Christmas Mantel Showcase

I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. -Charles Dickens

Our first Christmas tree as a married couple was this sad little Charlie Brown excuse of a tree. It was a skinny, barely 6 feet tall thin branched beauty, and not knowing any better I really thought it was. I decorated the heck out of that tree! I still laugh at the thought of this little tree and how lovely I thought it was.

Over the years I have expanded my Christmas decorating repertoire to include anything with a flat surface. I have actually simplified and updated my décor this year over some of the things I have done in the past. I was really just exhausted at the thought of putting it all away in January.

Today I want to share with you my fireplace mantel all decked out as well as a few other great ones that belong to a few sweet gals I know.

That window above the fireplace usually hangs in our bedroom but I have been looking for an opportunity to try it out on the fireplace and this seemed like a good one ;)

Lovely Rustic.

I love the simplicity of these homemade Jars. {Holy Night} A little burlap, paint and a candle. LOVE.

Look at what Kadi has done here with this faux mercury vase. So pretty! And she even tells you how to do that in this post. All the bright colors are fun too!

The huge wreath is perfect for this stone fireplace and shares the real meaning of the season ”Unto us a child is born.”

The quintessential symbol of the season.

I heart these monogrammed stockings. And the texture speaks “cozy” to me. Every year I say I’m going to get new stockings and monogram our names, {sigh} maybe next year.

If you have a Christmas mantel you want to share or other decorations your proud of, I would love to see them! Share it with us all on my Facebook page.

The power of our words

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Today I failed. Again.

I lost control of my temper and in a moment of frustration I watched as my strong words broke my child’s heart. I looked on as her shoulders slumped and tears welled.

I could justify my anger, I had just told her to STOP and within another moment a plate full of food was scattered across the kitchen. The words coming out of my mouth spoke truth.

But I was wrong.

Was that person really me just a few weeks ago when I sat in perfect piety as I listened to a woman sitting next to us belittle and use hateful language towards her young children, all the while thanking God that my children don’t have to live with that kind of abuse.

Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Mathew 12:34b

Author Mary Kassien explains my problem:

“When we speak, particularly in unplanned situations of being irritated, tired, sensitive, or stressed, we reach down into the pantry of our hearts and bring out what has been stored up over time. Words spring from the ground of our hearts.”

My pantry is full of JUNK.

Every morning I wake up and get to work cleaning it out but then I spend the rest of the day filling it back up again by the things and people I watch, listen to, and spend time with that may not be “healthy” for my soul.

When I fill my life with good things, {mainly God’s word}- the words and thoughts that spring from my mouth become a reflection of that.

Are you aware of the power of your words? I have had my day ruined by quick tempered strangers, or “well meaning” friends. I have seen many relationships severed because of unbridled tongues, watched marriages slowly crumble with every self righteous word.

I have also been the recipient of many kind words and know the power of how they can change a mood, or a circumstance in an instant. They sooth. They encourage.

Like apples of gold in settings of silver, Is a word spoken in right circumstances. Proverbs 25:11

With my middle daughter words of encouragement is her love language. When I speak harshly to her it does more than ruin the moment, it settles in her soul.

I would much rather all the true beautiful things about her make it’s home in her heart.

So I failed today.

I am thankful that I have tomorrow. Better yet, I’m thankful that I have the next moment- and grateful that children are so forgiving.

Thomas our Elf

4 Ingredient Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells

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Some days I’m unmotivated and uninspired towards anything that has anything to do with dinner. This was one of those days. I hadn’t been to the grocery store and time wasn’t on my side, nap time was approaching and NOTHING messes with nap time- that’s for my sake…not necessarily the toddlers ;)

A quick search through the fridge and pantry and the brilliant idea to include the slow cooker allowed me a few minutes to rest in the afternoon.

It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Psalm 127:2

4 Ingredient Basil Pesto Stuffed Shells

Print recipe

Serves	6
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	4 hours
Total time	4 hours, 10 minutes
Meal type	Main Dish
Misc	Freezable

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breasts (Place in slowcooker)
4 oz block of cream cheese (cut up and place in slow cooker)
1/2 or 4 oz bottle of Basil Pesto sauce (Place on top of chicken and cream cheese)
20 large shells (Boil as directed on stovetop)

Note

I didn't have any pasta sauce on hand but If I had I would have poured some over the shells and added a little mozzarella before I baked it!

Directions

Step 1
Add all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or until the chicken is cooked through. Shred chicken and stir everything together.
Step 2
Boil Shells as directed and rinse with cold water. Stuff the chicken mixture into shells and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

How To “Look” Organized When You’re Not

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I am not neat by nature, I battle the clutter monster daily- and usually lose. I have listened to advice from several well intentioned friends, I have read MANY books on the subject {in fact, I have one sitting in my library pile as I type} I have even watched a few episodes of Hoarders to try and scare me out of my bad habits, but alas, I haven’t figured out the perfect system for me yet.

BUT with the help of a few baskets I do a pretty decent job hiding the madness most days. Here are a few of the ways I use baskets around the house to help me at least appear more organized.

