Americana Santa

I fibbed. I'm not doing another Williamsburg installment until next week. But I am sticking with an Americana theme.

Meet my Americana Snowman.

He was given to me as a gift by my next-door neighbor at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in 1998. She was getting ready to move and gave me a going away gift!

When I first moved to Fort Dix I had the two girls who were still three years old and Buddy who had just had his first birthday. Hubby was in school in Ohio and was only coming back on the weekends for the first four weeks we lived there.

The kids and I lived in the military housing for the first week with no furniture (except Buddy's crib) and slept on air mattresses. I had to accept the furniture and household goods delivery by myself since Hubby was in Ohio. I had gotten to know my next-door neighbor a little, and she offered to keep the kids while I took delivery. Little did we know it would be from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., and it was October so it got dark early. She was my new BFF!

About a year later my neighbor welcomed her third child, and she didn't have any baby things anymore. Since I'd had twins and didn't need a second crib or changing table anymore, I sold her mine. She was so appreciative that when she moved not long after that she got me the going away gift of the Americana Santa.

It was the perfect gift for my Americana house. I love him and it always makes me think of her.

This post is linked to Show and Tell Friday hosted by Cindy at My Romantic Home. Go visit her — her blog is darling.

A Taste-a-Like Recipe for Starbuck's Chai Tea

I've had recipes before to make drink mixes and I've never run into one that completely tastes like the one it is substituting. I've only recently started drinking Chai Tea (like I've had three total and one was free) but I got hooked quickly. I remembered a blog friend posting a recipe mix months ago for Chai Tea, so I went back and found it. I made it last night and to me it tastes exactly like the ones I buy at the store. I do need to give a shout out to my friend Bobbi over at Blogging Along where I got the recipe in the first place. Thanks, Bobbi!

Instant Chai Tea Latte Mix
from my friend, Bobbi

1 cup dry milk
1 cup dry creamer
1 cup dry French vanilla creamer
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups plain instant tea
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice

Blend all ingredients in food processor into a fine powder. Use 3 heaping spoons per mug of boiling water.

I don't have a food processor so I just used my blender. It worked just fine. I was a little worried as I added in all my ingredients that it would be too full, but it wasn't.

I ended up with one full Ball jar and a second one up to the 2 1/2 cup line of mix. I use 3 heaping spoons in my large mugs. I think it would be too much if you have smaller cups and would cut it down to only 2 spoons. Get your water good and hot so it dissolves everything.

By the way, if you don't have any cardamom and haven't ever bought any (which I hadn't), it isn't cheap. The McCormick's glass jar was ten dollars and something.

This is that time of year for gift mixes, so maybe you have someone on your list who would love some Chai Tea. Or maybe you'll just make it for yourself to enjoy.

WFMW — Holiday Planner

Years ago when I was still getting a subscription to Family Fun magazine (which I still love by the way), there was an article about "Ann's Amazing Holiday Planner." Or it might have been a blurb. I'm not really sure.

I just know that my organizing side kicked right in and had to know all about it. There was a link to access it on the Family Fun website, which is what I did within less than one minute.

I was hooked. Here's a picture from the website which shows absolutely nothing, but it looked cute and gives you a visual. Plus mine is not together enough to show you right now.

Holiday Gift List:
I love the printable holiday gift list and print it off on different colored sheets of paper for each of my kids (simplicity for me) and then one other color for all other gifts.

Holiday Card List:
I actually keep my card list on the computer since I print out labels, but keep a copy in my folder. I might tweak it now that we don't ever plan to move again.

Holiday Memories:
Shamefully, I have nothing in the holiday memories section. I really need to focus on this.

Crafts & Decorations:
I have an entire folder of Christmas crafts and decorations. I just recently weeded them out and kept the ones I wanted in page protectors. Now I'll add that to my holiday binder rather than storing it somewhere else. Makes sense to me.

Holiday Recipes, Menus & Party Plans:
I do have some holiday recipes (that of course haven't made it in here yet), but we've never really done holiday parties, so I don't have any party plans. But if I did, this is where they would be!

If you are in need of a holiday planner with printables, here is the link to Ann's Amazing Holiday Planner.

Best of all, it's free!

This post is linked to Works-for-me-Wednesday at We are THAT Family.

Blog Tour — Set Apart by Jennifer Kennedy Dean

These blog tours are a great way to introduce you to authors and books you might not otherwise be aware of. I hope they will be of benefit to you.

New Hope Publishers
ISBN: 10-1596692634
ISBN: 13-978-1596692633
Release Date: 9/1/09
Retail: $14.99

About the Book:

(Marion, Kentucky) - In a world of self-love and materialism it's reassuring to know that God's Word has a better plan for living. Renowned author and speaker, Jennifer Kennedy Dean, provides insight to the life of Christ, specifically the Sermon on the Mount, in her new book, Set Apart: A 6 Week Study of the Beatitudes.

