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Welcome to the ValenDiner | Our Valentine’s Day Diner Theme Party

February 23, 2011 By Laura 6 Comments

For this past St. Valentine’s Day, I had the urge to throw a fun little party for our kids. The more I got thinking about the little details, (which I love to do), a theme party sort of started snowballing in my head (which is often the case, when I think), and I got beside myself with excitement (which happens quite easily with me.)

Simply put, my idea, was simply, a St. Valentine’s Day diner theme party.

We invited a family we are good friends with, who have just as many kids as we do! That was enough for me, because frankly….I had never (evah!) waitressed before. But I was about to!

A menu sign welcomed them, as soon as the ValenDiner was open, at 1:00 in the afternoon.

The menu offered all of the specialties any good diner would, as you can see. Milkshakes, in 3 flavors, and even deep fried french fries and onion rings!

( Soon, our home would smell like a real diner too. ; ) )
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Here are our special patrons!! A happy-go-lucky, handsome little crew, huh?? One of our crew, {D}, top center, was even so kind enough to take a shiner at his wrestling match that weekend. I could have taken care of that, with my photo editing skills, of course. But us parents decided it added a nice 50’s sort of touch to our party…..like one of “The Outsiders.” ; ) So, we just thanked him.
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Us moms (a.k.a – the waitresses), took the kid’s orders soon after ‘we opened’. We hung the order up, for the kitchen crew, over the breakfast bar window. (See them?) Me and my side-kick were just like ‘Alice and Flo’. (From that old sitcom, Alice. Remember? I’ll tell you a secret….I had a crush on Alice’s son, Tommy. Sshhhh.) I really got into my role,….more like Flo. (Because it would just be weird, to be Tommy’s mother.) I had fun blowing bubbles with my bubble gum, as I took orders, and asking, “Alright kids, what’ll it be.” <Pop!>

As many of you know by now, we take every opportunity we can, to let the kids learn. It’s personally important to us (4 parents), that our children understand the history and true meaning behind every holiday or saint day. (or anything else, educational, that we can squeeze into them.) So while the kids were waiting for their orders to be up, and being that our celebration on this day, revolved around the life of St. Valentine, they watched a very informative and wonderful (wonderful!) power-point presentation, put together by….well, Alice. ; ) I learned a thing or 2 more, I didn’t know, myself! (More on that later.)

They each got a printout, too.
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Here’s ‘Grill Boy”. (Mel?) He was cookin’ up those hot dogs and cheeseburgers.

We had some unexpected mechanical difficulties with the frialator, that really held things up a bit. But eventually, we got it working right.

The little wait, just made the kids extra-thankful for their food!! Honestly, it melted my heart, to see them join hands, and say grace together.

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A ‘cheers’, with milkshakes…..in vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry.
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Yum. It’s hard to find good diner food, these days.

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Us parents loved seeing the kids, all chowing down, giggling and chatting. There was a real ‘hum’ of a busy diner.

<Swoon.> I so wish, I had gotten the shot of this sweet boy’s expression, when he tried that dill pickle. I was a fraction of a second too late. But I think I’ll remember it in my head forever, because it was ‘that’ comical. There was actually a couple of hysterical moments with that pickle. What a blessing this boy is. (Well, that all are. But, you know.)

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The patrons lingered. And our tip they left us, was the echo of their generous giggles, in our hearts.
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All of our kids, made Valentine cards, for each other. (More on that later, too.) But our friend’s sweet girl {S}, above, got an extra-special, unique Valentine, made by our boy, {JM} (with a little wording help from his Mama. ; ). You need to know……{S} is a competitive Irish Step Dancer. So, her Valentine was a 4 leaf-clover, with a heart center. And it read:

* “I-RISH” you’d “Step” into my heart, and be my Valentine! *

Do you want to know the best part? (Of course you do. ) As I type this post this moment, that Valentine card, right now, is in IRELAND!! I’m not even kidding. {S} took it there with her, for ‘good luck’, as she competes against the best Irish Dancers in the world!!

All of the kids, totally loved exchanging Valentines with each other. They were all ‘keepers’.

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{Baby E} loved his Valentines, too! Holding him, is “Milkshake Man”…..a.k.a Daddy! He and
“Grill Boy” get along great.

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There’s my good friend, “Alice!”. I would have never survived the diner crowd on this day, without her. Actually…I may have not survived a few things in my life, with out her.
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The kids partied on, to the 50’s ‘jukebox’ playing.

