S W E E T ! ! And sweets.
Baking day was Sunday. Just the girls, for the working part. Then the boys for the chicken tacos (and beef, too). Extra salt, please.
- Minty Cake Balls with Green Mint Icing (Gemma)
- Peppermint Brownies with crushed candy topping (Guini)
- Hot Chocolate Truffles (Guini)
- Peanut Butter Cookies, gluten-free and totally flour-less! (Averi)
- Chocolate Chip Cookies (Tara)
- Peanut Butter Balls (Tredessa)
- Puppy Chow (Jovan)
- Dipped and Decorated Pretzels (the little girls)
- Turtle Pretzels, with Rolos and Pecans and almonds (Stormie)
- Candy-Kiss & M & M Pretzels (Jovan)
- Ritz Thin-Mints (Tara)
- Hidden Valley Ranch Oyster Crackers (Tara & Stormie)
- Homemade Twix (Stephanie invented with mini-wafers, caramels and chocolate for dipping)
- Christmas Crack (Stormie). The name implies your absolute inability to quit eating it. It involves sugar and butter becoming caramel, being poured over saltines and topped with rich chocolate chips, cooled into crispy-sweet-savory succulence. Yes it does. You’re hooked already, aren’t you?
Plus? There are cupcakes and sugar cookies and chocolates and Cutie oranges. There is hot chocolate and spiced tea and banana bread and pumpkin bread. o-my-goodness. Suagr-shock!
After baking and dinner, we watched Nativity! on the “big screen” in the living room.
We used the “vintage” movie screen and a way-modern projector. Rent it. Stream it free from Netflix. Whatever. You will like it. It is cute and sweet and British and funny.
Trace Bundy was over-the-top incredible at the Heaven Fest Christmas Party.
He did a 2-guitar thing in D-minor and D-major called, “Joy and Sorrow,” or maybe it was “Sorrow and Joy.” I can’t remember. But JOY wins. That I do recall. Because it does. It is actually a huge part of what Jesus is all about!
Luke 10.21 Jesus, full of joy…
Luke 2.9-11 …the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”
John 3.29 [Jesus speaking] That joy is mine and it is now complete.
John 15.11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
John 16.22 I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
John 17.13 I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world,
so that they may have the full measure of my JOY within them.
His joy, in us. The hope that keeps me going…
PS // I “ran into” Heather at WalMart and Marilyn at The Dollar Tree yesterday! Happy surprise!
Slightly amazed that I know people as wondrous as these. Got to see Candi and Amy Jo and Patrice at the Christmas Party. Missing my Pearly-Q. Might have to plan a reason to bump into her! ;)