More Than A Song

Today is the day for the much anticipated Christmas tour of homes hosted by the lovely Boomama. Come on in y’all to see a little of my Mississippi home, nothing fancy or designer but we enjoy our home.

I have garland and lights in several places and also here in the foyer as you come in through the door.

Our dining room, which we may not end up using until Christmas day!

Come through the foyer and into our den……this is where we are most of the time and our tree is in here.

You can’t quite see the whole tree in the picture but an angel is on top of our tree.

We have an assortment of tree ornaments collected over the years and some made by the kids. I did a post last week about Christmas tree treasures…….several of my ornaments are pictured here.

Even though some of my kids haven’t made it home yet, I had to put some stockings up because they would ask about it when they get here! Opening those on Christmas morning is one of our favorite things.

Our manger is on a table in the den also. My mother in law gave me the starter part years ago and has given us different pieces since then. It is a Fontanini, I love it and the kids couldn’t hurt it playing with it. They each love to arrange it a certain way so I’m sure when they get in, the pieces might get moved around each day!

When the kids were younger we started doing an advent wreath and having devotions each day. Some of them will trickle in starting today so I thought we might use it a few times during Christmas. I’ll get some spiced tea ready if you want to sit at my kitchen table with me!

Thank you for stopping by to visit me. Be sure to visit Boomama and all the other tour participants. And leave us some comments because we all love that!
Merry Christmas.

Yesterday was not a good day at all……too much to do, major glitch with my Christmas cards, cranky people, etc. Today looks like it’s going to be better, YAY! I think I have the card problem resolved after spending way too much time on it; I’m almost through with a “dress up” play dress I’m making for AC; and I’m getting a little help with some of the things that need to be done.
Last week I discovered on hubby’s truck XM radio that there were several channels playing some really good Christmas music and I’ve been wishing I had it in my car! But this morning I remembered that I can get logged onto XM on the computer so now I’m playing fun music while sewing or working on the computer. Sometimes just a little thing makes me feel so much better. If I go back in a few hours and pick up my cards and they are like I want, I will feel like I’ve crossed a major hurdle!
The sun isn’t out today; it’s cloudy and overcast but “when I’m stuck with a day that’s gray and lonely”………

Last week I finally got back to finishing the Daniel bible study I had started with a women’s group earlier. The lesson I began with was about prayer, and almost everything else I heard last week had to do with the same subject! God is good like that, because I need reinforcement many times. D shared at church that he had been asked to make a phone call to see about getting help for a ministry need. He had been putting it off but finally one afternoon decided he better go ahead and get it done. When he made the call, he got some positive response and maybe the help they needed. He called the committee person back to report and found out that another person on that committee had been praying fervently that very afternoon for God to take care of that need! Coincidence? I think not. He told us that you hear that prayer is necessary for the work of God, but he said prayer IS the work of God. Before he could go feeling all good about taking care of what he was asked to do, he realized it was all because of someone on their knees praying him through. The person praying had done all the work and God answered that prayer. In my Daniel book it said that we live such fast paced, high energy lives that we tend to think of prayer as a passive, almost do-nothing kind of reaction. We are usually hands-on people and think we can take care of things and fix it all. Many times we tend to pray when we don’t know what else to do. But it goes on to say, nothing shakes the heavenlies like prayer, NOTHING moves the heart of God more than prayer! He is waiting to hear from us. An angel was sent to Daniel to tell him that his prayer was heard and an answer was given as soon as Daniel began to pray. I need those reminders that He hears our prayers and that I should be praying first, not when I don’t know what else to do. The answer won’t always be yes, sometimes it’s no or wait but He does hear us & takes note of us & cares for us. I’m glad that I picked the study back up to finish, it was good stuff to read…..only one lesson to go and then I’ll be done!

It will be busy this week so not sure all these meals will happen as planned. One child finishes exams and will be home in a few days so some of these could change depending on what he might want to eat! He’s not too picky but sometimes it’s nice to fix them something they really like after not eating home cooking for a while.
Check Laura’s site for more great menu ideas.

Monday…….Maple Hoisin Salmon, sesame green beans
Tuesday……Chicken Tortellini and broccoli
Wednesday..Church supper
Thursday…..Sunday school party
Friday……..Sausage Spaghetti, salad, bread
weekend…..soup and eat out once

Have a good week!

