On Saturday my Aunt Sheila invited the ladies of the family over for a holiday cookie swap party. We all brought 3 dozen of a home baked treat, and we all left with several varieties.  It was such a nice way to spend a sunny afternoon.  I wish we could all get together more often, […]

Christmas Eve is here! Perhaps one of the best parts about celebrating holidays as a married couple is merging family traditions and creating new ones in the process. When my husband was growing up his mom always made a cookie bar called a Chinese Chew. The recipe originated in a fundraising cookbook for her high […]

Christmas fun continues! I don’t want to believe that Christmas is the day after tomorrow. The kids really enjoy all the festive decorations and music, and I think we’ll all be a little sad when it comes time to pack everything away. My favorite part of today was when Mack danced for the first time! […]

Day 2 of Christmas cookie baking! Butterscotch Haystacks were a favorite in our household when I was growing up. Like yesterday’s Cornflake Wreath recipe, today’s cookies require no baking and are quite easy to make while juggling two little ones. My sister Caitie always made them, and even today while I made a batch at […]

When I was growing up my mom, sisters and I would spend an entire day every year baking Christmas cookies. We made dozens of several different varieties, and once everything was baked we’d assemble cookie plates for our aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends. Now that I have my own little family I am continuing the […]

When I was growing up my mom did a fabulous job making Christmas a special time for her five children. Now that I have six of my own, I appreciate the time and effort it took for her to give us such warm and comforting memories. Her example is what motivates me to keep on […]

Christmas time. The time of the year when homes are cozy and warm, nights are quiet and peaceful, well-behaved children are wide-eyed and wonderful. Right. Right? Wrong. Earlier this month, as I have every year since Evie was born, I was stressing out with the expectations of what Christmas should be. Why did it seem […]

“It’s all a charade. The world has not understood the way of peace. The whole world is at war. A war can be justified, so to speak, with many, many reasons, but when all the world as it is today, at war, piecemeal though that war may be—a little here, a little there—there is no […]

This afternoon was such a lovely surprise.  After a hectic lunch hour filled with sibling rivalry the likes of which I see all too often, I wasn’t expecting a peaceful remainder of the day.  But, some Christmas cheer rescued the day and I now have some of my most favorite memories from 2012. Today’s holiday […]

Its hard to believe Christmas is over! I love the holiday season, and I’m always a little sad when it ends. Sometimes I wish Christmas came later in the winter so we’d have something warm and cozy to look forward to during the year’s bitter months. While we spent Christmas Eve with my very large […]