The Twelve Days of Christmas

Day Four:

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Day Three:
Bake Christmas Cookies.


Snickerdoodles:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Stir in the eggs. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended. In a small bowl, stir together the 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the cinnamon. Roll dough into walnut sized balls, then roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar. Place them onto an unprepared cookie sheet, two inches apart.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be slightly brown. Remove from sheets to cool on wire racks.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Day Two:
Make a Christmas Wish List.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

In honor of the Christmas Holiday I am sharing some activities to help you and your family get into the Christmas spirit. Found these cute ideas on a kid's calendar...please check back daily for fun and inspirational ideas.

Day One:
Make a paper chain of family blessings.


HOW TO:
Cut out 12 strips of construction paper in Christmas colors. To start, write something your family is thankful for on each strip. Staple or glue it into a loop. Each day, add one link to the chain. On Christmas day, review your family's blessings before opening presents.

My Favorite Things - Christmas Songs Edition

1. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee
2. White Christmas by Bing Crosby
3. Baby, It's Cold Outside by Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald
4. It's a Marshmellow World by Dean Martin
5. My Favorite Things by Rod Stewart
6. Have a Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives
7. O Holy Night by Celine Dion
8. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Judy Garland
9. Let It Snow by Michael Buble
10. The Christmas Song by Mel Torme
11. I'll Be Home for Christmas by Frank Sinatra
12. Sleigh Ride by Johnny Mathis
13. Walking in a Winter Wonderland by Anyone
14. Please Come Home for Christmas by The Eagles
15. The Charlie Brown Christmas Song by Vincent Guaraldi

My Favorite Things - Christmas Movie Edition

Mickey's Christmas Carol

I also love to watch Beauty and the Beast and Little Women this time of year. They aren't technically Christmas movies, but they sure do feel like it to me.

Note: I am going to see Four Christmases this weekend and have a feeling it may be moving it's way onto this list.

Our Amazing God

Some of you may have noticed the prayer request we had listed for Ben's brother on the right column of our blog. I have been meaning to blog about this to fill everyone in once we got all the details. Below are a couple of emails from my me and my husband. The first one went out the day we got the bad news and the last one one went out today....they pretty much sum up the roller coaster we have been on the past week. Thank you so much for all your prayers!

Prayer request!!

11/24/08 at 3:28pm from Ben

I wanted to let you all know about a situation with my family. I found out on Friday that there is a chance that my brother, Steve, may have cancer. Steve has had a lump above his hip for some time. His family doctor has known about it and was not concerned. But recently his legs started falling asleep for no reason, so he went to see an orthopedist. The orthopedist was extremely concerned about the lump and rushed him into an oncologist. They are doing a procedure Tuesday (tomorrow - 11/25/08) to find out if it is cancer. The concern is very high and radiation and chemo are already being discussed. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE be in prayer about this. We have been praying for Steve for several months as well, because he and my sister-in-law Anna are also in the process of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. I know that God has huge plans for Steve and his family. Thanks in advance for all your prayers!!

Update on Steve
sent yesterday by Me

I wasn’t sure if my text came through to all of you or not. I wanted to let you all know we found out Wednesday that Steve does have cancer. He has a sarcoma in his lower abdomen that is the size of a soft ball. More than likely he will be traveling to MD Anderson in Houston for treatment. They specialize in this type of cancer. Thank you all for continuing to pray for our family. We know there is a rough road ahead but we are prepared to let God carry us through it.

ANSWERED PRAYERS!!
(Today at 10:01am from Ben)

Hey everyone,

First off, I need to say thank you to everyone who has been praying for my brother Steve. You can never know how much your prayers & concerns for him and the rest of our family has meant to us. And to see that our prayers have now been answered, now gives us even more cause to rejoice!!

My brother had an appointment this morning with his oncologist to go over the treatment plan, and course of options for the cancer they discovered last week. Steve said that he and Anna were in the doctors's office waiting when he came in with a giant smile on his face. The doctor told them that it was very rare that he got the opportunity to tell anyone in their position any type of good news, but that that was all he had for them. He told them that after a detailed diagnosis the mass they discovered is NOT CANCER!! The mass is instead a benign tumor that is attached to a nerve, known as a Schwannoma. And that while it will still require surgery to remove, there is no cancerous growth associated with it. They have told him that the tumor and its removal will likely mean that the minor pain he has been having in his left leg associated with the nerve damage may become a permanent issue, but that it is not in any way life-threatening.

This is such an answer to our prayers that I personally do not know how to respond, but to again say Thank You. We serve an awesome & powerful God, who cares for us & listens to us. I know that your prayers for Steve and God's unending love for us is what caused this. We prayed for a miracle & that is what God has given us. The doctor told Steve that the preliminary diagnosis they received is correct approximately 98% of the time. And that the cancer they thought this was, even with treatment, would likely have given him only 2 years to live. Today I am thankful that our God doesn't care about percents or possibilities, for IN HIM, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. As you continue to pray, offer up Thanks from us.

GRIZ