menu plan monday ~ january 2, 2012

We enjoyed keeping the twins overnight Saturday and are looking forward to having all three grands here for an overnight Tuesday. Last week, the girls were here and the twins had a ball playing games on their aunt’s phone. Everything is an adventure for them. And lots of fun for us.

playing games on auntie's phone

Here’s the menu for this week. My family is coming Sunday for our family Christmas party that had been postponed due to Mom’s funeral just before Christmas. It will be good to see everyone.

Monday
Golden Nectar Soup (Cheesy Potato Sausage Soup)

Tuesday
Lasagna with Homemade Sauce
Rosemary Bread
Green Salad
Peas and Steamed Carrots

Wednesday
Tacoritos

Thursday
Hearty Vegetable Soup

Friday
Homemade Pizza with Portobello Mushrooms

Saturday
Fridge Food

Sunday
My-Side-of-the-Family Christmas Party. Everyone brings something. I’m making the meat, buns, and providing beverages.

Alton Brown’s Pot Roast for sandwiches
Spicy Shredded Pork for sandwiches
Homemade Buns
Cheese Spread with Crackers and Bagel Chips
Veggie Tray and Dip
Fruit Tray
Green Salad
Desserts

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

Christmas day

We had a very good Christmas Day. Our son’s family came over around 1:00, and we enjoyed watching the grands open gifts. I told DDIL that it didn’t look like so many gifts when I ordered them… :-}

As our family tradition dictates, DH opened the gathering with a reading of the account of Christ’s birth from the old pulpit Bible from the Mud Creek Presbyterian Church (established in 1838 and sited where the Old Salem Cemetery is located in Washington County, IL).

reading Luke 2:1-20

Twin2 couldn’t stand it. She wanted to open presents NOW!

she loves Pa's tie

Stockings are always fun. Thanks to DD#2 and DD#3 for doing my stocking shopping for me this year. And I still managed to slip a few surprises into their stockings.

stocking time

Christmas morning

During the afternoon, we skyped with DS#2 and his wife. Love technology! We watched them open our gifts to them and they were able to watch us open their gifts to us.

watching D & J open gifts

Twin1 loved her magic wand. She walked around saying “presto!” to everything she waved her wand at.

magic wand!

We stopped for a “bread break.” When it’s time to form the rolls you need to stop and do it. The twins LOVE to help Ma make rolls and buns.

helping Ma make rolls and buns

The twins wrapped this package for DD#1. They couldn’t agree on paper, so they used both kinds.

specially wrapped by the twins

New situations don’t bother Amy. She was very interested in what was going on.

Amy

Anyone else get a knitted Dalek for Christmas?

her very own Dalek

All those wonderful toys and they like bubble wrap better.

all those presents and she likes the bubble wrap best

We had a nice leisurely day. I enjoyed it. The grands ended up staying overnight and we were able to enjoy their company on Monday, as well.

Most of all, we rejoice in God’s great love and provision on our behalf. Thanking Him for the birth, life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

~~Rhonda

happy birthday, my sweet

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband! Right now, he’s riding 57 miles on his bicycle for his 57th birthday. I don’t have a picture of that, so here he is making bread on Christmas Day.

bread baker

He’s a man of many talents. And he makes delicious bread.

~~Rhonda

Christmas menu

We kept the menu easy for Christmas Day. As it turned out, we had this around 5:00, after an afternoon of opening gifts.

Three Cheese Spread with Pita Chips and Crackers

three cheese spread

Bisquick Sausage Balls

Simple Marinated Shrimp This was delicious.

Veggie Tray with Parsley Dip
We didn’t care for the parsley dip. We had some leftover dill dip and preferred using that. The parsley dip was a bit flat with too much garlic.

Crostini

Chicken Liver Pate

Crackers with Smoked Salmon Spread

Peanut Butter Balls

Peanut Butter Truffle

Holiday Petits Fours

Holiday Petits Fours

Ginger Cake Trifle (made this in a glass bowl, rather than individual glasses)

sharing the last trifle

We’ve been munching on the leftovers ever since.

It was nice to have a casual meal, rather than a big production for Christmas Day. Especially nice after the long week we had with Mom’s funeral.

~~Rhonda

one more sleep till Christmas!

one more sleep till Christmas

May your Christmas be bright and happy. And may you always remember the reason we celebrate.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

~~Rhonda

two little monkeys

The grands spent the night Tuesday. Cheered me up a lot. I gave the twins these hats that were supposed to be for Christmas. They love them!

two little monkeys...

~~Rhonda

we miss you, Mom

This has been a difficult week. My mother passed away Tuesday morning. The evening before, one of my dearest friends from college also passed away. Today is visitation for my mother and tomorrow the funeral. We appreciate your prayers for our family and for the family of my friend, Lynn.

I wish I had more pictures to share, but my computer is down and I’m posting this from DH’s computer, so only have access to photos from my flickr pages.

My mother’s family. My mom is the one on the right.

Harold and Nellie family photo

My parents in high school.

Alan and Georgia

Dad and Mom’s wedding day, 1951.

