Blessings of my Gingerbread Adventures

These are some of the faces that make this such a REWARDING yearly adventure for me...



The glee's of DELIGHT and the fun of putting it altogether with these HAPPY SMILES...make my day!

My grandchildren were not able to be with us this year...and so it was fitting to invite some very close friends over for a Post-Thanksgiving Dinner and make my yearly creation with their precious children.

This family is counted..as my own. We LOVE them dearly...and we won't have too many more Gingerbread opportunities in the future.

I've known their mom, Missy since her birth...and now she and her husband are going on deputation as Missionaries to Bulgaria.




A little background:

Missy's parents are Wayne and Susan Fair, Missionaries to Papua New Guinea.(close friends of ours since..1975)

Missy lived with her parents in New Guinea for about 10 years. She and Danny are highly recommended for the mission field. Danny has a true heart for winning souls to the LORD, having won many at his workplace over the years and disciplining them in their new walk with Christ. If you are interested in their work and they can present themselves to your church..please send me a note in a comment with your email addy.

It was such a blessing to spend this time with their children...and give them a memorable moment.

This is how we began our project...



We added a few candies....




some yummy chocolate covered pretzels for the fence..and for our wood pile...tootsie rolls!


The final touches were the chocolate animals...a white bear and two Penguins!


Needless to say...they enjoyed EATING every bit of our creation! From candies, to chocolate to the YUMMY Gingerbread Cookie house!

Thanks kids..it was as much fun for you as it was for me!!

We ALL have a little bit of "kid" still inside us!!!

ENJOY!
HOPE

Yearly Gingerbread Creation

My yearly Gingerbread House was not quite as fancy this year...However!



I found this adorable white chocolate bear...to peek around and sneak up on the goodies! He is just too cute!

This is the back side open for reaching in for those delicious Lindt Truffles!




The photo on the left is last years gingerbread house, made for my newly married son and his wife. I used a little Bride and Groom for the entry...and had to add hearts of course! This one was a lot of fun to make. Coming up with a street lamp and finding last year...a Lindt chocolate snowman! It's always fun to create a new one each year with new ideas.


Cranberry Cheesecake Bars...friends who do not like cheesecake..LOVE these scrumptious goodies. I found this recipe one year in a BHG magazine and figured if it won $400 must be pretty good. What a winner this definitely is! Rave reviews! This is made with quick oats..and whole cranberry sauce. Good warm or cold.



These are a family favorite...Creamy Wafer Cookies...these literally melt in your mouth. We have made these for weddings..baby showers etc. Just change the color of the icing and they work for any occasion. They are made with whipping cream. If you'd like the recipe leave me a comment and I'll send it to you.





This is my Thanksgiving Table settings...new dishes from my husband that were just perfect..held all the goodies and as my son said..."wow..now my gravy will stay on the plate!"....

A few days prior to Thanksgiving... I quickly took some of the fabric I found left over from the napkins I made last year and made a quilted center piece. This tied in with the napkins and the extra napkins angled under the plates...completed a pretty table. I found the pumpkins and squash on sale at Walmart for...fifty cents! Was I happy about that bargain! Just when I needed it. There are two different ones at the other end with a candle also.



Just before dinner, we all gave a testimony of Thanksgiving. My son, truly blessed my husband and I with his praise of thanks to God for being born into a Christian family. He said, many people do not have the privilege I have had..from day one!
Yea... he was attending church, nine months before that!

In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Thessalonians 5:18


We had a wonderful time with my son, daughter in law and a friend they brought down with them. They also brought their two dogs. We were not sure how this was going to go...but, the "cousins" as we called them, had the time of their lives!
It was so funny watching them play like little kids! Mya is a mini pinscher...Maggie a mix lab...and Gus the Schnauzer...I called him the "warm fuzzy"..he needs his hair groomed!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, blessed in many ways.

Gus being rewarded for being a "GOOD BOY" after all the company left