(Pandora. Whatever.)

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We all partied, until we started poopin’ out!!

Honestly, it’s always a good time of memory-makin’, when our families get together.

And this St. Valentine’s Day celebration, was no exception.

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Before we all parted ways, we each had a Valentine fortune (paper-cookie) to read. They actually came with fortunes already. But because “Alice” and I have higher, perfectionistic standards, I pulled those lame ones out, and re-stuffed them, with our own alternative fortunes. The theme of course, was “LOVE”, and together, we combined our lists of messages about “love”, that we wanted our kids to be sent <wink-wink>, including some Biblical Scripture quotes.

It was a wonderful St. Valentine’s celebration, I think we ALL, always will remember.

If not, we have this post to remind us!

And if that fails us, there is that faint “deep-frying Diner” scent, I swear still lingers in the air.

*** We hope you “LOVED” this theme party post!! As an FYI…..we have more Valentine season ideas/photos from this year, that we hope to share with you next year, pre-Valentine’s Day, if I am still blogging away! Then perhaps you might like to use those ideas too, when you might need them. (I’m sure you all are all Valentine’d out, by now.) There will be some treats under the ‘Recipes’ tab, as well as some Valentine card ideas (complete with sayings) under ‘Crafts & Creations’ tab. And just maybe, I can manage to get that educational power-point presentation on St. Valentine, to share under ‘Homeschooling.’ That’s my plan, if I blog-on, anyway. Hey, a lot can happen in a year! Right?***

Meanwhile, leave us your thoughts, and then….let’s get on with Spring! (Lent, Easter….Alleluia!!)

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Our "Lucky Liker’s" Surprise Giveaway Gift

February 8, 2011 By Laura 3 Comments

Last week, I decided rather spontaneously, to have a surprise giveaway to the 100th ‘Liker’ of our Facebook Page for House Of Joyful Noise. The unsuspecting ‘Lucky Liker’, Tammy N., got a happy surprise, and I had so much fun doing it! I’ve decided that using our Facebook Page, when announcing having such giveaways, and sharing other random tidbits, photos, and inside-info, is the way to go!! SO…..if you haven’t ‘Liked’ our Facebook Page yet, you might want to do that riiiiiight now. Or else, you’ll be missing out. (It just means, you’ll see us in your Facebook feed, and you’ll be in the know, with things not necessarily here on the blog. It’s fun! Please join us. Buttons are in the sidebar. )

Here’s the sweet gift we sent out to Tammy, today!

Custom-designed thank you note-cards, by artist, Jessica Dittmer.

She’s a true artist, in many senses of the word. Painter, graphic artist, photographer, crafter…..it’s ridiculous, really. She has designed for the Demdaco Company, you know. You know…the company with the Willow Trees line? True story.

So I am always watching Jessica’s work, and fell in love with this watercolor snowman she created. I wanted to get some note cards with it, and so inquired with Jessica about it. It was just easier for both of us at the time, for me to just purchase the file. I was finally getting ready to order my note cards from the printer, (for MEEEE!! : ) when I had this giveaway idea. I thought maybe, I should share my set. Even though it’s a little hard! ; )

They were printed on watercolor stock, which is perfect for them. I know you can’t tell the texture in these photos. I didn’t try that hard. lol. But beautiful quality. They are just s w e e t.

Interestingly, I got several extras in my pack, from the printers. That happens sometimes. But, I think this time they got a little print happy, knowing Jessica is, you know… somewhat famous. In this creative world we all float around in, she is. (Maybe outside too, but I’m in my own little world here. lol) The printers certainly know who she is. So this name on the back is her mark, and it makes these custom designed cards extra special.

Of course….I wish the printer sent as many envelopes. (HELLO? <sigh> It’s o.k., I can get more.) But, I did spread the blessing with the extra cards. I gave our winner a dozen, instead of 10! ; ) (Notice I didn’t tell you how many extras I got. lol. But really….it was nice of me to give her more!)

