Homing

Ignore the dirty oven.  :)

Had a case of homing and nesting tonight.  Love it!  Made a honey-orange glazed ham with sweet potatoes, kale and broccoli for dinner.  Do I have to tell that broccoli was ruined because my steamer ran out of water?  Smoked broccoli is NOT appetizing, trust me!  lol.  :) 

I also had a hankerin' for a pecan pie.  I was so thrilled to find this recipe that does NOT use corn syrup.  I just finished a piece and it is soooo yummy.  And fairly easy also.

A cozy fire is roaring and tonight I will stay up late (after the kids are in bed) to watch one of my favorite Christmas movies....Prancer!  The kids don't appreciate it as much as I do so it's best enjoyed while they slumber and the house is as quiet as a mouse. 

What nesting projects have you been up to?

Not Just Christmas Lights

I have been so blessed by my kids' desire to tackle the project of hanging the outside Christmas lights.  Last year, my oldest did them all on his own.  This year, it was a collaborative effort, from getting the lights out of storage, checking them, replacing bulbs, and finally hanging them.  They have let the true Light shine and I am so pleased.

A Tree is a tree is a tree, NOT!

Before

Tree hunting is serious business.  It is a process and takes careful examination, from all angles.  That's why it was so surprising that we found a tree so quickly this year!  It maybe only took 15-20 minutes!  And it is beautiful. 

The last couple years we purchased a $10 permit to go up in the mountains to cut one.  The kids weren't too thrilled about it because the trees just aren't as lush as the ones at the u-cut farms.  But it was so fun and quite an adventure.  We just weren't prepared this year and we've had quite a bit of snow in the hills already so we just went to a local u-cut place. 

Enjoy your Christmas season and I pray that you will take LOTS of time to reflect on the real meaning of it.  And may we all be lessed consumed by the sticky fingers of consumerism.

After