Category: Uncategorized

Just a note.

Yes, it’s still snowing.
No, we still haven’t gotten mail in a week.
Yes, our road finally got plowed out about two hours ago!!
AND one of our neighbors even surprised us by snow-blowing our driveway!!
Yes, we were able to have our Christmas party.
No, we are decidedly not dampened by the weather.
WE ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT OUR INCREDIBLY WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Woo hoo, wading through butt-deep snow is FUNFUNFUN!!!

🙂
the end.

So…. our entire county is practically snowed in. Woo hoo! It’s awesome. Unprecedented and gorgeous. 🙂 Thankfully Steven can work from home, so he was blessed not to have to take the last 2 1/2 days of the workweek unpaid. Praise the Lord! And it gave me lots of time to finish up all my Christmas baking! Today I just did a double batch of cookies plus four kinds of breads (whole wheat, pretzel white, banana, & gingerbread), after yesterday doing two kinds of cookies and another day doing three kinds of cookies. Yay for being done a week before Christmas!! I also got all of our gifts wrapped and under the tree. So pretty!
And today we went on a Family Outing in the knee-deep snow: we delivered plates of Christmas cookies to our neighbors. We knew they’d be home,  since no one is really leaving their homes at all. 🙂 We have 27 inches right now, with more in the forecast. So pretty!! I loves it muchly. 🙂 And it’s been super fun trying to introduce Gabriel to his first big snow.

…going to WalMart yesterday for a couple things, most importantly, peppermint extract… just to find out that there is only ONE bottle left and it is waaaaay back on the top shelf, laying down… so a tall gentleman worker reached it for me and I emphatically said THANKS & gave it to Gabriel to hold while I looked for bagel chips… but of course they are not carrying bagel chips currently… so I go to the check-out counter to find that the peppermint extract has disappeared!… so I put all my things back in the cart and truck around the entire grocery section again to find where Gabriel dropped it… to no avail… asked some other worker… no help… checked out sans peppermint extract, with hopes of Safeway coming through… drive to Safeway, get myself & the baby out into the heavily falling snow and “skate” across the icy parking lot… to find that they too are OUT of peppermint extract!!

My next endeavor? To find the perpetrator that has bought up all the peppermint extract in my county. 😉
Haha.
And in the meanwhile, I settled with Mint Extract to make my chocolate-mint cookies.

The End.

…standing in the post office line for 35 minutes with a fussy baby on my hip, just to get to the counter & realize 1) they don’t take credit OR debit, 2) I have $13 in my wallet, 3) my package is a couple bucks more than that. Oops. 🙂

…temperatures between 0 and 9 degrees so far since I awoke this morning, and then spending the last HOUR trying to keep the stoves stoked & blazing… cuz they don’t want to stay lit!

…making “plans” but realizing that God + Gabriel frequently change my plans!

…bemoaning the local radio station for its plethora of stupid ads + repetitive stupid songs, and then finding my new love of PANDORA.COM!!! woo hoo 🙂

Yes, I guess it has been longer since I’ve posted than I thought…
So, here are current random thoughts & updates.

