All in One Christmas Post - Recipes, Scrapbooking Ideas, Fun Links, Tips......

Well, my friends, the countdown is on and there's lots for all the Mrs. Claus' to do.  In the spirit of gettin' it done and keepin' it real, this is an all in one Christmas-palooza post.  So, here goes....

Recipe:  Raisin Clusters

1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups raisins

Line baking sheet with buttered wax paper.  Set aside.  Melt chocolate with milk and vanilla in heavy small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat when melted.  Stir in raisins.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet.  Refrigerate until firm.  Store in fridge in container between layers of wax paper.  Makes 30 clusters.  This is my dad's very favorite Christmas treat.

Tip of the Week:

If you're making chocolate cakes or cup cakes this season, try dusting the greased cake pans with cocoa instead of flour.  No white flour marks on the cake - yay!

Family Activity:  Christmas ABC Scrapbook

  This is one I'm going to start in the New Year, it's an old idea I've had in my Christmas File for over a decade.  Basically, all the Christmas cards that you've kept through the years can be added to an ABC scrapbook.  Get a nice big scrapbook and make sure it has at least 26 pages in it.  Label each page A-Z with the following verses:

A is for angels, with halos so bright, whose carols were heard on that first Christmas Night.
B is for baby, that Christ child so dear, We celebrate Christmas, His Birthday, each year.
C is for Candles that so brightly shine, To give a warm welcome to your friends and mine.
D is for doorway with garlands of green, To make Christmas merry for as far as they're seen.
E is for evergreen garlands galore, We hang at our window, fireplace and door.
F is for fun the whole season long, From trimming the tree, to singing a song.
G is for greetings, a merry hello- With a heart full of love for people we know.
H is for holly with berries so red, To make into wreaths to hang overhead.
I is for ice on white covered hills, Where sledding is fun along with the spills.
J is for jingle bells merrily ringing To the whole world, joy they are bringing.
K is for Kris Kringle, so merrily he stands.  He is who they call Santa, in ours and many lands.
L is for lantern, I'm sure that their light Helped Mary and Joseph, on that first Christmas night.
M is for Mary, her heart full of love For her little son Jesus who came from above.
N is for Noel the angels did sing To herald the birth of Jesus, our King.
O is for ornaments, so shiny and bright, With lights on the tree, they sparkle at night.
P is for packages, presents so gay, All around the tree for our Christmas Day.
Q is for quiet Christmas Eve night, With snow covered hills glistening so bright.
R is for red, the color so gay, That makes all things bright on that one special day!
S is for shepherds who first saw the star Over Behtlehem's manger and followed it far.
T is for trees we decorate so gay, They wait for old Santa to hurry our way.
U is for universe, the whole wide world, Where Christmas means joy to each boy and girl.
V is for Vixen, the lively reindeer.  He always helps Santa deliver toys each year.
W is for wisemen who brought gifts so rare, and fell down and worshipped the Christ child there.
X is for excitement, the best day of the year, We can all hardly wait until it is here.
Y is for young children who love Christmas so, Who teach its true meaning by the love that they show.
Z is for Zeal, real excitement and fun.  May this book help to bring a "Merry Christmas" to everyone!

This is a project to be brought out every Christmas season.  Keep the Christmas cards you receive every year alongside the scrapbook, so whenever little people get restless, you can get them to look through the cards and find new pictures to add to each scrapbook page.  Warning:  this scrapbook is not for moms to obsess over, it is a yearly activity for the kids, so please put your perfectionism aside!  (Unless you want to do one for yourself, of course.  Kind of like how dads should have their own kub kar/pinewood derby car all for themselves.)

Home and Garden:  It's Yarn Season for me.  I can't go outside and dig in the dirt, so I play with yarn and drool over seed catalogues.  Here's a link to one of my favorite crochet pattern websites, it's pretty comprehensive:  Crochet Pattern Central .  I've made two cute hats already and am working on a Mobius Granny Scarf right now.  Confession:  I drooled over yarn at Michael's yesterday, then reminded myself of the pact I have made to abstain from buying yarn until I have used up my current stock, which is shocking.  I think I have enough yarn to cover a bus.  Did you know there are yarn ninjas out there who do yarn grafitti?  Maybe Beaumont will discover a yarn activist when I run out of people to cover in granny squares........

