Love is in the air!

Valentine's Day is almost here. For the past week at our house there has been a perpetual mess of glittery stuff, paper hearts, and well...PAPER everywhere. :) Isaac and Emma had so much fun crafting their own Valentine cards

and today we made a huge batch of sweetheart cookies

(Ethan just hung out with us and looked cute!)

We like to celebrate Valentine's Day mainly because it is neat to have a set aside day every year where you focus on appreciating those who you love. And not just romantically...it's been a good opportunity to use as teachable moments with the kids. We have been talking alot about what it means to have loving, kind behavior towards each other and also to stop and realize God's great love for us. I have challenged them every day to think of something nice to do for each member of our family.

And secondly, let's face it: winters are LONG in these parts. We need fun diversions during this cold season to distract us from the reality that it is still several weeks until spring truly arrives for good.  :)

Marshmallow Lollipops

Okay, I just had to share this super simple (but brilliant!)  idea, courtesy of the ladies that author the Coupons Are Great blog (www.couponsaregreat.net). You can find the specific directions there.

These "lollipops"  require only a few inexpensive ingredients, minimal effort,and are a quick, child-friendly little project to make anytime. All you need is regular size marshmallows, chocolate or almond bark for dipping them into, and a variety of colored sugar and sprinkles to decorate with. Seeing as Valentine's Day is just around the corner, we made ours with red and pink themed sprinkles. Isaac and Emma had no trouble poking a white lollipop stick into each  marshmallow. That was their favorite part, except for the taste testing, of course.

Even Ethan got in on the dipping action!

They all had so much fun making a huge sugary,sticky,chocolatey, mess all over the kitchen .

And they actually even went to bed on schedule after all that sugar!

Four



Our Emma Grace turned four years old yesterday! It does not seem quite possible that it has been that long since I gave birth to her. Where have the years flown? How has she gone from a tiny newborn to an energetic, talkative girl who loves the colors pink and purple and all things Strawberry Shortcake and princess related??

our little angel, Emma Grace, at 6 weeks

7 months

1 year



2 years



3 years



It's neat to flip through images from her life so far and see how she has grown and changed. Here she is present day:

4 years



Emma and I together. She's tired of all the birthday pictures!



She had such a fun birthday this year! A purse-shaped cake, balloons, a house full of people who love her, games, and a pile of sparkly presents...what more could a little 4 year old girl ask for? :)

I asked her if she liked her birthday,and she answered, "Yes! It was super awesome and amazing!" (she has a very expressive personality already!).

 My wish for my daughter is that she has another wonderful year of life to enjoy. She is such a ray of sunshine. I look forward to being her Mom and getting to watch her grow. What a blessing! We all love her so much!

Happy 4th birthday, sweetheart!





A New Year

At this time of year, the question seems to be on everybody's lips:

 "Did you make any resolutions for 2011?"

It makes me stop and seriously contemplate what I really want to focus on this year. Sure, it would be nice to get more organized. I would like to read more, to start writing my own book. Planting a huge vegetable garden would be a great thing to do. There are some home improvement projects that I would like to tackle. Maybe also increasing the level of my daily work out?

Those things look great on paper, and sound even better actually saying them in response to the resolution question. There is nothing wrong with having any or all of them as  goals for this year.

But, let's say that I didn't attain even one of them.

Life would still go on, with all the ups and downs, ebbs and flows. I would not be any less valuable as a person if I was not able to cross off every "to-do" item, if there were still things that I was not able to achieve and master by the year's end.

That is because personal worth is not determined by what you do, but rather by who you are inside and how you live your life. 

This train of thought made me think of my own children and my hopes for them. I could care less if they grow up to earn a master's degree, if they gain fame and fortune, if they have a prestigous place in society. Those things certainly will not make me love them more or think more highly of them. I care most about who my children are inside, more specifically the shape of their heart,what their values are, how they treat those around them, rather than how much higher learning they have or what their income level is. If they reach adult hood and are decent human beings, I will feel like I have done my job well as their mother. I want them to have a genuine appreciation for the gift of life and to live with integrity and a deep sense of thankfulness for all their blessings. I want them to put more importance on people rather than possesions or position.

