A Christmas Letter to You

Dear Friends,

It's been two months since I've written here and that feels like an eternity.  A few of you have even sweetly reached out to check in on us-to see if everything is okay- and I am very thankful to say that it is.  We are fine.

One lone pig resides out in the pig yard.  The honeybees are (mostly) hunkered down in their hives. Our chickens are no more (thanks to culling the elder ones and a predator).  We have plans for starting the flock over in the spring with many fluffy chicks.  The garden is where we left it and our CSA has been over for months.  We're (miraculously) keeping up with school and choir, sign language lessons, and church activities.  We're healthy overall and thankful for a good job, a warm house, full cabinets of food, kind neighbors, loving family...the list goes on and on and on.

I could say that I haven't been writing because we've been busy and that's true.  But ever since starting this blog (8 years ago?), I've always been busy.  So I guess it's more accurate to say that my head and heart are busy as I pour myself into caring for our family- husband, three kids and one (newly-turned-one) sweet-as-can-be foster child.

Our little guy is still with us but over the next couple months, major decisions will be made about his future.  This takes up much of my head space as I strive to stay in the moment and, at the same time, try to prepare our family (and myself) for his departure from us. Prayers are welcome.

In light of all this, the season of remembering that God willingly sent His Son to us and then gave Him up is SO not lost on me.  

The tree, the lights, the gifts, activities, and cookies are all very nice but let's not let them become Christmas idols- distracting us from the reality of the season.  What a sacrifice.  What a love.  It seems to defy all reason, all natural ability and that's because it does.  It's supernatural and cannot be thought of, celebrated, or lived through without acknowledging that it occurred only because GOD was in it and through it.

May we see Him in everything this season and trust that He is always in everything- the good, the bad and the seemingly impossible.

"Everything was created through him;
    nothing—not one thing!—
    came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
    and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
    the darkness couldn’t put it out."

John 1:3-5, The Message

So I want to wish you a very happy and Merry Life-Light-mas.

Love,

Jane

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Birdseed Ornaments

I love birds.  They're my favorite animals.  We've been thinking a lot more about birds than usual in our house because the girls and I are studying Flying Creatures for science this year.  In order to study them better, we've been putting out bird treats to entice the many birds that live in and around our yard to come a bit closer- suet feeders, bird baths, etc.  So it just seemed natural to make birdseed ornaments as gifts for some of our loved ones this Christmas.

This is also a great winter craft to do with children that helps feed the birds once the ground is covered with snow.

There are many recipes out there, I was soon to discover, and I tried several before finding my favorite.  I like this recipe best because...

1) it only calls for two ingredients,
2) the "glue" holding the seed together dries clear and
3) the ornaments dry very hard so they do not easily crumble.

Please note some of my tips below- they will help make your birdseed-ornament-making go smoothly.

Birdseed Ornaments (to hang outside for the birds, recipe found here)
* This recipe makes six medium-sized ornaments.
* Even if you want to make more than that, do not double/triple the recipe- it will become too sticky to handle towards the end.  Make one batch at a time.
* Be very generous with the cooking spray.
* Allow several days for drying before packing up and gifting.

2 tbsp. unflavored gelatin
2 cups birdseed

2/3 cups water
1 plastic drinking straw, snipped into 1 1/2-inch lengths
waxed paper, to cover cookie sheets and for packing
cooking spray
baker's twine or very thin ribbon

Place wax paper on a cookie sheet with your cookie cutters on top.  Generously spray the cookie cutters (and underneath them) with cooking spray.  Place two cups of birdseed in a large bowl and set aside.  Boil 2/3 cups water in a glass bowl in the microwave and then add the 2 tbsp. gelatin.  Stir until dissolved.  Pour the gelatin mixture over the bird seed and stir for just about a minute, allowing the birdseed to absorb the liquid but don't stir much longer than a minute- it's okay if some liquid is still at the bottom of the bowl.  Quickly fill the ornaments using a small spoon- pressing the birdseed into the corners and packing it in tightly with the spoon back.  Move fairly quickly and stir the seed each time before filling the next cookie cutter.  If some liquid seeps out the bottom- no worries.  It will gel and can easily be removed once dry.

