Christmas Cookies

Early this morning the thin white clouds looked steely gray as the winter sun crept above the hills. The bare trees were sharply silhouetted in dark lines. I heard an argument break out; the chirruping and scolding was easy to locate. Six or eight little chickadees chased each other loudly around the stark trunk of a sleeping oak. Suddenly, heralded by the noisy birds, the morning light changed from cold and distant to bright and near. The steel-gray clouds transformed into silver and the dead silhouettes became regal sentinels as the little birds brought life to the scene. Even their scolding voices changed to teasing banter as they flitted around the trees. I felt my heart quicken and my sleepy eyes awake as once again I found beauty in a cold winter land.

Today we made Christmas cookies! I will share our recipe, as it is my favorite. I never was a fan of the doughy sugar cookies. These are lightly and lemony with a crisp hint of cinnamon and nutmeg – the perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of spiced chai. Yummy!

Lemony Christmas Cookies

Sift together:

2 c Flour

1 t Bkng. Power

½ t Salt

½ t Cinnamon

¼ t Nutmeg

Heat together til butter melts:

1/3 c Butter

3 T Milk

In Large Bowl put:

2/3 c Sugar

Add Butter/Milk mixture

Add:

2 Egg Yolks**

½ t Lemon Extract

Mix in Dry Ingredients.

Chill

Roll and cut out with cookie cutters.

Bake at 400* for 3 ½ - 7 min (depending on size of cookie and oven accuracy)

**set aside egg whites to make a big jar of egg nog to drink while cutting the cookies J

We put on some Christmas music, made the afore mentioned egg nog, and grabbed all the cookie cutters from the cupboard. As you can see, the children had a blast. And, I’ve decided that no mom of young children should ever even attempt to make Christmas cookies without another adult present. Today Katie, a friend of mine, came to help. Her cheerful presence made cookie time so much more manageable… as well as the ensuing mess. If she hadn’t been here, I would have been vainly trying to be sure that no messes were made (HAH!) and we probably wouldn’t have had such a fun time.

Before we started decorating, each kid ate one little cookie with promises of another one, this time decorated, after lunch. Lydia, the poor little fourth-born, so wanted to contribute to the decorating! Finally, she chose herself as ‘Quality Control Manager’ and casually swiped a cookie that had been lavishly decorated by Phinehas. I just couldn’t take it from her! (The fortune of being a fourth!) The other kids didn’t begrudge her a bit as they knew their treats were coming.

We really did have a lovely time!

The First Snow

Last night a winter wind howled through the trees and over the eves. The dark was thick and heavy - not thick enough to stop the neighbors flood light from seeping through our windows, but thick enough to stop the twinkling of the stars and the shining of the moon. We woke to a steady, dreary rain that fell in gray sheets and flooded out long dry crick bed. Then, around 10:00 big snowflakes mingled themselves with the rain and by noon a blanket of white covered everything. The kids bundled up and eagerly ran out to throw throw snowballs at each other. O! How I love the first snow! It is clean, quiet, and fresh and chases away the gray of late fall.

In celebration of the first snow, we decorated. One of my favorite things to do is cut green branches from various evergreens and bright rose hips from prickly bushes and create pretty things to add color to our house. The kids and I cut out the snowflakes - honestly, I only did 4 or 5 of them! Abbi and Phin did the rest! (Liam's contribution was tiny scraps all over the floor.)

Here is the Carpenter frolicking in the 'snowfall' - hehe!

Here are some pictures of our nativity scene - from Ecuador!

And one last one of our newest addition to the energy expending activities in our home: An indoor hammock!

6 Years (and 5 days) Ago

On Thanksgiving Day, 6 years ago, Abigail Dawn was born! She entered this world as the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. She stole the heart of her Papa and Mama and just about anyone else who knew her. She was much celebrated by all our friends and family.

This year, again on Thanksgiving day, Abigail Dawn celebrated her 6th birthday. I know every mother says this but, "How did she get so BIG?!" My sweet baby girl that made me into a Mama is growing into a sweet young lady. When I look at her I see so many things! I see a little girl who loves to read; I see a cowgirl riding on her horse; I see a horse tossing its head in the wind; I see the apple of her Papa's eye; I see creative ideas bursting forth from an ever busy little mind; I see a daydreamer, flying high above the pages of school work to far-off places; I see a fountain of giggles and a well of laughter; I see a spring of songs bubbling out; I see a budding artist, a blossoming writer; I see a generous giver; I see a wonderful helper; I see a kind older sister; I see a source of joy. And often I see myself. Usually when us moms see ourselves mirrored in our children we see the negative parts of ourselves (well, at least I do). But on Abbi's birthday I saw an expression on her face that no one else could possibly have completely understood and it was a treasure to me.

As she was unwrapping her presents from Grampa and Gramma, she came to some books. The top one was fun, filled with animal stories. The bottom one made her gasp, sit back and stare. I don't know if anyone else saw her face, but I did. And I knew just what she was thinking and feeling for I have felt that way before. In her hands was a book that she loves (we have borrowed it from the library on may occasions). Her expression was one of shock and wonder and joy, yet she could hardly squeak out a 'thank you.' All I could think of was the overwhelming rush I felt when Andrew asked me to marry him. My little girl who is growing up so fast, yes - she is quite a bit like me. But I guess that isn't necessarily a bad thing!

