Blessings

At church today, the youth speaker talked about making a gratitude list of 100 things. I'm not going list 100 items, but I will show you a picture of my top 24!  Not pictured are numbers 25-29 (Elder Aaron + my brother and family who are in Texas awaiting the birth of blessing number 30!

I had to be pretty bossy to get this picture taken. It was cold outside and they wanted to be in the house eating birthday cake.  I wish it was taken with a better camera too.  But it was worth it!  What really matters is that we got a picture of my wonderful family.  Spending a few hours together was a great way to finish up the year!  I love these amazing people!

Cauliflower Soup

We love cauliflower! I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman and just tweaked it a bit. I used up the last of the stock from the two turkeys I cooked at Thanksgiving.  It was my first time making stock, not sure why I never tried it before. The homemade stock was delicious, but I'm sure the soup would be just as yummy with regular chicken broth.

• 1 stick Butter, Divided
• 1 onion, diced 
• 1 carrot diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 whole (to 2 Whole) Cauliflower Heads (roughly Chopped)
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Or Dried Parsley (chopped)
• 6 cups chicken broth or stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 T flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup Half-and-half (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation Instructions

In a large pot melt 4 T butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown.

Add the carrots and celery and cook an additional couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine. Add a bit of stock so it doesn't dry out.

Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Add 2 bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 T butter. Add flour, salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Add milk slowly, whisking constantly.

When thickened a bit, remove from heat. (Optional: stir in 1 cup half-and-half.) Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper.

Christmas Schedule 2012*

*all times approximate and based on my sleep-deprived memory

12:01 AM  Christmas is here!  We are all sleeping peacefully.
12:30 Lavender awakes crying.  She is teething and in pain.
1:30 ditto
2:30 ditto  Apply Oragel and give Tylenol.
3:30 ditto
4:30 ditto
5:30 ditto
6:40 Lavender is asleep, but Evan is sitting in our room waiting for us to wake up.
7:00 We roll out of bed with a grumpy baby.
7:04 John videotapes the kids coming down the stairs
7:05 Evan unwraps his unicycle
7:45 Wrapping paper and boxes everywhere.  We set up the computer for THE CALL!

7:55 John makes eggs and samples his new hot sauce collection

8:05 Ryan, Molly and the girls arrive
8:10 Skype call from Elder Aaron

8:30 John & I open a wonderful photo book filled with letters and testimonies from our kids
9:10 We say goodbye to our missionary, wonder if he's warm enough and agree he seems happy
9:12 Time to open more gifts
9:40 Cute little girl toys fill the living room

10:10 Brianne and Leighton take their parents home for naptime
10:20 Lavender sleeps - Hallelujah!
10:30 Bakers come over.  The kids compare and share.  Lots of Doctor Who, jewelry & One Direction
11:00 Grandpa & Carolyn arrive with what seems like a sleigh-full of gifts
11:15 The kids help carry in boxes and more boxes of presents
11:30 Bakers head home, I put the ham in the crockpot
12:00 Marianne's cheese ball, crackers, grapes, carrots and hummus for lunch.  Cookies & candy too.

1:00 Molly, Ryan and girls return
1:15 All three girls giggle and play.  Lavender cries and grumbles, finally falling asleep on Ryan.
2:00 Papa John, Brianne and Marianne head to the park.  Evan follows on his unicycle.

2:50 Evan comes home with an injured hand
3:00 Food preparation, snacking, laughter
3:30 Bakers return
4:00 Ham, sour cream potatoes, rolls, corn, green beans, orange jello, sparking cider.  Full bellies.
4:45 Presents!  Cousin gift exchange!
5:20 Brianne passes out her dollar store presents.  I got a foot long plastic lizard!
5:30 Cookies etc.
5:45 White elephant game.  Because we haven't had enough gifts yet.
6:00 Laughter.  Popular items:  "Life Is Good" sign, brownie kit, pumpkin full of Halloween candy.
                       Less popular:  used hard hat, "Big Jesus" skateboard video, luau in a box
                       Popular, but disappointing:  Bacon flavored gumballs (tasted like Chloraseptic spray)
7:00 Everyone loads up and heads home.  I insist they take all of their white elephant gifts.
7:02 We take a deep breath and listen to the quiet!
7:15 Lavender to bed
7:30 RELAX and clean up a bit

8:15 Watch the Doctor Who Christmas special
8:35 We ask Evan lots of questions during the show.  He answers patiently.  Most of the time.
9:30 Skype with (John's sister) Susan, Dave, Holly & Josh
10:30 Bedtime  Ahhh!
11:00 Lavender awakes crying. Sigh!
11:20  I close my eyes and think about our wonderful Christmas day filled with family and fun. So much more enjoyable that last Christmas when I was pregnant and feeling miserable!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Not even a mouse
Because we were all at the cemetery!

