justimagineheaven

Fast Food at Home

2012-01-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you have seen this photo floating around the world wide web. Who doesn't love chicken nuggets? We hardly get the chance to eat fast food, and by the look of those highly processed nuggets it may be for the better that we don't eat out much. I think Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets are a little different than your McDonalds or Burger King nuggets. They actually look like little chunks of chicken. Since it can get a little pricey taking our whole family out I've been wanting to find a recipe that came close and tasted good. I've made these chicken nuggets a few times and even had a gal tell me they taste just like Chick-Fil-A nuggets. I never told her that was my goal. That's just what she said. They were a huge hit and devoured quite quickly by everyone. The best thing about making them yourself is that you can make the nuggets any size you want. I made mine bigger than those tiny nuggets you get at the restaurant. ;)

I think one of the tricks to making them taste so good is by marinating the chicken to make them soft and tender.

After a few hours drain chicken and marinade in a colander.

To give the chicken a brown and golden crust that we all love we're going to to dip the chicken chunks in a flour/powdered sugar mixture. If you've ever had Chick-Fil-A nuggets you know they're slightly sweet.

With just a little oil you can fry these babies in a skillet.

Flip them once when they're golden brown and cook the other side until it's got a beautiful crust.

Find that adorable Pyrex dish in your cabinet and line it with a paper towel. Carefully place the chicken nuggets in the dish.

Bake up a side of sweet potato fries to enjoy with your nuggets.

Pull out some more of your fun Pyrex to serve the masses. Enjoy it all quickly because it won't last long. I thought I'd have some leftovers, but my children and husband loved this so much that it was gone in minutes.

Sweet Chicken Nuggets (Chick-Fil-A Copycat Recipe)

6 skinless and boneless chicken breasts

3 cup milk

3 egg

2 cups flour

6 TBSP powdered sugar

4 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

Canola or Peanut oil for frying

In a medium bowl whisk the egg and stir in the milk. Trim any fat away from chicken. Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Place chicken in milk mixture for 2 hours or longer in the refrigerator.

Combine flour, powdered sugar, salt, and pepper in a shallow baking dish or ziploc bag. Add chicken pieces, coating well.

Place about 2 inches of oil in a skillet or use deep fryer. Over medium high heat, heat oil until hot. If you are fortunate to have candy thermometer or something similar heat oil to 375°F. Using tongs carefully place chicken pieces in skillet of hot oil. Cook until golden brown then flip and continue cooking until the other side is golden brown as well. It should take just a few minutes per side. Remove chicken and place on a dish lined with a paper towel to soak in the remaining grease. Repeat until all nuggets are cooked. Serve with your favorite sauce and maybe a side of sweet potato fries.

The Rodeo

2012-01-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

Thursday night found us with last minute tickets to the rodeo at the Stock Show.

When I told the children that we were all going to the rodeo you would have thought that I said we were going to Disneyland or something. They went crazy. They were so excited even though they had never been to a rodeo before.

Team calf roping had everyone on the edge of their seats.

Saddle bronc riding was equally exciting.

Anna kept saying, "Look at the horses driving, Mom. See mom?" Over and over again.

The children found the rodeo clown to be amusing while Jared and I thought he was less than mediocre. He's definitely no Flint Rasmussen.

The Westernaires had the children oohing and ahhing. I'm sure if we had sat higher in the stands they could see all the cool designs that were made. At any rate it was still pretty neat.

My Lutheran Stud was taking it all in while my 10-year-old took video.

Besides team calf roping there was also single man calf roping.

I can't even begin to imagine how to ride a horse while trying to rope a calf at the same time. It has me in awe every time.

It's crazy to see it all happen in just seconds.

See that horse? It didn't budge one bit while that cowboy was tying up that calf.

Then the judges come and check things out for scoring.

These clowns were the real deal.

They were bull fighters.

They were doing all they could get the attention of those bulls.

We also got to see some barrel racing.

Those horses were super fast. We could feel a gush of wind as they rode by us. It was crazy!

