A Colorful Christmas Tradition

Sticky blue fingers and lips...



  ...from a blue candy cane.

O Christmas Tree

I'm pretty sure I didn't post much about Halloween or Easter this year. I was too lazy busy to upload those pictures until waaaay too late.

So I'm trying to not do that with Christmas. This might turn out to be the only Christmas post I do, though. We'll see. If you're the gambling type, you can start making bets now.

Anyway, the Christmas tree. Isaac and I have been married for a bit more than five years, and we've always had a Charlie Brown-size Christmas tree. When we moved from Utah to Washington, we left our first little tree behind. And then when we bought a new tree...we got one that was maybe six inches taller than the old one. It's kind of becoming a tradition.

 
 It's always Isaac's job to unfold the branches and put on the lights.

 
 Pretty beads. We found them at the dollar store a few years ago.

 
 Some of our ornaments--some are Little Boy's, some were given to us, and some were dollar-store finds like the beads.

 
 Little Boy's face cracks me up. How could I not love that kid?

 
 Can we open presents now?

 
 I like it. It's a cheerful little tree.

{image source}


"As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth."

-The Living Christ

Find Time

"During the hurry of the festive occasion of this Christmas season, find time to turn your heart to God. Perhaps in the quiet hours, and in a quiet place, and on your knees—alone or with loved ones—give thanks for the good things that have come to you."

-Howard W. Hunter

More of the Warmer Days

I'm still pining for the warmer, sunnier days we had this fall.

 





This picture turned out so weird--first, because the leaf looks HUGE (it's a big leaf, but he's holding it really close to the camera); and second, because we were in the shade and I can't get his skin to look anything but gray. Oh well...I swear, my kid isn't a vampire.

And this will for sure (probably, maybe) be my last whiny post about how I wish it were not winter. I think.

Easy Thanksgiving Recipe: Cranberry Sauce

[I know this is last-minute, but I was cooking up some of this stuff just now and I thought...I really should share this recipe.]

 

 Is that what your family's cranberry sauce is going to look like tomorrow? Really?

I have to admit, I kinda like the canned stuff. But did you know that making cranberry sauce [y'know, with real cranberries] is simple? In fact, I first found this recipe in Real Simple magazine. See what I did there? Haha.

Anyway, I made this cranberry sauce last year for Thanksgiving, and I'm probably going to make it every Thanksgiving for the rest of my life. It tastes that much better. (Unless you really don't like cranberries at all. In that case, I can't help ya.) You can check out the original cranberry sauce recipe if you want. I've changed it just a little bit, so here's the really simple cranberry sauce I'm making this year:

Homemade Cranberry Sauce
(heavily based on a recipe from Real Simple) 
1 package cranberries (I think the standard-size package is 12 oz or so.) 
1 cup apple juice 
1/3 cup sugar 
1/4 cup (heaping) brown sugar 


Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Simmer, stirring frequently, until almost all of the cranberries have burst, and the sauce has thickened. (I usually make the sauce quite a bit thicker than what's pictured with the original recipe.) 


Taste and add more sugar if needed--some cranberries are kickier than others. Also, keep an eye on how vigorously those berries are simmering--if it gets to a full-out boil, you'll be wiping up cranberry splatters.

 Really and truly--all you have to do is measure, dump, and stir. That's it. Oh, and eat. And then do a little happy dance because you've freed your family from canned cranberry sauce forever. {sauce photo credit}

Daddy Time

There are some things that Isaac teaches Little Boy to do, because I either don't know how or can't do them very well. Things like playing with Lincoln Logs and Legos.

 And now these:

 
Checkers.

 
And chess.

 Little Boy's having a hard time grasping chess and checkers. He isn't competitive at all, and he doesn't really "get" that he should try to win the game. I expect that to last, oh...maybe until he has a sibling--then he'll have someone to compete with.

Pretending It's Sunny Outside...

It's been really, reeeeeally cold here lately. Really. No, really. Temps are in the single digits, and wind is gusting up to--well, you don't want to know.

So here are some pictures from a few weeks ago. It was sunny, we were at the beach...it was cool enough to wear jackets, but there was no ice anywhere. And that's good enough for me.

 
Somehow, this hat drifted further and further down toward his eyes as the day went on...and it didn't occur to him to fix it.


Beach. Sun. Yes.


*Sigh*....

Not Ashamed

{image source}

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth."

-Romans 1:16

Well....

So it's been a couple weeks, huh? Well...I've been busy with school, which, even though it's Independent Study, really does eat up my blogging time. (And my blog-reading time. My Google Reader has a bajillion unread posts in it.) And then Little Boy and I had colds, and our computer broke... What I'm really trying to say is, blogging will still be spotty for awhile. But here's a little update. I chopped off my hair. (Not really EARTH! SHATTERING!, but how much blogging really is? Haha.)

A Little Halloween Fun

The Flowers!

So, remember when I made Little Boy look at all the pretty flowers while we waited for his friends? Well, these are some of the flowers. [They're dahlias.]

 
[This is the part where I wish for more blog space and awesome photography skillz.]












This one's my favorite. When we went back to the farm a couple weeks later for their pumpkin-picking day, we were allowed to pick one flower--and Little Boy picked this kind.

The Munsters...?

Me, trying to put together a Halloween playlist: "I had no idea that the Munsters theme song was such a popular cover." Isaac, who is a guitarist: "It IS! It's so fun to play!" Who knew?!

Birthday Boy, Part 2

So...I guess the pictures from my last post aren't showing up. Sorry about that. I'll have to work on that later tonight, since right now...I'm supposed to be making dinner. And I'm blogging instead.

Anyway, part 2 of Little Boy's birthday. After presents, lunch, and cupcakes at Grandma's house, we headed to a local park/farm/playground to meet up with some friends.