Christmas Tree Treasures.
Morning Glory at Seeds From My Garden is hosting this today. We get to post pictures and tell a little about some of the ornaments on our tree. This sounds like fun and I’m looking forward to seeing the others.
Click below to see pictures of some of my ornaments:
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For kids that would be, exam time! The BSU at the college my kids have attended offers exam survival kits to be delivered to your student right before exams begin. The money they raise goes to their summer missions projects & we’ve always done this to support them but…… YIKES, we missed the deadline for sending our order/money in this year! We have child #4 in school this year. We decided to do our own little care package for him this semester, hoping he might like something homemade. One year we did the same thing for 2 of our others; on the spur of the moment DH asked if I wanted to drive to school to see them and take them some treats. So we made the trip to see our kids and even though we didn’t get to visit with them long, I think they really enjoyed the surprise!
I went and got him a few things from the store that I know he’ll eat,

then dipped some big pretzel sticks in chocolate and put sprinkles on them—they are actually pretty good!

And I know he loves chess squares so I made a pan of those and put them in a tin:

Everything has been put into a big box and is ready to go; DH will be close by to where he is and will deliver it to him. I hope he likes it and makes it through exam time!

Laura at Organizing Junkie is still out of town and not posting this Monday but this helps me stay on track for shopping. And when it’s four or five in the afternoon, I know what to fix for supper! So here’s what I sort of have planned for this week.

Monday……..Ranchero Catfish, haven’t decided on side dishes yet!
Tuesday…….Chicken Brunswick Stew
Wednesday…Church supper
Thursday……Baked Salmon, veggies
Friday……….Creamy Turkey Pie
weekend…….Chicken Fajita Pizza, unless we eat out 😆

The catfish, stew and turkey dish are all new recipes. I did another catfish one recently, Cheesey Catfish, that was so good and I think I haven’t gotten the recipe put up so will have to work on that for later.

“I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas……” Yeah, I’ll be dreaming for a while because snow won’t happen in the South. This meme has been going around and I’m a little late but think I’ll do it anyway.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate…….although I would probably rather have spiced tea or decaf Peppermint Mocha, yum!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa just sits them under the tree.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Well, D & I both had colored lights growing up and we did colored lights a lot while the kids were younger…..it seems to be an ongoing battle here because mostly I’ve been doing white since they have been older and the kids don’t like it at all! They keep telling me it’s not a “real” Christmas because we don’t have colored lights and a “real” tree! I think they just like to mess with me.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No!

5. When do you put your decorations up? I like to put them up Thanksgiving weekend when the kids are home but we were in Destin this year and didn’t get home until Sunday night so we didn’t get it done then. Working on it this week and I’m ready for it to all be done!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I like them all! Dressing, and broccoli casserole maybe

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child. Like Stacy, I don’t have many memories from childhood but, I have a VERY vivid memory of one Christmas Eve when I was little, maybe like 6ish, in the bed trying to go to sleep……I saw Santa Claus fly by my window, the reindeer, sleigh and Santa inside! I was so scared that I hid under the covers for a very long time that night.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? This is a vague memory but I think I was a little older and one day found my Christmas list or letter to Santa maybe and realized what was going on. I don’t have any memories of anyone telling me about it.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We open everything on Christmas morning. When the kids were really little, they would get to open one on Christmas Eve, and sometimes we do that now if it’s some gift that we might use that night, like a game.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? White lights and many varied, sentimental ornaments. I have some red and gold balls I use to try to have some continuity on the tree; or if I’m using colored lights I’ll use blue, purple, and green balls. We have lots of ornaments that the kids have made over the years or that they have collected, but they are taking those now that some of them are having their own places. We do try to get ornaments when we travel so we have something to remember our trips. I bought a boot this year when we were at the dude ranch in Colorado on vacation!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it! But we almost never get it here so it’s easier to love if you don’t have to deal with it on an every day basis.

12. Can you ice skate? Just a teeny bit; have done it once or twice but had to do a lot of holding on!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? About 4 or 5 years ago hubby gave me a Bernina sewing/embroidery machine and I was really surprised by that! I had asked for a new machine for years when the kids were little and never expected to really get it; I love that machine and use it more than I ever thought I would. It was a total surprise and I love that he did that for me.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with my family and remembering the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Homemade cookies, fudge

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Christmas Eve candlelight service, doing Advent devotions with the kids, and the way we make them open gifts one at a time so everyone can see what’s going on.

