Peace on earth

Is it possible? I say YES--I found it here in my town.

Peace on earth--this is my wish for my children for the rest of their lives . . . . its been on my mind for the last 10 days or so. 
This is the answer and it came during Sacrament meeting last Sunday . . . .
The Power of Peace 2004 December Ensign, James E. Faust.

Merry Christmas!

December how many?

 One posed in the elf hat.

This is the face we get when we ask him to SMILE.
Clenching his teeth.
Awesome.

 Seven snowflakes hung. Above seven mugs (left by someone on our doorstep).

 One gingerbread man was photographed (and then eaten . . . . Elmer's glue and all).

 One expander was placed and many photos were taken. (By the one behind them--ie, her).

Four braces on the bottom, more will follow on the top.

One very sore mouth.

Two stayed home from church with one sick tummy.

A community choir tour to two nursing homes and one Hotel lobby. While this was the most beautiful it was Bryn's least favorite performance.

One pastel art brought home from middle school. (And quickly photographed and thrown away before pastels got everywhere. Maybe I'm too stressed about messy . . . . Nathan didn't get to see it in person.)

 Two nativities placed on the piano--one favorite.

And the magic of family prayer by the lit tree . . . . Love this most of all. It's so pretty with all the other lights in the house turned off. I remember doing this as a girl and loving it--I want them to have it, too.

One great idea found . . . .
About halfway through the month I found this Christmas planning guide, which I love and recommend to you if you are interested in changing your holiday experience. What I like best is that it focuses on what you want to feel and want your family to feel, and to plan experiences to provide those opportunities. Some things I want to feel and have my children feel:
the joy of giving to each other, 
the joy of receiving, 
to experience Christmas music
to spend time with friends and family
to connect with friends and family who are far away
to prepare earlier so there is less to do when the kids are out of school
and more. I will use it in the future--I like the thought process and the decision making process spelled out for me--I am easily overwhelmed when faced with too many options.

This year we had our children draw names for each other and they've gone on individual shopping trips to get the gifts. I've loved watching them work (and sacrifice) to do something thoughtful for someone else. It's been a special experience, which will be complete as they open them on Tuesday.


Peace on earth--this is my wish for my children for the rest of their lives . . . . its been on my mind for the last 10 days or so. 
This is the answer and it came during Sacrament meeting today . . . . The Power of Peace 2004 December Ensign, James E. Faust.

Merry Christmas!

Brownies and Layered Jello

 Bryn was very determined to make this layered jello dessert for her birthday. We let her at it and she did most of it herself. Dad helped a bit. She also decided that candles weren't going to work very well in jello, so she put them into brownies. Which were mighty gooey themselves. We had a couple of friends over, pizza, and a very good time.

We found our recipe at ourbestbites.com

 She talked about making this dessert again next year, but decided she probably won't. (It looks better than it tastes).

Gift bags included notecards, rubber duckies, a stamp alphabet and a stamp pad.

We let them create for nearly an hour.

She wasn't really working here . . . this is a posed photo.

Grateful this day for Bryn.

Tuba Christmas

I found out about TUBA CHRISTMAS this week and decided we would go. If you haven't been, you should check it out at a Tuba Christmas near you. I was drawn in by "80 tubas and the people who play them" as it was listed in the community ad.
I loved it.

(Forgive me for the quality of the video . . . it's just my little camera--not a video camera by any means). That was their first song, "Deck the Hall." We were quite far back from the action, but I snuck up closer to get a photo.

Not everyone in my family dressed as warmly as they were asked, and it ran a little long for the attention span of a little someone, but I thought it was humanity at it's finest.

Music unites people.

The plaza was full. We could hear them warming up two blocks away. Some brought their dogs, too.
They played 15 songs or so, there was a written program which I saw in the hands of a passerby . . . . I never saw where to pick them up. The youngest performer was 12, (in Andrew's band class), and the oldest was 77. One man had played in 26 Tuba Christmas's, and someone else drove over 50 miles to come play.

Sitting on top of one another to keep warmer

Andrew is in "Heater Mode" and Eddie was just trying to get through it

One who likes her outerwear

Only two didn't ask to sit here during the concert . . . . Andrew and me

Spotted in Old Town

Some had to leave to go to the car early. After sitting there longer than they wanted to, they saw an "Open House" sign on one of the historic mansions, so they went inside for a peek. It was decorated for Christmas and we learned a little about our town. A great day together as a family.

November

This month we:
Expressed gratitude with our thankful tree.
Got lice.
[11 children in one class went home one day to wash their heads. How can you NOT get it with that many?]
Bought a car
Posted our first ad to Craigslist to sell the old one
Had a great thanksgiving feast at my mom's with my sister's family
Went to the temple
Tried several new recipes
Tied a quilt
Enjoyed unseasonably warm weather
[Felt guilty because of Superstorm Sandy]
Walked the neighbor's dog 3 times a week
One learned to tie her shoes
Skipped gymnastics once because of sickness
Enjoyed the Primary program
[How can the sunbeams be SO BAD on saturday, and SO GOOD sunday morning?]
Went out to dinner with friends from Chicago who were here visiting family
Went to ward council together.
[Like a date?]
Raked lots of leaves
Taught two friends how to bake bread
Moved up in Scouts to second or first class.
[Whichever one is higher].
Found an extra child in one of our beds.

They call her "NoName" and she was dissembled to continue the wash

Good times.

UPDATED TO ADD:
Sold a car.

Helping Hands

Get your kleenex, mom, and then click on the link below.
Helping Hands
We watched this two times today (in Primary), and then I showed it to Nate tonight.
I cried every time.
It's very well done. I wish I were closer and could be more helpful. We've had a string of good weather days and I feel almost guilty about them when I see what the storm left.

 Thankful.

Craisin experiement (part 2)

More questions than answers, but
I will probably try making craisins again.

When I went back to the syrupy fruit to put it on the trays, I wondered how to make it not fall through the holes.??

I had a tiny note on a handwritten recipe (from when I lived in Chicago), "cheesecloth."
I cut a piece, spread the fruit over it on the tray, put in the dehydrator, and walked away. The cheesecloth worked very well but made it tricky to get them off.

I think if you have these plastic sheets you could make them more easily.

I peeled the sticky fruit off the cheesecloth anyway, and pulled out some tiny threads that got stuck in it.

The flavor is excellent, and worth attempting again. I've noticed my storebought craisins have a miniscule amount of oil in them, perhaps to pry them off cheesecloth or a drying rack?

Because cranberries are so sour, you are instructed to cook them in syrup before drying them. I saved the syrup when I drained the fruit. Is this byproduct diluted and sold as cranberry juice? I thought I would probably add some apples to mine and make applesauce with it.

I am also not sure they were dry enough not to turn moldy. Must do more reading on this topic.

Very interesting . . . . will update you if I get the plastic sheets and try again.

p.s. I've never made my own cranberry sauce, so I didn't know this, but they popped when I boiled them. Very unique sound.