This guy tried to entertain us, or maybe he wasn't really trying. There wasn't much of effort made. I would have given anything to see a bull attack that barrel. Just kidding. . . maybe.

Bull riding came at the end.

Once those 8 seconds are up the rodeo clowns are in there right away to help get the cowboy off the bull safely.

It was a pretty awesome show. The children had a blast.

David's not one for the paparazzi, but he enjoys those bulls and horses.

Since I didn't get my funnel cake during the PBR competition I was hoping the stand would still be open after the rodeo. It was just our luck that night since everything else was shut down.

We all got enjoy funnel cake. I think it was the first time most of our children had ever had a funnel cake.

We enjoyed a fabulous night on the town. It was one of those nights that I was thankful that we homeschool because we all slept in the next day.

Since Camera Jan takes too many photos I thought a little collage would be fun!

Red Solo Cup Contest

2012-01-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

We entered Anna in a Red Solo Cup video contest. I would really appreciate it if you could take the time to head over and vote for her video. HERE is the link or click on the widget to the right of my blog. Thanks so much!

Cream of Something

2012-01-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

Do you like to use Cream of Chicken or Cream of Mushroom or any condensed soups for that matter, in your cooking? Me too. I used to use them all the time. Then I found out how they are really unhealthy and full of MSG. Yuck! Again, on Pintrerest I found a recipe to make my own cream of soups. If you want to make your own too just follow along. I'm not saying it's super healthy, but it sure beats the stuff you buy in a can these days.

It doesn't get any easier than these simple ingredients. I bet you can find most of them readily available in your very own pantry. All you do is mix a little of this and a little of that and BAM! Done!

Find a pretty Pyrex mixing bowl and dump all your ingredients in there. It's just powdered milk, minced onions, corn starch, bouillon, basil, thyme, and a little pepper.

Mix well. Then you can store in an airtight container. I like to use mason jars because they're pretty versatile that way.

I use this often enough so I just taped the recipe to the jar for easy refills. No need to go seraching for the recipe. Now when you actually want to make a Cream of Something soup you just need 1/3 cup of this mix an some water. How easy is that? It just tastes 10 times better too. I use it for everything that calls for a Cream of Something soup.

Cream of “Something”

1 cup dried milk
3/4 cup corn starch
4 tablespoons dried minced onions
1/4 cup bouillon (any flavor: chicken, beef, or vegetable)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together. For 1-10oz can of condensed soup combine 1/3 cup mix with 1 1/4 cup of water. Heat until thick.

A Small Sample

2012-01-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

In my quest to get rid of the plastic storage containers in our home I started collecting vintage Pyrex. I think I've mentioned that here before. Anyway friends and even my mom have started looking for pieces for me and I couldn't be happier. I check out the local thrift stores regularly in the hopes of finding some great deals. They're perfect for entertaining. We had company over last week and made burrito bowls. Everyone got to make their own bowls and put whatever they wanted in them. It was perfect! The leftovers can go straight into the fridge. What I also love is when I heat leftovers I can just stick the whole thing in the microwave lid and all.
The next day we had people over to watch the Broncos game. While that was an incredibly horrible game for us we did have some pretty fabulous food. It was appetizer and chili night!

If you love buffalo wings you definitely need to make this bleu cheese buffalo chicken dip. You will love it!

This spinach artichoke dip always gets rave reveiews too. Sometimes I'll even eat for lunch.

The mini taco cups are perfect for a football game. I was able to use leftovers from the night before to make these.

Chips and salsa are pretty much a staple around here. I canned a ton of salsa this summer and I hope I can make it to the next summer, but I think we'll cut it close. That's how much I love my salsa. So there you have it; a small sampling of my latest obession. If you have some Pyrex laying around that you want to get rid of feel free to bring it to me. I'll definitely put it to good use. I've even begun collecting dishes too.

Birthday

2012-01-17T22:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday. The children were quite excited to show me this masterpiece they created. If you want to know how old I am look closely at the picture. You'll see it.

Every year a gal from church takes me out to get pedicures and Starbucks. It's quite fun and relaxing.