• we are expecting A NIECE & A NEPHEW in just a couple more months! Ashley and the babies are all doing really well. Here’s a pic — aren’t they beautiful?? Love them. Plus, this pic cracks me up.
• 
• it’s a superbly exciting time of year for our family as we celebrate the season of Advent and soon Christmas! It makes for a super busy me… since we are trying to go as homemade as possible. So there has been less interneting (new verb for me) and more crafting. And since I can’t post pics of gifts, you get no proof of the pudding. Poor you.
• the teaching semester is about to end, so I am looking forward to having a few weeks off from music lessons. I love the kids I teach this year, but it will be nice to have a bit of a break. I’ve been doing piano, harp, & choir a lot in church lately… and am doing all the music at our Christmas Eve service… so yeah, lots of music going on ’round here!
• Gabriel is continuing to grow up so much. At 6 1/2 months he is just over 17 pounds (so okay, maybe the turkey was a little too big…), and 27 inches tall. He hates being on his tummy so there is so inclination to crawl whatsoever. I’m totally okay with that. 🙂 He does love to walk though! He will stand up “on his own” if his back is against the couch, or my knee, or something. And if you hold his hands, he tries to walk around the house. It’s super cute. His favorite things are: baths, cuddling with Grandmama, Baby Bach on the computer, playing with my silicone basting brush, his blankie, playing peek-a-boo, and riding around on my back. We are more in love with this little boy every day. Praise God for this gift!
• 
• I’ve realized that my “occupation” (homemaking + mommyhood) is so vast. That might be obvious, but hey — I take a while to catch on sometimes. Also, I’ve concluded that it is simultaneously the most glorious & the most humbling thing I have ever done.
• the Lord continues to be my strength for both the big and the small. And I am seeking daily to lean on HIS understanding and toss away my own understanding. This is a never-ending endeavor, but God has been so gracious recently in teaching me. I am thankful.
• Steven was hired into a new position and while ago (I think I already wrote a post about that, but I continue to be SO PROUD of him, his diligence, and his hard work!!) and is doing really well. We passed our 18-month-iversary recently, and feel more in love all the time. I used to laugh when people said “it just gets better with time” — but that was before I was married. Now I know the cliche is true. I love this man. And happy birthday to him, too — we just celebrated his 26th!
• 
• we are hooked on a new dvd series — 24. Wow, I am so addicted. I check the mail far too often, waiting for the next disc to arrive. haha.
• I am gearing up to make Christmas cookies — sugar cookies, gingersnaps, peanut butter blossoms, chocolate thumbprints… am I missing any family favorites??

Blessings upon you. Thanks for checking in on us. We are a busy family. A thankful family. A so-in-love family. We praise God for all of this! Happy Advent !

Steven and Gabriel on Thanksgiving!

Gabriel’s first snow!

Gabriel’s first Christmas tree!

Gabriel was the same weight as his first Thanksgiving turkey!

Here’s the tree, all decorated and twinkly.

And here is my mitten Advent Calendar. I actually just finished stuffing each one with chocolates and Scripture verses. I still need to attach the hanger to it, so it can go on the wall. 🙂

It’s so sad to see your little baby, all laid-out with crummy croup.
In his little eyes you can just see his silent wail, “Mommy, make it better!”
Warm fire, steamy bathroom, Tylenol, and tons of cuddles on Mommy’s lap — we’re trying. 🙂

Here you go, Laura!
To the best that my memory serves me, this is what I did. 🙂

S’MORES BARS
Cream 1 cup butter (room temperature) with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup sugar. Add 2 eggs and 1-2 tsp vanilla.
Whir (is that a word??) up about a dozen or so full-sized graham crackers in the food processor. Add 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and 2 1/2 cups (or so) flour. Basically, it should be cookie dough consistency. 🙂

Press half of the graham cracker cookie dough into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes.

Dump a bunch of chocolate chips (maybe 2 1/2 cups?) on top of the dough, so it is pretty much completely covered. Then dump a bunch of mini marshmallows (probably 3 cups) on top of that, until covered.

Take the remaining half of the graham cracker cookie dough and make a sort of “top crust“: I did this by making shingles/puzzle pieces (whatever word works for you!) out of it, pressing small portions between my fingers and laying them on top.

Put it back into the oven for another 10-12 minutes, or until the cookie top is “set” and golden.

ENJOY!!!!

Today: I needed to get some things done around the house, so I tied Gabriel onto my back in a “rucksack with a twist”, and he loved it! Even took his nap there. 🙂

Yesterday: after church, we had a family afternoon of food and fun. Gabriel learned that tummy-time has some fun aspects, my mom made some amazing food, and I got to hear the twins’ heartbeats too!

Recently: Gabriel decided he likes to laugh at himself in the mirror, and Dilly decided she likes to nap with Gabriel!

Last week: Gabriel discovered that his feet are super duper fun! And Mommy discovered that she likes making “matching faces” with her baby boy.

One day: I created my own recipe for S’mores Bars. I’m a huge fan. And Gabriel looks cute in his collared shirt & tiny cord’s!

When the men worked outside: Grandpapa came over to bring Daddy some manure from the farm for our garden next year. Gabriel liked watching them work out the window. And he wore machinery on his clothes to make him feel all manly too. 🙂