The toy basket sits under our coffee table and is probably the most essential basket I have. It of course doesn’t contain all the toys in the house but If I need to clean up in a hurry I can throw whatever toy is laying around inside it and quickly push it away. It is also great for guests with little ones; I always have a few toys in close proximity to keep them entertained.

Our kids always want to be right where we are {and I want that too} so it was much easier to make a place for a few of their games and puzzles in the living room then to have them continually drag their things in and out of the room. It makes for a quick clean up as well.

Books are everywhere in our house! I bet I probably have 5 book baskets of all sizes and for different purposes. That doesn’t even count the kids books in the school room! This one holds all my bible study materials and a few leisure books.

Trust me, these are just a few of the baskets and containers I use around the house. As I walked around the house I started to feel a little like I might have a basket problem and felt it was better to not subject you any further to my little obsession. {hmmm, I think there is a t.v. show on that as well} ; )

Hope this helps any other fellow clutter folks.

Sharing life at: Fellowship Fridays

Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Muffins

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We eat a LOT of bananas around here so it is an odd phenomenon when there are enough almost rotten bananas laying around that are begging to be dealt with.

So before the fruit flies could take up permanent residence we gathered together all the ingredients to make our favorite banana muffins.

Now, I’m a banana bread purist at heart but the hubs won’t settle for bread without a little pizazz, (and I want to keep him around) so enter the Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Muffin.

You won’t be disappointed, AND you won’t feel too guilty after having one because {Hey!} they have oats in them.

1/2 cup coconut oil (or butter)

3/4 cup sugar (you could use honey for a less sweet taste)

2 eggs

3-4 medium mashed ripe bananas

2 cups flour (we used 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup unbleached white)

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips.

Cream the oil and sugar. Add the eggs beating well. Add bananas; mix well. Combine the rest of the dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture, stirring just until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into lined muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 min or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 1 dozen

When You Long for True Fellowship

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We had just left a conference where I had been blown away by an amazing speaker. The group of us were silent, assuming that each, like I was lost in my own thoughts over what we had just heard.

The car ride was silent except for the brief discussion over where we should eat. Upon arriving at the restaurant and settling in with our orders the conversation livened up to chatter on the latest celebrity gossip, that great new sushi bar around the corner, why the new fall fashions are really just a repeat from last season.

I listened politely to the conversation while my mind was still reeling from the speaker. I waited for a break in the conversation before I jumped in with “So were any of you as convicted and challenged as I was over what she said?”

Silence. Nervous sips of tea.

Eventually one of the ladies spoke up and said “It made me think that I should be more intentional with my faith”

Silence.

Someone excused themselves to the restroom.

A deep yawn from another who said “Oh, it’s getting late it’s hard to think and process these things when I’m tired” I acknowledged that she was probably right and I leaned back in my chair. The conversation soon returned to less important things like reality T.V., new diets and vacation plans.

This incident has rolled around in my heart for quite some time now. It’s probably true that I’m being harder on these gals then they deserve, but I think what happened here indicative of our current Christian culture.

We have weakened the idea of fellowship and relegated it to girl’s night out, a cup of coffee together and yes, even conferences. The persecuted churches around the world risk their lives for true fellowship while we casually sip on our tea and make meaningless conversation.

I long for true fellowship

And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25 Holman

Our concern should be for each other in a way that makes the rest of the world wonder what they are missing, it should be our habit to meet together – not because we really need to get away for a night, but because we need to encourage each other and be encouraged by each other, the foundation of this encouragement should come from God’s word, building each other up in their calling and challenging each other in our faith.

I love times with certain friends where we can share each other’s burdens and point each other to Christ. I love to be reminded of how big my God is. I enjoy the laughter that comes from a great story about the life that God has given each of us.

That is true fellowship.

I leave those times feeling full.

All of us are busy, our time is precious. I would rather spend the few hours I occasionally get with friends in meaningful fun conversation, where I have the opportunity to truly invest in what’s important to them then I would knowing who is going to star in the next great new movie.

That night offered me the opportunity to really think about my friendships and challenged me to be more intentional with who and how I spend my time. I want it to matter.

linking with Fellowship Fridays and Raising Homemakers
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Crafting with the Cricut

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I love to scrapbook. Now, ask me when was the last time I sat down to do it? It’s been a long time friends…a long time. Our fourth baby is almost two and I don’t have a single picture of her printed!

Several years ago I received a Cricut for Christmas, I thought I had died and gone to scrapbook heaven. The joys of life got in the way of my time spent scrapbooking so until I got creative the Cricut sat lonely and hidden in the corner of the room.

Recently I have found lot’s of other crafty uses for it! If you have a Cricut collecting cobwebs or know someone who does, hopefully I can inspire you to pull it out and get creative with it.

1. Using Vinyl

I love this material. You can buy it in rolls or sheets at Walmart or any craft store, I even found it on Amazon and it comes in lots of different colors and it’s made like a peel and stick sticker.

My first project was the fireplace mantel. I had attended one of those cute wall art parties and came home with a catalog. Me being the frugal {read cheap} person that I am knew I could do it myself.

