Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you all enjoy a special time with family and friends. We have things planned for the next few days and look forward to being with each other.
" For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

Have a very, merry Christmas.....

First Snow

Thought you all would enjoy a few pictures of our first snow.

Time to stock up on hot chocolate!

Easy Christmas Decoration

Here is another idea that I found in that old Woman's World magazine....Make cones out of stiff scrapbook paper, glue on straps, and fill with candy, greens, or flowers! You are done! Hope you are enjoying being in your decorated home. We definitely are! It tends to be a busy time of year so coming home to our log cabin decorated for Christmas is such a treat.

Thanks for stopping by to visit with us!

It's the little things that often matter the most...

My daughter has a "Christmas Countdown" going on...my other daughter daily tells me how many days until she comes home from college. Me? Daily....um, I tend to panic! I try to start off my day with the Lord - before the kids wake up. It is my focus time. Decorating done. Menu planned. Christmas gifts bought? NO. I bought my first a couple of weeks ago. Will it get done? Yes. Will I have my moments? Sure, I will. We are big on traditions. Even those that to me are small, I am finding out from my three teens that traditions are important. Traditions don't have to be expensive....cut out sandwiches with Christmas cookie cutters, games on Christmas Eve, the guys in my family buy me an ornament each Christmas tree trimming
day....my mom makes an ornament for the kids each year.

I hope you all are enjoying this Christmas season...take some time...it is snowy here, so I think I will enjoy a caramel hot chocolate.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

My daughter wanted these as a treat for her 16th birthday. They are delicious!

This is what you need...

42 chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreos), 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped

2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place one whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup. With an electric mixer on med-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down the side of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.
Divide batter evenly among cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate (in tins) at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Remove from tins just before serving.

Enjoy...!

Just a note about the dangling dazzlers in a previous post. I did hang them in a window and it is beautiful! It is easy to do and not too expensive or time-consuming.