O Come, Emmanuel

I love John Schmidt (pianist) and Steven Sharp (cellist) also known as the Piano Guys.  I have seen them in concert and they are amazing!  

Wise Men Still Seek Him

Merry Christmas! The best gift is giving of ourselves to others in need. 

Merry Christmas: 2011 Family Newsletter and Photo slideshow

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or Click here for our 2011 photo highlights (courtesy of Smilebox)

Lessons Learned in 2011

Last Christmas, Tiffani asked for chickens and dirt.  After a warm discussion on the definition of nice, followed by leg wrestling and other games of high stamina and skill, Santa acquiesced. 

This Christmas finds our family in a different house, in a new ward, with newfound friends, a more particular definition of nice, and a lifestyle surrounded by dirt and chickens. An acreage is actually a wonderful institution akin to a mental facility or a prison.  Here are some of the lessons we learned this year: 

Lesson 1: The more yard you have, the more work you have.  We now know the meaning of “sweat of thy brow.”  We are no strangers to taming weeds, chain-sawing mighty trees, and sore muscles.

We have also added to our skills. The boys took down a half mile of fence, constructed a new fence around the pasture, and learned how to irrigate with siphon tubes.  The ladies familiarized themselves with chicken whispering, rooster costumes, goat roping, and narrowly escaping the dirtier jobs.  Further lesson: life is not fair. Period.

Since our acreage is not large enough to be called a farm or ranch, we have labeled it our Acres of Fun.  At times, the children appear fooled or at least mildly confused.

Lesson 2: A Mini Cooper is not to be confused with a Rig, as it does not pull stumps or haul hogs. Calling it a Rig in the presence of persons driving a Rig almost always meets with disapproval.  Case in point, the first stump that Paul tried to pull out with the Cooper ended up besting the blue machine.  Turns out that it has a pulling capacity of -3.  It actually drives the stump deeper into the ground and digs holes in the lawn.  The non-Rig is also a useless tool if you are hankering to load hay, drive across a pasture, or clear snow.  A minivan, on the other hand, is adaptable for most of the above purposes.  Not ideal, but adaptable with a little help from “How To” Google searches. 

Lesson 3: When you move away from a neighborhood or city, you must drive more if you want to participate in activities.  While the Cooper is not much for pulling stumps or hauling hogs, it gets good gas mileage.  This came in handy with Paul fulfilling duties with the young men in the ward, Corbin’s cross country and tennis events, Olivia and Vivian going back and forth to dance class and recitals, and Porter playing soccer.  The versatile van (miniRig) was useful for Tiffani’s daily trips to the gym and her Relief Society duties.

Lesson 4:  Pigs are strong, messy creatures that have no business in a passenger vehicle.  The cloven-hooved Red Berkshires arrived in May, courtesy of a local farmer.  On the day in question, Corbin and Paul pulled up to the pig factory in the versatile minivan (purportedly Corbin’s idea).  The confused dealer of hogs asked what the city boys were going to use to haul the pigs.  Rubbermaid totes were produced from the rear of the van with a smile.  A subsequent smile appeared on the farmer’s face, for a variety of other reasons.  In response to the farmer’s smile, the lids for the totes and a disjointed explanation came forth, followed by the farmer’s raised eyebrows and larger, knowing smile.  

After a blur of activity that is still debated and under review, the ride home commenced.  Unbeknownst to Paul and Corbin, these particularly sensitive pigs did not enjoy leisurely rides while stacked one on top of another in Rubbermaid totes  -- or any brand totes, for that matter.  The less fortunate animal (dubbed Bacon) ended up in the bottom bunk while the larger, toothier brute (aka Ham) engaged in mortal combat with Corbin.   With a tear in his eye and one hand over his nose, Paul gazed fondly in the rearview mirror as Corbin crossed from boy to man.  Corbin grew wiser that day as he discovered that hymns, the birthday song, and furtive neck massages do not calm wild-eyed, bucking swine.  Similarly ineffective are full-nelsons, various unnamed wrestling positions, or unintelligible bursts of yelling.  Corbin may say otherwise, but you just can’t divine that information in any other manner.

After the fray, it was intuited that the clever creatures can spray their digested matter out of confined areas when provoked.  Although the male members of our family observed this fact with objective and scientific minds, the female members (the tallest one, especially) were not as clinical or welcome to new knowledge.  Warm water and soap were quickly produced and most of the evidence was removed. The remainder of the residue mimics food splatters and is only noticeable when delightfully pointed out to guests by the two youngest Winwards.

Curiously, the receipt for the pigs was labeled “2 wieners” rather than “2 weaners.”  We are under strong suspicion that the farmer listed the new owners on the receipt, and not the newly-weaned pigs.  

In closing, those are a few of the gems from 2011.  Through it all, we have learned the value of working together as a family and taming the previously untamed.  At worst, these are valuable lessons for parenthood.  At best, we plan to be on speaking terms after the children are grown and gone.   We highly recommend it for anyone who has too much spare time or if you feel like your hands are too soft.   

Merry Christmas, friends and family.  We love you and welcome a visit anytime.  You are particularly welcome if you bring a shovel and gloves.

Love,

Paul (oldest), Tiffani (forever young), Corbin (15), Porter (12), Olivia (10), Vivian (7)

Ward Christmas Dinner

 Vivian with Santa

 We are enjoying a nice dinner (thanks to RS - I was in charge of the salad) with Nicole, Breanna, and Dylan.

Christmas Food Court - Hallelujah Chorus

Paul showed me this video last night!  This was at the Gateway Mall in SLC.  It's powerful!

Christmas 2010

 We had a wonderful Christmas even though we are in the flurry of packing and moving. 

