Christmas Morning Menu

Christmas morning is the special time for just our immediate little family.  After pillaging the floor beneath Christmas tree we wonder back to the kitchen for something to fill our bellies (besides the treats that were in the stockings).  Here is our menu plan:

Cinnamon glazed scones - click the links for the recipe

Chocolate Banana Bread - click the link here too for the recipe
(Just going to add here that Money Saving Mom has the best recipes!)

Big bowl of fluffy scrambled eggs

Bacon - we're going to be luxurious and bake up two packages in the oven!

Grape juice - juice is a rare treat so this is also greatly anticipated.

Mmmm!  I'm pulling up the recipes today so we can make the chocolate banana bread ahead of time and freeze it.  I'm hoping to make some additional mini loaves so we can have some to pull out for Shortcake's birthday tea party next month.

Upcycled Tights

So here's the shot of Norah and her upcycled tights.  Last week she was wiggling her little finger into a hole in the knee of them making it bigger and bigger.  Now, they are her favorite thing to wear.

The "how-to" is just to free-hand cut out a heart from scrap felt.  I used a blanket stitch and some doubled up thread to attach it.  It might go together faster if you don't have a pile of boys asking questions and sitting on you as you stitch but "hey" it's all about what works for you.  I have to say that my inspiration came from a friend at My Life Inspired.  So cute!

Hugs and Merry Christmas!

Breaking blog silence

I'm breaking blog silence after months of . . . well silence.  A couple of weeks ago I found a hard copy of my blog from years ago.  My mom printed it out, bound it up and gave it to me because she thought I could write and was proud of me.  I'm gonna get all teary, might need to grab a Kleenex while I type here.

I think my mom often wondered what I was going to grow up "being".  Back in her day my mom took the train from Montana to Minnesota to go to nursing school.  As far as I know, she loved her work.  When she quit at the hospital she had three boys to nurse at home so she really just transferred locations.  That was her thing.  So I think she wondered what would be "my" thing.  I even got the feeling she was a little concerned.  I wasn't the sharpest pencil in the box.  I remember her suggesting I push my nail cuticles back after showers to increase my chances of being a hand model someday.  I'm not even going to humor you with a picture of my hands.  Let's just say short, knuckley, huge writing callus on my middle writing finger, and three fingers that have those everywinterdrypainfulbleedingsplitcracks.

I did a little of this and that in my pre-baby days and I now love my full-time job as mom.  Somehow, over the years, I discovered I really liked words.  I just like them.  They are a special communion my spirit shares with my Maker and sometimes with friends.

My heart feels joy knowing that my mom thought I had a knack for it and had found something "to do".

Somehow Facebook has taken the brunt of my emotional "I miss my mom posts".  I guess over there I get lots of "like" hugs and encouragement.  Finding that binder was a boot in the pants to start sharing over here more.  I tend to share my heart more fully here and it makes me feel so much more vulnerable.  Making yourself do hard things helps you to grow.  So be it.  These last 15 months have provided plenty of opportunity for that.

I'm going to go post the super cute picture of Shortcake and her upcycled tights that sat me down to post in the first place.  I'd better keep it short since I'm supposed to be knitting Christmas gifts for next week.

Never Fear!

Never Fear . . the General, Shortcake, and lamby are on the job!  

Project Fair 2013

Time for the project fair at our homeschool co-op.   I love these things and then I love when they are over!

Agent H's project focused on the life of a Civil War soldier.  He is such a history lover and he just reads and reads and gushes everything he has learned.  I think he gets it from EH's dad. :)






Notice the Lego soldiers with horse and cart (teeny tiny on the table there)?  Everything in life is better with Legos.  We made some hard tack to serve and put out a sign warning about possible broken teeth if they chewed it.  It's supposed to be good for something like five years!

Agent E made a book about eco-systems as we read through his science curriculum.  He wrote the book as if he and Agent H were traveling and so there are lots of great pictures of him running away from a volcano erruption, his brother pulling him out of quicksand, having tea and toast in the desert.  

I am so proud of their hard work!

Learning to Write Your Name

Someone is learning to write their name . . .  in all the wrong places.

Me and E

I'm posting this just because I love this pic of Agent E and I.  Awww, love that kid!

Ski Trip

Ski trip with Ed's sister!  There are no words to express my gratidute for those who made it possible for me to go . . . alone . . . for three days.  

Grand Prix 2013

Agent H and his AWANA Grand Prix car!

Checkn' out the line up.

Feeling shy

The General has been going through an off and on shy thing.  He brought me the paper and told me what to write.  Then he posted it to himself.  I think it's half self pep-talk and half leave-me-alone while I work this out.

Time for tea

Today I'm celebating six months of Heaven for the woman who loved me past my flaws and saw beauty unconditionally.

Breath

You can choke on pain.
That miserable sick feeling in one's belly, it works its way up your insides, quivers past your heart and makes it hard to breath.
Hard to breath.
Breath.
Breath of Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
My heart is Yours.
You give me breath, sweet breath.
Sweet
Breath.

Cozied up with a book

It's where I find Agent H over and over again.

Beautiful Blessings

Big box fun

The fun to be had with a big box is endless - especially for these budding artists. This one stood in our living room for a couple of weeks while it was worked upon.  Having a functional toilet was a bonus.

Agent E's 7th Birthday

Happy Birthday Agent E!  I love how this kid expresses his joy!  In our family, the kids get to open a present at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Here is the first in the line up.  He really had his hopes set on this sling shot!

He was thrilled that his brother bought him the next level for his Star Wars Angry Birds application.

Time for some Facetime with Papa (who was at work) while Agent E opens his next gift.

Ed discovered the Pizza Ranch (pizza buffet!) in Champlin and said we HAD to take E there sometime. Pizza is a food group all unto itself according Agent E.   So in lue of a birthday lunch down near Ed's work we headed to "the Ranch" for dinner.  

Here he's trying out gift number three!

Agent E chose a family party this year.  He asked for a Halo cake (thanks to his big brother we had plenty of figures/vehicles for the cause).  So decorations, family, cake, and some presents and we called it a good time.

Shortcake and Grandpa

Shortcake and Grandpa K - Awww! 

Winter Pink

My mom picked this snowsuit out for Shortcake last spring, I love dressing her up in it and think of mom each time.  I'm sure Shortcake was in the middle of hollaring something important to her brothers!

Celebrating Two!

Shortcake got to start her special day out with our tradition of sugar cereal, a lolly from her brother, and a new purse.

Then there was some time to color.

And a tea party!

And then on party day . . . 

Shortcake adores Blue's Clues so we played the Blue's Clues game to find out what Shortcake wanted to do . . . 

. . . which was to open presents of course!

That Auntie J sure knows how to make a very special hat!

Oh the distress of having everyone sing Happy Birthday to you!  

So we blew out the candles together and everything was fine.  I love you my sweet Shortcake!