When Did This Happen?

 Being a mother of three beautiful daughters, it still boggles my mind to know that I am also the mother of two very handsome sons!

 

When did this happen?

 

 Along those same lines...when did Christmas happen?

 

A favorite tradition of ours is taking the kids to The Dollar Store to play Secret Santa for one another.  This year they had a blast picking out their gifts, and oh what a time they had concealing their purchases from one another (they are all notoriously NOSY)!

But lo and behold, Christmas came and went and we remembered two days after the fact that yet more was to be given!  Luckily, we Elmers are always up for still more surprises and this gave us the perfect opportunity to have more fun together.

By the way, I know your curious.

This year they surprised Dad with a level (it works great!), and mom was the proud recipient of a bag of Pixie Stix (my favorite!).

Food Network Challenge: Here We Come!

My sister and her family have a fantastic tradition of decorating Gingerbread Houses for Christmas.  Each family member has their own kit which they assemble and decorate to their liking.  It's always fun to see what they come up with...

 

We followed suit with a shared Gingerbread House, the basis of which Samuel created with cardboard.  He was so proud of himself!

The kids on the other hand were more excited about the decor.  After all, to ensure our house was sound we needed to test (taste-test that is) the building materials to ensure they were top quality.

There were!

 

I made some heavy duty royal icing cement and we went to town with the graham crackers which served as our drywall.

 

Our side (Iris, Ava, and I) was a haphazard collection of goodies placed every which way.  Of particular note was the sour ribbon siding which I thought added a pretty classy touch-especially since some of the pieces were half-eaten!

Hey, they're good!

 

The other side (Isabella's & Dad's) was much more orderly and reflected a more "traditional" style-very symmetrical.  You should have heard them howl when we tried to sneak rogue pieces of candy onto their side!

So touchy!

I don't know that our gingerbread house will win a national Food Network Competition, but maybe we'd win a prize if we entered in this goofball?

What do you think?

Bells Are Ringing...

What a great morning!  Though Samuel and I didn't get a wink of sleep, we so enjoy this special time with our little ones-who, if you look carefully-are not quite so little anymore!  These are moments to cherish, and I am so grateful we are a family.

 

I couldn't let Gabriel sleep through this-his first Christmas morning!  He was in a great fog for the festivities, but thanks to his sweet-natured temperament he did just fine.

 

Weights for dad...hint, hint!

 

Sluggishnesses...(yes, that's a word)

 

Thank goodness for fruit in stockings.  It gives the children a hope of something of nutritional value.

 

Assembly time!

 

My favorite stocking stuffer....

 

Want one?

This is the super-tasty gum that turns rock hard after Bite Number One!

Yum!

4 AM Thoughts and Reflections

Samuel and I always mean to wrap well before Christmas Eve but this year we finally embraced the late night as a tradition.  In years past we've gone until 2:30 AM, but this year we tootled around until 4 AM.  It's a special time, and this moment is my favorite.  Turning out the lights and getting one last look. 

Christmas certainly does come "but once a year", and I am so grateful for that greatest gift of all, the Savior.  Born in the humblest of circumstances he brought with him the promised blessing that we could each return to the presence of our Father in Heaven. 

"The spirit of giving gifts has been present in the mind of each Christian as he or she commemorates the Christmas season. Our Heavenly Father gave to us His Son, Jesus Christ. That precious Son gave to us His life, the Atonement, and victory over the grave.

"What will you and I give for Christmas this year? Let us in our lives give to our Lord and Savior the gift of gratitude by living His teachings and following in His footsteps. It was said of Him that He 'went about doing good.' 

As we do likewise, the Christmas spirit will be ours."

Thomas S. Monson

Jumping Jacks, Powdery Donut Goodness, & Fresh PJ's

There's something terribly wrong about working out and then frying something two seconds later.  That's what Samuel and I did though, because that's just what you DO on Christmas Eve!

 

How it happened was, we needed something fun for breakfast!  So with a lonely can of biscuit dough and some memories from making these a long, long time ago in my kindergarten class, we fried our own donuts and rolled them in powdered sugar.  This coupled with chocolate-filled croissants made for a positively sinful start to the day!