Alan and Georgia's wedding

My family. Mom and Dad. Jonathan, Genny, me, Mary, Paula, Margaret, Andy.

family portrait

We thank God for His promises.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:54

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ December 12, 2011

This will be a busy week for our household. We are hosting three events. Thursday evening, Nathan George will be presenting a concert here with his friends Mark Stoffel and Ross Sermons. On Friday, ladies from my sister’s church are coming for a house tour. We’ll serve a dessert and do a Christmas craft of some kind. Saturday, my side of the family are coming for our annual family Christmas party. So looking forward to these events!

Are you feeling stressed by Christmas? Or staying focused on the reason we celebrate? I hope you’re finding this time of year to be both worshipful and joy-full!

nativity on the laundry room counter

Monday
Beef Stew

Tuesday
Baked Chicken
Rice
Steamed Carrots and Green Beans
Green Salad

Wednesday
Hamburgers on Homemade Buns
Veggies and Dip

Thursday ~ Nathan Clark George in Concert!
Appetizer Wreath
Three Cheese Spread with Pita Chips
Spicy Meatballs in Cranberry Sauce
Antipasto Platter
Cheese Cubes / Olives / Sweet Pickles
Veggie Tray with Beau Monde Dip
Chex Mix
Red and Green Grapes
Candy Jumble
Chocolate Creams
Peanut Butter Truffles

Friday ~ Church Ladies House Tour
Dessert
Spiced Cranberry Punch / Coffee

Supper ~ Golden Nectar Soup

Saturday ~ Family Christmas Party
We’ll provide the meat, buns and drinks and the family will bring everything else.
Alton Brown’s Pot Roast for Sandwiches
Spicy Shredded Pork for Sandwiches
Homemade Buns
Green Salad / Dressing
Veggies and Dip
Fruit Salad
Cheese Spread / Crackers
Desserts
Coffee / Tea / Lemonade

Sunday
Leftovers and a nap!

You’ll find more holiday menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

sprinkles, haircuts and snowflakes

The week before Thanksgiving, the twins stayed over night on Tuesday, so they could get haircuts on Wednesday morning. My friend comes by the house to trim our hair and she was happy to do the twins, too. Before she arrived, the twins had breakfast. Pancakes with sprinkles…

“Pink’s my favorite!”

pancakes with pink sugar sprinkles

“I like blue.”

pancakes with blue sugar sprinkles

Sprinkles on toast are good, too. I said “smile” so she did.

I said "smile," so she did.

On to haircuts. She kept repeating, “I don’t like a haircut. I don’t like a haircut.” But she sat still and did a great job.

I don't like a haircut...I don't like a haircut...

Sister did well, too.

hold still!

Then we cleaned up.

Time to clean up.

Cleaning up after her haircut.

When haircuts were done, we got down to business. Time to hang the snowflakes in the kitchen! Twelve foot ceilings give us room to suspend three to four foot mirrored garlands with large snowflakes suspended from them. It’s always a hit with our guests.

ceiling snowflakes in the kitchen

It was fun to do this with the twins this year. And they LOVE to help! Everything is a big adventure for them. Every time we open another box of decorations, they say “Is this Christmas!?”

helping with the ceiling snowflakes

Twin2 was fascinated by the mirrored garland and kept trying to see herself in the little mirrors. Don’t you love her hat?

trying to see herself in the mirrored garland

trying to see herself in the mirrored garland

trying to see herself in the mirrored garland

trying to see herself in the mirrored garland

trying to see herself in the mirrored garland

Pa’s little helper.

snowflake for the ceiling

Mission accomplished!

ceiling snowflakes in the kitchen

It’s wonderful to have our son’s family nearby. It’s still odd to hear his voice calling “Mom?” when he pops in to say hi while in town on an errand. There’s a split second when I don’t remember he lives here now! And having the grands over for bits of every day life is great! It adds a lot of joy to our life!

~~Rhonda

thrifted Christmas display box

My sister found this great box at a thrift store. I plan to fill it with Christmas items. A lot of these are thrifted. Some were picked up around the house from Christmas trees or from the boxes of Christmas decorations we have on hand. The tiny copper cookie cutters were in the kitchen pantry with my other cookie cutters. The picture for the little frame was cut from a Christmas card.

It’s always such a joy to put together meaningful, personalized gifts from things you’ve found over time—especially when they’ve been thrifted or repurposed. Thrift stores are full of treasures waiting to be rediscovered, whether it’s a vintage ornament, a beautiful piece of fabric, or even a small item like the copper cookie cutters I found in the kitchen pantry.

Each piece tells its own story, and when combined, they create a thoughtful gift that reflects not only the season but the effort put into collecting these special items. It’s this treasure hunt aspect of thrift shopping that makes it so fun, as you never know what you might stumble upon—whether it’s a unique find at a local thrift store or something that gets a second life from your own collection of decorations and keepsakes.

In addition to traditional thrift stores, there’s another place to find hidden gems: the amazon return store. These stores, which specialize in reselling returned and overstocked Amazon products, often feature a wide array of items at deeply discounted prices. From home decor to kitchen gadgets, you can uncover all sorts of items that can add a special touch to your home or holiday projects.

Whether it’s a beautifully crafted bowl for cookies or an unexpected holiday trinket, these stores offer an affordable way to shop while supporting the sustainable, second-life cycle of products.

thrifted display box and thrifted Christmas items

I expect to add to and edit this display over the years, making it better every year. This is just the first step. It will be fun to keep an eye out for little things that will work in this box.

~~Rhonda