A Fine Feast Day

We love St. Nicholas' feast day.  Don't ask me why, none of our children (yet) is named Nicholas and we have no family ancestry tying us to Lycia or Turkey.  We just like him.  He is a saint after all...what's not to like?  Maybe it's because we want to focus more on St. Nicholas and less on the commercialized Santa Claus.  Here is how the two stack up against one another.

Anyway, every year we celebrate this day in a special way: I bake cookies and the kids leave out their slippers the night before and in the morning they find goodies in their slippers along with a personal note from St. Nicholas himself. There is also a gift wrapped in plain fabric from St. Nicholas for all the kids to share.

I make these coins every year.  I buy chocolate coins and paste vintage/traditional images of St. Nicholas on them. They look so cute! (I get the images from the Shower of Roses blog)

I put the coins in their slippers along with a candy cane, a clementine and a personalized note from St. Nicholas.

And in the package, the kids found this book.  A family favorite! I just found out that this book was Hilda van Stockum's first picture book ...how very talented she was.  It is perfectly charming as a read aloud.

Included in the little package was this Saints Stained Glass Coloring Book: a great way to showcase your kids' coloring abilities and evangelize the world;)  They look lovely on the windows!

Last but not least a game for the whole family to play.  

These took way too long to make.  I'll probably never make them again unless someone pays me a LOT of money or the Queen of England herself makes a request and seeing as how she is Protestant, I think it is highly unlikely.  

They sure do look cute though and they tasted delicious!!  St. Nicholas, pray for us.

Sweet Ride

For my birthday Richard took me to a local place that recently opened up:

So happy this place is here in our small town!

The kids are super excited about my new ride!

Red Velvet Cake: Before

After.

 Taking my new set of wheels out for a spin...

Deo Gratias

Our Thanksgiving this year was filled with good food and good company.  The kids played their part in preparing for the big day and I certainly played mine.  I don't know if I am just getting older but Thanksgiving this year took a beating on me...I really feel like I was hit by a truck!  I shouldn't complain though for I do love Thanksgiving dinner and I do love hosting friends. Not only that, but our good God has showered us with so many blessings that I happily take on the pain and suffering that comes along with truly serving the other in order to please Him and thank Him!

Opening our home to others, I feel, is the one beautiful way, we can show our children how to serve others and it is something we can actually put into practice as a whole family.  Our children learn from our actions more than our words and I can't think of a better to show our children the beauty of serving our friends and in making our home beautiful through that service than to invite people over to a warm home for a savory meal and faithful fellowship.

Here are some pics...not nearly as many as I wanted to take but didn't because I was huffing and puffing in the kitchen!

 This is the kids' Thanksgiving Lego Diorama.  Okay, I helped with the teepee.  (And that pig hiding behind the tree on the right is actually a wild boar).

 Here are the place cards the kids made. Definitely a 10 on the Cuteness Scale.

 Special Occasions = Special Place Settings.

 Richard would easily challenge that equation by arguing: Special Occasions = Special Beer.

 For the appetizers I made these ever so tasty Pepper Jelly-Goat Cheese Canapes that had a toasted pecan crust.  They were DeLiSh!

Here is my all-time favorite cranberry sauce, made with sauteed onions, cranberry juice a hint of ginger and some chopped apple thrown in the end.  We absolutely love it!

 And for La Piece de Resistance: Pecan Pie made with pure Maple syrup...no Karo here-o.

And now moving from the feasting to the thanking... 

And our good Lord above knows that I am thankful for each one of these little turkeys.