A Homemade Gift for the Littles

I am REALLY excited about this gift! I just finished making a very special photo book for my Littles, and now I'm making one for my nephew. I came across this little board book in a Bible book store this past summer, and really loved it. It's a sweet book, and I bought it as a gift for someone. It got my wheels turning as to how I could make a personalized version using pictures of my own children and more Bible verses.

My Littles love looking through their first year scrapbooks and seeing pictures of themselves, and Little Littles is excited to point out body parts. Big Littles is old enough to start listening to explanations of what these verses mean. It is a wonderful little teaching tool in so many ways, and I'm hoping it will also be a good quiet book for church!

To make one of your own, you will need:

• a mini photo album - mine was $2.40 at Michaels for a nice quality one. I would think you could find these at the dollar store too, though they may not have as many available pages. (Mine has 36.)
• Some kind of paper and a sharpie - I had extra scrapbook paper around from making valentines about 6 years ago! It's about time I used it up! I liked handwriting the verses, but if you don't like your handwriting, you can print them from the computer.
• Pictures of the kiddos. You can make these for your own kids, grand-kids, nieces, nephews, friends... You'll just need to have access to a lot of photos to do it.
  

I don't put pictures of my kids on this blog, so I've covered up faces or took pictures with a strategic glare on these sample pages. I hope you can still get a good idea of what can work. I tried to find pictures that depicted the verses well. I didn't take any pictures specifically for the book, but you could do that if you needed to. Any pages that are not detailed below just contain a photo corresponding with a verse or body part that God made.

Cover:


Page 1 - Portrait with the caption, "God Made Me"

Page 2 - "So God created man in His image, in the image of God He created Him." Genesis 1:27

a Littles looking in a mirror

Page 5 - "I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well." Psalm 139:14

Page 7 - God made my eyes. "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." Hebrews 12:2

Page 11 - God made my nose. "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." 2 Corinthians 2:15

Page 15 - God made my ears. "Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days." Proverbs 19:20

Page 19 - God made my mouth. "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." Psalms 34:8

Page 23 - God made my hands. "I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 16:8


Page 27 - God made my feet. "For your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in your truth." Psalm 26:3


Page 29 - "Establish my footsteps in Your word." Psalm 119:133


Page 31 - "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might!" Ecclesiastes 9:10

Page 33 - "Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right." Proverbs 20:11


Page 35 - "Wondrously show Your steadfast love, O Savior... Keep me as the apple of Your eye..." Psalm 17:7-8

Page 36 - Portrait with caption, "Thank you God for making me."

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Menu for the Week

Monday: Chili Mac

Tuesday: Cajun Chicken & Dumplings

Wednesday: Refried beans, spanish rice, taco meat, avacado, cheese, homemade corn tortillas, homemade salsa, and whatever else I feel like throwing in

Thursday: Salmon Patties, baked sweet potato fries, roasted broccoli

Friday: Homemade Pizza

A Real Potluck Saturday: I'm bringing lemon garlic chicken and "brookies" (I think)

Brookies are a cross between brownies and cookies. I haven't tried the recipe yet, and it is from this cookbook that has a few other favorites, so I trust it will be good. And honestly, how could something not be good when it is a cross between a brownie and a cookie?!

Sunday Spaghetti: Pasta Fagioli

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Praise to the Lord

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, who, when tempests their warfare are waging,
Who, when the elements madly around thee are raging,
Biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace,
Whirlwinds and waters assuaging.

Praise to the Lord, who, when darkness of sin is abounding,
Who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding,
Sheddeth His light, chaseth the horrors of night,
Saints with His mercy surrounding.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

Original in German by Joachim Neander

Psalm 89:5 - "Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!"

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A Frugal Cookie Recipe

It's Potluck Saturday!

My Grandma had these cookies around every time we went to her house. They are a little bit cakey, and I've never had anything quite like them elsewhere. I was making these recently and realized that they are pretty frugal as far as cookies go. The more expensive ingredients, such as eggs and butter only require amounts found in cookie doughs that make half the volume. Now these are not the most amazing cookies in the world, but they are nostalgic for me, and they are fun to make. They store really well, and even taste best a day old in my opinion. Enjoy!


