This is the time of year where I really reflect on my blessings!!! Thank you to all my family and friends who love, share, laugh, cry, pray, and talked with me. It really means EVERYTHING.... Merry Christmas to you all and have a safe and HAPPY New Year!!!!

Letters to Santa

It's time to sit down with the little ones with a nice hot cup of hot chocolate and write your letters to Santa!

December Fun

School Christmas Party

Girl Scout Christmas Party

Will scared of Santa

Zach playing a snowflake in School Christmas Program

Cute Stocking Stuffers

These drinking glasses for the little ones are just so much fun! These Smenciles are just as fun for any age!!! Try this cutlery set...so easy for travel!! The Find-It-Game is also great for travel or when you need your little one to sit still for a while. Just a few little stocking stuffer ideas for your little ones!!!

A EASY YUMMY TREAT

This is a sugar cookie with some added M&M's on top, then just wrap it up and give to a special friend!!!

SNOWMAN CRAFT

Isn't this little guy cute! Just a few simple items: faux snow flakes, 2 mini fish bowl vases, felt fabric, adhesive gems, and googly eyes.
Simply fill each vase with the snow flakes and stack one on top of the other. Cut a small triangle from orange felt, for the nose, and a long strip from another color of your choice for the scarf. Cut fringe into the ends of the scarf and wrap it around where the vases connect. Use double stick tape to adhere the nose and to keep the scarf in place. Finally, use adhesive gems to create a mouth and buttons and apply googly eyes with double stick tape.

A great project for the kids! Make several using different color scarves and line them up on a mantle or down the center of a dining table. Happy Holidays!

ALL YOU NEED IS A HOT GLUE GUN, A FEW CUTE SMALL ORNAMENTS AND A LITTLE PIECE OF FELT. CUTE GIFT FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL OR JUST A CRAFT FOR THE KIDDIES TO MAKE.

FROST FREE SNOWMAN

Ever wonder what to do with all those shipping boxes that come to your house...well here is a SUPER FUN idea that the kids can do indoors until all that snow falls!!!!
FROST FREE SNOWMAN....

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It's no snow job -- this Frosty requires neither a white Christmas nor freezing temperatures to spread his cheer. All he needs is a stack of leftover boxes, a few pompoms, tape, felt, and some white quilt batting. Bonus: he comes apart, making him easy to store during the off-season.

Materials

• 5 boxes in varying sizes (see the sizes we used, marked in the illustration)
• 8 yards of 48-inch-wide, 4-ounce batting
• Clear packing tape
• Double-sided foam tape
• 5 medium pom-poms (for the mouth)

• 8 large pom-poms (for eyes and buttons)
• Scissors
• 7-inch square of orange felt
• Hat and scarf

Instructions

1. Wrap box 1 with batting and secure it with packing tape. Tape together boxes 2 and 3 and boxes 4 and 5, then wrap them as well. Stack the wrapped boxes. Use double-sided foam tape to affix pom-pom eyes, mouth, and buttons to your snowman.

2. For a nose, trim the felt along the curved line as shown (A), then roll and tape it into a cone (B). Tape the nose to the head, then dress your snowman in a hat and scarf.

BEYOND BROWNIES...HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Check out this AWESOME BROWNIE pan...one of OPRAH'S FAVORITES...I use it to make my BROWNIES....Here is the recipe....
Happy Thanksgiving from IT A THOMAN-FULL LIFE! In honor of the food-filled holiday, I want to share with you one of my all-time most cherished recipes— Chocolate Dream Brownies. I bake them for my family whenever things are CRAZY...and now you can enjoy them too as a sweet indulgence amidst the holiday hustle! Happy Turkey Day!



Ingredients:
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sweet cocoa powder
2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups semi sweet OR milk chocolate chips OR chunks
1/2 - 1 cup walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, use a spoon to stir eggs with sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Add softened butter.
Sift ground chocolate with flour, baking powder and salt.
Stir dry mixture into egg mixture until blended and smooth.
Add chips and nuts. (DO NOT OVER STIR!)
Pour and spread evenly into a greased 8" or 9" square pan.
Bake for 20-30 minutes—less time for chewy and more time for cake-like brownies.
Makes 16-20 brownies.
Cut into squares when cooled.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving with vanilla ice cream :)

HOOT HOOT FOR THANKSGIVING

HAVE A HOOTIN THANKSGIVING!!!

Thanksgiving Decorating

Flag your guests down for dinner with place cards made from ribbon and gourds. Cut wire-edge ribbon into a flag shape, wrap the end around a toothpick, and hot-glue it in place. Write your guests names with paint pen.

Bright and bold, this eye-pleasing centerpiece grabs attention. Fill a glass hurricane container with kumquats, top with a pinecone-shape candle, and tuck in a few evergreen sprigs. Tie a silk bow around the container, leaving one ribbon tail gracefully longer.

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treating at the Assisted Living Complex with Alyssa's Girl Scout Troop. All the girls had so much fun but it was even more special for the residents.

TWIN GIRLS

My brother Ty and wife Kim had twin girls this morning. Delaney and Lindsey...2 darling little blessings

GIVE THANKS

Turkey of Gratitude

Build in a lesson of how to give thanks this Thanksgiving. This kids Thanksgiving craft is easy to make and good for all ages. Ask each child to write what she’s thankful for on a paper feather, then stick it into this cute turkey centerpiece. If you make this turkey a week or two in advance, you can have your children add a feather each day until Thanksgiving arrives

Zachary turns 4

Our Little Buddy... 4 years old

Little William

Our little cowboys and cowgirl

Daddy getting ready for a hooting good time

my beautiful blessings

cookies...yum

good ole fashion pies

wearing the pinata

I am the law round these here parts

Yummy Cake

Zach is sooooo excited

Taking a big breath