Christmas Baking

Two days after Christmas and I can't believe how open my days have become.  My two kiddos are down in Illinois visiting their grandparents for the rest of the week and Jimmy's girls will be with us here until Saturday.  I have no holiday baking to complete, no gifts to make....I didn't realize how much the holidays filled my last month or so until it was over with.  So with all this free time, I thought I would take the time to post pictures of some of my baking projects over the holidays. 

M&M Sugar cookies....oh my I have to share this recipe because it was absolutely the best one I made this season.

Candy Cane blossoms-I can't take credit for these....Ani and one of her girlfriends did all the work!

Andes Mint chip cookies

Chocolate chip cookies

Reese's peanut butter chip cookies-these were a big hit with my husband

Egg nog cookies

 Rolo cake cookies

Whopper cookies-for our oldest kid who is a huge Whopper addict

Amish cinnamon bread

 Egg nog cheesecake bars

Candy covered pretzels

White chocolate peppermint cheesecake

Jesus' birthday cake

And finally, an annual family holiday tradition that started with my great grandmother...the cinnamon roll Christmas tree cake

There was also an egg nog cheesecake and some egg nog bread but I forgot to take pictures of those.  Whew, that was a lot of baking and while I enjoyed it, I'm definitely glad to get back to the regular things in life.  

Minus an endless round of doctor appointments that appear to be never ending, my future is wide open so I spent this morning in my devotional/quiet time asking God to help me be a better listener so that I could hear and respond to His plans for me.  I asked for help to be a better steward of my time and resources and He responded in my devotional with this verse:  "In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success."  Proverbs 3:6  So simple!  I just need to keep praying that I keep God as my first priority and the rest will fall into place.