Christmas fun and a break

I saw these cute Christmas cartoons and had to share them with you.

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I'm going to take a little blogging break during this busy time.  I hope you all have a wonderful time with friends and family.  I also hope that in the middle of that busyness, we remember what we are really celebrating.  Merry Christmas my friends!

Friday Funny

Cooking Thursday

It's gotten so cold here!  Cold and snow makes me want to make soup, and I have such a good recipe for it today!  I got this recipe quite a few years ago when my Mom passed away.  One of my aunts made a big pot of this for our family to have on the day of visitation.  We all really liked it, and I've made it ever since.  It's great for your own family, but I've also made it numerous times to bring to people when they need a meal because of sickness, a new baby...   Try it - you'll like it!

Wild Rice Chicken Soup

6 1/4 c. liquid (I use broth and enough water to get 6 1/4 cups)

1 (6 oz) box Uncle Ben's Original Recipe long grain and wild rice mix

1 envelope Lipton chicken noodle soup mix

1 celery rib, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1-2 cups cubed cooked chicken

In large saucepan, combine liquid, rice with contents of seasoning packet and Lipton soup mix. Bring to boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in celery, carrot and onion. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in cream of chicken soup and chicken. Cook about 8 minutes longer and or until rice and vegetables are tender.

Wordless Wednesday

Best Christmas Ad...

I saw this ad on FB and read the accompanying article.  The ad is from the UK.  The article said that in the UK, they put as much into their Christmas ads as the US does it's Superbowl ads.  This ad is apparently a favorite and after watching it, I can see why.  I have to admit, that it was good enough that I wasn't sure what they were trying to sell.  After reading the article, I found it was for a store named 'Marks and Spencer'.   Check it out and see if you agree!

Christmas Party #1

We had Bob's family Christmas party last weekend.  We have too many people to use someones house,  so we rent a room for it.  This year, we rented a new place.  It's a log cabin on the Grand River near our home.  It was recently purchased and renovated by the county parks and was a beautiful place for a party!

Here's a view from the loft, looking into the main room.

Here's Bob and 2 of his brothers on the deck looking over the river.

There was even a fireplace!

 I made a few game/activities for the kids.  This one was for throwing balls through.

This one was "cup bowling".  They had fun just stacking the cups!

 Here's our girls sitting on Grandpa's lap.

 The kids loved looking out from the loft above.

We enjoyed watching the kids play.

 Alaina and Ruby loved Marcus who just turned one!

 The kids had fun peeking through the holes on the snowman.

Here's the whole gang having supper.

 Marcus liked this light necklace.

Alaina and Ruby with Great-grandpa and Grandma.

What a nice time, in a beautiful setting!

Friday Funny

Tis the season!   :)

Cooking Thursday

Today's recipe is a good one for Christmas parties!  I got this from my sister's Mother-in-law who has been making it for years.  It's a hot wassail drink that smells as good as it tastes.  I made it again for a party this weekend, and it's always good, especially on a cold day. This picture is not mine, it's from the internet because I forgot to take any pictures, but it looks the same.

Hot Wassail
 Pour into percolater:
2-64 ounce Apple juice
1 quart orange juice
In coffee basket with filter place:
1 cup brown sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
2 teaspoons whole cloves
2 teaspoons whole allspice
1 dash nutmeg
Run through percolator and enjoy!

It's looking like Christms!

Do you have your Christmas decorations up? I always put them up right after Thanksgiving.  Here's a few pictures of some things around our house.

In our garage, by the back door, I put a new sign in the milk can.

 In the Dining room, miniature ornaments are hung on the branches I keep in the corner, and the items on the shelves are switched.

 Mistletoe is hung from the light.

In the living room, my little stand has a new sign, the mason jar is filled with red and green.

My little scale now holds a miniature nativity that we made in MOPS last year.

We don't have a fireplace, so the stockings are hung from a shelf.  The stockings are identical, but the initials tell who each one belongs to.

The book shelf holds this jolly Santa that Bob carved several years ago.

This nativity is set up in our family room.  It is the one Bob's family had and when his Mom downsized it came to us.  It's very special!

This nativity is also very special.  Laura made it when she was about 16.  It is made from clay, and has many small pieces.  An angel, baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Wisemen, camels, Shepherds, cows, donkeys, sheep, even chickens!

And that's a taste of Christmas at our house.

Sunday Snow!

We haven't really had any snow this year, just a few snowflakes that didn't amount to anything.  But that changed on Sunday.  It started snowing in the afternoon and came down hard.  By late afternoon, everything was covered in white.  Here's what it looked like shortly before 5.

 Our backyard...

more from the back.

The beautiful beech tree in the front,

and the trees in front covered in white.

I'm not a fan of snow, especially when I have to drive in it, but I must admit that it is beautiful!

Thanksgiving!