Of course, I must first lead by example and demonstrate those principles through these formative years when they are young. In 2009 I watched my Dad fight cancer and eventually pass away when he was only 47 years old, and now this year I know of a 5 year old who is fighting that same battle. These are things you don't expect to happen, and when they do, it is a jolt back to the reality that life is is such a gift.  I don't want to waste time worrying about the future or be continually focused on what I need to accomplish next. I want to live in the present, this moment here and now.
 I never want to look back and regret that I myself took too many things for granted.

So, I ripped up my first list and made a second one which include things like: making sure that my children feel loved every day (and making sure they know that it is unconditional love!), working on having a thankful attitude,slowing down my pace a little so that I can treasure more of the simple joys of life, carving out more time for my husband and I, and not being afraid to say "no" when I need to.

I am looking forward to 2011, a fresh start on my way to living a life full of joy and gratitude.

This morning my son came down for breakfast, gave me an unprompted hug and said,
"I'm glad you're here today, Mom."
I am, too.

Image courtesty of VintageHolidayCrafts.com.

Cardamom Teddy Bears

The December/January issue of "The Woman Today" magazine featured an article that presented the idea of making teddy bear shaped breads for gift giving. Emma saw the pictures of the adorable, chubby bears and begged to bake some before Christmas. I loved the idea and knew that these bears would be well received. I added them to my mental holiday baking list that was growing longer by the day.

Fast forward a few weeks until Christmas Eve, when there was finally a chance to do some serious bread baking. I decided to use a combination of a few basic cardamom bread recipes that were already in my bulging recipe box and hoped for good results. Given my partially Scandinavian heritage, I had heard much about cardamom over the years, but this was my first time actually baking with it. Cardamom has a unique sweetly pungent smell with undertones of something similar to anise. 

I have to say, this bread was a hit with my family and I think I will be making this recipe throughout the year, not just on a special occaison. I ended up making a triple batch! Each recipe makes about four medium sized bears. You could make them whatever size you want, just keep in mind to adjust the baking time. I used my heavy duty Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook attachment to mix this.

Cardamom Teddy Bears

2 tablespoons active yeast (room temperature)

1 cup warm milk

1/2 cup warm water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar or honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs (room temperature and lightly beaten)

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

1 teaspoon salt

5-6 cups all purpose flour

Combine yeast with warm water and a spoonful of sugar in mixing bowl. Stir and set aside for 5 minutes. When yeast mixture is foamy, add milk, oil, sugar, vanilla, beaten eggs, cardamom, salt, and 1 cup of flour at a time. When combined, continue adding flour, 1 cup at a time until dough is no longer sticky. Place in greased bowl, turn once so top of dough is greased also. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size. Punch down dough. Divide in fourths. From each fourth you will need a large ball for the bear body, a medium size ball for the head and ears, and small balls for the arms and legs. Little bits of dough can be used for the nose. Attach to body by wetting dough slightly where pieces will be joined, then pinch edges together. Let rise until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 350. Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted in middle of body comes out almost clean. Place on wire racks to cool.

For icing, combine a few tablespoons of butter in a sauce. When melted and golden brown, remove from heat, and stir in enough powdered sugar to make a thick paste. Add milk or cream until desired consistency, then drizzle liberally over bears. Can add raisins for eyes.

Three strikes--and it's out

This is why I put away our tree less than 24 hours after Christmas:

Our busy little guy, Ethan, knocked it over for the third time...so it was time to pack it up. I just couldn't deal with the stress of keeping him away from it anymore. Those twinkling lights and shiny ornaments have drawn him like a magnet ever since we decorated shortly after Thankgiving.

Of course, it is hard to keep from laughing when his reaction to the tree crashing down is followed by a look of pure wonder on his face. He then said "wow!"...and eventually,"uh-oh!".

Yes, this blue eyed angel is capable of getting into much mischief and often leaves havoc in his wake. But, through all the "adventures", we still love him and are thankful to have him. Someday it will be hard to remember him as an active 19 month old. I want to treasure these moments, even the hectic ones, while they last.

Wishing you a...

Merry Christmas--from our family to yours!

It's not about the gifts, the food, the parties and gatherings, the decorations. Those things fade in light of what the true meaning of Christmas is: Christ's love for all of us. We celebrate today that He came to earth to offer the ultimate gift of salvation. Even though His exact birthday is not known, our family takes time out on this day to recognize His birth and to express our love for Him and those around us.