Once the cutters are full, use a small piece of wax paper laid on top to pack it down further.  Insert a straw piece into each ornament not too close to an edge and press down to the cookie sheet.  Set the ornaments aside to dry for about 2-3 hours and then flip them over or onto their side.  A couple hours later, gently press the ornaments out of the cookie cutters and let them dry overnight on a wire rack if you have one.  Let them continue to dry until they are nice and hard.  Then, using baker's twine or ribbon, tie on long loops for hanging on branches.  Feeding the twine through the straw, then removing the straw before tying off, makes for an easier time.  Pack or wrap gently in wax paper and tie with more twine.

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Polish and German Stars

Our family spent much of the two weeks before Christmas crowded around our school table folding and gluing paper.  It wasn't a planned craft or gift.  We just kind of fell into creating.  And we couldn't stop.

It all started with these Polish Stars (video tutorial here).  Before long, Sadie (almost 10) was making them on her own and Miriam (age 6) was too, with only the slightest bit of help.

Then, wanting to be true to our heritage, we learned how to fold German Stars (video tutorial here). They come together faster but there are more steps involved.  It wasn't long and we were all contributing to a jar full.  We hope to make enough to string them into a garland for our Christmas tree next year.

As if that wasn't enough, we started making these stars below, too (video tutorial here). These are the simplest of all.  Aren't they pretty?  Midway through these projects we found ourselves running out of old scrap-booking paper I used to make cards with.  I was overjoyed to find that our local craft store was already running a 70% off Christmas craft paper sale five days before Christmas!  It was full steam ahead.

Soon, we were overrun with stars- making for pretty decorations everywhere.

Who knew folding paper could be so much fun?  Maybe you'll find your family crowded around a table full of paper snippets, glitter and sticky fingers sometime this winter, too. :-)

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A Deliberate Christmas

I think we can all agree that simple is often more meaningful. It takes a lot of effort to make Christmas simple initially, especially if your family is used to something else.  Thankfully, over time the simpleness becomes what your family expects and longs for.  And it feels oh so very nice.

Many of us genuinely want Christ to be at the center of Christmas.  If we threw out all the traditions that don't point us to Christ...what would we have left?  Which traditions help us focus on Him and which ones draw our attention away?  For each person, it's different.  If when you buy gifts for others, you're thinking about God's gift of Christ to us and the desire to show love to others does it feel different than if we're just focused on checking things off our shopping list?  Would we shop differently? Would buy for different people?  And spend less? Or more?

It can be so complicated when it really should be the simplest thing.  In my opinion, Christmas should be about thanking God for sending His Son, Jesus, and honoring Him by letting His love for us flow out in sacrificial and powerful ways to others.  In some ways I hope that each of us feels the tension of what our culture/tradition says Christmas should look like and what we know it should be. May we strive each year to bring it closer to that which our hearts are longing for- a turning toward Him.

Over the last few years, we've been changing and simplifying the way we prepare for and celebrate the season. Here are some of the changes we've made.

Decorating:  We set up the Nativity, decorate a tree, hang stockings, put a wreath on our door and hang some white lights.  That is all.  Less rearranging, less storing, less money spent.  And we decorate right after Thanksgiving so we can enjoy the decorations all month.  Sometimes, we indulge in a handicraft or two but we try to keep from having to buy supplies.  Here's one using discarded magazines/catalogs and we always cut snowflakes for our windows.

Shopping:  Both of our extended families do gift exchanges so there are gifts to buy or make.  I try the best I can to have the purchased ones in hand before December (and the beginning of Advent) so I'm not focusing on buying gifts when I want to be centering my mind and heart on Christ in a way that isn't connected to things.

Family Devotions: Each night before heading to bed, our family reads Unwrapping the Greatest Gift. It's an Advent devotional that suits our children well right now- it challenges those of us who are older and draws the younger ones in with beautiful illustrations and simple messages.  It's worth the effort to end each day with this kind of focus- bringing our minds back to Advent and Christ before closing our day.

Each year, we're adding a new piece.  They look fragile but are made of hard plastic so even littles can enjoy them. Sam built the manger.

Christmas Dinner: We often travel for Christmas but before we leave, we set aside an evening to have our own special Christmas meal.  This gives us something to look forward to those years we are at home without extended family.  We do fondue (take a peek) for our meal- the prep is mostly chopping which makes for a much more do-able and less stressful meal prep for me than a traditional meal.  And the kids think it's so much fun because it's different.

