a pictorial journal
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
DECEMBER 5th, 2009
It's SATURDAY…
It sure is a cold start to the day here…They say it was supposed to go down to 23 degrees last night.
It is a very good thing that I do not have to go out and about today. There is plenty to keep me occupied right here at home. And I’m very thankful for that good hot cup of coffee this morning!
THINKING
Advent is the time of hope, a time to renew the light of Christ in our lives.
As He came to bring us the light of eternal life, we hope to share our light with others.
It seems so hard during this time of year to slow down. It's even harder simply to stop and give this season of preparation a chance to seep into our souls.
Here is a candy cane craft idea for you to try
Glue candy canes(2) together into a heart shape. Make a ribbon loop & glue to back at junction of heart shape. Glue jingle bell onto bottom of heart point & glue bow on top of heart point.
NEW IN THE KITCHEN
Tomorrow is St. Nicholas Day!
For this day there is a special kind of cookie called Speculatius. The dough is rolled very thin and then cut in the shape of St. Nicholas, and these little figures are then decorated with icing in different colors and candied fruit. Here is the recipe for Speculatius (St. Nicholas). It comes from Holland.
Speculatius
1 cup butter
1 cup lard
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. soda
4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
4 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Cream the butter, lard, and sugar. Add sour cream alternately with sifted dry ingredients. Stir in nuts. Knead the dough into rolls. Wrap the rolls in waxed paper and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Roll the dough very thin and cut it into shapes. Bake in moderate oven (375degrees) 10 to 15 minutes.
(I think I would substitute Crisco shortening for the lard)
ATTIRE FOR TODAY
It is truly a sweatshirt kind of day with it being so very cold.
It’ll be partly sunny but only reaching a high of 38 degrees and we’ve another cold night in the low 20’s forecasted too.
PRAYERS
May today be all you need it to be. May the peace of God and the freshness of the Holy Spirit rest in your thoughts, rule in your dreams tonight, and conquer all your fears.. May God manifest himself today in ways you have never experienced. May your joys be fulfilled, your dreams be closer, and your prayers be answered.. I pray that faith enters a new height for you; I pray that your territory is enlarged. I pray for peace, healing, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, true and undying love for God
Amen
Please pray for God's protection of
our troops and HIS wisdom for their
commanders.
Lord, hold our troops in
your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the
selfless acts they perform for us
in our time of need. I ask this in the
name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
AROUND HOME
St. Nicholas of Myra's feast on December 6 (tomorrow) is celebrated in many European countries as a day to share gifts -- often candy, and often placed in shoes. As Europeans immigrated to the United States, various St. Nicholas traditions combined and emerged as Santa Claus. Sharing the story of St. Nicholas can help us emulate the generosity of his faith-filled life and reclaim this Christian saint
This was always an exciting evening for my children when they were little. Everyone would arrange their shoes by the fireplace in hopes that St. Nick would leave a treat for them. The next morning the shoes would always be filled with little treats and toys. It was always a joy seeing them rush to get their shoes in the morning.
FAMILY ALBUM
Rudolph agreed to have his photo taken with us when we
Were at the craft show the day after Thanksgiving.
I was surprised to see him there as I figured he would be resting up for the big trip on Christmas Eve, but there he was…spreading lots of Christmas Cheer!
We wish you a Merry Christmas!
COUNTING THE DAYS
Wearing new shoes on Christmas Day will bring bad luck
16 DAYS UNTIL WINTER !
20 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS
AND
132 DAYS UNTIL CAMPING SEASON BEGINS
Keep looking ON THE BRIGHT SIDE of things.
A little smile, a word of cheer,
A bit of love from someone near…
Love,
ma
MY JOURNALS
Pictures mostly taken by ‘ma’ and courtesy of the camera provided by my ‘babes’
2 comments:
You have a very good looking family. Boy that is cold there. I would surely freeze if I was there! It quit raining here and the sun is out.
Love all the seasonal goodies here today Ma. I have been really tardy in getting around to all my blog reading this week. Only two days to go and my boss is away for the holidays and then my Christmas season truly begins. Until then I have nary a minute to call my own!
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