New Years Eve

The end of the year. It is always a time of reassessing what has happened the previous year and pondering what to change for the next year. I plan on reading through the Bible this year using The One Year Bible reading plan and The One Year Bible Companion, which is a handbook of key questions and answers to daily readings in the One Year Bible. Resolutions? Not so much. But I do try to start out things this time of the year...something about a fresh start seems so positive.

What did we do today, the last day of 2008? We helped stimulate the economy by purchasing a brand new Toyota Sienna, right off the showroom floor. What are the odds of finding a van with the exact options we wanted on the showroom floor?

This evening we went to Mark and Cindi's house for a New Year's Eve party. It was a very relaxing time of chatting and catching up with people, while the kids played and played and played. Unfortunately, William ended up getting sick around 11ish, so we needed to leave early. Poor guy.

So, may the new year bring many adventures into your lives and I look forward to seeing what is around the next corner for us.

Uneventful day

What a nice, uneventful day. I went and did my major shopping trip for making two weeks of food to put in the freezer. I am hoping to do that tomorrow but there is a good chance that we may be buying a new van tomorrow. We went to look at them and it was pretty clear which one made sense for us. So, depending on how long that takes, I may or may not have time/energy to make the 14 different meals. But, I have the food in the house, so I am motivated.

OK...I just went through my grocery list to see how much I actually spent. I had a few items at home so I guesstimated those prices and I did not include any of the staples. The total was just under $110. That would be for 14 meals, each typically serving more than enough for a dinner for four and then sometimes lunch the next day for 2-4 people. Definitely cheaper than going out.

Jelly Belly Factory

Advice for visiting the Jelly Belly Factory a few days after Christmas...don't. even. think. about. it. We drove there today to go on a tour and when we arrived saw a huge line out the door and around the building. I thought it was for some special event. Nope. It was just for the tour. I went to a point in the line far enough back that I have never had to wait from that point even, and asked how long they had waited. More than an hour! Oh my. Change of plans. We went and looked at the Jelly Belly Factory store and bought some yummies. No tour this time. But still managed to get a picture of James before leaving.



Meal planning followup. I have had a number of people ask me about preparing meals in advance. I checked out quite a few books from the library and ended up trying Mimi Wilson's "Once-a-Month Cooking" which has three 2 week plans and 2 one month plans. I have done a two week plan and liked the recipes enough that I went out and purchased the book. I am now preparing to do another two week plan in the next couple of days.

The saga of the van continues. Now, in addition to the transmission acting up, the air conditioner doesn't work, some of the dashboard lights don't light sometimes, there are weird sporadic noises, the back top brake light doesn't light, and I am sure there are a few more things I am forgetting, the pièce de résistance is when we were leaving the Jelly Belly Factory, a horrible smell and white smoke come from my car. We pull over, look at the engine, and nothing looks amiss. So, I drive home cautiously with no issues....but I think the van has now lost my vote of confidence. So, off to the car lot soon. We are entertaining the possibility of a Toyota Sierra or a Honda Odyssey. Sigh. I like my van....but want reliability too.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy Anniversary to me! Ken and I have been married 17 years....wow, that makes me feel old. In four years, I will have been married half my life. We went out to dinner at Rubio's and then to the movies to see Valkyrie . We ended the evening at Uno Chicago Grill for desserts.

Gary West spoke today at church. One of my take-aways was when you see a penny on the ground to stop, pick it up, read the words "In God We Trust" and then personalize that. Am I trusting God right now? I need to be asking myself that question over and over and over, mostly to keep reminding myself where my trust needs to be.

Horse Racing

We went to Golden Gate Fields to watch the horse races today with my sister Julie and her husband Bob. It was an interesting experience, but a tad bit on the boring side. The races were 30 minutes apart, so a lot of sitting around and waiting, and then boom, the race started and finished in a blink of an eye! And, since we had no money riding on the results, it wasn't as enthralling. But, of the four races we watched, I picked two of the first place horses.


