'And His Name Shall Be Called Wonderful'

Every year we read the Christmas story from the books of Luke and Matthew and let the kids act it out. They love dressing up in the costumes we have managed to collect over the years, and it is a wonderful and special time to share with everyone together. Let me introduce you to this year's cast:

 Joseph: Played by Charity this year. Here she is leading her donkey and Mary to the stable.

 Here is a shot of the donkey (played by Naomi) and Mary (clinging to Naomi's back) as she rides behind Joseph to find lodging.

 Here we see the wise men introduced played by Melodee (who played the part of all three - as you can see she is carrying more than just one gift). Beth is playing the part of the camel.

 Here the wise men ride in to Jerusalem to see the child Jesus.

 With the completion of the reading we always take a group picture. Here they are!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Another year of acting out the nativity story. What a wonderful tradition. It seems to get harder each year to find a part for everyone to play as they grow and I must say that we just don't all fit in the living room the way we once did, but it is a treasured tradition. I LOVE to see my kids all dressed up honoring the birth of their Savior. What a blessing Christmas is!

Christmas Cookies!

Well it wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't make Christmas cookies. We made a day of it and spent a Monday afternoon and evening whipping up some new recipes and some tried and true recipes as well.

First of all we mixed up a triple batch of sugar cookies. You can almost NEVER have too many sugar cookies around - though it took quite a while to get them all cooked!

The kids love rolling them and  baking them as well as you can see from the picture above.

Next we made a bunch of soft ginger snaps. These are one of my favorite Christmas cookies.

Then we tried a new recipe for a chocolate mint cookie. I'm not too sure about the green color, but they were tasty just the same. We cut up mint Oreo chocolates and put them in the cookies. Very tasty I must say!

A little more baking saw fruit cake filling our cooling racks and even a batch of the yummiest caramel popcorn you ever tasted!!! It's made with sweetened condensed milk and is hard to stop eating once you have started! Let me tell you, with 8-10 people in the house, it didn't take long to devour!

The picture really doesn't do it justice, but no matter, it is the only caramel popcorn I make anymore!

I am so grateful for all the help I had as we worked together as a family in the kitchen. Even with Chad's sore thumb, he was right there at my side helping and assisting every way he could. What a blessing he and my children are to me.

With the baking out of the way we were ready to begin making our candy houses.... but this year they didn't turn out too well as the structures seemed to have some structural flaws (the cookies were too soft). As the kids began assembling their houses, the cookies started to bow under the weight of the candy and frosting and pretty soon the walls and roof went askew. Not to worry though, we managed to get the cookie pieces decorated enough to eat anyway - which was the whole point!

 Charity and Breanna loaded the candy onto their house! I don't think we've ever had such a colorful year for our candy houses!!!

 Myles, taking after his dad with great house building ideas, decided to put a porch roof on the front of his house. Above you see him setting up the pretzels as his roof supports. I am happy to report that Myles house survived and did not self destruct under the weight of the candy and icing! Melodee helped him decorate it.

 And here is the finished porch. Awesome job Myles and Melodee!!!

Naomi and Beth worked together and as you can see really enjoyed building and decorating their house. They decided they didn't want to put the roof on so they put up the four walls and then proceeded to fill them with candy and cookies! Yup, a very yummy year for the candy house tradition!

I love the traditions of Christmas. We are so very blessed to enjoy the bounty that we have. Sometimes I think we have it too good, but, I am grateful we don't have to struggle from day to day just for sustenance at least not physically. We are also blessed spiritually with continued revelation it just takes a little more effort to internalize spiritual food. This is truly a time to be grateful for - I am sure that 2013 will be a year to remember! What a joy it is to share such special times with my children and family every year at Christmas.

A Heartfelt Thanks

This year has been an especially memorable Christmas for our family. With preparations for the holiday made well in advance we were able to focus on the true reason we celebrate Christmas a little bit more. We found ourselves busy and involved as a family as Christmas day grew nearer and nearer. Christmas isn't Christmas without family and friends. Our Christmas was made that much better by the return of my brother from Denver, Colorado who has been serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there for the last two years. It was wonderful to see him again and renew our acquaintance.

This year we exchanged the usual gifts with extended family and  we were touched to find that the gift exchange now touches each family member. I love home made gifts, the thought and preparation that goes into them. I love to give them and I love to receive them and this year our Christmas was full of them as well as some very thoughtful purchased gifts. I had a lot of favorites, so let me share them with you...

I have an online business called Clearly Rubber Stamping and I have a sister who is a very talented seamstress. This year she gave me something special reflecting her love and thought toward me and my family... a custom designed apron! I love the colors, the flowers and the logo. It is almost too pretty to wear in the kitchen! Thank you so much for such a personalized gift.

