Singing

For your Christmas viewing pleasure

BOYS!

I do love my son, oh yes I do love my beloved son but there are times when he tries my patience. So I am talking to my mother on the phone when around the corner appears my daughter Diana with a water balloon. I think to myself..."hmm a water balloon in December....can it be...it must not be...but AIYYYYEEE it is!"

I ask Diana where did you get that "I made it in the bathroom upstairs." After getting off the phone with my mother I discover my son has got into my party bag of balloons and decided that he is going to make water balloons. There is water EVVVVERYwhere and balloon pieces scattered around the bathroom floor.

I want to pull my hair out but I take a moment to just laugh off my frustration. I hand my son a towel and say "Taylor go clean it up!" I explain to him we make water balloons only in the summer not when it is snowing outside. In the end I tell him he can make all the water balloons he wants in the summer.....he just needs to aim and throw them at daddy ;)

P.S Don't tell Keith ;) It will ruin the surprise

White Christmas!

Could it be? The weather man says that there is the possibility of snow making its presence in Chistmas eve. We will see about that! The white christmas I see outside gives me hope ;).

YIPEE!

So....can you guess what I am about to POST!!
Can you.....??
Well at exactly 7:30am this morning as my wonderful husband was getting ready, he sat down with me and my old set of scriptures from the Library upstairs to do scripture study and POP...out came my....
yes you can guess...it,
I know you are feeling the anticipation...
well ok I guess I will tell you....
YES MY WEDDING RING!!! Tears sprang to my eyes as my eyes could not comprehend the shiny wedding band being put back onto my ring finger.
Chloe had not put it in the toilet as we had thought but had instead put it inside my old set of scriptures upstairs. A christmas Miracle and the best present ever! Thank you for all your prayers. I know that is why it was returned to me!

I AM JUST SO GEE GALL DARN HAPPY!!! YIPEE! :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

P.S watch out for the members of the child intelligence association (a.k.a your kids)....they can be pretty darn sneaky!

Santas Sleigh

I am washing dishes when I hear "turn around mom" from Diana. So I turn around and what do I behold but my laundry basket turned into Santas Sleigh. They have tied yarn to the basket and decorated the inside. Taylor is yelling "Fly reindeer Fly!" Chloe and Diana are guiding and "flying the Sleigh" through my hallway and I do not think I have ever seen a happier brother than Taylor bossing his sisters around :)

** Now if I only could have found my camera **

Cold Feet

My husband is soooo very wonderful. Last night I could not find any of my slipper socks, due to the fact my youngest daughter seems to covet anything her mother wears thus resulting in my things disapearing frequently.

My feet were freezing and he said "Go look in that box on the dresser." I was like "Why?" "Just go look." he said. So I go and look in the box in which he has had to hide my present (due to the fact I am a snoop at christmas time....yes I openly admit it:)...) and drum roll please inside there was.... warm, fuzzy leather slippers. I am in heaven. Christmas came early and my feet have never felt so roasty toasty! Ahhhhh!

TASTY TUESDAY

Ahhh I was looking back at old posts and realized, HELLLLLOOO long ago I seemed to have let Tasty Tuesdays slip my mind. So for my Tasty Tuesday today I am posting a winter favorite.

Egg Nog Oven Puffed Pancakes
3 eggs
1/2 cup Flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup egg nog
1/4 cup milk (maybe 2-4 TBSP more if too thick)
Dash of nutmeg or cinnamon

Heat Oven to 400. In a baking dish put in 2-3 tsp of butter and melt in the oven. Meanwhile mix all of the the ingredients until smooth. Cook for 18-24 minutes. Serve with powdered sugar and whip cream.

** This is our favorite breakfast every Christmas morning ** I serve it with Bacon and scrambled eggs.

Alternative version. After the butter is melted, add sliced apples into the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle cinnamon over apples. Use 1/2 milk instead of (egg nog and milk). Pour batter over apples and butter. Cook for 20-25 minutes at 400. Sprinkle with lemon juice and powdered sugar. (Blueberries and raspberries are delicious as well)

Run Run Run, I am the gingerbread man

Yum-O. What is that smell coming from my kitchen? Why yes it is. Homemade Gingerbread with molasses, brown sugar and butter of course.

