Unique Christmas Cards - Dictionary

 New Unabridged* 2011 Dictionary

Fully Revised and Updated

Al-ba-ni-a (al bã nē ə), n. 1. a republic in S. Europe. 2. a country Jason, Erin, Maren, and Joshua visited in April to see Grandma and Grandpa before they completed their 3 year mission there in June.  3. a  place where good toilets are scarce.

Chris-to-pher (kris tə fər), n. a 4 year old boy in preschool who plays soccer, has an endearing smile, loves to cuddle, loves to watch TV shows, and is learning to read. see also: snuggle puppy. 

- v.  to scream with a loud voice in the middle of the night because your foot hurts.  (ie. I hope he doesn’t Christopher tonight so we can get some sleep

 - adj. loveable, cute, and huggable. (ie. That is the most christopher puppy I’ve ever seen!)

Er-in (prin ses), n. 1. an incredibly patient woman. 2. a woman who enjoys homeschooling her children, singing in the Lexington Chamber Chorale, and posting things on her blog (see chickenbabies.blogspot.com). 3. a thing which that woman must do to help the household run smoothly (think groceries, soccer practices, music lessons, etc. . . ) and which occupies much time (ie. she needs to go run some erins).

huh (hu), interj. 1. used as an exclamation of surprise, bewilderment, or disbelief. 2. What Erin said in November when they asked her to serve at church as the Relief Society President.

Ja-son (gūf bol), n. 1. a hard working husband and father. 2. one who spent most of the year serving the youth at church in the stake young men’s presidency, and is now teaching sunday school 3. a person who is almost done with subspecialty training at age 35 (if you don’t count the Masters of Public Health he is slowly working on as he finishes up his fellowship).

 - v. 1. to cheer enthusiastically for every UK basketball game. 2.  to hate any team named after a cardinal.

Josh-u-a (josh ū ə), n. 1. a 7 year old boy in 1st grade who plays many sports and loves them all.  2.  a self-proclaimed math wiz.  3. a boy who loves gymnastics and is constantly upside down.  

- v. to  play the piano several times a day without prompting because you just love it that much.  

Le-To-Mo (lə tō mō), n. an annual bike ride from Lexington to Morehead which first took place in November of 2011 and was biked by Jason, his father, and his brother.

Mar-en (mer ən), n. - 1. a 9 year old girl in 3rd grade who enjoys reading. 2. a girl who loves acting and music, sings in a children’s choir, and plays the piano and violin. 3. a girl who got braces on her top teeth this year 4. one who thinks she knows everything

- syn.  stubborn, intelligent, creative.

Na-than (nā thən), n.  a 2 year old boy who enjoys causing chaos, singing twinkle twinkle, watching the wiggles, and eating snacks. 

- adj. word used to describe any object that can be used as a guitar, such as blocks, spoons, toothbrushes, spatulas, and books. 

- v. to play on the iPad surreptitiously (ie. “Where is that boy?” “Oh, he’s just Nathaning again.” )

o-ver-joyed (ō vər joid), adj. 1. feeling great joy or delight 2. How we feel when we think of the birth of our Savior, the blessings God has given us, of family and friends, health and opportunities,  and especially the knowledge of the gospel and the atonement.  

We-wish-you-a-Mer-ry-Christ-mas (wē wish ū ə mer rē kris məs), phrase. 1. and a Happy New Year

*Actually, extremely abridged

One of my favorite Christmas Songs

Room in the Inn 

by Marvin K. Gardner and Vanja Y. Watkins 

arr. by Laurence Yorgason

Ah, Joseph, how you wearily implore

That someone will have pity on your plight,

And, with compassion, open wide the door,

For Jesus will be born this holy night.

Will no one offer shelter to the stranger?

Must Christ the King be cradled in a manger?

That night there was no room in the inn;

This night may there be room within -

Within my heart for him.

Ah, Mary, how you patiently endure!

While heav’n awaits the blessed baby’s birth,

You wait outside the inn alone, obscure,

And pray for some compassion here on earth!

You would have given shelter to the stranger. 

Why must your Son lie cradled in a manger?

That night there was no room in the inn;

This night may there be room within -

Within my heart for him.

Oh, Father, how thy sons and daughters cry -

The lonely ones, the weary, the oppressed.

Fill thou my heart with love, that I may try

To lift another’s burden, give him rest.

Oh, may I have compassion for the stranger,

Remembering that baby in a manger!

That night there was no room in the inn;

This night may there be room within - 

Within my heart for him.

