A Home-made Christmas Gift

I received a lovely gift from the D-family and I thought I would share it here.
Sister S. took a home-made pledge this Christmas and we were some of the beneficiaries of it. After services one evening I was summonsed out to their vehicle where I was handed these...

The only difference is the red tin had a really good candy-stick tied to the top that the girls and I devoured on the way home.

The square granite is a trivet for my kitchen which I am making good use of. The man of the house (Brother M.) made this. It looks like a ceramic tile and he glued feet to the bottom of it.

Very nice!

When I opened the tin the first thing I noticed was all the candy kisses since they are my favorite...

Next, I untied the ribbon and found a darling Noah's Ark Christmas tree ornament...

Underneath the ornament we found a lovely hand knitted wash-cloth...

And just when I thought the fun was over, surprise! There lying at the bottom of the tin were two bars of hand-made goat milk soap...

What a lovely Christmas present. A lot of thought and love went into this one and is much appreciated here at the Van Cleve house!

A Day of Caroling

Yesterday we went out on our annual Christmas Caroling expedition. Our first stop was scheduled for 9:30 AM at the rest home on Garfield. We reluctantly pulled our weary bodies out of our warm beds nice and early and scrambled to get ready to go. We had to stop and pick up Sherry and kids and then head over to the Gallagher's. The kids grabbed an apple out the door and Felecia read us the Bible while I drove and then we prayed together. Before I left, I e-mailed a few people and asked them to pray for us. When we arrived at the first home they were all waiting for us. Some of the faces I recognized from last year, some were new. Brother Andy introduced us and then we sang and a few of them joined in. The kids did solos on the piano and harp.

I gave a testimony and invitation to Jesus Christ and then we sang our grand finale: I'll Never Miss Heaven for the World. All went well. The overseer of the place thanked us profusely saying how she remembers us from last year and how much she appreciates us. The kids passed out candy canes to everyone and the general feeling was good. Now it was off to stop number two- the rest home on FO where Sister B. stays.
When we arrived they were not as ready for us, but Sister Glenda played on the harp while some of the residence gathered in. We went through the same process except Sherry testified in the end this time.

I had thought we were scheduled for three homes but found out this was the last one. So we went to eat and then decided to go visit Zoya. After our visit with her we headed out to Mercy Folsom Hospital.

By this time I was so extremely tired and was beginning to grumble within myself. We had included the hospital last year when Sherry had requested it, but this wasn't what we normally did. So this year when they asked us to come back, I was not overly eager. But we had decided to go ahead and now as I headed down the overly trafficky roads into Folsom I felt irritated. I just wanted to go home. I was so tired I had a hard time keeping my eyes opened.

When we arrived Sherry led us to the floor where she works and there we began to knock on doors and ask people if they would like us to carol to them. The general response was very positive although a few declined. But I was unprepared for the responses we would receive in this very intimate deliverance of song. The patience looked amazed as we all squeezed into the rooms followed by a big beautiful harp. As Sister Glenda began playing it and our voices lifted, blended in harmony, praying inwardly for God's Holy Spirit to fill the room, hearts were moved. Most of the patience cried. One elderly man got on the phone and called his wife beaming "Honey I got a whole choir in my room right now. Would you like to hear them?". One lady that was visiting someone came and told us she remembered us from a rest home where she had seen us singing last year while visiting her aunt. Her aunt had since passed on. She asked where we were from. We told her the Church of God in Carmichael. Another elderly lady sobbed and kept asking for one more song. We ended hers with "Tell Me the Story of Jesus". She told us that we had brought warmth to her heart. I clasped her chilly hands and let her know our hearts were warmed too. A male patient was out walking with what appeared to be his wife and two little daughters and they stopped to listen and thanked us too. Brother Andy prayed over a few of the patience. It was sad and yet so joyful, so beautiful, so what Christmas, LIFE should be.
On my way home my heart glowed with warmth and love. But I was also chastened that I had ever inwardly complained about going. I told God I was sorry. It is such a blessing to work for Him. We were all exhausted when we got home but oh so blessed.
This morning while I was outside I looked around at the beauty around me, and was so filled with the love of God I could scarce hold back the tears. God is good. The earth is filled with the goodness of God. It is the goodness of God that leadeth thee to repentance. These thoughts flooded my mind. The fire in my heart for the love of God lept and crackled. What a beautiful God we serve!

Christmas Candy Bags

Well I finished 132 candy bags to pass out to the Bible Story Time children this evening.

It ended up being a 3 day project, but I will feel it all worth it if the bags bring happy smiles!

The tags took the longest. Joyce was over yesterday morning to help out and Felecia and I were up to midnight last night filling the bags. I finished up the tags and ties them on today. I started at 8:00 AM finished the last bag after 2:00 P.M.

I am frequently asked why I take so much time on the tags when most the kids will just rip them off and throw them away. I gave this a lot of thought and at last I know the "why".

Because I want the candy bags to smile at the children. I want them to give them a warm feeling if only for a few minutes. I want their memories of Gods church to always have a warm loving feeling with it.

It may be just a little thing, but it's my reason.

To make the tags I picked up boxed Christmas cards at the dollar tree. There were 15 cards per box. I then cut out the middle of the picture of the manger scene into a circle. I used a larger circle to cut out a frame out of card stock. I used craft scissors for a scalloped edge.

