Christmas Joys 2008

A Christmas montage that Jesse put together - Grace, and Grant, our cute little Michiganites - we miss you so much and love talking to you on the telephone.

Our annual get-together at Maddox for Mom's birthday. That's me, Doug & Ann, Mom & Dad, Shellie & Kent, Linda & Jon - Ray's taking the photo. We got together for the first time last year, and we decided to make it an annual event. We realized that it was the first time we had all been together as grown-ups, without all the kids along, and we quite enjoyed the uninterrupted visit.

A group project! Ashton received a Tyrranusaurus Rex for Christmas - and it took a lot of expertise to get this little puzzle together! Ray, Brittany, Ashton, Ethan & Cory

Ethan and Ashton admiring the final product.

Cute little Hunter - 10 weeks old and he is over 13 lbs already!


Ashton went over to the neighbors and jumped on their trampoline this fall and every day since he has wanted to go over to "jump!" Now he can work out in the garage - at least until spring arrives and the tramp can go into the back yard.

Curious George Christmas





Special hugs on Christmas morning! Ashton & Grandma Sandy

Hunter - keeping an eye on all the presents . . .

James & Charlie playing with the LBG at Grandma & Grandpa's house.

The day before Christmas, we went up to Logan to see Ethan & Megan and deliver some gifts. Ethan gave us a tour of the Space Dynamics Laboratory on the Innovations Campus. I enjoy how he lights up as he talks about Physics!

Ashton - working on some mashed potatoes for dinner . . .

The first Christmas in nearly 30 years that we haven't had children at home for Christmas - now they are all married, we have to share them with the in-laws . . . and this is the year everyone was going to be away, so Brittany & Cory invited us up to their new home and we had a wonderful time, playing games, eating way too much food, working on the finishing of their new basement and enjoying two cute little boys. We had a lovely Christmas dinner at Cindy's home, Cory's mother and we even got an afternoon matinee movie in on Christmas Day - that was a first for us! We went to see "Seven Pounds," a movie about the ultimate gift! We recommend it!
Ashton, Papa Ray, Hunter & Grandma Sandy

Ashton, Brittany, Cory & Hunter in their lovely new home

December 2008

Culinary Corner - Christmas Tree Preservatives

It's that wonderful time of year and if you decorate a real, fragrant pine tree, here are some excellent recipes to help preserve the tree and keep it fresh, longer.

Tree Preservative #1

2 Aspirin per foot of tree (use unbuffered aspirin only, not Tylenol or Advil)

Fill container with the apsirin and 1/2 water & 1/2 7-up (not Sprite or sparkling water)

Replace every 2 weeks and replenish with water everyday.

Tree Preservative #2

2 gallons water

2 ounces liquid Chlorine Bleach

2 ounces surfactant (Basic H or surfactant can be purchased at a garden center)

2 cups light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon borax

Mix together. Saw several inches off the bottom of your tree if it has been cut and left standing in a tree lot without water. Put the mixture in a bucket and let the tree stand in mixture until you are ready to take it in the house and decorate it. Place the mixture in your tree stand and replenish with extra mixture each day as needed by the tree. ***There is a note on this recipe that this mixture also helps as a fire retardant - but I do not know the authenticity or reliability of that statement. I've used this preservative in our tree stand

Tree Preservative #3

2 gallons hot water

2 ounces liquid chlorine bleach

1/2 teaspoon borax

2 cups light corn syrup

2 pinches Epsom salts

Mix together; stand tree in mixture. Replenish with extra mixture each day as needed by the tree.

Autumn Leaves 08

Curl up with a Good Book

"How often it is that an idea that seems bright bossed and gleaming in its clarity when examined in a church, or argued over with a friend in a frosty garden, becomes clouded and murk-stained when dragged out into the field of actual endeavor." March, Geraldine Brooks, p 65. Hmmm that is how I felt about the Marriage and Family Relations class that I took - things that seems so clear and easy in the classroom, when once encountered with emotional wrappings and trappings of personality are not quite so easy or clear in the battlefield of life.