Review:  The Graphics Fairy

This isn't so much a review as a big thank you to The Graphics Fairy.  Her site is amazing, and filled with free vintage clip art and absolutely cute craft projects.  I am in awe.....

Family Inspiration: 

This was written by Toni Young of Calgary many many years ago:

"Remember---

What children really want for Christmas is a warm and close family celebration and a few carefully chosen gifts from people who care about them.

Build up to Christmas has been lengthened, but its ending has been cut short.  When the gifts have been unwrapped, Christmas is over and children are left dazed and bewildered. 

When parents have family celebrations, kids learn there's more fun to Christmas than just unwrapping gifts.  When children have exciting family activities to look forward to, before and after the present-opening, gifts start taking their rightrful place in the festivities."

 

Let It Snow

                              It doesn't take much snow for a little flake to have fun!!

In the spirit of 'Keepin' It Real'

In the spirit of 'Keepin' It Real", here's a little confession.  Last time (ok, the last two times) we had a big Cub ceremony where the boys had to wear their sashes, I stapled Josh's badges on to his sash.  *Blush* 

I'd do it again, too.

Parable of the Apple Tree

There once was a wise man who had four sons.  He greatly desired for them to learn wisdom, so over the course of a year he sent each son on a quest.  They each travelled to see an apple tree, one in the winter, one in the spring, one in the summer, and the last in the fall.  At the end of the year the wise man gathered his sons together and asked them to describe to him what they had seen.  The first son said, "I saw an old apple tree, ugly, gnarled and bare."

The second son said, "I saw an apple tree as well, but it was not ugly and old.  It was young and beautiful, covered in pale green leaves and delicate blossoms."

The third son exclaimed, "No, the tree was mature and laden down with an abundant harvest.  It was wonderful to behold."

The fourth son said, "The tree I saw was awash in the most beautiful colors, with its leaves spangled like gold on the ground."

The wise father explained to his sons that they had each visited the same tree, and viewed it in different seasons.  They learned to not judge a tree by one season, but as a whole.

I am thankful for the seasons of my life, and look forward to viewing the whole.

(I have searched several times for the general conference talk this came from.  I just had to go from memory.  If anyone can remember the speaker, please let me know so I can add the link!)

Every Child......

"Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man." - Rabindranath Tagore.

photo credit:  Jeff taken by Kerri MacIntyre, June 12, 2005

Birthday Boy

Jason turned nineteen this Saturday, and I'm finding this birthday hard.  Some people find turning forty difficult, I find it more difficult facing my children's birthdays and other milestones.  Such as, my baby turned ten this summer.  Not a baby anymore.  My first baby is now nineteen, even worse!  It helps that he's turned into a fine young man, responsible, hard working, kind and intelligent.  Happy Birthday Jason!

Life is like...

"Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed.  The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."  Gordon B. Hinckley

photo credit:  Sarah MacIntyre

Life

"Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." - Gordon B. Hinckley

Doug MacIntyre Jr., Scott MacIntyre, California, late 1960's?

Expressions of Love

I Am a Child of God

Oh, what do you do in the Summertime?

Oh, what do you do in the summertime,
When all the world is green?
Do you fish in a stream,
Or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go by?
Is that what you do?
So do I!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime
When all the world is green?,
Do you swim in a pool
To keep yourself cool,
Or swing in a tree up high?
Is that what you do?
So do I!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime,
When all the world is green?
Do you march in parades,
Or drink lemonades,
Or count all the stars in the sky?
Is that what you do?
So do I!

-Words and music, Dorothy S. Andersen, 1964

A Boy

"A boy is the only thing God can use to make a man."
-author unknown

photo:  Jason's first birthday, September 17, 1993

Our Greatest Jewels

"In the eternal perspective, children - not possessions, not positions, not prestige - are our greatest jewels."  Pres. Ezra Taft Benson

photo - Judy MacIntyre holding Scott MacIntyre, California, 1964

Moments That Matter Most

O Canada

 Friday was July 1, Canada Day.  Sarah took this picture at the town fireworks display that night, trying out her camera's fireworks setting. 

She also took this picture at the grade 8 year end camping trip to Banff.  This is Castle Mountain.  The picture is a little hazy because the entire province has been covered in haze from a massive forest fire north of Fort MacMurray.

