam.  The kind that I used melted a bit when it contacted the hot glue.

 
After making the wreath, I started to feel inspired.  After all-- fall is quite beautiful!  And why not use the beauty that God created to finish the front porch.  So we picked up some hay and a few other natural autumn objects and finished the porch.



I also got an idea from a Better Homes & Garden magazine (a favorite read while at the gym) to make some centerpieces from cut tree limbs.  Again-- what better for decorating than God's handiwork?  So I experimented and found that rock and some canning jars did the trick.