Time Flies By

2011 wasn't a super eventful year for us; however, there were some fun things we did, as well as some big projects we accomplished on our farm.

 Last March, Matt and I went skiing with my family.  We stayed in this beautiful cabin and had a wonderful time RESTING and having fun.

 While we were gone, the kids stayed with Grandma Carmen and Auntie Mary.  Grandpa  Bob was on a test trip for Polaris, but the girls had fun with the kids.

 We went camping a couple times.  This was the last time; it was in August and not very good camping weather; we had fun anyway, though.


 Mark L., Nikki, Matt, Nathan, and I did a big baling thing this summer; we baled a couple thousand straw bales to sell for a little extra income.  It wasn't tons of fun, but it's nice to be able to make a little extra money.  Of course, the kids were tons of help, too.

Adina became very proficient in helping on the farm.  She loved baling! (Not really....but sometimes the only thing that worked was to take the kids with us, so they had to deal with a little extra tractor time.)

 Adina celebrated her first birthday.  We had a big party at our house with lots of family - cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-aunts and uncles.  The weather turned out perfect, which was wonderful, since our house is kind of small for everyone to fit in at once.

 Matt's parents, Bob and Carmen, celebrated their 40th anniversary on July 3rd.  Their children threw them a big party on the 1st, and they had a great time seeing and celebrating with everyone.  Congrats, Bob and Carmen!

 Matt and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary on August 25th.  Four years of happy, wedded bliss. :)

 Mom, Nikki, and I spent many hours canning salsa, tomatoes, bean pickles, etc.  We love canning - especially all together.
We don't love when Jacki drops her box of salsa down the basement stairs, though. 

I won't ever repeat that.

I promise.

 Clarence has turned into such a mini-Matt over the year.  He loves everything about farming, working cows, and helping his daddy.  He has a lot of energy like his daddy, too. 

His life revolves around cows. 

Whether it's actually helping Matt, playing with his toy cows, or fencing Adina and I in in the kitchen with chairs as his fence, he never stops thinking about cows.

 We love our cows. :)

 We finished a huge fencing project this fall.........

It was a lot of work........

We're glad all we have left are the cross-fences and hooking up the waterers.

The cows have enjoyed grass all fall up until today, when we finally got enough snow to really cover all the grass.  They like all the extra room, too.

 And, we had a lot of great help from these two cute  kids.

 Matt dug up dirt in the back of the house and we poured cement for our addition.  However, since it snowed today, I might be waiting until spring.  We'll see.......Be patient, Jacki!

 The were cute little horses for Halloween.  They loved eating candy and eating more candy.   Adina really indulged that night.......every time I looked at her, she was eating a different kind of candy.

Good thing Halloween only falls one night of the year!

 Clarence celebrated his 3rd birthday.  He loved it - especially when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him...he requested it over and over and over.  We had his party at mom and dad's cabin because there's more room there to house everyone indoors. 

 Clarence participated in his first Christmas program at church.  He did such a good job and was so cute to watch!  After that, we had the grandparents, aunts, uncles and new cousin, Harley, over for brunch.

 Cousin Harley Larson was born December 9th.  We love having a new baby in the family - and he's so good!  And cute!  I love holding him - he doesn't move - and he's so tiny!  It's crazy how fast they grow.

Clarence loves holding Harley every time he sees him.  He's such a nice big cousin!



Our 2011 flew by. As I look back at the pictures, I can't believe how little Adina was just a year ago.  She  was chubby and tiny, didn't walk, and didn't have any hair.  Now, she follows Clarence's every move, has gobs of hair (not really), and has really stretched out.  And Clarence  - he had wild Einstein hair, was so little, didn't talk that well, etc.  Now, he's such a little boy.  He's potty trained, looks like a big boy, talks about going to school, is naughty, then nice, then naughty, then nice, etc.  He's three....I can't believe it!

Have a great New Year's Eve!  See you next year!

Granola

I made granola this morning; it is delicious! I got the recipe a few years ago from my cousin Shannon.  I like to eat granola in yogurt or as a cereal.  It makes a great snack or breakfast.  It's also very versatile; you can add whatever you like in granola to it.  You can also half or quarter the batch since everything is in even increments.  I made a half a batch this morning so I don't get stuck with too much, since it makes a huge batch!  (If you make the whole batch, it will fill up a big tupperware fix-n-mix bowl.)

Granola

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey or corn syrup or pancake syrup (whichever you have on hand)
1 cup molasses
1 cup oil

Heat these four ingredients on medium on the stove until the peanut butter is melted and it seems mixed through.  Pour over:

12 cups oatmeal
1 bag coconut
chopped nuts (whatever kind you like....I used almonds and chopped pecans in mine)
you can also add raisins or craisins if you'd like

Mix together.  Pour into two 9X13 pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Let cool in the pans, then store in ziploc bag or airtight container.  Enjoy! 

