Christmas in Pictures (continued)

We have been playing around with the new camera. It didn't take long for me to realize that I need to spend some time with the manual. But for now, here are a few shots captured on "Auto".

(Below- homemade Christmas decorations made with ribbon, pinecones, and gold spray paint!)

Michael trying out his new "toy" with David.

A few days later, family from out-of-town come to visit. I also learned that it is very difficult to get good pictures of little ones. They move so fast!

December 27th was our 2 year anniversary! We postponed our celebration since we had guests, but still got a couple shot :)

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Christmas in Pictures

Christmas season 2011 seemed to come and go very quickly for us, as it may have for you too. But amidst the blur of Christmas lights and crazy mall crowds, we had a very blessed Christmas season.

A few highlights:

My Grandma turned 90!

 Christmas traditions. 

Spending time with a new little member of the family.

Ready for Christmas Eve party and Candlelight Church service. So thankful to finally celebrate Christmas with husband and family. 

And on Christmas day, opening presents like little kids. No shame.

Our new baby! Camera, that is :)

Samaritan's Purse Shoeboxes

You've probably heard of Samaritan's Purse Christmas Shoeboxes. Just in case you haven't, here's the official link.See that girl on the left? That's my friend Leigh Ann, and she invited David and I go with a group from church to help with the shoeboxes.

So we spent a few hours going through shoeboxes- making sure there weren't any unallowed items in the boxes, like war items, items that can't be shipped internationally, etc etc.

It was so much fun and a really neat way to help out with this ministry. Even if it was just a little bit. As we opened the boxes to examine them, we also found lots of sweet letters that children had written to the child that will recieve the box. So sweet!

These are the countries where the shoeboxes processed in this building are sent. The boxes we examined on that particular day will go to the Congo. Pretty cool.

One part about this ministry that I love and appreciate is that the children around the world will not only receive a shoebox filled with Christmas gifts, but the boxes are delivered with the help of the local church in the respective countries, and discipleship classes are offered to the kids. So we can hope and pray that those boxes will bless the children much further than the toys inside their box.

If you've never packed a box, it is an awesome way to give over the holiday season. And it's not too late to build a box this year- click here for more info!

A Favorite Christmas Dessert

I have many favorite Christmas desserts. But one I look forward to making with Mom every year is classic "Fantasy Fudge". There are tons of variations out there, but we always do the classic dark chocolate with some walnuts sprinkled in. Yum.

So if you're looking for something simple and sweet, with a rich chocolate taste, this is the recipe for you!

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar

3/4 cup  butter or margarine

1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup) (Do not use sweetened condensed milk.)

1-1/2 pkg.  (12 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped

1 jar (7 oz.) JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme

1 cup  chopped PLANTERS Walnuts

1 tsp. vanilla

LINE 9-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Bring sugar, butter and evaporated milk to full rolling boil in 3-qt. saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 4 min. or until candy thermometer reaches 234°F, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

ADD chocolate and marshmallow creme; stir until melted. Add nuts and vanilla; mix well.

POUR into prepared pan; spread to cover bottom of pan. Cool completely. Use foil handles to lift fudge from pan before cutting into squares.

Recipe Courtesy of Kraft Foods, found here.