Good Old Saint Nick

Growing up, I think we had the perfect blend of Santa with the celebration of Jesus' birth.

Each year on Christmas Eve, shortly before dinner Santa would arrive carrying a black bag containing one toy per child.  Santa would hand out the toys and then make his way into our living room.  He would sit near the nativity scene and read the Christmas story from the bible.  Santa emphasized that Jesus was the real reason we celebrated Christmas.  We would sing Christmas carols ranging from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to Silent Night.

Some of my most treasured memories of childhood are of Christmas Eve.

When grandchildren entered the family, the tradition of Santa arriving on Christmas Eve continued for quite a few years.  In the same fashion Santa {same santa as when i was a child} would arrive shortly before dinner,

read the christmas story, sing carols, and hand out gifts.

I am not sure Morgan remembers this Christmas when Santa came to grandma's house but I loved seeing that tradition come full circle.

If you have read my blog in the past or even throughout this month you know that the emphasis in our home is on the birth of Jesus but our kids do believe in Santa.  They receive one gift from Santa on Christmas Day.  It is a tradition I wanted to continue because the spirit of St. Nicholas was giving and loving.  We did read about St. Nicholas this year and I find it quite funny that my two littlest ones now refer to Santa as Saint Nicholas.

When we still lived in Minnesota, our small town had a wonderful winter festival.  The kids could come and meet Santa. There were no long lines and it was quick and easy.  Since we moved I have not wanted to brave the mall for pictures with Santa and my kids have not asked to visit him so we have skipped it.

Last weekend Morgan had a Christmas party for her gymnastics team. Her coaches dressed up as Santa and Santa's elf.  I couldn't miss an opportunity to snap a Santa picture.  They were such good sports to let all the kids line up for pictures.

coach eduard as santa

morgan with her coaches

landon getting his turn

sassy being herself!

What are some of your favorite childhood memories of Christmas??

Advent: Day 22

Lego Calendar:

Activities:

make birthday cards for Jesus

 make stained glass gingerbread men ornaments

 make melty bead trees

Bible Verses:  Psalm 67:4-7

May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
   for you rule the peoples with equity
   and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, God;
   may all the peoples praise you.
 The land yields its harvest;
   God, our God, blesses us.
May God bless us still,
   so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Luke 1:5-25
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.  ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

Peppermint Cake Balls

I am not a huge fan of cake.  

I will take a great cookie or bar over cake most days.  

When I learned about cake balls last year, I wanted to give them a try.  They are the perfect bite sized snack of cake. Cake balls have now become the most requested dessert when we host our teen small group.    

Over the course of the last year I have experimented with different cake flavors such as funfetti, cherry chip, strawberry, and cookies and cream {white cake mix with crushed up oreos}.  Our favorite flavor so far is the cookies and cream.

When I found the peppermint oreos I knew I had to try making a cookies and cream cake with them.  These cake balls do not disappoint. They were the perfect combination of the cake, chocolate, and mint.

If you are looking for an easy, last minute dessert to take to a Christmas gathering this will surely be a hit!

Peppermint Cake Balls

- make a white cake mix according to package directions

- crush up peppermint oreos {i used an entire package but you can use less} and add to the white cake mix

- put cake with oreos into a greased 9x13 pan and bake according to the package directions

- when the cake is cooled, crumbled it up with one can of frosting or one batch of homemade frosting {i have always used homemade frosting and make enough to cover a 9 x 13 cake}

- when the cake and frosting are mixed, form into small balls and place on a lined cookie sheet or jelly roll pan

- place cake balls into the freezer until they are hard

- melt candy melts and dip cake balls

- let them set 

- enjoy!

* i have found that the candy melts work much better to coat cake balls than almond bark or chocolate chips.  i like that the candy melts come in a variety of colors so you don't have to just have white or brown {if you use milk chocolate} cake balls.