Anyway, that is a silly little story, but one that I will remember and treasure forever.

Abigail's birthday festivities stretched from Thursday (her real birthday) to Saturday, when we celebrated with my side of the family. Her celebration started with a breakfast date with her Papa and ended with a very fruity "Sorbet" cake (rather than an ice-cream cake). In between were lots of gifts from loving family, lots of laughs and very much fun.

"Now," you ask, "where are all the pictures?" heh. Well, I'm ashamed to say it, but we only have a few. I totally forgot to get the camera out on her REAL birthday, but Andrew did manage to snap a few on Saturday.

And so we begin our seventh year as parents - surely the most difficult, yet most rewarding thing I've ever done!

Vegetarian Recipes

Ok. So I've been intending to write this post for more than a MONTH! There are a couple of you that have asked for some of these recipes so it is way past time that I share. Here you are!

Jamaican Black Bean Pot

Saute til soft:

2 T oil

1 lg onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

Add, Stir in, Cook ~1 min:

1 T molasses

2 T brown sugar

1/2 t dried red pepper flakes

1 t salt

black pepper

Stir in:

2 1/2 - 3 c cooked black beans

Pour everything into ovenproof casserole dish and add:

1 1/2 c veggi stock

Cook at 350* for 25 minutes, UNCOVERED

Stir in, Bake 45 min COVERED:

1 red pepper, chopped

1 yellow pepper, chopped

1 sweet potatoe, cubed (or 1 1/2# butternut squash or pumpkin, diced)

Serve over rice or cornbread

Moroccan Braised Chickpeas (that I actually stew)

Saute in Sauce pan:

2 T olive oil

2 onions, cut in wedges

2 carrots, sliced

2 t cumin

1/4 t turmeric

1/4 t cayenne

1 T coriander

1 t cinnamon

Stir in:

1 1/4 c vegetable stock

3 c cooked chickpeas

1/2 c dried apricots, cut into small pieces

1/2 c raisins

1/4 c sliced almonds

Heat through, cook for 5-10 min, to get flavors to meld. Serve over rice or with Naan.

Boots as Baskets?

When you send your four year old son up to the chicken coop to let the birds out and you see him wearing your barn boots, by all means do NOT smile to yourself, give a little chuckle and say (like all mothers), "Don't trip, son!" Instead, insist that he promptly change into his OWN boots. If you don't the following might happen:

When he returns to the house, bringing a poop covered egg in his bare hand, you stifle a shudder and tell him to quick! wash it off and put it in the fridge. He then joins you at the table for some school and about three minutes later nonchalantly says, "Uh... I accidentally cracked a little bit of egg into your boot." Pause as you try to figure out how THAT one happened, then ask him to bring you the boot.

When he delivers the boot, tentatively inspect it and find nothing wrong! Breathe a sigh of relief and say, "But Phin, there isn't any egg in here! It is perfectly fine!"

"Oh," says Phin. "I guess it was the other one." And he scampers off to fetch the other boot.

When he brings it, a quick glance reveals not only a 'little bit of egg' but a whole LOT of cracked egg and a whole uncracked egg! Not knowing whether to laugh or become irate, pick up the boot (which has chicken poop all over the bottom) and try and clean out the ooey, gooey mess. Be sure to ask your son how many eggs he put in the boot. (He says 2) After rinsing for a while, just as you are about to shake out the last drops of water, PLOP! out comes ANOTHER cracked egg! (Note: that makes 3 eggs that were in the boot.)

After a couple minutes of muttering and sputtering and being completely baffled at the mind of a four year old, ask your son WHAT he had been doing! What did he answer? Carrying the eggs!

Yes, he put all the eggs (except the poop covered one) into the boot and proceeded to WALK with the egg filled boot down the hill and into the house. Definitely not the most conventional egg basket, eh?

A Long Awaited Picture

Darla and Dani, this is for the two of you (and anyone else who is remotely interested). Here, at long last, is a picture of me with short hair:

(I don't know if you saw the last picture but it was vetoed by The Carpenter. So, he became Andr e, the photographer, and helped me out. This one is quite a bit better, don't you think?)

Gift of Beauty

It seems so gray here. The trees are all but bare, the sky is leaden with chilly clouds, the vibrant grass is fading. Winter is on its way. But yet, there is beauty! As I was scrubbing up some potatoes for supper I looked out the east-facing window above the kitchen sink. What I saw took my breath away:

The slate gray clouds were lined with peachy-pink as the setting sun kissed them good night: The sky was a swirl of coming cold and warm memories of summer. The hill was a rumpled quilt of tarnished bronze: bright red-gold metal where the sun was hitting the barren trees and purple-black where the folds of the hill lay shadowed. The light tan of the freshly mowed field was interrupted only by the neighbors dog, leaping and jumping as he had just been let out for the night.

If I remember to have eyes to see, I'll not miss the gift of beauty that is given each and every day!