What a fun couple of days.
Our weekend couldn't have been any better.
Okay. Maybe I'd have taken out two (very scary, especially when combined) words:
Chili. Dump.
Ever been to one?! It involves everyone bringing a serving of their own chili recipe,
dumping it into a big pot, and community eating follows. Our community was the boys' school.
Justin and I (bravely) watched our boys spoon chili over hot dogs and partake, but we refrained
(I volunteered beforehand and couldn't help but share with him
some of the health code violations I observed).
We saw some pretty impressive chili recipes with big pieces of celery and other chili stuff....
However, I would like to thank ALDI for making my "homemade" chili.
I rocked the can opener 3 times to take our pot of
chili to dump.
Can I have another collective "eww" on this one?
PTO, I love ya, but let's move on to some other ideas for community togetherness, shall we?!
sooooo, let's move on to the rest of the weekend:
A little Decorating the Tree
(more than a handful of ornaments needed some
hot glue gun love by the end of the experience)
A little Bell Ringing at the Mall(just a small way to have our kiddos think beyond themselves
especially this Christmas season)
A little Nativity Play (Fisher Price. Highly recommended.) 
A little chewing on the true Reason for the Season
(hehe. But seriously:
Christmas is about Jesus, and in the James house
that's what we keep reminding our kiddos...and ourselves...
if we should be tempted to forget.)
A little Chocolate making
(Jon takes his job of crushing the M&Ms seriously)
A little Peppermint Bark
A little Cherry Cordial Bark
A lot of chocolately goodness
Peppermint Bark:*white chocolate almond bark
*few drops of peppermint extract
*crushed candycanes
Cherry Cordial Bark:
*milk chocolate almond bark
*marachino cherries, chopped
*cherry cordial M&Ms, chopped
*few drops of marachino cherry juice
Both recipes: melt chocolate and add extract or juice,
spread on wax-covered baking sheets. Sprinkle toppings on and cool in fridge.
Break into pieces.
{oh.my}
Other highlights of the weekend?
Justin running out and getting donuts for breakfast Saturday morning.
Bonus: the caramel mocha from McD's he surprised me with. Awww.
Ornament exchange party for the ladies of our church. Lots of food, fellowship, fun!
Family offering to babysit (thank you!)
so Justin and I could enjoy a kiddo-free dinner together
AND get our Christmas shopping done.
Bonus: watching God provide for us, once again, in an unexpected way. So cool.
Here's to keeping our eyes on Jesus this Christmas season.
He's an AWESOME reason to indulge in a little extra chocolate to celebrate a miraculous birth that lead to an incredible life that ultimately provided a way for us to have eternal life with Him.
Happy Monday, All!
Jon asked me, "are you SURE you want to come out, Mom?!"
Caleb might look like he's smiling but he's actually squirming and squinting with the cold of the snow and the flakes falling in his face. He hates winter almost as much as I do--but tries really hard to like it.
These two, on the other hand, embrace winter and all it has to offer. 
Jon asked if I'd take a pic of his snow angel. 