Then it was off to dinner with our family. Fortunately for us this place lets kids eat for free on Monday nights and it's an Italian buffet. Score!

There was never ending pizza, pasta, crepes, and who know what else. It was all so overwhelming.

For dessert the children all wanted ice cream. David was so excited that he went back for seconds.

I wanted to try a little bit of this and that, so I mixed and matched. I had cream puffs, rasberry crumble, tiramisu, and this fabulous canoli. I was stuffed!

Elizabeth and I took a little break in the bathroom. There was a really cool mirror, but apparently you can't really see it. You'll just have to settle for looking at us. ;)

For the record, I do wear heels often. I even wear heels when there is snow on the ground. That's how crazy I am. :) It was such a fun birthday. Thanks to all of you who called, emailed, and sent stuff snail mail. I have truly been blessed and I am so thankful to have such a great family and amazing friends.

PBR

2012-01-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

For this city girl attending a PBR event is a totatly different world for me. I grew up never knowing such a thing really existed. It wasn't until I met my Lutheran Stud did I see such a thing in real life. Just going over the mountains to see him and his brother bale hay and see a cow sitting in his parents pen was new to me. Then we headed to South Dakota to meet the rest of his family and many of them live on big huge farms. They farm soy beans, corn, and wheat and raise cattle too! Their children participate in 4-H and now my children want pet goats. I'm beginning to feel like we need to move to a farm because now I'd really like to raise some chickens, but that's a different story for another time.
Right now we're talking a little PBR and about the National Western Stock Show that takes place in Denver every year. It's become a tradition that we attend the Stock Show these days. While there are so many things to do and see, since this goes on for 2 weeks, my favorite event is the bull riding competition. It usually takes place during the first week. I love that before the competition everyone sings the National Anthem and then the emcee says a little prayer thanking God for His son Jesus.

Then it's time for a little bull riding action. That night the bulls were pretty fiesty. Just 8 seconds, c'mon, you can do it! And he did.

Can you guess what's about to happen here?

Yep! You guessed it. No worries though. Everyone was fine.

Those rodeo clowns are pretty amazing. They just show up out of nowhere. It's quite a sight to behold.

Then there was this clown who, every time a bull came near he'd hop the rail along with the judges. I have to say this happened quite often that night. Like I said the bulls were fiesty.

So, anyway, this guy is Flint Rasmussen. If you follow my blog you may have seen me mention him before. He's one of the main reasons I love the attending the Stock Show. Here are some of our favorite Stock Show posts.There's a lot of dead time in between the riders when they're getting the bulls in the chutes, so Flint comes out and entertains the crowd. He is definitely not one of those rodeo clowns that keeps the bulls from the riders though. Nope he doesn't do any of that. In fact, someone in the crowd even asked him why he wasn't out there chasing the bulls down. He just laughed and did a little dance.

During intermission we headed out for a little bite to eat. The Stock Show definitely has it's fare share of fair food. Yum! Fried candy bar, anyone?

I almost picked up a funnel cake, but then decided I couldn't finish it when I already had BBQ in my hand.

Here's the leader board a the end of the night. That Kody kid is from Colorado, so the crowd was swooning over him.

That night they had a special ride-off between him and the guy who won the night before. He was a Brazilian name Alves.

Here we go. It was a little crazy with the whole arena cheering.

Kody had an amazing ride. He had to celebrate with Flint afterwards. Did I mention that Kody also won the PBR championship in Vegas, the big show, in 2009? He's pretty amazing.

He got the highest score of the entire night and won the ride-off.

There was an inebriated gentleman in the crowd that kept heckling Flint, so Flint decided to see if this guy could actually dance. What do you think?

Vanilla

2012-01-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

These little brown sticks are vanilla beans in case you've never seen them before.

Here we have a large jug of vodka. It's not only great for daiquiris and other drinks though. Today we're making our own vanilla. Aren't you excited? It's the easiest thing you'll ever make.

Take your vanilla beans and a some scissors. This is optional, but I like to slice the beans.

I feel that it gives more flavor quickly when the beans have been sliced.

