This Christmas might just be my favorite. Katie is 3.75 years old and this seems like just the perfect age. She asked Santa for a few simple things -- a Dora guitar (which she really had her heart set on), a Barbie doll, and a game. Some of these items, like the Barbie and game, were at the subtle encouragement of mom and dad since we'd already purchased a 7-pack "Disney Princesses" Barbies at Target for 50% off and we'd picked up Candyland and Mickey Mouse Yahtzee Jr. when they were on sale at Target too. We picked up the Fisher Price Little People Nativity set at Target too. I wanted to give it to her before Christmas but she ended up playing with my Nativity set (a wedding gift from Jon & Sue Schultz) and since those figurines are not breakable, it was fine.
Last night, on Christmas Eve, we checked her stocking and found that Santa's elves left her a whole bunch of goodies -- "Nemo" Pez dispenser, Tigger toothbrush, Princess toothpaste, Dumbo book, Ernie activity pad, socks, etc. She was so thrilled with all these "treasures". We left a big mug of Milk and two plates with notes -- cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. (Thanks to my bff Jodie for providing the treats!) Katie was so tired that she fell asleep before we got half-way through the "Dumbo" book.
Katie woke up around 7:00 a.m., which is sleeping in for her. She was cooperative for getting dressed (which usually doesn't happen when it's me getting her dressed) and she was so excited, but cautious, about whether or not Santa left any presents at our house.
The first thing that she saw under the tree was a huge package wrapped in Disney Princess paper. Her eyes grew SO wide when she realized that there were SEVEN Barbie dolls, that they were all Princesses AND that it included Rapunzel! (She & I had gone to see "Tangled" on Thursday. So glad we went, she was absolutely THRILLED about that Barbie doll!)
She opened her Dora guitar, which was very exciting -- until she realized that you can't actually "play" the guitar. Dora sings songs or it just strums so music. I think she was totally disappointed in the gift, but I think the more she plays around with it, the more she'll love it. We could've bought a "real" guitar for about $7 more than the Dora guitar... so maybe we'll think about that for her birthday!
Katie knew what Candyland was; she was also excited about the Micky Mouse version of Yahtzee Jr. We've already played 4 times and she beat me 3 games to 1! We also played Candyland. I think we'll be playing a lot of fun games in our future. :)
She opened the Christmas nativity set last. It was very fun to see how excited she was about her OWN Nativity set. Now she doesn't have to share with mom.
This is my favorite Christmas because everything under the tree was what she asked for...and so much more. She knew what she'd asked for but had no idea that a "Barbie doll" would be SEVEN Princess ones! She had no idea she would get her own Nativity set.
God promised a Savior for all Nations. Jesus is everything we could ever ask for...and so much more. Just when you think you've read the entire New Testament and things have already been covered, re-reading verses are new and fresh again. Perhaps that's why we know God's word is living and active -- it is never 'outdated' or inapplicable to our lives. The gift to ourselves is to remember the thrilling Christmas 'magic' of wonder, love, and appreciation for God's gift of Jesus, each and every day.
Blessings to everyone. - Tanya
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Connecting the dots
I don't know about anyone else, but being 36 has been great so far. Honestly. Far better than I could've imagined. Do you know why? Because I finally feel like all the 'dots' are connecting. All the random things that I learned about in school since, well, about 1980 are fitting together like one big puzzle. It is actually really encouraging to feel that "A-ha!" moment when you realize something for the first time and it all makes sense now. Randomness isn't gone but it isn't the 'norm' anymore either. The song that kept going through my mind this a.m. as I was in the shower was, "I wish I knew now what I knew then, when I was older..." I thought about daily growing YOUNGER instead of older. The new wrinkles, small patches on gray hair at my temples, even the small aches and pains that weren't there before assure me that I AM getting older. However, I'd like to think I can keep a young attitude and spirit. Maybe the biggest blessing was having my first child when I was 33. Seemed so old but honestly it is keeping me young, I think. :)
Mardi Gras
Today is Mardi Gras. It is making me think of Pastor Bat. I really miss him. His funeral was a week or two ago. Before the Super Bowl. He was from New Orleans and it was so neat to see all the photos from when he was growing up. I had a feeling that the Saints might win the Super Bowl and that would've just delighted him (if he even cared about football).