The first book I read by Geraldine Brooks, Year of Wonder, I really did not enjoy, but Jesse told me how much she had enjoyed, People of the Book, also by Brooks, so I went to the library looking for that book. It was out, so I checked out March, Brooks' Pulitzer Prize winning novel. I did enjoy this thought provoking novel. It is a fictional account of the experiences of Mr. March, the absent father in Little Women. I think anyone who has gone to war or has had a loved one go to war would find the insights in this book valuable.

Brooks begins one chapter with "Are there any two words in all of the English language more closely twinned than courage and cowardice? I do not think there is a man alive who will not yearn to possess the former and dread to be accused of the latter. One is held to be the apogee of man’s character, the other its nadir. And yet, to me, the two sit side by side on the circle of life, removed from each other by the merest degree of arc. Who is the brave man - he who feels no fear? If so, then bravery is but a polite term for a mind devoid of rationality and imagination. The brave man, the real hero, quakes with terror, sweats, feels his very bowels betray him, and in spite of this moves forward to do the act he dreads . . ." March, Geraldine Brooks p .168
Even though it has been eons since I read it, I couldn't help but think of the book Red Badge of Courage as I read this novel. Brooks gives interesting historical insight about the Civil War and the battle over slavery. I felt I learned so much from this book and enjoyed seeing the famous March family from a different point of view.

Culinary Corner - Pomegranates

I've always loved pomegranates, but haven't purchased them for a while because I didn't like the time it takes and the mess of getting the seeds out. . . I learned a new trick last Thanksgiving that I thought I would share that is quick and easy.

Slice your pomegranate in half.

Get a medium size bowl ready. Over the bowl, hold the half upside down in your hand and with a wooden mallet, tap on the top of the pomegranate.

The seeds will fall out into the bowl . . . and voila! you are finished and ready to use the pomegranates in your recipe!

Apple and Pomegranate Salad
1 bunch of mixed salad greens
2-3 apples, diced or thinly sliced (gala or honeycrisp are excellent)
seeds from one pomegranate
1-2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 cup slivered almonds, caramalized

To caramalize almonds:
In a heavy skillet heat 3-4 Tablespoons sugar until it is a very light brown. Add almonds, turn to coat. Place on wax paper and break apart when cool.
Mix salad ingredients and toss with dressing just before serving.

Dressing:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons diced red onion
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup canola oil
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds.
In a blender or food processor, mix sugar, lemon juice, onion, mustard, and salt and process until well blended. With the machine still running, slowly add oil in a slow steady stream until mixture is thick and smooth. Add poppy seeds and mix. Refrigerate. Pour over salad and toss just before serving.

One of our Favorite Places

Zion's National Park

Jane's Wholewheat Blender Waffles

We just had these waffles yesterday and they are quick and easy and scrumptious! A great way to use your food storage and get those wholegrains into your diet. I serve them with strawberry syrup - yum!

1 cup whole wheat kernels
1 teaspoon flax seed
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup oil (Olive oil is good)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Put milk, wheat and flax into the blender. Blend until mushy. Add remaining ingredients and blend 3-4 minutes. Preheat waffle iron & cook.


STRAWBERRY SYRUP
****
1 pint fresh strawberries, halved or 1 pint strawberry puree
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons corn syrup
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon butter
Place strawberries in blender or food processor; cover and process until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan; add sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice and butter. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 1 minutes. Skim off foam. Strain seeds, if desired. Serve warm over waffles, pancakes or cool and serve over ice cream. I made ours from some strawberry puree that I purchased from the cannery and it was so quick and easy!

Buyers Beware

Okay, so am I the only one in the world that did not realize that curtains were now being sold as separate panels??? I ordered some curtains from the Penny's catalog for the condo and when the package arrived, I was a little surprised to find only one panel in the package . . . hmmmm . . . that looks a little lopsided. So, I re-read the catalog info and it talks about the curtains, then the rod and tiebacks, then says "Sold separately" . . . so I naturally presumed they were talking about the rod and tiebacks but Noooo that actually means the curtains are sold as separate panels!

So I had to order another panel and I must admit, it does look a little better with two! However, what I thought was a good price (I couldn't sew those for such a great price, right? - actually wasn't a very good deal and I could have sewn them for well under the total $$$ spent) I went to some local stores to see how they are selling their curtains and they, too are being sold as separate panels, but at least the photo on the package shows just one single panel hanging on the window - so it is very clear. JC Penny's had two panels in the photo and it was not clear at all to me . . . now I know! I will just sew them next time!