Find a mason jar or other container. I love using mason jars for whatever I can. We have them all over our house. Place a few vanilla beans in your jar. I think I ended up with 4 beans in there.

Add some of that wonderful vodka to the jar.

Stick a lid on the jar. Shake it up every so often. After a few days your vanilla will have a beautiful golden caramel color to it.

After a few weeks or a couple months you will get a deep amber brown color letting you know that your vanilla is ready to be used. Now go and make some cookies. This jar is actually over a year old. When it gets low I just add more vodka. I also just started another jar since it seems like I use quite a bit a vanilla around here. Stop buying that nasty imitation vanilla with disgusting fillers in them. Make your own and know what you're putting into your body. Vodka and vanilla is a win win, right?

Women and Fat

2012-01-12T17:07:00.002-07:00

I have always been intrigued with the subject of food and diet, so I’ve ready plenty of books and even watched a few documentaries on the subject. This book Why Women Need Fat is just another book that confirms a lot of what I’ve already seen and read.

I enjoyed reading about the history of women’s shapes and sizes from 50 years past as well as the differences in omega-6 and omega-3 fats. It was helpful to read that a lot of our omega-6 consumption is found in very over-processed corn and soybean oil. Corn and soybeans are vegetables and vegetables generally contain little fat, so it’s surprising to find that there is so much polyunsaturated (unhealthy) fat in these oils.

While this book discusses why women need fat, primarily for child bearing, many studies and comparisons used in the book were about men or women in other countries. There was a study of interest to me even though the only people in the study were men. It showed how men who are overweight and put on a limited calorie diet do tend to lose quite a bit of weight quickly, however, after a few months the weight loss trails off, the subjects became depressed, and all they could think about was food. When the subjects were able to eat whatever they wanted they ended up eating more than what they used to eat before they went on the diet causing them to gain back all the weight they had lost as well as more in very little time. I’ve actually seen this happen to friends that I know who have been on all sorts of diets.

I also found it a bit irksome when the author compared us to our “ape cousins.” What? There is no way we are related to or did we evolve from apes. That’s just nonsense. I think that whole comparison was an unnecessary part of the book and could have been taken out all together.

All in all I think this book was an okay read for those who don’t know much about natural fats, diet, and food, but for me it was all stuff I’ve already heard.

This is a paid review by BlogHer Book Club, but all opinions expressed about this book are mine.

Some Nuggets

2012-01-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

Last week some friends invited us to the Denver Nuggets game. To be honest we haven't followed the Nuggets nor have we even been to a game as long as we've lived in Colorado.

Gott a love Instagram. There's a ton of cool filters on it.

Even though none of us really follow the Nuggets, Michael seemed to know a little more than the rest of us.

While I don't keep close tabs on the Nuggets I am aware that they are a pretty good team this year.

Basketball is a pretty fun sport to watch and easy to follow unlike football.

This mascot is Rocky and I have to say that I am not a fan of people in costumes with masks. They freak me out. I don't know why.

Maybe it has something to do with this little stunt that Rocky pulled on this poor unsuspecting fellow. He dumped a huge garbage can filled with popcorn on the guy. Yikes! I was on edge the rest of the game.

By halftime it was almost a blow out.

We had pretty decent seats. The players exited for the lockerroom just below us.

Still want to get some tatts Adriane? This is "Birdman." I don't think I even know his real name, but he is one of the players that I do know, although not personally.

He's crazy and full of tattoos. Some lady dressed up like a bird and asked him to marry her. They showed it on the big screen. It was crazy. The lady I mean; strange, crazy, lady.

During my people watching I spotted this fan with the birdman look. The Birdman used to wear his hair similar to this.

What was really neat about this game is the fact that George Karl is their coach. When I was young my family and I would go to several Seattle Sonics games and George Karl was their coach then. It was nice to see him again.

There were many points scored by the Nuggets.

And that guy, Birdman, is an animal on defense. . .

as well as offense.

