Eema’s Vanishing Cream Cheese Cookies

Mr. Awesome has gotten hooked on the cream cheese cookies from a certain sandwich chain. We tried a ‘copy-cat’ recipe, but it had so many crazy and hard-to-find ingredients that I decided to try tweaking our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe to make something close to what he was craving. After a few tries, we definitely have a winner!

I call them ‘Eema’s Vanishing Cream Cheese Cookies’ for a couple of reasons. First, I became a grandma last year and we decided that I will be called ‘Eema’ by the littles… so cute and precious to hear that! Secondly, these cookies tend to vanish before your eyes, so you’ve got to be quick to grab one when they have cooled down enough to eat. They are so GOOD! I’m so excited to share this recipe with everyone I know!

You could probably use any dried or freeze-dried fruit as long as it wasn’t hard, like dried bananas. I don’t think fresh fruit would work unless you ‘dry’ it in the oven for a bit before using it… You can probably research how to dehydrate fruit in the oven for some ideas on how to do this.

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Grace & Gratitude: Devotional & Activities

Have you ever really stopped to think about what the word ‘thanksgiving’ actually means to you? Or does this season just get too busy to even enjoy or reflect?

If that is the case for you, then this devotional might be a good thing. It would also be a nice way to involve the whole family during the week of Thanksgiving or maybe even the week before the holiday… however you wish to use it. Don’t let the time of year stop you from checking this out because it doesn’t have to be reserved for November! We can always use a refresher on how to practice GRATITUDE!

I’ve made it into a printable PDF, so it is easier for our homeschool, and maybe that will make it easier for you. If anyone needs me to type it out on the blog, I can do that also, just let me know in the comments below.

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Special Holiday Meals: Polar Express Party

Everyone looks forward to this party at our house every year! It does take a little work and planning, but it is so WORTH IT!

We try to make some homemade gifts to give out as Christmas gifts to our family and friends… usually food. We also have some fun games and lots of yummy treats to keep us busy until the Polar Express starts! Then our living room turns into an interactive Movie Theater… so much FUN!

Here are some of the posts that we have related to our past Polar Express Parties:

Polar Express Party (2016)

Polar Express 2022

Polar Express 2023, Sourdough Gifts & Recipes, and Other Life Updates

Polar Express Planning (2024)

Polar Express 2024

Polar Express 2025

DIY Advent Games: Engage Kids This Holiday Season

Advent Celebrations: DIY BINGO Game and Crafts

Stress-Free Christmas: Download Your Gift List Now

What does my family want? What do they like? Are they outgrowing their school clothes? What was that book they really wanted?

I know how stressful Christmas shopping can get, and this year has been a bit more so… maybe this will help take a little of that stress off your shoulders. This will be replacing ‘Letters to Santa’ in our home, and maybe it could in your home too!

I’ve previously shared our FREE printable shopping guide, but I’ve taken that a step further as we’ve been trying to simplify Christmas a little bit more so that we can really focus on the reason for the season.

FREE Printable Shopping Guide

We are trying to do a 3-4 gift rule here at our home, and even that looks like a mountain of gifts with the number of people we have. We really love getting ‘experience’ gifts, but sometimes that just doesn’t work out, so having this new list on hand will make things a little simpler. I also included a place to write the individual sizes and such to have everything on one page. Here is the link to download it:

On my computer, I have to keep changing the page layout to ‘portrait’ for this, so keep that in mind when you go to print it out, just in case it does the same thing to you!

I like to snap a picture of the finished lists so that I can have it with me whenever I am out and about, this also makes it easy to share with others you might want to buy gifts for your family.

Here is another version of the Wish List from last year:

Christmas Wish List

I hope this helps out! If it does, be sure to like, comment, and share this with someone you know!

God Bless!

Start Your Holiday Prep: Week 7 Guide

Have you gotten started on your Holiday Prep? If not, don’t worry because you still have plenty of time, but don’t procrastinate any longer!

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