December Daily-Days 3-9

*Not sure why I can't get these photos to rotate the way they are saved in my hard drive as horizontal?? Anyone know how to fix it?

Day 3: Long night for H.R. with feaver...spent today @ Dr.s office-she's ok! Spent the day watching movies and snugglin'...REST ************************
Day 4: (next to photo) UH-OH Hannah Reece created art on her body (with a green highlighter) while momma was sidetracked with Christmas projects

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Day 5: Today we finished our Christmas shopping (at Miromar)...the goldfish "koi" pond was a nice diversion for the kiddos. Later, Graham enjoyed his first "real" cupcake-post-food-allergies-at Johnathon's b-day party. ************************
Day 6 & 7: Long talks with Daddy...snuggles...finding may creative uses for the $1 santa hats..."cloving" oranges just like I used to with Nana...naps in random places...precious times.

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Day 8: "Family Traditions"

1. Weekly "lights tour" complete with popcorn and hot chocolate (in our jammies!)
2. What God Wants for Christmas...advent devotional...and the giant basket of Christmas books
3. Christmas eve worship service by candlelight...then secretly delivering poinsettias to our neighbors (doorsteps)
4. Decorating the tree as a family while we enjoy some festive tunes. :)

Joann hosted a cookie exchange for our "applesauce" (post-apples of gold) meeting. It was encouraging, uplifting, fun and DELICIOUSLY sweet! These women are a treasure...a rich and wonderful blessing in my life.

Flat-as-a-pancake meringues...stuck to the pan-but tasted yummy!

Thumprint jammies...YUM


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Day 9: We don't usually eat too many "sweets" but with the holidays upon us and no more food allergies-we've enjoyed treats for breakfast...between meals...even as a before-bed snack! :)


Bedtime...we're on box #4 for What God wants for Christmas.


Momma's been makin' lots of lists lately...and so has Reecie!


Busy days and evenings mean...pizza for dinner! (Reece is happy about that one! :)

Baby Heath

Dan received an email tonight stating that Baby Heath had been taken to the emergency room, is on a machine to assist his breathing and is now at the top of the heart transplant list. Please pray for these dear friends.

"Look Ma! No more food allergies!"

Yippee! Graham's first official allergy test confirmed, that he does not suffer with food allergies any longer! There have been many things that have led to this healing, but we are just so thankful to the Lord for the strength, support from others, and understanding that God granted in the last three years with the challenges that have come with eczema, environmental and food allergies.

Although Graham still has a moderate allergy to egg, he is only allergic to a certain protein in raw eggs (a contact allergen) that is neutralized in the cooking process, so he can eat "cooked" eggs.

It has been so much fun to watch him try new things. Today, Graham had his first Doughnut! He chose a chocolate one with sprinkles on top. I know, not the healthiest choice, but he just smiled and laughed the whole time. When I dropped him off at school he said, "Ms. Kelli, I ate Arnie the Doughnut for breakfast!" The teachers at Graham's school have been exceptionally supportive with the allergies...reading labels, calling me at home...they said yesterday he so enjoyed his veggies dipped in ranch, he wanted to take the rest of his little dip cup home in his backpack! Thank you, Lord.

December Daily-Day 1 & 2

Very excited about beginning this little project, inspired by the 25 days of Christmas/December Daily album on Ali Edward's blog last year. Nichole (extra-artsy-fartsy-crafty-sister-in-law) and I got together and made our books ahead of time, and had a blast! Thanks, Choley, for teaching me some new "tricks"! I hope to capture a glimpse of life for us in the month of December.

Sitting down to create the bulk of the album ahead of time was HUGE. So cool that it can be as simple or as fancy as one would like for it to be. This was my first time to make a home-made album. Though it was a little more time consuming than I'd originally thought, breaking out the usual scrapbook routine and using new tools and techniques was such fun!

So far, I've been printing the photos on my home printer. Aside from a few pieces of festive paper, ribbon, a few embellishments and adhesive- I've really tried to use stuff I already have on-hand in my stash. The hardest part was deciding when "enough is enough" as far as the decorating goes, because the possibilities are endless! The cover pages are made of the thin cardboard, and I decopaged paper to cover it. If I can ever figure out how to get a hole punched in this dad-gum decopaged cardboard (aside from having my hubby whip out his drill), I'm gonna put some silver rings on to hold the thing together. Happy December!

"Look at my fings!"

That's Reecie-speak for "look at my things!" Dan and I were hysterical when she walked in, pulled up her shirt and showed us this strategically-placed little gem. Hannah Reece LOVES stickers, we regularly find random stickers throughout the house. This little bikini set came from a C*eative M*mori*s beach pack that sat unused...until today!

Allergy-Friendly Pumkin Pie

I do love to bake...but could NOT resist this Pumpkin Pie for our "pumpkin" this Thanksgiving. Found it in the freezer section at Wh*le Fo*ds for $6.99! For the time and energy it will save, I felt the price was well-worth it!

This pie is Dairy-free, egg-free, and dare I say...pretty HEALTH-Y!

Ingredients: Pumpkin, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Water, Organic Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oil (palm, soybean), Organic Whole Wheat Flour, Organic Tapioca Starch, Soy Flour, Rice Flour, Sea Salt, Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Calcium Sulfate (thickener)

made in a facility that uses dairy products and tree nuts.

Black Beans and Rice

This is absolutely one of our favorite in-a-hurry, low budget, good for you, satisfying lunches/dinners! Believe it or not, this is one of the FEW things sweet-pea will enjoy down to the very last bite.

• first, cook some brown rice (follow the pkg. instructions)
• heat up a can of black beans (I chose store-brand organic), add finely chopped onion and minced garlic, or other spices, if desired (I usually don't)
• add favorite toppings...and you're done!

I've even served this to guests by having a variety of toppings available (chopped up bell pepper, onion, tomato) and chips and salsa.

Other great toppings are salsa, shredded cheese, and a dollup of sour cream.