Well, Paul and Whitney’s wedding went wonderfully. It was simple and elegant. There were no “uh-oh’s”or catastrophes, thank the Lord! All went smoothly. We did have to run to Greenville a day early because of the icy weather that was coming to our area, but thank the Lord we got there and were in place before the storm hit. My sister and I got to work on icing the 300 cupcakes on Thursday afternoon as I’d planned and it was all set up in good time. Here’s a picture of Whitney and Paul at the cupcake stand after many cupcakes had been removed, but you’ll get an idea…

Barbecue Chicken

Rice

Peas

Asian Salad

Biscuits

Christmas Cookies

We love this Asian Salad. The regular recipe has lots of oil and sugar, but this is from Cooking Light and is much reduced and is every bit as good! It’s has a nice crunch to it and is a nice change! The ingredients might seem strange, but try it anyway!

As you enter the front door, here’s my entry table ready for my guests.

The guest room already has a Christmas touch because of its red and white theme, but the little bear is a Christmas bear and sits on the bed ready for guests to come visit!

The living room buffet has a little embellishment…

I love this ornament too much to hang it on the tree and let it get lost in all the other ornaments.

My china cabinet dishes have been replaced with my Christmas ones.

Of course the tree is the glory of the living room! Liza thinks so too! She doesn’t offer to touch it, but she loves to sit in front of it and just look! She’s not supposed to be on the arm of that chair, but she looked so cute that I snapped her picture, then made her get down!

Here’s the little pencil tree in my kitchen. I saw this idea of the old forks and spoons on a blog I read and thought it was a cute idea for my kitchen tree.

These little cakes remind me of what a great marriage is like.

1. For the Christian couple, there is a recipe to follow for your marriage to work.

• Ephesians 5:22 – Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as unto the Lord. This isn’t an option for women – it’s a command. I must let go of my life and let my husband lead.
• Ephesians 5:33a – Let every one of you love his wife as himself – This is every wife’s greatest need – to be loved.
• Ephesians 5:33b – And the wife see that she reverence her husband. – This is every man’s greatest need – to be respected by his wife.
• Philippians 2:3 – Let each esteem others better than themselves.

2. It’s our choice to keep the marriage fresh. Too many couples get married then quit dating each other. When children come along, they make them the focus so much that the marriage suffers. “Double wrapping” our marriage like I did the cupcakes means making real effort to keep communicating, spending time together, and building on the love that brought you together. Mommies are usually the one reluctant to leave their baby and go out on a date. Leave that little one with someone for an hour or two and go spend time with your husband! The baby will be fine! Your husband needs you too.

3. New tips will help your marriage. My new tip was a real help with getting the icing to be beautiful. After marriage, keep looking for Biblical helps for your marriage. Those “tips” can be found in the form of books by godly people, a couples’ retreat, or advice from a godly mentor. Keep challenging yourself. Keep learning and growing as a wife and homemaker. Having trouble keeping your house tidy? Ask someone that does that well how she does it! Can’t get a meal on the table quickly? Ask an older woman to teach you, or read books on quick cooking. We can all benefit from new tips!

4. Embellish your marriage with extra attention to detail. See those little crystal sugar sprinkles on top of the cake? That’s the part of marriage that takes it beyond having a good marriage to having a great one. It requires extra attention to – just like the cupcakes. They would taste fine without the sugar, but the embellishment makes them really special.

I am so blessed to have a husband who pours on lots of sugar (not just that kind) – the kind that lets me know that he really loves me. He brings me coffee in the morning poured into a mug he knows I’ll love. He leaves me notes on the bathroom mirror about something that just the two of us understand. He picks up the slack at home when I’m busy with life and he’ll fold a load of laundry or set the table when the meal is almost ready. He doesn’t have to do those things; our marriage would survive without all those sprinkles, but boy, it sure makes an ordinary marriage extraordinary! I am so blessed.

The point here is that we have to look for opportunities to pour it on. Buy his favorite candy bar, pick up his dry cleaning, run an errand for him even if it’s out of your way, or send him a text when he’s stressed. We have to look for ways to show our love in little ways and think of him instead of ourselves.

Recently I was at Cracker Barrel’s store and this older woman was reading their greeting cards. She saw me walking towards her and she said, “Here’s a good card! It says, ‘To my husband at Christmas, it’s not about what you give me for Christmas, it’s about what you give me all year long!’ That’s the truth and the men need to know that!” she said in a disgusted tone. I told her that I had a husband who was very thoughtful about doing little things for me all year. She looked at me like I was from Mars and then she said, “Well, you better appreciate him!” “Oh, I do!” I assured her. It’s easy to get the focus on ourselves and what our husband’s doing or not doing. Instead, we need to get out the sugar and sprinkle it on with great determination to let our love for him really show!

In today’s world, it’s rare to see a marriage that lasts longer than a batch of cupcakes. These are very simplistic analogies, but I encourage you to follow God’s recipe, keep it fresh, learn new tips, and then add the little touches that will not only help your marriage to last, but will take your marriage from average to fantastic!

Dedicated to my daughter, Whitney who will be a bride in three short days!

With love,

A Christmas party for the 30’s Sunday school class my husband teaches took place in our church gymnasium Saturday evening. The meal was “potluck” – so there was a little bit of everything. We ate first, then had a family game of Cat in the Hat. This is a game that is played at The Wilds. Pretty sure that Wild is a great description of the game too! I vowed I was not going to get aggressive, but before the game was out, I had used force to remove a little 4-year old from the chair I was pursuing! Bless his little heart, but it was all a part of the game…really!

While the story of Cat in the Hat was being read by my husband, everyone was either Mother, Sally, or Fish. If your story name was read, you were to leave your chair and find an empty one more than one seat away from where you had been sitting. It looks like they were dancing, but here are a couple groups scrambling to find a chair.

There was one less chair than people. If you didn’t get a seat, you remained in the middle and got a point against your team. =( Even the little ones enjoyed it, well, all except when the adults took their chair. Ah-hm!

For our meal, I signed up to bring a casserole and opted for Enchilada Casserole. Rather than making individual enchiladas, you layer all the ingredients in a baking dish.

I topped it off with lettuce and sour cream. Delish!

I made the entire casserole the night before. I wasn’t sure if that would make the tortillas shells soggy with enchilada sauce, but it didn’t. So, here’s a great do-ahead dish!

For dessert I took a Kentucky Derby Pie. This is a Thanksgiving and Christmas tradition at our house. It’s so full of chocolate and gooey filling – all you need is a small piece. It whips up very quickly and disappears just as fast!

Here are my recipes:

Enchilada Casserole

2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cans Enchilada sauce

1 can Refried Beans

Tortilla shells

4 cups Cheddar or Mexican cheese

Brown hamburger and onion. Drain fat. Stir in one third enchilada sauce. Spread another third on the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan. Place three tortillas over sauce, tearing to fit bottom of pan. Spoon half of meat mixture over tortillas; sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups cheese. Add three more tortillas. Spread refried beans over tortillas; top with remaining meat. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups cheese. Layer remaining tortillas; top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with sour cream, chili peppers, lettuce, and/or guacamole.

Kentucky Derby Pie

1 stick butter or margarine, melted and cooled.

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup walnuts or pecans

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Unbaked pie shell

Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla to cooled butter. Stir well. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.