All is well now, and they are working once again! So sorry for the inconvenience to those who tried to purchase a copy!

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

More from Keeper of the Home

• Last harvest of the season | Keeper of the Home
• Happy (American) Thanksgiving! | Keeper of the Home
• Inviting you to the grand opening… | Keeper of the Home
• Christmas Traditions- the Jesse Tree | Keeper of the Home

I found this year to be one of our most meaningful Christmas seasons so far. It has been such a blessing to begin implementing even a few new things into the way that we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Here are some of the things that we did this year:

• Daily Advent devotions through the month of December (we learned about the many names of Jesus)
• Made a "Names of Jesus" Garland with Abbie and Caden
• Made shortbread cookies cut into shapes and symbols that remind of us the significance of Christmas-wreaths (symbols of God's everlasting love), hearts, a little boy (Jesus, who came to earth), stars (like the star over Bethlehem, and also to symbolize Jesus, the bright and morning Star), and the cross (because ultimately that's why He came to earth at all)
• Made star ornaments for the tree, because Abbie particularly liked learning about how Jesus was the bright and morning Star.
• Supported and watched Daddy take part in a beautiful Christmas performance at our church, focusing on the meaning of Christmas, from the manger to the cross.
• Participated in putting together for a Christmas hamper for needy families in the community
• Did a nativity version of an Advent calendar- one new fridge magnet each day (a stable, Mary and Joseph, wise men, sheep, etc.) until Jesus arrives on Christmas day!
• Watched the movie, The Nativity Story, as a family for the second year in a row on Christmas Eve. Our new tradition.
• Gathered on Mommy and Daddy's bed on Christmas morning to pray and thank God for sending Jesus, before opening our stockings together.
• Ate a wonderful breakfast and then Daddy read the Christmas story out loud, before we gathered around the tree to open presents (keeping Jesus first, and presents secondary!)
• Will be celebrating Epiphany tomorrow, Jan. 6th...

Epiphany and the 12 Nights of Christmas

One thing that I learned this year is that the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (you know the one... a partridge in a pear tree) is actually referring to the 12 days from the day after Christmas up until January 6th, a holiday known as Epiphany. Epiphany literally means "manifestation" and is a celebration of the fact that God became man and manifested Himself on earth in the form of Jesus, His son.

In the book Celebrate with Joy, Sondra (the author) includes an entire chapter with ideas for celebrating these 12 nights of Christmas. Each night include a Christmas carol to sing, along with activities and a devotion to go along with that carol. She also suggests that this can be an excellent opportunity to complete any Advent activities, special trips or events, gifts to give or ways to serve others, etc. that you had hoped to do before Christmas but were unable to get to.

I felt that this year, I couldn't completely jump in and actually celebrate these 12 nights. Our family really needed some time to just rest, and that meant that Mommy couldn't be working to pull together any more activities, events or devotionals! Instead, I have opted to do something only for the actual day of Epiphany, as a way of starting out small this year. In the book, there is a focus on the wise men during these 12 nights and on their gifts to the Lord. So tomorrow we will take Sondra's suggestions of learning about what each of the gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh) symbolize, and I will be putting on a treasure hunt for the children, using various decorations, coins, etc. that will look like "treasures" in my little kiddies eyes. After we've found the hidden treasures, we will do a devotional on giving all of our treasure to Jesus!

Some Reflections on Transforming our Family's Celebrations

To be honest, there was more that I had hoped to do. Even what we did still felt a bit minimal over the course of 5 weeks. It's hard to find the time to pull it all together with 3 young children and a busy husband. A few times I felt frustrated that I wasn't doing more or doing all that I had wanted to, but I finally had to rest in what I was able to do and let it be enough.

It takes time and effort to begin to implement these wonderful ideas and traditions in our Christmas celebrations. Though I was keen to do as much as I could, I had to recognize my limitations and accept the season that I am in... a season where each small child needs me so very much, in many different ways, and sometimes Mommy gets stretched too thin because all of the everyday stuff, so that adding in "extras" can be very challenging. I have decided that I need to trust the Lord to help me do what I am reasonably able to do, offering it up to Him as a feeble but hopefully precious gift in His eyes, as we all learn to honor Jesus more and more in our holiday traditions. I pray that He will grant us the ability to continue to build on what has been begun. I trust that He is faithful to reward our acts of obedience, no matter how small, as we learn to transform our celebrations to become more God-glorifying and I believe that over the years we will see the fruit of that obedience!

Preparing for Next Year

Personally, I didn't begin my Advent and Christmas preparations early enough this year. Not until basically the end of November, which is right when we needed to be beginning. Knowing this now in hindsight, I will be prepared to put some effort into my preparations in early November instead, because having a plan will help to ensure that my list of hope-to-do's actually turns into reality!

