I'm sure you've seen either chocolate or peppermint bark in stores.  I know Costco sells some great peppermint bark this time of year! Would you like to know how to make bark with...saltine crackers?  Yes, crackers!  Oh so yummy!
Many years ago my Aunt gave me a recipe for chocolate bark that I have been making each CHRISTmas season for family and friends.  I have named the bark "Bua Bark" since "Bua" is my maiden name and my Aunt's.  It's an unusual and awesome last name and "Bua Bark" is one awesome and easy treat to make and eat!  I have also made "Bua Bark" for Pro-Life bake sales at my church and it always sells fast and it's enjoyed by all.  So I would like to share with you this family favorite recipe in hopes that you will try it and enjoy it!







Another family favorite sweet treat that I like to give to family and friends along with the plate of bark are Pretzel Treats.  For these, you just need  a bag of Mini Pretzel Twists, a big bag of Hershey Kisses, and a bag of red/green Holiday M&Ms.  (These pretzel treats are a year round treat though since I can make them using any colored M&Ms, including Valentine and pastel (Easter) M&Ms!)   The hardest thing about this recipe is unwrapping so many kisses (that's what children and a husband are for) and trying not to pop M&Ms in my mouth while making them. 
Step 4:  Immediately start pressing one red/green M&M into the center of each kiss that is on top of each pretzel.  My children enjoy doing this, although it is tough to keep them from eating M&Ms during the process!

Some of you may have seen this video before since it's been on blogs and Facebook a lot lately. My friend, Lynda, at My Heart's Desire posted this great video on her blog and I thought I would share it with others  since I enjoy it so much!  It would be awesome to have a gift of beautiful song like this while eating my meal in a food court! 



I give Joy to the World by believing that "He shall reign forever and ever!  King of kings and Lord of lords!"

For a few years, I was looking for a tree skirt to place under our CHRISTmas tree, but I didn't want to spend alot of money and I wanted something special.  So when I saw my friend's tree skirt idea, I knew this was the one I wanted to place under my tree each year!

I bought a big piece of white felt from a local fabric store and cut it in a circle with a slit down the middle with a small circle in the center like this:

Then in 2008 when I began this tradition, I had each of my children use red or green paint to make one handprint each around the bottom of the skirt.  I then took a fabric crayon/marker and wrote the year above each hand and the child's name.  So for our family, we add four new handprints each year. 
 
Here is a close up of the skirt and I have covered my children's names for privacy:

Each year that we pull out the skirt my children like to compare their hands to see how everyone has grown! We look forward to this fun activity each CHRISTmas and I love the fact that this didn't cost too much and the memories and artwork are priceless!

I am linking this "handy" and fun CHRISTmas activity up to Kylie's "World Wide Classroom" CHRISTmas Fun Party Week Two.  If you want to read great posts and link up your ideas to spread good cheer and fun, visit World Wide Classroom!

I give Joy to the World when I preserve my children's handprints and teach my children how to have loving and praying hands so they too can continue to give Joy to the World!

Today, December 13th, is St. Lucy's feast day. Lucy's name means "light", with the same root as "lucid" which means "clear, radiant, understandable." If you do not know about this young, beautiful saint you can read more about her here.  My oldest daughter especially loves this feast day because it is a tradition that the oldest daughter in the family wears a white dress with a red sash (red symbolizes martyrdom) and she wears a St. Lucy crown with candles on it.  The daughter serves sweet rolls to family members.  We will be having small cinnamon rolls from Costco instead of making them and I'm sure our children will enjoy placing lit candles on the rolls as an after dinner celebration and dessert.

Lacy at Catholic Icing has a beautiful post with ideas and resources to celebrate St. Lucy's feast day so be sure to check out her wonderful blog.

I want to spread the word about a great Crayola giveaway that my friend, Lynda, at My Heart's Desire is hosting! 

Lynda will be giving away the following Crayola products to one of her readers:  Glow Explosion Spin Magic, Mess Free Color Wonder Sound Studio, Model Magic Presto Dots, and a 64 Box of Crayola Crayons with an access code to try Story Studio.  I know I would love these great gifts as well as lots of others!

Be sure to visit Lynda's blog post here about this giveaway and to get more details.  The giveaway will run until December 17 so get your entries in before it's too late!

I give Joy to the World when I share inspirational stories about saint's lives and when I tell others how they can win some great Crayola gifts!

Today, Sunday, December 12,  there is a special feast day celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe.

If you are not familiar with this image and the story surrounding its origin, I encourage you to read here, where it explains how the Mother of God first appeared to a poor farmer named Juan Diego on December 9, 1531 in Mexico. ( If you click on the links above, they will take you to a summary for younger children.  I am sharing this link to share with my own children, but it also does a nice job of summarizing Juan Diego's life changing experience in a simple and short way.) 

The image above was what appeared on Juan Diego's tilma when the bouquet of roses cascaded down from Juan Diego's cloak as he was showing others who were skeptical about his story.

Last year our family went to Mass to celebrate this feast day at a church named "Our Lady of Guadalupe".
The altar was filled with hundreds and hundreds of roses and was so beautiful.  When our Blessed Mother appeared to Juan Diego at the hill of Tepeyac, there was a field of roses where roses did not bloom before or during the season of winter when roses do not bloom naturally.  Hence, when people celebrate this feast day, many decorate their homes and churches with roses.


After Mass last year we ate at a Mexican restaurant and we went last night to a Mexican restaurant with 6 adults and 13 children!  (3 families total).  I brought a candle with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on it and burned it during our dinner to help celebrate such a special outing with family and friends.


We enjoy reading The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola each year because Juan Diego's story about how he was blessed by Mary's presence is too miraculous not to share with my children.  When I read this book, I am always so impressed by the great faith and persistence Juan Diego had even when others doubted his story and experience. 

We also watch the CCC video, Juan Diego-Our Lady of Guadalupe, sometime between St. Juan Diego's feast on December 9 and Our Lady of Guadalupe's feast day on December 12.  Would you like a chance to win this DVD?  If so,  Lacy at Catholic Icing is hosting a giveaway for one reader to win this DVD.  You can go to her post HERE for more details and to enter!


The image from Juan Diego's tilma is on display in Mexico and has not deteriorated since the 1500s when the image first appeared.  There are many other miraculous facts about this image that my dad shared with me through an email attachment, but I am unable to link up the attachment on this post.  But, if you are interested in receiving the email attachment please Contact Me and I will be more than happy to send you the information.
You can also read "Our Lady of Guadalupe ‘completely beyond' scientific explanation, says researcher", which is an article that explains how researchers to this day say "there is no scientific explanation for the 478 years of high quality-preservation of the Tilma or for the miracles that have occurred to ensure its preservation. "

I give Joy to the World when I share how God works in mysterious ways!