Without depressing anyone, there are only 55 days left until Christmas.
I know how hard it is during the Holiday season to even think about celebrating, BUT we have to force ourselves to get through this difficult time, and starting new traditions is a wonderful way to beat the holiday blues.
So I wanted to start a "positive" thread for all of us to share some ideas.....
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
Make homemade garland with the kiddos. Cranberries and popcorn on fishing line. They love it!
Decorate the house a completely different way. Buy new decorations if you have to in order to take the focus off the memories of past holiday with W/H.
Do something for a needy family. Donate gifts to a church or local organization. It really warms the heart and the kids learn importance of this as well.
Just switch things up and make it a holiday tradition for YOU!
For people who don't have fireplaces or chimneys, make a Santa key. The key lets Santa come in through the front door. Get an old-fashioned skeleton key (or have the children make keys out of poster board or construction paper), spray paint it gold, tie a ribbon around it, then put in on a wreath so that Santa can come in the house and bring gifts.
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
Creating Christmas traditions should ways involve food! Spend time with your kids, parents or loved ones in the kitchen, baking Christmas cookies or decorating gingerbread houses. Pick a holiday recipe that you only make at Christmas – perhaps homemade candy canes will be your new holiday tradition – and invite friends and family to help make them.
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
Holiday traditions are about you as a unique family, warts and all. Sometimes new Christmas traditions start by accident and continue unattended; other times, you have to deliberately implement your new Christmas traditions.
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
1/2 cup vegetable shortening 2 cups milk, scalded 2 large eggs, beaten 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar 1 cup mashed potatoes, unsalted 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons active dry yeast 1/2 cup lukewarm water 7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 cup raisins 1 cup chopped walnuts 4 tablespoons butter, softened 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dissolve the vegetable shortening in the milk in a bowl and cool to lukewarm. Stir in the eggs, 1 cup sugar, potatoes, and salt. Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water and stir onto the potato mixture. Stir in the flour, raisins, and nuts. Mix thoroughly for 5 minutes by hand. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Roll into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle and spread with the butter. Sprinkle with the 1 remaining tablespoon sugar and the cinnamon. Roll like a jelly roll and slice 12 equal slices. Place slices flat in 12 by 8-inch baking dish. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until double in bulk, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
There can be no testimony without a test. I am praying to go through this test and come out the other end with a new and better marriage then before.
One tradition that will be new is that D16 is going to have the honors of putting up the tree and decorating it and her dad will be helping. That is something he has never done. We have always done this just before Thanksgiving so it will be a busy week in our house.
Our other tradition:
Christmas Dinner in which we will have a full table full of Greek food, no more prime rib.
The Bomb: 08/05 H moves out: 06/2006 H moves back: 01/07 & Out again: 01/07 H moves back: 03/08 & Out again: 04/08 H moves back: 05/09 & Out again: 07/09 Divorced 08-12 Kids: 22, 20, 19
I know this recipe and I totally have the book {The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking}it comes from on my Amazon.com wish list. I hope I get it for Christmas as it seems to be quite an interesting read as well as an excellent source for breadmaking recipes. ~ swl
Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear. {Henry Wadsworth Longfellow}
1/2 cup vegetable shortening 2 cups milk, scalded 2 large eggs, beaten 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar 1 cup mashed potatoes, unsalted 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons active dry yeast 1/2 cup lukewarm water 7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 cup raisins 1 cup chopped walnuts 4 tablespoons butter, softened 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dissolve the vegetable shortening in the milk in a bowl and cool to lukewarm. Stir in the eggs, 1 cup sugar, potatoes, and salt. Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water and stir onto the potato mixture. Stir in the flour, raisins, and nuts. Mix thoroughly for 5 minutes by hand. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Roll into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle and spread with the butter. Sprinkle with the 1 remaining tablespoon sugar and the cinnamon. Roll like a jelly roll and slice 12 equal slices. Place slices flat in 12 by 8-inch baking dish. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until double in bulk, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Is your real name Becky Homecky?
I love Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits. Pull the tab, slap the can on the counter, place each biscuit on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven. Then put butter, honey, and a sprinkle of cinnamon on them when warm and pop them in your mouth!
Live your life while you are still living. Riding the trail less traveled.
