A Quick Post

I’m still here.  : D  Just laying low.  : )  I’ll post a bunch of photos from Christmas soon!  We had a wonderful Christmas.  : )  And, honestly, I’m kind of sad that it’s over.  ; )  It was SO MUCH FUN to have a two year old at Christmastime.  I have spent the past few days playing with Emma, cleaning up, enjoying the tree (it feels like I put it up three days ago!) and working on a few online projects.   I hope that you all had a wonderful, meaningful Christmas!  I will post again soon and maybe take the Christmas decorations down from my little bloggy.  ; )

God bless,

Tera

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Here are SEVERAL photos from the past week or two…don’t forget to check out Emma’s Christmas video greeting in my previous post.  : )

Helping Mama by decorating the envelopes for gift cards.  : )

Checking out the wrapped gifts.

 

Visiting the Christmas display at Macy’s in downtown Minneapolis.

My chandelier decorations…a bit of cedar, a string of fresh cranberries and apple ornaments.  It sure is festive!

Dancing with Grandma and cousin Isabel at our Christmas party.

Emma’s sweet and silly cousins Grace and Isabel in their new PJs.

 

May your Christmas be filled with JOY…and the peace that can only come from knowing the One who came as a babe and then dwelt among us to seek and to save the lost.

God bless,

Tera

Special Christmas Greetings

Turn the music off in the right column of my blog before viewing the videos.  Enjoy!!  : D  And, Merry Christmas!!

God bless,

Tera

Our Christmas Card and a Sweet Revelation

Our 2008 Christmas card...  Are you surprised?  ; D  The graphics are by Shabby Miss Jenn Designs.  The card was designed by me.  ; )

A sweet revelation... 

This week, I was strolling through Target with Emma in the cart.  She is my little chatterbox...always chit chatting or singing.  : )  That day at Target, out of the blue, she looked up at me and said, "Mama...I HAVE A MOM AN' DAD!!"  I was a bit surprised at what she had said...I wasn't surprised that she was able to say the words "Mom and Dad"...she has been able to say things like that for more than a year...I was just sweetly surprised with the meaning behind the words!  At first, I wasn't sure if she really understood the meaning behind what she was saying...but in the past couple of days, she keeps saying it here and there and exactly in context!  It blesses my soul to no end to know that my precious little girl KNOWS that she has a true family..."A MOM 'AN DAD"...who love her to the moon and back!

God bless,

Tera

Still here!!

I just have a lot going on with card orders and a special project AND we have a family Christmas party at our house one week from today!  I will post again ASAP and I promise that the post will include PICS.  ; )

God bless,

Tera

The Dollhouse Dilemma

Fisher Price used to offer "Hispanic" dolls for the Loving Family home but they have been discontinued. 

I do understand that families can be very diverse and it would be tough to feature dolls that would adequately reflect every ethnicity.  However, I think that discontinuing "Hispanic" dolls is a step in the wrong direction.  That does not impress me. 

However, I am torn.  I am torn because I really, really LOVE the Loving Family House!!  I have checked out the other dollhouses on the market  and...if I was a little girl, I would probably choose the Loving Family home over the other homes (although there are other good quality and super CUTE homes that are available and I have researched them).

So, after much thought, we decided to make a compromise that we feel would best reflect our family and our values.  We purchased the Loving Family home that includes a few "Caucasian" dolls and we also purchased dolls from another dollhouse set (Caring Corners) that are similar in size to the Loving Family dolls but are of another ethnicity.  It is important to us that Emma has dolls that are available to her that reflect her ethnicity and the ethnicities of others.  We have a multi ethnic household...  I am Caucasian with a German/Czech background.  Jason is 1/2 Filipino and Emma is Guatemalan...  I think it's fun that Emma will have a diverse dollhouse family...a family that reflects her own.  : )

I know that Emma is VERY interested in this dollhouse because she keeps asking me to "rewind" (love Tivo) the Loving Family commercials when they come on so that she can watch them again...hee hee.

Also...  I did contact Fisher Price directly to ask if they had any additional "Hispanic" doll families left.  Sadly, no.  So, I did respectfully voice my concern and displeasure.  ; ) 

God bless,

Tera

Happy Thanksgiving 2008

I hope that you will all have a wonderful day!

Do you need an extra dish to bring/serve at your big feast tomorrow?  If so, I have the PERFECT recipe for you!  I have made this scrumptious, quick and easy salad recipe several times...it is spectacular...the perfect salad for a holiday (or any day) and we will be bringing this salad to a big family feast tomorrow!  The original recipe comes from epicurious.com but instead of dried cherries, I use dried cranberries (Craisins work well).

Apple, Dried Cranberry and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing

Ingredients:

1/4 cup real mayo

1/4 cup PURE maple syrup (Note: do not use pancake syrup)

3 Tablespoons champagne vinegar or other white vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar (I omit this...for me, the maple syrup adds enough sweetness)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 bag of mixed greens or spring mix

2 granny smith apples cut into thin slivers or matchsticks

1/2 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Instructions:

For the dressing:  Whisk the first five ingredients.  You really need to whisk well...the dressing sometimes looks like it won't come together, but it will...just keep whisking or use a food processor.  You will have to whisk again right before serving.  Use the dressing immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.

For the salad:  Put the spring mix, apples, cranberries and walnuts into a large bowl.  Add the dressing a little at a time and toss until the salad ingredients are well coated.  You might not have to use all of the dressing.  Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

God bless,

Tera