st. patty's day cookies

I checked the freezer.

We were out of ice cream.

And it was an ice cream kinda day.

I eat ice cream most days.

But especially on my bad days.

The tough days.

The cry-till-your-eyes-are-puffy days.

Necessity breeds invention.

And I needed a major soul-nourishing treat.

Realizing that large doses of sugar consumption should be included.

I turned to my Gramma's famous sugar cookie recipe.

But yesterday I was lazy.

Like....really lazy.

I didn't want to put the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.

I didn't want to flour a cutting board and roll the dough out.

I didn't care about cutting out shapes.

I just wanted to eat some cookies.

A lot of them.

Now.

Can you tell I'm really big into instant gratification?

Just blame it on my generation.  Generation X, that is.

So here's my solution:

 I whipped up the sugar-cookie dough.

Added in some green food coloring.

I scooped out the dough (about 1 rounded TBL) with my small Pampered Chef scoop.

I plopped it in a dish of sugar.

I proceeded to completely cover the ball of dough in sugar {mmmm...sugar}.

 I then put each sugar-coated ball of dough onto my cookie sheet about 2" apart.

I pressed each ball of dough down so it was flat and about 1/2" thick.
(I used one of my fondant tools, but using the bottom of a drinking glass works just as well!)

I placed them in the oven and baked them for about 9 minutes.

(Your oven may cook differently than mine, so be sure to pop in on them every so often to check and adjust as needed.)

You want them to be **slightly** browned on the bottom.

Transfer to a cooling rack.

 Now you could just eat them this way.

Which would be super lazy easy and just as yummy.

But that little leprechaun bit me.

and I decided it would be nice to go one step further.

 I had some left over icing in the fridge from a birthday cake I just made the other day for a friend.

So I took it out of the fridge when I started making the cookies;

 this way it would be the right consistency when I would eventually need to use it.

I kept it in the plastic zip-loc bag I had originally stored it in,

snipped a small portion off the corner

and used that as my "pastry-bag".

I hand sketched a four-leaf clover

(you could just print off one from your computer's clip-art collection, too)

and cut it out (see picture below).

I used it as a guide to draw a clover onto each cookie.

And, voila!

My sugar therapy fix come to life:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

66° Rainy and wet.

faster than fast, quicker than quick...

...Annaleigh has turned 2 years old {as of yesterday}!

And we celebrated her birthday on Saturday.  The theme was, none other, than "Cars" {the movie}.  To say Annaleigh was obsessed with Lightning McQueen and Mater would be an understatement.

We had a great time surrounded with people who care about her.  However, it's times like these that make me sad I'm far from family.  No Grammas.  No Grampas.  No Aunties and Uncles.  And no cousins to share in her special day.  {I really shouldn't complain though, because she did receive a nice showering of gifts and [giant cup] cake with her MA family during our Thanksgiving trip!  AND her Florida Gramma and Grampa sent her some wonderful Elmo DVDs, complete with a phone call to wish her a happy day on her actual birthday!}

I was worried, at first, about the birthday party.  Not about the decorating {which is oodles of fun for me}, but about the guest list.  I kept getting phone call after phone call, facebook message after facebook message, that her little friends wouldn't be able to come.  {all legitimate reasons, but none-the-less disappointing.}  And it made me terribly sad for her.  {who would play pin-the-smile on McQueen with her??  Mommy and Daddy, of course...but aren't parties MORE fun with MORE people...don't you think?}

the invitation
{a small coloring page of McQueen is glued underneath;
the info was printed onto vellum
and attached to the card using the ribbon.}

Funny story, though.  I forgot I had put "regrets only" on her invitation!  Needless to say we had a little more than 10 people show up!  What a happy surprise!!  {more for me than for her...she'd be happy with just a cupcake!}

Here are a few pictures from Annaleigh's birthday party:

{details...ooooh...the details!  they simply make me giddy!}

the gift-table

the favors

the cupcakes

I made Annaleigh's cupcake special by sticking two candles into it.
I then used an upside down drinking glass to raise it higher than the rest.

the food table:
homemade mac n chz, pb&j's, popcorn, pretzels, grapes & hot dogs

the birthday girl

her lil' friend

my friends

watching "Cars" while eating MnMs

pin-the-smile on McQueen

Happy Birthday!

she had been anxiously waiting to eat one of these ALL day!

the presents!

thank you for my Elmo DVDs, Gramma Judy!

there's bubble-bath INSIDE the car..so COOL!

