Christmas

Hello to you all!:)
Hoping everybody is nice and cozy today! *shiver* We have tons of snow and it is FRE-EZ-ING! Only 26 degrees! *shiver* Well, this is going to be one super long post but aren't Christmas posts always?:) Here we go!

I woke up at about seven after a very long night-
does it seem that way to you too? I think Christmas
Eve is the longest night of the year!

Dad was already up and then a few minutes after, Anna and the
boys came down so I took advantage of the moment and took
some pictures!

They would not cooperate for a group shot:P

Then, when Mom and Owen got up,
it was present time! Dad and I made
Mom this mug at Get Fired Up-she
loved it!

Then, Dad gave her this necklace from her friend Katie's Etsy shop-
Near The Willows-look her up on Etsy! She has some beautiful stuff!

Then, after we had gotten to all the presents, this is what
our family room looked like.

Anna was in a purple fuzzy world of delight with her new purple
pajamas, purple bathrobe, and purple slippers!

Anna and I got our first hoops!!

And I also got the first two Cherry Ames books! They are
nursing books and sort of mystery books too!

And then, Grammy and Grampy and Aunt Jen came!

Time for brunch! Some delicious Sour Cream Coffee Cake!

Pumpkin bread....

Yummy little quiches! They have eggs,sausage,peppers
and salsa in them! Yum!

Hehe! I caught Grampy right in the middle
of chewing!:)

Aunt Jen

And then, we had a visit from Santa!:)
Our cousin Kyle and his girlfriend April
came over with Grammy and Grampy.
This is what he was wearing when he stepped
out of the car:) He is huge!

More presents, food, laughter and talking!

The boys both got snowboards! Guess what they have been
doing all day??

That is Aunt Jen in the chair, Dad and Kyle on the sofa
and April is next to Kyle.

Then, after Mom and Dad took a nap, we headed down to Nana
and Poppy's for supper! This is the kid's table...

And here is the adults table!

Here are all the American Girl dolls! Cecile, Caroline and Rebecca!

Nana's stocking:)

Their lovely tree!

They have this garland strung right there with little
gold ornaments on it-each one has the name of one of their
foster children-they had a lot! In this one, Poppy was lifting
McKinley up to touch them:)

Here is a colorized version:)

We were Skyping with Aunt Gladys and Uncle Ajax and I was
trying to get a good picture but it turned out like this!
I must say, I like this picture of Poppy!

Sorry about the bad photo-there's Uncle Ajax! He and
Poppy look so much alike.....

Poppy always sets up his old train set! There is the track going all the
way around the tree, and the whole train! The engine has a light that
really shines, smoke that comes out and it even makes noise!
And one of the cars has a security guard chasing a robber!

That is one of our favorite parts! Poppy even lets us take
turns driving!

She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes......

(from left to right) Mom, Aunt Heidi and Nana.

 Well, that's all for now but I'll be back soon with lots more!!

Thanks for looking at my blog!


Emma

Christmas Songs-Day Three

Good morning!
I hope everyone is nice and cozy this morning! Before we get to the songs, I would like to tell you a little bit about this lovely blog that I look at..........Grace's Garden Walk............Her blog is beautiful..........crafty........and very old-fashioned-which I love! (my cousin calls me an 'oldie' because I love antiques and old fashioned and vintage stuff:) These past few weeks, she is doing 'An Old Fashion, Handmade Christmas' on her blog! She (along with some other girls guest posting) will have something special and Christmas-y each days! Sundays are 'Stitched with Love Sunday' in which she shares some of her pins from Pinterest and some easy crafting ideas- Mondays are 'Baking Mondays' where she shares some of her recipe pins and also shares some of her own family recipes-Tuesdays are dedicated to her regular posts and such-Wednesdays are 'Pin It Up Wednesday' where she shows some great stocking stuffers and little gifts-Thursdays will be 'Crafting by the Tree Thursday' where she shows some great sewing, knitting crocheting and other great patterns- Friday is 'Deck the Halls Friday' where there will be some great decoration ideas - and Saturday is 'Wrappin' It Up Saturday' where she will show great ideas to make even the wrapping of your gift special! You have to go check it out! And definitely follow Grace and put her blog on the list of blogs you look at! Now.....onto the songs! Up first is................