Close to the end of the game the crowd was really getting into the game chanting "We want tacos. We want tacos." For every game that the Nuggets score 110 people in the city can head to Taco Bell the next day for free tacos. Does this occur in other states? This taco thing isn't just for basketball, the Rockies and Broncos also have similar deals. It's too bad I'm not a big taco fan. We had such a great time I think I'd enjoy going to another game.

Proceed to Party

2012-01-09T10:48:00.002-07:00

During the day our home is filled with music. My lovely husband installed a few speakers in the kitchen above my cabinets. Since our home has a pretty open floor plan you can hear music in any room on the main floor. Listening to iTunes radio or Spotify has become so routine in our daily life that if I forget to turn it on the children will remind me. We listen to a lot of country music and for some reason Red Solo Cup seems to be a catchy song around here. The children automatically start singing along when they here it. Lately, they've also been requesting it. I have to admit it's a pretty goofy song, but quite easy to pick up. Anna loves it too. Sometimes when the song isn't even playing she'll blurt out "proceed to party" or "red solo cup." In honor of the Denver Broncos big win last night we should all proceed to party. Anna is just sticking to her zippy cup for now. The red solo cup is years away for her. :)

Girly Girls

2012-01-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

Some of you asked what my girls got for Christmas when I posted this photo of some painted frames. We purchased these beds for the girls, but I thought they were a bit blah, so when Katie came into town we picked up some paint samples and painted the beds. While Katie painted I sewed these matching comforters with an old sheet I found at a thrift store. The flip side of each comforter has its own unique design that I found at the fabric store.

My girls are pretty girly and love playing with their dolls. They were pretty excited to receive the beds for Christmas.

A New Kind of Fry

2012-01-05T10:01:00.001-07:00

Pinterest has been an addicting site for me. There's all sorts of fun crafts as well as recipes. When I saw some sweet potoato fries floating around I knew it was going to be on my list of things to make. The first time I had sweet potoato fries was when my Lutheran Stud and I went out to dinner at Toby Keith's for our anniversary this past summer. I told him I had to make these at home and he told me there was no way I could get them crunchy. I set out to prove him wrong.

These fries are definitely crunchy and they were baked in the oven.

Here's the secret ingredient: cornstarch.

Cut your sweet potato up into fry shapes. Stick them in a ziploc bag along with just a small amount of cornstarch. Shake the bag up until all the sweet potatoes are covered.

Lay your sweet potatoes out on a pan. Try not fill the pans too full. We don't want the sweet potoatoes to be too friendly with each other because they'll come out of the oven a little soft.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the sweet potoatoes. Then mix them well and stick the pans in the oven. Bake them, half way through flip them.

While you're waiting you can make this tasty sauce of mayo and Sriracha hot sauce.

The fries come out crunchy and sweet! My children love them and have been asking when we can have them again. I think sweet potatoes are going to be in our garden this summer.

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

approximately 2 1/2 lbs. of sweet potatoes
6 Tablespoons of cornstarch
6 Tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Slice sweet potatoes up into thin sticks. Soak sweet potatoes in cold water for at least an hour. Preheat oven 425˚F. Pat dry. Place cornstarch in a ziplock bag. Add sweet potatoes. Shake around until all sweet potatoes have been covered. Lay sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over them. Mix them around a bit. Make sure there’s a little oil on every sweet potato. Bake them in the oven for 15 min. Flip them over and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until sweet potatoes are slightly brown and crunchy. Serve warm with sauce below.

Sriracha Mayo Sauce

In a small bowl mix mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce together adding enough Sriracha sauce as desired.

Taste Test

2012-01-03T15:36:00.001-07:00

For Christmas some members in our congregation gave us farm eggs for Christmas from their own chickens. We go through an outrageous amount of eggs in our home, making me wish we had our own chickens.

We decided to have little taste test to see which eggs we liked best.

Rebecca was our chef.

She loves cooking eggs for breakfast and she does quite good job.

Two plates. Two different kinds of eggs.

Here we go. Can you tell which is which?

