Christmas Eve and 1 Peter 4:!0

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

I have gotten into Pier 1's Tasting Party collection.  They are fabulous for serving appetizers and desserts and even drinks.  I love all of the options that are offered and their display options.  I started building my collection last year with these ceramic spoons that and some clear glass mini bowls.  This year for Christmas, Angie blessed me with three more sets.  Two more sets of spoons and a set of mini shot glasses with spoons.  Check out more options here.  This Christmas Eve, I used my tasting party dishes to host some of my family for dinner after church.  What a blessing it is to have gifts that I can use to serve others! 

 These ceramic spoons are sold individually.  Each one has a hole drilled in the handle.  I used it to take red and green beads with red jewelry wire to make little accents for each spoon.  They turned out quite cute if I do say so myself! 

 This was part of my counter on Christmas Eve.  The two sets of spoons toward the top of the picture are the ones Angie gave me for Christmas.  They were eventually filled with cottage cheese and topped with a peach.  The individual spoons had appetizers in them.  They were Phyllo shells that I filled with Philadelphia cooking cream - tomato and basil flavor and topped with a slice of a cherry tomato and a piece of green pepper. 

And these glorious desserts are single serving pies baked in half pint canning jars.  How fun is that?!  Got this idea off from Pinterest.com.  They were delicious.  Next time I display them I would probably add a ribbon around each individual jar, but give that I had 5 hours to clean the house and prep the food, I think it looks quite cute! 

Merry Christmas to you all.  I hope you have a blessed 2012.

This isn't my normal post, but because I am so excited about it, I just have to share!  I've been on Pinterest for a short while now and have been seeing a lot of the melted crayon art.  So, I'm watching Ty and Hanna over night tonight and we gave it a try with our own twist.  Here's Hanna's and hopefully Ty will do his in a bit.  I did a coat of Mod Podge when Hanna was done and it is still a little wet in this photo.  Also, not sure why the photo is sideways...I can't get it to turn the other way.  But it turned out cuter than I expected!

Merry Christmas and 2 Corinthians 9:15

Merry Christmas!  

As I write this, I am thinking of all of the different pieces that make up Christmas.  There are trees, Santa, presents, elves, family, parties, stockings, toys, bows, bells, mangers, wreaths, sleigh rides, and Jesus.  There are two that are the most important to me, Jesus and family.  What a savior we have in Jesus!  Remember Him and the real reason we celebrate Christmas this season.  And through all of the different parties we go to, the ones with family are the most important.  It's fun to look back on those moments when the kids eat nothing but sugar, grandpa is overly worried about the light on the roaster going off, mom is making sure everything gets done, a quiet hug is shared with dad, brother shows up to help unexpectedly, and cousins share in laughter.  Whatever those moments are in your family, cherish them. 

These centerpieces were for a family holiday celebration with my grandpa's side of the family.  There were seven original siblings and we were figuring that there were well over 100 people in four generations in attendance.  To have such a large family and so many of them in one place at the same time is a blessing. 

Purple Birthday Gift and James 1:17

This vase was given by my mom to one of her co-workers for her birthday.  The vase is a nice small vase about 6" tall, wrapped with sparkly black ribbon and a flower that I got from a craft show.  It is filled with a pre-made bouquet from Hobby Lobby.  The colors matched well and it was the perfect size so I thought I would give it a try.  I'm kind of bummed because this is the only picture I have and it doesn't do it justice.  It was super cute and the ribbon so sparkly!  

And now on a completely different note..James 1:17 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.  ~James 1:17

There are so many blessings in this world.  Recently God has sent me a little girl named Gabby.  When I read this verse, I think of her.  She is filled with joy and giggles, and she lights up our classroom every time she's there.   She works hard and never forgets to give us a hug at the end of the day...she even runs back from the car if she needs to.  Next week is Gabby's last day in our class for positive reasons.  We are so excited for her, but are going to miss her dearly.  And as hard as it is to say good-bye, I will always remember the joy she brings wherever she goes.  She is one of God's perfect gifts.  Next time you think of someone who is a blessing in your life, make sure to tell them.  So often things go unsaid.  Make the most of this holiday by spreading the joy that is brought to you by so many blessings!

Tonight I thank God for you.

Peace and Joy.

Andrea