grandma's cookie jar: December 2023

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Giant, Frozen Marbles!

Winter is here - whether there is snow on the ground, or not (here in Michigan, while typically there is snow on the ground at this time of year, this year there is not), it is still a great time to find fun things to do with the children we love. I do love Pinterest for the fun ideas I find on it. I thought I'd share with you one fun thing you might try. Granted, if you live where it is at least cold outside (again, in Michigan typically it is cold outside, but today will be in the 40's - not really all that cold) it will be easier to pull this off, but even if it is not cold and/or snowy outside where you live, this is still a fun activity you could try and one the children you love will never forget!

crafting with grandma - Life-Sized Drawings!

Quite a number of years ago when my sweet grandsons were younger and were at my house, we took large sheets of paper and had them lay on the paper, on the floor while I traced around them. They then got to work turning the drawing of him into, amazing things - such as themselves as Super Robots!!!!

Today is National Bacon Day!

If ever there was a special day to celebrate, today is the day as it is National Bacon Day! At my house, bacon is enjoyed from time to time . . . so celebrating National Bacon Day is something we will certainly want to do. Let's start our celebrating by looking at some very interesting, funny, and surprising bacon facts - did you know . . .

Making a Book with the Boys!

We all know how essential it is for the ones we love to become people who read. When my grandsons were young we spent many evenings reading books and also making up our own special stories, so one day when they were at my house for a sleep-over I had a special project in mind for them. My grandsons loved making up stories with me. From time to time they even turned one of their stories into a book for me; in fact, one of my favorite birthday presents ever was the book my oldest grandson made me titled - Super Josiah Saves Grandma from all the Robot Spiders in History!

So on this particular day we worked on a new story - The Jiggly Oreo Monster! My grandsons made up the story and illustrated it. The story involves a dragon which spits poison and a castle which is guarded by little Oreos and poison lightning! In the end, the hungry dragon eats the Oreo monster king and the Oreo guards! It is definitely a story written by boys!

Blankets, Love, & Prayers!

For Christmas 2013 I crocheted blankets for my grandsons, Josiah and Caleb. (I had just crocheted a blanket for baby Shane when he was born.) I knew it would take a fair amount of time to make both blankets, since I wanted them to be fairly large, but while I was pretty sure a five year old and a two year old would not be all that excited about opening blankets for Christmas, I still wanted them to have the blankets, so I made them.

New Year's Day is almost here, so I thought it would be fun to look on-line and see if I could find any interesting, surprising, and fun New Year's facts to share with you . . . look what I found . . .

Make the Most of Being a Grandparent with The DNA of Grandparents & Parents Who Hand Down Confident Faith

If you are looking for a book to help a parent or grandparent you love make the most of handing down confident faith, consider this book - The DNA of Grandparents & Parents Who Hand Down Confident Faith.

It has been a busy week for me . . . cooking a special meal to celebrate Christmas, celebrating Christmas with my family, and time spent with the ones I love! Busy for sure, but wonderful in every way!

So, today I thought I'd take a look on-line and see if December 28th was a "special" day . . . and I'm happy to say, it is! Today is, "National Chocolate Candy Day"! Now this is a day to celebrate for sure!

grandma's favorite posts from 2014 . . . Caleb the Destroyer!

Today I thought it would be fun to share with you a post from 2014 when my middle grandson was two years old - "Caleb the Destroyer"!

44 Ways to Praise a Child

In the NIV Mom's Devotional Bible, I saw "101 Ways to Praise a Child", so . . . since any day seems like a great opportunity to encourage a child, I thought I'd share some of my personal favorite ways to praise a child with you today!

Make the Most of Being a Grandparent with the Praying Deeper Books

As we continue to look at resources which are available for grandparents to use to help them pass on a heritage of confident faith to the children they love, I am delighted to share with you three books which will guide grandparents - and parents, too - in praying every day for the children they love! In the interests of transparency, I wrote these books.

Yes, today is, "Make Paper Snowflakes Day"! Where I live in Michigan we have no real snowflakes outside, but since today is, "Make Paper Snowflakes Day", I thought I'd share a couple fun and surprising facts about snow, a real photo of a real snowflake, and some ideas for making some of your own paper snowflakes!

As 2023 comes to an end and 2024 begins, if you are looking for a few fun craft ideas which you can enjoy with the children you love, take a look at these ideas I found on Pinterest . . .

My Christmas Carols - Happy Day After Christmas! - Matthew West

I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas with your families. As you go through today remember; "Even when Christmas is over the Light of the World is still here!" This song is beautiful and you will find it at this link.