17. What tops your tree? an angel

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving—I love finding just the right thing to give.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Oh I love them all! O Come All Ye Faithful, O Holy Night (by Josh Groban), I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas…….I could go on.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?? I can take one or two but then get tired of them; I like them in something like hot chocolate or coffee! Yep, gotta go get a Peppermint Mocha or some peppermint creamer!

I woke up one morning earlier this week with a really, really bad headache so I knew I’d have to take some Tylenol to make it through the day. What I keep in the house though is generic acetaminophen, made by the company that had the recall recently. Stacy had sent me a link to check my bottles to see if the numbers matched with the recall list but I never could make the website come up when the recall first happened. Then she and another person emailed me the list with all the recalled numbers but I still never checked my bottles; too busy getting ready for Thanksgiving! I did try to buy new Tylenol before Thanksgiving but there were no bottles of anything on the shelf a week or so ago. I did remember to check the list when my head was splitting open and of course, you guessed it, every bottle in my house had a number on it that matched one on the recall list. I ran right out to get a new bottle and the clerks were stocking the shelves when I was there so they must be just now getting Tylenol & acetaminophen back in. There is a number to call on the website…… I called and found out that they will take your name & address, send you a mailer for you to send the bottle back to them and then they will write you a refund check. I had already thrown one of my bottles out and didn’t feel like digging to find it but still have one so I’ll be mailing that one back in. I really didn’t realize that they would do this, and I may not get a refund but I guess there is nothing to lose by trying. In case any of you have bottles of acetaminophen that are on the recall list, be sure to call and give them your address so you can get refunded for it. Just a little public service announcement for you.
If you have any questions let me know; don’t call me tonight, call me in the morning!
(or email :lol:)

This recipe is good for a family or a potluck dinner…..I don’t make it as much now for just 2 people because we’d be eating it most of the week.

Crockpot Hamburger Casserole

2 large potatoes sliced
2-3 medium carrots sliced
1 can peas
3 medium onions sliced
2 stalks celery sliced
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground meat browned
1 can tomato soup
1 can water

Place layers of the vegetables in the order given in crockpot, seasoning each layer with salt & pepper. Put the lightly browned meat on top of celery. Mix soup with the water and pour into crockpot. Cover and set on low for 6-8 hours (high 2-4 hrs)

A few weeks ago I received some patterns in the mail from Barb for making these Christmas ornaments. She very kindly offered to mail them out to people that wanted them and she had quite a few takers. The Santa star ornament caught my eye and I thought how cute it would be to do some for my daughter who doesn’t have many Christmas ornaments/decorations at the moment and of course I would do one for the little ones in the family too! I’m very impressed that Barb made like 150 something of them! She started early on hers I think and I did a few the past week or so; they are not too hard to make but they do take some time…..little corners to sew, pivot around, then turn and stuff and add all the things that make it a Santa face! I had thought I would make a few dozen but so far have only done 8 and those are now gone to E and the little ones. So I might have to do a few more so I can have something new for my tree. I may not have started them if I had known it would take me so long to finish but I’m glad I did them and really do want to make a few more. And if I do say so myself, I think they turned out cute! I’m kinda proud of them!
“He’s making a list and checking it twice”……………..here are my “Santa stars”
Thanks Barb!

I’ve been gone for a week and it’s hard to get back in the groove of cooking! We are supposed to fly to Amelia Island for a business trip this week but I think that’s going to get cancelled due to the fact that we were gone last week.
Here is my tentative plan for the week. Visit Laura’s site for more menus or to play along yourself.

Monday…….leftover pork tenderloin, salad, broccoli
Tuesday…….salmon, veggies
Wednesday..church supper
Thursday…..on-the-go honey mustard chicken (new recipe), green beans
Fri/Sat………I’m leaving open in case I need to move one of the other meals to these days due to possible golf outing for hubby! Otherwise, I might grill burgers that we didn’t do last week or fix a pot of soup.

Did anyone try the cranberry salsa I posted about last week? We made it and it was so good; BIL loved it on turkey sandwiches also and it wasn’t hot at all because I only used one small pepper with all seeds taken out. Give it a try sometime!