Stockings/Gifts:  Each child gets a few (usually three) gifts to unwrap and a stocking to open. Their stockings hold mostly practical items (chapstick, a smencil or two, a new toothbrush) and a few fun things (gum, a couple chocolates, etc.).  Because our kids are showered with gifts from extended family, we try to keep our gift opening simple and brief.  We don't want it to be the main focus of the season.

Our Favorite Christmas Treats

Events:  There are so many this time of year!  Parties!  Caroling!  Cookie making!  Concerts! Nativity walk- throughs!  Ballets! Work parties! Church Christmas plays!  Hymn sings!  The list goes on and on.  There's nothing wrong with each event by itself but if you get sucked in to thinking you need to participate in everything to provide your kids with the proper Christmas experience, you might end up with a bunch of tired, cranky, hyped-up-on-sugar family members who do NOT feel the true Christmas Spirit.  We choose a couple to attend each year and that. is. it.  We would much rather find ourselves at home most evenings- warm, properly nourished and in bed on time.

Gifting{Mini} Quilts

Giving:  Each year as a family we decide how to give an extra monetary gift to a charity that we find meaningful.  Our kids use their allowance (they determine the amount) toward this type of giving instead of buying gifts for each other.  We also keep our ears and eyes open to other ways we can give- gifts for local families, taking plates of food to neighbor shut-ins, etc.

As much as we can, we try to focus our family outward and upward instead of inward.  We don't want to find ourselves on the other side of the Christmas season wondering, "What was the point of all that?"  We want to feel joyful, hopeful and ready to find ways to share God's love in the new year.

In what ways is your family deliberate about Christmas? Pin It

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

I recently suggested that amaryllis bulbs and hand print ornaments might be nice Christmas gifts if you're looking for some ideas.  It reminded me that over the years I've posted about a number of different crafts that could also make really nice Christmas gifts.  Here they are in case you're needing some homemade Christmas gift ideas right about now.

Recycled Ski and Pallet Sled  The sleds are very cheap to make but they go fast.  Gift them to older kids or pull your little ones around on it.  For them, you could even add a back and sides.

Quilt Potholders Love to quilt and need a little project that can be finished quickly?  These might be just what you need and they're a great way to use smaller bits of fabric that you love.  I gave these as gifts to siblings and a few friends last year.  They were so fun to make.

Homemade Fire Starters  Need a gift idea for a man (or woman) who loves burning wood?  Make them some fire starters using small Christmas cookie cutters and package them up in a brown sandwich bag (or a jar) with some red ribbon.

Marshmallow Shooter  Do you need a gift for someone who enjoys target practice and has a sweet tooth? You could even enlist your own kids to help make them.

Fabric Bulletin Board  Help decorate a room and give your loved one a place to keep their special pictures and cards.

Keepsake Name Sign  Craft stores have everything you need to put these name signs together and they're very sweet, don't you think?

Simple Knotted Fleece Blankets  My sister gave our kids these blankets for Christmas a few years ago. I couldn't believe how easy the instructions sound.  Our kids still use these nightly during the colder weather, often bringing them downstairs with them in the mornings.

Homemade Stilts  Jamey made these for our kids many years ago.  They still use them and he's raised the foot holds as they grow and are able to maneuver higher off the ground.

Pumpkin Streusel Bread  I couldn't put this post together without mentioning a baked gift, could I? This is my most-often baked gift and I hope to make some mini loaves of it this year for gifts and to have on hand to take to potlucks and get-togethers.

Do you have any homemade gift ideas for this year?  I have another one but if I share it won't be a surprise so you'll just have to wait :-).

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{Still!} Our Favorite Christmas Treats

Originally posted November 20, 2013.

Just because we're waiting until the week before Christmas to bake, doesn't mean you are.  You all are much more disciplined about not sneaking them from the freezer or gobbling up half a dozen while they're still warm, right?  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  Of course.

In the event you're already baking or will be baking soon, I wanted to offer up our favorites.  If you've been around here for awhile, you'll see that our list hasn't changed much.  That's because these are the cream of the crop, in my opinion, and improving on the list would be tough.  That said, I'd love to hear what your favorite Christmas cookie is.  Would you tell me?  Please, please, please?