In the midst of all the celebrating, my mind also thinks of those I know of who will not really have the chance to experience a happy Christmas this year due to illness and other hardships going on in their lives. My heart aches for them and makes me realize just how blessed my family is. I could be spending Christmas in the hospital trying to comfort my sick child. I could be out on the street without a  place to go home to. I could be wondering where my next meal will come from.
I could be all alone in the world.
As I have written previously, it is far too easy to take for granted the small things, to be too involved with trivial junk that causes the big picture to be missed entirely. Life is so much more than a rat race!

So, however you celebrate today, I hope that you are able to pause and  focus on the positive and experience His peace and joy! Count those blessings!
You may just be surprised at how many you actually have.

Gingerbread

This is what is sitting on our kitchen counter right now:

What a fun recipe to make with the kids. It was very easy! Isaac and Emma's favorite part was rolling out the dough, and of course all three of them liked the tasting part when we were all done!

Gingerbread

3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup mild flavor molasses

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix flour, spices, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a seperate bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add molasses, egg, and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a thick, flat disk. Wrap snugly in plastic wrap. Chill at least 4 hours (overnight is best).

Roll dough 1/4-inch thick on lightly floured work surface. Cut into gingerbread men shapes with 5-inch cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until edges of cookies are set and just beginning to brown. Cool on wire racks. Makes about 2 dozen cookies. Decorate as desired--have fun!

Sweet & sticky

There has been alot on my mind these past few days, and it has honestly been weighing me down. This morning when the kids woke, I decided to put all that behind me for the time being and just live in the moment...soaking up and appreciating the special, little everyday things. Ethan's sleep-creased face and dimpled grin, Emma's messy halo of hair falling in her eyes while she munched her cereal, Isaac's endless stream of chatter about super heroes and laser beams, just to name a few. We are safe and happy. We have full cuboards. We have heat. Everyone is healthy right now.The kids and I have a great Daddy/husband coming home to us this evening. Who could ask for more?

The kids wanted to dip pretzels as our activity today, so we did. They had so much fun! I love to see them laughing and getting along together. It was a big, sticky choatic mess, but worth every second of cleaning afterwards. :) We ended up with a heaping pile of pretzels, some decorated with a few sprinkles, some with none whatsoever, and some so thickly covered that you would be hard pressed to see a speck of white almond bark. Each one is a little different. They really got creative!

And in case anyone reading this will be a guest in our home around the holidays or the recipient of some of our goodies, rest assured that you will be given pretzels from a batch that did not involve my children's help (i.e. "kid germs"). The pretzels pictured in this post are reserved for our direct consumption only. :)

Ethan says, "Yum, yum!".

Christmas bark

Today we made two different varieties of Christmas bark, and both received rave reviews from my family. Looks like there won't be much left to stash away in the freezer. I will have to make (lots) more right before the holiday! :) It was super easy to prepare, clean up was a snap, and the kids had a blast helping.
Fun times had by all!

The first kind (my personal favorite) is Peppermint Bark. All that you need for this is:

12 ounces white chocolate (I used candy coating melts, but vanilla baking chips would work as well)

dash of almond extract

crushed candy canes

You simply line a baking sheet with parchment paper, crush the candy canes, then melt the chocolate on very low power in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so. When it is melted, stir in almond extract, spread onto parchment paper, and quickly sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Press the candy bits down slightly with your hands or back of a spoon. Let harden, then break apart into pieces. It looks too pretty to eat!

Emma was very particular about the job she got to do. :)

The favorite part of making this recipe for the boys was using a toy plastic hammer to crush the candy!

The second second kind is Chocolate Toffee Bark. For this you need:

1 sleeve of saltine crackers

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (I used colored sprinkles)

As previously, you line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then place the crackers onto the paper in a single layer. Preheat oven to 350. In a saucepan, melt the butter, stir in brown sugar, and bring to boil. Cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over crackers, bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, immediately put chocolate chips ontop. When chocolate is soft, spread evenly with a knife to cover cracker base. Place nuts (or sprinkles) ontop. Let harden in refrigerator. When cool, break into pieces. This is addicting!

(You would never think that a main ingredient was saltine crackers.)

Ethan was happy to fill the role of taste tester today!

