Merry Christmas from the Longhorn State!

I wish I were a computer genius and was able to edit the longhorn photo. When I saw it, I laughed out loud and wanted to share it with y'all. It is slightly blurry, but still funny.
"Up on the rooftop, longhorns pause  . . . "

And this one is evidence that things are bigger in TX.
Where do you think they store him during the off season?
And how do they get him up without a crane?

Merry Christmas to you and your family! We wish you the best.
Love,
the Hunts

p.s. A disclaimer . . . neither of the houses with lights is a photo of my house, but the one below is.

Baptism

Bryn and Nathan shared a special day last weekend. Both my parents and Nathan's were able to be here, which was a treat. The water was cold, but spirits were warm.

Bryn was baptized along with another girl in our ward. They sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" together after they were confirmed. We are pleased with Bryn and this memorable day in her life.

Evidence

that Nathan went back to Copperas Cove on Sunday to speak again. I begged him for this photo.
Imagine these prints on the streets surrounding your favorite high school. School spirit is alive and well in CC.

This time, he talked about gifts and the gift of the Atonement. His requirements for a great gift are:
1)Something you want
2)Something you need
3)Something you can use again and again.

He went with his parents to speak. The kids and I went home, after going to our own ward. My parents were here also (for Bryn's baptism), and rather than send them to the airport hungry, I wanted to make them our traditional Sunday lunch pancakes before they left. More on the baptism to come, soon.


Evidence of how I spent my day today:

47 jars, and not a single one broke! Two that failed to seal, which will become dinner tomorrow. I think they are the ones I didn't wipe very well after I transferred chicken from one jar to another.

Last week when talking to a friend she said she wanted to can chicken. If you buy 50 lbs of it at a time, you can get it for $1.50/lb at our Sam's. That's a lot of chicken, but split between 2 families of 6 people each . . . . I won't can chicken again until my zip code changes.

Her canner fits 8 pints at a time. Mine fits 16, so we did 2 batches. This is the first time I've used more than one canner at a time, I loved it!

She offered to cut the meat (my least favorite part) if we could use my stove for the canning. What a great deal. Looking forward to using chicken post baby when I am too tired to think straight.

Happy Happy

The last few years have flown by.

We sang at breakfast and dessert tonight.
She ordered Chocolate cake, Chocolate frosting, and Chocolate ice cream.
We went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.
She opened gifts and was even surprised by a few of them.

Using a twin needle

Today I learned how to use a twin needle.

When Bryn was Diana size (3T at the moment), I bought a shirt from JCPenney on clearance for $2.77. Unbelieveable sale. But I've never liked it, because of the sleeves--they had an extra flouncy part at the bottom. The flounce was always a problem. This fall when I tried it on Diana, she told me she didn't want to wear it. As in "NEVER, MOM!"
I guess we aren't a very flouncy family.

I couldn't get rid of it, though, so I decided to try something else with it. This morning, I got rid of the flounce and hemmed the sleeves using the twin needle. After working out the kinks, ie, "How do you thread this thing with 2 threads?" it was delightful and I will be using it to repair a few other T-shirts whose hems have come loose. (My mending pile is large and contains clothes that are outgrown or discarded before repaired. It is inevitably tossed in a random box right before we move. Hoping to eliminate it by our Ft. Collins move). If you plan to purchase a twin needle for working on knit fabrics, make sure you purchase the "Stretch" variety.

This is what the shirt looks like now. Not perfect, but a great trick to have up your sleeve. Pun intended.

Close up of the sleeve. Better now. And she told me she wants to wear it tomorrow. We'll see, at first she thought I was making it short sleeved.

p.s. Does reading about sewing bore you? Please share your opinion, either in comments or in an email to me.

Little Red Wagon

4 more wheels in our garage. I've always wanted one of these wagons.
A dear friend gave us her used wagon in perfect condition.
Hours and hours of fun.

Recipe for a good day

Have I given you this recipe yet?

Award Winning Cornbread

1 1/2 C Flour

1 C Cornmeal

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 C Sugar

1 1/2 C Milk

2 Eggs

1/2 C Oil (Canola)

Mix, Stir, Bake at 350 for 30 min in a greased pan. Enjoy!

It's a good thing I didn't post anything yesterday. I was frustrated about Caitlin's Dr's appointment that I completely forgot to go to. I was in tears when Diana and I had a skull collision at her naptime. I have my first "goose egg" in years. And I was in a panic about Bryn turning 8. (My children's birthdays are always hard for me). But this morning, there is the smell of cornbread in my kitchen and the world is right again. She requested it as part of her lunch. I told her no last night during the midst of the stress, but when I woke up this morning, I thought "Why not?"

I got this recipe from companion on my mission. I can't believe they sold cornmeal in the Canary Islands, I never saw a native use it. I think I've made this recipe over a hundred times in my life, it is one of my favorites. Hope it becomes one of yours.

Buttoned Up

Last night at Sewing, I stitched on the button to Bryn's dress. It's done and ready to wear! And I have time to spare. It is only the 4th dress I've ever made, and I feel happy about how it turned out. I still have lots of progress to make, but am glad to have a functional, completed project.

The first two dresses are unwearable.
The first stained when I left it soaking in OxyClean too long (so sad, and my own fault). It would have been OK, but the color on the embroidery thread bled onto the fabric. 
I'm not pleased with the gathering at the waistline on the second. Perhaps I will fix it if my baby is a girl so she can wear it at 18 months. If not, I will probably get rid of it in our move.
The 3rd is Bryn's blue dress I worked on earlier this year. It is unfinished due to the changes I need to make in the neckline, but the plan is to finish it for her birthday. It is too tight going over her head and needs hemming.

New skills: Please skip if sewing bores you or you don't want so much detail.
This time I used a catchstitch to hem the dress. It looks good and has some flexibility built in. I learned how to cover a button with fabric, and finished a few days before the deadline (which might be the best part of the whole project). This was the first "special occasion" fabric I've ever used, and the first time to use a serger to finish the hemline. I used a new stitch on my serger, the 4 thread safety stitch, and appreciate the "safety" of this stitch. I.E. you can mess up with it and still be OK, you have some seam allowance left over in case you need to pick something out. I basted the side seams and sleeves before sewing them in, due to my serger anxiety, and it worked really well. Great idea to baste something you are scared to sew--I've never really used basting before, but I will in the future. 

What's up next? Some secret Christmas sewing. Must get started!

Fall Wall: Complete

Our fall wall is a work of art! Everyone colored a pumpkin and a turkey, but we also had pilgrims and Indians, cornucopias and fall leaves. We've loved the color in the kitchen. My favorite turkey is this one that's smart enough to hide.

I have used this website for many pre-school ideas, and we used this one for all the fall wall pictures.

We've finally turned on the heater and put on the flannel sheets.

It's time for Christmas cards, winter scenes, homemade marshmallows and hot chocolate! Happy December!