Thursday, December 10, 2009

Snow Day

It's

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beginning to

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look a lot

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like Christmas...

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The snow finally came! Just in time for us to have a white Christmas!

The boys had a 'snow day' yesterday which meant for an unexpected day off from school! They were thrilled...and so was I!! It is so nice to have that surprise day off and have everything just clear off your schedule instantly! We stayed in our pajamas all morning and just had a lazy day- which is a definite blessing especially this time of year!

And maybe the best part is...

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that Drew now has snow to play in!

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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Memory of a Christmas Puppy

For this week's Memory Lane post I am going back to Christmastime 2004.

(Jake was 9, Tyler was 13, and Drew was 7.)

That year we decided to get the boys a puppy for Christmas. All three boys, but especially Drew, had been really wanting a puppy for a very long time! We had done a lot of research and decided that a golden retriever pup would be a perfect addition to our already rambunctious, busy household.

We went to pick up the puppy a few days before Christmas while the boys were at school and completely surpirsed them that evening!

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I absolutely love this picture of the boys with the puppy they named Comet (like the reindeer).

I will always remember that day and the sheer joy on the boys faces!

I will always remember Drew exclaiming with tears running down his face; "A real puppy for me!!!"

We will always remember our beloved first puppy dog that was with us for only 3 short years, but brought us so much joy, happiness and unconditional love!


If you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Chris Tomlin

Last night we went to see Chris Tomlin in concert. He was in town for his 'Glory in the Highest' Christmas tour and the concert was absolutely fabulous.

It was such a nice night of great music, great friends and great food. We met some friends at Wildfire Restaurant in Eden Prairie and then headed to see the concert.

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The concert was filled with beautiful Christmas and worship music and truly helped remind us what the 'reason for the season' really is!
'For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. '

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Sunday, December 6, 2009

Cooking with Friends

A few weeks ago I got together with a couple of friends for a night of friendship and cooking. That night we made some creme brulee and it turned out great. So this past week we decided to try a couple of other recipes and also go through our bible study that we are doing together.

We met at my house and made some 'Wild Mushroom Risotto' and 'Gingerbread Biscotti'.

The risotto recipe was a new recipe to us and it turned out delicious.

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Recipe:
5 1/2 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
2 T butter, divided
2 T olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
package of fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 cups arborio rice (about 10 ounces)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bring broth to simmer in a saucepan. Cover and keep war.

Melt 1 T butter with oil in heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms to pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until mushrooms begin to brown, stirring often.
Add rice, stir for 2 minutes. Add wine, stirring until absorbed.
Add 1 1/2 cup warm broth; cook until absorbed, stirring often for about 5 minutes.
Add more broth, half a cup at a time allowing each addition to be absorbed. Stir often, until rice is tender and creamy, about 20m minutes longer.
Remove from heat and stir in cheese and 1 T butter. Season with salt and pepper.

The 'Gingerbread Biscotti' recipe is one I found about a year ago on a blog friend Tina's blog, Stones of Remembrance, and I have made it many times. It is fabulous especially with a cup of coffee!

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1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/8 t salt
1 1/2 ground ginger
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/2 t nutmeg
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup finely minced candied ginger
white chocolate coating

In large bowl beat butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Mix in molasses. Add flour, baking powder, soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg mixing until smooth.
Fold in almonds and candied ginger.
Divide dough into half onto lightly greased baking sheet and form each half into a log about 3-4 inches wide and 1 inch high. Place them 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Lower temp to 300 degrees and let logs cool for 10 minutes.

Using serrated knife, cut each log into 1/2 inch pieces. Place back on baking sheet cut sides down. Bake 10 minutes. Then flip over and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Melt coating according to package directions. Dip cookies halfway into coating or use spoon to drizzle quickly back and forth.

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(Deb, me and Heidi "meeting" Paula Deen at 'Lady and Sons' in Savannah, GA about a year ago!!) :)

Friday, December 4, 2009

Our Christmas Tree

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This past weekend we put up our Christmas tree up. I always love getting the tree up Thanksgiving weekend, it just seems like the perfect way to start the Christmas season.

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And I think it turned out beuatiful!

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I decorated the tree with gold ribbon, red beads, red silk pointsetta's, a bunch of gold ball ornaments, and all of our family oranments.

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The angel on top~

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The train under the tree~

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Some of my favorite ornaments~

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An ornament an aunt gave us a wedding gift~

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A bunch of snowbaby ornaments (my mom started giving these to me the year my oldest was born- right after the Minnesota Halloween Blizzard of 1991 with over 30 inches of snow!!)~

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Each year I buy the boys an ornament for Christmas that has some meaning for them from the year~

This ornament was for Drew a few years ago becasue he loves making gingerbread houses each Christmas~

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This one is Jake's from the year he was reading Harry Potter non-stop and this is exactly what he looked like sitting in the chair~

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This is Tyler's ornament from the Christmas we got our first dog, Comet~

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Some very precious handmade ornaments from my boys from when they were little~

Drew's~

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Jake's~

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Tyler's~

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Each year we hide the pickle ornament on the tree and whoever finds it gets to hide it the next year.

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Merry Christmas!!

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I am linking up with Kelly's Korner for "Show Us Your Life" blog tour sharing our Christmas trees.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Drew's Birthday Party

A couple of weeks ago we had a birthday party for Drew. He invited a few friends for bowling and a sleepover. Here are some picture of the night.

the crew~

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Drew~

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friends~

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games~

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prizes~

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back at home for cake~

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and a sleepover. (At least they told me they did get some sleep! :)