While the younger children couldn't taste much of a difference I would say that all of us older folk could. The farm eggs just barely edged out the store bought eggs. Now I'm trying to plot a way for us to get some chickens. :)

Cute Little Tacos

2012-01-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

How was your New Year's Eve? We didn't make it to midnight, but we did have a few friends over for an evening of cards and appetizers. My Lutheran Stud was in bed before our guests even left. That's how we roll when we have to get up early the next morning. :)

One of the appetizers I made for the evening were these adorable taco cups. Aren't they cute? They're super easy to make too.

I purchase wonton wrappers from a local Asian store for a dollar and some change. These are like taco shells for our purposes.

Cook up some taco meat or whatever you like in your tacos. We like beans as well as meat.

Fill your taco with your favorite toppings. I used ground beef, refried beans, diced tomatoes, black beans, and cheddar cheese. You can mix it up however you want. Then top your cup with another wonton wrapper and do it all over again.

I like to change things up on the top layer. I just added beans, tomatoes, and cheese.

Bake them in the oven until the wrappers are brown and the cheese is melted.

How delicious does that look? These are perfect for little ones because they are just their size.

These little cups pop out so easily. Load up a pretty tray and serve with sour cream, guacamole, or salsa.

Mini Taco Cups

approximately 36 cups

Ingredients

72 wonton wrappers (I used extra thin wrappers)
1 lb ground beef
1-15 oz can refried beans
1-15 oz can black beans
3 small diced tomatoes
2 cups shredded cheese (sharp cheddar or Mexican blend)

Toppings (optional)

sour cream
salsa
guacamole

Directions

Preheat 375˚F. Line greased muffin pan with wonton wrappers. Fill cups with meat, beans, tomatoes, and cheese. Place another wonton wrapper on top and repeat layers. Place muffin pans in over and bake for 15-20 minutes until wrappers are golden brown and cheese is melted. Serve with toppings if desired.

More Cookies and Carols

2012-01-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

Just before Christmas we got together with more friends to decorate more cookies. I can't let Christmas come and go without decorating cookies with Kellee the cookie queen!

Look at that concentration. Don't worry it didn't last long. He was itching to eat them before he was even finished decorating.

It looks like Josie may have gotten the cookie decorating gene from her mother.

Look at this adorable little red head. Ugh! She is just the cutest little thing. She was all about the eating and not so much the decorating.

The little girls got some decorating in too, however, while they had to share frosting there was a little nibbling involved.

Rachel might be a baker when she grows up.

Little Eisley even wore a cute little apron. Look at their masterpieces.

Anna's goal was to slather as much frosting on her cookie as she could and then lick it all off. Defintely a thinker here.

These kids are artists. Amazing artists. :)

And because they didn't have enough sugar from the cookies we also had some eggnog cupcakes! They were a hit.

Kellee, Heather, and I even had a little fun of our own. We had a small little gift exchange and I have to say these ladies are the best! While we chatted and drooled over our awesome gifts the older girls were plotting a little show for us. Check it out!

Eggnog Cupcakes

2012-01-01T17:14:00.001-07:00

My family likes to drink eggnog during the holidays. I wouldn't miss it if we didn't have any in the house. I love cupcakes though, so why not make cupcakes with the eggnog?

I thought it was a terrific idea, so I did. They were such a hit that I ended up making them three times before Christmas. I think I like eggnog now. . . in a cupcake. If you're an eggnog fan, I guarantee you will enjoy these cupcakes. Is eggnog even available anymore? Good luck finding some.

Eggnog Cupcakes

Yield: approximately 30 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups eggnog

Frosting:

1 cup butter, softened
5 cups powdered sugar
6 teaspoons eggnog
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
More cinnamon for garnish (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners.

In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.

In a mixing bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until just combined, scraping down sides of bowl.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture until just combined. Then add 1/3 of the eggnog. Repeat, alternating dry and wet ingredients.

Divide batter equally between cupcake liners. Bake cupcakes for 20-24 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer cupcake to wired rack to cool.

