Sundance or Sun Dance...

I introduced Riley to my favorite book store yesterday... I usually go there alone... he might be addicted...

Sundance Book Store is in this awesome old house that the art museum owns, I love to just walk around the store. Riley started making his book list, it is dangerous to have so many book lovers in one house. We are going to have to line every inch of wall with bookshelves!!

And the quote, well I almost wrote underneath, "except ____". I have had some awesome women in my life, but I'd have to say all of them have had a love of books!

I have a new book and journal (thanks to Sundance) for the new year, I hope the new year brings you many books to enjoy! How many books did you enjoy in 2011? I got to 11...

Happy New Year!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas jammies from Grandma J. and the scene is set (even with a noisy cat)!

May your Christmas be blessed!

Winter Solstice!

We enjoy celebrating the solstice every year and this year was one of our best yet (mostly because we bypassed the getting up to see the sunrise...) We did our family activities in the evening, we walked down to the river to search out smooth river stones to paint the sun on and wood for our fire. After painting, dinner and building our warm fire we enjoyed hot chocolate with marshmallows! What a treat to enjoy the evening as a family filled with fun!

Happy Solstice!!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Jake is 8! 8 is GREAT!

Jake decided he was ready to take the plunge and get baptized. We are so happy for him and so proud of his choice to follow his Savior.

A broken computer + holiday season = a back up on posts!

Stay tuned!!

Pause...

My most recent pause was not because I planned it, it was a nice respite from technology during a wonderful season for it. But I have to admit it was forced.

Running around a very small house lead to my computer taking a dive onto the floor. The screen was shattered! :( Riley was not sad as it lead to a delay in his Native American project.

Anyway! Dan the super man in my life bought a new screen and was able to fix it! Wahoo! Hooray!!

SO I have some good photos I've been snapping but the next couple days are crazy busy! I'll work on it!! ;)

I LOVE my husband!!

Saint Nicolas Tag

In our family the Christmas season is all about welcoming Christ into our lives and home. Along the way we have found different things that help us do this. From Virginia where Dan and I celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple we adopted the tradition of putting (electric) candles in the windows like they would do at an inn if they had room. Because we have room in our home for Christ.

Another thing we do is celebrate Saint Nicolas Tag or Saint Nicolas Day. It is on December 6 that we remember a saint who loved to help children in need and to tell of the coming of Christ. So tonight for FHE I read a story about Saint Nicolas and the kids colored their own Saint Nicolas. And then tomorrow on Saint Nicolas Tag in the evening we will put our our stockings (shoes are more traditional) out and Saint Nicolas will leave a couple treats and a reminder that Christ's birth is coming!

Once upon a time there lived far away in the East a pious man, the Bishop Nicholas. One day he heard that far in the West was a big town. In this town all the people had to suffer hunger, the children also. Then Bishop Nicholas called his servants who loved him and said to them 'Bring me the fruits of your gardens and the fruits of your fields that we can still the hunger of the children in that town.' The servants brought baskets full of apples and nuts, and on top lay honey cakes which the women had baked. And the men brought sacks of wheat... (read the whole story)

It would be great to hear your Christmas traditions! If you do a blog post leave a link in the comments so we can all see!!

Fröhlich Saint Nikolaus Tag!

Thanksgiving!

Sorry this is all out of order blogger is giving me issues...

~

We took a little trip since Dan was free for a couple days! We got to play with Grandma & Gran-pa, and Aunt Mary, Ryan, Novella & Koa!!

Our Thanksgiving was exciting as this was the first time that we had all been together since Mary and I started our own families!

Also I passed the torch to Riley, he made the Cranberry Apple Crisp I have been making for every Thanksgiving since I was 5! It was a recipe I got out of my Highlights magazine!

Thanks for the fun family! Love you!

Muffin Brain...

Seriously, we've been sick here and I've had a head cold that has left my brain pretty fuzzy. But I have also had muffins on the brain, tongue, and tummy!

It helps alot that we found this GREAT gluten free flour mix recipe, my in house baker keeps my flour bin stocked and it is much less expensive then the pre-made mixes! So far it works great, I'm not the biggest fan of it in cookies but gluten free cookies are all a little grainy in my opinion.

Much to Fern's dismay I am a veggies in the muffins kind of mama...

