My one true love

I am so thankful for my husband. He is truly the one for me. He puts up with me when he probably shouldn't and he loves me for who I am even though I don't deserve it. My dad has told me for a long time that I am spoiled when it comes to how much he does for me. I know that it's true. Not many men these days will help out around the house and get you a refill at a party without even asking. He does! He is the best father to my girls that I could ask for. He loves them so much and it is so apparent. They can go about every single day KNOWING that they have a father who loves them unconditionally. He doesn't just say it, he shows it. What a blessing he has been to me and my family!

The holiday baking has begun!

I am truly not much of a baker. I don't normally make cookies for my family because I find the constant need for attention that a cookie requires quite tiresome. I have children that constantly need attention and adding cookies to that list just doesn't thrill me. But the holidays are a different story. I want my kids to grow up with wonderful memories of their mom baking holiday cookies in the kitchen. I want those familiar smells to be in their memories forever. I love thinking back to the days as a kid when we sat down with the colored icing and iced cookies and ate icing until we were sick!

So, this weekend started the first of my Christmas cookie baking. I decided to try a new recipe that sounded fabulous that I found on this blog. I am so glad that I did! These cookies are like tiny pieces of pumpkin pie with an amazing icing on top! I got the recipe and the method for royal icing from the same website.

This is my first time using royal icing, so my piping skills are a little shaky, but I must admit that I gave myself a little pat on the back for a job well done after it was all over and I could admire all of my hard work!

My favorite place to shop for all of my baking needs is Mott's Greenhouse and Old Mill Bulk Foods here in my little corner of Ohio. I love the prices and the availability!

When I first started mixing up my dough, I didn't think it was going to cream together well since my butter wasn't super soft when I started, but after a few minutes in the mixer, it came together nicely and I was ready to add the dry ingredients.

After mixing it all together, I rolled the dough up in saran wrap and chilled it for an hour and it ended up being the perfect consistency for rolling and cutting.

I floured my board and my rolling pin well so that none of the dough stuck.

Cutting and baking both went extremely well and the cookies came out nice and brown on the outside while still being somewhat chewy in the center.

After the cookies completely cooled, I was able to use my new icing method and pipe around the edges of the cookies and then flood the centers without a problem. It went fairly quickly after I got the hang of it!

I let the cookies sit to dry overnight and then the next day I decorated them.

I had so much fun! I already have two more balls of dough chilling in the fridge to make some more! Next time, I think I will invest in some extra decorating tips, though, so I am not constantly cleaning out bags and putting new icing colors in!

It's the simple things in life....

Today I am thankful for wood. Just wood. It is the simple natural resource that is so abundant and so wonderfully multi-functional. I love it! I love that it is the thing that is warming our home during these cold winter months that are soon going to be upon us. I love that it is free! I love that we have a FABULOUS family that took an entire month of Sundays and helped us cut it all up. Wood is also beautiful inside of my home. It makes things natural and rustic and has helped this to home remain standing since 1919! The beautiful trim around my windows, floors and all of the natural wood doors help make my home what it is. Seeing something that is so wonderful, useful, and durable makes me also thankful that there is a glorious God that created it all. He is amazing and I am in awe all that He has created.

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Gratituesday

I have to thank my friend, Christina, for introducing me to my new favorite website. I have been scouring this site for days reading over great homemade, unprocessed recipes and tips. I haven't even scratched the surface of what this site has to offer!

On Tuesdays they do this thing called(obviously, since it is right here in this blog post) Gratituesday. We have the opportunity to post what we are thankful for and then link back to their website so that you can read about all of the wonderful things in others' lives as well.

So, on my very first Gratituesday post I am going to say that I am so so thankful for my kids. They are what makes me complete. I can hardly even remember my life without them and quite frankly, I wouldn't want to have a life without them either! Sure, they can push my buttons on some days and just about wear on my very last nerve on others, but they are such great kids overall. They are loving and intelligent and I am so lucky to be their mother. Their lives have shown me just how much I can love another person. They have shown me an amount of dedication that I never knew I had. Every night before I go to sleep, I spend a few minutes just thanking God for the beautiful family He has given me and pray for another great day to come. I am sure that I could write an entire novel about how great my life is, but I won't. I will just end by saying that God truly knew what He was doing when he blessed us with three kids. Thank you, Lord!!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

We got the keys today!

We met with the landlord today and paid first and last month rent and we now have the keys! Marvin has to work late this evening, so after the baby leaves we are going to head out to the store and pick up a few things and then head over to clean up the apartment and get things situated. Janet is really excited, and I am excited for her!

Wish us all luck.....this is a big change!