We then went to Fentons Creamery in Oakland for lunch and ice cream. Yummy! Nothing like a little ice cream sundae or banana split to fill up the belly.

Then, a relaxing evening at home. This is the good life. I love watching my dad with James. It is definitely heartwarming.

I am currently reading Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost and I have to say, it does not make me want to travel to China. While I am sure there are wonderful places to visit in such an enormous country, it sounds like it is a hard country to travel in. Plus...I am just a picky eater...not sure I could handle some of the food served. Normally when I read travel books, I get the itch to get on the move. But this book makes me realize how nice it can be just to stay home. But, I want to learn to be content in whatever my circumstances and to try to stay in the center of God's will. That is the safest place for me to be, regardless of the physical location.

Oh, another thing I did this evening was try to map out the meals for the month of January. We will see how that actually goes. I plan on preparing 13 meals that will go in the freezer one day coming up and then I added other family favorites for the other days. Just trying to be a good steward of my time and also of feeding my family. It is too easy for me to go out to lunch or dinner because nothing is planned.

Toys!

James is just starting to sit up and play more intentionally with his toys. He doesn't crawl yet, but squirms around, rolls, pushes and pulls and gets to where he wants to be. It is pretty addicting sitting around and watching him play with his new toys. His favorite gift....a carrot! Maria bought it for him from http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=306044 We definitely plan on adding to his collection going forward. Now....if only I could learn to make these we would be set. But I have a feeling that we just may keep the other lady in business instead.

Although I just found my bag of knitting supplies and have contemplating starting to knit again. The problem is time. 24 hours in a day. 7 days is a week. 365 (sometimes 366) days in a year. And I find that the lure of books is so strong. Right now I am reading Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones. I really liked Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth, so thought I would give this a try. I am definitely enjoying the following of a character from pre-birth to young adulthood, although I am only on page 159 of 603, so I am assuming that the book will end at his death. But, haven't read the last chapter yet, so not sure where the end will be. I like the writing style too.

What toys are the older kids enjoying this year? Ipods! Both Maria and William got Ipods and have been on ITunes buying a few songs, games, videos, and TV shows. They didn't receive a whole bunch of toys this year...funny how things change when you get older. They each received a DVD and have watched both Wall-E and Sleeping Beauty. And what toys did I get? Kitchen toys! I am looking forward to trying out my new Kitchen Aid...I have never had one of these before, so it will be fun to see what it can do.

Christmas Day

How am I supposed to sum up today. Not only am I exhausted but it was such a full day! From waking up early with James, 4ish, 5ish...I forget now, it was early, making a breakfast casserole, taking pictures of the kids in front of the Christmas tree, opening presents all morning, nursing, eating more cookies, cleaning up the kitchen and wrapping paper, loading up the van with seven people and driving to El Dorado, visiting with extended family, eating an amazing dinner, opening more presents, driving home.....I am a bit on overload. We took 108 pictures yesterday and today....and didn't catch all aspects! I am so blessed to have a great family and wonderful in-laws. Sure makes the holidays easier. Here are some photos that may allow a glimpse into our day. OK...I am tired and I am having trouble figuring out how to easily put pictures where I want in my post. Maybe another day. I am off to bed now.

Here are the answers to the Christmas Scripture Quiz.

1. How many wise men were there? c. The Bible does not say.

2. Did Joseph meet the wise men? c. The Bible does not say.
3. What animal did Mary ride to Bethlehem? d. The Bible does not say.
4. The Holy Family named the child "Jesus" because: c. All of the above.
5. What type of building was Jesus born in? d. The Bible does not say.
6. What animals were present at the Nativity? e. The Bible does not say.
7. Who besides the wise men saw the star? c. The Bible does not say.
8. How did the star compare in brightness with the other stars? d. The Bible does not say.
9. How soon after Joseph and Mary reached Bethlehem was Jesus born? c. The Bible does not say.

