A Little Christmas Joy

Three families were thrilled to receive some Christmas food boxes and gifts for their family today. We really enjoyed being able to spend part of our Christmas day delivering food to these wonderful families - all of whom were extremely touched by everyone's generosity. It was heartwarming to see one little boy get excited to see the different kinds of cereal he received and was excited about a box of jello :)

The Gift of Food

Our family has the privilege of delivering food that was collected by all the women at Curves, the local exercise club where my mom and I exercise each week. The women who belong to this club are very generous - along with all the food that was donated, 78 children at Head Start received new winter coats and a pair of rain boots. Today Conner, McKenzie, and I filled our Pilot with hundreds of pounds of food, money, shampoo, toilet paper, gifts, boots, hats, and mittens to be delivered to some needy families I serve at work. When we got home our whole family helped unpack and sort everything for the three families. Each family will receive 4 huge food boxes along with some gifts for their children and a gift card to a grocery store. This week I read a scripture in Proverbs 19 that says, "When we help the poor, we lend to the Lord." It is neat to think about how God really appreciates it when we take care of people who need help.

We all had so much fun organizing the food - McKenzie especially liked throwing the food to Conner who placed it in the right pile. It was heartwarming to see them really get into it. Kelsey and her friend wrapped all the gifts. Last night I called each family to let them know that our family would like to deliver some food to them on Christmas Day. It was very touching to hear the excitement and some relief in their voices when they heard that they would be receiving food. Their excitement about receiving food as a Christmas gift reminds me of how incredibly blessed our family is!

Opening an Early Christmas Present

The kids have been asking us for a couple of weeks if they could open one Christmas present early. We said they could open one on Saturday, but we all had to be together to do it. It wasn't until Tuesday when we were all home at the same time because of having so many different sleepovers! They opened their presents from Uncle Terry and Aunt Debbie and loved what they received. They each got a box of Sees candy and two gift cards. Conner already spent both of his gift cards yesterday at Subway and Home Depot and has been using his marble tiles for fingerboarding nonstop since returning from Home Depot :) (I also finished Conner's hat that's he's wearing in this picture and have started Kelsey's...I love having time to knit!)

House Guest

We have been dogsitting this week for our neighbors while they are in Costa Rica. Their dog, Spike, is so much fun to have around, and we are all really enjoying him - even Peter! The kids are really hoping that having a dog around for over a week will convince Peter that they are responsible and willing to take care of a dog. We'll see!

Time with Jack and Elie

We had lots of fun babysitting Jack and Elie today while Katie got a little Christmas shopping done! We played and played, walked up to the park to throw rocks in the stream, and baked cupcakes. Sara came over for a visit, too, so they all enjoyed taking care of their little cousins. We really wish they didn't live across town so that we could see them more often!

2010 Cookie Exchange

We had a great time at our cookie exchange today. Everyone brought so many different kinds of cookies - we had 40 plates of cookies when we were finished! This year we did a gift exchange which was fun. I got some of my favorite candles and some toffee from Trader Joes- Yum! Little Elie had fun walking around in Uggs that were almost as big as she is! McKenzie helped me deliver the cookies tonight to many of our friends. Now we're watching "A Christmas Story" and eating popcorn - the joys of Christmas vacation :)

It's That Time Again

It's wonderful to have a vacation from work and school. Just the anticipation of two weeks off from getting up at 5:10 every morning does my heart wonders (even though today I woke up at 4:55 and couldn't go back to sleep!). We love Christmas vacation as we get to spend extra time with our friends, doing whatever we feel like needs to be done, and of course baking. There's just something about Christmas vacation that makes me want to bake everything I possibly can and also learn how to cook a few new recipes. Here is the first of several new recipes that I have been wanting to try. These are some easy and tasty cookies. I got the recipe off of one of my favorite websites (The Pioneer Woman Cooks). They are toffee bars and take 30 minutes to make from start to finish. The crust is delicious shortbread made with only butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and flour. You bake the crust for 15 minutes and then melt chocolate chips on top. You can add pecans, crushed m & m's or heath bars to the top. I will be using them today for our family's annual cookie exchange. It is something that I really look forward to, as I love spending time with my family.