I knew I would find more uses, for my dyed string. ; ) It matches soooo perfectly. I put it next to the cards and was like….“NO SIR!! GET OUT!!!” (And then, per usual, the whole family is calling from various places in the house…..“What?! What’s going on?” Just every day happenings around here. I get excited about the little things, a lot. )

I really had fun getting this little package together for Tammy. Don’t be jealous. There will be more giveaways coming up! It’ not the first giveaway we’ve had…. and it sure won’t be the last. But sure hope you’ve ‘Liked’ us on Facebook! ; )

I decided to use on of my own thank-you note cards, to thank Tammy for ‘Liking’ us. We like her too.
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Here’s her package, all ready for Michael to drop off at the post office, on his way to….somewhere. I forget. I was thinking….it sure would be nice, if the post office offered some nice designer packaging options. Don’t you think? Some a little pretty…..some a little festive for holiday shipping….you know. Like they have special edition stamps. Can I talk about the postal service like that? Am I going to get arrested now? Just saying. I hate making my packages all pretty, and then having to put them in these standard boring boxes. The should hire Jessica Dittmer, for a nice designer line of packaging.

Well, we hope the arrival of this little package at your door, puts a smile on your face, Tammy. Who will our next giveaway gift-receiver be? We’ll seeee!

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Banana-Fanna-Fo-Fanna…Fe-Fi-Fo-Fanna…Banana.(CHIPS!) | Recipe

February 2, 2011 By Laura 7 Comments

There’s nothing like a snack you can give your kids, and feel good about!
So today, we’re going to show you how to make a simple, healthy and natural snack – Banana Chips!

Like most recipes, there are always a few variations or different ways to go about preparing a food. Banana chips can either be fried, or baked. We try to opt for the healthy options first.

Making baked banana chips really couldn’t be any simpler.

Get this:

Participating Ingredients:

Bananas!

Need I say more? Maybe. Some may want to know exactly what to do with them. But I am willing to bet, this is going to go just about how you think it is.

The main thing you need to make banana chips, is a bunch of bananas.

But really, if you want a bunch of banana chips, you might want to go with two bunches of bananas. Because they shrink up to nothing, and you may find yourself asking in the end, “That’s all we got? Seriously?” Much like mushrooms, or onions…..you start out with a big pile, get cooking them, and wonder where it all went!

So, you’ll want to peel and slice the bananas to about 1/8″ thick. Now…above, is a little thicker than that. I went thinner after this one. (And after I already took the photo.)

But either way….if you cut them or like them a little thicker, you’ll just bake them a little longer, and I’ll get to that.

If it’s gardening season, and you garden, remember…..banana peels are a wonderful organic compost ingredient! They are a great source of potassium for the soil. That means excellent nutrients for your producing plants. When burying peels near your rose bushes, you’re bound to get bigger blooms too!

But right….we were talking about banana chips.

Preheat your oven to ~150 degrees for thinner slices, 200 degrees for thicker.

Then, you can lightly grease your pans, or spray oil on them.

Spread your banana slices on the cookie sheets, not touching.

Now, if it’s important to you that the banana slices maintain their color for the most part, and don’t turn too brown, you can spray them with lemon juice.

We didn’t care, and I was afraid I would taste the lemon juice. (Not a lemon fan.) So….we skipped that.

How long you bake them, depends on how thick you sliced them:

1/8″ : 2-3 hours, turning over every 30 minutes or so.

(The temp is so low, I used a spatula the first time, but used me fingers after that.)

When they are dried out and nice and a little golden brown, they are done.

Thicker than 1/8: Bake an hour, turn over and check if they are dehydrated yet. If not, put in a little longer.

Really……when they are chippy, they are done. You can’t do it wrong, People. (Unless they are still mushy, or burnt. ; ). After that, just leave them out to harden a little more. Then put them in a storage container to keep fresh.

Ours came out crunchy at first bite, and then a little fun and chewy.

They can be eaten alone, or added to a trail mix.

A couple of other Fun Banana Facts!:

1) Bananas make you HaPpY!! They contain the natural chemical found in prozac.

2) Bananas, eaten raw, do not make me happy. Well, they used to make my mouth happy. But then I found, they do not make my stomach happy. After several bouts of excruciating stomach pains, on different occasions, I had always asked myself what I had recently eaten. The common consumption? A banana. I’ve come to the conclusion that my stomach can digest anything under the sun, except raw bananas. Which is a bummer, because I love them. So I make myself feel better with, banana chips!….banana bread…..banana muffins…..banana pancakes…..banana-fanna-fo-fanna….you get the idea.

Banana chips (baked) are a healthy, organic snack for the kiddos too! So be sure to share!