Christmas Eve

I am sleepy. I am happy. I am full. What a fun day full of food, conversations, food, visitors, food, and oh, did I say food! Things are winding down at our house as the kids and my dad are all in bed, the presents are under the tree, the dishwasher is running, my two sisters and their husbands are getting ready for bed, and I am soon to go to upstairs too. Christmas Eve dinner, or should I say feast, was prepared by Ethan. We had chicken, lamb, steak, and duck, Persian beef shanks as our meats. We had a savory tajine, a sweet tajine, some bbq'd meat, couscous, hummus, tabouli, a fancy salad with star fruit and two kinds of fresh roasted beets and argula, two kinds of olives, lavash bread, raita, pomegranate seeds (thanks Sarah!), rolls, and a variety of sparking juices. To say I am stuffed would be an understatement. Now, off to bed for me!

Christmas Video

No Christmas cards this year, but we do want to send a video along of our kids. It expires January 15, just in case you are reading this late.

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/5RVeng5bEViLdoUQ

Christmas Quiz

Today is Christmas Eve Eve! My husband arranged to have house cleaners come today, so I took off and did some shopping and errands with the kids. When we got back, I felt like I was entering a brand new house. I am so thankful for my awesome husband!

And now, get your thinking caps on and get ready for a pop quiz! And, don't forget to stop by on Christmas Eve for some cookies (and crackers and cheese and salami and grapes and sparking cinder and....)!

Christmas Scripture Quiz
Take this short quiz to test how well you know the Nativity stories in Luke and Matthew. How much of our traditional celebrations of Christmas is actually found in the scripture text and how much is tradition built up over the centuries? Answers will be published tomorrow.

1. How many wise men were there? a. 3 b. 4 c. The Bible does not say.
2. Did Joseph meet the wise men? a. Yes b. No c. The Bible does not say.
3. What animal did Mary ride to Bethlehem? a. Donkey b. Small horse c. Llama d. The Bible does not say.
4. The Holy Family named the child "Jesus" because: a. An Angel told Mary to use the name. b. An Angel told Joseph to use the name. c. All of the above. d. None of the above.
5. What type of building was Jesus born in? a. Stable b. Cave c. Inn d. The Bible does not say.
6. What animals were present at the Nativity? a. Cattle b. Sheep c. Doves d. All of the above e. The Bible does not say.
7. Who besides the wise men saw the star? a. The shepherds b. King Herod's astrologers c. The Bible does not say.
8. How did the star compare in brightness with the other stars? a. Brighter b. Equivalent c. A faint glow over the horizon. d. The Bible does not say.
9. How soon after Joseph and Mary reached Bethlehem was Jesus born? a. Within minutes. b. That night c. The Bible does not say.

Wrapping

No baking today! Today was playgroup day and we took another fun picture of all the kids dressed up in their holiday clothing, along with a nice little gift exchange. Then I came home and straightened up the house and started my wrapping. I only have a few more things to wrap that need a little more work before they get wrapped. This evening I had a book club meeting (which I almost forgot about...opps!) and it was so nice to sit and chat with new and old friends. I also saw a couple of ladies I know from a homeschool group who were meeting for a Mom's Night Out, so that was neat.

Hmm...I thought I had something else to share, but now I don't remember! It is late...time for bed.

Last of the Baking

This morning Pastor Larry was sick so was unable to preach. Instead, Pastor Rich filled in and spoke on Matthew 1:1-17. This is the genealogy of Jesus Christ and it was fascinating to hear a sermon unpacking this section. There are four women mentioned, when traditionally women would not be included in a genealogy. And none of the four women mentioned would be considered the paragon of holiness, at least not from outward appearances. One women was raped, another a prostitute, another a Moabite, and the fourth being Mary, a teenage pregnant girl. Another thing that really stood out to me was verse 16 "and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ." This verse is a marked departure from the 14 above it where the man always was named as the son of son and so and then the father of so and so. Here, Joseph is named as the son of Jacob and the husband of Mary, not the father of Jesus.

I finished my Christmas baking, and amazingly enough, on the day I planned! Now, if everything else goes according to plan, this will be one low stress Christmas. I made fudge from a recipe that Ken's sister, Julie shared, another round of Chocolate Crackles and Cheesecake Cookies. The kids made their Gingerbread houses today and they turned out great. Some years they put more decorations, other years less.

