2012's Favorite Posts

I have noticed several blogs writing a post about their year in blogging

and I thought I would do the same except I have not been blogging for a year

so it will be a post about 5 months in blogging :)

The past five months have been a lot of fun.

I honestly didn't know what I was getting into when I started a blog.

In fact, when I started my blog I left it alone for a couple of weeks 

wondering if I should even take the leap into blog land.

I bravely jumped into the unknown and I am so glad I did

because I have met some wonderful and amazing friends through blogging.
Many of you have become very dear and special to me.

So here are 25 of the favorite and popular posts for the year of 2012.

Citrus Hairspray

Rose Petal Jam

Old Shirt, New Dress

Recycled Paper Bowls

Fall Apple Jars

Woman's Skirt From A Man's Shirt

Tree Branch Hangers

A Woman Of Strength

Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings

Decorative Hanging Pillows

DIY-Flower Scarf

Pretty Hair Accessories

T-Shirt Christmas Ornaments

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

Yarn Wreaths Made From Plates

Homemade Deodorant

Divine Pumpkin Crumble Cake

Yarn Covered Jars With Yo-Yo Flowers

Lace Snowflake Ornaments

Wrapping Paper Wreath

Christmas Tree & Angel Books

Recycled Christmas Card Tree

Pine Cone Frames

Glass Bead Votives

Candy Tray

I hope you enjoyed looking at some of the fun posts

that have happened over the last 5 months.

I wish you and your family a Happy New Year

filled with the joy of the Lord and His wonderful blessings.

Because of our Lord and Savior,

2013 will be a great year!

Love and blessings to you, my friends!

Linking to:

The Best Of 2012 - 4 You With Love, Categorically Crafting



God Is Our Dwelling Place

As we begin the new year,

God will give us 365 days broken into 8,760 hours.

Of these hours, 2,920 will be spent in sleep,

and about the same number at work.

An equal number has been given to us to spend in reverent preparation

for the moment when days and years shall cease and time shall be no more.

What prayer would be more spiritually appropriate than that of Moses,

the man of God:

"So teach us to number our days,

that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

- Psalm 90:12 -

Of all persons the Christian should be best prepared for whatever the New Year brings.

The Christian is more than a student, more than a philosopher.

He is a believer, and the object of his faith makes the difference, the mighty difference.

The Christian can face tomorrow cheerful and unafraid

because yesterday he turned his feet into the ways of peace

and today he lives in God.

The Christian who has made God his dwelling place

will always have a safe habitation.

- Tozer On Christian Leadership -

"LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,

even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."

- Psalm 90:1-2 -

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

Oven Caramel Corn

First of all, I did not make the caramel corn in these pictures, my mom did :)

She gave my family some and since it is a favorite in our household,

I just had to take some pictures of it and share the recipe with you.

This is my grandma's recipe with a twist from my mom.

After tasting this,

you probably won't want to go back to regular caramel corn with kernels.

Ingredients:

2 cups brown sugar

2 sticks butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 or 3 bags of Chester's Puffed Corn - butter flavor

Combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a medium sauce pan.

Cook for 2 minutes.

Once it begins to boil,

add the baking soda and pour over the puffs in a large bowl.

Mix very well.

Spread out onto two cookie sheets lined with parchment paper;

bake for 30 minutes at 250 degrees F.

Put the puffs back into a large bowl and mix well,

breaking up the large pieces.

Continue to stir until cool.

This is a great treat for New Years Eve that everyone will love.

**Be warned - you can't eat just one!**

Enjoy! :)

The True Meaning Of Christmas

Christmas greetings, dear friends!

Christmas is my favorite holiday.

I love the twinkling lights,

the pretty packages lying under the tree waiting to be opened,

the sweet treats that are lovingly baked,

the delicious smell of a freshly cut Christmas tree in the living room,

the making of a gingerbread house with my son,

Christmas carols playing softly

and the mistletoe where I wait for my husband when he comes home from work :)

But these aren't the only reasons I love Christmas,

my number one reason for loving this holiday so much

is being able to celebrate the greatest gift the world received -

Jesus Christ! 

I am so thankful that Jesus Christ came to earth to be born of a virgin

so that I and all man-kind could receive Him as Lord and Savior!

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS:
for he shall save his people from their sins.
Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us."
Matthew 1:21,23

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called
Wonderful,
Counselor,
The Mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6

I am truly in awe of the love God has shown us by sending His Son
to come to earth to die upon the cross at Calvary for the entire world.