While browsing at the Habitat for Humanity store last year, I came across an old cabinet door that I knew was destined for a project. I painted it, added the Vinyl letters and the hooks and wa-la! I gifted it to my BFF for Christmas.

And recently Sara, (remember her) came over to bum the use of the Cricut to create a wall sign, then she had the audacity to make me do all the work! It turned out great. Her and her husband have a beautiful story behind the meaning of the word, you can read about it here.

2. Stenciling on Fabric

Lately I have been on this pillow making kick. I read somewhere about how pillows make guests feel more at home and {hey, I want that}, we also needed new pillows for the couches because the little tornadoes we call our children had pulled the buttons out of our couch pillows and they were hideous to look at!

I created the words and pictures on the pillows by using the negative part of the letters I cut out. It did get a little tricky with the O’s and 0′s but I’m good at improvising. ; ) I should note that I didn’t use fabric paint for these projects. Regular craft paint seems to work just fine and washes well.

I don’t know how it happened, but one day I looked around my living room and realized I had this bird theme going. It turns out- I really like birds. {who knew?}

This pillow came next, along with a matching one (not pictured) of a bird sitting on a branch

I then attempted a pillow with ruffles when I created this wedding date pillow for our bed. It actually didn’t turn out quite the way I had hoped with the numbers, but I’ll try again one day.

And Lastly I showed you this Fall banner a few weeks ago. Like the rest of the stencils, I used regular cardstock, cut out the words and used the negative as the stencil to paint onto the burlap.

The versatility of the different fonts and pictures that come with the cartridges are one of the things that make using the Cricut for different projects so fun.

What kinds of projects have you been working on?

5 Ways to Encourage Young Kids to Read More

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Guest Post by Ryan

Convincing some kids to read can be a struggle. Between movies, music, and video games, there are often plenty of distractions that can take away from the time a kid spends reading. However, there are a number of fun and straightforward ways that you may be able to counteract this. Here are five tips for encouraging your kids to read more.

“I thought the book was better”

From Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter, there is no shortage of hit movies that were originally books. Next time your kid learns about a movie coming out that they want to see, do a little research and find out if it was originally a book. If so, this can be a great opportunity to encourage your child to read it before seeing the movie. Also, this way they won’t have to wait so long to get the same story that the movie offers. If the movie isn’t based on a book, there are often other ways you can tie in reading. For example, if your child is excited for a superhero movie they can read the hero’s comics. Each night before bed they can change into a set of pajamas themed after the hero (you can find a variety of themed ones at www.funkidspajamas.com) read some comics and get excited to watch the movie!

2. Give them an audience

Most young kids love to pretend and show off their new skills. If they are just reading to themselves, they may get bored quickly. However, if you can provide them with an audience, it may encourage them and give them more focus. If your child has a younger sibling, see if they would like to read to them. Not only will they be getting practice, and showing off their reading ability, they also will be setting a great example for their little brother or sister. If they don’t have a sibling, they may want to read to their favorite doll, action figure, or even imaginary friend.

3. Make reading as appealing as possible

The more appealing you can make reading, the more your kids will want to do it! One easy way you can make reading more appealing is by giving them a monthly book budget to spend on whatever they would like – as long as it is a book. Knowing that they can go into a book store and buy whatever they want (within budget) may be enough to help motivate them to find something that piques their interest. Another thing you can do is make special “reading rules.” For example, if your child’s bed time is at 9 o’clock, you might consider giving a reading grace period of 15 or 30 minutes for them to finish the chapter of the book they are on.

4. There is more to read than just novels

Comic books, joke books, magazines, and even websites, are all full of words that your kids can read and learn from. If they find something they are interested in, make sure they know of all the written resources that exist for them to full explore it. This could mean taking a trip to your town’s library and showing them how to use the Dewey Decimal System to browse books on whatever topic they are interested in, getting a subscription to a video game magazine, or you could just show them a website that caters to their curiosity.

5. Turn DVDs into reading lessons

Many DVDs allow you to choose between several languages for both the audio track and the subtitles. You can help your child double up on learning by putting the movie audio in a different language with English subtitles. This way, they will gain exposure to a new language and will need to read the dialogue of the entire movie if they want to be sure about what is going on. If it is a new movie, you may want to let them watch (and listen) to it in English the first time, but if they are just re-watching something, there is no reason for them not to learn while they do it!

Some kids needs a bit of encouragement to read. However, by giving them incentives, like an audience or a delayed bed time, and getting a little creative with subtitles, you may be able to give them the push they need to not only become better readers, but also have a better time reading.

Mothering with Grace

Encouraging women in their high calling as wives and mothers

Christmas Mantel Showcase

I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. -Charles Dickens

The power of our words

But I was wrong.

My pantry is full of JUNK.

Thomas our Elf

4 Ingredient Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells

4 Ingredient Basil Pesto Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

Note

Directions

How To “Look” Organized When You’re Not

Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Muffins

When You Long for True Fellowship

That is true fellowship.

Crafting with the Cricut

5 Ways to Encourage Young Kids to Read More

Amazing Pumpkin Dip