Another of my favorite gifts were centered on one of my very most favorite words - JOY!!! I love that word because it actually holds within it's three letters the formula for what it spells. When you put Jesus first, Others second and yourself last you will undoubtedly feel joy! What an awesome word! I know it is a formula that works and that without any one of those letters Joy cannot be achieved. Thank you so much for adding to the joy of Christmas with gifts of such a wonderful word.

The edible gifts are also wonderful items to receive along with the items that help to prepare food. We got a lovely frying pan that is a wonderful family size and cooks wonderfully with its ceramic coating. There was sweetened condensed milk which makes the best treats, chocolate delights which get devoured very quickly by our family and even a box of cereal reminding us that proper nourishment is important during this time of rich foods, much the same as spiritual nourishment is so vital during this time where the morals of society are quickly eroding. I love the reminder. Thank you for the spiritual and physical nourishment you have helped provide our family this year.

There was a delightful set of picture frames perfect for crystallizing and displaying treasured family members and moments - a reminder of the importance of family bonds and the need to keep them strong and healthy.  I took special delight in a butterfly light. I LOVE butterflies, especially since I discovered a few years ago that they teach of the Atonement of Christ beautifully. It is only through His atonement, that we emerge as the wonderful butterflies that we are meant to be. What a wonderful and visual lesson butterflies are to me and this light is an enjoyable reminder of that lesson. Thank you for these wonderful items that will decorate our home with treasured memories and lessons this year.

I have to admit that I have a bit of a weakness for jewellery. Not that I have expensive jewellery or anything like that, but I LOVE how the gemstones glisten and gleam and reflect the light, causing it to dance and shimmer on anything it reaches. These little gems that catch the light always remind me of the light of Christ and how we are each a gem that catches and reflects that wonderful light to others. It makes the world such a beautiful place. I am so thankful for these tiny gems that I  can wear at my throat  as symbol of my desire to reflect and share the light of Christ with everyone I meet. Thank you so much for the necklace and the bracelet which also depicts my love of gardening. I am so thankful for your thoughtfulness!

And last of all, one of my very most favorite of all my favorite gifts. A plaque. I have hung it where I study, right below a photo of the Savior because to me, these are His words. I love the words:

This plaque speaks truth but there is a caution that there was not room for. I have found that there is no growth if we allow our difficulties and challenges to make us bitter and unhappy. The greatest growth and strength come when we meet our challenges with faith and courage and then seek to conquer those challenges. It is faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ that has helped me in my most difficult times. That is why I hung this plaque next to his picture in a place that I can see it every day. I recently read an article that worded the message of this plaque a little differently. It said:

The keyword to me there is 'afford'. Not everyone in the world will grow from their challenges. Growth only comes if you pay the price and sometimes the price is high and hard to 'afford' BUT I know that it is always worth it. They always help us, once the price of faith is paid, to be strong and grow into what the Lord would have us be. What a blessing challenges are! Thank you for giving me the words of the Savior embodied in this little wall plaque. I love it and I look at it every day!!! 

And thank you for all the other gifts that I haven't specifically mentioned. I am so grateful for your thoughtfulness and generosity in our behalf as you considered our family for Christmas. Chad and I are both grateful to you - our family.

Each of the kids were also thrilled with their gifts as is obvious by their smiles:

Melodee was especially thrilled with the art work
her cousin made especially for her.

Well, it has been a wonderful Christmas for the Rice family! Our Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and other family celebrations have been filled with fun and the joy of being together as a family. I am so thankful for the wonderful kids I have, a strong and supporting husband and for gospel blessings which brings exquisite happiness into my life each and every day.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and may 2013 be a wonderful year filled with love and unity for you and your families.

Christmas Crafting

NOTE: This post will be published after Christmas to prevent spoiling any Christmas surprises...

The past couple of months have been wonderful. It has been sooooooo nice to be able to take it easy and just work on projects that interest me. Much of my recovery time was spent crocheting and once I got started it seemed that I couldn't really stop! I did dozens of cotton dish rags in every color imaginable. It feels great to have so many Christmas gifts done early.

I did so much crocheting that it made my arm ache. I had to broaden my ideas so I started doing a little painting...

This was the wax resist class I took this fall. I decided to do a painting of something I love - the temple - and share it with others who I know also love the temple.

I finally finished another encaustic painting, not a new one, but one that needed the final touches. Here is how it turned out. It is titled 'A Time and A Season' because it depicts the need for change and the beauty that comes with it.

