Christmas traditions!

Every Christmas Eve we go to my parents for a formal dinner and exchange gifts. My mom makes pj pants for everyone out of the most comfortable fabric ever, they are so goochie soft and warm! Last year the boys complained that the girls always get to have the fun and requested fuzzy soft pants like us. So this year my mom did just that and found a fun shirt to go with it, they all turned out awesome!! I love this tradition, one can never have too many pj's! :)

Our traditional jammie pix!
It wasn't quite the same without Trent and his family, missed having them there!
I love the pic of Faith and her little niece, 'Baby Kelsey' as Faith still calls her :) Faith didn't want to hold her at first cuz her hands would get wet from Kelsey's spit-up-shirt. haha so cute!

Faith is such a pretty little princess. Some say she looks like Shirley Temple here. :)

This is either example of Patrick's creativity or not having enough to do :) hahaha it's funny tho

I made these Cranberry Cinnamon Chip Bars for our dinner and they were very yummy!
Cranberry Cinnamon Chip Bars
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 C (1 stick) real butter, melted
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 C shredded coconut
1 C cinnamon chips
1 C white chocolate chips
1/2 C chopped pecans
1/2 C dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour butter into a 9x13" pan and spread with spatula to cover the entire bottom of pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter and spread into an even layer. Press down gently with fingertips. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over graham cracker crumbs. Continue with the remaining ingredients: cinnamon chips, white chips, pecans, and cranberries, sprinkling each in an even layer. Press down gently with fingertips over entire pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until bubbly and slightly golden on top. Let cool completely before cutting.

Once again, Merry Christmas to you all!!

Merry Christmas to you from us!

Merry Christmas everyone!

May your Christmas be full of joy as you remember the true meaning of Christmas!
I know as I think of my angel Mikkie, my mind turns to Christ because that is who she is with.

I made this video last year of one of my favorite Christmas songs, and wanted to share it again! Hope you like it.

Freebie Christmas digi kit!

** NO LONGER DOWNLOADABLE FOR FREE **

I had so much fun making this kit! This whole month has gone by crazy fast, which is good most the time. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope you enjoy every minute with your loved ones.

Enjoy!

For Personal Use Only

Glass Block Jello

I felt as giddy as a school girl when I saw these, they're bright, fun, tasty and so festive! I love how the jello squares look, they make for some cool pictures. :)

Glass Block Holiday Jello

4 3-oz. packages assorted Jello (in coordinating colors)
2 packets unflavored gelatin
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Spray 4 small food storage containers (like Tupperware/Gladware/Rubbermaid) with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.


Bring 5+ cups of water to a boil. Combine 1 c. boiling water with 1 package of Jello, stirring until dissolved. Place the dissolved Jello in one of the prepared containers. Repeat with the remaining packages of Jello. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferable overnight.


When the Jello has set, bring another 1 1/2 c. of water to a boil. While the water is heating, sprinkle 2 packets of unflavored gelatin over 1/2 c. of cold water. Allow to stand for about 4 minutes. When the water is boiling, pour 1 1/2 c. boiling water over the dissolved gelatin and stir to combine. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Allow to come to room temperature.

Lightly spray a 9x13" pan with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully cut the colored Jello into cubes and gently toss to combine in the 9x13" pan. Pour the cooled milk mixture over the colored Jello and, if necessary, rearrange some of the colored Jello to make sure it is evenly distributed and not sticking out of the white mixture too far.

Place the 9x13" pan in the refrigerator and chill overnight. Cut into squares, rectangles, or various shapes with cookie cutters and serve.

Gift boxes and family party

What I love even more than making treats (besides eating them :) is making gift baskets with them. I had lots of fun putting them together. I found these frames at Ikea for 99 cents and spray painted the middle with chalkboard paint. I just think they're super cute, so I had to make one for myself too :)

Tonight we just had a Christmas party for the Harper's. I always have fun with them. We've got some very talented, creative people in this family! It was fun to hear Tim's cousin play a song he made up with his ukulele!
I was lucky enough to get these few pictures before my battery decided to run out of juice..what's that all about, thinking it needs to be charged or something.. :)

Faith with her Gramma who was in town!

