Monday, December 15, 2008

Christmas Tour 2008: Come on Over!

Boys! Get out of that tree! All the bloggers from BooMama's are coming over to see our Christmas decorations. Please help me get everything ready! A, start decorating the tree!
Ok. Light the Christmas tree. Woohoo!
D, go hide Jess Jingle so someone else can find him! Is the hot cocoa ready? Let's put out whipped cream and marshmallows. Candy Canes make perfect stir sticks.

S, Get out of the whipped cream! A, please go in the family room and put on my Faith Hill Christmas CD.

D, Thank you for putting the flame on that little Advent banner you made years ago in Mommy and Me Sunday School Class.

S, please get the Pastor's Party Mix ready for our guests to nibble.


I'll go turn on the little houses on the piano. Who put the toys from under the tree by the houses?
Boys, we'll finish the Peanuts puzzle later. Let's go get dressed!

Okay. We are just about ready! Dear, will you turn on the outside lights and invite everyone in?Merry Christmas, Friends.

May the love of Christ warm your hearts this Christmas and all year!


Yummy Hot Cocoa

1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 1/2 cups milk

In a large pot, over medium heat, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, vanilla, and salt. Whisk in the milk. Heat through, but do not boil. Top with marshmallows, whipped cream, or peppermint schnapps! Store any leftovers covered in the fridge. (Recipe doubles easily.)

Pastor's Party Mix

1 10 ounce package of mini twist pretzels
5 cups cinnamon Life cereal
5 cups Crispix
1 14 ounce bag of seasonal M&M's
2 cups salted peanuts
2 bags of Nestle white chocolate chips
1 tablespoon canola oil

Line your counter with waxed or parchmant paper. Use the biggest bowl (or pot) you own to stir together the pretzels, cereals, M's, and peanuts. In a separate, small bowl melt the white chocolate chips and canola oil in the microwave, until smooth.
Slowly pour the metled white chocolate over the cereal mixture and stir gently, but quickly. (I know... slowly pour, but quickly stir.) (This always seems to take more than 2 hands and just skip trying to use a spatula or spoon. Put your clean hands right on in there.)
Spread onto the papered counter and allow to cool. (I usually fuss with it a bit while it is warm. I try to stick the M&M's that never get any coating onto something already sticky. I break apart the really big blobs, but even if you do nothing, the stuff will be yummy.)
Store in an airtight container.

38 comments:

Carol said...

I see your men are definitely enjoying the season. Looks like Santa's going to have to make a big stop at your place.

Thanks for sharing with us. Merry Christmas!

Emma's Mommy said...

GREAT family picture! Thanks for sharing the recipes. I am going to try your Pastors Party Mix.

Fuschia said...

Well I'm glad to see I'm not the only one side-tracked by all the holiday goodies ;)

Your familiy is so beautiful! And what a fun post.

Momtothreebabies said...

Your boys are adorable!!!! I love the idea of hiding the little toy to find! Cute!!
Merry Christmas!
Jaelle @ www.momtothreebabies.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Awww, I love how you included the kids in your tour. Your house is kid-friendly (just as I like it!) and lovely. Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

LOL! That was great! I can so totally relate to al the hustle and bustle!

I'm so glad that you stopped by my blog and even had the gumption to elbow through the slew of ravenous boyhood at my treat table.

Oh, I brought your mint mocha with me, hope you enjoy it! Braving the Twinadoes definitely earns you high marks too, though usually people are rather exhausted when they leave!

Blessings!
Shera

Leslie said...

Awesome family photo!!

Nikki said...

After reading that post, I want to come visit for real:)
Everything looks lovely, and so warm:)
Merry Christmas!!!

Anonymous said...

What a great family photo! Thanks for sharing your home. Very creatively done!

Cat said...

Great to see that someone else in the world is wearing t-shirts at Christmas time, rather than winter woolies!

Love the idea about using the peppermint sticks as stirrers in the hot choc.

Thanks for visiting my blog & have a Merry Christmas!
Cate in New Zealand

http://momentsofwhimsy.wordpress.com/

Veggiemomof2 said...

Great job & you even got the boys to help! We had to really talk our kids into helping this year.