I went back to my previous posts and added all the recipes or links to recipes for the Christmas baking I have done. I have had some requests for the recipes already, so thought I would go ahead and add them all in.

Fudge (thanks Julie)

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 square (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate
1 ½ cups chopped nuts, if desired
1 teaspoon vanilla

Butter square pan, 8x8x2 inches. I double recipe and used a 9x13 pan. Heat sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Spread in pan. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into 1-inch squares.

Cheesecake Cookies

from Sunset All-Time Favorite Recipes, copyright 1993

1 cup butter, room temperature

3 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2.5 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

Cheese Filling (recipe follows)

In large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, lemon peel, and lemon juice, stir until blended. Add flour and baking powder and stir until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. Roll small balls of dough into balls, then roll into crumbs to coat all sides. Place balls on lightly greased baking sheet; flatten each ball slightly and make and indentation in top of each cookie (don't press all the way through to baking sheet) and fill with about 1/2 teaspoon Cheese Filling. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 25 minutes. Cool and store airtight.

Cheese Filling

In a small bowl, combine 3 oz room temperature cream cheese, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon sour cream,and 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel. Beat until smooth.

More goodies!

Today I made Oatmeal Everything Bars, Peanut Butter Cereal Bars and No Bake Peanut Squares- three new recipes for me. And they all turned out! Maria and William went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to make Sugar Cookies, which turned out beautifully, and to spend the day with them. In the evening, after James went to bed, Ken and I went over to Steve and Jane's house for a very nice Christmas gathering. Nathan and Sonja spent the night, and Maria and Sonja made Gingerbread Cookies that look great. Tomorrow is my last big baking push. Ideally I hope to make Fudge, Cheesecake Cookies, and at least one more batch of Chocolate Crackles.

Peanut Butter Cereal Bars (thanks Bucherts!)
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 cups corn syrup
1.5 cups peanut butter
9 cups frosted flakes

In large pot, bring to a boil sugar and corn syrup. Turn off burner and add peanut butter. Stir until melted. Add frosted flakes and stir quickly to coat. Pour into buttered 9x13 pan. Cut into squares after a few minutes.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Squares (Thanks to someone from CBS...forgot who!)
1.5 cups powdered sugar
1 cup graham cracker crumbs, about 12 squares (I used a food processor)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips

In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and graham cracker crumbs. In pan, melt butter and peanut butter over low heat, stirring occasionally. Stir into crumb mixture. Press in ungreased 8-inch square pan. I doubled the recipe and used a 9x13 pan. In another pan or microwave, melt chocolate chips over low heat. Spread over crumb mixture. Refrigerate about 30 minute or until firm. Then, cut into small squares.

Cookie request?

OK...off to the market and more baking today! I would like to get my baking done by this Sunday evening, so that on Monday I can tidy my house so the house cleaners can clean on Tuesday. So, any cookie/treat requests? Recipes welcome too!

Pomegranates and Figs

Today we all went to UC Berkeley to see Pomegranates and Figs: A Jewish Feast of Music. The music was amazing and it was so much fun to watch James enjoy it too, when he wasn't nursing. Then on to IKEA for lunch (can you say four orders of Swedish Meatballs!) and some shopping. We then headed home, but first dropped Maria off at the Bramblet's, who took her to the mall where she performed with her choir. Ken picked her up later while I stayed home and baked. One more batch of Oreo Truffles were finished and I experimented with a new recipe, English Toffee Cookies. Well, they taste great, but they didn't come out of the pan nicely. About half of them crumbled and broke. So I have one container of cookie pieces and crumbs, and another container with decent looking but good tasting cookies. Better that than nice looking and awful tasting!

