Happy 4th Birthday Anna....

We were in Nebraska with Brandon's family for Anna's birthday. Brandon's mom was able to get this wonderful princess cake, which Anna was so excited about. She had a great birthday.

Merry Christmas to all of our friends & family. Don't forget about the best gift given to us.



"The Christmas Story"
King James Version


"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and The Government shall be upon His Shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty GOD, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His Government and peace there shall be no end, upon the Throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will perform this"
(Isaiah 9:6-7).

The Story of the Birth of Christ
As told through Luke

Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2:2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 2:3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 2:5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with Child. 2:6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son,
and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn.

2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the LORD came upon them, and the glory of the LORD shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD. 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into Heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the LORD hath made known unto us. 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 2:17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 2:18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 2:20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the Child, His Name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

The Story of the Birth of Christ
As told through Matthew

Matthew 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, Who is called Christ. 1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with Child of the Holy Ghost. 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 1:21 And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His Name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins. 1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the LORD by the prophet, saying, 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with Child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God With Us. 1:24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the LORD had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 1:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn Son: and he called His Name JESUS.

2:1 Now when Jesus was born
in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2:2 Saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews?

for we have seen His Star in the east, and are come to worship Him. 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule My people Israel. 2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the Star appeared. 2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young Child; and when ye have found Him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship Him also. 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the Star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.

2:10 When they saw the Star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Beat the Storm Again.....

We ended up leaving on Monday a little before lunch to head to Nebraska. We heard there was more snow coming, so we left earlier then planned. We hit snow in theOmaha area, but it only lasted for about an hour and then the roads were clear. We also ended up driving all the way to his parents house in North Platte. The kids did another great job traveling 12 hours. Noah was only fussy a total of a hour the whole trip. I was pleasantly surprised and so thankful. Charlie the beagle also did a good job of traveling and has been doing very well with Katie the cocker spaniel.

Charlie likes to find places that are comfortable.....

And here is a cute little picture of Noah taken by either his brother or sister.

Beat the Storm....
We ended up leaving Thursday night instead of Friday afternoon to beat a winter storm that was barreling our way. The roads were clear (more or less). The kids were really well behaved and the drive went well. We only had to make one potty stop for Gabriel.

Today we had to help Grandpa Lanny dig out of the snow (10" +). The kids went sledding twice and had lots of fun. There will be lots more sledding over the next few days that we're here. Well, that's all for now. Hope everyone else survived the storm:)

Clean, Pack, Organize........

Well today is packing day. We will be hopefully leaving tomorrow for a nice long vacation of visiting family & Friends. The snow is suppose to start falling tonight and by tomorrow at noon we are suppose to have a pile. I guess we will see if the weather men are right or not.

In the mean time I'm excited and looking forward to visiting with friends and family. The kids & I are excited about the trip and Christmas. I will still try to post a few times while on our trip to let you know what we have been up to. We will see many of you very soon. Have a wonderful weekend.

Sliding down the stairs.....
Who says you need snow to go sledding?

Sugar Cookie Icing


This is so simple to make, but I like to have some good flavor to my frosting, so this is what I have come up with. I think using the flavored creamer helps to make some really good frosting and a little butter

2 cups confectioner's sugar
3 Tb. soft butter
4 tsp. french vanilla cream or any flavored creamer of choice
4 tsp. light corn syrup
1 tsp. almond extract
assorted food coloring

In a bowl, stir together confectioners sugar, butter, milk, corn syrup & almond extract. If you think you need the frosting a little thinner just add a little more milk or more powder suger to make it thicker. Enjoy:)

So So Good.....

This recipe is fast and easy. Also to make them look like Christmas cookies roll them in some red & green sugars or if you would like a bit of chocolate put some chocolate chips in them. The dough is very sticky, but I sprinkled a bit of flour on it and mixed it up, so I could handle it better. If you have more patience then me or time you could refrigerate the dough for a couple of hours to make the dough easier to handle. My husband, who is a cookie gourmand, gives them an enthusiastic two thumbs up. I'm afraid to say that these are one of those cookies that are just hard to stop eating:)

Gooey Butter Cookies

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Add cake mix, and stir until well blended. Roll into 1inch balls and roll the balls in the confectioners' sugar. Place 1 inch apart onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire rack.

This is just a story that a friend e-mailed me that I thought you all might enjoy reading.....

The "W" in Christmas

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas. My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six year old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's Winter Pageant." I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise. So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song. Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title. Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row-center stage-held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love." The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down- totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W". The audience of first through sixth graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W". Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities. For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear: "C H R I S T W A S L O V E" And, I believe, He still is. Amazed in His presence... humbled by His love.

Amen, He still is.

Christmas Treats......
In the next week I am going to make up a batch of Microwave Truffles & Pistachio Brittle. I usually try to make some Peanut Brittle each year because my mom really likes it. Also another item I like to make is my microwave Caramel Corn, which I don't just make at Christmas time. You can find that recipe here in my recipe file. I have to thank my mother in law for that wonderful recipe.