I spoke with Sondra about it a little while ago, and she said that she thinks January is actually the perfect time to begin thinking about next year. Perhaps this year didn't go the way that you hoped it would, or you were quite disappointed by the Christmas season and its lack of meaning, its busyness, etc. Or maybe this year was a more special year that drew your family closer to the Lord as you began to focus your celebrations and traditions more on Him, and you've been inspired to add even more meaning to next year's holiday season. Either way, now is the time to begin thinking and preparing for next year, while it's still fresh in our minds and hearts.

This is the last opportunity to purchase Celebrate with Joy from Keeper of the Home. It is available for $24.95 US (including shipping) and you can read more about the contents of the book in this previous post.

As well, Sondra has a number of copies that have become slightly damaged in storage, that she is willing to sell at a discount. The types of damage include small scratches or scuffs to the cover, slightly damaged corners, etc. They are completely readable and usable, just not in perfect selling condition any longer. These books are being sold for $19.95 US including shipping.

(Use this button for discounted copies, and the button above for regular condition copies)

As the holiday season winds down, what are your reflections on how it went? What new traditions did your family add? What added special meaning and purpose to your celebrations? What would you like to change for next year?

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

More from Keeper of the Home

• Celebrate with Joy: Week 1 | Keeper of the Home
• Simply Celebrating Christmas! | Keeper of the Home
• Christmas Traditions- the Jesse Tree | Keeper of the Home
• Happy New Year (and it’s great to be blogging again)! | Keeper of the Home

It's easy to complain about what we don't have isn't it?

I often find that in the fall and winter, as the stores are absolutely bursting at the seams with all sorts of gifts and goodies for eager Christmas shoppers, I notice a whole lot of things that I think I need. Suddenly my wardrobe seems more lacking than it did before, my home decor more sparse, my kitchen needing a few more additions, and on and on.

Discontentment is a sneaky thing. Just when we think that we've learned to be grateful for all of the abundant blessings in our lives, a quick trip to the mall brings out that ugly green jealousy monster in us (otherwise known as sin) and we start looking around with eyes that see only what we don't have.

God has been so faithfully working away at this area of my life, chipping away the rough edges of greed and materialism and envy. Though I found that it did rise up again somewhat this Christmas season, I was so blessed to realize that (at least for the moment) the contentment side is starting to win out over discontentment.

I think that one of the main things that has changed in my heart and in my way of thinking is this... I realize now more than ever that I am rich. I'm not just saying that in the spiritual and relational sense (though that would also be true- I have a Savior who has met my greatest need, and I have been blessed with an amazing husband and children, and many, many other significant and beautiful relationships in my life).

What I mean is that I am really, truly materially rich. And most likely, so are you. I'm quite sure that most people in our North American culture would disagree with me. We don't own multiple vehicles and the one we do own isn't luxurious or new. We don't live in a fancy house, and for that matter, we don't own the one we do live in. I don't wear designer clothes. The only purse I own is from a garage sale.

So exactly how do I define being "rich"? Well, for starters, I live in a house. With heat. And running water. It's clean and sanitary (ok, except maybe the bathroom once in a while), with no insects or rodents to speak of. Our home has more than 1 or 2 rooms (in fact, it has 10 if you count laundry and bathrooms). Our furniture is not ratty or ugly (and for that matter, we actually have furniture). I have a closet full of clothing and much of it was purchased new. By my doorway sits 5 or 6 pairs of shoes. Even when our budget is tight, we don't worry that we won't eat. It might not be our favorite foods, but we have never come even close to experiencing hunger.

I live in a country where I can vote in a fair and democratic system. For the most part, the police and justice system is generally just and certainly not corrupt to the same degree as in many nations. I do not live in a war-torn nation, fearing midnight bomb raids or hearing random gunshots throughout the day. I go to sleep each night feeling safe. I do not experience the terror of fearing for the safety of my precious children. We have the freedom of attending church in public each and every Sunday, with no concern of persecution. We own more Bibles than I can count.

It is so easy to begin to swallow the messages that our culture wants to feed us... you need more, you deserve more, you should have everything you want, it's ok to treat yourself, bigger and newer is always better. What we forget is that beyond the place that we call home are desperate nations full of desperate people. People who would consider the clothes in my closet beautiful and plentiful. People who would consider my home a palace. People who would wonder that I could ever possibly feel stressed about my grocery budget and the foods I feed my family. People who are hurting and needing so much that even the simplest of human comforts (a comfortable bed, a bowl of rice, a bath, a hug) would feel luxurious to them.

Whenever I start to look around and feel that I am somehow lacking something, I remind myself of these things. It doesn't take long before that want or "need" dissipates and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all that we have been blessed with and asking God how we can give of ourselves more to those who are without.

Do you struggle with feelings of discontentment? How do you deal with them? And am I the only one who finds that the holiday season makes it harder?

