Happy Father's Day!

I am so blessed to be able to celebrate two amazing fathers.

My father

and the father of my children.

God is so gracious and I am so blessed.

Happy Mother's Day!

To my mother!

And to me!

Happy Birthday H14!

As so often happens, my intentions for pictorial documentation of a birthday ended just after breakfast.  We did much more than eat breakfast and give a single gift on H14's birthday.  The day was so fun I forgot the documentation part.  I suppose it's a good thing since I want to live in the moment.  I need to find a life photographer to take pictures while I'm busy living.

Anyway, we enjoyed a school free day, lunch at McD's, fun time all day, a trip to the library, and dinner with Rob upon his return from New Orleans at H14's favorite local Italian place.

A Delicious Birthday Dinner

S11 chose steak, Caesar salad and rolls for his birthday meal.  The sirloin steaks came from our own cattle.  It was too cold for me to want to grill steaks outdoors.  The steaks I've made indoors have not really been all that great so I went in search of a better steak recipe.  Thanks to Jessie Cross at The Hungry Mouse I found this recipe.  It's not so much a recipe.  It's more a technique.  It is easy, delicious and the only way I will make steak when the grill is not a good option.  Honestly, I may even do this when the grill is a good option.  Seriously, go check out The Hungry Mouse.  Even if you don't want to make steak there are a ton of recipes and other things over there and the pictures are gorgeous.

To go with the steak I tried a new roll recipe from my KitchenAid cookbook.  It was perfect!  I'm always struggling to get bread made in time for dinner.  For some reason, thinking of side dishes at 3pm just doesn't come easily.  This recipe is a wonderful solution to my inability to get my timing right.

KitchenAid Sixty-Minute Dinner Rolls

1/2 cup low-fat milk

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons butter
 6 3/4 teaspoons dry active yeast (3 packages yeast)
1 1/2 cups warm water (105F – 115F)
5 – 6 cups all-purpose flour

In a small saucepan,over low heat stir milk, sugar, and butter together. Heat over low heat until butter melts. Cool until lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. (I warm my mixer bowl by filling it with hot water before I need it.  Right before I'm ready to get started I empty the bowl, dry it, and attach it to the mixer base.)  Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 1/2 cups flour to yeast mixture.  Using a dough hook, mix on low speed for about 1 minute. With the mixer still going, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix about 2 minutes until dough starts to clean the sides of the bowl. Knead on low speed for about 2 more minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic – the dough will still be slightly sticky to the touch.

Place dough in a greased bowl, turning it to grease the top. Cover the dough with a clean, dry dish towel, and let it rise in a warm place, free from draft, for about 15 minutes.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 24 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball, and place on baking sheet.  Cover the rolls with the dish towel, and let the dough rise for about 15 minutes. (The recipe in the book suggests making fancier rolls by cutting the large rolls into four equal pieces and cooking them in a muffin pan or rolling them out and making curlicues.  To me, that adds to the time and effort required.  Complicated isn't necessarily tastier.)

Bake at 425ºF for 12 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks.

Happy Birthday S11!



S11's started a little earlier than I expected.  He was up well before dawn asking if he it was time for his birthday to begin.  I told him no and he crawled into bed with M8 and me to wait for his special day to begin.

We started the day with decorations and a gift.  S11 chose his favorite cereal, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, for breakfast.



Lunch as shrimp cocktail and that's all.

 

Dinner was steak, Caesar salad, rolls and sparkling cider.

Birthday cake was the perfect finish.

Skylanders from Aunt Christy.

Cash from Grandmomma & Grandpap.

Happy Birthday S11!

New Year's Eve 2012

We were so blessed to bring in the New Year with the Clarke family.  We shared time, conversation, movies, laughter, delicious food, and lots of chocolate.

Advent: Day 23 - Christmas Adam

Today was our day to celebrate being a family at Christmas time.  I know, you are probably wondering what we've been doing for the last 23 days if not celebrating.  And, you are right.  We have celebrated all God's blessings for the last four weeks.  But, today was special.