Meanwhile to make frosting beat butter until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar, half a cup at a time. Add cinnamon. Then add eggnog 1 teaspoon at a time until frosting is smooth. Frost cupcakes when cooled. Garnish with cinnamon if desired.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T22:37:00.001-07:00

While it is still Christmas we also get to ring in a new year! We pray you had a wonderful 2011. May the Lord bless you and keep in His care in 2012. Much love to you and thanks for reading. Love, Jan and family.

It's Still Christmas

2011-12-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

The second day of Christmas was celebrated in the evening. The children had to wait all day.

Can you imagine opening a gift everyday for twelve days?

We're on day 5 now and the children don't seem to pester us too much about when they get to open their gifts.

They still get excited to open them though.

I can't wait to see the look on their faces when all they get to open is underwear. That will be a fun day. :)

Christmas Snaps

2011-12-29T11:44:00.001-07:00

I always try and get group photo of the children in their Christmas outfits. I think I fared pretty well this year. This one seems to be a keeper.

I can't say that the rest of these are keepers, but I think they're pretty entertaining. :)

Hope you are having a blessed Christmas thus far.

The Feast

2011-12-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

Christmas evening we had quite a feast. While we were at church I had a turkey smoking on our grill. It was perfect!

We also had a honey glazed ham.

Bacon wrapped asparagus was pretty fantastic. I have no idea why I don't make this more often.

This corn casserole has been a hit with all the company for which I have made it.

The Pioneer Woman's creamy mashed potatoes are the best I have ever made. They are super creamy with a stick of butter and a block of cream cheese.

Our friend Chris made a sweet potato casserole that was incredibly good and flavorful.

There was no shortage of food for this meal.

Some people couldn't wait to start eating, while the rest of us were still. . .

gettting these crazy children fed!

We had12 children eating.

After dinner we had to let all the food settle before we broke out the pumpkin and strawberry cheesecakes and eggnog cupcakes.

The Wolfmuellers were in the mood to gamble, so out came the poker chips. It was a wonderful evening with great company! Hope you all had a great first day of Christmas too.

On the First Day of Christmas

2011-12-26T16:59:00.001-07:00

We celebrate all twelve days of Christmas in our home. The Advent season is such a hectic time for us and Christmas day is no different. After Christmas day things slow down a bit and we have time to breathe again. While we finally got our tree decorated the gifts don't get put under the tree because the temptation is too much for our little ones. I crept downstairs early Christmas morning and place a bunch of gifts around the tree. There's just something about waking up on Christmas morning and seeing a tree smothered with gifts. There's just a little excitement all around. Though the children were quite exctied they still had to wait before they could open anything. We had a church service to attend, cake to eat, coffee to drink, and church members to visit with first.

After we all arrived home after church the children changed their clothes hurriedly.

They separated piles of gifts for themselves.

Then chaos broke out as we let them open their gifts from Yei and Grandpa and Mimi and Papa.

They have some pretty generous grandparents.

Anna was pretty excited about this box. She didn't even open the box to see what was inside. She just liked the box. Can you tell?

Once all the gifts are open I get a bit twitching just looking at the madness of such a mess. This is another reason celebrating the twelve days of Christmas is a good thing. There's less of a mess to clean each day.

The children love the gifts they received from their grandparents so much that we have hardly heard a peep out of them since.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. . . For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:2 & 6

Hope you all have a blessed Christmas. Enjoy our little video.

The Tree

2011-12-24T22:06:00.001-07:00

Amidst the season of Advent we did find time to get our tree up before Christmas day. I'm happy to say that we've had it up for just over a week now.

For weeks the children had been asking when we could decorate the tree.

They could hardly contain themselves.

They even started putting ornaments on the tree before it was completely put together.

As with many families with small children (or pets) the ornaments seem to be moved quite often.

The majority of our ornments reside in the top 2/3s of the tree. :) It's a fun sight to behold. Hope you have a blessed Christmas eve!

The Missing List

2011-12-23T19:00:00.001-07:00

Rachel decided to redo her list just the other day. Little does she know that I am done shopping, but luckily for her there are quite a few things on her list that she will be getting. Did I luck out or what?

just*imagine*heaven