Lianna Knight said...

Such a sweet little family :)

And your boys are just adorable... I can't wait for the Lord bless us with a child!!

Many blessings!

Wep said...

That is the sweetest post EVER!

Mari said...

I think you're all ready for visitors! Your decorations look great and the family picture is very nice! I've never seen party mix with cinnamon cereal in it. I'll have to try it! Thanks for the behind the scenes tour - it was a fun one!

Anonymous said...

What a cute idea...I enjoyed the tour of your home. Merry CHRISTmas! Julie

Carey-Life in the Carpool Lane said...

Everything looks beautiful. I love that you included your boys in all the photos.
Thanks for the recipes and the Jess Jingle idea. And thanks for stopping by earlier...
Happy holidays!

Laura said...

This is a jolly home. Thanks for letting us visit.

Rachel@just another day in paradise said...

you have so many neat Christmas traditions!! Thanks for sharing (and thanks for the kind words on my blog!!)!

Rachel@just another day in paradise said...

by the way,YOU WON! If you'll send me your mailing address, I'll get your gift card in the mail. Thanks for entering!

Anonymous said...

Your hot chocolate mix recipe....YUM! I'm definately trying that ASAP. Love the family picture ;-) See you around! Jill

Lynette3boys said...

Very festive. I love how you included your entire family.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

boysmum2 said...

Such a beautiful family feel about the place. The hot chocolate looks yum, but a little warm here in New Zealand to try any now, so maybe I will leave till wintertime next year and see how it goes then.
Merry Christmas

Kim said...

What great helpers you have! A very fun tour and thanks for the recipes, too. Thanks for opening your home.

Anonymous said...

Nicely done. A pastor's wife, eh? Nicely done on that point as well. Glad I found you.

Katie said...

That's great that you have so many eager helpers! ;)

Em said...

Great helpers! You're all ready to go for Christmas! Thanks for inviting me over ;)

Sarah@Life in the Parsonage said...

3 boys and a parsonage?!? We are the same person! :)

So glad our paths crossed...adding you to my reader so I can check back in.

What a great famly picture of you all!

Amanda said...

I loved your tour! What a sweet family you must have! Your Christmas tree looks absolutely beautiful. And I love the little house container you have for your candy canes. Merry Christmas!

Melodie Norman Haas said...

I like that your boys helped give the tour :) Everything looks great! Thanks for sharing :)

Keetha Broyles said...

I LOVE jig saw puzzles - - - and that one is PERFECT for this time of year.

Three boys. Oh my - - - I had two, and two girls - - - and they were a HAND FULL.

Merry Christmas and thanks for the tour!!

Kelli said...

Thank you for having us over to your beautiful home! Your children are so cute!
~Kelli

Debbie Petras said...

Isn't this fun? I love that we can share our homes with each other online for Christmas. I always love to see family involved with getting ready. You have a beautiful family! Many blessings to you this Christmas. Thank you for stopping by Heart Choices and leaving a comment. BTW, you can purchase Lisa Welchel's book on my sidebar from amazon or of course, you can always get it at the bookstore. I really do highly reccommend it for teaching children and ...big kids like me! :)

Michie said...

Thank you for the tour. I love the little house on your counter with the candy canes in it!

MSM said...

This was such a fun post; I especially love the jigsaw puzzle - we are big fans of puzzles. : )

The candy cane house is super cute.

Anonymous said...

Judy, girl, you are so good! I just love this blog! Your home looks great and your guys look so handsome. How did you ever manage everyone's faces to be clean all at the same time? LOL... You may have inspired me to update my blog... check it out!

Love ya! Merry CHRISTmas!
Joy in SC

Amy @ Living Locurto said...

Thanks for the tour. Your home and family are precious.

the ginhouse said...

Oh my sweet missed friend! This was so great. Every single thing was so precious, I don't even know which to comment on. I love the family photo and expect one to find it's way to my mailbox to adorn my kitchen counter with. I love you guys & miss you terribly!
P.S. Alli is 4 wks today w/o a seizure! Praise God!

Anonymous said...

Your house looks amazing. I'm still trying to get through the list at BooMama's but I'm determined to do it before the New Year.

Happy Holidays!!