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An Elegant Christmas – I Win Again!| A Custom Christmas Photo Shoot and Card Design | Photography

January 25, 2011 By Laura 8 Comments

Every working professional photographer is bound to have them. Those photo shoots that are just a little more challenging than others. I have to say, I’ve been pretty blessed, because more times than not, I walk away from the end of a shoot thinking, “Cake.” But I have had the occasional high school senior boy, who is ‘so not down’ with having his photos taken > but his mom is making him. They can be a challenge at first, but I have always been able to work that age. Shortly into those shoots, they realize hanging with me is not all that bad after all, (because I’m cool after all). They find they are relaxed, laughing, and actually having a good time. They forget they had planned to hold onto that difficult attitude, through it all. Or there is the baby who didn’t take their usual nap that day, decide they are hungry, and isn’t feeling happy, or co-operative. Like most babies, I go into it knowing they will need time, comforting, and patience. (I have had 4 of my own, and 3 of them at once. I’ve had a little practice there.)

So yes, it happens, where sometimes, I need to give a little more of myself, to make a successful shoot, out of a rough start. In the end, we’re all very happy with the results.

Now, every year, I have this one particular client who hires me to have a Christmas photo shoot of her 2 little girls. I design their family Christmas cards, which is important to her, and she also places a healthy print order. (Well anyway, I require my clients to have placed a minimum order, before they qualify for card designing.) I truly love this client, and I love her girls. I have posted about all of their previous shoots, in this section of the blog, before. After 4 years of working together, it seems we have established a firm procedure:

The little one (above), Little A, sucks the life right out of me for awhile, we finally get down to some quick and serious happy business, and in the end, it is one of my absolute favorite shoots of the year!! Every year. That’s just our annual routine, in a nutshell.
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The oldest girl (above), Big A, is a dream. She is unbelievably polite, sweet, charming, co-operative, and a-ma-zing-ly patient with her little sister. I also know she is also extremely smart, because I can see the wheels turning in her head, behind her eyes, when I talk to her. She is so well-spoken. She is beyond her years, I think. A little beauty, with manners I can really appreciate.
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Her little sister, on the other hand, (in the background) is a challenge and a 1/2. I love her too! Honestly, I do! But even at home, she rules the roost, so to speak. I also love working with the girls’ mother, because she makes no bones about our annual situation. She understands my position. I think every year, our little one becomes just a tad more difficult. Notice, she is not wearing any tights or shoes? She refused to keep them on, and it was cold out. Freezing. The mom allows me to use these struggles we have, with humor. (As you’ll see.) She also buys prints, of our most difficult moments, with her Little A, because she knows someday, they are going to be so treasured. Real memories to share!

The difficulty can go on, for who knows how long. But I never give up, because 1) I am committed to making my client happy, 2) I want that order, and 3) this particular shoot, is always a seriously beautiful ending. Hard to believe, but true, nonetheless. It’s like giving birth. No matter how difficult the labor, you forget the pain, once you hold that baby in your arms.

(Ok, I have to admit, I have never forgotten the pain of my own labors with my children. I can go back there in my mind, in an instant, still. Maybe, because I refuse pain meds when in labor, so my head is all there. But, I’ve heard many other mothers say the pain of labor is quickly forgotten. I can certainly agree that it is worth every bit of the pain, in the end. The same is true when doing this shoot every year.

Oh, it does tend to go from bad, to worse….

It was during this moment, as she screamed bloody murder, and I hadn’t gotten a happy shot of her yet, that my infamous words came out:

“Come, Lord Jesus.”

These are the words I say, when I need some savin’, because I am about to lose. my. mind.

For the first time in 4 years, I was concerned I was really not going to be able to work it out this time. That the whole shoot was going to be a complete bust. It had been 45 minutes of absolute refusal from my sweet girl here, and we were losing time and light, fast now.

But Jesus came, and saved me, just as I called. Something absolutely miraculously magical happened……

Our town of Plymouth has a power plant, and every rare now and then, the sirens go off over loud speakers, throughout the whole town. A really high pitched, constant, annoying sound, that suddenly sounded much like a famous reindeer we all know! ; ) Oh yes….I went there:

I let out a big <GASP>, and with that, said, “OH NO, Little A! Listen!! Rudolph is coming!! He is wicked upset that we can’t get these pretty photos of you, for your Christmas card! What are we going to do?”

If you could have only seen the look of surprise on her face, and the stammering of panic. She got herself together so quickly, wiped those tears, turned her whole attitude around, and gave me every bit of that star quality she’s got, with a smile, that I work so hard to get out, every year:

Of course by now, the sun was blasting on my spot. But I was going to take what I could get, and quickly, at this point!

We moved on to the next little spot…..