I am liking the ability to list the books I have read. I never have kept track before, and it is fun being able to look over them. I like reading a variety of genres and typically have a number of books going at the same time. Currently I am reading Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card (one of my absolute favorite authors) and Lost on Planet China or How I Learned to Love Live Squid by J. Maarten Troost, which I am heartily enjoying. It is a hard book to read next to someone without wanting to read snippits outloud every other page. There are a lot of interesting observations, typically quite humerous. I have read most of his other books and definitely enjoy his writing style and observations he makes about other cultures.

We are taking the next two weeks off from school. We use Sonlight for history and literature and are doing Core Alt 7, which is World History, Apologia for Physical Science (although the book is currently hiding somewhere in our house....need to track that down), ALEKS for math, and life in general to learn.

English Toffee Cookies
from Sunset All-Time Favorite Recipes, copyright 1993

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, separated
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg yolk and beat until blended. Stir in cinnamon and flour. Press dough smoothly and evenly over bottom of greased 10x15 rimmed baking pan (I think my pan was a tad bit bigger, which made it too thin in places.) In a small bowl, lightly beat egg white, then brush over dough. Sprinkle with pecans, pressing them lightly into dough. Bake in a 275 degree over for about 1 hour. While cookie is still hot, cut it into about 1.5 inch squares. Let cool in pan (maybe until slightly warm...this might help too).

Playgroup Picture

Today was a nice, relaxing day. I am really enjoying baking this year. I baked the Chrabeli cookies this morning and this evening I made Saltine Toffee Cookies. I am looking forward to sharing these with friends on Christmas Eve. So, baking is going good...but not sure about getting Christmas cards out this year. Maybe they will turn into New Years Cards. Or maybe an internet card. Or maybe nothing at all. As much as I like doing cards, I am feeling a bit of pressure now that I didn't get them out significantly earlier in the month. Then, it isn't as much fun to do them.

This afternoon was playgroup for James. All the kids in the playgroup are boys except for one girl, who wasn't able to attend this meeting. It will be fun watching them grow up together. They are already doing so much more than when we first started meeting. There were at least three crawlers this week, and more to be coming!

From left to right: Ryan, Stephen, Phoenix, Connor, James, Dylan and Trevor

Saltine Toffee Cookies

4-5 ounces saltine crackers
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers, salt side down, in a single layer. In a saucepan combine the sugar and butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts. Cool completely and break into pieces.

Christmas Cookies

I had a great day today. I went out to lunch with my hubby, made two different kinds of cookies, went to a holiday gathering, and finished the book "Breaking Dawn," one of the books in the Twilight series.

I also just sent out an invite to join us at our house on Christmas Eve for an Open House...so now I am motivated to make even more cookies! Today I made Oreo Truffles (not really a cookie, but yummy) and I did the first stage of Chrabeli, a Swiss anise cookie that I grew up eating a Christmas time. Those will go in the oven tomorrow morning after sitting out all night. Who knows what will cookies will be baked next!

I made a super simple dinner tonight Barbecue Chicken Casserole since I had all the ingredients in the house. Quick, easy, and the whole family loves it. What more could I ask for! Plus, I am trying to cook the things that are in the refrigerator because I know we will be needing room to store cookies and treats.

Chrabeli
9 eggs, room temperature
1,000 grams powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3 Tablespoons anise seed, lightly toasted in skillet
1,000 grams flour

Beat eggs, then beat in powdered sugar until frothy. Add salt and anise seed. Add flour in slowly. Dough will be very dry. Take a fistful of dough and roll into about 3/4 inch tubes. Cut into about 2-3 inch sections. Cut three diagonal slits into one side of each piece. Bend the cookies to open the slits, flaring out the cuts. Place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Let sit overnight. Cook at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. Have oven door slightly ajar. Stick something metal like a garlic press in the opening.

Pizza and Family Game Night

We used to have a pizza and family game night every Thursday, but since James has come it has been sporadic at best. Tonight we had Little Caesars Pizza and played two games- we started with Sequence, which we just got at a family game exchange night (thanks Abasolo's!) and then finished with Set. Earlier in the day Maria, James and I went to an Explorer's Holiday event, where Maria decorated a gingerbread cake train. Yummy, yummy, yummy. I am eating some as I type this in fact.

