Sledding with Cousins

This morning Chad called and asked if we wanted to go sledding in the church parking lot behind his 4-wheeler. Of course, we jumped on that idea - what can be more fun!? The kids rode around the parking lot with a long rope attached to each sled. The caboose had the most fun with the wide turns. I had to bail once before smacking the side of the curb. Us, adults, took turns pulling each other - it was really fun.

The ride is coming to an end. That's were we switch sleds and go again!

How precious -these two loved riding together!

Logan and I are riding on the back of the 4-wheeler while Chad is driving the train around.

Paul and Olivia took a turn driving the sleds around. After all the fun we took the kids to McD's for lunch!

Christmas is Here!

Christmas morning! Mom has to get dressed along with everyone else... Hurry up, Mom, we have been waiting too long!

Even Smokey, our visiting cat, had a couple gifts from Santa.

Later after all the fun and a nap for Mom, the Richael's came over to play games and eat lunch (soup in bread bowls and lots of other yummy foods).

Christmas Count Down - 1 day! Christmas Eve Is Here

Today was a full day of getting ready for Christmas. I tried to catch a nap but I forgot to take the phones out of my room, I woke several times to a ringing phone....hughhhh.

For Christmas Eve dinner we enjoyed a fun Chinese dinner. For some reason I can't remember what we usually do...was it fondue? ham? who knows? So we decided to start a new tradition of having Chinese food every Christmas Eve! I'm glad that we have that figured out. We enjoyed fried rice, egg rolls, saigon noodles with steak, and pork and seeds! I forgot to make the egg drop soup - it was on the menu but oh well.

We made lots of food in the kitchen today, including:

these yummy treats

and this wonderful hot cranberry drink (I make this every year)

and these Russian Tea Cakes - Santa's favorite (a very rare treat, I think I have made the 3 times in 15 years).

Then we saw that someone in our neighbor hood put up paper lanterns all around the park - it was so beautiful. I couldn't take a good picture for you to see the whole effect. They must have put up 100+ lanterns spaced every 3-4 feet - they were real lit candles.

Vivian left out some of her advent chocolates, a piece of fudge, a Russian Tea cake and her wish list. I know the list is a little late - she has had it under the tree for a month! And she has already sat on Santa's lap and told him everything!

Olivia got creative with a thank you note that she left Santa! She is our thoughtful one.

And our night ended with the family watching "It's a Wonderful Life" the color version. Then Santa and Mrs. Santa were very busy. Oh, Christmas morning always comes too early. The kids are always waiting on me. They have to wait until my hair is done and makeup is on.

Merry Christmas everyone one!

Christmas Count Down - 2 days! Fun Ornament

I thought these ornaments looked really fun to make. They look really cool made with felt, too. Have you found any fun ornaments to make?

Christmas Count Down - 3 days! We Can Answer the Prayers of Others

Last night we had a really nice FHE about the real meaning of Christmas and the gift of our Savior. We ended our night with a family service project. It felt good to do something for others, people that we will never meet.

Just today while I was at the gym, I was talking to a couple ladies who watch the younger children. Both of them struggle financially and have been recipients of others' kindness and generosity. One is a divorced mom trying to make ends meet while working, attending college and being a mother to her children. The other lady's family has struggled this whole year with her husband being out of work. She talked about how someone was doing the 12 days of Christmas for their family.

I asked her, "Do you ever try to catch them so you will know who it is?" She admitted that she has being trying to catch them each night but hasn't yet successfully caught them. Last night she was waiting by a window peeking through the blinds when her husband called her to family prayer. She didn't want to leave the window because it was about that time of night when her doorbell rang for the 12 days of Christmas gifts. Hesitantly she left a moment to join her family for prayer - and it was in that short time that the people came and she missed them again!

She said, "I just want to know who loves me so much to do this for my family." She has left a thank you card expressing her gratitude and she yearns to thank the anonymous giver. Her story really touched my heart and I was again reminded that I am so blessed and I can help bless the lives of others.

President Dieter F. Uchtorf has stated, “Disciples of Christ throughout all ages of the world have been distinguished by their compassion. … In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance. Let us open our eyes and see the heavy hearts, notice the loneliness and despair; let us feel the silent prayers of others around us, and let us be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to answer those prayers” (“Happiness, Your Heritage,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2008, 119, 120). I know there are many people around us that need our extra love, support and prayers this holiday season and through the year. It feels good to be an instrument in the Lord's hands, I just need to take advantage of this more often.

Vivian Interviews Smokey

Vivian asked me to teach her how to record video clips on my camera. So I taught her how to both take videos and then switch it over to take photos. So she took all these little video clips. Finally she came downstairs telling me that Smokey bit her. I saw a scratch mark on her arm but nothing serious. I told her that Smokey was tired of photos and videos and that he just wanted to sleep. If I was a cat, I would have done the same thing. I don't like being bugged during my naps - that is totally off limits.

Notice how Smokey did not want to participate in this interview - I don't even think he opened his eyes!

P.S. You will notice that the girls bed was not made this morning! Oh, no--don't call the bed police on me. We all had to get up and ready (girls even had a bath) and be to the dentist at 9 am - with all four kids!