family
{p.s.  John David took a nap through most of her party!}

Me & my 2YO baby girl

Dear Annaleigh, I am SO proud of the little person you are becoming.  You already are incredibly unselfish, obedient {most days}, empathetic, loving, goofy, sweet, fun, smiley, energetic, caring, a quick learner, observant, smart, and an amazing helper!  You have such a BIG heart!  Your facial expressions make us smile and laugh everyday.  You are the reason we wanted more little ones...because the joy you've brought into our lives is incredible...and we wanted to multiply that feeling!   I pray, more than anything, for you to find your Savior at a young age so He can use all your WONDERFUL attributes for HIS GLORY!    Happy Birthday my sweet little girl!  I love you SO much.

the jesse tree: an advent calendar {with free printables!}

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, 

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

Isiah 11:1

This idea is not original to me.  One Christmas, we celebrated at my sis-in-law's house.  She had one of these "Jesse trees" and did this each morning with her two boys that year {she may still even do this}.  She took time to explain to us this "tree" she had sitting on a table in her dining room.  It was an advent calendar, of sorts.  One with a "Christian" perspective.  I was smitten with the whole idea of it.  And even, at that time, before I had my two babies, I knew I wanted to make this a family tradition in our home.

It's a bit time consuming to start it up {preparing each ornament and the coordinating verses}, but I was determined this year to make it a priority.  {Seeing as Annaleigh can currently quote lines from the movie "Elf."}  I take Deuteronomy 6:4-7 seriously.  I want my children to know God and have an understanding available to them so that, someday, they will, God willing, make the choice to choose Christ as their Savior.  How else does this happen without intention?  Even my life, as it's lived before their eyes, must be intentional.  It must be intentionally infused with a biblical mindset and attitude.  So that all I say and do glorifies the Lord.  Enter: the Jesse Tree.

Ok, Michelle. Enough talking...what is a Jesse tree anyway??

I'm glad you asked.

I will tell you.

The Jesse tree represents the family lineage of Jesus {Isaiah 11:1}.  There are 25 ornaments that will eventually adorn the tree.  Each ornament represents the ancestors of Jesus or events leading up to the birth of Jesus.  A biblical reference is located on the back of each ornament, which offers an explanation of the image found on the front of each ornament.

Our family has wrapped the ornaments in tissue paper.  Every morning in December, we will unwrap an ornament and read the correlating scripture.  The story of Jesus begins with Creation {although, some Jesse trees, I found, have even begun with "eternity":  God existing before everything else...but, I figured, you could include that into the account of Creation} and leads to December 25th, where you unwrap baby Jesus lying in a straw bed!  

To me, the concept of opening Jesus on Christmas day, after opening all previous ornaments and reading the scripture of His awaited first coming, will simulate {just a smidgen} of the anticipation and EXCITEMENT(!) that the Jewish nation felt when the promised Messiah had finally arrived!!  

How can you have one of these, you say?  

I'm glad you asked...  

I have done a ton of research on this thing, and let me tell you, the quality of scripture seemed to be lacking.  I had to collaborate a lot of the information I found in order to create the ornaments and collect scripture that properly represented {in my mind, anyway} the heritage of Jesus.

First, go get a tree.  Any kind of tree.  Whatever kind of tree you like best.

Next, download and print up the ornament images and scripture references {located below}.  Adorn and embellish.  As much or as little as you like {or have the time for}.  Note:  Some of the ornaments I've seen on the web are beautifully elaborate!  If I had the time and money to make them 3D and colorful, I would.  But who has time these days?  {If you do, I'll just call you lucky...}

Last, wrap up the ornaments and begin a meaningful tradition in your home!

Free printable ornaments 

and scripture references:
(click on images to download)

Ornaments - page 1

  

Ornaments - page 2

Ornaments - page 3

Ornaments - page 4

Ornaments - page 5

Click HERE for the Scripture References



Here are some additional pictures, ideas, and information:

(click on an image to be directed to it's website)

                         

       

And a bonus:

Ann Vonskamp has written and provided 

a FREE Jesse Tree Advent Devotional e-book

on her site, A Holy Experience.

{I wish I had known about this when I was putting mine together!}

I hope you enjoy as you {intentionally} keep CHRIST in Christmas!

fall family tree

   

I found the tutorial for this fall family tree HERE.

And I'm as much in love with mine, as the first time I saw Abbie's {original} version.

It was SUPER easy to make.  I had so much fun!

{btw, I got the canvas at JoAnn's for 50% off!!}

You should head on over to the tutorial and try making one for your home

because it's just so darn pretty once you do!

P.S. I just wish I wasn't a craft-schizophrenic!  I bounce from one random project to the next!

Have fun!

Linked up here today...