Grandma’s Sugar Jumbles
5 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 sticks softened butter
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. buttermilk**
Mix the wet & dry ingredients separately, then together. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least two hours. Drop by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle some cinnamon & sugar on top. Bake for 15 min. at 375*
Makes 6 dozen

** I use either powdered buttermilk or regular whole milk with a splash of lemon juice in it. To make a dairy free version, I use unsweetened rice milk with a splash of lemon juice.

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25 Days With Littles

I love to do a fun little something with the Littles each day in December as a countdown until Christmas. I keep it simple... VERY simple, even going so far as to make every Sunday a simple Hershey Kiss as a treat. Many of the days, I plan to just read a book together (which we do many times a day anyway). We all have fun doing it, and it motivates me to take the time to do special things with them.


(Our countdown calendar... steeply discounted because some of the knobs are missing... need to do something to fix them, but we enjoy it anyway!)

Here is our line up for this year:
1 - bake bread
2 - read "Up on the Housetop"
3 - begin our sticker chart countdown (just a little behind... oops!)
4 - make hot cocoa
5 - deliver cards and gifts to the neighbors
6 - make sugar jumbles
7 - make paper snowflakes
8 - write a letter to Santa
9 - make a winter scene with Lincoln Logs
10 - read "Counting Christmas"
11 - get a chocolate kiss
12 - read "White Snow, Bright Snow"
13 - make cut out cookies
14 - make stamped cards for the relatives
15 - make "stained glass trees"
16 - read "The Polar Express"
17 - Daddy Appreciation Day
18 - get a chocolate kiss
19 - make cinnamon/applesauce ornaments
20 - read "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
21 - read "Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree"
(My favorite Christmas book!)
22 - make cookies for Santa (biscotti)
23 - make reindeer treats (essentially, fancy chex mix)
24 - make pigs in a blanket (We are celebrating as a family on this day so we can focus on our worship to God on Sunday.)

Other ideas:
- Make gingerbread or cherry eggnog bread
- Fill up the birdfeeders
- Make snowmen pancakes
- Gingerbread houses
- Decorate upside-down ice cream cones as trees
- Make beaded candy canes on pipe cleaners
- Make recycled card ornaments

*** Note - I finally became an Amazon affiliate. The links on the books are affiliate links, so if you order something from Amazon through my links (even if it is not what I link here), I get a few pennies... I think... This is my first attempt, so we'll see what comes of it. THANKS!!!

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Trimming the Tree

During my childhood, I remember always having birds at the top of our Christmas tree. I've been feeling a bit wistful for those birds this year and wanted to re-create that a bit for our little family. Preacher Man gifted me half an hour child free at Michaels so I could satisfy my creative monsters as my friend April loves to say.

I fell in love with the glittery cardinals.



They are flashier than what I typically buy, but it is Christmas, after all, and once on the tree, they are a perfect fit!

Here's what I did:



I bought:

• 2 glittery cardinals
• a package of cinnamon pinecones - some are painted gold and there are some pretty glittery red berries in the pack too
• a small grapevine wreath for the foundation
• a little pick with gold berries
  
• a length of berry garland
• I also used some hot glue and some heavier gauge beading wire that I had on hand. Green floral wire would be better, but I didn't have any, and the silver works just fine.
  

1. Wrap the berry garland around the grapevine wreath, tucking in the ends so they don't show.



2. Preacher Man suggested that I wrap the garland with the wire because the branches of the garland were sticking out too much. I just tucked the ends of the wire deep into the wreath, and gently wrapped around the little branches to reign them in.



3. Decorate!! I stuck the gold berry pick deep into the wreath, attached my little cardinals, and glued on the pinecones and glittery berries. Place things on the wreath strategically to cover bare spots and wire ends. Be sure to leave the middle of the wreath open so there is room for the top point of the tree to poke through.

