Happy Birthday Cakes through the Years

I was going through some old pics and thought it would be fun to post pictures of all the Happy Birthday Jesus cakes we have made.  Each Christmas Eve as a family tradition that Rich and I started, we bake a cake and decorate it.  We make it different each year and Mary gets such a kick out of it.  We light the candles and sing Happy Birthday!  It is a special time to remember what Christmas is all about, celebrating the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to earth as a baby, born to poor people in a humble stable, yet the King of all the Universe!

2009

2010

2011

2012

 

 

2013

 

 

2014

2015

Chocolate Cinnamon Angel Cloud Pie

Rich found the recipe for this pie when he was looking through one of our old Christmas cookbooks.  It sounded so yummy to him that I decided to make it for our New Years Day dessert.  I had thought about making it for Christmas but we always make a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas Eve and then eat it after Christmas Day dinner.  This pie recipe turned out so yummy.  It is sweet, light and fluffy.  It is nice to have after a big meal because it is not too heavy or filling.  The only thing I will change is put it in a graham cracker crust.  I think it will be a tradition around our house from now on!

Recipe:
2 egg whites,
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar,
1/2 cup sugar,
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon,
1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked,
FILLING: 2 egg yolks,
1/4 cup water,
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips,
1 cup whipping cream,
1/4 cup sugar,
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon.

In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and vinegar on medium speed until foamy. Combine sugar and cinnamon; gradually beat into egg whites, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. Spread into the pastry shell. Bake at 325 for 20 -25 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned. Cool. For filling, whisk egg yolks and water in a saucepan. Add chocolate chips; cook and stir over low heat until a thermometer reads 160 and mixture is thickened (do not boil). Cool. Spread 3 tablespoons over meringue; set remainder aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream, sugar and cinnamon until stiff peaks form. Spread half over the chocolate layer. Fold reserved chocolate mixture into remaining whipped cream; spread over top. Chill for 6 hours or overnight. Refigerate any leftovers. Yield: 8-10 servings. Enjoy!

 

Elf on the Shelf

Yes, we did "Elf on the Shelf" this year.  It was sparked by finding this great little guy at a thrift store for $3.  We didn't do the book thing where it said that the elf was watching you each day and reporting your behavior to Santa.  Mary knows the story of Santa but knows that it is a fairy tale.  She also knows who the real Saint Nicolas was.  So I just did Elf on the Shelf for fun.  We treated it with the concept of Toy Story, where the toys come alive when you are not looking and freeze when you see them.  Mary had so much fun with this.  She was so excited each morning to see what he was up to.  As you can see we had him playing Candy Land with is buddies, dancing the Nutcracker with Barbie, to getting ready for an ugly Christmas sweater party. He also read the Christmas story in Luke after we set up our nativity set.  I got a lot of my ideas from Pinterest and I also thought up stuff from the things she had in her room.  It was great fun and here are little thumb nails shots of what we did each night. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to our friends and family.  May you have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful year!

Christmas Music From Many Years Ago...

I had a nostalgic moment today. I was at Walmart getting all the last minute Christmas stocking stuffers and goodies. I walked by a bin of Christmas CDs and was looking at them. Near the bottom I spied a CD called the Light of the Stable by Emmy Lou Harris. It brought back memories from a long time ago when I was young. I went to the library (I know this will really date me) and checked out a Christmas record by her and loved it. I am not usually a big Country Western fan but I really liked her clear sweet voice and the upbeat happy songs she sang. So I made a cassette tape and played it. It was during a time that I was a young adult longing for a family of my own and this album seemed to comfort my heart and give me hope. Well, when I got home tonight I put the CD on and Mary loved it! She loved it so much she began to dance around the Christmas tree. She listened to every song. I thought, wow, could I of ever imagined such a scene those many years ago of my beautiful little girl dancing and enjoying that music as much as I did.

 

Here is the first song on that album:

Here is the link to the video: https://youtu.be/Yem_U7lcW3U

Jacksonville

We went to Jacksonville to spend the day, last Sunday.   Jacksonville has Victorian Christmas celebration and we thought Mary would get a kick out of that.  It snowed in the morning so that made the day even more special.  We had brunch at the Jacksonville Inn.  Mary's little elf on the shelf got to come a long too!  After our meal we went shopping.  We met up with Santa but missed the carolers, I guess they got too cold and went home.  They did have hot apple cider and roasted chestnuts.  We had the most fun shopping at our favorite cooking supply store.  I just love the beautiful decorating on the outside of the buildings.

 

Decorating with Grandma

Each year Mary has fun helping her grandma decorate for Christmas.  The last 4 years it has been this small tree.  They had a larger tree but it became too much for them, so they gave it to us and they use this sweet little tree.  I am so very thankful that Mary lives near her grandparents and has a wonderful relationship with them.  I know these images will be treasured by her all her life.

Christmas Piano Recital

Sunday was Mary's Christmas piano recital.  She played Silent Night as a solo and then we played, Oh Christmas Tree as a duet.  She was so excited she could barely contain herself.  Grandma and Grandpa gave her some money for her birthday so we went shopping and got her this dress for the recital.  I put a snowflake and a holly clip in her hair.  She did very well and we were so proud of her.  I have included a video of our duet.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the link to the video: https://youtu.be/RI3p_iaPsDs

The Holidays are Here!

Well, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Now on to Christmas :)  Yesterday we set up our Christmas tree.  Mary is at the age where she did most of the tree decorating.  We have a lot of ornaments of all kinds.  I have been collecting ever since I was in my 20s, so a lot of memories.  It is fun to tell Mary the stories behind them.  She really saved my back from all that standing and bending.  She loved having more input on where the decorations should go.  She also gets a kick our of the stockings, hats and stuffed Christmas toys we put under the tree.  She couldn't resist putting a Santa Hat on Mac.  He wanted to play with it but he did hold still long enough for me to snap his picture.   Today we tackled the school room.  Mary changed the calendar and I worked on the bulletin board.  We were happy how it turned out.  We do our supply shopping at the thrift store and get some amazing deals.  Also my sister, Linda, has gotten her a lot of things over the years and we have really used them these last couple of years.  Mary said it was amazing how pretty you can make something out of a little bit of stuff and a lot of love!  Well, I will post our pictures.  We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

 

 

This was a Christmas wreath making event at Hanley Farm.

 

We will put a candle on each day with a name of the Lord and read the scripture where it is found.

Getting Ready

A busy and happy evening getting ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow.  Mary helped me make an apple crumb pie and she also helped me arrange some flowers for the table.  She is loving it and I am so enjoying showing her things. I also put together a pumpkin pie.  I am so thankful for a husband and in-laws who love to cook too.  Rich made some fantastic pork ribs to take to a work potluck today and Mary and I had them for lunch.  He also got the turkey ready to roast tomorrow and will be make the stuffing.  It is so great to have Mary help with cooking.  It is truly a family affair!