I glued the picture onto the card stock then I used glitter glue around the edge of the picture to make it sparkly. I hot glued a piece of gold rope to the back in a loop to hang from. I then tied these onto the bags.

We wrote "Merry Christmas, Bible Story Time, 2008" on the backs.

The bags have a fun assortment of candy in them.

And that's it!

BST IS THE PLACE TO BE!

Pumpkin Fudge Winner!

Announcing our Pumpkin Fudge Winner...
Officially selected from the trusty Random Integer Generator...
Entry #5 Sister Joycelyn. Congratulations! I will be making that fresh as soon as you let me know if you want it with or without walnuts. Joyce was our costume creator for our play and did a beautiful job. I will post a picture of the fudge when it is finished. Thanks to everyone one who showed their support and left me a comment on my blog!

Baking Stomboli

Monday night Sherry and her kids, Chris and my family all went out to get our Christmas trees. We had a lot of fun. Amber made everyone hot cocoa to take along and when we got back to Sherry's house we enjoyed hot apple pie from Apple Hill with ice cream. So now we are working on getting our tree decorated. It is our tradition to have Sausage Stromboli when we decorate the tree. This is the only time I make it and it is so good. The original recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine. I have modified it somewhat in that I use my dough from Three loaves of Bread which is part whole wheat flour. I also use a preservative free sausage. Try it! I have my own kneading technique. I beat the dough mixture adding one cup flour at a time until it is too thick to beat. Then I stir in as much more as possible before turnig out onto floured surface. Here I used freezer wrap paper to knead on. I dampened the table underneath to keep the paper from sliding around. After each fold I press the dough out flat using a rocking motion with my knuckle. I have better success getting to the smooth surface with this method. It cuts my kneading time at least in half.

Ahhhh... the grand finale! Want a piece? Here is the recipe *wink*

Recipe:

Dough from Three Loaves of Bread divided in half or 3 loaves of frozen Bridgeford bread

2 lbs of bulk sausage, cooked, drained and cooled

16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

2 eggs plus one more

1/2 tsp dried basil

2 Tbs Parmesan cheese

1. Mix together in large bowl, cooked sausage, 2 eggs, basil and cheese.
2. After first rising of bread dough, roll out into two rectangle shapes.
3. Spoon sausage mixture down one side of dough within one inch of edges.
4. Fold dough over filling and pinch edges to seal.
5. Cut four diagonal slits across top of Stromboli.
6. Beat remaining eggs and brush onto top of Stromboli.
7. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
8. Cover (I never cover mine) and let rise until doubled, about 45 min.
9. Bake at 375 for 20 min or until golden brown.
10. Slice; serve warm.

Yield: 2 loaves

***Don't forget to enter my first give away of 1 lb of my secret recipe for Pumpkin fudge:
Autumn Give-Away

Autumn Give-Away!

I love Autumn! It is my favorite time of year. Beautiful golden colors against blue skies. California sunsets are incredible. I see God, how wonderful he is in blessing us with such a feast for the eyes. The aroma's of spiced baked goods, the chilly nip in the air, the frosty mornings and cozy evening by a warm fire. I even love the rain. I love to hear the raindrops and wind and smell the fresh fragrant air, and feel the cool water splashing on my face. Everything about fall is beautiful.

So I am in baking mode. Busting at the seams with busyness. Its a wonder I have time to even post this. Some of the things I have already made are my homemade pumpkin pie~

pumpkin cookies with maple frosting~

I made tons of these luscious cookies. We passed them out to the kids at BST last week.

And a Cranberry, Pear and Walnut Torte with Cream Cheese-Orange Frosting~


This year I plan on making several varieties of fudge and giving plates of them as gifts. I have been working the last several years at perfecting different fudge recipes. I just made Coconut Creme fudge for the first time the other night and WOW! It is so YUMMY! I will also be making Butterscotch Fudge and Chocolate Mint Fudge, and my secret recipe Pumpkin Fudge. YES, it is a secret recipe as it took me awhile to develop it to the way I like it. So, since I cannot share the recipe with you, I have decided to do a random give-away for 1 lb. of Pumpkin Fudge. I will be using the Random Integer Generator to pick a winner. Simply leave a comment to this blog entry to be automatically entered into the contest. I will pick a winner Monday morning, December 15, 2008. No anonymous comments please! Have fun, and Happy Autumn!



-
Post Note: I will mail fudge anywhere in USA. Sorry, no out of the country entries will be accepted this time. Also, winner will be given the option of choosing to have their fudge with or without walnuts.
***to answer post #7, yes there is free shipping... for the winner that is :-)

Here is a sobering reminder that we have so much to be thankful for... and even more to be praying for!

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the 1 million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married, you are very rare,

even for the United States and Canada.
If you can read this message,

you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore,

you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

So remember as you are celebrating "THANKS GIVING"....

Enjoying that 20 lb turkey with all the trimmings...

Surrounded by your family and/or friends...

That you are among the few persons in this world to be so privileged.

Don't fail to truly give thanks from your heart.

Remember those that are less fortunate.

Take them before the throne of God and ask our dear Lord Jesus,

"please show me how I can use our blessings to help the lost and dying world. I am not my own. I am bought with a price; with the precious blood of Jesus. Lord, take my life and use it to carry on your work and purpose... the salvation of souls!"

"Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am, If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:" (Isaiah 58:6-10)

HAPPY THANKS GIVING!