She was freezing, and a little tentative once again, but workable….

In between their beautiful smiles, was Little A’s leariness of her sister, behind her. She has a real serious aversion to her older sister. Hey, we all know they will be best friends some day, most likely. It’ll be a beautiful thing! But right now? Little A can actually feel the compression of air, on her shoulder blade, if her sister leaned in to close to her, and she would scream her pretty little head off!

So this is where, I show multiple similar shots!! My camera was going off like a BB gun, because I didn’t know how long this was going to last! And it was getting darker, rapidly. I was bumming a little, because I did have another spot or 2, that I wanted to shoot at with the girls, prior to this one. But I knew we had lost serious time, so I had to prioritize.

I got them smiling and giggling with my antics and non-sense talk. (Really…there isn’t much I won’t do, if I need to. I’m in full fool-mode, sometimes.)

But I can’t take all the credit. My oldest daughter {A}, who is often my very helpful assistant, was right behind me, and really got them laughing. As similar as these photos seem, I just love the progression of their expressions….

I am beyond happy at this point, and the mom is relieved!! You know what is so comforting? The mom always says every year, “If you can get ONE good one, I’ll be happy!” God bless her. I have SUCH higher expectations of myself. I mean…..I know I can do better than that!!

My heart is full of joy at this point, and I just know, these photos are going to be beautiful – because these girls are!! Look at them!!

Check out Little A’s tongue sticking out! She does that all of the time, when she is laughing, and I love it!

Here’s a question for you……..Have you had any idea where we might be doing this on-location Christmas shoot? Any guesses at all? Yes? No? Maybe?

Well here’s the answer:

Yes, the cemetery. I scouted high and low, for a new creative place to work with this family this year. If you’ve read the past posts with this family, I have full creative license, and I love that! So, I always want to keep it fresh and new every year. I admit, I was a little nervous to tell the mom on the phone: “I did find a great location I want to use. It is going to sound crazy but, you know….I see ahead of time in my head, how I am going to work it. I’d like to do your Christmas shoot…..in the …..cemetery.” <Mom laughs.> And then she says, ‘That does sound crazy! But I trust you! I trust you!! Every year, no matter what, it is all beautiful in the end. You always work a miracle, and that’s why I keep coming back to you!’

Boy was I relieved, because I had nothing else to suggest by then!

And now, is their resulting 5×7 folding Christmas card. Imagine…it was printed on heavyweight pearl paper, with a glossy finish. I SO wish, I could put one in your hand right now, because they were DIVINE! The color, the depth, and the shimmer of the print beneath that glossy coat. They just look flat here, compared to the real thing. But….still lovely….

THE FRONT OF THE CARD.
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OPENED: THE INSIDE SPREAD. (Their name blurred for privacy.)

And the back, I always have fun with…..

The mom LOVED the back!! As always. She said it was CLASSIC! That’s what I mean…..she is so great to work with. Her girls have grown on me from the very first shoot with them, and it has been beautiful to watch them grow. I know Little A will get easier in time. I’m willing to bet, that extra spunk and spirit, will take her great places in life. If all else fails, she always has those adorable dimples to fall back on! Her big sister has a bright future too. No doubts about it.

Until next year!!

(I’ll be sharing more sessions, soon, if you are enjoying these? But I’d like to share some of Michael’s lettering work too, first. )

* I hope you enjoyed a peek into this photo shoot!

(If you don’t want to miss what is coming up all over the blog, be sure you follow our page on Facebook! *See sidebar, to follow us!)

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How to Make Beautiful Winter Ice Decor for Your Yard

January 20, 2011 By Laura 10 Comments

In mid-December, I had decided that my yard was looking all too-blase’, for me. There was snow, so that was a plus. It just looks so bleak and dead, without snow at least. But it really needed more than just……white, everywhere. It bothered me more this year, because I had seen, what I was missing, before. You see, at the end of 2 Autumn seasons ago, Michael and I had cleaned out the garden beds, and thrown down winter rye seed. By the time the first snow had fallen that year, beautiful bright green rye was coming up out of the snow in all of the garden beds in the front yard. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it all winter. Three perfectly snow covered, raised rectangles, elevated out of the blanket of snow on the ground, with beautiful, spring-green grass poking up out of it, everywhere. It always looked, just beautiful.

But this past Autumn, we threw it down the winter rye seed a little too late. It was already too cold to germinate and grow. I was so mad at myself, for waiting too long. And I’ve suffered for it. I haven’t looked at our front yard, without grumbling under my breathe about it, once this winter. I miss the bright green rye. It’s looked so….lifeless out there, without it. Fresh fallen snow is always pretty. But the rye just added so more.

