The Aftermath of Christmas!

Here is our dining room with the aftermath of Christmas! The living room is where our tree is, but it is actually clean because all the gifts have been opened and we've been to both sides Christmases and when we have came back home, everyone has just set there stuff down in this room! I am so exhausted too! Hopefully we will find the table and the floor again soon!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all and let's not forget the true meaning of the day which is the birth of Christ! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Our roadtrip yesterday.....

Can anyone guess where we went for our roadtrip yesterday? Well my wonderful husband has been on ebay a LOT lately pondering over 4 wheelers. He bid on one that was down in Kentucky and he won it! The owner (Justin Basham) was wonderful to work with as he was willing to meet us halfway to save us the cost of having it shipped. So early Monday morning everyone got up and we were on our way down to Wentzville, Missouri for the day! While Randy was visiting with Justin, I was playing with our GPS to see what was around for restaurants. I thought....*hmmmm, I wonder if there are any Cracker Barrels around*. So I typed it into the GPS and found one in St. Charles. Once Randy and the kids got back in the truck and he looked over and saw his wife batting her eyes at him he said to the kids- "Looks like mom's up to something"

Looks like the batting of the eyes won. I FINALLY got to go to a Cracker Barrel! I kept hearing all the time how good they are and I finally got to go to one! It was excellent!


Jeremiah and I were "fighting" over who would get the HUGE Hershey bar! For those who don't know, I am a chocoholic. I figure it's better than being an alcoholic! And of the 3 kids, Jeremiah seems to have picked up the chocolate gene too. His eating likes are almost identical to mine while Micah's are almost identical to Randy! And we're not sure about Hannah yet. Anyway, Jeremiah and I were able to refrain from purchasing the chocolate bar!


Then lo and behold, what was nearby but a Bass Pro Shop store! Of course we HAD to go there!
We had fun looking around in there and Randy was a good little boy. The only thing he bought was some straps to tie down the 4 wheeler with for the trip home! Needless to say we all had a blast on our little road trip to Missouri!

Snow Day!

When we got up this morning, this was the snow in front of the patio door.

It was 7 1/2"

Then I got ready to go out to start cleaning the snow off the deck and I couldn't even get out the door! I had Randy get me a yardstick so I could measure the drift in front of our porch door.

It was almost 17 inches!

Here is a picture after I finally found a path out the door!

Here is Randy with the snowblower! (the easy job)

So guess who got the shovel? (the hard job)

Actually Randy offered to help with the deck, but I being the farm girl that I am, was having fun getting a good workout removing snow.

Am I done yet? Oh yeah, one more deck to go!

Wait a minute....what's he doing? Sitting in the van talking on the cell phone? O.K. how about the kids?

Ohhhh, must be nice! Sound asleep in bed.

And the other on is sound asleep in OUR bed. Little stinkers!

Our Gingerbread Creations!

I've been wanting to do a gingerbread house project with the kids and not only did I finally get around to it, I was also able to get "daddy" involved!

What's funny about the picture above is that I was getting ready to take a picture of him assembling his house and as I started to take the picture he was going to lick his finger and I caught Randy being Randy!!!

Here are the houses made with graham crackers and royal icing, along with the toppings of gumdrops, M&M's, Mike & Ike's, pretzels, and cereal.

Here is Jeremiah creating his house.

And Hannah and Micah creating theirs. This is right up Hannah's alley as she is our little artist! However, we were ALL having fun. Even Randy said he was having fun being a kid again!

Here are the front sides of our finished houses. From left to right they are lined up from the youngest creator to the oldest: Hannah, Micah, Jeremiah, Mommy, Daddy

And these are the back sides, lined up in the same order.

Mommy and Daddy's up close. Mommy did a log cabin and daddy added an addition to his!

Back side of Mommy and Daddy's houses.

One tired mommy (with daughter) who still has to clean up the mess and put these pictures on the blog! We had lots of fun though! A great family fun night, and maybe some day we'll make bigger ones. I thought it would be best to start out small and see how it went. I'd say it went pretty good!

The Candy Cane Legend

THE LEGEND OF THE CANDY CANE

According to legend, there was a candy maker who wanted to invent a candy that was a witness to Christ. First of all, he used a hard candy because Christ is the rock of ages. This hard candy was shaped so that it would resemble a “J” for Jesus or, turned upside down, a shepherd’s staff. He made it white to represent the purity of Christ. Finally, a red stripe was added to represent the blood Christ shed for the sins of the world, and three thinner red stripes for the stripes He received on our behalf when the Roman soldiers whipped Him. Sometimes a green stripe is added as a reminder that Jesus is a gift from God. The flavor of the cane is peppermint, which is similar to hyssop. Hyssop is in the mint family and was used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice. Jesus is the pure Lamb of God, come to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world. So, every time you see a candy cane, remember the message of the candy maker: Christ is born!

Ssshhh...don't tell Randy!!!!!

boiling the mixture to make the caramel

then stir in the pecans

then drop into blobs on parchment paper

then they get dunked into chocolate

Here they are - homemade turtles. Ssshhh...don't tell Randy they are done!!!! These are his and my favorites of my homemade holiday candies. I think Hannah likes them too, but praise the Lord the boys don't like them....more for us! Actually many of them go onto the holiday goodie plates we pass out!

....more goodies to come.....

Rocky Road

This is one of our favorites around here! It is rocky road and it is so simple to make. I just melt some chocolate bark, add Rice Krispies and marshmallows, stir and scoop out onto waxed paper to let cool. It has become one of our holiday candy favorites!

My sugar shakin' elves

My sugar shakin elves have been busy sprinkling the covered pretzels with red and green sugars!

....more candy coming!!!

Toffee Time!

boiling the mixture, then adding the nuts

pour into pan

score into bars, then dunk into chocolate

here they are!!!

It's that time of year for doing my holiday baking and candy making! This is my toffee which are almost like little Heath bars. It is one of the favorites among the goodie plates we give to nieghbors/family/friends.

More goodies to come..........

Best Buddies!

I just HAD to take a picture of my two handsome boys running around in their camoflauge! These guys are best buddies!

Happy Birthday Kirsten!

Happy 1st Birthday to Kirsten Ann Collins!

The weather outside is frightful.....

The weather outside is frightful.........


But the fire is so delightful.......

But since there IS a place I'd like to go.......

(PLEASE)....NO MORE SNOW

.....NO MORE SNOW

.....NO MORE SNOW !!!

Hannah and I made cookies to take for the church ladies annual Christmas party with a cookie exchange tonight so I hope this weather will quit so we can go!!!