Through careful study of the Hebrew traditions of biblical times, Dean leads participants into a deeper awareness of this early ministry sermon series by Christ.

Jennifer guides readers to a heightened understanding of each beatitude, correlating the Ten Commandments with the Sermon on the Mount to tie these Old and New Testament principles together. Dean shares how living the Set Apart Life is an exciting and life-changing spiritual journey. Participants surrendered to Christ will see a total transformation: outward actions of holiness as well as inward attitudes of joy. Believers following along in this workbook will experience the life God intends. This blessedness comes from seeking and knowing God. Anything outside the realm of Jesus Christ results in emptiness--the ultimate opposite of blessing.

Each chapter includes interactive questions for readers to answer, emphasizing God's desire to reproduce the character and attitudes of Jesus in each Christian's life. Along with the Bible study book, there is a Leader Kit that includes six DVD sessions and a CD with bonus material for small-group leaders. Jennifer's website, www.prayinglife.org, provides opportunities for previewing the Set Apart materials and extra resources for pastors and leaders.

Adapted from Set Apart by Jennifer Kennedy Dean:

"I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:9-10).

My weakness is my greatest asset in the Kingdom. My weakness is where God meets me. My weakness is where Christ's power is most clearly displayed in me. Only when I am confronted with my own helplessness can I experience the power of Christ in me.

"Your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas. He hears it from the very moment that you are seized with helplessness, and He becomes actively engaged at once in hearing and answering the prayer of your helplessness." (O. Hallesby, Prayer)

I recently had the tiniest glimpse of how powerfully helplessness speaks. A few years ago, I lost my husband to brain cancer. During the final months of his illness, he became utterly helpless. The man I had leaned on for 26 years, whose strength I counted on, was now dependent upon me for his every need. During those weeks, my ear was tuned to his every sigh, his every restless movement, every change in his breathing pattern. If I had to be out of his room for even a few minutes, I had a monitor with me so I could hear him if he needed me. When he was strong, I was not so attentive. His needs did not fill my waking moments, when he could meet them himself. His helplessness spoke louder than any word he might have spoken. Because of his helplessness--because I knew he could do nothing on his own--I was on watch day and night.

My experience is but a pale shadow of the reality of the Kingdom, but still it helps me understand how my weakness is the opening for His strength. The fact of my helplessness is the only prayer I need. It speaks louder than eloquence.

Let your helplessness and your weakness be the offering you bring to Him. He is not waiting for you to be strong. He is waiting for you to recognize that you are weak.

GRAND PRIZE DRAWING:

Please leave a comment by November 16th to be entered in a drawing to win the following items from Jennifer. If you are a leader (small groups, book club, Bible Study, Women's Ministry), please note that you are in the comments — you will automatically be entered in the contest. If you are a member of one of these groups at your church or community, mention that you are a group member.

You will be entered to win:

A Set Apart Leader's Kit (video and leader resources and a student book) retail $79.99

A copy of Fueled by Faith (retail $19.99)

Jennifer will have a live web event just for your group

THIS BLOG TOUR COORDINATED BY KATHY CARLTON WILLIS COMMUNICATIONS. A COMPLIMENTARY COPY OF THE BOOK, SET APART, WAS GIFTED TO ME IN EXCHANGE FOR RUNNING THIS TOUR ON MY BLOG.

Identifying my Girls by Stacks of Shirts

I shopped last Friday for some new shirts for the girls. I'm saving most of them for Christmas, but I did have them try them on just to make sure we could return them if they didn't work. But I'm good. They all worked. :)

So this morning I was cutting off the tags, folding them, and stacking them on my (unmade!) bed.

I started giggling about halfway through the folding. There was definitely a pattern developing. Sparky came in while I was folding and I even made her giggle about it. Then she thought I should go ahead and give her all her shirts now. Sorry, Sparky.

This is one of Sparky's new shirts. She said it's going to be a church shirt because it's fancy. I thought I'd show you the neckline up close so you could see her version of fancy. It's really just a cotton knit shirt though.

I'm sure you never had any doubt which stack was whose though.

Did you?

Everything I Know About a Reformation Party

Lora asked in the comments of this post (about monk costumes and fancy purple dresses) what you do at a Reformation Party, so I thought I'd tell you what we did at our Reformation Party. Well, maybe not ours, but the one we attended.

Last year at the First Annual Reformation Party, we did not go in costume. We were invited last minute. It is an alternative to celebrating Halloween, although in the past we have gone out in costume for the fun of collecting candy, and we still hand out goodies until we have to leave our house.

Jill had made one wall of bricks last year, and she said she pulled an all-nighter to do it. This year she did the one we are standing in front of in the picture. It's actually covering the patio doors. It's black paper sponge-painted to look like a brick wall. This time it took her about three hours. She rolls them up and puts them in the rafters of the basement and saves them for the next year. Her plan is to do some for the 'museum' wall next year.