Want to remind yourself of all that we have to be grateful for? Check out the other Gratituesday posts at Heavenly Homemakers!

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

More from Keeper of the Home

• Rejoicing in My Role | Keeper of the Home
• Pro-Mom, Not Pro-Blogger | Keeper of the Home
• How I “Do It All” | Keeper of the Home
• So Grateful | Keeper of the Home

Wishing you and your family a blessed Christmas, as you celebrate the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. To Christ be all the glory this Christmas season. What a great Savior we serve!

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

More from Keeper of the Home

• Giveaway winner! | Keeper of the Home
• Winner of the Hope Ink Print | Keeper of the Home
• Small technical difficulty | Keeper of the Home
• Butter Oil | Keeper of the Home

1) The picture you see above is Johanna's birth announcement. It may make some of you feel oddly comforted to know that I picked them up last week. Yes, she's 4 months old. I figured it was high time we let people know we had a baby! Just kidding. I'm pretty sure they know. But still, it would be nice to actually get her photo and thank you cards out the door and into the mailbox. They're set to arrive with the Christmas cards. Rather ideal timing, I'd say. She's definitely a precious gift. You may also be interested to know that I got them 100% free from Kodak Gallery and picked them up at my local Best Buy.

2) I am working hard to get to the Blissdom blog conference down in Nashville, TN this February! Not only would it be a complete blast and a chance to meet so many incredible bloggers, but I think it would also be such a help for me as I learn more about balancing family life with blogging, how to improve my writing skills, how to work more efficiently and effectively, and so much more. But I could use your help... we're trying to purchase my plane ticket using swagbucks (by buying Southwest Airlines vouchers). I'm definitely on my way towards having enough, but the faster I can earn my swagbucks, the better. If you haven't already signed up for swagbucks, would you consider signing up through my link to help me earn them a little faster and make my way to Nashville? (Pretty please?) To learn a little more about what they are and how they work, see this post of mine.

3) You may be wondering whether the Year of Herbs series will still continue since my announcement to cut back on blogging somewhat. The answer is a resounding YES but I will have to take more time to piece the posts together or they might just be a little bit shorter than the novel I wrote on garlic. Look for one on either Comfrey or Yarrow or Ginger (still deciding) in the first half of January!

4) Is it possible that I've really spent less time on the computer blogging this past week and a bit, despite having a post up every weekday still? As a matter of fact, yes! I have been stricter with my time spent online, using an online timer that I am loving and is really holding me accountable, and just trying to write a bit shorter/easier posts and learn to work more efficiently. I'm delighted that it's going so well! If I feel that I can continue to keep my blogging time more minimal, you will continue to see posts from me, and that would just make me happy. Thank you all SO incredibly much for your kind and supportive words, your encouragement, your accountability and your own vulnerability and honesty. You're such a huge part of the reason that I love doing what I do.

5) Wondering what's in the works for January? I am in the process of planning a month of posts centered around getting organized in our homes! Topics I'm thinking to include: organization in the traditional/whole foods kitchen (non-toxic food storage, what to do with all those jars of soaking/fermenting foods, bulk food storage, etc.), getting recipes in order and making meal planning more simple and efficient (as well as how to fit in food prep, remembering to soak grains, etc.), putting together a homemaking binder (this will probably be covered over the course of a week), making a workable daily routine for my current season of life, planning and preparing for spring gardening, and anything else that comes to mind and fits in. If you have any ideas or requests, leave me a comment and let me know!

6) It's vacation time for me and my hubby. It has been a particularly long and tiring month and we need some R&R. Starting tomorrow we are both taking almost a week-long holiday from our businesses (I'm thinking of putting a padlock on the door of our shared office, though that may be a little extreme- and then again, maybe not). We will be spending some time with my extended family on Christmas Eve and Day, as well as having our very first Christmas morning by ourselves since our oldest daughter was first born (so excited to establish some of our own family traditions!), and then Christmas night we will be driving down to Seattle for a few days with my husband's parents and siblings. I had hoped to put out one more Celebrate with Joy post, about Christmas Eve and Day traditions, but it just won't be possible. I will, however, be posting after Christmas about the holiday of Epiphany (Jan.6) and some ideas for celebrating those "12 Days of Christmas".

How's your online time going? Are you preparing to take some time to rest and stay away from the computer this holiday season?

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

More from Keeper of the Home

• Simply Celebrating Christmas! | Keeper of the Home
• Time to Get Organized! | Keeper of the Home
• Pregnancy Update: 32 Weeks | Keeper of the Home
• Enjoying my Kids | Keeper of the Home

Image by ishane

For this week's Celebrate with Joy post, I'm going to take a pause from giving more ideas or activities for adding to your Christmas celebration. Instead, I would like for you to be encouraged and inspired as you press on in learning to make these "holy day" celebrations more meaningful and alive for your family.