I'm so thankful we live in Canada, for a number of reasons.  Number one would be the freedom we have in this great nation of ours.  We are a safe, stable, democratic country with great education and healthcare, which I do not take for granted.

Number two would be the amazing beauty of this land.  I have been through most of the country, with the exception of the far north and Newfoundland.  I have seen so many beautiful things, both oceans, mountains, valleys, lakes and rivers, and the prairies, of course!  Many times my jaw has dropped as I have viewed a particular vista.  Right now we are getting ready for the canola to bloom in our province, and the beauty of the yellow fields against the green pines and the massive blue sky is a sight to behold.

Number three would be our people.  Canada is the country it is because of our people, whether we came here in the 1700's, like some of my ancestors, or just arrived this year.  This land, for all it's beauty, is challenging and extreme, and has made a nation of stoic, hardworking, patient people.

I would be remiss to not express my gratitude for this amazing country I live in.  My sister says we won the lottery by being born in Canada, and I must agree!



Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!  We had a great weekend with my husband.  I took him out to dinner on Friday night (ribs - yum!), made him a special breakfast on Saturday morning, and barbecued steaks on the grill Sunday night!  As you can tell, it's all about the food in our house. 

My husband is a wonderful man, and I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to him for being such a wonderful example to me and our children.  He's patient, kind, wise, hardworking, and intelligent.  And lots of fun!  I married the best man I know, and I'm ever so thankful! 

So, once again, thanks to the wonderful man who makes our lives so wonderful!

Why God Made Moms

My apologies for not posting a garden post or review post this week, but as some of you know Blogger was down Thursday night and Friday.  Instead of trying to keep up, I'm just going to jump in where we left off, with my Family Inspiration post for Saturday.  My good friend Colleen sent me this email, and I just have to share it with you all.  Have a great Saturday!

Why God Made Moms -

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?

-She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
-Mostly to clean the house.
-To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?

-He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
-Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
-God made my mom just the same like he made me.  He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?

-God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
-They had to get their start from men's bones.  Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?

-We're related.
-God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.

What kind of a little girl was your mom?

-My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
-I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
-They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?

-His last name.
-She had to know his background.  Like is he a crook?  Does he get drunk on beer?
-Does he make at least $800 a year?  Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?

-My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world.  And my mom eats a lot.
-She got too old to do anything else with him.
-My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?

-Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
-Mom.  You can tell by room inspection.  She sees the stuff under the bed.
-I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?

-Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
-Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
-Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
-Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?

-Mothers don't do spare time.
-To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?

-On the inside she's already perfect.  OUtside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
-Diet.  You know, her hair.  I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mm, what would it be?

-She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean.  I'd get rid of that.
-I'd make my mom smarter, then she would know it was my sister who did it not me.
I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

A Mother's Day Poem

To Mommy

I love my mom

She is a bomb

She makes awesome cakes

That I don't know how she bakes

She is the best

She towers over the rest

She goes on walks with me

We like to see what we can see

Red, pink and blue make her smile

It's worth the while.

-Josh MacIntyre, age 9



Thoughts on #1 and #5

When number one was born, his room was perfectly organized and decorated and ready weeks in advance.

When number five was born, he slept in a tiny crib by my bed.

When number one was sleeping, the entire house was perfectly quiet, the ringer was turned off on the phone, and I tiptoed around the apartment.

When number five was sleeping, children ran round the house hollering, washing machines and vacuums ran, and the phone never stopped ringing.

When number one was a baby, the whole household was organized around his schedule, when he slept or ate, or when he need a bath or was playing.

When number five was a baby, he fit into the schedule of a large family, and slept and ate in between dropping kids off at the bus, picking them up after school, and running them to afterschool activities. 

When number one was a baby, everything was sterilized, including him!  If a soother dropped on the floor, it was boiled for two minutes.

When number five was a baby, if his soother dropped on the floor, it was wiped on mom's jeans and popped back in his mouth.

Number one's baby book is completed to the last page, with pictures and up to date entries.

Number five has a baby book, still in it's original packaging.

Number one to number five, with all the ones in between, are deeply loved by their mother.

Mormon Messages: What Matters Most

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!  We hope that you will all have a wonderful Easter Holiday with your family and friends.  Enjoy the chocolate, eggs and ham, and have a great family time with the ones you love the most.  I'm grateful for the opportunity this holiday gives us to reflect upon the miracle of the atonement in my life.

Love,

The MacIntyre's