Fun with felt

In our quest to have the simplified (and frugal!) Christmas that I have written about lately, my goal is to stay out of the stores as much as possible. So, when faced with the realization that the gifts I was wrapping were lacking that extra little something, I decided that instead of hitting the mall, it was a good opportunity to look around at what I already had near at hand and make use of it, rather than immediately buying something pre-made. Time to look in the craft drawers for something to inspire. :)

Lo and behold, I found a forgotten, full to the brim bag of felt squares that had given to me awhile back. Emma liked how soft it was in her hands and loved the bright array of colors. She had the brilliant idea of making ornaments out of this felt! It sounded great to me, so I dug around some more and pulled out ribbon, trims, odd buttons, sequins, and glue. Isaac heard about our crafting plans and wanted to
get in on the excitement, too.

Got everyone set up at the table and let them go for it! Nothing like lots of sparkly embellishments and pretty colors to get those creative juices flowing....

I cut out miniature stockings, trees, stars, and round ball shapes to decorate. I was impressed with their imaginative designs.

They are already planning on who the lucky recipients of these ornaments will be! It's so cute how excited they are to give them away. Of course, a few of these somehow made it onto our own tree.....

I worked along side of the kids, and ultimately ended up with 15 ornaments to use in my own gift giving this year. I have more cut out and ready to assemble, but haven't completed them as of yet.

This is as far as I have gotten:

So, this is a sampling of what we have been working on this week. Simple, cute, easy, affordable. These will be perfect as package toppers or tucked inside of an "edible gifts" basket!



Pumpkin spice bread

I love to bake, especially around the holidays, so it seems natural that this blog will have alot of baking subject matter. :) Yesterday the kids and I made pumpkin spice bread. All three of them gobble it up as soon as it has cooled from the oven. It's so good and makes the house smell great as it bakes.

We will be making another double (perhaps even triple?) batch closer to Christmas, this time in mini loaf size, to give as gifts. This recipe is very versatile. You can stir in chopped nuts and raisins, dried cranberries, or even miniature chocolate chips.

Pumpkin Spice Bread

1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup vegetable oil (I used unsweetened applesauce for half of oil)

2/3 cup water

3 cups white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two large 9x5-inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, sugar, and vanilla. In seperate bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. Stir both mixtures together until just blended. Divide batter between pans. Bake 50-60 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out almost clean (don't overbake!).

Little Ethan gives it a thumbs up!

Savor the season

It's December! All I felt upon turning the calendar page to this month was excited anticipation, believe it or not. No stress, no frenzied panic, no "system overload" of mental to-do lists rushing through my brain. I am looking forward not only to Christmas itself, but also the upcoming weeks prior to it.

That's because this year is going to be a little different.

We have always been careful to emphasize with our children what the true meaning of Christmas is: Christ's birth and His love for us. We do put up a Christmas tree, we do give gifts, we bake a dizzying amount of goodies, we sing carols. BUT, at the core of it all, we have been teaching the children what the reason behind it all really is.

However.

It isn't the children that are the problem. :) For me anyway, it is so easy as an adult to get swept up into worrying about all the small things: such as if I have spent the same amount of money for each gift, if I remembered to give to everyone that gave us gifts the previous year...if I should make goodie bags for all the neighbors on both sides of our entire street since I gave a few bags out to our direct neighbors.. . I am often left feeling as though I have never done enough. Where does it ever end?!?

It goes beyond the mere gifts, though. Holidays seem to have a way of bringing out family drama. It is so difficult to celebrate and experience the joy when one feels pulled in a million different directions and spends the whole holiday running from here to there in an attempt to keep everyone happy. What I personally have realized is: I can't. No matter how hard I try! I, for one, am tired of guilt-filled Decembers.

Everywhere we look, we are bombarded with elaborate decorations, fancy foods, glossy catalogs and colorful newspaper ads promising great deals so we can afford to buy even more stuff than we normally would. There is always that long list of holiday parties, traditions, events, plays-- you name it--all of which we are "supposed" to be a part of. 

And then Christmas rolls around before we know it, and many of us are totally exhausted, broke, joyless. That is not how it is supposed to be! It's fine to give gifts, enjoy a good meal with our families, do some activites, but the key is finding a healthy balance, to examine motivations for why we are doing things. Is it out of enrichment for the family and bringing joy to others,...or is it because we feel it is what is expected of us, and we wouldn't ever,ever want to disappoint?

(I was inspired by the posts that my friend, Michelle, has written on her blog: The Adventures of Mommy Missionary . She has written about the subject of simplifying Christmas and "spending less, giving more." Lots of good ideas--check it out!) 

