It's the most wonderful time of the year . . . . .

This is the most wonderful time of the year and also it is the busiest time of the year. I thought I would have so much more time since I am not working but I was wrong. I am so busy every day that before I know it the day is over.

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On Thanksgiving evening Andy and Ben came to spend the night. We had lots of fun and stayed up late. Friday morning their Mommy came over and we all went to their favorite donut shop for breakfast. Then we all went to Hobby Lobby. Andy and Ben went home with their Mommy for a while so they could go to lunch with their Daddy. Later that afternoon they came back over to spend Friday night at Nana's house.

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Saturday I took them to McDonald's for lunch. Ben had been asking me if I would take them to my neighborhood playground so they could play for a while so of course I did. They had lots and lots of fun!

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Another project I have been working on is recovering my kitchen chairs. When I bought this furniture 6 years ago (before grandchildren) Marcy and I pick out an off white fabric for the chairs. What were we thinking? Anyway after several years of wear and tear from the grandsons it was way past time to recover the chairs. I actually recovered one of the chairs back in September but just now got around to doing the other 3 chairs this past week. It is hard to see in the picture but the new fabric is a warm sage green color. They turned out beautiful!
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Sunday afternoon Poppy got the Christmas Tree down from the attic for me. I had planned to spend all day Monday getting the Christmas decorations up. That didn't happen. Tuesday morning I got up early and got started on the decorating. I decided I needed to move some furniture around in order to put the tree where I wanted it. I spent all morning working in the living room, dusting, cleaning the wood floors, etc. I took a break around 11:30 because I had a haircut appointment. By the time I got home it was 3:00. By then it was time to start getting dinner cooked. I finally got the Christmas Tree up around 8:00.

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Before

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Wednesday morning this is what Poppy found when he opened the garage door. It was beautiful! Lots and lots of big snow flakes. Poppy snapped a couple of pictures for me. Good thing he did because the snow was gone by the afternoon.

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The snow put me in the mood to get the Christmas Tree & the mantle decorated!

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My little kitchen Christmas Tree.

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Yesterday I worked on the boy's room. I went through all of the toys, books, puzzles, etc. I had a whole trash bag full when I finished. I also did some laundry and wrapped a few Christmas presents. I also tried a new recipe for dinner. It was so yummy. I can't wait until lunch so I can eat some more. I got the recipe out of one of my Gooseberry Patch Cookbooks. Here is the recipe if you want to try it. Easy and yummy! And best of all Poppy loved it! Of course I did not tell him about the sour cream.

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Best-Ever Baked Chicken

(from the Cozy Country Christmas cookbook)

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6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

16 oz. container sour cream

2 c. corn flake cereal, crushed

1 t. Italian seasoning
6 T. butter, melted
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Generously coat both sides of chicken breasts with sour cream. Place corn flake crumbs in a shallow bowl; mix in Italian seasoning. Dip the sour cream-coated chicken into crumbs. Place chicken in a lightly greased 13"x9" baking pan. Drizzle with melted butter and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Serves 6.

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This morning I am planning to spend the day in the sewing room. I have several things I am working on for Christmas so I need to get them finished. This evening we are attending our Sunday School Class Christmas Party. That means that Andy and Ben will not be spending the night tonight. However, I have asked their Mommy if they can come over tomorrow and spend the night. I am hoping they will come early in the day because I bought a couple of crafty things for them to make. I plan to put up a little Christmas Tree in their room at Nana's house. I went to Michael's a few days ago and found a little foam ornament kit. It will make 24 ornaments so it will keep them busy for quite a while. It includes everything including the sequins, glue and glitter. This is going to be lots of fun! I also bought some Melty Beads ornament kits. I think all of these little ornaments are going to look great on their little tree.