Make the Most of Being a Grandparent - Extreme Grandparenting

Yesterday I talked about a book you could read to help you with handing down a heritage of confident faith to your grandchildren. Today I'm very happy to share with you another book . . . Extreme Grandparenting by Dr. Tim & Darcy Kimmel.

Today is National Candy Cane Day - according to Daysoftheyear dot com, "According to German folklore, the first candy canes were made in the 17th century when a choirmaster in Cologne, Germany, needed to find a way to keep the children quiet during the exceptionally long Christmas Eve Mass.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I celebrated last night with my family, so whether you did the same or are celebrating today, I want to say - Merry Christmas!

I've been writing for several years about how important it is for us, as grandparents to hand down a heritage of confident faith. One way I do this is to let you know about resources to help you as you do this. This week I'll be sharing resources with you which you could read and use to hand down confident faith to your grandchildren!

The first resource I'm sharing with you is one I wrote . . . a book; Don't Worry: It Is Impossible to Spoil Grandchildren In this book, along with sharing some of my "cute-grandson stories", I talk about important things for grandparents to think about and keep in mind as they focus on handing down a heritage of confident faith to their grandchildren. I talk about -

I first heard this song a number of years ago - Mark Lawry wrote and sang it. I love - Mary Did You Know - and I LOVE how Pentatonix sings it - enjoy at this link. It seems like a wonderful song to include today in my Christmas Carols - enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Here are the lyrics if you want to sing along . . .

On grandma's cookie jar you are able to find ideas for Christmas: including crafts, recipes, gifts, and reviews. It doesn't take more than a quick look at grandma's cookie jar to know I LOVE Christmas and look forward all year to celebrating it with my family! But, along with the "fun" of Christmas; crafts, cooking, celebrating - I also want to take a moment to point to the, "reason for the season" . . . Jesus.

My Christmas Carol for Today - Silent Night - by Acappella & in Sign Language

Today is Christmas Eve, so for my Christmas Carol for today I had to choose Silent Night. Yes, I did share Casting Crown's presentation of Silent Night a few weeks ago, but today I'm sharing Acappella's presentation AND a link for this song in sign language. In High School I had a deaf friend, so I learned some sign language - it is such a beautiful way to "sing" and Silent Night is one of the most beautiful songs to sing with sign language.

grandma's chuckles - Out of the Mouths of Babes . . .

Don't you just love it when your sweet grandchildren say something profound? Something which gets your attention and makes you wonder how they ever came up with what they said? Something which you, of course, had to share on facebook?!!! Something which makes you laugh each time you think about it?

grandma's cookbook - Homemade Mini Pizza!

When you think about cooking with children, choose recipes they can have a real part in helping to prepare . . . one great recipe is homemade unique mini-pizzas! The recipe is pretty straightforward, but it is one your grandchildren can literally "get their hands into" and really help prepare a meal for the family to enjoy!

All you have to do is mix the dough and then let them shape their own pizza into whatever shape they want. They will be able to add the toppings they want and then, when it is baked, they will be able to enjoy the pizzas they made! This is delicious so be sure to have a camera handy!

You will find the recipe and directions below so you can have fun with your grandchildren making mini pizzas! Enjoy!

We have almost arrived at Christmas - it is just two days away and this song "fits" with how I feel - It's the Greatest Time of Year - and I am looking forward to celebrating it with my family on Christmas Eve!

This video shows clips from the third Santa Clause movie, making it fun to watch as well! Enjoy it at this link!

And, if you want to sing along, here are the lyrics -

My Christmas Carol for Today - Everybody Loves Christmas

It is very easy to notice on grandma's cookie jar, I love Christmas! I love everything about it - the reason we celebrate and the wonderful opportunity it gives us to spend time with our families! So, this song, Everybody Loves Christmas, had to be part of my "Christmas Carols" - you will find it at this link - enjoy!

These are the lyrics if you would like to sing along . . .

Christmas is just three days away. If you are still looking for a great gift for someone on your gift list, I have the perfect idea! Last year my husband and I decided to "treat" ourselves with a membership to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, MI. We got the Grandparents & a Guest membership - we are able to visit, bring our grandchildren and guest with us as many times as we want for a year. Let me assure you we more than got our money's worth out of this membership!

I've been going back and enjoying some of the funny things my grandsons have said over the years . . . my memory is terrible, so I decided when my first grandson was born, to be sure to write down the cute and funny things he said so I would be able to remember and enjoy them! I highly recommend doing this with your grandchildren . . . it is so much fun to go back and remember these special times!