First, we participated in the Nativity play at church.  H13 read the narration.  S10 was a wiseman and a shepherd.  M8 was the angel.  I wrote and directed the program.  If I do say so myself, it was lovely. 

After church, we enjoyed our normal Christmas Adam activities.  Each year we take this day and celebrate Christmas Adam, the day before Christmas Eve because as everyone knows Adam came before Eve.  Yes, it's a little goofy but we love it.  Here is a post I wrote several years ago about our Christmas Adam tradition. 

Today we shopped at a new Dollar Tree.  The kids are older and we just handed them their money and turned them loose.  They completed their shopping in less than half an hour.  They wrapped their own gifts without help.  Shane asked if plastic grocery bags were acceptable wrapping materials.  Nice try but, no, they aren't.  After our shopping was complete we enjoyed lunch at Applebee's, laughing and talking through it.  Our waitress was chatty and fun.  Our food was good.  The company was excellent.

A successful tradition continues.

Advent: Day 21 - Winter Solstice

Another tradition continues.  Despite the possible end of the world, despite snow and ice, the party went on. 

The food was an Italian theme.  We enjoyed several kinds of olives, roasted peppers, pepperoncini, two types of salami, a variety of cheeses, bread sticks, pasta fagioli, and meatballs.  Dessert included flourless chocolate cake and three types of mini cupcakes.  Delicious!

Once again, new friends and neighbors mingled with old friends we hadn't seen in awhile.  The weather kept the phone and text buzzing with cancellations all day Friday but we still had over 30 people enjoying our hospitality.  The kids played inside and out.  I understand that an epic snowball battle took place.  Irish cream was served and our night was merry and light.  Once again, we did our best to make this long dark night a little lighter.

Advent: Day 18 - Breakfast for Supper

Pancake sundaes, sausage and quiche were the highlights of this breakfast for supper. 

Everyone loved the concept.  We may have to do this more often.

The Jesse Tree: The Wisdom of Solomon



The story of Solomon.



The Jesse Tree: Dancing



The Story of David, Part 2



Advent: Day 16 - Wild Lights and Santa

On Saturday night we watched the weather.  The Sunday forecast was for thunderstorms.  We discussed going to Wild Lights at the Columbus Zoo, but we didn't want to take that drive on a day we couldn't really enjoy the spectacle.  Because of the weather forecast we decided to move a zoo trip to sometime after Christmas.

Sunday arrived with overcast skies but no thunderstorms.  A check of the weather on Sunday afternoon showed cloudy skies with mild temperatures.  The predicted thunderstorms were postponed until Monday.  We made a fast decision to go to the zoo and moved just as quickly to get on the road. 

Our alternate plan for Sunday involved a long winter's nap and breakfast for dinner.  In addition, I wanted to go to the local pharmacy for their Christmas party and pictures with Santa.  Only K16 and H13 managed to get the nap.  I was thrilled that Wild Lights included Santa.  Our first stop upon entering the zoo was Santa's home where we took a picture with Santa.

After a visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, we strolled through the light strung trees enjoying to the sights and sounds of Christmas at the zoo.  We also stopped to enjoy a group of performers called Signs of the Season.  They gave Christmas caroles and songs a new dimension with American Sign Language.  After the performance we went in search of what we thought was going to be a group of 27 arbors made up of animatronic trees.  What we got was 27 stuffed animals sitting on a Christmas tree shaped frame.  We left laughing at how the description was much more grand than the reality.

We all enjoyed seeing the lights.  Since we were zoo members this year the experience was worth the drive.  I'm not sure we'll make this an annual event.

We were all hungry by the time we left the zoo so we went in search of delicious food.  We found what we were looking for in nearby Easton at The Cheesecake Factory.



Advent: Day 14 & 15 - Another Change in Plans

On Friday, we took a family walk then Rob and I went Christmas shopping and to his department Christmas party.  The kids picked up McDonald's for dinner and watched t.v.  Not exactly family Advent activities but necessary none the less.

On Saturday, we enjoyed a fire in the fireplace

 and made melting snowman cupcakes for the church Christmas dinner. 