Voila!



I think they are just too sweet! The Littles love them too!



This year's tree, all decked out. Last year, I got creative to make a babyproof Christmas tree, and I loved so many of the things I did, that I'm bringing them back again this year. These paper ball ornaments are absolute favorites! The Littles love hanging the pretty copper and silver cookie cutters on the tree as ornaments, and I still think the lace looks lovely as a garland.

I'm saving cards to make some of these ornaments this year, and I hope to bundle up the Littles to hunt for some acorns so I can make these lovelies to mix with my cinnamon pinecones.

What holiday crafts are you undertaking this year?

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Sweet Treats

Our family's favorite treat for a winter's evening is homemade popcorn and hot cocoa. I'll be honest, it's easier to convince myself to bundle everyone up in their snowsuits to play outside if there is the promise of warming up with hot cocoa after we come back in. It is also traditional holiday tree trimming fare.



Church Mouse's Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

Here's a recipe for a yummy and thrifty hot cocoa mix. You can make this in bulk to use with your family or to give away as a gift in a quart size mason jar with a ribbon on it.

• 8 c. powdered dry milk
• scant 3/4 c. cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Add 1/3 c. mix to 1 c. hot water and enjoy!

If you don't want to bother with making up a mix ahead of time, the easiest and best homemade cocoa is just 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a mug. Add about 1 c. hot milk or for a dairy free version, hot soy/rice/coconut milk. (I prefer the coconut. I would advise using less sugar with the pre-sweetened milks.) Add a dash of cinnamon if it suits your fancy. Easy to remember, easy to make!
(Thanks to my friend, Stacey, for the suggestion!)

Now for the POPCORN!

Have you been making your popcorn in the microwave all these years? There is a better way!!! It is substantially cheaper to buy your popcorn in bulk and pop it on the stove. You really don't need to buy a fancy popcorn popper. We have tried several and while they do work well, they are usually very annoying to clean and they burn out after a few years of heavy use. We now use our big stock pot, the very same one that we use to make soup, iced tea, and any number of things. I'm happy to get rid of a bulky kitchen gadget in favor of using something as multipurpose as a good stock pot. Plus, the stockpot washes out so easily! Reducing dirty dishes is always a win in my book!

Popping Corn on the Stove, Step By Step:

1. Put a couple of tablespoons of oil in your pot and add two popcorn kernels. Use enough oil to cover the entire bottom of the pot. (We usually make a big batch in our stock pot, but you can make a small batch using a smaller saucepan just as well.) Turn your burner to medium-high heat.



2. When one of the popcorn kernels pops, add enough popcorn to cover the bottom of your pot, plus just a little bit more. Cover with a lid.



3. Shake the pot to evenly coat the kernels - just slide it back and forth on the stove a bit.



4. When the kernels start popping, continue shaking the pot to mix the kernels and to keep the popped pieces from burning. Vent out some of the steam by slightly lifting the lid if needed.



5. When the popping stops, pour the popped corn into a large bowl. Put the pot back on the stove and add your butter to the pot to melt it. Drizzle the melted butter on top of your popped corn and add seasonings to taste.



You can adjust this to your tastes, but these ratios are a good rule of thumb:
1 Tbs. oil + 1/3 c. popcorn kernels + 1 Tbs. butter

You can use any kind of oil, but our favorite is Nutiva coconut oil. Amazon runs amazing deals from time to time, and it is our top choice for healthy cooking oils.

Our favorite seasonings:

• Penzey's BBQ 3000
• Penzey's Ranch Dressing Mix
• Cinnamon and Sugar (with just a dash of popcorn salt) - I mix my own using Penzey's Vietnamese Extra Fancy Cinnamon
  

I definitely recommend popcorn salt. It is ground super fine so it sticks to the kernels.

** Note - I am not a Penzey's affiliate and I do not receive any compensation for my recommendation. I just love their spices so much that I wish everyone could enjoy them as we do.

What is your favorite popcorn flavor?

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