Angels We Have Heard On High

Words based on a traditional French carol known as

'Les Anges dans nos campagnes' which means

'Angels in our countryside'  composed by an unknown

author in Languedoc, France.

Angels we have heard on high,

Sweetly singing o'er the plains,

And the mountains in reply,

Echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

What the gladsome tidings be

Which inspire your heavenly song?

Gloria in excelsis Deo!   

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Come to Bethlehem and see

Him whose birth the angels sing;

Come adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord the newborn King.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

See Him in a manger laid

Jesus Lord of heaven and earth;

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,

Sing with us our Savior's birth!

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

And here is the link....as sung by.... Andrea Bocelli..................Angels We Have Heard On High                 isn't it so cool??  
And for our next song, we will look at..............

 Silver Bells

Composed by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks,

Dressed in holiday style;

In the air, there's a feeling,

Of Christmas.

Children laughing, people passing,

Meeting smile after smile,

And on every street corner you hear;

Silver bells, silver bells,

Silver bells, silver bells,

It's Christmastime in the city;

Ring-a-ling, ring-a-ling

Hear them ring, hear them ring,

Soon it will be Christmas day!

Strings of streetlights, even stoplights,

Blink a bright red and green;

As the shoppers rush home with, their treasures;

Hear the snow crunch, see the kids bunch,

This is Santa's big scene,

And above all the bustle you hear;

Silver bells, silver bells,

Silver bells, silver bells,

It's Christmastime in the city;

Ring-a-ling, ring-a-ling,

Hear them ring,hear them ring,

Soon it will be Christmas day!

And here is the link for this ring-a-lingy Christmas song as sung by Bing Crosby.............Silver Bells............I love this song!

Come back tomorrow to listen to 'Do You Hear What I Hear?' and 'Deck the Halls'........!

Thanks for looking at my blog!

Emma.

12 days until Christmas.................

                  Do you have all your shopping done?

Made all your presents yet?

                               If not, better get cracking!

       

                                                           

Christmas Songs-Day Two

Good evening!
Before we get to the songs,do you realize that there are only 13 days until Christmas? Is that crazy, or is it crazy? Now, onto the songs! Our first song is......................

                             While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night
                                         Text by Nahum Tate-Music by George Frederic Handel

  While shepherds watched their flocks by night,

All seated on the ground,

The angel of the Lord came down,

And glory shone around,

And glory shone around.

"Fear not", said he for mighty dread

Had seized their troubled mind,

"Glad tidings of great joy I bring,

To you and all man kind,

To you and all man kind"

"To you in David's town this day,

Is born of David's line,

The Savior who is Christ, the Lord,

And this shall be a sign:

And this shall be a sign."

"The heav'nly Babe you there shall find,

To human view displayed,

All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,

And in a manger laid,

And in a manger laid.

Thus spake the seraph and forthwith,

Appeared a shining throng,

Of angels praising God, who thus,

Addressed their joyful song:

Addressed their joyful song.

"All glory be to God on high,

And to the earth be peace:

Good will henceforth, from heav'n to men,

Begin and never cease!

Begin and never cease!"

And here is a link to this beautiful Christmas song as sung by Connie Smith...... While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night-isn't it pretty? 

And now for our traditional Christmas song................

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Lyrics by Sammy Cahn-Music by Jule Styne 

Oh the weather outside is frightful,

But the fire is so delightful,

And since we've no place to go,

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

It doesn't show signs of stopping,

And I've brought some corn for popping,

The lights are turned way down low,

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

When we finally kiss goodnight,

How I'll hate going out in the storm!

But if you'll really hold me tight,

All the way home I'll be warm!

The fire is slowly dying,

And, my dear, we're still goodbying,

But as long as you love me so,

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

And here is the link for this snowy song.......(by the way, did you know that this song was written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California on one of the hottest days on record? Isn't that funny?) as sung by Michael Buble................Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 

That's all for today! Tomorrow, we'll look at 'Angels We Have Heard On High' and 'Silver Bells'..........until then!

Emma

                        13 days until Christmas...................

What are you looking forward to most?

                                                  Do you have a favorite family tradition?

        Favorite Christmas memory?

                                              

                                                            

                                                             

                                      

Christmas Songs-Day One

Hi!
I have decided that I am going to do a series of Christmas songs! Each day, I will post one hymn, and one traditional Christmas song! And, our two songs for today are............


