Christmas Treat

Christmas Mice
(super cute and oh so yummy)



A girl that I worked with used to make these every Christmas for everyone in the office. I always thought they were the cutest little candies. This year, I decided to make my own. They were actually really EASY to make.

All you need is a bag of Hersey Kisses (I used the almond ones),
a jar of cherries with stems,
some chocolate bark
and sliced almonds.

First pull the cherries out of the jar and lay them on a paper towel to dry a little. Unwrap enough Kisses for each cherry and a few extra to snack on while you work ;) Next you need to melt your chocolate bark. When that is done, dip the cherries into the chocolate and cover them completely. As soon as you pull a cherry out, set it on wax paper and stick a Kiss to the side as the mouse's head. Then you will need to stick two sliced of almonds in between the cherry and Kiss for mice ears. & That's it. Now you have a bunch of cute and yummy mice to share with your friends.

New Tradition

Somewhere I read that a family wraps all their Christmas books at the beginning of December and unwraps one book a night to read as a countdown for Christmas Day. I thought that was a fun idea. But, I only have 12 Christmas books. So, I decided to do the "12 Days of Christmas Stories." Zander and I wrapped all the Christmas books we have and put them in a basket. Each night, the boys pick one book and open it. We then read it before tucking them into bed. It has been fun so far. They are really enjoying it.


This is Zander and Mason unwrapping their book last night.

Sometime they can be so cute for the camera.

Mason LOVES to read!

Jillibean Christmas Wreath

I saw this idea on the Jillibean Blog and thought it was super cute. I read the tutorial and got started on my own. I tried using a regular scrapbook adhesive runner to glue the pixie sticks together, but that didn't work out too well. So, I ended up using hot glue for the whole thing. That worked much better! If you'd like to try this out, you can find the tutorial HERE. I hope you are enjoying your holiday season!

Thanksgiving at Our Place

This year we were able to have my whole family together for Thanksgiving. We had a yummy dinner that everyone was able to contribute to. It's nice to share the cooking load, it makes it cheaper and easier for all. We enjoyed our meal together and then to follow tradition as loyal Cowboys fans, we sat down to watch the Dallas Cowboys play football. It was a good game and a shame that we lost :( It was a good time had by all, though. I sure wish we could all get together like that more often. Living everyday life just seems to get in the way of that.

All Ready for Christmas!

Zander has been really excited to decorate for Christmas. A few people down the road from us put up Christmas lights in the middle of November and every since Zander has been asking when we could decorate. I would not get that stuff down until after Thanksgiving, so he had to wait a looooong time for a 4 year old. So, once Thanksgiving was over, he knew it was time to get the tree and the lights down from the attic and put them up. He was sooooo READY!! It was fun to watch him with such excitement as he put up the ornaments. Mason wanted to help, and was very proud of himself when he got an ornament to actually stick on the tree. He danced around saying, "I did it!! I did it!" It was lots of fun seeing them both have so much fun with it.

The night we finished the tree, I gave the boys new pajamas and a new ornament for the tree. They both got Thomas pjs. Zander got a new Thomas ornament and Mason got Winnie the Pooh on a Scooter. If I had been thinking when I bought them on sale last year, I would've gotten them the same ornament because they both really wanted the Thomas one. I didn't realize that Mason would love Thomas like Zander at the age of 2. I guess now I know better.

I found this really cute Christmas countdown on the Church website. I thought it was great because it teaches the kids all about Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas. Zander hasn't wanted to do it until today and once he started, he didn't want to stop. Each day you are supposed to pick a piece to the puzzle, find the spot it goes in, & read the scripture and do the little activity in that spot.

Zander enjoyed helping me find the right scripture in my Book of Mormon and Bible. It was fun having him help me look for the right number for the chapter and verse. Today we did 4 puzzle pieces. The first one talked about keeping a prayer in your heart, the second one talked about Jesus loving little children, the third one talked about Jesus wanting us to be happy and the fourth one talked about loving your neighbor. On the one that talked about being happy, it said to make a list of things that make you happy and hang it up in your room. The lists were both cute, so I wanted to share them with you. Zander did his on his own, except for the words. I helped Mason and he colored all over it :)

Zander's list was.. Hot air Balloons, blue birds, making new friends, playing with Paul, Troy, and Mason, Thomas the Train, walking on hills, going to Mimi's house, and rockets.

Mason's says, Mommy & Daddy, toys, playing with Zander, and helping Mommy & Daddy. I guess I should have added playing outside and his puppy.

We are all excited for this holiday season. It's so fun to watch the little children get so into the festives and light up with excitement. I hope you all are enjoying the beginning of this Christmas Season with your family and friends.