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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Grace Upon Grace

I stumbled across one of those neat words that's written with photos a couple weeks ago ... like the ones from Sticks and Stones. Underneath the photos was John 1:16 "From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another." Another translation of the Bible says "For of His fullness we have all received grace upon grace." It really struck me at this season, we truly have received so many blessings ~ so undeserved ~ because of God's love for us.

This Christmas as we spent time with Jeremy's family, I am reminded of these blessings. Blessing upon blessing!


After a month behind closed doors, the unveiling Kelsey's New Room... Cathy did a fantastic job! It looks like it could be in a magazine!








More than the room, I think she liked the unicorn pillow pet. I made scrapped recipe books of family recipes for all the girls..


My precious niece who is so beautiful and so much fun...



We had fun opening presents and just being silly.



Cathy prepared the most beautiful table and yummy Christmas dinner (the boys fried the turkey).


And to finish it off, we got 7" of snow !!



Thank you, Lord, for another wonderful year to celebrate your birth!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Sew Excited for Christmas!

I'm getting sew excited for Christmas! (yes, pun intended...Jeremy would say it's a Mr. Bromley joke...my dad is the king of puns) With two decent snowfalls, Christmas cookies baked, classic carols on the radio, and feelings that our next car should be 4-wheel drive, I'm in the Christmas spirit! And with Christmas right around the corner, it's time to finish up some of the gifts - and this year, I'm going homemade.

Back in high school, I tried sewing a pair of pajama pants. Not that hard, right? A couple straight seams and you're good to go. Not for me!! A couple serious blunders and I turned it over to my aunts for them to finish, accepting the fact it just wasn't happening for me.

Thanks to my friend Sarah, I gave it another try... mostly motivated by the fact that the selection of curtains out there is seriously slim. I've even learned a little bit of "sew-speak" along the way. So this year, some of you on my Christmas list will be receiving the fruits of my labor (TBD whether that's good for you or not). Please be forgiving and don't look too closely :-).

~Hilary






Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Joe + Stacie : Bridal Shower

I love parties ... actually, I love planning parties. I get that from my mom. She does an amazing job! She and my grandma put on this amazing shower for my cousin Joe and his beautiful bride-to-be, Stacie, over Thanksgiving. Everything was perfect, from the cake (Cakes by K Renee) to the venue (Cascades Manor House Fireside Room) to the favors (Braun Family Christmas Cookies). By the way, the cookies are fantastic, so I included the recipe below - I think it's the nutmeg that makes the difference. YUM!

So anyway, way to go Mom and congratulations Joe & Stacie!! I'm so thankful to have you both as family!!










Sour Cream Sugar Cookie (Braun Family Favorite)

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg slightly beaten
1/4 c. sour cream
3 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Cream butter & sugar. Add egg & sour cream & mix well. Sift together dry ingredients. Stir into mixture. Kneed thoroughly. Chill 1 hour. Roll out 1/4" thick. Cut desired shapes, and backe at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Frosting:
3 c. confectioner's sugar
1/3 c. softened butter
3 T. cream
1-1/2 tsp vanilla

Blend together first 2 ingredients. Then stir in cream and vanilla.

Enjoy!!