Ward Party

Our ward had their Annual Christmas party on the 11th and we were able to go. This year they did something different than they normally do and it was a fun change. Instead of the usual potatoes/ham and salads they had different soups/chili's with a baked potato and cobblers. It was fun to see all the different soups that people brought and to be able to try them out. I even came home with a new recipe from my friend Lauri for a White Chili. I am excited to try it out at home. The kids did alright, but during the program part of the evening they got a little restless and wanted to run around like some of the other kids there. The primary had a little part in the program and sang The Shepherd's Carol and Christmas Bells. They did a good job and started the program off on a good note. Parker was in the front row and tried his hardest to sing the words to the songs. It is pretty hard for those little kids to learn a Christmas song in a couple of weeks and then not sing them again for an entire year. We have a pretty small ward and every voice we had there that night was needed. I ended up helping during the round of A Shepherds Carol and I hope my voice didn't drown out the voices of the kids. It was a fun night out and we were able to visit with some of our friends from the ward that we don't get to visit with on a regular basis.

Gingerbread Train

I am just a little bit behind in updating the blog. We had a fairly busy December and I can't believe it is almost over along with 2009. So here are a few new posts of the things we have been up to lately. My mom had the kids over on the 2nd to decorate a gingerbread train. Parker had a fun time decorating and most of all eating the decorations and frosting as we went along. Parker is still a bit too small and wasn't that interested in helping, although she did have her fair share of candy as well. This was fun to start us off for the month of December and to get us in the Holiday Spirit!

Candy Making

Growing up around Christmas time my mom always made holiday candy. We looked forward to it every year and we would eat enough to last us the entire year as well. As I got older I paid attention in the kitchen and my mom taught me how to make some of her recipes. After I got married, for some reason I was hesitant to try the recipes on my own and would get together with my mom to help her makes the candy so it wouldn't get messed up. Well this year I decided to try it out on my own. I made fudge (which I have made on my own before, it is pretty easy) English Toffee and Homemade Caramels. I am proud to say they all turned out quite delicious. There is something about eating a homemade caramel, it puts all others to shame. Now my family will enjoy the product of this day for the next couple of weeks. As I was stirring and stirring and stirring my pot of sugar and butter, I realized that there is a lot more work put into making homemade candy than you realize. I especially didn't realize it when I was younger, but it does take a long time to get it to the right temperature and requires constant attention and stirring. Good thing I have been lifting weights! My kids were surprisingly well behaved and I was able to get all three things done in one afternoon. But cutting and wrapping the caramels took me a whole other day. If you have never attempted to try a new recipe or to make some homemade candy, you should give it a try. I think it is becoming a lost art and it is always so wonderful to give something homemade to the ones you love. I am so glad my mom, and her mom as well, started this "tradition" and that it is something that helps us remember certain times in our lives and reminds us of the people we love!! I am sure I will regret it when I step on the scale, but I am going to hit the gym even harder in January and the season only comes once a year, might as well enjoy it!!

More pictures

For some reason I can't download more than 3 pictures. So here are some more!

Pictures

I have been trying to post some of the pictures from our session and for some reason they would not post, so sorry it has taken so long. These are some of my favorites!

Family Pictures

I finally got the disc back with all our family pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

Christmas Bells are Ringing

I can't believe that it is December 3rd today! Where did November go?? Seriously! I am really excited about the Christmas season and all that goes along with it. We are staying busy at our house with the normal everyday stuff and a few fun holiday things in between. Parker and I put up the Christmas tree last Saturday along with the rest of our holiday decorations and we are enjoying them. I have been listening to Christmas music as much as I can and singing along with some of my favorite songs. I am just amazed at how many different versions there are of some songs. I went to my annual ornament exchange on Tuesday and I had a great time. I came home with 15 new ornaments and 15 new recipes. It was a fun time with friends, something we look forward to each year. Today I worked really hard on a few projects I am working on for Christmas. I have got quite a bit in my "To do" list before Christmas and have been trying to work on some a little bit each day. Today Matt was home and I took advantage of the time and had him keep an eye on the kids while I was in my "workshop". I hope the kids like what I am working on and appreciate it. Well they probably won't, but I will each time I look at it. I am hoping to get all of our Christmas done by about the 15th, cutting it a little close for my comfort, but we have to work with what we got, right! Next week is our ward party, I should have some pictures from that and hopefully more pictures from our photo session. Until then....Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow! It's December we need snow now!