One of the things we are doing with James that I was not familiar with my older two kids is EC. EC is eliminating communication and it involves taking babies to use a potty at an early age. I stumbled upon a book at the library titled Early Start Potty Training when James was about 1 month. We started taking him to the potty, holding him over and cuing him to go, and amazingly enough, it works! We don't catch all of his pees or poops, but we get a lot, especially the poops. The things that make me happy sure have changed!

Bookclub

Just got home from a great evening with one of my bookclubs. We discussed The Shack and it seemed that of the people that read it, most liked it. There was a lot of good topics to discuss in and through this book. There are a variety of beliefs and backgrounds of people in the group and I thought it was neat to hear other people's perspective.

I finished The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein yesterday and while I am not overly fond of memoirs, this one was very well written and a fascinating story of a Jewish boy growing up in England during World War I, and how one side of the street was Jewish and the other side of the street was Christian.

I made an Antipasto Salad to share at bookclub. This is getting to be one of my signature dishes to bring to potlucks: yummy, easy to transport, good for groups. I originally got the recipe from AllRecipes.com, but have modified it.

On a totally different note, may I suggest a great website: http://www.thebricktestament.com/index.html. We have two of his books, and they are a riot. The Bible, illustrated with Lego figures. Enough said.

Antipasto Salad

2 small bags or 1 large bag of lettuce with carrots
8 ounces hard salami, julienned (you can also substitute or add pepperoni)
1.5-2 bags shredded Italian Blend cheese (or mozzarella/provolone/etc.)
2-3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 can pitted ripe olives , drained, halved
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Place lettuce on a large serving platter. Put salami, cheese, tomato and olives on top. In a blender, combine remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Drizzle over salad.

Expectations

Expectations. This is where I find I have the most trouble. My expectations do not always match up with reality and that is where I fall down. My attitude, my thoughts, my words, my actions, most of the time, they all go into the gutter. I need to stop myself from going down that path but I don't always know how.

On to another subject. I just finished reading the book "The Shack" for bookgroup tomorrow and I am very curious to hear what other people think. I am always wary of books that people say are must reads and seem to be the popular book of the day. I was pleasantly surprised with this book- a relatively easy read but one that had a lot of different thoughts to ponder. It is a decidedly Christian book with a unique way of presenting not only the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit), but also of pointing out a different perspective than the world's point of view. Living out life according to God's priorities can seem topsy turvy compared to the world's priorities.

And, in the world of cooking, we started making Christmas cookies today. We made a double batch of Chocolate Crackle Cookies. Maria, William and I made the dough, and then Maria and William actually formed and baked the cookies. Yum!

Chocolate Crackles
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup salad oil
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 cup flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup or so of powdered sugar

Melt chocolate. Beat with sugar and oil. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Add vanilla. Combine flour, backing powder and salt. Add to chocolate mixture. Chill dough. Make small balls of dough, about 1 inch diameter. Roll spheres in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool on rack.

Busy?

Today was a full day, but not as busy as I used to feel. This is an area that has greatly changed in my life. There is definitely more margin in many aspects of my life. The small group I am in went through a DVD series called "Take It to the Limit: How to Get the Most Out of Life" by Andy Stanley a few years ago and it greatly impacted my life. God has already been showing me some areas that needed to be changed and this study helped me focus.

Today was full of dentist appointments, Christmas parties, a piano make-up class, grocery shopping, and then ended with a wonderful meal at my in-laws in Concord. So while the day was full of great things (yes, even the dentist....I am thankful I live someplace where I can go to a dental office and even better, one that I trust) and I didn't have a lot of down time or at home time, I did not feel rushed or harried.

Shopping

I realized today that Christmas is rapidly approaching and I hadn't made a list of what gifts I had already gotten and what needed to still be acquired. Once the list was made, I realized that while some people were completely taken care of, there were still some family members that were in desperate need of gifts. So, off to the stores today with James. What a trooper he is. We got a lot accomplished, but there is more to go. I also got to stop and chat with my friends Don and Jeanne, as I was picking up a bookmark that Don had made. What an amazing woodworker he is- I am amazed at his talent.