"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.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved."
John 3:16,17

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us,
because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world,
that we might live through him."
1 John 4:9

So my main reason for loving Christmas - celebrating my Savior's birth.
I do love the other joy's of Christmas and I enjoy each one,
but nothing can compare to the humble birth of Lord and Savior.
I hope you, dear friends, are celebrating the real reason for this lovely season.

Now for a little Christmas tradition....

My mom bought ornaments every year for Christmas for my sister and me since we were born.

She then gave us our collected ornaments when we got married.

I have also started doing this with my son

and will give him his ornaments when he has a family of his own.

Each year when we decorate the tree

I love unwrapping the treasured Christmas ornaments from years gone by.

A lot of them have sweet memories behind them

and I enjoy reminiscing :)

Here are a few of my favorites. . .

I got this cute guy when I was only one.

I remember every year I would play with it.

In fact, my mom had to hot glue it several times

since I couldn't keep my hands off of him :)

I made this ornament in Sunday School when I was 2 or 3 years old.

It's not in the greatest shape, but it's still holding up after 24 years.

I always enjoyed reading this mini Hershey's cookbook when I was younger.

I am a book-lover so I thought it was great that books could be ornaments.

My mom gave me this sweet tea cup ornament after I was married.

She knows I love tea cups and this has become a favorite of mine.

I found 8 of these pretty glass balls at a garage sale
so I got them and put them away in my hope chest
to use when I got married :)

This Noah's Ark was my son's first Christmas ornament....

he was still in my tummy when he got it :)

Do you have any special ornaments

that you are always excited about putting up on the Christmas tree?

I would love it if you shared some of your memories with me :)

Merry Christmas, my sweet friends!

I hope you have a joyful Christmas day and a blessed New Year!

Glory To The Newborn King

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King:

peace on earth, and mercy mild - God and sinners reconciled!"

Joyful, all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies:

with th' angelic hosts proclaim, "Christ is born in Bethlehem."

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ, by highest heav'n adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord:

late in time behold Him come, offspring of a virgin's womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail th' incarnate Deity!

Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings, ris'n with healing in His wings.

Mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die;

born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

Come, Desire of Nations, come! Fix in us Thy humble home:

Rise, the woman's conq'ring seed, bruise in us the serpent's head.

Adam's likeness now efface, stamp Thine image in its place:

Second Adam from above, reinstate us in Thy love.

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

- Charles Wesley -

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,

which is Christ the Lord.

And suddenly there was with the angel,

a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace, good will toward men."

- Luke 2:11,13-14 -

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

Christmas Supper & A Mug Swap

This was my first year to have Christmas supper at my home

with my parents, sister, brother-in-law and nephews.

I was thrilled to be able to host our family meal.

We got to celebrate early since some of my family would be leaving

for Canada to be with my grandparents over the holidays.

I decided to decorate with red, silver and white

and I do apologize for the poor lighting in my photos.

Anyway,

I made pretty snowflake folded napkins

and the tutorial for how to make your own will be at the end of the post.

I placed framed snowflakes near the plates for everyone to take home.

The place settings are made out of card stock.

I found this idea in the Christmas Crafting In No Time book

that I won in a giveaway from Janice.

The cute birds are perched on top of a pine cone

so instead of a Partridge in a pear tree it's a Partridge on a pine cone :)

It is a tradition in our family to have crackers so we enjoy them every year.

For the centerpiece,

I used glittery balls in votives with glass beads around the top rim.

Click HERE for the tutorial.

Now for the snowflake napkin tutorial...

You will need a well-starched cloth napkin.

Fold the corners of the napkin into the center and press flat.

Repeat the same process a second time.

And it should look like this once all the corners are folded in.

Holding the center points together,

carefully turn the napkin over.

Now fold the four corners into the center again, but do not press.

Holding the center firmly,

partly pull out the previous folds from under each corner

and gently pull them upwards.

Your finished napkin should look like this. . .

Also, I participated in a mug swap hosted by Heather from Heatherly Loves.

This was my first time participating in something like this and it was great fun:)

Jillian from Keep Calm And Wear Pearls

 sent me this cute snowman mug with hot cocoa.

A big thanks to Jillian for sending me this delightful mug

and to Heather for hosting the mug swap.

Linking up with:

Catch A Glimpse, Creative Thursday, I Love Fridays, Bouquet Of Talent