Day 20 - Christmas Treats for the Family

We started baking bright and early this morning at 7:15.  We slaved all morning over chocolate covered cherry cookies and chocolate fudge with pecans.  Here Hunter's pouring the chocolate chips in the bowl for our fudge...

We added some other ingredients to the chocolate chips and microwaved for a couple of seconds so it would be easier to stir.  Hunter thought we needed a picture of the microwave while they were heating up...

And then he felt the urge to take a picture of the pan...

H loved the new candy thermometer we bought for the fudge.  He played with it nearly the entire time we baked, and even stuck it in the hot dutch oven when it was time (with my close supervision!)...

And of course he had to mix the fudge when it was ready to all blend together...

I took over after a while, and he ran to get his drill so he could mix along with me...

Charlotte was sweet for most of the morning...

And by sweet I mean got into the pantry every time the door opened.  It never ends.  We've wasted so much bread since she became mobile.  She loves to smush it in the package.

I had never made fudge before today, but I have had lots of experience eating it:)  The recipe I used said that it needed to chill for 30 minutes in order for it to set.  Six hours later it was still soft.  Six.  Hours.  We tasted it and it tasted as yummy as any fudge I'd ever had, so we decided to go ahead and scoop it up and put it into the tins.  You can see how we had to scrape it out of the pan...

This is so tmi, but y'all, it looked like I let my dog poop in the tin.  Seriously.  (Amy, I hope you're not gagging too bad over there.)  Grandad and my mom's assistant at work think that we didn't mix it long enough, which is entirely possible since H did most of the mixing...not that I'm blaming him.  Everyone just needs to know that it wasn't all my fault.  Just sayin'.

First we went to Nana's work to deliver her treats...

Hunter had fun sitting in Nana's big chair and pretending like it was his desk and Char had fun trying to run around the entire office.  That girl takes off faster than any kid I know. 

Then we were off to Grandpa's work... 

Grandpa took Hunter into the back of his shop to look around.  H was a little scared at first because one of my dad's workers was in there using the machines and they are pretty loud, but Grandpa did a good job of distracting Hunter...

H loved this air compressor...

He kept blowing saw dust all over the place...

After he was through with that "toy", he went on to the drill press...

Hunter didn't want to leave the shop.  We had to beg him to go.  It's a toddler boy's dream in there!  Maybe I'll have his next birthday party at the shop.  Do you think I'd have to have the parents sign release forms?  You know, for safety. ;)

Next stop was Aunt Katie and Aunt Courtney's house...

We stayed for a while, and the boys played the Wii (or "the weed" as Hunter calls it)...

Then we went across the neighborhood to Nanny and Grandad's house...

Char was not in the mood to pose for pictures today.

Our last stop was Grandee and Poppy's house...

They gave us some treats in exchange for the ones we brought them!

Tonight's verses were Matthew 2:7-8 "Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.'"

As we were talking about this verse, Hunter asked again what Bethlehem was, so I told him it's the town Jesus was born in.  I told him that it was prophecied long before he was born that the Savior would be born there.  When he asked what a prophecy was, I told him it's when someone knows that something will happen before it does.  It's a gift that God gave the prophets, to be able to prophecy.  He thought for a minute, picked up the knife (we were at the dinner table) and said, "Like this is a knife, and it will cut you."  Ha!  I told him that wasn't a prophecy, just a fact.

Before all of that, though, Hunter amazed me in the car on the way home tonight.  He randomly said, "Jesus died on the cross."  I turned around and said, "You're right!  Why did He die on the cross?"  And Hunter said, "Because He wanted to die for us."  So I said, "Why did He want to die for us?"  Hunter responded, "So that we could go to Heaven with Him."

My eyes are tearing up again as I type that just as they did in the car.  My heart swells with happiness and pride and thankfulness that God is opening my sweet son's ears to hear His Word.  His Truth.  I pray that He is opening his heart as well.  I am so thankful for you, Jesus...that you came here for us.