One More Week. . .

I. .

LOVE. .

CHRISTMAS!!

I always have. .

and I hope I always will. .

This year feels different. .

I'm slower, a little less excited, and a little more reflective. .

I find myself straying from "the plan". .

you know, if you've been around this blog very long. .

that there is ALWAYS a plan. HA!

I finally mustered up the time and the energy for my favorite Christmas activity. .

COOKIN!

I cooked for TWO solid days this past weekend. .

Cookies, candies, snack mixes, seasoned nut mixes. .

Cami and Devin helped some. .

And Tristan cut caramels like a trooper. .

I finally made toffee that is pretty. .

after HOW many years. .

(my new secret?

I didn't use chocolate chips. .

I used melting chocolate and put it on when the toffee had cooled). .

and look!! Gorgeous!

And yummy!

With most of the cookies in the freezer waiting for holiday gatherings and surprise last minute give aways. .

and the majority of the candies already repackaged and given away. .

That leaves us with a few nibbles here and there of our favorites!

Which, dear friend Sue. .

is what keeps us from getting fat :-)

I've had a little project in the back of my mind for several months now. .

And I even found a little time to work on it over the weekend too. .

With a little help, of course!

I hope to be able to show you the finished project soon. .

Mostly, because it surpassed my expectations!

And, because I think some of you would enjoy doing it yourself!

The BIG deal of the weekend, however. .

was this. .

Grant and his dad, after 1 1/2 years of working on it. .

Had finally gotten a motor installed. .

and the body work done on Grant's pickup. .

And the paint went on!

It is now a joke between Grant and I, that I think the paint looks like primer. .

but he LOVES the way it turned out. .

And he was right, in the sunlight. .

it glistens a lovely shade of sparkly silver. .

They think in a few more weekends of putting down carpet, placing windows, putting the hardware back in, and installing the gauges. .

it will be ready for it's maiden voyage to school. .

The boys will then have to argue about who is driving. .

and who has to buy the fuel!

We had a little rain shower the other night. .

and a really heavy fog yesterday morning that froze on the trees. .

We are hoping for some more moisture soon. .

I thought it would be nice to share one of the cookie recipes from the weekend. .

I've made these a time or two before, but not for a few years. .

They have been Cami's favorite treat this season. .

And are just enough different than your average cookie,

that they make a welcome gift for someone special!

One week left until we mark that special day commemorating the birth of Jesus. .

I can hardly wait. .

Festive Chocolate Mint Cookies

1 ½ sticks butter

1 ½ cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp water

2 cup chocolate chips

2 eggs

2 ½ cup flour

1 ¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

50-70 Andes mint candies

assorted sprinkles

Melt butter, sugar, and water.  Add chips until almost melted.  Let cool 10 minutes.  Beat eggs into mixture 1 at a time.  Add dry ingredients.  Chill dough for at least one hour. Roll heaping teaspoons or small cookie scoop into ball.  Bake at 350 on ungreased pan for 12-13 minutes.  Place a mint on each cookie; swirl candy as it melts with a knife and add sprinkles.

One Lump. .or Two??

As if Thanksgiving and Christmas aren't enough celebrations to put into one month. .

we also have to add TWO birthday celebrations!! Miss Thing turned 5 last week. .

And it has been a lot of fun!!

She just LOOKS bigger now!!

She has been talking about having a tea party to celebrate since right after she turned 4. .

We were able to make that happen. .

so that is what most of this post shows. .

Homemade (from scratch) strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting. .

complete with sprinkles and cherries!

We all enjoyed chowing down on those delectables!!

The large ones even have the middle cored out and spreadable strawberry fruit under the icing. .

Delish!

Pink strawberry shake malted milk balls. .some unusual little gummy strawberry puff candy, real strawberries. .and the hit of the party. .

Cotton Candy from the dollar store!!

The little gravy boat and old creamer are mine from years gone by. .

Fancy little tea sandwiches served on my grandmothers glass platter.

Meat and cheese fingers and squares. .

strawberry cream cheese on triangles, and little jelly roll ups.