Almost all of these recipes below can also be found here.

First off- Lemon Bars. Oh, how I love them.  My infatuation began in our college cafeteria where I ate them for the first time.  Imagine how I now enjoy these in contrast with the albeit tasty cafeteria version (they actually baked them there, I believe).

Next, we have my mother-in-law's Caramel Popcorn.  Hers is the best I've ever had- well-coated, not grainy, just melt-in-your-mouth heavenly.

These Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies are my favorite cookie in the world and I'm not exaggerating.  I could eat them every day at every meal.  Boldly spiced and chocolaty, they are divine.

Ahhhh.  These are my mother's Chocolate Mint Brownies.  You can add green food coloring to the mint layer to make them more festive, but I like leaving them pure white so your unsuspecting company is wowed by the flavor punch.

Such a classic- Peanut Blossoms.  These were my favorite growing up.  I'd always eat the peanut butter cookie around the kiss, saving the chocolate for my last bite.  Hmm.  Come to think of it, that's exactly what I still do:-).

This Gingerbread Cookie recipe came from my mom.  She use to pipe white icing on her gingerbread men, giving them faces and little pants, shirts and shoes.  Several years ago, I decided to decorate them by dipping them in melted chocolate and then let the kids decorate with sprinkles.  As you may have noticed above, I love the chocolate-gingerbread combination, so these are my second favorite cookie.  And I can still give the illusion of little pants, shoes and hats.

Do you know about Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies?  Well, I am happy to introduce you.  The bark can totally stand alone as a treat (or sweet gift wrapped in a cellophane bag), but add them to chocolate cookies?  Be still my beating heart.

In the back of Beth Morre's Bible study book on Esther comes this recipe for Haman's Ears.  Soft, sweet cookie is wrapped around your choice of filling- we use apple butter and different flavors of jam.  Not only are they delicious, but they remind our family of the way God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

Lastly, Homemade Marshmallows.  If you've never tried these, you really must.  They are surprising easy to make and taste so much better than the store bought variety.  And!  Your kids will love dropping one big giant marshmallow into their hot chocolate instead of those of itty-bitty ones.

Happy baking, loves!

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Handprint (or Footprint) Ornament Gift Idea

Last year at this time we had a little foster toddler with us.  It seems so long ago and just yesterday all at the same time.  I wanted him to give his mother a Christmas gift and so we made these ornaments. They turned out really sweet and she appreciated them very much.  In fact, she just messaged me the other day and asked for the recipe because she wants to make another set for this Christmas.

I thought you all might enjoy them, too.  They would make great gifts for grandparents (or parents, if you watch/babysit your grandchild) or to commemorate little hands and feet on your own tree- especially if this is baby's first Christmas.

The creases across the foot were my own fault.  There were little, hair-lined cracks in the foot so I filled them in with some Elmer's glue.  I just should have waited a bit longer before glittering the edges- some stuck to the creases.  Oh, well.  You can learn from my mistake.  Thankfully, they're cheap enough to make so if you do make a mistake, you can try again.  I used the recipe and instructions found here.

Thankfully, I made two hand prints and kept one for us.  I will always treasure it...and him...and his family.

Happy Giving, friends.

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Now's the Time! Amaryllis Blooms for Christmas

Last year, for the first time, I bought myself an amaryllis bulb in mid-November.  It came with a pot, soil and directions.  A little watering was all it needed and it bloomed just in time for Christmas and it was gorgeous.

After it finished blooming, I cut it back, set it on our hutch and kind of forgot about it- even forgetting to water it for long periods of time.  Just recently, I thought I should read-up on what I should do to force it to bloom again.  I was WAY too late to start this process.  So I decided I needed to start again and aim to follow the directions for after it blooms...so I can use the bulb again.  I planted the old bulb outside for lack of knowing what else to do.  We'll see what happens.

The other day, Jamey was making a trip to Lowe's and I asked him if he wouldn't mind picking up another amaryllis bulb (we had gotten last year's bulb at Lowe's for around $9).  He came home with this:

A waxed amaryllis bulb ($12.99)!  I had never seen one like it.  The bulb requires no soil and no water- the wax seals in everything it needs to bloom.  And, according to the directions, it should bloom in time for Christmas again.

