oh boy.
i feel like such a slacker!
i usually warn you about my "vacations from blogging" but this past week i just disappeared.
please forgive me!
my in-laws were in town and i decided to do a whole-lotta-nuttin!
it was a smart move on my part.
i had time to rest.
time to read.
time to organize and clean.
best of all... 
i had lots of time to spend alone with hubs
and
i had a chance to remember why i love c.j. so very much. {he's quite hilarious which i often miss out on when i'm in mommy-mode.}
so all of that is to say that i'm sorry for my unplanned absence and that...

i wish you very bestest of new years! 

please try and squeeze out every last ounce of joy you can in these last days of 2011!

His mercies are new EVERY morning!

photo credit 

One Reason I LOVE Picnik!

cause I was able to make this...

and put it here!

Want one? Click Here and print!

Happy Thursday!

Christmas Favs {Commercials}

Just thought it would be fun to remember these...

Remember "I didn't know there was chicken in this soup? or this..?

How's the shopping going?

{Mashed Sweet Potatoes}

I usually keep sweet potatoes on hand. They're so versatile! One of my favorite recipes is Ellie Krieger's Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes but that requires about an hour of oven time and I needed something fast the other night.
I found a recipe for mashed sweet potatoes.
I tried it.
We loved it.
It's super simple with only 4 ingredients that I always have on hand and when I find a recipe everyone enjoys, I hang on to it. 

Mashed Sweet Potatoes 

3 large sweet potatoes
1/4 c butter
1/4 c milk
1/4 c maple syrup

Peel, dice, and boil the potatoes in just enough water to cover the potatoes for 20-30 minutes. Once fork tender, drain and remove from heat. Add remaining three ingredients and blend with a potato masher or electric hand mixer until smooth. {I often just turn the burner off but leave the pan on the stove to help melt the butter}. Serve warm.
 

I found it here at Food.com and it was posted by the user RAINSPIRIT  

which is also where the photo is from.

Christmas Favs 2001 {Winter Snow}

Hi, Everyone!
I discovered this song a few weeks ago on the Chris Tomlin Christmas CD we just purchased. This song was neatly tucked in at the end of the playlist and I immediately fell in love. The lyrics tell the story of God's grace in sending our Savior, not in a fiery brilliance but rather in the simplest way possible.
I hope you enjoy it too!

Winter Snow by Audrey Assad

Christmas Favs 2001 {Behold the Lamb Book}

Sweetest of Hubs found this a few weeks ago...

If you're at all familiar with Sally Lloyd-Jones' Jesus Storybook Bible or Andrew Petereson's Behold the Lamb Christmas album then you already have a basis for understanding this book.
Behold the Lamb {the book}, written by Russ Ramsey, starts from the beginning... the VERY beginning.
It starts with Adam and Eve and walks through the history leading up to Christ and shows the common thread throughout all of Scripture that Christ has been part of the plan all along.
It's a beautiful story, written with great detail and care. It goes into the mundane of the Old Testement stories we've heard all along and finds the simple beauty of the truth and tenderness of God's love for His people from the start.
It's written in twenty-five short chapters which makes it great for advent reading like Hubs and I are doing, but that doesn't mean you can't order and read it all at once!

This day, THIS Monday, is the day that the Lord has made!

Chocolate, Peanut Butter Bananas

{bananas. peanut butter. chocolate}

Found this recipe at Nom Nom Nom.
Made them.
Ate them before I thought to take a picture of my own.
You should make them too!

Happy Wednesday!

No Idle Hands, Just an Idle Computer

I've been slacking on sharing the goods with you lately.
Our schedule filled up very quickly once school and Bible study kicked in.
Moving certainly did it's part.
BUT...
I did want to share a little of what we've been up to just in case you're looking for ideas.
1. The whole upstairs has been painted and the rooms are functional. More will be done but not for a while, I suspect.

Our kitchen is still waiting for the wainscoting that's going up to cover the damaged wall. {Seriously, wallpaper removal can be the pits!}

The master bathroom powder room area has made enough progress that it's going to stay as is for a while. {Remember it before?} It's an awkward area that I'd love to gut and redo but Hubs enjoys having money in the bank so that's that.
2. I had a problem of unorganized hair "do-dads" for the girls and found this from Ruffled Sunshine.

I no longer have that problem.
I didn't even make it fancy.
I simply ripped the paper off the container and "ta-da"! No more mess!
3. I have been getting creative itches lately but still haven't cleaned up the sewing room. It's still in boxes and piles. Maybe when the poinsettia season slows I'll have time. We'll see. Anyway, I discovered finger knitting...

and whipped up a couple of bracelets out of an old nightgown for Mak {my lover of all things girly} and I in less than 15 minutes.
4. We've been eating, too!

Last night was Hamburger Pie from Better Homes and Gardens. It was suuuper easy and tasted like comfort in a pan!
5. I've been drooling over this bag for a few days now. I WILL FIND TIME! {after I translate it!}

So there it is.

Now, take a deep breath.
This time of year is for celebrating the birth of our Savior.
The stores and stress can wait!

Christmas Favs 2011 {Baby, It's Cold Outside}

Last year was my round of "25 Things to Get Done Before Christmas".
I have nowhere near the amount of energy or time required to follow that up with another 25.
Goodness, 2.5 sounds daunting!
So instead, I figure I'll just pass on my favorite Christmas "stuff" that I have stumbled across.
This year, my first share is a song that Hubs and I found on a favorite site of ours called "The Rabbit Room". The site is sort of a community for Christian "artsy" people. There's lots of thought provoking posts, tons of suggestions for quality books and music, and plenty of things to make you laugh.
Anyway, this is not your typical go at the classic song so give it a try, listen real hard, and tell me what you think.

We think it's hilarious!

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside”

by Andy Gullahorn and Jill Phillips