After my mom passed away we wanted to come up ways to remember her that were fun and that the kids would enjoy.  One of the things we decided to do was to decorate her grave a few times a year.  We were a little late with our holiday decorations this year, but on Christmas Eve we finally made it to the cemetery.  We decorated the tree near her grave with red jewels and silver snowflakes and we put poinsettias on her headstone.  Mom always loved Christmas, decorations and the color red, so it was a good combination!

Alyssa holds Lavender beneath the decorated tree.

Rudolph

My girls

Cammi liked being Rudolph, but Lavender wasn't so sure about it.  We had fun singing Christmas carols, but certain people got embarrassed during "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer," especially when someone drove up to visit a nearby grave.  It may have been slightly inappropriate, but my mom always thought it was a funny song!

We headed back home and Ryan and Molly join us for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of pizza, salad and vintage soda.  Then the kids acted out the nativity story while Emma read from the second chapter of Luke.

Some motley wisemen and shepherds and a complaining baby Jesus.

Our knitting narrator

 

A reluctant angel

Mary, great with child (or something!)

Evan shared a great video he saw in his seminary class and then we watched a couple of other short Christmas videos.  Finally, the kids got to open one present.  Amazingly, they all got Christmas pajamas!

Ready for Christmas!  Bring it on!

Santa Baby

Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Favorite

Almond Popcorn

1 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tsp almond extract
16 cups popcorn
4 cups mini marshmallows
2 cups sliced almonds

In a large bow mix the popcorn, marshmallows and almonds and set aside.  In a heavy saucepan mix the butter, sugar and corn syrup.  Bring to a boil.  Once it starts to boil, stir for three minutes.  Remove from heat and mix in almond extract.  Let cool for a couple of minutes.  Pour over popcorn mixture and mix until well coated.

Oh So Yummy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

So did you know I use my blog as a recipe book?  It is a quick and easy way to find my favorite recipes.  It is even more convenient when I am shopping and want to make sure I don't forget anything I need to make my favorite soup, casserole or dessert.  Before my iPhone/blog/recipe-filing-system, I often came home from the store without a crucial ingredient.  Does that ever happen to you?

Last night I got my munchkin in bed and I decided to bake, but I couldn't find the recipe on my blog.  I had to dig through my recipe box and when I finally found the card, it only had half of the recipe!  Why would I write half of a recipe down?  Who knows?  But I did.  I finally found the recipe on Marianne's blog.  Later I found a link to the recipe on my blog, but it isn't quite the same.

Since my post baby bedtime baking time is at a premium, I want to make sure this recipe is easier to find next time.  These cookies are so delicious, I don't want anything to get in the way of my baking.  Thanks to my cousin LaRae for the recipe!

3 sticks butter

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla

15 oz can pumpkin

4 cups flour

2 t baking soda

1/2 t baking power

1/2 t nutmeg

1 t salt

2 t cinnamon

2 cups oats

2 cups chocolate chips

Mix butter and sugars.  Add the rest of the wet ingredients.  Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add to the wet.  Mix well.  Add the oats and chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.

Lavender On Stage

Nine months have passed, it's almost ten
And I look back amazed.
In one short month you changed
From an observer to an actor.
And not just any role for you.
You are the star of the show,
The one who makes it happen,
Our leading lady.
You crawl and climb,
Stand and cruise.
Always moving, talking, smiling.
Your chubby fingers wave and pat and pinch
Rarely still, even while you nurse.
You feed yourself eggs, bread, pears
Bananas, dog food, burrs and leaves.
No teeth, yet you gobble it all down
Unless I am quick enough to remove
What seems inedible to me, but tasty to you.
Someday you'll sit on my lap and listen to stories,
But today you grab and gulp and go
Ready for your next adventure.
A tiny explorer, artist and entertainer
who loves to perform for her audience.
You reach up  to touch the piano keys
Barely within your reach
Making your own music.