I shared this song in church today with the ladies there.  It's such a beautiful message.  Then we passed out heart shaped bookmarks that I had bought from a wedding party favor store online, and asked the women to remember to make room in their hearts for all of God's children.  I love that phrase "Oh, may I have compassion for the stranger, Remembering that baby in a manger!" and often repeat it to myself when out and about during Christmas time.The song gets stuck in my head, but I like it there.  

Cute Gingerbread Cookies

These cute gingerbread cookies holding candy canes are perfect for holiday parties or a cookie exchange. 

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I love the smell of gingerbread.  They are my favorite Christmas cookie.  I can't help but eat a ton of the little guys. Sometimes I just open up the bag and sniff.  I know, weird, but there you go.

My mom used to make these when I was growing up, and I decided to try making some myself, just for fun.  The kids think they are really cool.

First I made my gingerbread dough (find the recipe at the bottom of the post) and chilled it.  Then I rolled and cut it with a 5 inch gingerbread man cookie cutter.  Try and find one that has longish arms, as it will make this whole thing easier.

Once it is cut, if the arm is still a little short to bend over the candy cane, just flatten it out a bit with your finger.  (I should totally be a hand model, huh?)

Now, I kind of improvised here, as I'm prone to do.  My mom uses a straw as a placeholder while baking, but I did not have any, so I cut some bamboo skewers and used 3 of them to make the space for the candy cane.  She says the straws will curl some on the ends if you use them.  Personally I was thinking that a dowel would be perfect for the job, but I didn't have one, so I made do.

I took three parts of a skewer, and pushed them down where I wanted the candy cane to be, leaving a bit of an indentation. Then I folded the arm over the skewers and pushed the end down a bit.  It's easy to pinch the dough back together if there are any breaks.

Then bake the cookies for 7-9 minutes or until brown around the edges. (I like to bake cookies on parchment paper and these AirBake cookie sheets).  When the cookies are done, remove them to a cooling rack and while still warm, gently pull out the sticks and slip in a candy cane.  Let cool and decorate.  Cute, huh?  Use these for a fun gift. They would also be great cookies for a Christmas party.

What's your favorite Christmas cookie? 

       

recipe: 

1/2 cup shortening

2 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 egg

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

beat until thoroughly combined. Chill for 3 hours. Shape and bake in 375 degree oven for 7-9 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. 

Favorite Christmas Books - Secular

In our family, we like to focus on the religious aspect of Christmas, with a bit of santa sprinkled on top.  If you want to read about how we handle the santa thing, click HERE to see last year's post about it.  We do have some secular books, by which I mean they are mostly about things like trees and santa and reindeer and presents and traditions and don't mention the birth of our savior.  Here are some of our favorites:

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
The kids really like reading this one.  Sometimes I find the rhythm of the rhymes a bit awkward, but it is a fun book about the journey of a christmas tree.










Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
This one isn't really about Christmas, except that there's a gingerbread boy in it, and those are usually made around Christmas.  Similar to the story of the gingerbread man, without the fox eating him in the end.






The Christmas Crocodile by Bonny Becker and illustrated by David Small
This book is really random, about a crocodile that gets sent as a present accidentally. However, the kids think it's funny, and I've always liked David Smalls' illustrations.  And it's fun to give the characters funny snooty voices.









Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia! by Peggy Parish
Who doesn't love Amelia Bedelia?  This is our type of humor.  Amelia Bedelia gets everything mixed up, from stuffing stockings to Christmas Carols.










Christmas Magic by Michael Garland
Honestly, not one of my favorites, but one of the kids favorites, and so we read it over and over again.  This was Maren's favorite when she was 3 or 4 and we probably read it 5 times a day.  I have it memorized.








The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers
This book is beautifully illustrated.  I really like Susan Jeffers books in general.  The story is based on the ballet and simply told.  It is a great book to introduce the story of the nutcracker to your children.











The Night before Christmas and Here Comes Santa Claus both illustrated by Bruce Whatley
I really like the illustrations in both of these books and they are a great addition to the collection.  And I like singing Here Comes Santa Claus.










Silver Packages - an Appalachian Christmas Story by Cynthia Rylant
Just a nice story about giving. And we live near Appalachia, so we like it for that reason too.








Peter Claus and the Naughty List - by Lawrence David
A good reminder to kids to be good!  Peter Claus takes the naughty list and visits the kids written there to help them do good things and get off of it in time for Christmas.