I also think of him because I'd never heard of a "King's Cake" until I'd met him and Christa. What a neat tradition. If I'd been thinking about it earlier, I would've baked one and brought it to school. I'm always disappointed when I miss those types of opportunities. Then again, I have to remember that God could be giving me another chance in the future.
Tomorrow starts Lent. This year, especially, it feels like Christmas just barely ended. I want to sit here and ponder the baby Jesus. To smell the hay (and other odors) of the stable. To think of Mary holding her tiny baby and treasuring up all these things in her heart. To think of Simeon and of Anna, waiting their whole lives to see the promise of a savior fulfilled. To think of hope, courage, love. To ponder how much God loved the world to enter flesh and walk, talk, sleep, eat.
I'm not ready to journey to the cross. Ironically, during Christmas vacation, I read Paul Maier's book Pontius Pilate and fell in love with it. The amazing historical and cultural insights I gained. It was as if I was looking upon God's plan and timeline with fresh eyes. Now that the time to teach this has come (at least for my 8th graders), I want to sit and rock a baby. Then again, when I started to teach about Pontius Pilate and the Passion of Jesus, I felt joy I'd never known before in teaching. I felt so filled with enthusiasm and life.
Ash Wednesday starts my own journey as well. I have set a goal of doing the T-Tapp workout during Lent. I'm so bad about being faithful to that workout, even though I know it works. I did so well with Wii Fit and then once I unlocked Advanced or Expert on the majority of the games, the interest leveled off. Sad, I know, but true. So I need to get some sleep so I have energy to do the T-Tapp workout. And then to really focus on the sacrifices that Jesus made for all of us. Sometimes it's overwhelming. Sometimes it's thrilling. Sometimes it just is.
I also think of him because I'd never heard of a "King's Cake" until I'd met him and Christa. What a neat tradition. If I'd been thinking about it earlier, I would've baked one and brought it to school. I'm always disappointed when I miss those types of opportunities. Then again, I have to remember that God could be giving me another chance in the future.
Tomorrow starts Lent. This year, especially, it feels like Christmas just barely ended. I want to sit here and ponder the baby Jesus. To smell the hay (and other odors) of the stable. To think of Mary holding her tiny baby and treasuring up all these things in her heart. To think of Simeon and of Anna, waiting their whole lives to see the promise of a savior fulfilled. To think of hope, courage, love. To ponder how much God loved the world to enter flesh and walk, talk, sleep, eat.
I'm not ready to journey to the cross. Ironically, during Christmas vacation, I read Paul Maier's book Pontius Pilate and fell in love with it. The amazing historical and cultural insights I gained. It was as if I was looking upon God's plan and timeline with fresh eyes. Now that the time to teach this has come (at least for my 8th graders), I want to sit and rock a baby. Then again, when I started to teach about Pontius Pilate and the Passion of Jesus, I felt joy I'd never known before in teaching. I felt so filled with enthusiasm and life.
Ash Wednesday starts my own journey as well. I have set a goal of doing the T-Tapp workout during Lent. I'm so bad about being faithful to that workout, even though I know it works. I did so well with Wii Fit and then once I unlocked Advanced or Expert on the majority of the games, the interest leveled off. Sad, I know, but true. So I need to get some sleep so I have energy to do the T-Tapp workout. And then to really focus on the sacrifices that Jesus made for all of us. Sometimes it's overwhelming. Sometimes it's thrilling. Sometimes it just is.
I should be sleeping, but...
I should be sleeping, but...
There's always something else to do, right? I spend the majority of my day on my feet, on the move, NOT in front of a computer... I spend my days talking, presenting, entertaining, guiding, parenting, helping, checking, admonishing... for ME, when I get home, the computer is a nice escape. Connect with other adults. Leave behind the stresses and frustrations of the day. Share the joys and laughter of the day. It is something I really look forward to.
For my husband, he works with computers almost every day. The thrill is gone. The last thing he really wants to do when he gets home is be on the computer. If he is on the computer, it is most likely to look up something to do with sports. I'm OK with that.
I should be sleeping but I don't want to. I want to write. I want to read. I want to think. I want to justrelax. I don't want to sleep. That's what the weekend is for, right? I love weekend naps. My husband never, ever naps. So weekends he isn't up late. It seems so opposite and crazy, but I guess that's how we make it work.
