Who hit the fast forward button? I can’t believe that Christmas is already over and we’re thinking ahead to Valentine’s Day already! Don’t even get me started on our son’s first birthday shortly after that. It’s just so hard to believe. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas though and enjoyed family and friends. Santa should have visisted some of you and brought some beautiful items from Joseph Allen Designs. If he didn’t however….there is always Valentine’s Day!

We’re busy here in our home with packing yet and getting our home ready for it to officially be on the market soon. It’s a little nerve wracking and quite a bit of hard work for us. It makes me wonder if we’ve been living in a pig sty this entire time for as much work as I have accomplished and have yet to do as well. I think the most challenging part of all of it is that I have someone who likes to crawl over and ‘help’ me. And let me tell you, he’s quite the little helper. He’s a little confused since Christmas is over – there are no longer any boxes under the tree to move around and shake – so it’s time to venture into the kitchen and work on those cabinets he thinks. Last week, I caught him with dog food in his mouth. I love him more than words can describe, but I wish I could clone myself some days to accomplish all that I have on my plate. I’ll be happy when all of the work is done and I can just sit on the floor and play with my son without feeling like I have something in another room pulling me away. Yep, it’ll be pretty nice when I don’t have to worry about that anymore. But that’s just a few days away and then the house will be ready and I can relax a little more.

I wish I could share a more exciting Christmas story with all of you. But we had a pretty quiet one here. We just had my inlaws over and then worked on packing some more.

I’d be interested to hear what all of you did for Christmas though. Did you travel? What were some of your most favorite things you received?

I have to say that it’s feeling very much like Christmas in our home. We have our Christmas tree up and gifts under it (all for our son). And to make it even more refreshing, we’ve received a little bit of snow on the ground. It’s quite a bit different this year than it was last year – as I sit here and reminisce.

I have the joy this year of watching our son crawl underneath the Christmas tree and just lay there and look up at the lights. He will push the presents out of the way and make a little spot for himself to just lay there and watch them. My husband used to do the same thing when he was a child he told me. The season definitely takes on a whole new meaning when children are involved. I look forward to the years to come and teaching him about ‘Santa’.

I’ve thought a lot about my own childhood and my view of Christmas as a little one. I remember looking forward to Christmas Eve the most and the tradition that we had. This year we’ll find our own tradition and see what works and what doesn’t. I’m looking forward to the 23rd of December as well – since that will be my 25th anniversary of having Type 1 Diabetes. That is definitely something to celebrate along with many other things in our life.

I’ve been using the last month to count my blessings and think of all of the things in my life (nothing is too small) that I’m grateful for. It’s been even more rewarding as I’ve been packing up our home and getting ready to put it on the market to sell it. I’ve had the pleasure of going through our belongings and the list of memories and the moments I’m grateful for continue to grow.

When I was a child, I can remember one year when I was in kindergarten that we made our own Christmas ornaments. I’ve been looking for some fun things to make with our son as he gets a little older. The traditional play dough and fun things come to mind. But one thing I know we’ll do, is make our own Christmas Ornaments – as keepsakes every year together. As long as he wants to do it with me. I can remember making Gingerbread Christmas ornaments and tying them with a ribbon. I gave mine to my Great-Grandmother and she kept them until she passed away. They were definitely well taken care of.

I’ve been putting together a book of my ideas on things to do with our son and I’d like to share a page of it with all of you, in hopes to pass along an inspirational activity with your children or grandchildren.

• 6 tbsp. shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup molasses
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. ground cloves
• 2 tsp. ginger
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 7 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Brushes
• Groceries
• 2 Large Mixing Bowls
• Cookie Sheets
• Flour Sifters
• Holiday Cookie Cutters
• Knife
• Rolling Pins
• Cookie sheets

Instructions

I have to admit that I haven’t tried this recipe yet. However, it is ‘saved’ for when I acquire some beer in our home. I can’t remember the last time we really had any at all in our refrigerator (thank you Hubby). We’re not alcoholic beverage consumers in our home except for the rare bottle of wine. But if I do….I have this recipe to help us use up whatever we have.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) beer
• 4 Tbsp. (half stick) butter, melted (**You can double this if you’d like**)

Method:

(Makes 1 loaf)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9″ x 5″ x 3″ inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed.  (I recommend popping your honey in the microwave for a few seconds beforehand to make it easier to stir in!)

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter.  (Use a pastry brush to spread it around if you’d like.)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately.