Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs

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Spaghetti is one of my favorite meals! This recipe is from Dylan’s grandmother, and it is amazing! It has come to be one of our family’s meals for special occasions—birthdays, Valentine’s Day, as well as Christmas Eve. I love to set a fancy Christmas Eve or Valentine’s Day table and dig into a plate of scrumptious spaghetti with homemade meatballs. There is nothing better!

This is from Valentine’s Day a few years ago, but I just love penelope’s face here. :)

Homemade Spaghetti & Meatballs

Sauce Ingredients

  • 1/2 onion, chopped

  • 2 cloves of garlic

  • 2 – 16 ounce cans of tomato sauce

  • 1 – 16 ounce can of tomato paste

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • 1 tablespoon oregano

  • 1 tablespoon basil

  • 1 tablespoon parsley

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 – 2 bay leaves

  • Dash of Tabasco sauce

  • salt and pepper

  • 1 cup water

Meatball Ingredients

  • 3 slices of old bread soaked in 3/4 cup of water

  • 1/2 onion, chopped

  • 1 tablespoon parsley

  • 1.5 pounds of ground beef

  • 3 tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese, shredded

  • 1 egg

  • Salt and Pepper

For Serving

  • Thin Spaghetti Noodles

  • Parmesan Cheese

  • Salad and French Bread

Sauce & Meatball Directions

  • Before you start the sauce:

    • Put the bread slices into the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl) and cover with the 3/4 cup of water.

  • Make the sauce:

    • In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic in 1/4 cup of olive oil.

    • Add the rest of the sauce ingredients, stir to combine, cover the pot, and simmer for 30 minutes.

  • As the sauce is simmering, make the meatballs:

    • Give the bread a good stir, now that it is softened, to break it up.

    • Add all of the remaining meatball ingredients into your bowl with the bread. Gently mix until just combined.

    • Form into large meatballs. Set them on a cutting board or tray as you work.

  • After the sauce has simmered for 30 minutes:

    • Gently add the meatballs to the sauce. Just plop them in and put the lid back on.

    • Continue to simmer for 90 minutes to 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so to make sure it isn’t sticking to the bottom of your pan/burning. (If it doesn’t seem to be bubbling enough, turn it up just slightly. If it seems to be sticking on the bottom, turn the burner down slightly. Be very gentle as you stir the meatballs. You don’t want to break them.)

When you are ready to eat, boil the thin spaghetti noodles, drain, and divide into bowls. Serve with sauce and meatballs on top. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese to your heart’s content.

We love to make a fancy meal of this, so we usually have salad and warm french bread for a delicious meal!

I hope you love these Spaghetti and Meatballs as much as we do!

Our Collection of Christmas Books

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We don’t have a huge collection of Christmas books, but I think they are a fun mix of Christ-centered and just for fun. I think they capture the magic of the Christmas season, and I delight in reading each of them with my children. Here’s what we have…

Our collection of Christmas books

The Christmas Promise

The Christmas Promise Storybook: A True Story from the Bible about God’s Forever King by Alison Mitchell is a great addition to any Christmas library. It is a retelling of the Christmas story from a very pointed perspective that Jesus is the promised King of the Bible. He is the new King, the rescuing King, the forever King. I like the illustrations, and I like that it is a simple but clear story about the importance of Jesus’ birth. It is aimed at children age 3–6.

Song of the Stars

I think the publisher’s description does a great job capturing the essence of this book—"Song of the Stars, written by bestselling author Sally Lloyd-Jones, takes children on the journey of Advent and the anticipation of Jesus’ arrival. All of creation comes together in this poetic and majestic telling of the Christmas story. Join every creature as they celebrate the arrival of Jesus!”

It is geared toward children age 4–7, and I think the poetic language does lend itself best to that age bracket. However, younger children can certainly engage with this book. I like that it takes a different perspective on the magic and anticipation we feel at Christmastime while still pointing to the reason we celebrate Christ’s birth.

The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker, based on the New York City Ballet’s production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker is illustrated by Valeria Docampo. It is my very favorite version of The Nutcracker! I love, love, love the illustrations, and I think it does a great job of capturing and retelling the story. It is thorough but not too wordy. It pairs very well with The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker (next on the list), but if I could only have one, I would choose this one!

The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker

The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker by Katy Flint is a beautiful production of The Nutcracker, but what makes it unique is that as you read each page, you can press a button to hear an excerpt of an orchestra playing Tchaikovsky’s score from the ballet. The illustrations are also very well done! I really like this one paired with the longer version I listed above; this is more abridged. I do like that this one is more interactive and introduces children to the music. If you can get your kids to go through it slowly, you can have a great conversation about how the music evokes different moods and feelings and actions going on in the story. It’s a fun addition to any Christmas collection, for sure.

Little Blue Truck’s Christmas

My daughter, Penelope, has always loved the Little Blue Truck books. We have many of them. Little Blue Truck’s Christmas is really cute for fans of the Little Blue Truck. It has the same lilting story, while counting and delivering Christmas trees. It’s cute and fun and has twinkly lights at the end! For littles, this is a fun Christmas book.

The 12 Days of Christmas

I’ve always loved the song about the 12 Days of Christmas, and this version by Jill Howarth is really cute. It’s in a board book format, so it’s great for toddlers and preschoolers. The illustrations are fun and festive and adorable!

The Colors of Christmas

Also by Jill Howarth, The Colors of Christmas is really cute for toddlers and preschoolers! It is simple, but the illustrations really shine. It captures the colorful, merry spirit of Christmas in a simple board book.

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

I got ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (illustrated by Mr. Bodington’s Studio) last year to use as part of our Advent calendar on Christmas Eve. We actually don’t do Santa with our kids, but I think this book embodies the magic and excitement that kids feel on Christmas Eve. I really like that this one is done with a more modern style of colorful illustrations yet uses the traditional wording of the poem, “A Visit From St. Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore. It’s a fun book to read during the season.


Tell me, do you have any favorite Christmas books that you read with your kids?

Advent Traditions with Kids

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The word advent means “the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event”, and the season of Advent is the time leading up to Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Christ. He is the notable person, and his birth is the event that was waited for!

Advent is naturally a great time to highlight Christ’s birth and the reality that God became a man, took on flesh, and lived among us (in advance of his death and resurrection at Easter.) There are sooo many ways that you can do this with your family. There are tons of resources out there to help you do it. (I will link a few at the bottom of this post to help you get started.) I want to share 3 ways we have sought to do this over the last few years. For reference, our kids are 7, 4, and 1.

Read Christ-centered Christmas books

This is such a simple way to bring the true meaning of Christmas into your home—read Christ-centered Christmas books. You can do it on whatever schedule works for you—bedtime, read aloud time during the day, skip a day when you are out and about, whatever works for you. You really only need 1 or 2 good books to get your collection started.

Here’s the thing, though. There are many, many Christmas books out there, and many of them are cute/beautiful/fun. We have many of them, and they make for a beautiful collection that we love to read together. But, you also have to intentionally choose books that point to Christ. Our very favorite is The Christmas Promise Storybook: A True Story from the Bible about God’s Forever King’ by Alison Mitchell. Another great one is Song of the Stars by Sally Lloyd-Jones. (Both are linked at the bottom.)

Jesus Storybook Bible Advent Plan + Ornaments

If you have not heard of The Jesus Storybook Bible, it is a wonderful, wonderful children’s Bible! It is written by Sally Lloyd-Jones for children ages 2–6. Here’s the description from the publisher: “The Jesus Storybook Bible invites you and your children into the story of God’s Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love. From the Old Testament through the New Testament, as the Story unfolds, children will clearly see that Jesus is at the center of God's great story of salvation—and at the center of their story too. Every story whispers His Name. ”

All that being said, it is a great resource throughout the year, but at Christmas, Sally Lloyd-Jones puts together an Advent Kit on her blog. It includes a selection of stories for each day of December that start in the Old Testament and lead up to Jesus’ birth. The part I like best is that there are printable ornaments that have an illustration from the book as well as the story name that you can easily print out and use throughout the season. You could do this on its own or as part of an Advent calendar. When our son was 4 or so, we did this, and it was a really nice, intentional time to make sure we were reading the Bible regularly with him and to really clearly go through a selection of Bible stories and end, pointing to Jesus’ birth. If you’re looking to do some sort of Advent Calendar or daily activity during Advent, I think this is a great option for younger children. It is simple to set up, a pretty small time commitment each day, and very accessible for children ages 2–6.

Advent Wreath

This year, in conjunction with my DIY Advent Calendar, I wanted to incorporate an Advent Wreath. Our Advent Calendar is largely gifts and fun activities, so I wanted to build in a way to be intentionally talking about Jesus during this season. For each Sunday of our calendar, our ‘activity’ is that we read a short devotional and then light the corresponding candle on the Advent Wreath. We usually do this at dinner.

Each candle has a different meaning and highlights a different aspect of the Christmas story. There are some resources out there, but in general, it seems that you have to pull together the content you want to use for your advent devotional each Sunday. I think you could definitely do this as part of a broader Advent study and just read the daily reading for that day. I wanted to do a more traditional Advent wreath, so I looked up the meanings for each of the candles and put together a small write-up, with the Bible verses written out so we didn’t have to flip between pages, and then just printed them out on our home printer. It isn’t pretty, but it is simple and was easy to execute. I just tuck the paper into the pocket of our Advent Calendar to grab easily when we are ready for it.

One note on how it went for us this year. Our son, age 7, seems to really track with the readings and enjoy them. I think they are a bit over our 4 year old’s head. I think for next year I will try to use different content that could better engage with our two younger children. I might try to incorporate a couple of the Jesus Storybook Bible stories for each Sunday, or I’ll look into another resource we could use. I haven’t decided yet. I think it was still a worthwhile and meaningful time together each Sunday for sure, so I don’t consider it a waste by any means.

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU GET STARTED

  • Lots of families like The Jesse Tree during Advent. I’m not very familiar with it, but it may be worth looking into.

  • New Growth Press has several Advent Devotionals for Families. You could do the devotional on its own or as part of a broader Advent calendar.

Diy Advent Calendar + Ideas for Filling It!

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This is our second year doing an Advent Calendar. For several years I have wanted to create one but wasn’t sure where to start, or waited too late to get it pulled together. Last year, at the tail end of my pregnancy with our third child, I decided I really wanted to pull something together to make the season special and help my two older kids not feel lost in the shuffle of the new baby. It was super bare bones, but we had a lot of fun with it. I made a few tweaks for this year, but overall I kept the structure and many of the ideas the same as last year. I don’t know if we will do it every year, and it will probably change as my kids are older or our schedule changes or whatever, but the thing I love about this type of Advent calendar is that you can make it whatever you want/need for that year.

Here’s the basic set-up I used, and then below I have ideas for filling up each day. This is more of a basic structure to get you started, not really a recipe. I think the advantage of creating an Advent calendar with this system is that you can have fun with it. Treat it like a craft project and adjust it to what fits with your decor, your style, etc. Also, for what it’s worth, it’s ok to to start with something really basic and then add embellishments throughout the season or in future years. That’s totally what I have done, and I’m glad I started it even though I wasn’t ready to fully embellish it the first year. ‘Done’ was better than ‘perfect’, in this instance, for me.

Diy Advent Calendar

Supplies

  • Over the Door Shoe Organizer in Natural Linen; via Amazon

  • Printable Numbers (1-24); I used the Black Printable Number Tags from Live Laugh Rowe on white cardstock.

  • Embellishments—little wreaths, bells, ornaments, poinsettias, other cards

  • Mini Brads (I used these, but any mini brads would work.)

  • Scrapbook Adhesive Mounting Squares

  • Scissors

  • Safety Pins, various sizes

Directions

  • Gather all your supplies. Cut out your number tags.

  • Lay out or hang up your shoe organizer.

    • I found it was easier to hang it up to work with it, but you could lay it out on your table if that’s easier for you.

  • Attach your number tags to the shoe organizer using the brads—poke a hole in your paper tag using the sharp point of a safety pin. Gently push the brad through the hole and then poke it through the linen fabric of the shoe organizer.

    • You could use a small hole punch, but I thought it looked better with a very small hole that was hidden by the brad.

  • Add your embellishments—Using your safety pins, attach any embellishments that you want to mount directly to the fabric of the shoe organizer. Then, using your adhesive mounting squares, add any embellishments that go on the number tags.

    • For me, it helped me to see everything on the shoe rack, and then to remove a number tag, add the embellishment, and then reattach it. That way I could make sure the whole thing was looking balanced. I also left some number tags plain so it didn’t look too busy overall. I think I’d like to add a couple of mini wreaths to my calendar, but otherwise I really like how it has come together.

  • Fill your DIY Advent Calendar with notes and goodies and have so much fun with your kids!

A Few Thoughts on Filling Your Advent Calendar

Before we get into the list of ideas, I have three thoughts about filling your Advent Calendar.

First, be intentional about how you fill your calendar. It can be so easy to buy a bunch of random things at Target or the Dollar Store to fill each day. But, will you actually use those things after the season?! Will they just add clutter to your house/life?! Think about your family’s values, what’s important to you, your kid’s needs/wants, and use that to craft your list of items to fill your calendar. Just because they are on my list doesn’t mean they are right for you. Use my list as a jumping off point to make your own list. For example, maybe your child doesn’t care about legos, but they love their play kitchen. Think of something small you could make (or buy) to use with their play kitchen.