Everyone received aprons for Christmas so now we have our own! 

A note from Santa!

 Paul reads us the story, I Believe in Santa Claus, every year.

  My favorite gift this year was the book, Miracle on the Mall,  which retells the Restoring Honor Rally held in Washington DC on 8/28 that Tonya and I attended. 

Santa left a Foosball table in our home-to-be!

The girls each left a note and treat for Santa, they are looking at this note in return thanking them for the goodies.

Paul pulled a joke on me and wrapped up the unique cake stand that I tried leaving in the Richael's van.

Build-a-bears, Webkinz, clothes, toys, and a cowboy hat!

Time with Santa

The girls took advantage of sitting on Santa's lap at our ward Christmas breakfast.

Gingerbread Houses

 Our family has been making homemade gingerbread houses for years.  This is our third year making them with the Richael family!  Even though the houses look the same to begin with, they all end up to be very unique, colorful, and delicious (that's if you pick your candy off your house, like me).

Click here for the recipe and instructions - part 1 and part 2 assembly.

 Porter's house

 Corbin's house

 Smokey's house (this is miniture)

 Vivian's house

 Olivia's house

 Tiff's House

Paul's house

What Shall We Give?

"To catch the real meaning of the spirit of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable and it becomes the spirit of Christ."

"If we are to have the very best Christmas ever, we must reach out for the carpenter's hand.  With every step we take in His foot steps, we abandon a doubt and gain a truth."
   President Thomas S. Monson

Holiday Dessert Recipes toTry - 15 more days until Christmas!

I thought this jello looked interesting - I've never seen anything like this. Glass Block Holiday Jello recipe from Our Best Bites -here.

I just bought some wide mouth half pint jars to make pie-in-a-jar.  Now I can also make these Peppermint Fudge Cupcakes in a Jar (also from Our Best Bites).

If you know me, you know that I LOVE pecan pie.  So when I came across this recipe at "Anissa's Kitchen" for Pecan Pie Bars I was thrilled!

Don't these Candy Cane Kiss Cookies from the "Recipe Girl" look fantastic -they would be very fun for a cookie exchange.

 

This (get ready for the long name) Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Choco-Peanut Butter Glaze  at "A Bountiful Kitchen" has to be a hit.  As I read through the list of ingredients, it sounds to-die-for.  I love chocolate and peanut butter together.  In fact, it was the last flavor of shake that I ate at the A.C. Drive In.

 

This time of year I love biscotti with my hot chocolate (we drink lots of this in our family).   Here is a recipe for Lemon Pistachio Biscotti from another fabulous recipe blog, "And Now for Something Completely Delicious".

 

When I found this Upside Down German Chocolate Cake recipe at "See Jane Cook", it sounded like the very cake that Kim made for my birthday.  It was so delicious and moist! It only calls for six ingredients and looks easy.

 

Oh, so many new recipes to try!  This Pistachio and Cranberry White Chocolate Bark  from the "Brown Eyed Baker" looks so festive and delicious.

 I bought a couple jars of Nutella at Costco and have been wondering what I can do with it, besides lick it from a spoon.  This Pumpkin Nutella Swirl Bread from "Real Mom Kitchen" looks delicious!  This recipe can also be made into muffins, my kids might just love this.

I just made the this bread this morning into small muffins (a little bigger than the mini-muffins).  They were absolutely delicious!  I baked this small size for 12 1/2 minutes.

Countdown to Christmas - 19 days!

On Sunday I found this link to more Christmas music.  It was nice getting ready for church while listening to uplifting, beautiful music.  Here is the link - enjoy!

Countdown to Christmas - 20 days!

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 One of our annual traditions is to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, which airs tonight!  Here is all the information.

Church members and their friends are cordially invited to view the satellite broadcast of the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. The program will originate from the Conference Center on Sunday, December 5, 2010, at 6:00 p.m. MST. This devotional will include Christmas messages from the First Presidency and music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square.

For live audio broadcast of this devotional, visit Mormon Channel. For live audio and video broadcast, visit the Church’s broadcast page.

This devotional will also be available on various broadcast, cable, satellite, and Internet television stations and broadcast, satellite, and Internet radio stations throughout the world, including Mormon Channel HD Radio. Check local program listings for availability in your area, or visit Mormon Channel, or BYU Broadcasting for more information.

Full print versions of the devotional addresses will be available on LDS.org on Wednesday, December 8, along with video segments from the devotional. Audio archives will be available on Friday, December 10.

Countdown to Christmas - 21 days!

Thanks Discount Queens for letting us know about this again. "It's back! Amazon will be offering a free MP3 music download of a new Christmas song each day until Christmas! Once each song has been revealed, it will be available for the remaining days, so no rush to download each day.

You'll also find a TON of other free music, including Veggie Tales Christmas Album, A Timeless Christmas Album and so much more!!!"

Head over HERE to see what's available today.

Wreaths - Make Your Own

Do you want a monogrammed wreath?  I think you can buy giant letters at Joann's- here are the instructions from Dittle Dattle.

 This is a coffee filter wreath from the Nesting Place.  Check out her post for a cool coffee filter light pendant!

Learn how easy it is to make a wreath with your ornaments - she just strung them on a hanger.  Check out Thrifty Decor Chick's post.

This is my favorite wreath - it's simply gorgeous.  Learn how to make this faux curled rosewood wreath made out of recycle book pages by Under the Table and Dreaming.

 

 Create your own ribbon wreath with help from She's Kinda Crafty.

I love this felt wreath - click here for instructions from Domestifluff!

Check out this eclectic yarn wreath at The Little Apartment.

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!