Microwave Truffles

• 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted, divided
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup butter (no substitutes)
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Place 24 small foil candy cups in miniature muffin cups or on a baking sheet. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon pecans into each; set cups and remaining pecans aside. In a 2-qt. microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Microwave at 50% power for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until melted. Stir in cream and extract. Beat with an electric mixer until slightly thickened, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Immediately pour into prepared cups. Top with remaining pecans. Refrigerate until set.

"Microwave" Peanut Brittle

1 cup sugar
1/2 light corn syrup
dash of salt
1 1/2 cups raw peanuts or unsalted peanuts
1 Tb butter
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

1. Grease baking sheet heavily and then set aside.

2. Combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and nuts. Microwave on high for 4 mins. & stir then microwave for 4 or 5 more mins. or until it's light brown color. Then stir in butter, baking soda and vanilla. Then spread mixture thinly on the baking sheet and let cool in refrigerator for 20 minutes. When cool break up into pieces and store in a air tight container or package up to give away.

I so love the microwave. It makes cooking things so easy. Let me know if you try them out and like them or let me know one of your favorite Christmas recipe:)

More Cookies.....

These cut out cookies with frosting and sprinkles are daddy's & the kids favorite.
I know I will be making lots more of these in the next few days.

Anna is working on taking pictures. Practice makes perfect:)

My Little Eskimo......

Anna decided she wanted to go out and have fun in the new snow yesterday and make some snow angel. What wonderful memories I have of playing in the snow. I am also looking forward to going to my parents house at Christmas time and letting the kids have a chance to go sledding. I think they will have lots of fun:)

Trying to get some Christmas Pictures......

Trying to get pictures of the kids this year was very challenging. Here are just a few of the many tries. I ended up taking the kids pictures separately because whenever I had them all together I could never get a smile from them all at the same time. Plus it's hard to get Noah to sit still longer then a few seconds and then as you can see Gabriel ended up in the corner not wanting to smile.

More snow last night.....

I let Charlie out this morning and she has now figured out how to get over to the neighbors back yard. She likes to go over, so she can play with there dogs, which are 4 times the size of her. Brandon blocked the hole, but she was still able to get through, so we are going to have to find a better way to block it. Those little beagles are so smart. I'm afraid it's going to be hard to keep her over here, which we will have to let you over to play once in a while.

Here is the evergreen bush that she climbs on to get jump over the board that we used to try and block the hold.

The Recipe Box Swap
Please visit I have to say to see all sorts of recipes and visit some blogs to get some Christmas recipe ideas. This month's theme is Holiday Favorites.

Yesterday I made Cookies, Cookies, & More Cookies...... We have only two weeks till we leave to spend some time with family & friends and so I am baking early to try and get all the different kinds of cookies done that I want to take with us and give as gifts. So here are a couple of my favorite cookie recipes. Enjoy:)


Peanut Butter Crinkle Kisses


1 cup of margarine
1 cup of peanut butter(creamy or crunchy)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

1 bag of Hersheys Kisses or Chocolate Stars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Unwrap chocolate kisses-(don't eat them all) and set aside until later-you will need them as soon as the cookies come out of the oven!

Mix the first 6 ingredients until fluffy. Then mix the next 4 ingredients together and combine with the first 6 ingredients. Shape into 1" balls and roll in granulated sugar. I also mix in some red & green sugars to add some Christmas cheer. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and bake 9-10 minutes. Take out of oven and immediately press Hershey kiss into center of cookies. Need to let the cookies cool well and let the chocolate kiss set up before putting them away. This recipe makes a little over 6 dozen, so there will be plenty to go around.

Caramel-Filled Chocolate Cookies

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup chopped pecans, divided
• 6 (2-ounce) packages chocolate-caramel cookie bars, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 (2-ounce) vanilla bark coating squares

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla, beating until blended after each addition.

Combine flour, cocoa, and soda; add to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in 1/2 cup pecans. Shape 1 tablespoon dough around each candy piece, covering completely, to form balls.

Combine remaining 1/2 cup pecans and 1 tablespoon sugar. Gently press the top of each ball into pecan mixture. Place balls, pecan sides up, 2 inches apart on baking sheets.

Bake at 375° for 7 to 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes. Remove from baking sheets; cool completely on wire racks.

Melt coating squares in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.

*These chocolate cookies are my absolute favorite. If you don't want to go to as much work this cookie dough is also wonderful if you want to add just some white chocolate or peanut butter chips to the batter. Also you can just roll the balls in some red & green sugars and bake them. There are lots of variations that can be done with this batter. I have also cut up little bites of Snicker bars and wrapped the dough around them. Those are also yummy.

Charlie.....
She loves warm snuggle blankets and soft pillows.

In the next few pictures you will see a toy turtle that has a string attached to it. Charlie loves this toy. She will take a hold of the sting and pull the turtle around the house and bark at it. She has lots of fun, but I have to put the toy away after a while.

It won't be long.....
Ann's trying to get Noah to take a step....
which he did reach for her hand. It was so cute:)