Luke 2:1-19

And it came to pass in those days,that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus,that all the world should be taxed.

And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.

And all went to be taxed,everyone into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee,out of the city of Nazareth,into Judea,unto the city of David,which is called Bethlehem;(because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there,the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,and laid him in a manger;because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for,behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God,and saying,

Glory to God int eh highest,and on earth peace,good will toward men.

And it came to pass,as the angels were gone away from them into heaven,the shepherds said to one another,Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass,which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came haste,and found Mary,and Joseph,and the babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it,they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things,and pondered them in her heart.

Have a blessed Christmas!

Leat

Early Christmas

Since we are leaving early Christmas Eve morning to start our drive down to FL, we celebrated Christmas over the weekend.

Friday night we celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa B,and Aunt R, Uncle A, and little J.



They thoughtfully gave the boys activities they can do on the drive! All the boys got mini magnadoodles, and a little devotional book. The older boys got a 15 puzzle. It is a slide game where you mix up the numbers and try and put them back in order. The younger guys got mini etch-a-sketches.



Aunt R and Uncle A gave the boys a game called Mr. Mouth. A frog head slowly spins and his mouth opens and shuts. Four players try and get all of their flies into the frogs mouth. The first to feed all his flies wins. It is much trickier than it sounds! This is a game that Bri and his brother and sister played when they were little.

We had our family Christmas Sunday morning



Even though we celebrated 4 days early, that Christmas morning excitement was in full force. All four boys were whispering outside our door a good 1/2 hour before we got up for the day.



Everyone pretty much got what they asked for. Nathan didn't ask for it but got a cool marshmallow gun. You put in a mini marshmallow and blow it out. Caleb got a BB gun,BB's,knife, and knife sharpener. Jacob got a folding saw,hatchet,knife sharpener,and tackle box. Luke got a hatchet,knife sharpener,and fishing pole.

With all of the gifts and goodies that come with the season,always take the time to remember and give extreme thanksgiving for the TRUE reason for the season and His ultimate life giving gift to us.

Merry Christmas!

Leat

Favorite Recipe Friday

As I was planning different treats to make for our Christmas Plates to give to friends, Bri said I had to make Cinnamon Sugar Muffins. He has fond memories of eating them as a child.
They are mini muffins made from a thick batter. As soon as they are out of the oven, dip them in melted butter and roll in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. They taste just like a dough-nut hole!
Is your mouth watering yet? Here is the recipe.

Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

1/3 cup butter,softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
melted butter

Mix butter,sugar,and egg thoroughly. Stir in next 4 ingredients alternately with milk. Fill greased and floured mini muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake in 350 oven 20-25 minutes. Immediately brush with butter and roll in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Serve hot. These also freeze well.

Have a great weekend!

Leat

Quilting

Today I am going to take my first stitches in official hand quilting. A few years ago my oldest son colored a cool design on a piece of graph paper, and I thought ,"Hey, that would make a neat quilt". Over time, off and on, we got all of the squares cut out,and 20 rows sewn together. The entire quilt was supposed to be 41 rows of 31 squares in each row. Wanting to have it finished for his tenth birthday ,the end of January, I asked him about having two twin size quilts instead of one HUGE one. He said that would be ok. So here I am getting ready to start quilting the first half.

I have made a few smaller quilts over the past few years. But on those I would just put them together like a pillow case and then machine quilt on my sewing machine.

Since we are leaving next week for a two day drive down to FL, I thought it would be neat to pass the time hand quilting. We'll see how it turns out!

Have a great day!

Leat

Menu Review Wednesday

We ate pretty well the past seven days!

Meatloaf,mashed potatoes,gravy,corn,and pear sauce

Potato soup in homemade bread bowls, popcorn

Sub sandwich and other party buffet items (family graduation party)

Sesame chicken,rice

Homemade pizza

Dillons chinese

Chicken stew with basil dumplings

Have a great day!

Leat

Mercy

Yesterday on the radio, a song came on that was just what I needed to hear. I'm sorry I don't recall the name of the group that sings it. But it is Psalm 136. It is called a call and response. After each phrase, the echo is, His love endures forever.

This morning I decided to read this Psalm in a couple different Bible translations. In the NIV,the echo or response is, His love endures forever. In the KJV the response is, His mercy endureth forever. Following this discovery, I looked up mercy in our Noah Webster 1828 dictionary.

Mercy:
1. That benevolence,mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries,or to treat an offender better than he deserves; In this sense,there is perhaps no word in our language precisely synonymous with mercy. That which comes nearest to it is GRACE. It implies benevolence,tenderness,mildness,pity or compassion,and clemency,but exercised only towards offenders. Mercy is a distinguishing attribute of the Supreme Being.

What greater show of mercy than for God to send his Son to be born in a lowly stable,to grow to die for our sins,and rise from the grave,to assend back to heaven and prepare a place for us!

Psalm 136:1

O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good;for his mercy endureth for ever.

Have a blessed day!

Leat

BRR It's Cold!

We are at a whopping 6 degrees this morning! That is just the regular air temp. The wind chill is about -10. Supposed to get all the way up to 20 today.

It is a good day for baking! I am going to make bread bowls and serve potato soup in them for dinner tonight.

I am also planning to make some cookie dough rolls for the freezer to bake later in the week.

Along with school and laundry, should be a busy day.

Have a great day!

Leat