Embracing Him

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas over here and that’s terrific because The 2008 Christmas Tour of Homes is being held today! Our wonderful hostess has given us the opportunity to show off our Christmas finery through photos and food. If you have a moment, I’d be thrilled to share some of my favorite Christmas decorations and offer you a fabulous recipe as well. Come on in!

Right outside our front door, we have the most adorable little seat. Most of the time, it remains empty except when our mailman props a package on it. Now that the Christmas season is here, the seat now features a beautiful poinsettia that cheerfully welcomes family and friends.

Once inside our home, guests are greeted by the sweet faces of two adorable carolers. These precious darlings don warm, bright, Christmas clothes and are prominently featured on the long accent table in our foyer along with a series of miniature poinsettias. In the dining room, a festive Christmas angel adorns the server amid another row of bright miniature poinsettias.

We have two Christmas trees, one is artificial and the other is live. The artificial tree is special to me because it is the first tree JT and I purchased after we were married. It is a lovely little tree and is showcased in our living room. Meanwhile, the live tree, a Fraser Fir, has made its holiday home in our sunroom. This tree is a large fragrant one hand picked by JT. The girls helped decorate it and now they enjoy gazing at its lights.

This year I’m striving to make delicious yet simple desserts. One of the many Christmas desserts I’ll be serving is Black Forest Delight. It has all the components of a traditional Black Forest Cake, but I’ve deconstructed it to make pretty individual servings.

Black Forest Delight:

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1 cup chocolate chips
1 (20 ounce) can cherry pie filling
whipped topping or freshly whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, oil, and water. Using a hand mixer, combine until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Generously grease and flour a bundt or tube pan. Pour batter into pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Once baked, turn cake out onto a cooling rack. When cooled dust with powdered sugar.

To serve, place a slice of cake onto a dessert plate. Spoon cherries on the slice of cake and garnish with whipped cream.

I thank you for spending some time with me today and I encourage you to visit The 2008 Christmas Tour of Homes. Since hundreds of bloggers participate, I guarantee you’ll find Christmas decorations that will inspire and amaze you and recipes you’ll want to try!

It’s another Photographic Friday over at Bona Vita and this week’s theme is Celebrating Christmas.

One of Sweet Pea’s friends came to play today, so I had to make sure they had a fun Christmas activity to enjoy. To help celebrate the season, the children created adorable Graham Cracker “Gingerbread” Houses.

This is the precious little house Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum constructed with a bit of help from Mommy. The construction was truly a joint effort: Sweet Pea decorated the house while Sugar Plum made sure the sidewalk was well paved! However, at some point during construction, the sidewalk was nibbled! What a surprise!

The children had a blast creating their houses! If you would like to make a Graham Cracker “Gingerbread” House with a little one you know, you simply need to gather a few easy to find materials and let your little one’s creative juices flow!

Graham Cracker “Gingerbread” House

1/2 pint milk carton (like the ones children have during school lunch)
1 (16 ounce) container of vanilla frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 graham crackers
assorted candies (gummy bears, Skittles, M&Ms, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, etc)
Ziploc sandwich bag

Thoroughly rinse out the milk carton. Allow it to dry completely and staple the carton shut.

Place the icing into a medium size mixing bowl. Add powdered sugar a 1/2 cup at a time and mix until icing reaches a stiff, yet spreadable, consistency. You may need more or less powdered sugar. (Keep in mind that the icing needs to be stiff enough so that the graham crackers will adhere to the milk carton.)

Break the long graham crackers into two equal sections. This will give you 4 squares that will fit nearly perfectly on the sides of the milk carton and form the house’s walls.

Break the remaining graham cracker in half. This will cover the narrow sides of the house, forming a roof.

Spread icing on the flat side of the graham crackers and “glue” them to the sides of the milk carton to create the walls and roof. Press gently to help the crackers adhere to the milk carton.

Create your own pastry bag by adding a bit of icing to the Ziploc bag sealing the bag shut. (Be sure to get all of the air out of the bag before sealing it shut.) Squeeze the icing over to one corner of the bag. Use scissors to snip the corner of the bag so that you can pipe out the icing.

Use your Ziploc pastry bag to pipe out the icing needed to fill in any gaps between the crackers and to fill in the empty spots on the roof not covered by graham crackers. Place candies along the piped icing to decorate the house.

Get creative! Use the pastry bag to create doors and windows on the house. Pipe dots of icing and “glue” the candies onto the house however you wish.

You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. (Psalm 4:7)

This past weekend, Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum were invited to a tea party. Now the girls and I have dressed up and have had tea here at home more than once, but our parties paled in comparison to the joyful, extravagant birthday tea party we attended on Saturday! It was quite obvious that tea parties have greatly evolved since the ones I attended in the 70s and 80s.

I was absolutely amazed by the beauty and sophistication of this tea party. When we arrived, we were greeted by the birthday girl and her mother who were both wearing gorgeous hats. My girls were ushered into a room to greet the other petite partygoers. Every girl in attendance was wearing a gorgeous dress and phenomenal hat. Boas of every color draped the girls’ shoulders and handbags of every shape and size adorned little wrists. Throughout the afternoon, dozens of little girls enjoyed crafts, games, a puppet show, and even a mini makeup session!

When it was time for tea, the little ladies were escorted into the dining area where they were seated at long tables decorated with fine tablecloths, porcelain teapots, and linen napkins complete with napkin holders. Above the tables hung a beautiful pink and brown canopy full of lights. At each girl’s place setting was a placecard with her name, a delicate porcelain teacup and saucer, a personalized teabag. Each girl’s seat was adorned with another lovely boa.

The birthday girl’s mother and her assistants happily served the little guests from a series of fancy trays and platters. The girls enjoyed a tasty variety of finger sandwiches, appetizers, and quenched their thirst with a pretty pink punch. Of course the girls also sipped a cupful of tepid tea. It was so much fun to see these little girls behave like little aristocrats!

After the meal, it was time to sing Happy Birthday to the birthday girl. The guest of honor was seated at the head of the table in front the most beautiful handcrafted archway. Every girl was given her own little cupcake and candle. The candles were lit, Happy Birthday was sung, and everyone blew out their candles in unison! Dessert was served and before leaving each girl had her photo taken in front of the gorgeous archway and a group photo was taken as well.

Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum had a great time (and so did I!). They left with a heart full of memories and I left with a head full of ideas. Though I don’t think I’d ever be able to recreate such an event here at our house, I’m already thinking about how to celebrate the girls’ birthdays next year. And to be honest, I think JT is frightened when he thinks about what I might be planning!