I had a nice 2 weeks off and accomplished a lot, but I did miss you all.  I was reading blogs, but not doing a lot of commenting to save time.
I know we are all thinking about Christmas, but I have to share Thanksgiving with you yet!
I had Thanksgiving Day off, and it also happened to be my birthday, so here's a little about the day.

Aren't these pretty?  Bob gave them to me the day before Thanksgiving and they are still looking good!

Alaina brought this picture she drew along with the red leaf at the top of the picture, because it was "so beautiful"!  I thought it was so sweet!  :)


We had my whole family for the day; Dad, stepmom, brother, 2 sisters and husbands along with our kids and my grandkids which totals 22 people!

Here's our place settings.  I made name cards with felt turkeys and pilgrims which turned out pretty cute.

Here's our tables of people, lined up all the way down the family room in our basement.

Alaina enjoyed her meal.

And Ruby really enjoyed it!

After dinner we celebrated a few November birthdays, and then the football fans settled in to watch the Lions play, and were very happy when they won!

The girls played on Uncle Andrew!

And some of the kids got involved in some wii games.

My sisters and I spent several hours working on Christmas cards together.

For supper we had turkey sandwiches, salad and some yummy pies.

My sister Cheri made this beautiful apple tart; almost too pretty to eat!  But we did and it was good.

We had such a nice day together.  Family is one of the greatest blessings God has given us, and I am very blessed by mine!

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm taking a little blog break over Thanksgiving; busyness and projects are calling my name!  I have Thanksgiving day off ad will have a houseful of people here.
I have so much to be thankful for, including each of you. Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving! 

Friday Funny

Cooking Thursday

I'm sharing a family favorite today.  I feel like I say this a lot, but it's easy to make and is so good!  You can make this, put it in the oven and have it on the table in an hour (if your chicken is already cooked and cubed). Easy and good is my favorite type of recipe, so of course it's what I share with you.  :)

White Chicken Enchiladas

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 ounce can of diced green chilies, with juice
3/4 cup sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
2 cups shredded, cheddar cheese, divided
10 large flour tortillas
1/3 cup milk

Melt butter; add onion and saute. Stir in garlic powder, green chilies, sour cream and soup. Remove 3/4 cup of sauce and set aside. Add chicken and 1/2 cup of cheese. Fill tortillas with chicken mix and roll up. Place in greased 9X13 pan, seam side down.
Add milk and 1/2 cup cheese to remaining sauce. Pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese over top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
Serve with green onions, sour cream and salsa if desired.
*I make this with minced onion and skip the butter and sauteing the onion, I also use low fat sour cream and skim milk to keep the calories down and it still tastes great!

Wordless Wednesday

Ask, Ask, Ask

My friend Terri at Your Friend From Florida recently had a post that consisted of questions, and her answers.  I thought the questions and answers were interesting and a good way to get to know a blogger better, so I'm going to list her questions here with my answers.


1 - Did you have an accident last year?  No  
2 - Do you have any famous relatives? None that I can think of 
3 - Did you ever have a kiss under the moonlight? Yes, I have! 
4 - Have you ever been jealous? I'm afraid so...
5 - How can you prove your love to someone? I don't think you can, they just have to trust 
6 - What are you thinking right now? nothing deep, just answers to these questions.   :) 
7 - Have you ever sacrificed something important to you for someone you love?  Yes 
8 - Can you live without internet? I could, but I would have a hard time 
9 - Have you been so emotional that you can’t find words to explain how you feel? Yes 
10 - Did you ever badmouth someone? I'm ashamed to say yes... 
11 - What do you prefer, jeans or skirt?  No question - jeans! 
12 - Do you have trust issues? No, if anything I trust too easily 
13 - What's something that you made all on your own and are incredibly proud of? I don't know about the incredibly proud part, but I enjoy doing online photo books.
14 - Who’s the person who first comes to your mind when someone mentions “love”? Bob 
15 - Who was the last person you hugged?  Bob 
16 - Do you believe in the phrase “If it’s meant to be, it will be”? I believe God has a plan for our lives, but He also gives us free will. 
17 - Do people praise you for your looks? My sweet hubby does!  
18 - Do you believe in destiny? I believe in God's plans 
19 - Have you ever thought “I already found my soulmate”? Yes 
20 - Do you like nicknames that are from your name? My real name is Maribeth, but I've always been called Mari, so yes. 
21 - Could you ever be a vegan? No, even vegetarian would be a stretch. 
22 - Do you currently have bruises on your body? No 
23 - What should you be doing right now? Nothing besides what I am doing!
24 - I read in a magazine that shoulder pads are coming back. Are you happy to hear this or do you not find them to be very attractive? No - some things should never come back in style! 
25 - Did you ever feel like you’re not good enough? When I was younger I felt that sometimes, but I don't really feel that anymore.  I think as we get older we are more forgiving of ourselves.

Hope you enjoyed the questions and answers and maybe answered along with me!