At any rate, I am sharing a couple of the funny and cute things he said when he was three and oh, so cute!!! (Twelve years ago)

My Christmas Carol for Today - All I Want for Christmas - by the Piano Guys

Okay, once again, yes, I know for a song to be a "Christmas Carol" there should be some singing, but once again, the Piano Guys put together "All I Want for Christmas" with fantastic music (there is a cello so it has to be fantastic), and combined it with Lego animation of a number of favorite Christmas movies/shows in a "nutshell" presentation - watch it at this link and you will see what I mean and why I had to include this in my Christmas Carols!

Enjoy!

Today is National Maine Day, so of course it seems like the perfect day to look at some of their silly laws and enjoy wondering why they ever felt a need to make such laws. These laws left my grandsons wondering how and why they ever became law and there was some laughing around our table as we talked about them, so get ready to laugh . . .

My Christmas Carol for Today - Christmas is All In the Heart - by Stephen Curtis Chapman

Today my Christmas Carol is a song you may not be familiar with, but it is wonderful! Stephen Curtis Chapman sings, "Christmas is All In the Heart" and you will find it at this link.

The lyrics are here if you want to sing along -

grandma's chuckles - Eight-Year-Olds' View of Grandparents

A few years ago I saw a post about how eight-year olds describe grandparents. I do not know where it originally came from, but today I thought I'd share just a few of the quotes with you - get ready to laugh!

grandma's chuckles - It Would Be Wonderful to Have Four Cookie Jars Filled with Cookies!

Yesterday was Bake Cookies Day and reminded me of a busy cookie-baking day at this grandma's house a few years ago. On this particular day before my grandsons arrived, I made Peanut-butter, chocolate chip, oatmeal cookies and put them in my photo cookie jar. When the boys arrived we made Snicker-doodle-Sprinkles cookies and my youngest grandson thought they should go in my penguin cookie jar.

Yes, I agree a "Christmas Carol" should have people singing, but I truly love and absolutely enjoyed the Piano Guys presentation of "Let it Snow/Winter Wonderland" and had to share it with you! Not only will you be able to listen to their beautiful rendition of these songs, but you will also be able to watch a fun light show as well! Check it out at this link!

My Christmas Carol for Today - The Little Drummer Boy - by Pentatonix

Another favorite Christmas Carol is the Little Drummer Boy - and Pentatonix sings it at this link. I thought you might enjoy some history about this well-known song. "Before it became world famous as the 'Little Drummer Boy,' the song was originally titled 'Carol of the Drums' because of the repeating line 'pa rum pum pum pum,' which imitates the sound of a drum.

Today, according to daysoftheyear dot com is, Bake Cookies Day, so if ever there was a day to gather your eggs, butter, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda, chocolate chips, peanut butter, oats - or whatever your favorite cookie ingredients may be, so you are able to bake cookies, well, certainly today is the day!

Of course, it is fun to look at cookie trivia on this day, so, did you know -

My Christmas Carol for Today - Silent Night - by Carrie Underwood

When we think of Christmas Carols there are songs we immediately think about - for me, Silent Night is one such song. While many people have sung this song over the years, Carrie Underwood's presentation is beautiful and you will find it at this link.

I thought it would be interesting to share a couple fun facts about this song with you - did you know . . .

With Christmas just around the corner, I have been in the mood for meals which are warm, comforting, and full of healthy ingredients! So, I have been working on preparing meals which are healthy and home-made; not from a box or can and using fresh ingredients. Now, when you think of Tater Tot Casserole, you may not think of healthy or fresh since it tends to be smothered in canned mushroom soup - but not my tater tot casserole! Today I's sharing my recipe with you.

My Christmas Carol for Today - Breath of Heaven - by Amy Grant

When we think about Christmas Carols some of us think of the old Christmas songs we sang in church, like Joy to the World and Silent Night. Others think of more contemporary songs like It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas or Frosty the Snowman. Today my Christmas Carol is a newer song, a beautiful song, sung by Amy Grant - Breath of Heaven - you will find it at this link.

If you would like to know the story behind the song, you will find it at this link. And, if you would like to sing along, here are the lyrics.

I find almonds to be very tasty, but when you cover them in chocolate - especially dark chocolate, they become absolutely delightful! So, I'm all for National Chocolate Covered Anything Day!

