Dinner at Jim & Jan's

Ruth & Mary

Jan & Mariah 

 Mike & Whitney

 Michael & Colleen

 Frank, Lia & I

 Andy & Grandma

Ruth, Mary, Frank, John & Jim

Jan and Jim had us over for a fabulous meal of Crab Legs & Steak.  It was great to be with them and at their house, as always.  They are fabulous hosts!  :)

Our Gingerbread/Candy House!

 Frank outdid himself!  It had lace curtains and everything!!!

Lia couldn't resist playing with it...look at Santa wanting in the front door!

Gingerbread/Candy House

Here we are on Christmas Eve day...assembling the house Frank designed and made for Lia.  I got busy and made the gingerbread cookie mix, rolled it all out and cut it out to the shapes for the house & made the icing and Frank applied the house pieces to his masterpiece.  We're working on the roof here, just trying to get a jump on things before Lia wakes from her nap. 

Christmas Cards

We were a little late in getting out our Christmas cards this year...but Lia wanted to help by drawing on some of them.   She really enjoyed being part of this!

Christmas Stockings!

 I've always wanted a home-made stocking ever since Connie and Jim had them when we were little.  I finally got it, by making it for myself (and for Frank and Lia).  My main motivation was a home-made personal stocking for Lia.

Here they are, finished, hanging from our mantel.  These took a TON of work, but I think they're worth it.  Frank even really likes his!  Of course, Lia loves hers and wants to hug and kiss her snowwoman.  Lia will have hers forever, and when she gets older and if she wants the "mom" and "dad" one, they'll be hers!  :)

Christmas Holiday Photos

 Here are our Holiday photos we had taken!  Thanks to Patti who significantly improved this photo above!   :)  We liked our photographer ok, but she was NO Patti Grimes (photographer)!

Baking for and/or with Kids!

Here's Rudolph, a cupcake I made in one of the classes I'm teaching at CFEC "Cupcake Kids".  As you can imagine, it was a huge hit with the children.  This ones a little worse for wear after being transported in a container home.  I found this recipe in Disney's Family Fun magazine.  I let Frank and Lia split this cupcake since I had MNO last night!  :)

 And here's a picture of the Candy Cane Twists (which we also made in class but these are the onew Lia and I made today), and which I also found in Family Fun.  Lia helped some by rolling of the dough with her hands.  She actually kept making the letter and saying "U".  Below is the recipe, with my notes/changes.  Be sure to wear gloves when kneading in the food coloring, or else you'll end up with colored hands like I did (that don't just wash off).

Yummers!

Ohio National's Victorian Village

 Lia and I went out to see Santa and the Victorian Village at Ohio National tonight!  It included a fun train for the kids to enjoy, hot chocolate, cookies, balloon elf artists, candy canes (note above), so many beautiful miniature buildings including a stall for a reindeer and a miniature post office where you can compose a letter to Santa!

We were treated to a group of carolers.

 We waited 1 hour in the cold to see Santa.  However, Lia would NOT get near Santa.  I put her on my knee next to Santa and they completely stopped her fussing by ringing bells and pointing to the camera.  It was very cute.  Once AWAY from Santa (maybe 3 feet in my arms) she was able to ask Santa for what she wanted: "baa baa black sheep" after which Santa replied "have you any wool?".  She was immediately happy knowing that he KNEW what book she loves and wants.  We talked about this the whole way home.  And she told me what she wanted "toys, milk time and bed time".  I guess it was pretty late when we left!

 Writing a letter to Santa on the way out of the Village!

When we got home she was very proud to pose for a picture of her holding her Santa photo!  This one is a bit cuter than the Santa photo!  ;)

A new (Turkey) Gumbo!

I had both a turkey & a chicken carcass in my freezer and made a gumbo.  I like my Mom's recipe from years ago but it isn't designed to be made from a carcass.  So I searched around, found a recipe that is designed to be made from a carcass and combined them. The one I found is a more "traditional" southern recipe using a roux. However, I really like how my Mom's recipe has both tomatoes & okra in it, and also some of the spices. The result of combining the recipes was really delicious.  I was especially excited to use up the rest of my green peppers out of my garden and some of my frozen okra! 

Turner Farm Wreath Making Class!

Lia and I went to Turner (Organic) Farm tonight to make a wreath for our home!  It was sooo much fun.  It was really a lot of work to cut and wrap all of the greens for the wreath (a mixture of Red Cedar & Juniper from Turner Farm and also Douglas Fir).  Melinda, the head gardener there also has a ton of experience in floral arranging, made all of our bows, and we all chose the ribbon.  This was SO worth the $25 for the class fee...also I love supporting this farm.  I invited about 10 friends/famiily to join us and no one took us up on it so we went on our own and had a fabulous time!   :)  Plus we came home with a great hand made wreath!  Everyone's wreaths were so different and beautiful!