Christmas 2011

This year there were two very special new additions to our Christmas gift exchange. It was Gabriel's first Christmas, and my soon to be sister-in-law also joined us! That's right, my big brother is getting married to a wonderful, beautiful woman names Allison. Part of our tradition is stocking stuffers. So here are Gabriel and Allison with their new stockings. Well, actually, Gabriel just crawled over everyone's stalkings, but his is the one with the "G" on it.

Papa helped Gabriel open his stalking stuffers.

But Gabriel new exactly what to do when it came to tissue paper.

Great Grandma made him a quilt with cars and plains and his birth information in the middle. If you can't tell, there is an eyeball on the side of the car.  That's in remembrance of my mom's first car. Apparently it had a giant eyeball on the side of it, and everyone still talks about "the eyeball car" to this day.

It was a great Christmas, because we spent it with family.

Merry Christmas From The Four Of Us

We shared some great news with our family when we sent this picture on Christmas day.

"Merry Christmas From The Four Of Us!"

My first Dr appointment is this week. So there will be more updates to come.

Yearly Christmas Ornaments

Richard and I have started a tradition where we add a new ornament to our tree each year which represents something that happened within that year. It's so much fun to see the collection begin to grow. Each ornament has stories attached to it.

Our first year, we got the Hawaiian ornament from our honeymoon in Hawaii. We went to Kauaii and the big island.

 The second year, we traveled to Europe. We visited Paris and London. In London, we collected this crown ornament which represents the royal family.

This year, I made an ornament to represent Gabriel's birth. It's a block with his picture and his birth information. I plan to do this ornament for each of our children in the year they are born.

Carrots From The Garden

I finally got around to pulling carrots from the garden. They've been in there for a looooong time. We have a ton of them, and they turned out great! Some are huge, and some are tiny. All of them are yummy. With the cold weather, I've been making lots of stews, and crock pot recipes that call for carrots. We also go through a lot of carrots with hummus. It's so much fun to eat what we've grown in our own backyard!

Fruit Salad

Here's a fruit salad recipe that I can't get enough of. Janice (aka Grandma) made this for us over Thanksgiving, and I am making it all the time at home.

2 apples, cut into chunks
1 banana, sliced
1 cutie, sliced
handful of grapes, halved
peaches, cut up
yogurt (my favorite is the peach flavored kind)

Mix it all together and enjoy! I also add some sliced almonds and raisins sometimes.

Trash Truck Cake

My neighbor, Michael, just turned 5 years old. I was so excited when he asked me to make his birthday cake. It was quite the challenge, because he wanted a trash truck cake! Michael LOVES trash trucks. He likes to watch them pick up the trash cans or dumpsters and turn them over into their big trash piles. He knows the different kinds of trucks. There are side loaders, which pick up the residential bins (his favorite). Then there are the big trucks which pick up dumpsters. There are also three kinds of bins. He calls them recycle, green and stinky trash. Michael even knows all the names of the garbage men. I wouldn't be surprised if he has their autographs!

Well, here is the cake I made for Michael's birthday.

Happy Birthday Michael!

Easy Peasy DIY Christmas Wreaths

Here are two DIY wreaths for Christmas time.

(1) Front door wreath.

Buy a mostly decorated wreath on sale at the craft store, along with some shiny stuff to add to it.

Add those shiny pieces in, twisting them to make sure they're secure.

Hang on your front door. Tada!

 

(2) Christmas card wreath

You'll need a coat hanger, red pony beads, clothes pins, spray paint and ribbon.

Bend the coat hanger into a circle.

Spray paint clothes pins.

Put beads and clothes pins on the hanger.

 When you come to the end, use a hot glue gun to hold it together.

Tie a ribbon around it and hang on the wall.

 When you get all those pretty Christmas cards, display then on your wreath for everyone to see!