One morning I was taking the kids in for early morning seminary and was delighted with the spectacular sunrise. Such a pretty town in the morning... Sunrises always remind me of paintings. I can't help but think that Heavenly Father loves to delight us with his unique uses of color each morning and evening as the sun rises and sets. His love for us is so very evident in each beautiful skyline!

This year I decided to make special ties for the men in the family that are reminiscent of their missions. This was a fun project because each tie turned out so uniquely different! I couldn't believe how easy it was to do either...

These are five of the finished projects. I love how they turned out!!!

Here are the last two I did later. I love the bright colors.

This year I did a temple block for a special person. I love the teal and purple combination that came together in the finished project!

Every year we like to make Christmas tree decorations. This year we made beaded ones...

 Icicles that hang on our tree and sparkle in the Christmas lights.

 Beaded Christmas trees were also easy and quick to make.

One last beaded project finished 3 snowflakes ready to hang on the tree. I love the blue and white combination! 

Christmas is that wonderful time of year when it is so appropriate to express our gratitude for others with the gifts that we share. I have found that we only enjoy the things that we allow ourselves to enjoy. It is uncanny how many wonderful things we participate in only to discover in retrospect that we didn't enjoy them to the fullest. Why not? We just have to want to. 

Christmas is about putting irksome little things aside, bidding them goodbye and good riddance forever and then delighting in the moment each and every second of our lives. For me, sparkling ornaments remind me of this principle. The light cannot hit all the surfaces at once, but the more light, the more sparkle there is. If each sparkle depicted joy then it only makes sense to open the way for more light. Allowing light into our lives allows the sparkling aura of joy to radiate through us and extend to those around us as well. This is what makes the holiday celebrations with family and friends so memorable because it is the Spirit of Christ that instills the joy that reflects off of us as we let light radiate through our beings.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year. May we all radiate the joy that comes from our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

A Delightful Gift

There are some really neat gift ideas out there, and with the internet so handy it is pretty easy to find some absolutely adorable things to make for teachers and friends. One of my children came home from  school this past week with an absolutely adorable gift...

Isn't that the cutest hot chocolate making gift you ever saw? It is made in a clear cake decorating bag with green or red candies in the top, then a thin layer of marshmallows, then hot chocolate mix and a larger amount of marshmallows. It is tied off at the bottom with a twist tie and a ribbon and then a nose and eyes are glued on as well as a cotton ball for a mustache and a pom pom on top for the tip of the hat! I love it. It is so unique!

What fun it is to use our creativity to delight and thrill others at Christmas time. I love hand made gifts. I love making them and I love receiving them. I love the thought that goes into them and the loving time that is given as part of the gift. Christmas time gives us so many opportunities for us to share the joy we feel each and every day with others. When we do, our joy and theirs grows. It's contagious and wonderful.

Merry Christmas!!!

Sweets for the Sweet

Well, what would the Christmas holidays be if they weren't accented with sweet treats to tantalize our taste buds?  A while ago we started making candy...

We made magic cookie bars

Home made caramels

Fudge that we turned into chocolate fondant,
and peanut brittle.

That was just the candy.. we've got lots more baking to do, but since then we have finished our chocolates! That is one tradition that is sometimes put off to the last few days before Christmas - but not this year!!!

We had some very willing helpers, and they did a fantastic job of dipping the candy while I rolled it into balls. With the candy done, they decided to dip a few pretzels as well.

One of our key ingredients behind some of these tasty treats is sweetened condensed milk. We make our own and it makes the Christmas candy absolutely scrumptious!!!

Here's the recipe. It's amazing when you look at the list of ingredients, but it really does taste like the real thing!!!

1 cup instant nonfat dry milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3-1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup (2 oz) melted butter

Preparation:
1. Place the dry milk, granulated sugar, 1/3 cup of the boiling water, and the melted butter in a blender.
2. Blend all ingredients together until they are smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender occasionally to get all the dry ingredients incorporated.
3. Condensed milk typically has a thick, syrupy consistency, but if your homemade condensed milk is too thick to pour easily, add another spoonful or two of boiling water and blend to incorporate. Adjust the water until you are happy with the consistency.
4. Use your homemade sweetened condensed milk right away, or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It will get thicker when it is refrigerated, but will loosen up when stirred and brought to room temperature.

And so the baking truly begins!!! I love home made treats and I love feeding them to my family! I also love that my family is always willing and eager to share in the work. There is no shortage of bowls and spoons that need licking or sampling. It is a fun time of year when we spend a lot of time in the kitchen working together to make a host of scrumptious delicacies. It is a time to look forward to and treasure. I am so blessed to have a family that brings me an indescribably amount of joy, just in every day events of life!