Gettin' Crafty

Cole loves being creative (as do I), and the holidays always provide the perfect opportunites for us to get crafty.  This year, we made some pumpkin cookies, a thankful chain, handprint turkeys, and a fall blessings mix.  FuN!!

Pumpkin Cookie Recipe:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

Thankful Chain:  

Our family began a new tradition this year.  From November 1 - Thanksgiving, we make a chain listing all of our blessings and thankful things.  Each day, I write one blessing on a strip of construction paper and we add it to our chain.  We then use the chain to decorate Cole's Christmas tree :)

Turkey Time!

Making handprint turkeys with Mommy...

leftover feathers from Halloween worked great!

drawing the sky, sun, and grass

Fall Blessings Mix:  I found a few variations of this online.  This one is more 'spiritual'.  There's another cute one that strictly focuses on the fall season and Thanksgiving.

  

1 cup pretzels, These represent that we are to be salt and light to the world.

1 cup Honey Nut Cheerios, These circles represent God's never ending love for us. The honey is the sweetness of His Spirit over us even when things seem a little nuts.
1 cup Goldfish, These fish represent the call that Christ has put on our lives to be fishers of men.
I cup Craisin's, These fruits represent the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
1 cup Animal Crackers, These represent the wonder and diversity of God's creation.
1 cup Marshmallows, These represent what our hearts and spirit should be. Our hearts and spirit should be soft and sweet for others. The praise of our hearts and spirits should be pliable and squishy for God.
1 cup Candy Corn, The triangle represents the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 

Cole's Third Birthday

Although Cole's birthday festivities were last week, he's STILL talking about all the fun we had.  Birthday cake, candles, palm trees, and friends are topics that somehow seem to weave their way into every conversation :)

This year, we went with a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom theme.  It's an alphabet sing-song book that I loved reading when I taught.  It has become a favorite of Cole's as well...what better way to celebrate than with a good book?!  Because I always seem to choose random themes that have no pre-made decorations to be found, it's up to me to get creative.  This year, I made the invitations to look like the cover of the book (replaced the pink border with blue), made the goody bags for his friends with everything ABC, turned Cole's outdoor water table into an indoor coconut tree, and added a few other Chicka Chicka activities.

We celebrated the big '3' on Saturday, Nov. 21...Cole's actual b'day.  In the morning we had our first 'friend' party.  We invited four of his friends to play, sing, dance, and share the day.  I think the adults had just as much fun as the kiddos!  

After a nap and relaxation, the party geared up again that evening with the family.  Grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins had a fun night feasting on grilled burgers and dawgs and watching Cole enjoy his new gifts.

It was a special day that we will always remember! 

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Remember When...

Lord, thank you for the blessing of being a mother to such a beautiful boy...

It doesn't seem that long ago that we welcomed our beautiful little one into our family on a sunny November afternoon.  Forever etched on our hearts are the sacred moments we shared that glorious day...

Nathanael Cole Johnson

7 lbs. 10 oz.     20 in. long

November 21, 2006 - 1:33 p.m.

Coming home was extra special...Thanksgiving Day :)  We had an over abundance of new blessings to add to our list...

I loved you from the very start,
You stole my breath, embraced my heart.
Our life together had just begun
You were part of me my little one.
As mother with child, each day I grew,
My mind was filled with thoughts of you.

I'd daydream of the things we'd share,
Like late-night bottles and Teddy bears.
Like first steps and skinned knees,
Like bedtime stories and ABC's.
I thought of things you'd want to know,
Like how birds fly and flowers grow.

I thought of lessons I'd need to share,
Like standing tall and playing fair.
When I first saw your precious face,
I prayed your life be touched with grace.
I thanked the angels from above,
And promised you unending love.

Each night I lay you down to sleep,
I gently kiss your head and cheek.
I count your little fingers and toes;
I memorize your eyes and nose.
I linger at your bedroom door,
Awed each day I love you more.

Through misty eyes, I dim the light,
I whisper, "I love you" every night.
I loved you from the very start,
You stole my breath, embraced my heart.
As mother and child our journey's begun,
My heart's yours forever my precious son.

3 Months Old

6 Months Old...Look at those cheeks!

9 Months Old

12 Months Old

15 Months Old

18 Months Old

Two years Old

Three years Old

Weekend Getaway

With my grandfather's passing to heaven last year, we knew that our Thanksgiving tradition would change over the coming years.  We had traveled to Gatlinburg every November since I could remember...always staying at Carr's and cooking the traditional meal in our chalet on Thanksgiving Day.  Last year, we stayed home...it just wasn't the same.  

Well, this year, my AMAZING, SWEET husband surprised the family with a weekend getaway to The Smokies.  Although it wasn't on Thanksgiving, it was great to visit a place that was so dear to us at this time and make new memories together.  My mom, dad, Kyle, Laura, Michael, Cole, and I stayed together in a chalet in the mountains off the main strip.  The view was beautiful and the weather couldn't have been more perfect...70's during the day and 50's at night.

We all met in Gatlinburg on Friday afternoon, but the getaway began much earlier for the three of us.  We left on Thursday morning for Chattanooga to stay the evening with Michael's family.  We enjoyed our relaxed day in the country feeding horses, riding 4-wheelers, and playing in the leaves.

Friday morning, we headed to the Creative Discovery Museum in downtown Chattanooga.  We had taken Cole this past February and were anxious to see how he reacted to the same exhibits now that he was older.  He (We) had SO much FuN!!  Kyle and Laura also left home early Friday morning and met us at the museum to share our special day.

After a morning of fun, we traveled the rest of the way to the chalet.  My mom and dad had already arrived and were preparing grilled steak, chicken, and the fixins for dinner...now that's a warm welcome!

Saturday morning/afternoon was spent taking family pictures.  Kyle took family pictures of us and we also took a few engagement shots of he and Laura.  Lunch at Bubba Gumps and an evening stroll downtown (caramel apples, corn dogs, and taffy!) finished off a lovely day.

*Kyle took TONS of pics that I don't have available.  I can't wait to see all the ones he took of our family!

Sunday, we solemnly packed and headed back to home sweet home.  We did stop along the way for a go-kart showdown and lunch at the Apple Barn.  What a WoNdErFuL weekend!!!

I love this picture...they're both checking their seatbelts :)

Mom and I rode together.  We screamed like school girls!

Laura is such a sweet soon-to-be-aunt :)  She was the only one in the group that could spin (the rest of us get dizzy and queasy...yep, we're old) so she rode the 'spinning' rides with Cole.

Apple Barn!

I treasured this moment...Cole fell asleep in my arms while eating lunch.  As he grows, these moments are becoming more and more rare.  He hasn't fallen asleep in my arms in public in over a year.  I soaked up every minute!