Meet Sondra, the author of the book Celebrate with Joy. Over the last two weeks, I've shared with you many of her ideas and quotes from the book itself, but today I have something that Sondra just wrote this past week. She wanted to share with you her thoughts on how their family celebrations have resulted in fruit in the lives of her grown daughters, and her reflections on what she would do differently if she could go back and do it all again.

"Sitting in the glow of candlelight, this Christmas season, I find I have more time to reflect. My Mommie category is changing... I am almost an empty nester.

Over the mantle in our living room is a sign that reads Bethlehem Bound. An old Jewish proverb says "put something where you can see it so your eye will remind your heart". We believe that is true, that is why we decorate with things reminding us of where we are going each Christmas season. Back to the place where it all began... back to Bethlehem, to make room for Him, preparing our hearts to welcome Him.

There are definitely things I would do differently if I was raising my family over again, but not in how we celebrated! As I watch the girls today, I can trace their hearts of compassion, gratefulness, love for the Babe of Bethlehem and giving to others to the joy we had as they were growing up in our celebrations.

Spreading out our meaningful traditions during the month didn't leave all the expectations on Christmas day, and added richness to the whole season. Our version of St Nicholas Day taught us to think of others and to give without thought of return. We learned what the symbols of the season meant and discovered the many names of Jesus. We made giving lists, not receiving lists, and wrote love letters to Jesus. We sought to savour the moment... even on Christmas morn as we awoke to St. Lucia singing "Joy to the World the Lord is come".

Our desire was to develop Christ-honoring traditions. Traditions that helped set our values into patterns that would outlast us and remain with our girls and their children and their children's children.

If I had to do it over again... I would do even more. Cannot wait for my grandchildren!"

I don't know about you, but I am so glad that I am beginning to learn how to create more meaningful traditions and to use these holidays to teach my children more about their Heavenly Father and our merciful Savior. What a blessing!

It's getting close to Christmas now and you may feel that it's too late to change the way you're doing things. I would encourage you to see if there's even just one new tradition or practice that you can add to your celebrations this year, nad then purpose to pursue this further next year!

Sondra's wonderful book can still be purchase for the remainder of the month. You can see more of the ideas and topics covered in the book in my previous Celebrate with Joy posts, Week 1 (Advent) and Week 2 (Symbols of the Season).

Celebrate with Joy can be purchased for only $24.95 US including shipping. Books can be purchased through my site only. Supplies are limited, so if you'd like to get one, make sure to place your order quickly!

What fruit have you seen in your family by incorporating more meaningful and Christ-honoring traditions in your own Christmas celebrations? How has God been speaking to you this season about the way that you celebrate the holidays?

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

More from Keeper of the Home

• Celebrate with Joy: Week 2 | Keeper of the Home
• Celebrate with Joy: Week 1 | Keeper of the Home
• Cooking With Littles | Keeper of the Home
• Living Simply Saturday- The Ultimate Freeloader | Keeper of the Home

Image by ishane

It's Week 2 of making this holiday season more meaningful using the book Celebrate with Joy!

How are your Advent activities going? We've been enjoying our special devotions (or "learning about Jesus' names", as my daughter says) so much. We've almost finished making our Names of Jesus garland, and it's going to be beautiful when it's finished. Each day we've been able to spend 10 minutes or so doing our Advent devotion, reading a scripture, doing a simple object lesson and then just discussing one of the many names that we use to describe our Savior.

Symbols of the Season- Chapter 3

This week I've spent some time reading through the chapter on Symbols of the Season. Here's what Sondra (the author of Celebrate with Joy) has to say:

"Wreaths, holly, bells, angels... these are not merely pretty decorations for the Christmas season. They are symbols rich with spiritual meaning. We should know why we use them and teach our children their significance.

In the Old Testament, the Jewish people were to preserve the spiritual importance of each key event. They were to teach the meaning of their festivals to their children. God knew His people had short memories. He commanded them to talk of His Law at all times. The parents were to focus their children's attention on God. Whether sitting at the table or taking a walk... they were to talk about Him at all times.

To restore the spiritual beauty of the Christmas season, let's pack our traditions with their true meaning. How much richer to hang a wreath on your front door knowing it symbolizes God's eternal love for His children... than simply to put up a pretty wreath because it is the "thing to do" in December."

