Saturday is a Special Day...

You know alot of times Saturday is not so "Saturday-ish" here in our home. Between being homeschoolers (think no alarm clocks, leaving the house...) and Dan's glitzy profession (think weekends & holidays gone, 24/7 on call...) Saturdays can seem like any other day. But we do take advantage of our craziness and shop during the week so we can avoid crowds. But today? Today was pretty good.

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Today I went to meet the farmer who comes over "the hill" and bought some tangerines and Asian pears. I went to two post offices, but they are closed Saturdays (lame). Then I came home and just chilled. Partially I chilled because I ruptured my ear drum last night, but it was still nice.

This evening I whipped up this idea and made it happen while the kids were in the bath. Sweet Fern has been left behind and is now our only kid in Jr. Primary. Both of the boys now have nice scriptures and cases and Fern will too in a couple years but for now I made her this little bag and found one of the hard back BofM the missionaries give out so she can carry it to primary. I hope she enjoys it! I did not line the bag, but I did fancy it up with French seams so there are no raw edges inside.
And I am working on this head band for Leili just because I wanted to knit something and I had what I needed to make this. :) Instead of the pom pom I am going to put one of Fern's finger knitted flowers on it!
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So there is my Saturday with the addition of kids running around, nursing breaks, Dan packing (and doing all the laundry), and a splurged kombucha.
Pretty good I'd say!

{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.

Homemade!

Yes, I did manage to make a few things for the holidays this year. So here is a quick wrap up, Christmas baking was almost non-existence except for these yummy gingerbread cookies. I got the recipe from HERE and totally lucked out as it tasted just like the little packages of cookies my Grandma would have waiting in a glass jar on her side table. ;)

A couple joint ventures this year too, Dan made these stars and I painted them. They were in the kids stockings on St. Nicolas Tag to remind them the Christ Child would soon be born.

The next joint project was a fun matching game for my niece Novella, this was an in-progress picture and I of course forgot to take completed pictures!! Also not pictured are two origami bags to hold Novella and Koa's gifts, two knitted dish cloths (in avocado colored yarn for Mary & Ryan), crabapple jelly, & ketchup (for Mary, Ryan, & my Dad too)! And for my mom I made a really neat tea cup candle! It came out really fun!

Oh and then the doll clothes! I knitted two vest for each gal and then most of the clothes I made are for Fern (it was her main gift), but Leili's doll got a lovely new dress to go with her vests. I think Leili looks pleased!

Whew! Now to look forward to June! Leili will be getting her mostly mama made Waldorf doll similar to Fern's! But I do have a baby blanket to knit before that... maybe I'll have to go yarn shopping! ;)

Here is to a crafty New Year!!

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.