I am glad to be home. 🙂 We had a great Thanksgiving, maybe I can get to some pictures later but not sure I have that many that are applicable to Thanksgiving. We were at the beach for a week with hubby’s whole extended family to celebrate his mom’s upcoming 80th birthday. Had a blast, ate way too much food, stayed up late too many nights in a row and I am very tired. Hopefully more later, but I gotta get some sleep!

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving day! We are still eating/celebrating/visiting with family but hope to get back in a routine soon.
I saw that Dianne had this book poll over at her place, Unfinished Work and since I love books and reading I thought I’d play along.

Where do you most often buy your books? Online? Secondhand stores? Big name bookstores?
I get a lot of books online, mostly for my husband. When we do buy them in the store it is usually at a big name bookstore. I love to go in Barnes & Noble and spend time browsing but I can actually leave without buying anything! I do have some but he owns way more books than me. Most of what I read comes from the library or is borrowed. Stacy & I swap books a lot!

If you buy online, which do you prefer – B&N or Amazon.com? Ebay? Christianbook.com? or elsewhere?
I use Amazon the majority of the time and most times those are books for him…..he has me do all the ordering for him! Sometimes I use Christianbook too depending on what he’s looking for.

Do you put your name in your books? If so, are you a bookplate or stamp person?
I do write our name in books now, in the hope that the book will find it’s way back to us.

How do you feel about loaning books to others?
I have loaned books out to people and hubby might do it a little more than me. There have been times that we haven’t gotten them back before and that bothers me some; D just has me reorder them if he doesn’t get it back! If there is a certain book that has meant a lot to him he’ll buy it and give it away to various people. I’m sometimes hesitant to loan them but don’t always feel like I have a good reason to say no so I usually end up doing it.

Do you highlight or mark your books as you read?
If it’s a non-fiction book I do mark, underline, highlight in them….hubby sometimes writes copious notes in the margins of his books and that is fun to read to see what spoke to him. But mostly I read fiction and don’t tend to underline in those as much. If there is something I really like in a fiction book, lots of times I will xerox the page that has something meaningful on it to me.

How often do you visit your local library?
I usually go to the town library 1-2 times a month; I also check books out from my church library and I might visit it 3-4 times a month.

Do you collect any certain kind of book?
The only thing I might have right now that qualifies as a collection would be all my old Nancy Drew books from childhood; one of my girls wants them but I think I’m going to keep them for a while yet before letting go of them! I love old books if they have some significance to us, like if they were owned by a relative that is no longer alive. And I do have a series of books by Brock Thoene I liked. I think I would like to collect certain ones but just haven’t picked anything yet.

What do you do when you’re done with a book and no longer want it?
I have done different things depending on what options are available to me at the time…..I have put them in a carport sale before, donated some to the library, given them away or passed them along to others. I may have even given a few to Goodwill in years past.

Do you keep a list of or catalog the books you own?
We actually do have the books in our home office/library cataloged! Hubby wanted to be able to find any book at any given time so he offered to pay all of the 4 kids if they would categorize, record, catalog all his books; 2 of them took him up on the offer because they needed money! The 2 girls worked on it at different times during the summers a few years back. They are done by the Dewey Decimal system that a library would use, have numbers on the sides and are entered on the computer so he can look up what he’s looking for (it’s the teacher in him, that’s his spiritual gift) I thought it was a little odd when he first talked about it but it has actually come in quite handy; I’d say he has 600+ books and they can get quite out of control if not organized some way. I still think tons of them need to be weeded through and gotten rid of but he’s having none of that right now.
I also keep a list of who has borrowed books from us so we can try to gently ask for it back if we need it for reference.
I keep a list of what I’ve read; it’s on the sidebar of the main page of my blog and I started doing that when I started blogging. Before that I would keep sporadic reading lists.

Any other weird book habits you’d like to share? I hope that about covers it!

Okay, so let’s hear it from you other book lovers! Post your answers here in comments or in your blog and be sure to let me know.

I’ve been busy cooking and freezing things for Thanksgiving. I won’t have much left to do on Thursday, plus I’m not responsible for the whole meal this year. Several other family members are bringing dishes too so I’m sure we’ll have lots of food! My contributions will be 2 pies, homemade sourdough bread, green bean bundles and cranberry salsa. I might do roasted sweet potatoes also at some point this week. Several have asked about the salsa and green beans, so click on the “more” button below for the recipe.
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