Wonderful Christmas Weekend

Our Christmas weekend went by so fast; we were here, there, and everywhere. 

We started Friday evening at my aunt and uncle's house (my dad's family).  We had a great time hanging out with everyone. Usually, there is time to play games, but everything was kind of drawn out, so we weren't able to do that after presents.

Christmas Eve, Matt got sick.  He slept nearly all day; he missed Christmas Eve church, which saddened me and him, because I love being all together Christmas Eve.  The Christmas Eve service was wonderful - once I've gotten over my childrens' naughty behavior - because of the wonderful music, the Christmas story, and being around other people who came to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

We went to my parents' house that night and had a relaxing evening.  Matt went in his sweatpants and tried hard to relax and rest.  It was tough, though, because he felt so awful.  We had fun, though, with mom's wonderful supper and giving gifts to each other.

Sunday morning, the kids got up to see what Santa brought them; they got a few little things from Matt and I, and we enjoyed being home together for the morning.  Matt was still sick, though, and didn't get out to do chores until later in the afternoon; his dad came by to help, which was wonderful. 

We headed to Roseau when they finished and had fun visiting, eating, and opening presents with Matt's dad's family.  After that, we headed back to Hallock to my Uncle Jeff's house to be with my mom's family and my cousins.  The kids had fun playing and taking a bath together.  Then, we headed back to Roseau to stay at Matt parents' house.  It was late and a really long day, but we managed; I guess next year, though, we'll need to work out a more practical plan.  It doesn't really make much sense, I know, but it's so hard to miss out on seeing family. 

We stayed all day Monday at Bob and Carmen's.  Monday afternoon, I brought Matt into the doctor in Roseau.  He still wasn't feeling better.  He was given antibiotics, which seemed to help.  Tuesday, Matt, Clarence, Bob and Mark came over to our house to feed cows, get Mark's pickup, and Mark's fish house.  Adina and I stayed in Roseau to hang out with Carmen, Mary and Uncle Mike.  We had a nice, relaxing couple of days.  It was fun hanging out with both of our families. 

However, now that we're home and trying to pick things up, we're realizing that it's hard to get through the boxes of gifts our kids got.  It's overwhelming; they got so many clothes, toys, and winter snowpants/hats/gloves/boots.  I'll be slowly working at finding homes for everything.  It was a wonderful Christmas: from seeing family, spending time together, being with our great kids, and celebrating the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus. 

Christmas Cookies

I haven't done much Christmas baking yet, but here are a few recipes I'd like to make today or tomorrow.  I probably won't do many more batches, but a couple would make me feel like I made somewhat of an effort.  And, I love to bake, so it's fun to try something new.  Here they are:

This first recipe only makes 15 cookies, so I'll probably double it.

Mocha Truffle Cookies

 
Photo by: Taste of Home
Mocha Truffle Cookies RecipeMocha Truffle Cookies Recipe

• 15 Servings
• Prep: 15 min. Bake: 10 min. + cooling

15 10 25Ingredients

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1-1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons baking cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup English toffee bits or almond brickle chips
• 1 ounce milk chocolate, melted

Directions

• In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate; stir until smooth. Stir in coffee granules until dissolved; cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl. Add the sugars, egg and vanilla.
• Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; add to chocolate mixture and mix well. Stir in toffee bits.
• Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray.
• Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle with melted milk chocolate. Yield: 15 cookies.

_______________________________________________

These cookies also look very easy and delicious!

Photo by: Taste of Home Santa's Sugar Cookies Recipe 0Chocolate-Dipped Sugar Cookies

Chocolate-Dipped Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Dash salt
• 1 package (11-1/2 ounces) milk chocolate chips, melted
• 14 peppermint candies, crushed

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cream of tartar and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm.
• Shape dough into 3/4-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
• Dip one end of each cookie into melted chocolate; sprinkle with crushed peppermint. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set. Yield: 4 dozen.

• 48 Servings
• Prep: 30 min. + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling
30 10 40

Enjoy your holiday baking!

And, happy 2nd day of winter!

Clarence's First Program

Clarence had his first Sunday School Program this past Sunday.  He did so well! His part was going up front to talk to a shepherd who had witnessed Jesus' birth and talk about what a shepherd does.  He told them that shepherds "pet the sheep".  He also went up front to sing.  He sang nice and loud, though he didn't know the songs.  He was a little behind everyone else, but had wonderful enthusiasm.  Here are some pictures from church.

Clarence and his friend, Anna, coming out to sit in their pew before the program started.

Up front talking to the shepherd and his sheep with Anna and his favorite neighbor, Macy.

Up front singing "Welcome, welcome, baby Jesus".  You can see here he's tired of his tie.  Apparently (I wasn't watching - that's me sitting to the rt. of Clarence playing piano), he started  pulling on it until it came off, then threw it on the ground.