Every year in our home at Christmas timeit is a tradition to make a gingerbread house. This year instead of those kits (that are NASTY and who knows how many months ago it was baked) or graham crackers we went with the homemade route and baked our own. Since we were stuck inside due to FRIGID, ICY weather outside it was the perfect day to bake. The kids had fun cutting out the house and Gingerbread men. Chloe's Gingerbread man did not make out so well. She bit off his leg and arm...LOL. Keith said "I do not even want to know how much sugar she just consumed." I said "well I sure do. I will see it tomorrow in her diaper!" :)

The house turned out cute. Each of us are standing around the house. Keith has a sword and sheild in his hand to guard our house! :)
Here are some pictures of us decorating and the final product of our hard work.

Christmas "Storybook Land"

For the last 30 some years Christmas Storybook Land has enchanted all ages of the young at heart. In A. Volunteers gather every year to create an inside Christmas wonderland to look like an enchanted forest with Christmas trees, lighted displays, Train displays, ending up at the big old guy from the north pole, Santa himself. The whole experience is free, with donations of canned foods stressed for those less fortunate. I hope it goes on next year as no one is stepping up to take over it for next year. A project too big for me right now in my life but If my kids were in high school something I would definitely find fun to volunteer for. Many children would be saddened if this tradition could not be carried on for A. Here are some pictures of the family in Storybook Land. Our kids LOOOOVED the train displays. Taylor told me..."mom I want this train for christmas." I just laughed and smiled.

Oh Let it Snow....Let it snow...Let it Snow!!

I can not believe it but last night was magical. We had finished putting up the rest of our christmas decorations and afterward we looked out the window and with music in tow we saw with our very own eyes that there was snow coming down. It was everywhere and coming down hard! Our neighbors came out and we all had a fun and festive snowball fight with the whole neighborhood. Diana built a snowman, Taylor learned how to chuck a snowball and smash it into peoples behinds and Chloe well she decided that the cold was just not for her (she lasted 10 mins, before heading inside to watch a christmas movie). For the next 7 days it willl be freezing with temperatures not expected to reach 32 and snow coming in on Wednesday. Bundle up people because it is going to be a fun and chilly seven days of slippers, crafts, books, and playing in the snow.

By The Way....

Before I go, I do not usually do this but long story Short My wedding ring is missing due to a member of the Child Intelligence Association coveting my ring and misplacing it. That ring is CLOSE to my heart. I was sealed in the temple, gave birth to three children with it and etc. PLEASE WOULD YOU PRAY FOR US TO FIND IT :)

Tis the Season to be busy

I do love you all it is just that we have been busy with planning Christmas Enrichments, swimming lessons, vt, putting up christmas lights, exercise classes, Christmas Caroling with the Girl Scouts, cooking for and attending our ward christmas party and the list could serisouly go on and on and on.

As the new enrichment leader of my ward I had the pleasure of planning our Christmas progressive dinner. It turned out FANTASTIC. We had great attendance and had the pleasure to be treated to yummy appetizers, gourment soups, music, and speakers. At the end I gave each of the sisters in the ward a plaque with a picture of Christ. I felt that not each sister in our ward has a picture of the savior in her home and that we all need that reminder that Christmas is all year long. It was a night to be reminded of our savior Jesus Christ, the miracle of his birth and life. The spirit was VERY strong that night, especially when the sisters ended the night caroling in Sister C's home. I was very appreciative of all of the sisters that helped, it was a wonderful night because of their service.

I am very proud of my girl Scouts. Last meeting My co-leader M and I had the girls decorate Christmas cards for people at the Mennonite Nursing Home. On tuesday we had the girls practice Christmas Carols and then drove them to the Nursing home where they sung carols to them over dinner and handed out the cards. It was neat to see the Girls out of there element. This was a chance for them to serve there community. Service builds the character of an individual and I hope these girls remember the smiles they brought to those lonley grandma and grandpas this Christmas season. One cute lil old lady kept saying "Merry Christmas" to the girls and giving them hugs. I just love Christmas!

I could blog about each of these but I would be here for the next hour and as much as I love you all I want to you to have a Merry Christmas and know I cheerish my family time this time of year so If you do not see me on here awhile please know I am making sugar cookies, reading stories, drinking hot cocoa with marshmallows and all of those gooooood things that come the Christmas season. Take care and MEEEERRRY CHRISTMAS!

Harry Potter - July can not come fast enough!

Twilight - The puppet saga