There are a number of symbols discussed in the book, with some of the history into their meaning and some ideas for how to use them in your Christmas celebrations and decorating (candles, holly, stars, bells, etc.). Here are a few that I am going to work on including more in our own celebrations:

Nativity/Creche

The set I'd love to get, the Willow Tree Nativity Set

The only Nativity scenes that we have are children's ones (the Playmobil one and a really neat magnetic one for the fridge, where you add 1 new piece of the scene for each day of Advent). They're both fun and great for the children, but I've realized that I would really like to have a manger scene that I find beautiful to put out on display. Not sure that it's in the budget for this year, but I'm definitely thinking about it and will be keeping my eyes open when the after-Christmas sales hit. If anyone has some ideas for me of make-it-yourself projects that are simple and inexpensive, please share them in the comments section! In the meantime, I like some of Sondra's ideas for creating a putz scene (something depicting part of the story of Jesus' birth), like making a wall banner or decorating a window with parts of the story. It might be neat to decorate a large window with angels and stars and music notes, as the angels sang and glorified God at the birth of Christ.

Christmas Tree

Well, the tree is in the house, but not decorated as of yet. I need to remedy that today, as we're hosting a big Christmas party tomorrow night. Yikes! Sondra suggests making the tree more meaningful by doing themed decorations (angels, lamb of God, joy, Christmas story, etc.) and gives ideas of specific ornaments that you can make. One of the things that we have enjoyed doing in past years and will do again this year is use Adorenaments. These are a set of 12 ornaments, each portraying a different name of Jesus or aspect of who He is. Inside each ornament (they're thick cardboard and open like a card), there is something to read about Jesus as well as a scripture. On their fronts, they have an image (like a lamb, or a loaf of bread for the Bread of Life). We make these the last ornaments we put up, reading each of them before letting the kids put them on the tree. This adds a special element to our tree trimming time. I'm also considering making one new ornament with the kids and I found a lot of great craft and decor ideas here (scroll down to see a huge list of links to Christmas do-it-yourself crafts).

Wreath

(This is the one I saw at MomAdvice and want to make!)

I've never thought about the symbolism of the wreath before, but here are a few that are mentioned in the book:

• It speaks of God's never ending love... this should comfort us
• It pictures eternity. We will live forever in heaven with Christ if we are a part of His family... this should fill us with joy
• The evergreens are "ever green" and speak of life. His life in us can make us "forever fresh" with the goodness of the Lord... this should give us strength

I don't have a wreath, but I'd like to make one this year. I am thinking of attempting this beauty.

More Than Just Recipes- Chapter 8

Thought I would mention this chapter of the book as well, as it fits in so well with what's been happening here at Keeper of the Home this week! In this chapter, Sondra says "Many of our fondest memories sweep over us when we catch a scent reminiscent of mother's hot apple pie, or Aunt Lizzie's rich fruit cakes. Christmas is a time to celebrate God's goodness, and His blessing of delicious foods certainly should be enjoyed by all." I definitely agree!

This week I hosted the Healthy Holiday Eats and Sweets Carnival, which is just brimming with not only scrumptious but healthy and nourishing recipes as well (though I did notice that there were significantly more Sweet recipes than Eats... hmmm, do I detect a few sweet tooths among my readers? ) Take a look through the wonderful recipes included and see if there are any that you would like to add to your own food traditions (and yes, you may still comment with new recipes for me to add to the carnival!).

Celebrate with Joy can still be purchased for the remainder of the month (or until supplies run out):

Celebrate with Joy is a 192-page spiral bound book that includes:

• Advent... With Your Family- wonderful resources for using the season of Advent to prepare your hearts for celebrating Christ's birth
• Symbols of the Season- their meanings, how to use them
• A look at Christmas traditions- their value, ones worth keeping, how we can plan to establish unique family traditions
• Gala Gatherings- meaningful Christmas parties and get-togethers, including ideas for evangelism as well
• Grateful Giving and Gifts From the Heart
• The Twelve Nights of Christmas- celebrating from December 25-January 6 (a lesser known Christian holiday called Epiphany)
• More Than Just Recipes

Celebrate with Joy can be purchased for only $24.95 US including shipping. Books can be purchased through my site only, and will be sent directly to you as quickly as we can get them out so that you can still use them for as much of the Christmas season as possible! Supplies are limited, so if you'd like to get one, make sure to place your order quickly.

How do you use symbols and special recipes to accentuate the true meaning of Christmas and add to your holiday traditions?

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

More from Keeper of the Home

• Celebrate with Joy: Week 1 | Keeper of the Home
• Celebrate with Joy: Week 3 | Keeper of the Home
• Simply Celebrating Christmas! | Keeper of the Home
• spud! Review- Week 2 | Keeper of the Home

It's time to share all of our favorite, tried-and-true recipes! You know, the ones that you can't really imagine not having at your holiday table and that just taste like Christmas to you. Traditions are such an important part of how we celebrate holidays, and traditions involve all of the senses- including our smell and taste. Establishing food traditions, alongside our other relationally and spiritually significant traditions, helps to ingrain both the special times spent with loved ones as well as the rich meaning of those holidays deeper into our hearts and minds.

