An Advent eBook for You & Your Family

Thanksgiving has come and gone and we were bombarded with many, many ads informing us of deals that we don't want to miss on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I was so dizzy from the whirlwind of this holiday season that I accidentally called Black Friday... Good Friday. Boy do I have my holiday's mixed up. Yeesh!

A Great Advent Tool for You and Your Kids

So Christmas is around the corner! Did I just say that..? I sure did. This coming from the person who just virtually scolded Target for airing a Christmas commercial last week on Twitter. (Hangs head in shame, well not really.)

Believe it or not there are 63 days left till Christmas! And I'm not sharing this information because I've just had an epiphany which has just sent me into a "Holiday Panic" rushing over to Kmart to put things on layaway.

Instead, I want this Christmas to be all about making memories that remind Karis (my 3year old) and us why we celebrate! Karis is still pretty young and is just discovering the concept of getting presents. And she thinks it's pretty awesome. So Christmas is bound to be a memory maker when it comes to the gift factor.

I think that's great and all but that's not all I want for her. I want Christmas to be a BIG DEAL, but not because of the gifts or even the food we like to eat. Instead I want Christmas to be a BIG DEAL because it celebrates when Christ our Savior came to earth to make a way for us to have an amazing relationship with the God of the Universe. Now THAT'S a BIG DEAL!

So this year I'm doing it again. Truth in the Tinsel! Last year I did the abridged version doing only a few of the activities. But this year I'm going to try to do them all. They are a perfect advent activity book for kids. For the mere fact that you can do your own version of the book and it still works!

It keeps little hands busy as they learn, relearn and think about the story of our Savior coming to us as a baby. In the end you will have homemade ornaments your kids can be proud of and that remind them of why we REALLY celebrate Christmas!

Now why am I getting ready so early? Well... Great question!

First, I need to plan. Being a New Life Kids ministry volunteer and pastors wife, means that once October 31st is over the calendar get's really busy really quickly. So I want to be sure to find good deals on craft supplies and get them all organized in time for the start of Advent (I'm so excited!). Second, I want to be sure that you (Yes You) have enough time to get the book and join me in celebrating the advent season.

Here's how you can get started: (1) Purchase and Download your copy of Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands (2) Decide how you will do your advent activities; either all of them or some of them (see the book for more info) (3) Buy the supplies you need and (4) Once you've begun, share pictures and stories of you, and your family making the the activities with and everyone around the country on the Truth in the Tinsel Facebook Page!

So Download your copy today for only $7.99! (It's an ebook, PDF) 

Click to download E-book (PDF)

And check out my Deck the Halls with Truth in the Tinsel Board on Pinterest for advent calendar ideas and more!

If you've already downloaded your copy and are planning on doing it again this year leave a comment below. Happy Tinseling!

Fun Fall Craft!

Here is a fun craft that Karis and I did today.

It was so easy and simple to make. All you need is a bit of paint (anykind will do), a paper towel roll, a piece of paper, glue and scissors. And you're ready!

I found this craft on Pinterest. For detailed directions click HERE.

 Cute! Oh, and so is the craft! :)

Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Chocolate Frosting

So today I decided to try something new! Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate buttercream frosting.

So I started with the dry ingredients...

Sugar, flour, baking powder, unsweetened cocoa, salt

And I put it all in a bowl and mixed the dry ingredients together.

I then added the wet ingredients...

Eggs, whole milk, vegetable oil, 1c of boiling water

The cups were all set to be filled... oh the anticipation!

The batter was mixed!

And poured...

And all set to go in the oven!

For the frosting:
I melted some semisweet chocolate morsels over a double boiler and whipped it with some unsalted butter to make the frosting and...

Viola! Ready to eat!

I wasn't super happy how it turned out. I got impatient and didn't add my wet ingredients at room temperature. :/ (I know... not good). But It was still chocolatey and yummy.

What new recipes have you tried lately? Anything I should try?

Pecan Pie Muffins

I ran into this recipe for Pecan Pie Muffins online last night. So I thought, "I like pecan pie + I like muffins= I like Pecan Pie Muffins!" So I made them.

I also thought this would be a good opportunity to play with light and the Av setting on my new camera. ;)  Eventually I'll make my way to full Manual! Can't wait!

So here are a couple of pics of my yummy muffins. I forgot to take pics of the process of mixing the various ingredients but you get the idea with the photos below.

In the oven and ready to bake.

New Hobby!

I did it! I took a dive and purchased my first Digital SLR camera! Do I know how to operate an SLR camera you ask? ... Um... well... No. But I plan on learning! I'll take a couple of classes, talk to a few folks who I know regularly use one and take great photos. I'm a fast learner I'll get it.... eventually.

Here is a pic of the camera I purchased:

It's a Canon EOS Rebel T1i (not sure what that really means).

So, I was dying to start a hobby and develop a new skill so I decided to try photography. It wasn't random... really.  I am a full-time mom and work part-time as the Director of New Life Kids Ministry at New Life Fellowship. Needless to say I have NO TIME for hobbies.  But all work and no play makes Rosie a very grouchy mama and wife. No bueno!