So, my friends, if you want to try for a blooming amaryllis this Christmas (with wax or with dirt), now is the time to go find one.  Or buy a few and give them as gifts.

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Gifting {Mini} Quilts

This post is as much for me as it is for you.  My mind is like a sieve and I'd really like to make more of these one day soon without inventing the wheel.

I really enjoy quilting.  Finding the time to quilt is not a favorite task.  My solution this fall was to choose a gift I could give for Christmas that incorporated my favorite aspect of quilting- piecing.  I love choosing colors and patterns that I think work well together and then making them semi-immortal in their pairings. Quilted pot holders are nothing new and there are many different ways of making them.  Sadie's sewing teacher graciously taught me a simple method using bias tape.  While I may have bit off more than I could chew in terms of the number I wanted to make (twenty-one), I thoroughly enjoyed making these.  Scan through the instructions quickly to get the gist or bookmark/pin this post if you'd like to try your hand at these one day, too.

I used only scraps of fabric I had leftover from other quilting projects or swatches a friend had given my from her design firm.  I had to buy the bias tape, some thread to match and a package of thin quilt batting.

I cut out and pieced together nine 3-inch squares per potholder as well as a larger square for the back.  I used three layers of thin quilt batting cut slightly larger.  I pinned together the front, three layers of batting and back then trimmed the edges (before seen above and after, below) so the edges were flush.  Using quilter's chalk and a ruler, I drew straight lines, taking care to make the lines cross the intersections of the squares (and not caring if they came right to the points along the outside where they would be covered with bias tape).

I then quilted over the lines with a beige-colored thread with my sewing machine.

Next, I pinned the bias tape to the back of the pot holder (see below) by opening the tape flat and pinning the left side of the tape to the left top corner of the pot holder.  The corner where I started would become the corner with the loop so I made sure it was also the top of the pot holder- the way I'd want it to hang if any of the fabrics had a picture in it that I didn't want upside-down.  I continued pinning down the side.

Above I'm pinning the corner- keeping the edge of the bias at the edge of the pot holder.  The fold made by the corner will get stitched over- no worries.  I pinned all the way around the four sides, leaving a few inches of a tail at the end.

Then I began sewing a bit to the left of the first seam of the tape (first seam from the left/edge).  It worked well to just line up the left hand side of my pressure foot right along the left edge of the pot holder.

The first one I made I tried to round the corners.  Ha! That was a bit too advanced for me, so I stopped the machine when I got to the horizontal fold closest to the edge of the next side and then pivoted, making a square edge instead.

Stopping (above) and pivoting (below)

When I came around to the start again (below), I flattened out both ends of tape (where I started and where I was sewing) and sewed until I was almost to the edge (where my finger nails are below).

Next, I snipped off the original end so it was flush with the edge but left the long tail which would become the loop.

Next, I trimmed off the corners of fabric and batting (not cutting the bias tape).

Flipping the pot holder over to the front, I wrapped the bias tape around, allowing it to fold on itself so the nice, finished edge was showing.  Next, I pinned the tape to the front, making sure to just cover the stitching I just put in from the back (the seam is uncovered below but covered up and pinned two photos down).

When I pinned the corners I tried to align the fold of the corner with the quilted seam that came into that corner.

Once I had it pinned all round, I bent the tail around to determine how large of a loop I wanted.  I then snipped the tail right along the edge (just to the right of my thumb nail below).

To sew the bias tape on the front, I started at the very end of the tail, trying my best to stay nice and close to the right edge without going off.

Just before I got to the body of the pot holder, I'd stop, lift the pressure foot (but trying to keep it in place with my left hand).  With my right hand, I'd bend around the tail to make the loop, sliding the end of the tail in between the bias tape and the fabric where I was going to sew over next.

Once the tail was in place, forming the loop, I'd put the pressure foot back down and continue sewing just along the edge of the tape, all the way around, pivoting at the corners.

When I got the very beginning again, I stopped stitching just before coming up onto the tail/loop, ending with a couple back-stitches. 

A word of warning: take care not to put your pins into your caramel corn mug instead of your pin tin by accident.

They aren't perfect but they were made with love (and satisfied my quilt cravings).

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