Then, all the pre-schoolers got instruments for one of their songs.  They loved it and did pretty well only playing their instruments during the song.

Clarence and his friend, Kiefer, were dressed exactly the same.  It was so cute! Clarence wouldn't stand still for the picture, either, but Kiefer just stood there with his hands in his pockets and a smile.

Later, everyone (grandparents, aunts, and uncles) came over to our house for brunch.  We spent much of the afternoon taking pictures.  My mom wanted one with her grandkids for her Christmas card...things didn't start out very well.  So, we fed the kids, then tried again.  After they'd eaten, things went much better.  Here are some from the afternoon:

Adina was so hungry and tired at this point.  She wasn't in the mood for pictures.

Then, Clarence wouldn't cooperate.  Harley was being naughty, too.

After lunch, they tried again.  Here's one of those; it turned out very cute!

My whole family.  These turned out pretty cute, too, except for the few (or six) that Nathan was yawning or talking in. :)

Bob and Carmen....they took a lot of nice pictures, too.  However, Bob has a chronic eye-shutting thing where he blinks for pictures, so the good ones were few and far between.

This one's cute, too.  They were married 40 years this past summer. 

Auntie Mary was summoned downstairs (from her nap) to take pictures.  She wasn't real pleased.

But she smiled anyway, and they turned out cute!

Clarence needed a turn holding baby Harley before he went home.  He loves being a big cousin.

Matt and Bob.....

Matt with his parents and sister.

We had a fun afternoon with everyone at our house.  We don't take enough time to just sit and visit with our families, so we enjoyed the company.

Have a great Wednesday!

Busy Tuesday

We're heading to dad's farm in a little bit to work his calves.  Clarence is so excited to help.  Adina's going to help Grandma Juli at her house.  She's excited about that, too.  She loves to help make cookies, decorate, and things like that, so she'll be a huge help for Grandma Juli. 

Yesterday, I tried to upload Clarence's Sunday School program pictures, and did succeed, but then I accidentally deleted them all.  Whoops.  Maybe I'll try again in a little bit and they can upload while we're gone.

After we work calves, we're going to Roseau to watch Auntie Mary play hockey.  My parents are going with.  It should be a good game - they play Warroad. 

I haven't had any subbing or piano lessons now for over a week, so I'm really enjoying  my time home with Matt and the kids.  We've been baking, cleaning, wrapping presents, etc.  It's so fun to be home with them. 

Have a great Tuesday!

How many does it take?

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

And again.

And again.

I'm referring to pictures for our Christmas card.  Matt thinks we need a family picture on our Christmas card because he says people want to see what we look like, too. 

So, we attempted; then I selected. 

There were two out of about twelve that didn't have Ruby jumping on Clarence or a cat walking around Matt's legs.  Oh well; such is life, I guess.....we're never prepared when it comes to getting our Christmas card ready.  It seems like it's all last minute.

Grandma Muriel was sitting in the suburban (the shadow  in all the pictures) taking our picture.  She really doesn't know how to work my camera; I just told her what button to push, and she did.  Very well. Thanks, Grandma!

Here are a couple of our attempts.  When you look close at some of them, they're quite funny. 

Matt told Ruby to "sit" because we wanted her in our picture.  So, she sat.

Then she wanted to say "hello" to Clarence.

Matt was trying to get Adina to look at Grandma Muriel. 

This is the one I chose for the card; no random animals, Matt and I are both smiling, and the kids are looking in the direction of the camera (or Grandma, or the car).

Then there were a couple pictures like this one that Clarence's cat, Girl (or Pig, depending on the day), wanted to jump in.  And, since I don't have any fancy picture editing programs, that eliminated these pictures.  Nobody would want half a cat in their Christmas card. 

Next year, I'm going to try and plan ahead a little better; maybe we can take our picture sometime during the summer, or fall, or at one of the kids' birthdays.   That would relieve some of the last-minute pressure. 



Clarence the hockey player

A week or two ago, we took Clarence skating for the first time.  It was darling! He just melted my heart out there on the ice - trying desperately to stand up (or be held up, I'm not sure which).  He lasted a good 20 minutes before he was ready to head off the ice.  We decided to go to Roseau for his first skating experience because Auntie Mary bought him his skates and she had practice right after.  We plan on going again soon.  Here are some pictures I took of Kittson County's newest hockey player.

Grandma Carmen and Matt helping Clarence get to the ice.

With his chair...

Holding on tight.

Don't know how he managed to stand by himself here, but he looks ready to take off!

Auntie Mary took Adina for a spin around the ice.

Then Clarence gave Adina a ride aorund the ice.  She seemed to enjoy it.

They ditched the chair after a while because Clarence had to go to the bathroom.  They tried helping him skate like this for a bit.

Can't wait to take him again!