Mama's Holiday Wish List

TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you. Kind of a fun way to journal my favorite things for December 2009. Make sure to head over to todaysmama & enter for yourself.


What 5 items are top on your holiday wish list this year?
•a watch
•a new wireless mouse for my laptop
•to have my family in one place for the holidays.
•?????
•?????

What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?
•the denim quilt my Mom made for me. She made it using old pair of jeans that once belonged to different family members.

What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?
•I already tackled it a few years back. I made stockings for each family member. I LOVE them.


What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?
•The balance beam & floor mat. I was a gymnast in my younger years.

What items are top on your kids wish list this year?
*cell phone (T)
*puppy (C)btw-it's not going to happen
*a Razor tricycle with caster wheels(G)
*a Razor scooter (B)

What is your favorite holiday food?
•Mom's sugar cookies, hot chocolate, Honey Baked Ham, peppermint oreo dessert

What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
•Christmas cards, ornaments

What is your favorite holiday movie?
•Home Alone & Elf

Favorite holiday song?
•Marshmallow World - Dean Martin
•Mary Did you know - Clay Aiken
*A Baby Changes Everything - Faith hill
•Away in a Manger

Favorite holiday pastime?• Driving around & checking out all of the Christmas lights(in our jammies if we choose too). One of our favorite traditions.

happy december

Can you believe we are in the month of December? This has been the fastest moving year of our lives.

We love December! With the new month, many traditions are upon us. December 1st is a big day filled with fun traditions at our house. The first tradition was added to our already existing traditions,last year. Not really a new one, but a new one for the 1st day of December. The boys received their new Christmas jammies to wear, starting tonight. This is the 1st year, in the last 9 years(of having multiple children), that all my boys have not had matching jammies to wear. The younger boys got the fitted jammies(Gymboree) & the older boys got flannel drawstring pants with t-shirts(Target).They used to get them on Christmas Eve but then my friend, Stephanie T., turned me on to the idea of the boys getting their jammies at the beginning of December. That way they can enjoy them all month long.














































Up next, advent calendars. This is a tradition carried over from John's Mom. John remembers getting one of these every year. He warned the boys not to do what their Aunt Heidi did many years ago. One year, she opened her entire calendar on the first night(after she was in bed) & devoured all of the chocolate. She never got another calendar after that year :-).




















































Before heading to bed, the boys made Christmas countdown chains. Another great way to use my scrapbook supplies. Apparently, one chain was not enough. Everyone got in on the fun & made one! Let the countdown to Christmas 2009 begin.

goodbye november...

we will miss your splendid colors, the beautiful weather, and ALL of those leaves that found their way to our yard from our neighbors trees.

recipe share - sweet potato puff

I wanted to make sure I posted this recipe before we totally leave the month of November behind. I have never been a sweet potato fan until I tasted this little dish. This dish screams Fall/Thanksgiving. I made it for the first time, this year to take to Thanksgiving dinner at my in laws. If I am not mistaken, I believe my Mom got this one from one of her best friends, Kathy Clark. Thanks for sharing it, Mom & Kathy!

Sweet Potato Puff

Ingredients:
4-5 Large sweet potatoes (bake them until they are tender)
3 c. mashed sweet potatoes (the ones you have just baked)
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. melted butter
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. coconut

Topping:
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 TBS. melted butter
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. pecans

Bake sweet potatos in oven until tender. Mash/mix as you would regular mashed potatoes.
Mix sweet potatos, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla until fluffy. Stir in your coconut.
In a buttered casserole dish, pour sweet potato mixture in.

With a fork, stir topping ingredients: brown sugar, melted butter, flour, and pecans. Sprinkle over sweet potato mixture & bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
Enjoy!

turkey day 2009

We love Thanksgiving. We love this time of the year. We love that we get to enjoy family, delicious smells coming from the kitchen, football games on the TV, homemade rolls & pies, & moments to reflect on ALL that is right in our little world. With Thanksgiving comes a few yearly "must do" traditions. First up, the turkey bowl with big & little turkeys playing this year :-). John organized the annual turkey bowl & they all met down at our neighborhood park. I took a break in my holiday cooking & ran down to the park to get a few pictures.



























Can I just say that I am happy to report that there were NO injuries & my hubby can still walk :-). That is a HUGE blessing in of itself.


Since both of our families live close enough for us to get to them during the holidays, we have alternated Thanksgiving dinner with each of our families. This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving with John's side of the family. My SIL, Petra hosted Thanksgiving at her house this year. Everything was wonderful. She is a great cook. She cooked the main dinner & everyone else brought the side dishes. Here are of few photos from our turkey day!






























































One of these days I will get my nieces to smile at the camera instead of hiding under their sweatshirts :-).

After dinner,Aunt Heidi took the kids on a turkey trot. This is another yearly tradition that my Grandma Shore started years ago. After dinner, you go on a walk to burn your dinner off before you eat your dessert. For the kids, it becomes a race, for the adults who choose to go, it is a nice walk :-).

Once again,I am in awe of the many blessings I enjoy in my life. I am Thankful for another year that has been filled with those many blessings, wonderful friends, & family that I could not live without!

scootin' along

It is one thing that this boy can ride a scooter with perfect balance & no problems... it is another sight to see him wearing a motorcycle helmet while doing so. This was the only helmet he would put on for our trip to the park today! We got lots of giggles as we walked by.

bay area fun

With a week worth of vacation for the boys, we knew we had to head home for one of the days. Our first stop was Grandma & Grandpa Shores house. When we pulled up in front of their house today, a flood of memories filled my mind. One of my favorite memories was lunch at their house every Wednesday while attending college. I was lucky enough to attend college with my sister, Amber & my cousins, Kerstin & Mike. Every Wednesday, we would show up for lunch. A few of our friends started tagging along. They loved lunch at G&G's too & looked forward to it every Wednesday. Soon, it became lunch & a few card games with Grandma & Grandpa. Such good memories. In true Grandma style,the table was all set & ready for lunch. I was so glad that my boys got to spend some time with them & enjoy one of Grandma's yummy lunches. As the boys have gotten older & more involved in school & sports, it has made it hard to have spur of the moment visits.










































Grandpa even pulled out his out Japanese riffle for the boys to look at. They thought it was so cool. John loved hearing about Grandpa's stories from WWII.


















Grandma took the boys for a walk around the block, not once, but twice. One walk before lunch, one after. Another fond Grandma memory. We are so thankful for the time we were able to spend with them today. They really are one in a millions. The are kind & very generous to all those around them.

Next stop, one of our favorite parks in Los Gatos. It was a gorgeous Fall day. We couldn't pass up a trip to the park. John & I remember playing at this park when we were kids. The plane & fire truck are still there.




























Next stop, Grandma Sandy & Grandpa Randy's house. My boys love to play at their house. They love seeing their cousins. We had an early turkey dinner with all the trimmings. This is our year to spend Thanksgiving with John's family. After dinner, we enjoyed FHE together. We had a Thanksgiving lesson. I passed out foam leaves to everyone & challenges them to write a note to another family member telling them why they are thankful for them. Then we enjoyed ice cream sundae's & more family time.



















I love my family. They are at the top of my list when I count my blessings. Today was just one of those perfect days.