Second, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to fill your calendar. Every day doesn’t have to be a gift, and the ‘gifts’ can be small. Think of ways you can use what you have, leverage the thrift store, or incorporate something you were planning to do/buy for the season already.

Third, take your schedule into account when you plan how to fill each day! Go through your calendar—make note of any special events you have already; use those as your ‘activity’ for that day of the calendar. For example, we have a December birthday, and this year we were planning to host a Christmas Party. Those were our ‘activities’ for those days. Also, note any busy days/evenings and choose something simple (or a gift) for those days. There’s nothing worse than planning an activity and not having enough time to actually do it. You will be stressed and your kids will be bummed. Finally, try to intentionally build in calm nights. It’s already a busy, full season; do yourself and your kids a favor and build in some calm nights at home to enjoy each other’s company.

Without further ado, here are my Advent Calendar Filler Ideas!


Ideas for Filling Your DIY Advent Calendar

Advent Readings

Christmas is about Christ after all. Building Advent readings into your calendar is a great way to keep your eyes on Jesus during the Christmas season.

  • Sally Lloyd-Jones has an Advent Kit on her blog that includes printable ornaments for each day of December that correspond to The Jesus Storybook Bible. You could do all of them or just a selection, depending on what fits your schedule.

  • Lots of families like The Jesse Tree during Advent. I’m not very familiar with it, but it may be worth looking into.

  • New Growth Press has several Advent Devotionals for Families. You could write the verses for that day onto a notecard and tuck that into your calendar.

  • Advent Candles for each Sunday of the month—This year we have been lighting Advent candles as part of an Advent wreath on each Sunday of the month. I tuck the reading for those days into our Advent calendar, but it could also work to tuck the candles into the corresponding pockets until you are ready to light them.

Gifts

  • Christmas Pajamas—I love to do this for the first day of the month!

  • Twisty Straws

  • Small Lego Sets

  • Bath Bombs or Bubble Bath

  • Open a gift from under the tree—My aunt has a tradition of sending books for each of the kids, and I decided this year to make it part of our Advent calendar. I thought it would make it really special, and this way they won’t get lost in all of the presents on Christmas Day. You could pick a present from an extended family member to use for this day.

  • Books (Christmas or otherwise)

  • Bookmarks (my son is forever looking for a bookmark!)

  • Stuffed Animals

  • Socks

  • Glow Sticks

  • Temporary Tattoos

  • Stickers

  • Markers (or other art supplies they are running low on)

  • Coloring Books (The ‘Paint by Sticker’ books are pretty cool too.)

  • Playdoh

  • Games—This Animal Kingdom Card Game has been a huge hit, and my four year old can play herself. I got the Silly Monkey Card Game for this year. A checkers or tic tac toe set would also be fun!

  • New ornaments (either one for each kid or a family ornament)

  • Lip balm

Food / Treats

Activities

  • Decorate the Christmas Tree

  • Go see Holiday Lights

  • Pull out a special blanket and read Christmas books

  • Make Christmas cards for extended family

  • Blast Christmas Music

  • Popcorn and a Movie

  • Make Christmas cookies together (or just decorate some!)

  • Attend a holiday party!

  • Family Game Night

  • Make Paper Snowflakes or Paper Christmas Stars to decorate the house

  • Homemade Gifts for family or friends

  • Homemade ornaments—There are tons of homemade ornament ideas on Pinterest, but here are 2 that I hope to make.

  • Special visit to the Zoo, Children’s museum, Art museum, or Science museum (whatever your family is into!)

  • Listen to a Christmas Story

  • Attend a special Christmas performance (a play or recital or concert)

Do you do an Advent calendar with your kids? If so, what’s your favorite gift or activity you’ve done?

A Quick Front Door Makeover for the Holidays

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Our front door is a really pretty wood door that has seen better days. It desperately needed a coat of paint to give it a new lease on life. Here’s how it looked before it’s new paint.

I loved the color from the front door at our previous house so much that I decided to use it again, and I think it looks lovely against our light yellow siding.

Ta da! Isn’t it so beautiful!

The color is Sherwin Williams “Blackberry”, and it’s a beautiful, rich purple with lots of red in it. I love the depth of color. It also pairs so well with the deep green and bright red of the wreath.

Pip was hoping, longing to dart out the door and run away. His favorite pastime.

This was a pretty quick project (the taping of the windows took the longest), but it was very satisfying to see it come together just in time to decorate for Christmas!