chipwrecked.

trifecta of james girls

all I can see when I look at this picture
is my squirmy little Charity trying to get out of my arms
--enough of the posed family pics already--
I toats get it, Char
but thanks for humoring me
{kinda}

when we were having our cookie baking extravaganza
my mom took this pic of Char and I
I just love putting kisses on those sweet cheeks of hers
they've been extra rosey lately with the chill of winter setting in

right before naptime I get the most precious cuddle time
she knows her time is limited and so I'm pretty sure she cranks up the cuteness
we sing "Jesus loves Me"
and she loves to sing "Jesus" and "Bible" and "sooooooo"


who's the only One who loves you more than me, Charity?
you got it girl.....Jesus
{John 3:16}

happy embrace the camera thursday, everyone!
it's a silent blogland out there this week
and I'm blogging....(hello?!)

can't wait for all the exciting new blogposts next week
that everyone's been thinking up
during this time off!
{wink, wink}

6 ingredients or less




I had this cookbook when Justin and I were first married
that I used for almost every meal
six ingredients or less
it was awesome because it lived up to its title.
I became addicted to the simplicity and now basically judge a recipe
by its number of ingredients
these cream cheese squares are delish
but more importantly fit right into the 6 ingredient standard I have set
perfect
perfect for Christmas morning and any morning you want to serve your fam
something more exciting than cereal, instant oatmeal, or poptarts
{not that I'm above that level of breakfast service most mornings}
...because they are made the night before so they're all set
bonus
bonus time for brewing your pot of coffee
{or maybe that's not needed because you got one of these for Christmas}
LOVE

love, love, love...
{especially when I locate a clearance Kcup sale @ walmart)
but anyways
I share with you my cream cheese squares recipe
because it's a james fam fav
and a breakfast Christmas tradition around here we enjoy


~Cream Cheese Squares~
2 pkgs crescent rolls
2- 8oz  cream cheeses, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, separated
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp cinnamon mixed with 3/4 cup sugar

Spread one package of crescents in the bottom of 9x13 pan. 
 Mix cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla.
Spread evenly over crust.
Place the other crescent roll over the top to form a top crust.
Beat egg white until frothy and spread some on top.
Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture on top
and colored sugar if festiveness is desired.

Bake @ 375 for 25-30 minutes. 
When cooled, place covered in fridge until ready to serve.

note:
tastes just as great on december 28th

happy 'content children playing with new toys' day.
happy 'crying children learning to share new toys' day.
happy 'lazy morning in pjs and time for blogging' day.

merry CHRISTmas

decorating the Christmas tree and the miracle of it not tipping over

a well-loved Christmas village and superglue used to reattach broken pieces

James fam snack mix and movie night in the glow of our tree

cream cheese breakfast bars Christmas Eve morning

waking up early and the excitement of presents

Pizza Hut.  a new lunch tradition on the first day of Christmas break?

making sugar cookies.  sprinkles.  flour.  dough.  more sprinkles.

hors d'oeuvres enjoyed.....

courtesy of Justin and Laurie's chopping and mixing til the wee hours.

coupons for our kiddos.  time alone with mom and dad in the new year.  priceless.

celebrating Emmanuel

God with us

a precious Gift of Love

Jesus

merry CHRISTmas.

i like smiling. smiling's my favorite



Caleb's words during Sunday's lunch of tacos:
"I told my church teacher we were going to Mexico for Christmas
because that's where I was born!"
(Caleb, you were not born in Mexico.....nor are we going there)
"I know, I thought it was funny"
{mercy.}

kindergarten humor.....
we're still working on that.



rocking her dolly
in a lil' girl rocking chair that used to be mine
be still my mama's heart.
{paci courtesy of a double ear infection}

is there anything cuter
than a daddy and daughter pic of decorating the tree?
thinking.......
{I come up with nothing.}

Jonathan was concerned that our stockings did not include our names
post-it notes remedied the situation.
{phew}

