Hello...

Hello,

How have you been?

Did you enjoy Christmas?

I really hope so!

Our Christmas was delightful!!!

We spent time together as a family,

we played games, went to church,

watched some old movies,

ate some yummy food,

opened gifts, read,

napped,

played some more games...

I could go on and on.

God was so good to us during this time

and gave us plenty of

Christmas treasures to tuck away!

I am so blessed!!!

Sometimes, I just pinch myself

to see if I am dreaming!

Nope, not dreaming

Blessings are abundant

here at the cottage!

I am so thankful!

I took a little

unintended

but

delightful

blogging break!

Our internet went out for awhile

and while waiting

(not so patiently)

for it to be fixed

I discovered a few things.

First, I discovered that I was

becoming an internet/blog busy body.

and who wants to be

an internet/blog busy body?

Not me!

Second, I discovered that I spent

more time on this ole computer

than I really thought I did.

Third, I discovered that

hanging out with my family

and friends is simply

WONDERFUL!

So, with all these discoveries I have

decided to take another break.

At least until Jen goes back to school

and the cute engineer is back at work.

See ya then!

~Nancy~

Christmas Treasures...two

The next Christmas treasure

came as a birthday surprise!

A few years back Katie

(my first born)

had the opportunity to

study abroad in Israel

for a semester.

She came home bearing gifts,

but there was one gift she kept secret

until my birthday.

Now, there is a story here

that is just precious to me

and probably only me

but I am going to bore you all with it anyway. Ha!

You see, Katie LOVES to surprise people!

My birthday is in the fall and

we had just visited her at school

not to long before my birthday.

So, not for one minute did I think she

would even try to come home for my birthday.

Boy was I WRONG!

I woke up that morning

thinking the cute engineer was

going to take me out for breakfast.

(which he did)

Before, I could even put my feet on

the floor the bedroom door

flung open and in

came Katie sporting

the biggest ole smile on her face.

Yes, I began to cry

(cuz that is what this sentimental momma does when surprised)

Katie had come home sometime in the

middle of the night!

See, I told you she likes to surprise people.

She had yet another surprise for

this momma.

One she had kept a secret for months.

She gave me a box

and exclaimed that it was an early

Christmas gift

"that I would want to open early"

I opened the box and in it was the

most beautiful nativity set

I had ever seen!

She had brought it back from Israel.

I just love it!!!

Like I said before

this is not a treasure because it is a material treasure.

It's a treasure because my sweet girl

put so much thought and

effort into the

SURPRISE!

What are some of your Christmas treasures?

~Nancy~

Christmas Treasures

As I began to unpack the

Christmas boxes

I found myself pondering

many of the memories that are tied to

our Christmas treasures.

(Slowed me down for a while)

As I pondered, I found that many of these

memories filled my heart with

comfort, joy and even a giggle or two!

So, I thought I might show you a few

and tell you some of the stories behind

my Christmas treasures!

Twenty three years ago

the cute engineer received temporary orders

to New London CT.

We knew we would only be there three months

so, we did not move all of our things.

We rented a very cute little house

that was furnished with a bit of this

and a bit of that.

One day during the holiday season

the cute engineer came home with

four, three piece place settings of

Christmas dishes.

I was giddy.

Since then he has added to this collection

every Christmas.

One year he was on a trip to the UK

and hand carried this

beautiful covered veggie dish back.

I can still see his shy grin as he

gave the girls their gifts

and then pulled

out mine.

All three of us were delighted with each of our gifts

and thought

(still do) that he had hung the moon.

I do cherish these dishes not because

I have beautiful Christmas dishes

but because

they came from the heart

of a man who has walked beside me

for more than half my life.

More Christmas treasures to come

Have a lovely evening!

~Nancy~

Tonight Is The Night!

Tonight is the night!

I have been wanting to see

Wicked for a

REALLY

long time.

Last month for my birthday

the cute engineer bought tickets

and

tonight is the night.

YAY!!!

Enjoy your evening!

~Nancy~

Torn Between...

Tonight

I am torn between

putting the borders on this

stack-n-whack quilt top

or

should I finish getting the

Christmas dishes out

and put away?

What's a girl to do?

Have a great evening

~Nancy~

A Thankful Heart

It's the VERY early morning hours of

Thanksgiving

1:25 to be exact

and I am waiting up for

the cute engineer.

He went to deliver some special treats

to his 3rd shift guys.

Both of my sweet girls are tucked

in their beds here at the cottage

and my heart is about

to

BURST!!!

with thankfulness.

To say that this year was an

easy one would be a great big lie!

It has been the most heart wrenching year, EVER.

I don't think I have ever cried so many tears.

My heart has ached over the choices my brother has made,

A gradual loss of another family relationship

and the ever proud tears of watching

your kids grow up and take that

leap from your house to their own.

Tonight as I sat in my warm and cozy cottage

I was pondering this past year

and

my heart just began to fill up

with a peace

that could only have come from

my Heavenly Father.

I am so thankful for

this past year

and

all of it's ups and downs.

The LORD has been that strong tower.

He has hemmed me in.

He has been the light unto my feet

and the lamp unto my path.

Oh, how I love Him!

"But he said to me,

"My grace is sufficient for you,

for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Therefore I will boast all the more

gladly about my weaknesses, so

that Christ's power may

rest on me."

2 Corinthians 12:9

May Christ's power

rest on all of you!

That is my prayer for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

~Nancy~

The Great Search...

Thank you all for sharing

your chili recipes with me!

This search has been

so much fun!

and

tasty too!

We tried this one last week

and

it was AMAZING!!!

(while technically it isn't chili...it is WONDERFUL!)

Green Chile Chicken Stew

6 chicken thighs, skinned and boned

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 small potatoes, preferably red, peeled

1 cup green chile, chopped

1 14 ounce can chicken broth (I used homemade)

Cut chicken into 1-inch chunks.

Salt and pepper and shake them in flour.

Brown the chicken the the hot oil,

add the chopped onion and garlic

gently saute until the onion is slightly soft.

Add chopped potatoes, green chile, and chicken broth

Simmer about 20-25 minutes until the chicken

and potatoes are done.

More broth or water may need to be added.

Feel free to make it your own!

I did tweak this a bit...

I added more green chile

and another clove of garlic.

I hope you all will give this a try!

IT REALLY IS AMAZING

We are looking forward to trying

each and every one.

Thanks again for sharing.

Have a great day!

~Nancy~