Martha Who?

I have been trying to savor and really meditate on the thoughts Ann is sharing and her challenge to be a womb, a dwelling place for God, this Christmas. And while a womb ultimately stretches in painful and scarring ways, when it is first dwelled in, it starts out so small, almost undetectable... then a little flutter. We too should remember to start small....

Martha Stewart soooooo does not live here!!!

Yesterday, we made a gingerbread house to celebrate the second O Antiphon. Making gingerbread houses with my children is a total act of love and sacrifice tiny though it may be. My perfectionist nature tends to like things organized and planned (and ultimately pretty) and if I can't have that, then I want nothin' at all! My kids like to stick random gummy bears on the side of the house for no good reason. That doesn't gel now does it?We didn't use to do these kinds of activities because I couldn't deal with the mess they created both on the gingerbread house and in my house. But motherhood is all about dying to self in so many little ways, isn't it? And the gingerbread house became an opportunity for me to let go and let them have fun. Learning to appreciate the beauty of their delight, I noticed it then spilled over their creation with a radiant glow. I could not match that.In the past, I have always purchased ready-made kits but being a worry wart, I never let the children eat their creation because of the fear that the ready-made royal icing might have raw egg whites in it (which most royal icing does unless you make it with meringue powder). See, a completely sane person would have just made her family new royal icing with the meringue powder she has sitting in her cabinet. : )

Did you know that you can use melted white chocolate instead of royal icing? You did? Well, why didn't you tell me? It firms up just as hard and as quick as royal icing. We cut out the pieces plus some decorative extras that they requested, baked them and then I saw to the construction of the house. I always do the construction because I insist that while it doesn't have to be perfect, it does have to stand! The children then used regular old canned frosting to glue the decorations on.

Shortcake asked for some furniture inside the house so we made a bed and a little corner shelf out of hearts. She decorated the bed with a marshmallow quilt and gum drop pillows and a tiny gummy teddy bear. I think this is my favorite part!!!
BigBoy wanted to decorate the tree which was a three sided piece that could stand on it's own.
He also helped with the smoke on the chimney.
My only contribution to the decoration... the icicles. I love icicles!!!
And the Pillsbury dough boy. Isn't he adorable? My grandmother use to tease that he was her secret boyfriend! We made some traditional looking gingerbread men to live in our cozy little cottage, but this guy just looked so much more joyful and excited to be here. I hope he's just as excited when the demolition crew takes over!