The week before Christmas, I was thinking about how I could add some pretty out there. So I decided to try and make some ice molded sculptures, adding pretty things to it. Then I could place them about the yard, on railings, in my empty garden beds, and on the walls out back outside our school windows, where the birds spend the day coming and going.

I started with some store bought bags of cranberries, and some oranges as well. The rest, I got from our yard. (Alright….some from the neighbor’s yard too. But, we manage the property, and I was pretty sure she wouldn’t care. Or ever know. lol). I found 2 kinds of berries on sticks. Holly berries, and……what are those dark ones?? I’m not really sure. If you know, maybe you can tell me.
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I also tried to gather a few different kind of pine branches and sticks, for variety.
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From the kitchen, I gathered containers in as many different shapes and sizes as I could find. I was especially excited about the triangle pizza slice ones! I also got some tuna cans that had been washed out, and put downstairs for the next garbage day.
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Then the fun started. We sliced up some oranges, started pulling pieces of pine off the big branches, and started arranging things just-so in the containers.

Who is WE, all of a sudden?

Me, and {O}. She is always right there, no matter what I am doing, asking to help. “Would I be able to help?” It’s her most used sentence, and it always has been. She’s so nice to have around. She makes my second cup of coffee every morning too. She peeks in my first cup about 50 times, just hoping it is time to get me more. Now the boys are trying to cut in on her morning gig, and she’s not having it.

Oh…I’m getting off topic I guess. So….

….she was really enjoying doing this project with me. She was cutting stuff with the big knife, arranging every piece with love, and feeling like such a big girl. Designing and crafts is her thing, anyway.

We had a lot of fun, trying to make each arrangement a little different than the others.
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As we finished each one, we put it out on the deck.

They looked so pretty, all together, against the wet deck that brought out the grain in the wood. I was more excited than ever, just imaging how beautiful they were going to be. But they weren’t done yet.
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We had to fill each container with water, being careful not to disturb our arrangement too much.

Is it me, or are my old and vein-y hands making it into a lot of blog posts lately?

Lovely!! All that was left for them now, was to freeze! So we left them right there, for them to do just that.

And we waited …. day, after day, after day.

Christmas came, and went, and they still sat there, unfrozen.

Yes, a little technical difficulty in my plan. One should check the weather report, before one decides to make a 100 frozen ice sculptured outside, huh? A little warm front moved in, out of the blue, after weeks of being frigid cold out there. Sometimes, they would start to freeze, and I would get all excited. This would be about 2:30 a.m., when I got up to put more wood on the fire, and I just had to run out there, and check if they were freezing yet, in my nighty.

But the next day, the temps would climb back up to 36 degrees or so again, and it was back to square one.

(Sigh.) The round tin pans were starting to rust!!

But then finally, they froze enough….

Taking them out of their containers, one by one, was like opening a gift, every time.

Each one a unique surprise.

I thought they were so beautiful.

Don’t you think so too?………

This one was still partially unfrozen, but I didn’t mind much. It was still pretty, so I laid them in the garden beds.
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Many of them filled my flower box.
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Others I just plunked in the snow, on the railings.
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I loved the pitcher ones. I put those in my garden beds too. The spring greens sticking up looked like it belonged there.

They brought comfort and a smile to my face, and relieved my longing for the sight of my winter rye.

When it’s warm enough again, and our ice creations melt away, the little critters around that we enjoy so much, will be delighted with the berries and oranges our ice left behind.

I hope you’ll try making some yourself, if your climate allows. (I do recommend checking the weather forecast – unless you just happen to live where it is always bitter cold this time of year.) It really is another great, easy, and fun activity to do with your kids. Or alone! Please send us a photo if you make some!!

I think we’ll make some more soon, too. It really is enjoyable to do. I’d like to experiment with some other natural ingredients. Maybe strawberries, raspberries, blueberries…..oh, pinecones!! Those would look nice. Do you have any other ideas? Let me know. I bet we could get quite creative with this.

Ice is so pretty as it is. I could get obsessed with this.

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“Come, Lord Jesus.”

But Jesus came, and saved me, just as I called. Something absolutely miraculously magical happened……

Here’s a question for you……..Have you had any idea where we might be doing this on-location Christmas shoot? Any guesses at all? Yes? No? Maybe?

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