Happy Birthday Ellie!

Ellie Kate is 3 Years old. Wow has the time flown. What a wild and wonderful world this has been since she's been here. I have to say of all my children she has really challenged me the most but I have also learned the most and been humbled the most by her. I can't imagine not having her sweet smile and kisses every morning. She is so enthusiastic about life and knows exactly how she wants it to be. And Boy does she love her brother and sisters. She really is a very special girl and I can't believe she's mine. We Love You Baby!

There's no place like home for the Holidays!

We all went to Andy's parents house for Christmas dinner. We had Ham and potatoes and really yummy Broccoli salad. Not to mention apple, cherry, and pumpkin pie, YUM! We reenacted the Nativity, complete with a real baby (Our 5 week old nephew, Brigam). It was very cute having all the little one's dressed up in their costumes. I was very glad not to have to go through that all by myself at my house later that night. We went home at about 8 to find it had snowed 5 inches while we were away. So we rushed in out of the cold , took the last piece off our advent calender, sang a couple songs, and then opened up ONE present. The little kids expected something exciting but Sariah and Aubrey knew it would only be PJs, just like it is every year. We left out MnMs and Coke for Santa and threatened all the kids with a Santa-no-show if they didn't go to bed immediately. Then Andy and I went about our Christmas duties which just so happened to take until almost 5am this year, thanks to a 3 story wooden Barbie house. All in all pretty much the same Christmas eve we always have but It felt really good to be home and surrounded by our family, knowing we were all safe, healthy, and happy and that is something I will never take for granted.

Unto us a Child is Born!

I gave my Christmas lesson to my sweet CTR 5 class today. We talked about the true meaning of Christmas and what an amazing gift our Savior Jesus Christ is to us. The spirit was so strong. Even when one of the little girls yelled out that she loved the snow while I was telling the story of Jesus' birth . I was thankful for the class' squirreling around because it kept me from crying and having to explain myself to 5 year olds. I am going to miss being Isaac's teacher. And boy am I in for it next year. The up and coming class is huge. Ellie will be a Sunbeam sitting in the row in front of me, which is going to be interesting to say the least. I am so thankful to be able to teach such innocent little spirits. I learn so much in the process. I want to let you all know how much I love my Heavenly Father for giving me such a wonderful gift as this:

Merry Christmas!

Time Flies, why then oh why can't I

Today I have just been pondering how time flies by. My sister in law just gave me a disc that had these pictures that I haven't seen in a couple of years of my kids on them . How have they gotten so big so fast? Why does every year seem to go faster than the one before it? Why can't I keep up with the pace? So as time is even now slipping away I'm going to make this short, get off the computer, and go enjoy the last Sunday before Christmas with my kids.

Merry Christmas!

So we have had family pictures twice now plus all the kids in a studio. Boy am I sick of getting dressed up, not to mention dressing up everyone else. Andy's sister Wendy took some pics at the beautiful lodge we stayed in at Lake Odell over Thanksgiving. She wasn't able to get them to us in time so we took some quick snapshots at Jodie's (my sis-in-law). We hurried to get ready after school but it gets dark at like 4pm. So even though it was dark outside her son insisted we not use the flash, making us totally reliant on artificial light. I thought we should use the flash and edit later. Needless to say, the pictures turned out blurry (the ones he didn't accidentally erase) .I tried, really I did and now this is me letting it go. So If you don't get a Christmas card this year, consider this your Merry Christmas. However, I think I found at least one okay pic (the one above isn't it) and will be sending out a few cards. I will not sweat the small stuff, I will not sweat the small stuff, I will not sweat the small stuff...

Ellie's B-day cake contest. Which one will win?

So this is the cake I am planning on making for Ellie's birthday but I can't decide. I'm thinking of putting it to a vote on here. Keep in mind she's having a princess party. So, do you like the one above or...


This One? It tastes good
This one? it's a mini cake

Or this one? big and bold

It's a dilemma.

Recipe of the Week

So I have decided to do a recipe of the week since cooking is one of my hobbies. My recipe this week is Candy Cane Carameled Apples:

10 apples (I like granny smith or jonagold)
1/2 Cup of butter
1 cup corn syrup
2 cups brown sugar
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. Vanilla (the real thing)

White chocolate (white chocolate chips or Wilton candy melts)
Obliterated Candy Canes

Wash apples and stick something in the top for the handle (popsicle sticks, corn dog sticks, ect.)

In medium sized sauce pan over medium heat melt butter.
Add corn syrup and brown sugar.
Stir together
Stirring often bring them to a pregnant boil ( that's a boil that's about to happen)
Add sweetened condensed milk stirring quickly and constantly while doing so.
Stir frequently if not constantly until a Candy thermometer reads 245 degrees
Remove from heat and add the tsp. of Vanilla.

Stir Caramel slowly to remove bubbles and allow to cool a little.
Dip apples and place on a greased cookie sheet or wax paper.
allow to cool completely.
Melt chocolate in the microwave in short 30 second intervals until 3/4 of the way melted. Stir to complete melting.
Put the candy cane on a plate or in a bowl.
Dip the apples in the chocolate then spin it to remove excess.
Immediately sprinkle candy cane over the apple
Return to cookie sheet
Allow to set up
Viola! Candy Cane Carameled Apples

Follow the gray brick road

My cloggers were in the parade, Yeah! I painted the sign too. My nieces Emily and Brooke helped me. Eventually we had to ban Brooke from helping because she kept dripping paint everywhere. I just had to put polka dots over the paint spills. Everyone had so much fun that they were already asking to do it again next year. We only had about half the girls there but it was such a perfect day for a parade. We had so many different levels of cloggers so we just took turns one at a time doing whatever we wanted, just like freestyle. We weren't allowed to throw Candy or anything else because it's illegal here. Hint: in Oregon everything is illegal except things that are illegal everywhere else but I digress, We all had a wonderful time at the Bend Oregon Christmas Parade.

A new leaf!

So I turned out to be really bad at this blogging thing. I knew I would be, which is why I didn't do it for so long. All this encouragement to be on the computer all the time... Well MY time is very little but I am going to try and do better. I think I'm going to update every Sunday instead of trying to do it everyday or even every other day. So without further ado...