We also cut star shapes, and topped them with strawberry cream cheese and a berry half. .

little wheat cracker squares with marshmallow fluff and a dab of raspberry jam. .

Yum!!

And of course "tea". .

from some sweet little antique tea cups and saucers!!

The tea was a strawberry punch with fizzy soda added. .

The dainty little princesses were just precious to watch as they sipped and nibbled!

And the party girl herself. .

enjoyed every minute of it!

Devin offered and was beside-himself excited to help serve the guests.

And he did a most excellent job. .

even the princesses thought so!!

I found the top cake stand at a little antique store after Thanksgiving.

they had it displayed just like this. .

stacked on a cake plate that looked JUST like the one I had at home. .

I LOVE how it looks. .

and have set it up and used the combination THREE times since purchasing it less than a month ago. .

It looks great topped with quick breads too!

The pitcher was my splurge of the antiquing day. .

My  mother INSISTED that I take it home from the shop. .

Not knowing what I would do with it AFTER the tea party. .

it actually made a nice little container for a small Christmas tree in my antique Hoosier cabinet. .

SCORE!

Is the picture of excitement???

Interestingly, I didn't ask the girls to wear Christmas colors. .

I just told their moms to have them wear dress up clothes. .

It was funny that they all matched!!

After the tea party snacks. .

they got some little gifts to open themselves. .

little purses with lots of bling, nail polish, and lipgloss. .

And little hair pieces. .

Though I think the little package of tic-tacs was the best find of the day! They thought those little clear boxes with the tiny little candies were positively NOVEL!

After tea and some indoor play. .

Devin and our friend Aubrey took the girls out on "an adventure." Cami was done with her dress by then. .and Mylee decided she was done with HER dress. .and borrowed Cami's. .

Who would have thought. .

That four little girls. .

would have been so exhausting!!

But they all had a great time. .

so it was worth every bit!!

And, after a little family get together over the weekend, before the really cold weather hit. .

We are finished up with birthday parties until next year!

So. .

let the full-on Christmas preparation begin!!

Enjoy your week!

Thanks for stopping by!

10 Years Ago. .

This little critter. .

was the 3rd arrival of our little male clan!!

AND. .

the end of the line for adding children to our world. .

we thought!!

He spent a whole week partying it up!

Opening some gifts at Grandma's over Thanksgiving. .

A local family birthday party over the weekend. .

And a friend's party after school last Thursday. .

I may be a mean mom. .

but Devin had to pay ME for a large part of his new ipod. .

the remaing portion; his birthday gift from his mom and dad. .

Thank goodness for lots of grandmas and aunts to send him money for his special day!

He has been LOVING that. .

and promptly learned how to text his brothers from his ipod while they were in Denver. .

He is also fond of playing race car games anywhere in the house he wants to relax!

On the way home from mom's; we stopped at the little local grocery store that makes it's own REAL German sausage. .and we L-O-A-D-E-D UP on it. .and then decided to fix our own version of a "cream can" dinner in our huge Dutch oven. .We had German sausage, cabbage, carrots, red potatos, corn on the cob, and onions that simmered in the pot. .and everyone gobbled it up. .seconds and all!!

If you'd like to know how to fix it yourself. .

let me know and I'll gladly share!

Grandma Pat fixed a super cool baseball themed cake. .

(who's birthday was it?? You can't tell by the photo!)

which was ALSO gobbled up by this bunch of little turkeys!!

We were excited that our second cousins, Hazel and Drake could join us (along with their folks)!

The weather couldn't have been any nicer for the end of November. .

or for a bunch of boys to play outside!!

While we are enjoying the gorgeous days in the high 60's and 70's. .

you can see how brown our world is. .

and the fact that there is not even vegetation as far as you can see in our back yard is still quite disturbing to us!

Devin ordered his mom's homemade pizzas for supper. .

and hot dogs for lunch. .

which they grilled themselves in our fire pit. .