What "We" Wore Wednesday

i am linking up with lindsey again this week.

wednesday: at home day with morgan recovering from the flu, advent activities, a little bit of school, dance for mauryn in the evening

 me: sweats/sweatshirt- target

shirt - from race a few years ago

morgan: pj pants - justice

shirt - from dance recital

mauryn: leo/tights - target

skirt - from dance recital

thursday: homeschool, advent activities, morgan gymnastics

 morgan: sweats/shirt - justice

landon: jeans - old navy

shirt - a gift from my mom

mauryn: outfit a gift from a friend for her birthday

  jeans - maurices

gray long sleeved t shirt - maurices

white t shirt - maurices

vest - target

friday: homeschool christmas party, gymnastics christmas party

 mauryn: skirt/shirt - crazy 8

landon:  pants - from my mom

shirt - kohl's

morgan: jeans - justice

t shirt - bronco shop

fleece coat - sent from my mom a few years ago

  jeans - maurices

black shirt - maurices

white shirt - maurcies

sweater - target

necklaces - lisa leonard designs

sunday: church, advent activities, college small group

 morgan: dress/leggings - the children's place

landon: black cords - gymboree

shirt - target

mauryn - dress - costco

accessories - gifts from the tree

 dress - old navy

leggings - target

shoes - kohls

necklace/earrings - maurices

bracelet - gift from sarah {new favorite}

monday: gymnastics, advent activities, errands

 jeans - maurices

tank - down east basics

sweater - snagged at a yard sale

tuesday: advent activities, morgan gymnastics, two little ones to get flu shot booster, out to dinner with my hubby for our anniversary

 morgan: gymnastics sweats/shirt - justice

landon: jeans - kohls

shirt - from fall flag football

mauryn: leggings/shirt - gymboree

jeans - maurices

tank - old navy

shirt - maurices

jewelry - maurices

* i am still thinking about getting a full length mirror and taking my own pics so i can hide behind the camera. it is so odd to stand for a pic each day.

** ww update: this was not a stellar week but was happy that i maintained and didn't gain. i ate poorly, didn't journal, and did not really exercise due to being tired from dealing with sick kiddos. i know this week will be hard with all the great food and treats surrounding christmas.  my goal through christmas is to maintain.  

Wordless Wednesday: Those Big Brown Eyes

Advent: Day 21

Lego Calendar:

i captured a few pictures of how the kids are playing with the pieces to the advent calendar:

putting the wagons together

 i love this one... they call the man st.nick and they put him on the top of the fireplace

Activities: Celebrate the first day of winter with snow activities.  

The kids made colors of faith snowflake ornaments,

 snowmen sticker pictures, 

  snowflakes for our door {a favorite activity},

and snowballs for an indoor snowball fight.  once the snowballs were finished and the kids were getting ready to have their snowball fight, they came up with the idea of coloring the snowballs a certain color or set of colors for each person.  i thought it was interesting that they wanted to make sure they ended up with their own snowballs when they were finished.  they really enjoyed creating an obstacle course in the bonus room and having a snowball fight.

Bible Verses:  1 Thessalonians  5:16-18
 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.


1 John 4:7-12
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Advent: Day 20

Lego Calendar:

Activities:  1. eat dessert first

2.  pack movie gift bags for three neighbors.

I let the kids each pick one neighborhood family to deliver a surprise gift.  I encouraged them to pick someone that they may not know well or someone who is a new friend to them.

In each bag we put in a movie {$5 or less area at Target},

 some microwave popcorn, 

 a 2 liter bottle of soda, 

 and some candy.

 We created an assembly line on the counter, then Landon and Morgan filled the gift bags while Mauryn took a bit of a morning nap on the couch :o)

 Once the bags were filled, Morgan and Landon made cards to put in the bags.

After lunch the kids delivered the bags and some cookies to the neighbors houses, leaving them on the doorstep as a surprise.

Do you "treat" your neighbors during the Christmas season?

Bible Verses: 1 Chronicles 16:8-36

Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
   make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
   tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name;
   let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Look to the LORD and his strength;
   seek his face always.
 Remember the wonders he has done,
   his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
you his servants, the descendants of Israel,
   his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
He is the LORD our God;
   his judgments are in all the earth.
 He remembers his covenant forever,
   the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
   the oath he swore to Isaac.
He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
   to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
“To you I will give the land of Canaan
   as the portion you will inherit.”
 When they were but few in number,
   few indeed, and strangers in it,
they wandered from nation to nation,
   from one kingdom to another.
He allowed no one to oppress them;
   for their sake he rebuked kings:
“Do not touch my anointed ones;
   do my prophets no harm.”
 Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
   proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
   his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
   he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are idols,
   but the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
   strength and joy are in his dwelling place.
 Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations,
   ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
   bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his^[c] holiness.
 Tremble before him, all the earth!
   The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
   let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”
Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
   let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
Let the trees of the forest sing,
   let them sing for joy before the LORD,
   for he comes to judge the earth.
 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
   his love endures forever.
Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior;
   gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
   and glory in your praise.”
Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
   from everlasting to everlasting.
   Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the LORD.”