Feathers in Our Nest

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Christmas in September (& a Gingerbread Play Dough Recipe)

September 6, 2012 by Aliesha

Over Labor Day, Grammy & Grandanny (Tad’s parents) hosted “Christmas” for the grand kids!  It was a fun opportunity for the kids to learn more about Jesus and to have a great time with their grandparents and with each other.

We dropped Vera off on Sunday afternoon.

We knew right away that she was going to have a blast!

I made some gingerbread play dough in case they needed another activity at some point.  It ended up being helpful, I think, since it rained and ruined a few of the outdoor activities that were planned.  (Recipe at the end of the post!)

I think everyone had fun because I saw lots of pictures on instagram throughout the day.

While Vera was at Grammy & Grandanny’s, Tad, Cordelia, and I stayed with Jed and Angela (Tad’s brother and sister-in-law).  We had an awesome time with them!

Tad cooked burgers for us Sunday night.

Cordelia started sitting up (kind of) on her own.

We went thrifting (I’ll share more about that later).

We went to pick up Vera and eat dinner with everyone on Monday evening.  They had fun showing us their crafts and telling us all about what they learned!

they even set up their Christmas tree
just a few of Vera’s crafts

 So glad Vera was able to be a part of “Christmas at Grammy & Grandanny’s” this year!

Gingerbread Play Dough (recipe originally found here)
    (just for playing; not for eating)

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 Tbsp. oil (I used olive, but you can use something cheaper)
1 cup water
1 tsp orange extract (optional, but recommended)

Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium-sized sauce pan. Add water, oil, and orange extract (batter will be thick). Stir and cook over low/medium heat until mixture becomes “play dough” consistency. Remove from heat and knead on a silpat mat or parchment paper until smooth. (I love this part, so I kneaded mine for a while! It’s just so fun!) Cool and store in an airtight container.  Makes around 2 cups of play dough.

Filed Under: Christmas, Cordelia, crafts, family, holidays, Tad, travels, Vera

Updates

August 6, 2012 by Aliesha

I’m back!


On the one hand, I am sorry it has been so long since I’ve posted.  On the other hand, I have no regrets for how I’ve been spending my time lately.  I believe in the glass balls principle and I know that my family and friends are glass balls and my blog is a rubber ball!  After a week of not posting on my blog, it will “bounce back.”

So here’s what we’ve been busy doing… (all pics are taken with my phone… sorry)

We visited Tad’s parents for a couple of days after they returned from China visiting Tad’s brother Nate.  We took a little white kitten to them as a surprise!  They named her Chopsticks. 

On the way to Richmond, our van overheated 4 times, but we ended up making it okay!  We’ve certainly had our fair share of car trouble, believe me!

My mom met me in Richmond and took me back to their house to spend a few days with my family.  (Tad had to go back home to NC.)  We had a great time there eating yummy food, playing, doing craft projects, shopping, and talking.  One of my favorite memories while we were there was of Cordelia having a laughing fit while watching Vera spin around in circles.  (I have a video I’ll try to post soon.)

 
 
 
Vera’s car seat after the 5-hour+ trip home

Mom brought me back to NC on Wednesday and stayed until Thursday morning.  Tad has started working part time at a local Italian restaurant, so we’ve been adjusting to that new schedule.

On Friday, our friends Pete and Jessica from Richmond and their two children (ages 5 and 2.5) came down for a visit!  It was so wonderful having them stay with us.  Our kids get along great and we loved all the fellowship with Pete and Jess!

angelic little faces

hanging her upside down was the only way we could get Vera in the picture…
Leah was such a good “big sister” to Cordelia!
Adam loved loving-on Cordelia too!

We celebrated Pete’s 30th birthday on Saturday with homemade pizza, lemon cake, and freshly churned peach ice cream!

This week at church we are doing VBS (in the evenings).  VBS as well as Tad’s new part-time job will make for a full week!  I’m hoping to go to VBS most evenings, but since it will have us out 2 hours past Vera’s bedtime, we may have to miss a night or two. 

I think that brings us up to speed!  So… how have you been?

Filed Under: Cordelia, everyday, family, friends, Tad, travels, Vera

VBS Mission Trip Highlights

July 4, 2012 by Aliesha

Last week we took our youth on a mission trip to Richmond, VA to help run a VBS for Tad’s home church.  We are still “recovering” from the week (catching up on sleep and laundry!), but here are some pictures of the highlights!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We had an awesome week and we are so thankful for how hard our youth worked!

Filed Under: babywearing, Cordelia, ministry, Tad, travels, Vera

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