 

Later that evening we arrived home from Christmas Eve dinner and prepared our home for Santa.  This year we upgraded to full-size carrots instead of the snack-size carrots and even opted for a non-traditional treat: Chocolate Hazelnut Pirouettes!

 

Per tradition we all opened one gift...

 

Jammies!

And before everyone ran off to bed to catch those "visions of sugar-plums" we captured one final photo.  I love that my daughters are all smiles and my sons are...well, you can see for yourself!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Odwalla, where have you been all my life?

 This is a shameless post about how yummy Odwalla apple cider is.  The fact that we are NOT an apple cider family, should tell you just how wickedly delicious this stuff is!  Fortunately for us, a neighbor dropped it off with "Merry Christmas" wishes, and we paired it with some of our other favorites foods such as crackers, cheese, and sausage for a simple weeknight meal.  The kiddies suggested we eat picnic-style on the living room floor, which of course, made everything taste that much BETTER!

Enjoy a simple meal tonight!

 

Ava's Snowmen vs. Snowbikers

I love how my daughter, in her beloved innocence, once upon a time drew happy and lighthearted pictures of joyful and smiling snowmen.

 

Then she spied our touching neighbors Christmas display which featured a plywood cutout of a biker Snowman outfitted in a black leather vest, jeans, and yes, holding a beer can.  The can, thank heavens, did NOT make it into her drawing.

I should be so grateful, right?

The One True Key to Happiness...

...is to labor in the service of others.

 

Samuel and I found that this key element was missing in our home!  We found that too often our children were at odds with one another, and that there prevailed all manner of squabbling, quarreling, and-absolutely worst of all-hoarding!

We knew this could not go on, and so we are trying to follow the example of a family spoken of in President Monson's talk,

"What Have I Done For Someone Today?".

He shares the following:

A few years ago I read an article written by Jack McConnell, MD. He grew up in the hills of southwest Virginia in the United States as one of seven children of a Methodist minister and a stay-at-home mother. Their circumstances were very humble. He recounted that during his childhood, every day as the family sat around the dinner table, his father would ask each one in turn, “And what did you do for someone today?” The children were determined to do a good turn every day so they could report to their father that they had helped someone. Dr. McConnell calls this exercise his father’s most valuable legacy, for that expectation and those words inspired him and his siblings to help others throughout their lives. As they grew and matured, their motivation for providing service changed to an inner desire to help others.

As we too have begun to ask this question around our table, we have seen a dramatic change.  Are there still squabbles?  Yes!  But with gentle reminders, there IS a greater desire for every member of our family to think less about ourselves, and think a whole lot more about others!

It truly is the key to happiness.

Our In-house New York Deli

You know how this season can be crazy!

We found ourselves at Winco late, late, late, and what was I to do since we were determined NOT to eat out again?

Answer:

A loaf of fresh baked bread, a bag of pre-shredded slaw, and some peppery pastrami.

Result:
Hot Pastrami Sandwiches, Sweet & Crisp Coleslaw, and Crunchy Sour Kosher Dills.

 

 

And I ended up with one happy family!

I'll post the recipe for this super-simple weeknight meal on our food blog...soon.

Until then, look, read, be hungry, and then invent something incredibly yummy in your own kitchen!

I can't wait to read all about it...

Homemade Butter...

Isabella's class has been reading "Little House in the Big Woods", and per tradition her class held their annual "Little House Luncheon"!

 In keeping with the theme, each student also participated in aunique Secret Santa Gift Exchange.  What made it so special, was that the gift had to be homemade and in keeping with something you would give or receive in "Little House" times.  Isabella chose to make this baby doll quilt for her friend Kayliegh!

 They dined from pie tins filled with Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, slaw, and cornbread, and drank apple cider from glass jars. 

They even made fresh homemade butter and apple sauce for the feast!

 

No meal is complete with out dessert!  And this meal was no exception with fresh fruit and cream and an assortment of sugar and gingerbread cookies!

 

 With full tummies they came together for stories and a rousing sing-a-long!

 

 We are so grateful for wonderful teachers who make learning come alive!  This was a really special activity, and it's one I know Isabella will never forget.

Now I'm anxious to make homemade butter myself...