I did finish all the Christmas decorations today (well, except for the lights outside that may or may not go up) and cleaned up the residual mess of boxes. I had a short, nice visit with Tonya as she stopped by with a tray of Christmas goodies. Yumm! If anyone ever wants to stop by, feel free to come on over. You don't need to come bearing treats, we love entertaining people, even if it is just for a quick hello.

If you are wondering why there have been no recipes....it is because La Costa and In N Out don't have recipes, just menus! I have been busy doing other things, so out for food we went yesterday and tonight.

I am in the middle of reading a few books. I am reading The Shack and Going Dutch in Beijing : How to Behave Properly When Far Away From Home. I find that James is nursing less, so I am reading less. Hmmm....need to find other times to slip in the reading time!

My next blog hurdle to tackle is pictures....perhaps this weekend.

Christmas Decorations

Tonight we finally got around to putting up Christmas decorations. I figured if we didn't do it soon, it would be too late. It is apparent as the decorations are going up that I am more interested in the sentimentiality of things than having a theme or certain style. Colorful, fun, whimsical...those would be some potential words to describe our decorations. That, and nativity sets....I have around 25-30 of them so far. Listening to Christmas music via the internet, watching the kids decorate the tree, it is indeed a very nice time of the year!

Small Group

Tonight was our small group's Christmas Potluck, hosted at Dora and Gilbert's house. Great food and conversations. I miss going to small group. This is one area that James' has impacted our lives...he goes to sleep 6:30/7ish, so I stay home with him instead of going to small group. But I sure miss going. That is where church occurs, more so than what happens on a Sunday. Life on life, learning, praying, sharing our lives with one another....this is the body, this is church.

I made a soup for the potluck, and it was a hit. I adapted it from one of the recipes from http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/, a blog I am really enjoying and has brought the crockpot back into use again at our house.

Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup
Ingredients
1 pound chicken breast – frozen works
2 cups dried black beans
3 cans or 1 large container chicken broth
1 can corn, drained, or frozen corn
1 jar prepared salsa (16 oz), medium
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (to stir in at the end)
shredded cheddar cheese, avocado slices, cilantro (all optional)

Soak the black beans in enough water to cover and another 2 inches overnight. In the morning, drain the water and rinse the beans. Put beans in the crockpot. Put in the chicken, and add the broth and salsa. Pour in the corn and add the cumin. Stir, but don't disturb the beans---let them stay at the bottom of the pot, closest to the heating element. Cover and cook on high for 9 hours.
Remove chicken and fork shred on a plate. I left the lid off while I was doing this so that it would thicken up a bit. While chicken is out, scoop out 4-5 cups of the soup and carefully blend in your traditional blender. Stir the mixture back into the crockpot. Add shredded chicken back. Stir in the 1/2 cup of sour cream/plain yogurt before serving. Garnish with shredded cheese, avocado slices or cilantro. This is yummy with cornbread.

Pumpkin Muffins

Last night I finished What is the What. This is an incredible story of one of the Lost Boys of Sudan and there were many things in the book that made me stop and think.

Today was playgroup for James.....it sure is fun to meet with other mom's and watch all of our little ones change and grow. I then baked 5 dozen Pumpkin Muffins for a Mom's Night Out treat exchange which I just got back from.

Pumpkin Muffins
2 cups flour (I use whole wheat flour typically)
2 cups brown sugar (I don’t pack it down)
2 Tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
2 cups pumpkin (I use 1 large can)
1 cup milk
4 eggs
2/3 cup shortening
2 more cups of flour

Grease muffin cups or place in paper liners. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and cloves. If you don’t have all the spices, do without. Or, use pumpkin pie spice instead. Add pumpkin, milk, eggs and shortening. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until blended. Beat on medium to high speed for two minutes. Add the remaining two cups of flour; beat until blended. Fill muffin cups ½- ¾ of the way. I use an ice-cream scoop to make it easier. Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes about 36 muffins.