Christmas Count Down - 4 days! Decorated Gingerbread Houses

Here is my house covered in my favorite candies! We believe in eating the candy off our houses, so I carefully choose which ones I use!

This is Paul's simple, yet elegant house. He said that this house is his theme for the next year - "Simplify".

Vivian carefully and symmetrically decorated her home all by herself! Very lovely, Vivian.

Olivia creatively made a marshmallow fence with a snow covered yard! Very beautiful, Olivia.

Porter got very creative with the ice-cream cones. He also had some yellow snow on the side of his yard - you can guess why it is yellow!

Corbin got a little gory with his gingerbread men - I guess this is a teenage phase! Very nice, colorful house.

We had all this decorating fun with the Richael's (pronounced Riles - if you are wondering...many people mispronounce their name). This has been our yearly tradition together - this is our 3rd year. (Corbin was missing in this picture but he was at the activity - he left for a friend Christmas party before the picture).

Okay, we had a lot of fun, too. This picture was taken for Craig- he loves photos (probably just as much as Paul)!

Now that the pictures have been taken the kids are free to eat whatever they want off their house!

Christmas Count Down - 5 days! "A Light Unto All" Video

Share this video with your family! Christ's birth is a light unto us all. He is the gift to the world. I am so grateful for my Savior for His life and example. I know that He loves me and you. May we make this celebration of His birth a joyful time of the year with our family and loved ones and carry it with us through the new year. --Tiffani


For more Christmas videos click here. If you don't have a copy of the video "Joy to the World", you may click here to get a free copy.

Flag Football Every Saturday!

This morning I received a frantic phone call from Paul. He said, "Tiff, I did something really foolish and I need your help."

After hearing that my head was spinning...I wondered what was wrong. Did he get in a car accident or run into something? Then he continued, "I'm at football and I left the bag of flags in the garage and the guys are waiting and upset."

Oh, that I can manage - that's not so bad after all...at least to me! So I jump in the van and meet him down at the high school football field. While I am there I have to snap a couple photos just for memories sake!

I had to jump over this concrete barrier to get to the field!

Chad, my brother, who gave me a decent hug today and Paul! (Help me someone....why do my photos blur after I put them in photoscape?) Hey Chad, if you see this post and give me a call - you will win a prize!

Christmas Count Down - 6 days! Step 2: Gingerbread House Assembly

Step Two: Assembly

This step just takes a little patience. I like to do this step when I am alone - because I need concentration to put these little houses together without burning myself. Keep the kids away!

First: you need to make a platform for your house. I cover cardboard with tinfoil!

Next, you need to make the glue for your house. I simply add sugar to a sauce pan with nothing else. Heat this on medium heat until it melts.

Here it begins to melt and clump...keep going!

Finally all the sugar is melted. At this point it turns a darker brown and is very hot - don't get this on your skin it will burn instantly. I prefer this to royal icing because it sets quick and it is very easy if you are careful.

I begin with dipping two of the house pieces in the melted sugar.

Hold these for a couple seconds on your platform until it holds.

Then dip your third piece and add it to your house.

Finally I attach the back of the house last and I'm done!

At last the houses are put together and ready for decoration!

Click here to see the decorated houses!

Christmas Count Down - 7 days! Gingerbread House Step 1

Every year one of our Christmas traditions is to bake and decorate gingerbread houses - from scratch! The kid look forward to decorating their houses with the most possible candy because they come back and eat it all off the house (we use regular cake frosting not the egg white frosting - so it's safe).

So last night I made the dough, cut out the pieces and baked them - that is step 1. I like to break this down into a couple days so that it doesn't become overwhelming. The gingerbread recipe is on my family's recipe blog - click here!

To make the house, you first need to make a pattern (like shown above). There are two pieces- an isosceles triangle and a rectangle (cut 2 of each shape for one house). The triangle measures 5 1/4" on the two long sides and 4" on the short side, the rectangle measures 5 1/4" x 3 1/2. Then one one triangle you may choose to cut out a door.

Roll out your dough on an upside down cookie sheet - about 1/4" thick. Then use your pattern pieces and cut them out using a pizza cutter. It cuts nice clean lines and it super easy.

Here are enough pieces for two houses. The dough is ready for the oven. Give them space because they will enlarge- just like a cookie.

This is fresh out of the oven, you see how my pieces grew together. This is where I take my pattern and lay it over the top of each piece and trim them down so that they are uniform again. Do this immediately after it comes out of the oven while the gingerbread is hot because it will cut nicely with the pizza cutter. If you wait, then you won't be able to cut it because it will be too hard.

Here are the pieces trimmed and ready to cool.

I made enough gingerbread pieces to build six houses. You will have some extra dough, so you may consider cutting out some decorations with cookie cutters (trees, candy canes, little gingerbread people) or one year I made a tiny house and decorated it for the dog!

Click here for Step Two: Easy Assembly without the Royal Frosting!

Click here if you want to see last year's 2008 Gingerbread House creations and/or here for 2007 houses.

Christmas Count Down - 8 days! Printable Tags, Boxes, etc.

I found some cute printable items for your Christmas wrapping needs. Look at that adorable box above - all you do is print and assemble! I just found these awesome links and ideas from my new favorite blog, How About Orange (I LOVE her colors, patterns, projects and design).















Look at these cute gift tags and note cards!

And more downloadable tags!