                                             O Little Town of Bethlehem
                              Text written by Phillips Brooks and music written by Lewis H. Redner

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!

  Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by;

Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting Light;

 The hopes and fears of all the years, are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary; and gathered all above,

   While mortals sleep, the angels keep, their watch of wondering love.

O morning stars, together, proclaim the holy birth,

  And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth.

How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv'n!

So God imparts to human hearts, the blessings of His Heav'n.

No ear may hear His coming; but in this world of sin,

     Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;

Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell,

O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.

And here is the link to a video of this beautiful song sung by Kari Jobe..............'O Little Town of Bethlehem..........

 And for the next one, we have...............

                                    Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
                                        Lyrics written by Hugh Martin; Music by Ralph Blane

 Have yourself a merry little Christmas,

Let your heart be light,

From now on,

Our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,

Make the Yule-tide gay,

From now on,

Our troubles will be miles away

Here we are as in olden days,

Happy golden days of yore,

Faithful friends who are dear to us,

Gather near to us once more.

Through the years,

 we all will be together,

If the fates allow,

 Hang a shining star upon the highest bough,

     And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

                                         

And here is a link for this song as song by Judy Garland.............Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas..............

Tomorrow, we will look at 'While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night' and 'Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow'

Thanks for looking at my blog!

Emma.

                               

New Blog Design!

Hi everyone!
Okay.......just wanted to let you know that my blog is going to be under construction for a while............I am getting a new blog design by Britt from Designed To Inspire!  So just warning you there might be some mismatched backgrounds and headers and stuff..............:)

Thanks for looking at my blog!

Emma.

Creamy Dreamy Hot Cocoa- A Winter Recipe

Hello again!
Okay, so, hopefully, I'll be able to start posting recipes with pictures! I would love to do that but, when you're baking , it's hard to bake and take pictures too. But, the other day, Owen and I made some hot chocolate using a recipe from a Christmas cookbook I got last year- it's called 'Simply Christmas Cookbook' and there are some pretty nice recipes in there! We made 'Creamy Dreamy Hot Chocolate' and I am going to share the recipe with you-you lucky ducks!:) Here goes.................



                                           Creamy Dreamy Hot Chocolate.
                                                                   Things needed:

One fourteen ounce can of Sweetened Condensed Milk.

One eighth teaspoon of salt.

Two teaspoons of vanilla.

One half cup of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder.

Six and a half cups of hot water.
And one cute helper!
(if you don't have your own, take someone
else's-but you're not getting mine!)

Dump the cocoa powder into a saucepan.

Dump the vanilla into the saucepan.

Dump the salt into the saucepan. 

And then scrape all the Sweetened Condensed Milk
into the saucepan.

Mix well with a spoon.

With the burner on medium-high heat, add the hot water.

Mix well. You might need to use a whisk to get all the cocoa
mixture mixed in. Stir until steam starts to rise from the saucepan
or until as hot as is desired.

Remove from heat and pour into mugs.
Don't forget to reward your helper
with the spoon and a mug!

Top with some whipped cream, crushed peppermints, or
just drink plain! Enjoy!

Well, I hope you enjoyed that! Would you like me to do more?

Thanks for looking at my blog!

Emma.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care......

Hello!
Okay.....I'm back with another Christmas card!! Have I mentioned I love making Christmas cards? Well, I've only said two or three times so I'll say it again..........I love making Christmas cards!:) I used this adorable Christmas set from Avocado Arts- the set is called Very Merry-isn't it cute? Well, I used some dark green paper and then some adorable snowflake paper from Mom's paper pad. I cut out the fireplace I had colored, attached the stockings and put gold glitter on the ends! Then, in an old sewing box we have, I found some black lace, put it on the edge and then added some cute holiday bows along with the lace! Then, I stamped 'Very Merry' and 'Christmas' and then wrote on the inside 'The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.' Enjoy the pictures!

Here is the whole card......what do you think?

Here is a close up of the fire......looks
cozy!!

I made the stockings mismatched-I think they're
cute.........waiting to be filled with presents!

Here is the 'Very Merry' up top.............

And here is the 'Christmas' on the bottom.

Here is a close up of the bows and lace....

And here is the little sentiment inside.

Well, I hope you like it! I'll be back soon with a recipe and pictures!!

Thanks for looking at my blog!

Emma.