Tuesday, December 1, 2009

~the wonder of christmas~

The week after Thanksgiving always comes with harsh realities: 1) That the year is almost over (where has it gone?) and 2) that I'm not prepared for Christmas - YIKES!

Oh how I love Christmas! The Christmas tree, the twinkling lights, hot cocoa, singing Christmas carols, reading the Christmas story from the Book of John to my kids, explaining the virgin birth - yet again! But UGHH, how I hate shopping! Could this really be? Am I not a female? I'm told most women enjoy shopping, but I'm definitely not one of them!

Guilt and terror smack me in the face as I realize I have NOTHING bought yet! Lots of ideas, but nothing bought. Our kids are of the age that we don't have to fight the crowds on Black Friday anymore. Thankfully, we don't have to pinch and pull hair to get their favorite toys:) The things they want cost a little more than a Cabbage Patch Doll or a new soccer ball and I can usually find them online.

I remember when they were little, the excitement on their faces on Christmas morning when they ran into the living room and saw the presents filling the corner under the Christmas tree. As they've gotten older, it's been my challenge to keep the wonder of Christmas alive for them. It would be easy (though easier for some) to buy everything they want for Christmas and hope they're satisfied, but I know material things cannot satisfy the soul. The TRUE wonder of Christmas is that which DOES satisfy. How amazing that God sent His own Son into a filthy world filled with hate and envy, knowing He would be murdered by the very people He came to rescue, so I would have the opportunity to accept His gift and live a life more abundant than any storybook could portray. Yes, this is the true wonder of Christmas! As my kids get older, I pray that every Christmas they are more amazed by Christ than the year before - just as I am.

Blessings,

~broccoli~

So, can I just say that I have never been a fan of broccoli? Is it legal to utter those words as a mother? I can't even stand the smell of it cooking! Glen has, in the past, bought those Green Giant boil-n-bag things that have broccoli and cheese sauce, and the smell sends me packing every time!

Recently I was invited to a Pampered Chef party. I went because I had heard many friends talk about them, but I'd never been. They made the best recipe - which included broccoli! I couldn't believe I liked it. I still can't believe I liked it! I liked it so much I bought the ingredients and made it for my family - who ate it, but all didn't necessarily like it. What a disappointment this was to me. Glen liked it, but Glen never complains. Riley liked it, and he hardly ever complains, but Grayson didn't like it. Yes, she complains quite often:) I plan to make it again, and hopefully she'll "learn to like it". That's what my mom used to say to me when I didn't like something - obviously, after 20 years away from home, I learned to like broccoli, sort of:)

Ham & Broccoli Calzone

http://www.pamperedchef.com/images/public/us/pdf/calzone.pdf

I used sliced ham instead of diced. Also, no onion for the kiddos.

Blessings,