Christmas Feels Different This Year

For me, Christmas is all about traditions.  Things have been pretty much the same for as long as I can remember.  We always have the same Christmas eve meal that my family had when I was growing up.  Santa Claus does things exactly the same way he did as when I was a kid.  When I was 12 years old, my best friend and I started a secret Christmas giving tradition that my family still loves today.  Our family newsletter tradition is only 18 years old, so that's a recent addition for us!

I've never been one to shake things up or try something different at Christmastime.  But in 2010, my mom passed away and everything changed.  Not only was my sweet Mom gone, but my dad went with my brother's family on a trip to NYC.  It was fun for them and a much-needed change for Dad, but it was really hard on me.  It was my first Christmas ever without my parents!  I had spent every single one of my 43 Christmases with my mom and dad.  Most of the time, my siblings were all there too!  That was the beginning of a big change for me.

Most things are still the same. We still decorate the tree with our traditional ornaments, but we've added some of Mom's.  We'll be baking and making our favorite Christmas cookies and treats.  We've got our baskets full of Christmas books in the living room.  I have my favorite decorations out.

Some things are different, of course.  I will miss being with my brothers at Christmas and I will certainly miss Elder Aaron.  Different isn't always bad though. My Dad's wife Carolyn joins us now.  She has a great sense of humor and makes the best desserts ever.  She made our white elephant exchange especially fun last year.  Lavender is here now too and she will bring a special excitement and joy to our celebrations!  With her and our little granddaughters here, it has been fun to shop for the little ones again.  I also talked it over with Marianne and Evan and we decided that Santa will wrap all of their presents from now on.  Santa has always carefully arranged his gifts on the couches for the children until they leave home.  He will still do that for Lavender, but not for the older kids.

It is freeing and exciting to introduce a bit of change into our Christmas traditions.  I know that as my family grows, things will continue to change.  We have already added a beautiful daughter-in-law and I am hopeful that our children will bring spouses and add grandchildren to our family in the coming years.  Changes will come and for the first time, I am excited about them.  As long as our focus is on our Savior Jesus Christ, our Christmas celebrations will be joyous!

Christmas Cleaning

My mom was the queen of Christmas decorating.  I've never matched her level, but I do have lots of nativities and other decorations.  This year I haven't gotten out even half of our Christmas stuff.  Mainly, this is because I feel like I need to do some serious cleaning first.  A couple of weeks ago I felt a prompting that we needed to clean out the hall closet under the stairs.  We discovered that one of our water storage containers had leaked.  The leak must have happened quite awhile ago because there was some mold.  Our wooden train board was ruined and one of the baseboards was moldy and had to be thrown out, but fortunately it hadn't gotten into the drywall!  We cleaned everything with bleach just to be sure and now things are as good as new.

This experience reminded me of some cleaning Elder Aaron has done recently.  I'll let you read about it in his own words:

October 22nd in Leamington. Ontario :  When we cleaned out the baptismal font a few weeks ago there were a lot of dead crickets and spiders in the font (Leamington hasn't had a baptism in over six months). But it was clean for John's baptism.

December 10th in Timmins. Ontario:   We had cleaned the font on Saturday and assumed everything would be fine. The first time we filled up the font, the water was a murky dark green color. So we had to drain it and fill it up again ( and we didn't have a lot of time before the service was supposed to start). Apparently the same water had been sitting in the water heater for ten months and acquired a green color. But in the end, all was well. The water was nice and clear. 

This got me thinking.   What really needs cleaning this Christmas is probably my heart.  What spiders and green gunk do I have lurking there?  Are there things I need to let go of?  People I need to forgive? Fears I need to release?  

Isn't that really what Christmas is all about?  Coming before our Savior with clean hands and a pure heart.

November 2012 Family Pictures

Photos of some of my favorite people - the Happy Hartz Family

By one of our favorite friends - Trevor Davies

At one of our favorite places - Spreckles Organ Pavillion in Balboa Park

Best. Present. Ever.

I am pleased to announce that I have finished my Christmas shopping.  Unfortunately, I still haven't  received all of it yet, nor have I wrapped and/or mailed everything.  But I'm working on it!

In case you are still contemplating what to get that special someone, I have a suggestion.  My kids (my oldest two, who just happen to be married to each other) gave me a wonderful gift on Mother's Day.  While it was perfect for Mother's Day, it would be an equally wonderful Christmas gift.  Best of all, it won't cost you too much!

Ready for the details?