Ryan and cute lil' Sophia

Timmah and Jen- their family was so festive wearing santa hats, so fun!

Jen, Tim, Lisa and Sophia....sorry Tim, that light liked you no matter what angle I tried :)

The cousins chillaxin'.
Spending time with loved ones is what I love best especially around the holidays!

Mad Gab?

** k I posted this up yesterday, woke up this morning suddenly and said aloud "Oh duh, I put the answers on!" haha Tim was like what are you talking about?! So if you didn't see it yet and hopefully I didn't totally spoil it, here's the game withOUT the answers..:) let's see if YOU can guess them first!**

Who's up for some fun ol' Christmas Mad Gab? You ever played the Mad Gab game?
Puzzles consist of a set of unrelated words that, when read aloud, sound like familiar phrases, names, places, etc. in this case, Christmas related words/songs.

Well I was in charge of coming up with a game for my family Christmas party and decided on Mad Gab, Christmas style. Only problem was I could hardly find anything online. So most of these I made up on my own. It was actually fun to do, the following night my dreams were all in Mad Gab. lol
So if you want to have some fun and play, go ahead and leave your answers in a comment! Try to only answer a few so other people can have a shot at it. :) Have fun!

1. Oak Grissom Mistreat

2. Mill Can Goo Keys

3. wears then or the pull

4. Car Lend

5. TO US THIN I'D BEEF FORK WRIST MISS

6. THUG IF TOUGH THEM MADGE EYE

7. EGG WRIST MASK AIR ILL

8. DULL IT ELM HATCH GRILL

9. THUG WREN CHEWS TOLL CRISP MISS

10. THIN HUT CAR RACK HER HAND THEM HOW SKIING

11. Sigh Land In Height

12. Rude Olive Their Head Knows Rained Ear

13. Caw Dressed Deem Air Reach End Almond

14. A Wayne Aim May Injure

15. Lid Dolled Rum Herb Poi

16. Sill Verb Else

17. Far Oz Teethe Is No Man

18. Joint Tooth How Hurled

19. Fall Lease Snuff Eat Add

20. It Cay Map Pawn Amid Nigh Tickle Ear

21. Oak A Mocha Me Manual

22. Could Keen Gwen Senseless

23. Owe Calm Mall Leaf Hateful

24. Baugh huh mob ugg

25. Ah lisk alm ah liss bur eye ta

26. Pie neck own sand all he bear ease

27. Sill lay

28. taw elf duh haze off gear wrist moss

29. jay yack fur roast

30. fick keep putty ying

31. Par ants sir

32. Ms. Silt owe

33. neigh tv tea

34. jest an huts rows tea nig

35. bay beach ease huss

36. ache knock

37. Sully abe else sir ink

38. sun know full ache

39. won sinner oiled ava dice tea

40. a bone thou stop

41. Quiz missle eye tis

42. bowl her ex purest

43. foreign twas age aisle dis pour in

44. oma forth a haul idea haze

45. Ear gum sand tack loss

46. his beak inn inked tool oogle ought lie grizzy moss

47. Late teds know

48. sane tab abe bee

49. sell air eyed

50. then eye tubby forker is mice

51. went her one twirl and

52. hits them host one turf vault I’m off day ear

53. trudge dish shun

54. bathe lay aim

55. fur ache in say ants

56. thief hurst noah hell

57. Stay bell

58. pizza nerd goo twill tomb inn

59. Egg arrhythmia scare hole

60. cease owns creed dings

61. jean gulp ail raw hock

62. watch gile does the hiss

63. weave freak inks

64. ally wand fork wrist mosses mite who frowned heath

Faith's violin recital

Faith had her first real violin recital, even if all she played was 5 notes it was so cute to see her play! She is such a quick learner, I can't wait to see how far she comes by next year at this time! She is one talented little chica! :) i'm grateful for everyone who came to support her, it's so fun for her!

Tim had a recital too, but I didn't get a video of it because I was accompanying him, but he sung "Let Him In" by Michael McLean from Forgotten Carols. He has a great voice and sung it so well!

Peppermint candy cane brownies!

