Highlights from baby shower with church friends

The highlights:

...receiving a reciprocating saw...

...hanging out with some lovely ladies that I have gotten to know a little bit here...

...eating chocolate dipped hammer cookies...

...laughing so hard my cheeks and tummy hurt...

...getting the cutest little handmade beanie *with ears*...

Serious shout out to Mari for orchestrating such a fun night.
The invites she hand made involved babies in hard hats, how awesome is that.

She had a bunch of fun games that kept conversation lively, good food, and the space to put everyone.

I was so touched by how everyone seemed to go to great lengths to make it "me",

Talent and Tenacity...

So we have this friend.

She is blind.

But does she let that hold her back from anything she wants to do in life?

Absolutely not.

Would you just look at the baby blanket she knit for us...in 5 days.

I am amazed.  And thankful.

Christmas Traditions

As I was putting some sort of thought and effort into Christmas this year away from home, I was thinking about my favorite things that I associate with the season and I found that a lot of them are food related.

First off, the ultimate of these are my Mom's homemade cinnamon rolls Christmas morning.

I made them this year, and I'm pleased with how they turned out.

So pleased, apparently, that I couldn't tear myself away from eating them to take a picture and document them.

Oh well, I guess you'll have to take my word for it.

Another favorite that I associate with the season is my Grandma Topham's peanut brittle.

I overcooked the first batch, plus tried to melt a whole plastic spoon into the mix.

Needless to say it made its way to the trash.

But I assessed what I did wrong and went at it again. The second try turned out much better and just as yummy as I remember it.

Oh dear, the salivation has commenced.

Then I tried a few items that are not traditions, but had the potential...

These were oh so delicious and I do believe they have made the tradition cut.

They are oreo truffles and I will definitely be making more next year.

...this fudge, while pretty, did not make the cut.

Too bad, as it was a really easy recipe.  Oh well, you win some you lose some.

What are some of your traditions?