Gather 52 cards and envelopes.  You can use simple cards or fancy stationery, just as long as you have something to write on.  Next comes the hardest part.  Think of 52 things you love (or are grateful for) about this person.  Again, these can be as long or short as you'd like.  When you're finished writing, you will probably feel really happy that you have this great person in your life.  Next, put each card in an envelope and then put all of them in a basket or other container.  Add a ribbon and you're set!

Ryan and Molly told me I could open the envelopes whenever I chose.  Since there were 52, I decided to open one every Sunday.  I have "cheated" a couple of times when I was having a bad day.  Just opening that little envelope really cheered me up.  I know it would bring some Christmas cheer to anyone on your gift giving list!

Happy shopping!

Day 10 - Cruisin' Around New York

Note: I am bound and determined to finish posting about our trip.  Since you've had to wait so long, I've included extra photos as a reward.  If you consider it a punishment, please keep it to yourself.

Thursday 10/25
This morning we slept in a bit and John brought us breakfast from a nearby deli.  While we ate, we watched a rooftop daycare out the window.  Then we watched Lavender.  The hotel had an actual crib rather than a pack n play and Lavender grabbed onto the bars and pulled herself up to stand for the first time.  In honor of her accomplishments, we decided to take a cruise. Well, a short cruise.  At least one where we could see the Statue of Liberty.  We were disappointed that she was still closed for repairs and figured we could enjoy her beauty from the boat.  We took the subway and then had a long walk to the ship.  It was then I realized that I had neglected to check the schedule before we set out.  It was a two hour wait until the next cruise.  I said, "What in the world will we do for two hours?"  Apparently my vision must be worse than I thought because Evan gently said, "How about that?" and pointed to aircraft carrier I had failed to notice.

The USS Intrepid was a great place to kill some time!  I didn't want to pay the $25 admission price, but then I noticed a little sign that said something about "public pier access."  I asked about it and found that we could check out the area for free and long as they saw my id and "signed me in."  I'm not sure what that was all about.  We couldn't go onboard the Intrepid, but we did get to see the Growler submarine and the Concorde supersonic jet.  We were also surprised to find a little corn maze and pumpkin patch.  They were even giving away free pumpkins!  We got a few pictures of Lavender, but she was fascinated with the hay and mainly just wanted us to leave her alone so she could play.

Lavender was happy with her baby-sized pumpkin and it was time for our cruise.  It was chilly out there on the ship, but we had great views of Manhattan, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  Lavender and I relaxed while Marianne and Evan took lots of pictures.

We worked up an appetite with all that cruising and walking, so we stopped for lunch and we continued our cupcake tour.  The internet coverage in NYC was horrible, so the GPS on my phone wasn't very helpful.  Somehow we managed to find both Magnolia Bakery and Baked By Melissa.  Yum!

We trekked back to the hotel to meet John and then headed out for the High Line, a cool new park built on elevated train tracks. Side note:  riding the subway with a stroller is a pain.  The pain was greatly lessened because of Evan.  He folded and unfolded that stroller and carried it up and down the stairs and on and off the trains.  I carefully planned our route to the High Line so that we would arrive where there was an elevator.  It meant we had to walk a bit further from the train station, but I figured it was worth it to avoid the stairs up to the park.  No such luck!  The elevator wasn't working, so got a long walk PLUS the stairs.  We did enjoy the High Line though and it was cool to go at night.    There is great artwork in the park too.

By this time we were all a little tired and grumpy, but a quick dinner at The Diner and a good night's sleep fixed everything! (Did you notice that Evan got the most pictures in this post? Just my way of saying thank you for all the heavy lifting he did during the trip.  Lavender's stroller was much heaver than the cupcakes he carried in the picture above.)

Eight Month Birthday

In the midst of a busy vacation

We barely remembered the day,

But she celebrated life!

She reveled in the chaos of the city

Squealing with joy at the rumbling approach

And screeching brakes of the train,.

Smiling at strangers on the subway

Even stony-faced New Yorkers  

Who couldn’t help themselves

And finally smiled back at her.

Delighted with crowds of commuters

Even laughing when fifteen Japanese tourists

Swarmed around her in an elevator.

The perfect little traveler--

She was content in her stroller or carseat

But happiest in our arms.

Late Saturday night in Times Square

We were tired and a bit grouchy,

But she was calm and peaceful, long past her bedtime.

Carefully watching the throngs of people.

Drinking it all in with her eyes and ears

And savoring every drop

Like liquid joy.

October 2012 - New York City Harbor Cruise