Bliss

Today was a good day. First was church where we sang Christmas carols and Pastor Larry preached a sermon titled "Remember that God is For Us" from Romans 8:31-34. We invited the Hartsooks to join us for a turkey dinner, and were thrilled that they were free later in the day. The afternoon was full of shopping and preparing food and getting the house ready, along with feeding James. I love nursing him, and I get a lot of good reading time in. Almost finished with What is the What...I am planning on finishing it tonight. (I think I like italicizing titles better than underlining, makes the hyperlinking less confusing.) I took Maria to perform with Heavenbound Choir at Lone Tree Convalescent Hospital, where she ended up reading some passages from the Bible, sharing her testimony and leading prayer time. Then back home, where people started to come and join us. First the Hartsooks who came bearing some yummy desserts. Another family, the Sundin's, were next and they also joined us for dinner. Last but certainly not least, the Yrigollen family joined us for dessert.

Church, shopping, cooking, entertaining, people coming and going from the house, that pretty much is one great day in my world! Looking forward to what this next week holds.

Woo hoo. We made it home. We left Anaheim on the early side (8am) due to the potential transmission issues and wanting to have daylight to take care of things if the van broke down along the way. Well, the van made it home with all of us, but it kept slipping out of gear as we (well, that is Ken) was driving. So good to be home. Now we need to figure out what to do with the van. I don't want to have to replace van, but on the other hand, a working transmission is important. Decisions, decisions.

We just finished up a family movie night- we ate burritos from La Costa and watched Prince Caspian. I thought the kids hadn't seen it, but it turns out they had. Fortunately, they were thrilled about being able to see it again. It was a great movie.

I read some more of What is the What. There are so many challenging things in this book- hard to believe this has happened/is happening as we speak. I like reading books that take me out of my comfort zone and expand my view of the world. It is so easy to get stuck in my life and the American way, but I don't want to get complacent in where I am. There is too much more to the world than what I see.

No new things to experiment with in terms of blogging. One of the things I have had floating in my mind regarding this is who is my audience and what should be the frequency. So, I guess the experiment will continue. I am liking it so far!

Disneyland. It really is a special place. We spent yesterday and today at Disneyland and CA Adventure and had a great time. Maria and William took two classes in the mornings. On Thursday they took Physics: Energy and Waves and on Friday they took Disney Leadership in Action: Pursuit of Excellence. Ken, James and I rode some rides, wandered around, and even got James' picture taken with Santa. We also saw the turkey that President Bush pardoned. After the classes, Maria went off with some of her friends and William went with us. We did way too much to put down. But, we have confirmed the James' favorite attraction in the Tiki Room.

Now, off to bed to do some reading. I did not read anything yesterday...a strange event indeed.

Oh, and still trying to figure out this whole blogging thing...when to post, what to post, how to post effectively. And, I am experimenting with various things along the way. Today is hyperlinking.

The First Post- trial month beginning

I have never blogged before and not sure if this is a wise thing for me to embark on. I am going to try some various things this month and then maybe settle into some sort of routine at the start of the year. Or, it all may just fizzle out and fade away to oblivion.

I am currently at Disneyland staying at the Park Vue Inn with my family. Baby James is snoozing away while the rest of us are on our laptops. We drove down today and the transmission on the van started acting up again. It will be interesting to see what happens on the way home. Nothing like intermittent car issues. We went into California Adventure for about 1 1/2 hours and then headed over to Disneyland for about an hour. A nice way to end the day.

I just started reading What is the What by Dave Eggers on the drive down and am enjoying it very much. The cover made me nervous....it looked like it might be a bit dull, dry, something to trudge through. But I was pleasantly surprised at the smoothness of the writing and how enjoyable of a read. Well, not enjoyable in the sense of making me feel good, but certainly a fascinating read. It is a novelized autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, who is one of the Sudanese "Lost Boys" and it is an interesting glimpse into another world.