Advent: Day 13 - St. Lucia

For several years we've saluted our Swedish heritage by celebrating St. Lucia day.  The idea of a blonde haired girl with a crown of candles is an appealing one for my daughters.  We let them carry candles if they choose but have always stopped them from putting anything burning on their heads.  In past years, I've made various kinds of cinnamon rolls and sweet buns.  This year I decided to make the real deal, St. Lucia buns.  Our activity of the day indicated that we were to have a tea party and celebrate St. Lucia.  Time ran short.  The bread didn't rise according to schedule.  Our tea party turned into dinner with St. Lucia (Italian pesto) soup.  M8 hauled out the tea party gear anyway.  I was just thankful she didn't want to light the candles and balance them on her head.

Despite the long rising time, the St. Lucia buns turned out beautifully.  Now that I know I can make this recipe and that it's very delicious, we'll be enjoying the real thing as part of our tradition.

The Jesse Tree: The Shepherd King

The story of David

The Jesse Tree: "Speak, Lord, For Your Servant Is Listening"

The story of Samuel

The Jesse Tree: The Foreigner

The story of Ruth

Advent: Days 10, 11 & 12 - Candlelight Celebration, Cookies, and Conversation

We are still having a wonderful time with our Advent celebrations.  I just haven't been great about taking pictures and getting them posted.  This week we made gingerbread, but we still have the cookies to cut, bake and decorate.  The dough is waiting patiently in the refrigerator.  Things got busy on Monday and Tuesday nights.  

Tuesday we had our last co-op of the year and then went to the library.  Because of some errands that took longer than expected (Don't they always?!), we arrived at the library just a little late for the Christmas party.  We all got to enjoy grilled cheese sandwiches cut like gingerbread men and marshmallow snowmen.  After enjoying the library Christmas party and checking out a generous number of books, we took our food donation to the local food bank. That was a worthwhile adventure and one that we will repeat with more regularity.

Tuesday we followed the Advent plan as previously scheduled.  December 11 is my mother's birthday so a candle light dinner was the perfect way to celebrate.  I love celebrating birthdays even when the people we are celebrating can't be there to join us.  My picture doesn't really show our lovely ambiance because my flash works really well and I don't really understand all my camera's settings.  You'll just have to believe that the lights were out and that we did indeed have dinner by candle light. 



We even enjoyed birthday cake!  My Grandmother Westlund's recipe.  Someday I may share it here.

 On December 12 we made cookies, lots and lots of cookies.  Nutmeg, Lemon, and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.  We are delivering cookie plates to our neighbors on December 13 so we had to get ready. 

Once the cookie bake-athon was done we met in the living room for a cookie and eggnog snack and Christmas conversation.  I love hearing my children talk about their favorite Christmas traditions and things the are looking forward to this year.  The conversation was full of side-tracks and off the wall comments but was fun. 

Advent: Day 7 - Grinch Day

On December 7, we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  While the kids prefer the Jim Cary version of this classic tale.  I prefer the old cartoon animated version.  Since this is my activity, I got to choose the version.  While we disagreed on the best Grinch, we all agreed that these Grinch shakes were delicious.

Advent: Day 6 - Make Reindeer Cookies

We made our reindeer cookies using Nutter Butter cookies, small pretzels, mini m&ms, and milk chocolate melting discs. 

 K16 melted 1 cup of the discs in the microwave.  H13 lined a pan with parchment paper.

We dunked the Nutter Butters in the melted chocolate, being sure to coat thoroughly. No fancy technique here, just a spoon to scoop out the cookies. 

We broke a pretzel in half then snapped off pieces until it looked like antlers to us. 

We stuck the pretzels into the melted chocolate covered cookies.  The chocolate did a great job of fastening the antler to the reindeer. 

We stuck the m&ms on the chocolate covered cookies to represent eyes and a nose.  Sometimes we even made sure the m side was face down.

The most difficult part of this project was leaving the reindeer alone so the chocolate could harden.

The easiest part of this project was eating the completed cookies.