What do you enjoy covered in chocolate? My family particularly enjoys Chocolate covered pretzels, and Nationaltoday dot com says; "This is the day you’ve been waiting for. All those times when you wondered, 'What would this taste like dipped in chocolate?' can now officially be answered."

My Christmas Carol for Today - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas sung by Michael Buble'

When I was a child we almost always had snow at Christmas, but this year, it does not look like there will be snow as it is a "balmy" 48 today and expected to be in the upper 30's and 40's through the end of the month. But, Christmas is about far more than snow. It is about time with the ones we love, so yes, it is beginning to look like Christmas - I have my tree up, our house has lights twinkling, and family are near, so today my Christmas Carol is, It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas sung by Michael Buble' and you are able to enjoy it at this link.

Yes, today is National Cupcake Day! Nationaltoday dot com says this is the day, "to commemorate these compact yet delectable sweets." So, let's begin our celebrating with some cupcake fun facts - did you know . . .

The 4N1 - Unique, Innovative, Award-winning and the Perfect Mobility Chair/Rollator for You or Someone You Love!

A couple days ago I was out and about with my 4N1. When I got to the store and was riding it through the parking lot, a woman in the space next to my car said; "Wow! What is that? Where did you get it?" I told her it was the 4N1 and was online at Miracle Mobility and shared with her how it is four items in one - a rollator, electric chair, a chair which someone is able to push you in, and a chair which someone else is able to drive for you - the lady was impressed and said she had never seen anything like it before and had to get one!

Three-Eyed, Big Nosed, Spotted Alien Hats

When my grandsons were younger, each year I crocheted a hat for them for one of their gifts at Christmas. We live in a snowy state - typically - and winters are cold here; I wanted their little heads to be warm. Plus, if you have to wear a hat, I figure it might as well be fun . . . and a little silly and crazy is fine, too!

Generations Quest - A Gift with Lasting Impact

With Christmas just eleven days away, we have been busy selecting gifts for the ones we love - and if you are like me, looking for the best buys. If you are looking for something which you could give to your family to help them all grow in their walk with God, consider Generations Quest! For just $10 you will receive an entire year of Bible readings, questions to get your family talking, and activities to help you all understand the Bible and grow in your walk with God. Talk about a great buy!

There are just eleven more days until Christmas, so today I am happy to share another of my "Christmas Carols" with you. This wonderful song is from Pentatonix - That's Christmas to Me at this link.

This song is all about Christmas memories - my memories of Christmas as a child center around time with family in our lake house where we always spent Christmas and lots of snow - because I grew up in Michigan. My memories as a mom revolve around time with my husband and children and now as a grandma it is all about time with family - and gifts as I LOVE giving gifts! What are your Christmas memories?

I have not heard this song before, so if you are like me and might like to sing along, here are the lyrics . . .

Get ready to laugh! As I looked up some silly, but real laws in Arizona, I realized once again we were likely to get a good laugh from these laws and have something funny to share with our grandchildren . . . to spread the laughing! After all, laughing is good for our health!

Did you know in Arizona . . .

crafting with grandma - Glowing Snowmen!

If you are planning to have your grandchildren to your home for a Christmas party or other special time this year, consider surprising and delighting them with Glowing Snowmen I found on a blog called - "Stuff by Ash" - in your yard to greet them!

My Christmas Carol for Today - Ed Sheeran and Elton John Sing "Merry Christmas"

I did not know Ed Sheeran and Elton John combined their most considerable talents for a Christmas Song, but they did - you will find Merry Christmas at this link.

If you would like to sing along, I put the lyrics here for you - enjoy . . .

Today is National Cocoa Day so I thought I'd share some fun cocoa facts with you. Did you know . . .

Long before people nibbled on bars and brownies, chocolate was consumed in liquid form. Historians credit the Olmec civilization of southern Mexico as being the first to roast the fruit from the cacao tree, then grind it down and mix it with water and other ingredients. Archaeologists have discovered Olmec pottery with trace amounts of chocolate dating back to around 1700 BCE.

crafting with grandma . . . One Purple Minion Completed . . . Two More to Go!

Ten years ago for Easter, I made my grandsons crocheted Perry the Platypus . . . I hid them in my house so they could go find them! It was lots of fun! The boys' Perrys were been well-loved, which was wonderful, since they were made with love! (You'll find the link to the pattern at this link.)

The following year, I made purple minions for my grandsons! You'll find the basic pattern I used at this link - I obviously made the minion purple instead of yellow and added a big mouth with lots of teeth, an eyelid to the one eye, dark grey overalls, longer arms and lots of crazy hair!

Sunday, December 31, 2023

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