 

Our friends weren't there yet, so I made Little Boy look at the flower gardens with me. He was not impressed. I think I might do a post just about those flowers. They were gorgeous. Moving along...

 

There are usually some farm animals around, but this year...not so many. The bunnies are always a kid-pleaser, though. (Yeah, that's a bunny up there.)

 

And the main event--the playground!

 

We wandered around the grounds for awhile, and Isaac showed them how to climb over a little fence to get to this big tree. *Sigh*...yeah, the fence is probably there for a reason. Anyway, Running-Around-the-Big-Tree is a super-fun game.

 

When we got back from the park, Little Boy's birthday package from his other grandparents was waiting for us! Yay for more presents!

 

And it included Little Boy's first-ever set of Legos. He LOVES Legos--I think he got some kind of loves-to-build-stuff gene from Isaac. The two of them were in heaven working on this set.

Birthday Boy, Part 1

Little Boy turned four this year. Four! We keep birthdays pretty low-key around here. We haven't had any big parties with a million little kids running around. Yet. (I think next year we'll probably throw him a "real" birthday party. But I'm putting my foot down at half-a-million kids.) So here's the first part of his big day: Presents from Mommy and Daddy first thing in the morning--because what little kid wants to wait until after breakfast to open presents? I've wanted to get him a set of pattern blocks forever...his birthday was a good excuse to finally get a set. After breakfast, we went to Grandma's house. There were cars. Cars are important to Little Boy. See the drum on the left? He asked for a drum specifically. "With two drumsticks." How old are you, Little Boy? (Those are the chocolate-frosting-with-sprinkles cupcakes he asked for.) Coming up in Part 2: birthday fun at the park! And! More! Presents!

{image source} "I invite you to listen, listen if you will by the power of the Spirit, to the speakers who will address you today and tomorrow as well as this evening. If you will do so, I do not hesitate to promise that you will be uplifted, your resolution to do what is right will be stronger, you will find solutions to your problems and your needs, and you will be led to thank the Lord for what you have heard." -Gordon B. Hinckley

Nerding It Up

[Not me. In case you couldn't tell. Image source here.] So, I've mentioned before (like, a year ago) that I'm finishing my degree through BYU's Bachelor of General Studies program. At the time, I was taking a Student Development class so I could be officially accepted to the program. Well, I passed that class. And then I was accepted. And then...I didn't do anything. I couldn't afford to pay for tuition by myself, and I was really confused about financial aid, and we were trying to move, and blah blah blah... Anyway, I got some financial aid, and I signed up to take a class on the last half of the New Testament. (Which, as it turns out, is harder than I thought it would be.) So...I'm officially on my way! I'm excited. I'm not looking forward to the not-so-fun parts, like, I dunno...finals...but let's just stick with excited, 'kay? Which remind me: I need to go study.

Abide with Me; 'Tis Eventide

Abide with me; 'tis eventide. Thy walk today with me Has made my heart within me burn, As I communed with thee. Thy earnest words have filled my soul And kept me near thy side. O Savior, stay this night with me; Behold, 'tis eventide. O Savior, stay this night with me; Behold, 'tis eventide. -Abide With Me, 'Tis Eventide, Words: Lowrie Hofford, Music: Harrison Millard

Birthday Queen

Little Boy helped me make a birthday crown for my mom's birthday last month. I did the cutting, he did the sticker-choosing and -placing.

Nearer, My God, to Thee

{image source} "There let the way appear, steps unto heaven; All that thou sendest me, in mercy given; Angels to beckon me Nearer, my God, to Thee Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!" -Nearer, My God, to Thee, text by Sarah F. Adams

Snail Babies

Sounds gross, right? My parents have a bunch of blueberry bushes in their yard that have been there forever--so they produce TONS of blueberries. Okay, not literally TONS, but you know what I mean. Anyway, toward the end of the blueberry season this year, we started finding tiny snails on the blueberries--after we'd already washed the berries and were about to eat them. It turns out that baby snails are adorable. This was the third (and last) snail that we found. And no, we didn't eat any snails--at least not that we know of.

We Are Gonna Play Blue's Clues, Cuz It's a Really Great Game

Little Boy's Little Cousin spent an afternoon with us a couple weeks ago. [Her baby brother was here, too, but he's not in the shot.]

 Isaac took Little Boy and Little Cousin to the playground for a couple hours. It was HOT that day. Super-hot. So after lunch, I let the two of them them cool down a little bit in our bedroom.

 

Or maybe I should say the three of them--Little Boy, Little Cousin, and Joe.

Keepin' It Simple, Birthday Style

Little Boy's birthday is, um...soon...[I'm too paranoid to post exactly when, sorry]. And when I asked him what he wants for cake and ice cream, he told me: any flavor cupcakes, as long as they have chocolate frosting on them... sprinkles on the chocolate frosting... and vanilla ice cream. So that's what we'll be having. {frosting photo source, sprinkles photo source, vanilla ice cream photo source}

Tip: Remove Old Dry-Erase Marks

{photo source} Sometimes I put Little Boy's worksheets in page protectors (the smooth kind), so he can do them over and over again with dry erase markers. Works great.

Except when you forget to erase it. And discover it several days later.

Then it's stuck.

So I turned to good ol' Google and started working my way through suggestions for removing dry erase marker.

Vinegar: didn't work much better than water.

90% rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer: I'm pretty sure that would've worked, but we were fresh out of both.

White toothpaste: worked like a charm.

You do have to wipe the toothpaste off with a little water, of course. I don't know whether toothpaste will work on other surfaces, but it does work on Little Boy skin--he managed to get a little bit of dry erase marker on his chin while I was working on toothpaste-ing his page protectors.

{cross-posted at Pie For Breakfast}