By this time. .

they had run off 5000 calories on the trampoline, the zip line, playing flashlight tag in the dark, building a fort in the tree row, and playing hide and seek. .

that they looked exhausted as they cooked their own lunch. .

but they insisted. .

and enjoyed the experience!!

I know that the next 10 years will be gone. .

in what will no doubt feel like 10 MINUTES. .

But for now. .

I'll remind myself to enjoy the crazy jokes. .the new braces. .and the silliness!!

May God bless you and keep you. .

Little Boy!!

Coming soon. .

The adventures of turning FIVE. .

Starring. .

Miss Thing!

Come back soon!!

A Slightly Late Thanksgiving Recap. .

Hello, hello!

Since the last time I have chimed in. .

we have progressed well into the Christmas season. .

I have gotten much of my Christmas shopping done. .

I finally got a Christmas card designed (though not printed or mailed). .

We've gotten the house decorated. .

Two kids have been to Operation Christmas Child and back. .

We've had a 10th birthday party. .

We're working on a 5th birthday celebration. .

I've done online recipe searching, online shopping, and online studying. .

but I've done NO online reporting of our lives. .

so I wanted to share the recap of our Thanksgiving!

As our first holiday without the family patriarch present. .

the routine holiday gathering was a new adventure!

My brother Brendan and his wife Tina hosted our clan of 22 (soon to be 23 again with the arrival of grandchild #14 in June). .plus my brother Nick's new right hand man and his two sons.

My baby brother (the 6'5 one cutting the ham) consented to smoke us some protein! What a cook he is indeed. .He smoked a ham as well as a turkey. .and both were divine!! I don't even really like white turkey meat, because even under good circumstances it always tastes dry to me. .but his was phenomenally moist!! We had plenty of vino flowing and lots of good side dishes and desserts.

It was a gorgeous Kansas day. .a touch cool with a slight breeze. .

Brendan (the squatting guy) had found some of his old 4-H rockets in the attic when we helped my mom move to town several months ago. .

And he was roaring to let them fly. .The first attempt had the kids ready with their hands over their ears, waiting for a sonic BOOM. .

But, remembering that the rockets (and their motors) were probably over 20 years old. .

It was no surprise that they had to be "fine-tuned" before launching!

Leaving Brendan with nothing less than blessed satisfaction as the first rocket launched. .

(and the person who drew his name for Christmas convinced that maybe a gift of some NEW rocket supplies would be in order!)

As evidenced by the MASSIVE grin on his face!!

And was retrieved by the designated "pick-up" team!!

An "unofficial" football game gave them something to do while they waited on the search and rescue team to retrieve the rockets!

The kids enjoyed Ranger rides up and down the roads as well while Brendan and Jeremy tinkered with the engines and the 2 rockets between the launches. .

The girls enjoyed relaxing and watching the show. .

while digesting the ginormous amounts of food that we had consumed!!

As we started the rocket show. .the wind actually picked up. .

which just fueled Brendan's fire. .as he had to use SKILL to determine how far to launch the rocket INTO the wind, in order for it to blow back to the field in order to be properly recovered. .

by the constantly changing recovery crew!

And, while our loss hung, heavy and unspoken in the air. .

our day was full of happiness, laughter, activity, and blessings. .the essence of Thanksgiving!!

Friday morning, the Kansas weather wasn't so kind to us. .

as the boys climbed out Grandma's windows and onto the roof to hang her Christmas lights. .

and the girls worked on the greenery and bows on her front pillars. .

the cold Kansas wind whipped around. .

Brrr!!

BUT. .

with as many helpers as we had. .the work didn't take long. .

and the girls were soon able to duck out and do a little "after-Thanksgiving" day antiquing!! We all found some fun things. .including some Christmas gifts. .And some little 5 year old girl will soon enjoy a birthday tea party. .using some of the treasures we found. .

And I can't WAIT to show you pictures of THAT!!

Hope you all have found some time to work off your extra calories. .

so that you can indulge in a few extra Christmas goodies!!

A little baking and candy making MIGHT be on our agenda this next week!

Thanks for stopping by. .

to see that we ARE still among the living!!

Have a GREAT week!