Have you ever been to Kneader's and had one of their delicious peppermint brownies? You no longer have to go there to get one, these are exactly like them, but you get a whole pan for the price of one! I ate half a pan by myself and it was goooooood! :)

Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies

Brownies:

4 squares unsweetened chocolate (4oz)
1 C butter (2 sticks)
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1t vanilla
1 1/4 C flour
1/2 t baking powder

Frosting:
2 C powdered sugar
4 T butter, softened
1 1/2 t peppermint extract
1 T milk pink food coloring

Chocolate Glaze:
6 oz (about a cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips ,you could also use dark
6T real butter

Additional: 1/2-1 C crushed candy canes (Use Bob's NOT Spanglers!)

First, the Brownies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. The chocolate you want is baking chocolate, which is sold in bars by the chocolate chips. Make sure it is unsweetened. If you're not familiar with baking chocolate, it comes in squares. Give those squares a rough chop so they'll be easier to melt. Then place them in a microwave-safe bowl along with the 2 sticks of butter (also chopped).

Melt in 30-45 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Set aside. Don't accidentally stick your finger in the melted butter and chocolate combo because it will laugh at you for forgetting that it is unsweetened. In a stand mixer or with electric beaters, beat eggs for about 3 minutes until thick and frothy.
Add sugar and vanilla and beat to combine. Then add in the melted chocolate and butter that you set aside. Combine flour and baking powder and whisk into brownie batter by hand until just combined. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. If you want to make the job much easier, line your pan with foil first.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Test with a toothpick for doneness and don't over bake! When brownies are done, cool on a cooling rack. When completely cool, pop in the fridge to chill. (makes the frosting spreading easier)

Next layer is the frosting: Combine all frosting ingredients and beat until light and fluffy. Add extra milk by teaspoonful if you need a little more. Spread evenly over cooled/chilled brownies and place back in the fridge to chill again while you do the final step.

Chocolate Glaze: Place chocolate chips and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and cook in 30 second intervals until smooth.
Set aside for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, so it can cool off just a bit. Remember in the first step when I told you to not accidentally let your finger fall in the chocolate butter mixture? Totally doesn't apply to this chocolate butter mixture. Quickly spread on top of brownies. I say quickly because the frosting is cool and the chocolate is hot. If you take your sweet time and over do it, you'll make a big gooey mess. Just spread it on quick.
Sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top and return to the fridge until chocolate is set on top.
Remove from fridge a few minutes before serving.

Go ahead, eat half the pan like I did, you'll be addicted! :)

Elf yourself!

I remember doing this a couple years ago, they've gotten some new dances since then. We got some rockin' moves, eh! :) Faith was laughing hysterically when she watched it, especially at Kuzco being in there. :) Fun stuff!

Free iPad?!?!?

So....just saw this awesome deal at No more Rack to win a free ipad if you get 400 people to click on your link.... awesome, no?! What's even MORE awesome is that if I get it, I'm going to GIVE IT AWAY!!! So click away and let's see what happens...worth a shot, eh! :)

CLICK HERE! :)

Free Christmas Cards!

I was trying to get these out earlier, but obviously didn't happen between the million other things there are to do around Christmas! ahhhhhh 2 more weeks! :)

For those of you who haven't sent off their family Christmas cards yet, feel free to use my free Christmas card templates! If you don't know how to put your picture on these or just don't want to, feel free to email me your picture and tell me which template you like and I'd be happy to do it for you! my email is lmjharper@gmail.com.

When you click on the download link, the preview on 4shared will look funky cuz they're photo generator is weird, but the file is fine, it will pull up fine in your program. :) But let me know if you have any problems.

Hope you like them!

P.S. You have been getting a sneak preview of my fun digi Christmas kit coming soon! :)

Download
Download

Download

Download

Download

Download

Download

Download

Download

Download

Download

Christmas Subway Art

I've seen a lot of these around but none were available to download so I decided to just make my own! Feel free to download them, print them off and display them or whatever! :) Just click on each picture and save the picture to your computer! Each one is 8x10. I got some cheap frames from the dollar store and spray painted them white to put them in. They would make cute gifts too!