Matthias places himself under the mistletoe
mischievious grin
fully expecting a kiss
can I freeze him at this precious age?
{PLEASE?}

first good snowfall
awesome posed pic
happy to report the snow is gone a mere 2 days later
{global warming?}
L.O.L. peeps

cinnamon rolls in the shape of a tree.
Justin made these (kinda)
and took the picture.
swoon.
{I love that man}

this is an awful picture of us
but I'm pretty sure that's the point
Ugly Christmas Sweater Par-tay 2011 edition
{target. $9.99 a piece.  just in the knick of time}

candy cane cocoa
I toats call it 'cocoa' and therefore so do my kids.
don't judge, it tastes better with that sophisticated title

Charity's waiting for the peanut butter cookie cups to be done.
it seriously takes forever
longest 11 minutes of my day.
{so worth the wait}

that's what's going on around here.
I take more pics than normal this time o' year.
tis the season, ya know?

we talked at MomTime how we keep Christmas focused on Christ.
we're doing an advent reading each night around here
and we've got the Fisher Price nativity all set up.

but I realized this
I talk about Jesus all the time with my kiddos.
Christmas or not

He's the reason for the season....
but more than that the reason for EVERY season.

He's the reason I get up every morning
I just want to live for Him
He's the reason I love on my husband, my kids, my friends
and {hopefully} all who come near me
I just want to shine with His love.

{I know I'm not alone}
Let's all shine for Him, bringing JOY to all those around us.

{even when everyone is honking in the post office parking lot,
there's a long line, and your child in her puffy jacket squirms in your arms the entire time}

happy tuesday, all!

powdered sugar takes over the world. 3 liners.

cookie baking day 2011
the cousins unwrap rolos together to make these
{so worth all the unwrapping.}

Charity is a helper, too
she finds cookie dough that's been misplaced, forgotten about....
and eats it.  what can I say?  she's learned from the best.

 the annual Christmas Cookie picture
because when you spend 7 hours baking you need to document it
 the 'taste like Christmas' cookies were made once again.  YUM

Matthias has no memories of 'Christmas past'
so all aspects of this month-long celebration are new and exciting
and gingerbread house creating was no exception

last year when I read about pre-fab gingerbread houses
put together by the mamas with hot glue
i rebelled.  absolutely not.  my kiddos will create their own houses.

then Justin and I spent the entire G-bread house experience of 2010
building and rebuilding sticky powdered sugar graham cracker houses
so this year I was all about the pre-fab. 

hello gluegun.
hello perfectly shaped g-houses all ready to decorate
hello awkward pic of Jon and I.....

decorating is really the fun part anyway
and I pulled out a million and one different candies
Jon fit as much on as he could, Matthias took a more conservative approach

.....because he can't remember from last year
that this mama lets her kids eat the candy off the houses.....one piece at a time
basically whenever they ask (except before breakfast)


I love this sweet season making memories with my family
and talking about the miraculous birth of our wonderful Savior
over and over again.  it never loses its wonder.


happy friday to you.
and you.
and you.

she sees you when you lick your fingers...

nothing says Christmas goodies
like these rolo wreath treats
nothing says quality time with my boys
like keeping them up past their bedtime
and making them together

it was full of fun
it was full of multiple handwashings
it was full of misplaced m & m's and broken pretzels
it was full of loud noises
and rolo wrappers all.over.the.place
(which Jon wanted to save...)

rolos
circle-shaped pretzels
m & m's (or pecans)

place rolos inside pretzels
bake @350 for 3ish minutes
place candy or nut on top

be so concerned your little guys will burn themselves
that you scorch your own thumb.
don't actually do that
but I, of course, did.

happy Christmas goodie making, all!

am i supposed to always have a title?

a week of projects.
a week of learning about myself.....
while I enjoy being busy
I have my limits!

Jesus,
I'm so thankful
YOU
give me reason to celebrate
in the midst of
the hustle and bustle of life
a cranky toddler who's teething
a healing index finger that suffered during green pepper chopping
weather that's getting colder
days that are getting shorter on the sunshine
and did I mention a cranky teething todder?!

happy friday everyone
make it a good one.