So what's unique about this collection of holiday recipes? They're made with real, whole, nourishing foods. They nourish the body as well as the soul. The allow us to keep a focus on good nutrition, without compromising on ingredients we wouldn't normally eat, while still enjoying the extra-special feast foods that set holiday meals and gatherings apart from everyday life.

Have you got a recipe to share?

1) Post your whole foods holiday recipe (ie. real fats like butter, coconut oil, tallow or olive oil, wholesome sweeteners, whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies, etc.) on your blog. Recipes can be absolutely ANYTHING that you like to eat or drink during the holiday season: cookies, vegetables side dishes, how to cook the perfect turkey, homemade food gifts, breakfast favorites, beverages, etc. They don't have to be new either, but it's perfectly fine to pull up your previously posted recipes that fit the bill.

2) Leave a comment below with a link to the recipe that you'd like to share (and yes, you can leave multiple recipes!) and the name of the recipe. I will go through the comments throughout the day and will add your recipe link to the carnival page. I will be adding each of the links manually (so note that it might be a couple hours before your link is added to the carnival), to ensure that there are no problems with Mr. Linky, as well as to give each blogger a legitimate link that contributes to their google ranking.

3) Please make sure that you link back to the Healthy Holiday Eats and Sweet Carnival (this post) in each of the recipe posts that you are contributing.

4) If you don't have a blog, please share your recipes or recipe links in the comments section! We'd love to hear from everyone!

And now, let the recipe fun begin!

Beverages

1. Incredibly Yummy Homemade Egg Nog @ Keeper of the Home
2. Hot Buttered Cranberry Apple Cider @ New Nostalgia
3. Sparkling Pomegranate Drink @ Hallee the Homemaker
4. Spiced Kombucha @ Cracking An Egg With One Hand

Sweet Treats

1. Janet's Cheesecake (my MIL's amazing recipe) @ Keeper of the Home
2. Rich Carob Balls and "Sugar" Cookies (using honey) @ Keeper of the Home
3. Scrumptious Gingerbread Cake @ Keeper of the Home
4. Praline Pumpkin Pie @ Healthy 'n' Happy Home
5. Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies @ What's Cooking?
6. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies @ Creative 2X Mom
7. Tree Trim Cranberry Trail Mix @ New Nostalgia
8. Sugar Free Peppermint Bark @ Organic & Thrifty
9. Almond Date Hearts @ Organic & Thrifty
10. Marvelous Maple Muffins @ Hallee the Homemaker
11. Sugar Free Chocolate and Peanut Butter Fruit Dip @ Inspired Homemaking
12. Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread @ Modern Alternative Mama
13. Dairy Free Ice Cream @ Modern Alternative Mama
14. Honey-Sweetened Apple Pie with Spelt Crust @ Nourished Days
15. Coconut Flour Orange Cake with Coconut Oil Frosting (GFCF) @ Nourished Days
16. 100% Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies @ Kitchen Stewardship
17. Gluten-Free Friendship Bars @ Green Acres
18. Healthy Pumpkin Pie @ Passionate Homemaking
19. Cinnamon Oranges @ Joy Comes From Within
20. Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins @ Heavenly Homesteading

Savory Snacks and Appies

1. Cheesy Spinach and Artichoke Dip @ Inspired Homemaking

Breakfast Recipes

1. German Pancake @ What's Cooking?
2. Breakfast Bread @ Nalaville Chronicles
3. Blender Gingerbread Pancakes @ Passionate Homemaking

Christmas Dinner- Main and Side Dishes

1. Chunky Butternut Squash Soup @ Keeper of the Home
2. Marinated Cucumbers and Onions @ Creative 2X Mom
3. Apple Cranberry Sauce @ Creative 2X Mom
4. Gluten-Free Ravioli @ Organic & Thrifty
5. White Bean and Ham Soup @ Inspired Homemaking
6. Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce and Gravy (gluten/casein free) @ Modern Alternative Mama
7. Baked or Mashed Sweet Potatoes @ Our House in the Middle of Our Street
8. Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Lasagna shared by Kelly
9. Sweet Potato Maple Cups @ Joy Comes From Within

Homemade Edible Gifts

1. Got Thyme On Your Hands? @ What's Cooking?
2. Easy Apple Sauce/Butter @ What's Cooking?
3. Tree Trim Cranberry Trail Mix @ New Nostalgia
4. Healthy Homemade Fudge @ Passionate Homemaking
5. Healthy Homemade Peanut Brittle @ Passionate Homemaking

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

More from Keeper of the Home

• Upcoming… Healthy Holidays Eats and Sweets Carnival | Keeper of the Home
• Healthy Holiday Recipes: Incredibly Yummy Homemade Egg Nog | Keeper of the Home
• Healthy and frugal menu planning help! | Keeper of the Home
• Sweet and Sour Lentils | Keeper of the Home

Living somewhere foreign is an excellent way to challenge yourself to make more foods from scratch. While living in Japan, I missed North American food so very much (though I definitely like Japanese food as well). At times, I went to great lengths to make something that tasted like home.