So, this year we are scaling back, carefully choosing a few activites to do (out of the many) that are important to our family, giving gifts to our immediate family and friends without worrying about keeping cost exactly even, doing alot of baking, crafts, rocking out to Christmas music, thinking of ways to play "Secret Santa" to those around us... and just generally slowing down and keeping things light, fun, and peaceful!

Every time I see these little faces, it sure brings things into perspective. Next to eternal salvation and my husband, they are the best gifts I could ever have under the tree on Christmas morning!



Apple Crumb Pie

This is one of the desserts that I served at our Thankgiving celebration recently, though you certainly do not have to wait until a holiday to bake one--it is a year round recipe in our house. It is a delicious combination of both sweet and tart. The flavors play off of each other well, especially when topped with real whipped cream and a dash of extra cinnamon. The crumbly topping is a nice twist on your typical apple pie.

Apple Crumb Pie

9 inch pastry shell, unbaked, chilled

1 cup sifted flour

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

6 cups peeld, sliced apples (Granny Smith give best results)

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat ovent to 375. Mix flour, brown sugar, and salt in bowl. Add softened butter and mix with a fork until crumbly. Set aside. Combine apples with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix  to coat slices.  Put into chilled pastry shell. Top apples with reserved crumb mixture. Bake in preheated oven until apples are tender and topping is golden brown, about 50 minutes. If pie begins browning too quickly, you can put a piece of aluminum foil loosely ontop during last 10-15 minutes of baking time. Serve slightly warm.



"White Friday"

Although the day following Thanksgiving is traditionally called "Black Friday", to me, this year, I like to think of it as "White Friday". Here I sit at the computer, snugly wrapped in a blanket, chai tea brewing, watching the view of the rising sun out of my window. How pure and white the fresh blanket of snow looks! The children are still asleep, it's so peaceful. I woke early this morning, and by 6:00 AM, I had my Christmas shopping mostly finished. And I never left the house. How is this possible??

Online shopping! I am not one of those people that brave the cold and mobs of deal-crazy shoppers stampeding the aisles to snatch up the door busters. I don't need the experience of actually being in a store. I don't thrive on shopping merely for the sake of shopping.

I do, however, like a good bargain! I have discovered that many of the Friday deals are available on the store's website. What could be better than shopping in your pajamas from the comfort of your own home?? I find that doing this helps me to make more deliberate choices and keep better track of how much I am actually spending. I have a detailed list of who I still need to purchase a gift for, so it has me on track,organized rather than feeling rushed and overwhelmed with a frenzy of people around me. Many stores even offer free shipping, or have promo codes/coupons that take a certain amount off of your grand total. It's so exciting waiting for those boxes to start arriving, too!

Another option is free site-to-store shipping. Your package is mailed directly to the store, they notify you when it arrives, and you simply walk in and pick it up at the customer service counter.

So, this year, I should have all shopping completed by December 1st--what a great feeling! Now I just need to make sure I have enough wrapping paper! :)

Thankful hands tree

We had a blast making this yesterday:

It was easy, fun, and inexpensive to put together and gave us  a chance to talk about what we are thankful for, even if it was something that seemed small or insignificant. It was interesting to hear their variety of answers! (It's funny how "McDonald's" was in their top five! ) When the hand tracings were cut out and I was ready to write an item on each, I could barely keep up with Isaac and Emma's steady stream of praises. I think we may need to make a second tree just to hold the rest! 

I hung this tree at eye level in a high traffic area of the house so that we will be seeing it many, many  times throughout the day. It's a good reminder for all of us (including the adults!) of just how blessed we truly are.

Look what landed at our house today!!

A whole flock of brightly colored "rainbow turkeys" (so named by the kids) have descended upon us--just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving next week!

The two older kids had such a fun morning assembling them.They insisted on using all sorts of colors for the "feathers", even shades that were a bit unconventional in comparision to what you normally would have on a turkey. :) I was happy to see their abundance of creativity and their willingness to go "outside the box" and make something just the way they wanted to!

The lot of turkeys are now jauntily roosting above the closet in the playroom. What a fun, festive sight upon looking in the door!

There was a huge mess of paper scraps and glue (and some cookie crumbs got mixed in there, too) that was left to clean up afterwards....BUT, so very worth it. This is the stuff that memories are made of, after all!

It is true. A child's smile can say a thousand words.