Zucchini are a favorite (even Fern likes zucchini in muffins but not in dinner), I use Dan's mom's recipe with a couple minor tweaks... This week we tried a new recipe, Carrot Date Walnut Muffins! They were tasty and have been put in the "make again" pile (I just substitute our flour for theirs). Another favorite are Morning Glory Muffins, (we tweak these as we are not so into sugar, maple syrup or honey are good, and a little shredded zucchini is good) Dan makes these when he is trying to sweeten me up! ;) Banana's are a common one too, Max's Christmas Cranberry Bread is also a favorite (we first made it for Winter Solstice last year). Most bread recipes transfer great to muffins!

Yesterday I started thinking about pumpkin muffins. Big surprise hu! I am a pumpkin fanatic and now you know my muffin fetish too. Anyway the mix at TJ's keeps staring at me but I knew it would rip up Miss Leili's tummy and mine too. I thought about going rouge and trying to make some on my own (I am not the baker Dan is so that is a little scary). But the stars aligned, my desires were heard (Our Heavenly Parents love us and know us!) and just this morning Amanda over at Soulmama posted their tried and true, yummy Pumpkin Muffin recipe! I think we may have pumpkin muffins today!

Now I need that acorn muffin pan!!

{this moment}

This week and last!

Tour Time!

So I'd just like to take you on a little tour today. This house we are renting is a little small for us, it's in a great location, there is inches of counter space in the kitchen, but the BEST part is this little room in the garage... It's my favorite room!

IT'S A FOOD STORAGE ROOM!!! Oh it is so LOVELY!!
Potatoes, squashes, grain and bean buckets, and those beautiful jars my Mom & Daddy fill with love for us!

Onions from the farmers market hanging, the dehydrator hanging out waiting to be loved, more potatoes!

This is the shelf we mostly filled up with our canning this year, apple sauce, apple butter, crab apple jelly, strawberry jelly, and ketchup on a lower shelf. Alot of our work is in the freezer, corn, bell peppers, strawberries, raspberries, zucchini, & elderberries (I think I'm forgetting something).

Mmmm, apricots & green tomatoes! Grandma spoils us from her garden, dilly beans, green beans, corn, tomatoes, jellies, cherries, apple juice, ortega chilies, pimentos, salsas, tomoillos, carrots, sour kraut, beets, beet jelly... I know there is more but it's 32 outside and I'm not going out to the garage to look and see! ;)

Mom even dried parsley, corn, & plabano chilies for us this year!

So there is your tour for the day, when someone asks if you went anywhere cool lately you can say, "I went to Danna's food storage room, and it was awesome!"!!!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

BOO!!

Yep, Halloween pictures! We had our Trunk or Treat at church last Thursday, it is the big candy night for the kids. On Halloween night we get dressed up, makes lots of yummy treats, watch fun Halloween movies and the kids give out candy, it is LOTS of fun!!

Riley flip flopped about costumes up until a couple hours before... no surprise here! He's a pilot!!
Jake was also a flipper, he settled on a spy!

Miss Fern's dreams came true! She grew!! Finally after MANY years of waiting Fern was big enough to wear MY princess costume that my mom made me! She was beautiful!! And SOOOO happy!

I think I had a similar haircut when I wore this costume! ;) Mom you'll have to dig out a photo of me in this dress!!

Sweet Leili once she saw Fern was going to be a princess wanted to be one too! Luckily just the day before a friend had given her a dress that had been outgrown in their house! I whipped up a crown to match and Leili was a HAPPY princess!!

My spookables are not so spooky this year but they had big smiles and that makes for a happy mama!!

Happy Halloween!

(this moment} + a couple words...sorry!

So it's 3:30pm on a Wed. night we have no scouts... 2 1/2 hours later we were strolling through Ikea ( I love Ikea). And we crossed the Sierra Nevada's, saw Donner Summit, and I finally went to the capitol city of my birth state (did I mention Sacramento has a Krispy Kream to make my yearly pilgrimage to get a pumpkin donut!!)!!!

I LOVED this moment!

Oh the Randomness of Our Days...

I seem to have a few pictures from the last week or two that are all just so random that they don't fit together nor do they need their own post (or most likely a post at all). So we'll just be random and then move on!

My little artist, she sat there LONG after the big kids had their flurry of art and ran off. The older three are whirl wind artist but Leili savors it!

Yes, a mama and her silly boys. Just this time someone got us with the camera!

We had a fun visit from Grandma J. & Grandpa M. And how about that this is the only thing there is pictures of from their visit and I did not even take it!! And now that I look at it this is not even the picture I wanted to share but I don't want to reload... sorry. They are playing army men!

We foraged and dried two levels of elderberries!

We celebrated Fern's 6th birthday!

Miss Cool, pizza for breakfast wearing sunglasses. She is mine!!

And we found a fun nature center/study area just across the river from our house!!