Hope you like them! :)

(Isn't that stocking advent calendar the cutest?! I only wish I could say I made it :) )

Christmas shirts!

As I was making Faith's turkey shirt, I started thinking about some fun Christmas shirts to make and got started on them right away! They are so fun, and I must say the reindeer one has got to be my most favorite! Isn't it cute?! :)

Present shirt

Reindeer shirt

Christmas Tree shirt

Want to make some? You can download my patterns HERE for FREE! :)
Just the reindeer and tree of course, the present is just a square :) Let me know if you make some, I'd love to see what you do!! :)

Peppermint Bark Popcorn

I'm just a fanatic about peppermint as I'm am with pumpkin, there are so many oh-so-yummy peppermint desserts out there and I'm going to try just about all of them! :)
First up is Peppermint Bark popcorn from Our Best Bites. ummm...yum! Another two of my favorite things put together! I didn't have a whole lb of almond bark, so it turned out a little dry, so you should definitely use the full amount of everything that's called for and get the full experience! :)
Notice my candle and plate in the background? See I am a complete peppermint fanatic! But can you blame me!? :) It would make a very cute, yummy, festive gift for someone!

Peppermint Bark Popcorn
Recipe by Our Best Bites

16-20 C popped popcorn (fresh, or about 2 bags microwave popcorn)
1 lb Almond Bark
1 6oz box candy canes, crushed. (About 1-1 1/2 C total and Bob's are the best!)
2 tea. peppermint extract, or a few drops of peppermint oil

3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

*one bag microwave popcorn has about 10 cups in it, so if you're air-popping, do about 20 cups.

Place popcorn in a very large mixing bowl. Unwrapping the candy canes to crush them is the most labor intensive step of this easy treat, so you can do that ahead of time if you want too. I put my candy canes in a large zip-lock bag and have a whack with a heavy marble rolling pin. One they're crushed, dump them into the bowl with the popcorn.

To melt the almond bark, follow the instructions on the package. I just break it up and put it in a glass measuring cup and microwave on 1 min intervals until it's nice and smooth.

When your almond bark is melted, add the peppermint extract. It will seize a little bit (get kind of lumpy) but it's totally fine. If you use a peppermint oil it shouldn't seize at all, just make sure to only use a few drops as oil is stronger than extract. Pour over popcorn and candy canes. Stir it up really well until the candy is evenly distributed. Pour the popcorn out onto a piece of waxed paper, parchment, or foil. Spread it out into an even layer and leave it alone!

While the popcorn is setting, place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. I really like dark chocolate to counter-balance the sweetness of the almond bark, but I know there's a lot of dark haters, so do what you want!

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the popcorn. You can use a fork, or put it in a zip-lock bag with the corner cut off.
Leave it until the almond bark and the chocolate is hardened. If you need to hurry it up, do this whole process on lined cookie sheets you can pop in the fridge. When chocolate is hardened, use your hands to break up popcorn into chunks. Toss in a bowl, a jar, a cute package, or in your mouth :)

Festival of Trees!

Monday was the day we set up Mikkie's tree at Festival of Trees! It took a lot longer than I expected. Thank goodness for the help I got otherwise I would have been there ALL day. I think it all turned out so cute!

There were 7 of us (my mom, sisters, SIL's and cousin) but not everyone could make it Monday, but they all contributed so much and I'm so grateful to them for that and to all those who were able to make some donations with Mikkie's song. I truly, truly appreciate it! You all helped this become a reality! It just sold today, I'm SO happy!!

Anyone who has read my poem/heard Mikkie's song and knows Mikkie can see all the symbolism in here: Butterflies, shoes, lipgloss, gumballs, bright, fun, and glittery! That little girl was so full of life and was as fun as can be! I really hope she likes it, I could totally see her having fun with something like this, both her and Faith would be in heaven......well now, I guess one of them is, huh. :)

Now for everyone who's been asking for pictures....here you go, finally! :)

My mom made the cute skirt and the tree skirt, my cousin Delaina made the hair bows and my SIL Kristen made the rag quilt and all did a SUPER job on them! Super super cute!!!