The cutest little Goblins in the World

Grant, The Frog Prince and Grace, the Fairy Princess
Ashton as Jumbo

Ally as Miss Lady Bug


Kourtni starring as Cinderella, Sydni as Hanah Montana and Jacob as Backward Bumblebee

Ally's 1st

Carefully contemplating that chocolate cake - - - now what should I do with this? Aaah . . . this is finger lickin' good!

Sharing

Kourtni and I have been going to Storytime at the Library. They sing songs, read stories, then have some sort of activity for the children. Thursday they learned about cowboys and made a cowboy vest from a brown paper bag - I wish I had a photo of Kourtni with the cute vest she made, but I couldn't get her to try it on. Anyway, we usually have lunch afterwards and play in the park, but Thursday was much too cold to be outside, so we went to a local place where we could sit down at a table and eat. When Kourtni received her children's meal, there were three wrapped candies with the chicken nuggets and fries. She asked me if I would unwrap the candy for her and I told her I would as soon as she had her chicken nuggets and fries because she needed to eat some good food to help her body be healthy before she had candy. She was alright with that and proceeded to eat lots of fries and pink sauce and a few chicken pieces. She then told me she was all finished. I suggested she could take home the rest to share with Jacob and Sydni (I was thinking of the remaining nuggets and fries, but she was way ahead of me). Kourtni pointed out that "Sydni doesn't like sour candy, but me and Jacob both do, so Sydni can have that one - pointing to the Banana Mamba and me and Jacob can eat the sour ones!" I was pretty impressed that this little three year old was so willing to share the good stuff - I am sure I would have just gobbled it all down myself when I was that age, oh who am I kidding - everyone knows I still don't share dessert!

Happy Halloween!

We have a traditional get to gether each year with a pumpkin carving contest, dinner and fun.

This year, Jacob and Sydni were our esteemed judges and awarded each deserving pumpkin a prize. And here are the winners . . . All the spooks with the lights out . . .

Ashton, singing Jumbo Elephant lives in the great big zoo!

We made twirly skirts at our Super Saturday and I had made a bunch for the granddaughters for Christmas . . . but the boys liked them too!

Cory, Ashton & Britt with Ashton's happy pumpkin.

Another little pumpkin, who lives too far away . . . Gracie gazing at the humongous pumpkins at Pondhill Farm.

Our Soccer Star at Rice-Eccles Stadium

Charlie had a soccer game at Rice-Eccles Stadium Thursday night . . . and Ray could hardly wait to tell the guys at work that his grandson is playing futbol at Rice-Eccles! So, anyway, we went up to watch him play . . . and he scored! They don't keep score at this age, but his team scored four goals during the game and Charlie put one of those in the goal. Uof U sponsored the event and we even had a lovely dinner of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, cookies and hot chocolate afterward. It was a fun evening - we enjoyed watching our children play sports and it even gets more fun as the grandchildren start playing.

A New Grandson

Ashton was quite taken with this new baby brother and whenever he sees him, whether it is first thing in the morning or after his nap mid-day, or after we were outside playing in the sandbox, he runs by everyone else and goes over to the baby and says, "Hi!"

Dad, Mom, baby Hunter and big brother Ashton

How beautiful and Precious life is!

Hunter is our 10th grandchild and what a lovely baby he is. A bonny eight pounds and 20 inches long, he seems to be a happy, contented little boy. I can never quite get over the miracle of birth - even though I have had six lovely children of my own, Did you know that with a baby's first breath over 800 chemical reactions take place in that little body so they can survive? That alone is miraculous! I am always overcome by the presence of these beautiful little spirits that have come so soon from Heavenly Father's presence. I just like to sit and hold them and bask in their light. They radiate joy and the spirit is so strong. I am ever grateful to be able to witness this and celebrate in their choice to come to earth and gain a physical body and become a part of our Father in Heaven's great plan for us. Hunter we welcome you and feel so blessed to have you a part of our amazing family.