Like the time I made my own wheat-free lasagna noodles because I was 10 weeks pregnant and craving lasagna like nobody's business. Or my attempt to re-create a Thanksgiving "turkey" by covering up a mound of stuffing with slices of chicken breast, then wrapping with foil and baking (the answer is a resounding NO, it didn't work, but at least I thought it was a valiant effort to make up for the unavailability of whole chickens/turkeys for roasting).

My most successful recreation attempt, however, was for that undeniably delicious and oh-so-Christmas-sy of drinks, egg nog. My husband hasn't stopped talking about it in nearly 6 years, so I guess it must have made an impression! We wanted to surprise our Japanese friends, so we threw a Christmas party in our itsy bitsy apartment and made them goodies like chocolate dipped shortbread cookies, apple cider, and the belle of the ball, egg nog. Here's the recipe:

Incredibly Yummy Homemade Egg Nog

*Inspired by the Egg Nog recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook*

Makes about 10 small (4 oz) serving, or 5-6 larger servings.

6 beaten egg yolks (free range is best)

2 1/4 cups whole milk (raw, if available)

1/3 cup unrefined sugar, like Rapadura or Sucanat (I bet Coconut/Palm sugar would also work, though I haven't tried it)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup whipping cream (avoid ultra-pasteurized)

2 Tbsp unrefined sugar, or 1 Tbsp honey, or a few drops or maybe 1/2 packet of Stevia (just enough to add a touch of sweetness)

Ground nutmeg

(Note: You may want to begin the recipe the day before you want the egg nog- it's an easy recipe, but does need time to chill properly)

1) In a medium pot, mix the egg yolks, milk and the 1/3 cup sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture just coats a metal spoon (see photo). Remove from heat. Place pot in a sink or bowl of ice water and stir for 2 minutes to cool mixture off a little. Stir in vanilla. Cover and chill for 4-24 hours.

2) When you're ready to serve:

Beat the whipping cream and 2 Tbsp of sugar (or sugar alternative) until soft peaks form.

3) Transfer the chilled egg/milk/sugar mixture to a punch bowl. Fold in the whipped cream. Serve immediately. Sprinkle each serving with nutmeg. If you find it a little too thick or too sweet, simply stir in a bit of milk to thin it out.

You'll never want to go back to the store bought variety again, and with lots of nourishing ingredients like eggs and raw milk, egg nog can actually be a legitimate once-in-a-while treat! Wondering about the whole issue of too many fats? See why my family liberally eats of good, whole fat foods, and yes, even saturated fats.

Looking for more nourishing holiday recipes? Make sure you check out the Health Holiday Eats and Sweet Carnival!

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

More from Keeper of the Home

• Healthy Homemaking: Homemade Condiments | Keeper of the Home
• Healthy Christmas cookies (perfect for those with allergies, too!) | Keeper of the Home
• Healthy, Natural Pregnancy: “Labor-Aid” Recipe | Keeper of the Home
• Delicious Homemade Baked French Fries | Keeper of the Home

Image by ishane

What is Christmas? It is not a winter festival. It is not the inevitable annual energy drain. It is not a few holidays to give us a break. It is not a time to fill our children's heads with "visions of sugar plums."

Christmas is a season of holy days (the original meanings of "holidays"), filled with rich symbolism. It is a many sided object lesson using the Symbols of the Season to give us glimpses of heaven's glory. It is a time to fill our children's heads with "visions of God's incomparable Gift." Christmas is profound truth wrapped in plain packages.

What are some of these profound truths? Eternity in an infant. Heaven's bridge in a baby. The God-man in a manger. Every man's hope wrapped in homespun handiwork. Enough material for a lifetime of meditation.

These are some of the opening thoughts in the book Celebrate with Joy: Transform Your Christmas Season by my dear friend, Sondra Burnett. Many years ago, when her girls were still young (her four lovely, homeschooled daughters are now grown) she had a vision to write a book that would encourage and equip families to transform their Christmas from a time of frazzled (and often meaningless) activity into a time of meditation, family togetherness, special memories and most of all, growing in understanding of and love for the magnificent God who came to earth to become a sacrifice for all.

This year, I have decided to use Sondra's book in order to learn some unique ways to teach our children about the meaning of Christmas, and to help our family to celebrate Christmas in a deeper and richer way than ever before! Each Tuesday for the next 5 weeks, I will be sharing something from the book that I have gleaned or that we are doing as a family. For those who would love to have a resource like this for your own family, I will also be selling copies of Sondra's book (more on that in a minute).