The museum is in the living room. It has different exhibits from Bible times, a Wittenberg exhibit, etc. This year we made a contribution, and of course I don't have a picture to show you. Sparky recreated the doors of the Wittenberg Church where Martin Luther hung the 95 Theses with Perler Beads (fusible beads). She used four large interlocking squares to complete it and based it off of this picture we found on the internet.

If you go from the darker gray columns on the sides across the top, and without the fence in front, that's how she did it. She even had a cross with two people beside it. The good thing is that Jill boxes up the museum from year to year, so I'll have to take a picture next year when we see the exhibit again! Jill even gives a certificate to anyone who brings a contribution for the museum.

The first thing we do is gather the kids for a small lesson that Jill has prepared on one specific person from the Reformation. Last year it was Martin Luther and the 95 Theses, and this year it was John Calvin. I don't remember a lot of specifics about last year, but this year she did "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" and split the boys and girls into separate teams. She had her husband sit in the hot seat and answer the questions first. They were done in multiple choice format and most of them were easy enough to figure out, except for the boys who sometimes wanted to go with the silly ones.

There is always a game or puzzle prepared on the dining room table. Last year it was a word game where they had to decipher something, and this year it was a game where they had to push a ball around with a stick.

Last year each family had to build a castle (think "A Mighty Fortress is Our God") with either Legos, Duplos, Lincoln Logs, or those ones that stick together, all while listening to "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." This year Jill had three 'prisoners' upstairs for the kids to visit to represent how important John Calvin thought it was that they not be forgotten and be ministered to.

We also get to enjoy the best cider donuts and hot or cold cider from their family's mill, which was recently featured on Food Network's Unwrapped (that's her sister and brother-in-law on there who run the mill).

I talked to Jill at church on Sunday, and she said her goal of course is for the kids to learn something, but also to have fun, and her kids hadn't stopped talking about what a good time they'd had. Mine did too, even though most of them are a little older (sometimes they are finding they are in that mentor role now). So that means we'll have a Third Annual Reformation Party next year, and she's starting to think about what person she will feature.

And Sparky can start to dread wearing that fancy purple dress again.

Menu Plan Monday — November 2

Last week was an unusual one for us. We tried some really new things, and I used leftovers from one meal as part of the ingredients for the next night. I can't say that I've ever done that. Worked out great!

The Black Bean and Potato Soup (from page 27 of the free downloadable Recipe Lion 33 Hearty Crock-Pot Recipes) was where I used leftover ham from the night before. Of course, as usual I didn't follow the recipe exactly. Here it is reprinted as it was to be done; I'll follow with how I made it.

Black Bean and Potato Soup

16 oz can black beans, drained
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 pound cooked ham, cut in pieces
6 cups beef broth
1/4 cup onions, chopped
4 oz can chopped jalapeno peppers or mild green chiles
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp ground thyme
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Sour cream and chopped tomatoes, for garnish

In Crock Pot, combine beans, potatoes, ham, broth, onions, peppers, garlic, cumin, oregano, thyme, and cloves.

Cover and cook on Low 8 to 10 hours or on High 4 to 5 hours. Serve.

Garnish with sour cream and chopped tomatoes if desired.

I doubled the recipe, except that I didn't do it exactly. I used three cans of beans and eight potatoes. I completely guessed on the amount of ham. I forgot to put in the onions and used three cloves of garlic. I also didn't have any ground thyme, so I just left it out. I used mild green chiles and it was spicy. Maybe I just got a spicy can. I love sour cream, so I used two or three large dollops in mine and then stirred it in until it was blended. Hubby had his plain. The kids were mixed, but I'll make it again and cut back the chiles and see what the verdict is next time. Hubby and I loved it.

This week I think we'll just try to be simple and easy and make people happy, because we have a whopper of a weekend ahead of us. Just wait until I tell you about it!

Monday — Roast in the Crock Pot. I used to use the Grandma's Seasoning from Homemade Gourmet for my roast (love it!) but I don't have any and haven't for a long time. I'm going to fiddle around online and try to find a good seasoning option for my roast, unless somebody gives me one before I get to it.

Tuesday — Spaghetti.

Wednesday — Crispy Chicken Tenders.

Thursday — Leftovers and clean out the fridge. We'll need the room for Saturday.

Friday — Dinner at church for Missionary Christmas.

Saturday — Sloppy Joes or Hubby's Burgers and Hot Dogs on the grill. It's to be determined. We will have 12 extra people (2 adults and 10 children) for an early dinner before a Saturday evening church service followed by a dessert fellowship. Then said 12 people will be spending the night at our house. I'm still trying to envision what Sunday morning is going to be like.

Sunday — Eat out because we ate in all week, and because I'm going to need it!

Go visit The Organizing Junkie for more great menu-planning and recipe ideas.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway before Tuesday night!