Chapter 2: Advent... With Your Family

This chapter is just brimming with different ways to celebrate the season of Advent, which typically lasts from Nov.30 until Dec.24 (some traditions begin it slightly earlier). Sondra notes that "Advent preparations put our Christmas celebrations into proper perspective. Observing Advent causes us to take the time to spiritually prepare ourselves and grow into the joy of Christmas."

Here are a few of her ideas:

Image by Collin Anderson

Advent Wreath- The wreath is a popular and familiar symbol of advent, with 4 candles to be lit throughout the 4 weeks of advent. It is meant to give us a focal point and to be used during times of worship and adoration. Many churches include an advent wreath in their service or somewhere at the front of the church, and having one in your own home is a wonderful way to make advent more tangible. Wreaths are traditionally made of evergreens, with 3 purple candles and 1 pink candle (though you can use any color you like). However, there are many different options- a decorated styrofoam wreath, an artificial evergreen wreath, even a bread dough wreath, or you could simple make your own with fresh evergreen boughs. I have a wreath made up of small branches of wood, woven together. I am going to decorate it with sprigs of evergreen and put candle holders in its center. A large candle can also be placed in the center to light on Christmas day.

Advent Devotions

There are so many possible variations, but here are a few that Sondra offers:

1) Use your Advent wreath with the traditional 4 candles, and each week, have a special family devotional time where you light one additional candle per week (1 the first week, 2 the second week, and so on).

2) If you are starting late or the month has become busier than intended, you can use the wreath each day for 7 days, during the week that precedes Christmas.To use this variation, you might like to use 7 candles instead of the traditional 4.

3) Another option is to use 24 candles (you may not want to use a wreath, but perhaps set up your 24 candles in a larger display that includes your wreath, perhaps on a side table or the top of a piano). As you follow a daily advent devotion for 24 days, you can light 1 new candle each day. You could also include your nativity scene in a display like this.

Celebrate with Joy includes a wide variety of Advent month devotionals to choose from:

• 4 slightly longer family devotions for use with your wreath, to be done each Sunday leading up until Christmas
• Advent activities: a traveling advent calendar (for those who will be on holidays for much of the time), an advent chain (a paper link chain that is hung up somewhere prominent, and each day you remove one link to show that Christ's birth is approaching), advent chain memory verses (writing one memory verse and decorating each link on the chain), using an advent calendar (that you open daily) as a way to remember to pray for some specific people during this season, making an advent scrapbook or spiritual journal, etc... so many unique ways to add to this special time!
• Advent daily devotions. There are two different plans included, each of which has 24 devotions: 1) Names of Jesus and 2) Symbols of the Season. Short and simple, these offer verses to read, questions to discuss, objects for an object lesson, or an activity to do.

Personally, instead of the Jesse Tree that we did last year, we are going to try something different and instead use the Names of Jesus daily devotional, which includes a few verses and a simple object lesson. I am going to create a Names of Jesus Garland with the names from the devotional, and we can add a new name to our garland each day.

For those looking for some devotionals to begin with their family right away, here are a few links to some that I have found online (and please note that I have not been able to go through each one and check for sound doctrine, so be discerning as you select one!):

• Over @ Kitchen Stewardship, Katie is putting up an Advent Daily Dose, which will be "a very short reflection, encouragement, lesson or challenge for you to read every weekday of Advent." As well, her first daily dose included a couple of links to Jesse Tree devotionals available (free) online.
• Last year I posted on doing a Jesse Tree, and in the post I linked to where you can purchase a wonderful ebook of devotions as well as simple paper ornament cutouts.
• Family Jesse Tree Devotions @ Reformed Church in America website

Better yet, you can purchase Sondra's book, Celebrate with Joy: Transform Your Christmas Season for only $24.95 US including shipping!

Celebrate with Joy is a 192-page spiral bound book that includes:

• Advent resources, as discussed above
• Symbols of the Season- their meanings, how to use them
• A look at Christmas traditions- their value, ones worth keeping, how we can plan to establish unique family traditions
• Gala Gatherings- meaningful Christmas parties and get-togethers, including ideas for evangelism as well
• Grateful Giving and Gifts From the Heart
• The Twelve Nights of Christmas- celebrating from December 25-January 6 (a lesser known Christian holiday called Epiphany)
• More Than Just Recipes

Books can be purchased through my site only, and will be sent directly to you as quickly as we can get them out so that you can still use them for as much of the Christmas season as possible! Supplies are limited, so if you'd like to get one, make sure to place your order quickly.

How will your family be celebrating Advent? Any other creative wreath ideas?

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

More from Keeper of the Home

• Celebrate with Joy: Week 2 | Keeper of the Home
• Celebrate with Joy: Week 3 | Keeper of the Home
• Celebrate with Joy: Epiphany and Reflections on Transforming our Christmas Celebrations | Keeper of the Home
• Frugality with Food, Revisited- Part 1 | Keeper of the Home