There's always something else to do, right? I spend the majority of my day on my feet, on the move, NOT in front of a computer... I spend my days talking, presenting, entertaining, guiding, parenting, helping, checking, admonishing... for ME, when I get home, the computer is a nice escape. Connect with other adults. Leave behind the stresses and frustrations of the day. Share the joys and laughter of the day. It is something I really look forward to.
For my husband, he works with computers almost every day. The thrill is gone. The last thing he really wants to do when he gets home is be on the computer. If he is on the computer, it is most likely to look up something to do with sports. I'm OK with that.
I should be sleeping but I don't want to. I want to write. I want to read. I want to think. I want to justrelax. I don't want to sleep. That's what the weekend is for, right? I love weekend naps. My husband never, ever naps. So weekends he isn't up late. It seems so opposite and crazy, but I guess that's how we make it work.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Best Sugar Cookies and Frosting -- ever.
If you didn't hear, my first attempt at making Sugar Cookies from scratch this Christmas season did NOT go well. I used the recipe from Better Homes and Garden cookbook. I'd never tried that recipe before and I should've known I'd have problems right from the start. It called for equal parts shortening and butter. We had two (opened) cans of Crisco -- both of which were disgusting and apparently "expired" about 3 years ago. I don't think I'll ever forget the sight/smell. Ewwww. I thought I would double the recipe and apparently when you double it, there isn't enough sugar... because they honestly tasted like (what I imagine) baked play-doh would be like. Ick.
So I turned to my most reliable source for anything related to baking: My friend Beth. She is amazingly talented so I knew she's have a great recipe for me. She uses a Betty Crocker recipe. As it turns out (from talking to my mom today) this is also the one that my mom used while we were growing, with a few modifications. Learning from past mistakes, I decided that if I wanted more than one batch of dough, I would make one batch right after the first one instead of trying to double the recipe.
Here is the original recipe, as passed along from Beth (this is what I used):
Cream Together: 1 & 1/2 c. powdered sugar and 1 c. butter
Stir in 1 egg, 1/2 t. vanilla extract and 1/2 t. almond extract
In a separate bowl, blend 2 & 1/2 c. flour, 1 t. baking soda and 1 t. cream of tartar (OR, if you don't have the cream of tartar, use 2 t. baking powder instead of the soda/tartar combination).
Stir flour mixture into the sugar mixture.
Chill 2-3 hours or overnight. (I kept mine in the fridge for about 2-3 days because I got busy and didn't have to roll/bake them right away.)
Roll out to 3/16 inch thick. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake in 375F oven for 7-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
For my mom's variation, she uses 1/2 c. butter and 1/2 c. cream cheese. She uses 1 t. vanilla and no almond extract.
OK, no one wants to eat cut out sugar cookies plain, right?
I didn't want to make a powdered sugar icing because, well, that's not what I grew up with for sugar cut out cookies. I talked to my mom and she said she used buttercream frosting. Could this recipe be any easier? Honestly, why would I ever buy a can of frosting again??
16 oz. Powdered Sugar
1 stick of Butter
3 T. milk (add one at a time as it's mixing so the consistency is right)
2 t. vanilla
This makes about 2 & 1/2 cups of frosting. Wow, it was good. I couldn't find where I'd put the food coloring, so I saved some white frosting and I mixed some green colored decorated sugar into the rest of the frosting. I made cut out of bells and trees so the bells are white and the trees are "snowy" white/green. :)
These recipes were delicious, simple and well, obviously, fool-proof since I made them with great success. I gave K a bite of a cookie when they cooled and within 10 seconds, she came running into the kitchen saying, "I need nother cookie, mama!" Excellent.
So I turned to my most reliable source for anything related to baking: My friend Beth. She is amazingly talented so I knew she's have a great recipe for me. She uses a Betty Crocker recipe. As it turns out (from talking to my mom today) this is also the one that my mom used while we were growing, with a few modifications. Learning from past mistakes, I decided that if I wanted more than one batch of dough, I would make one batch right after the first one instead of trying to double the recipe.
Here is the original recipe, as passed along from Beth (this is what I used):
Cream Together: 1 & 1/2 c. powdered sugar and 1 c. butter
Stir in 1 egg, 1/2 t. vanilla extract and 1/2 t. almond extract
In a separate bowl, blend 2 & 1/2 c. flour, 1 t. baking soda and 1 t. cream of tartar (OR, if you don't have the cream of tartar, use 2 t. baking powder instead of the soda/tartar combination).
Stir flour mixture into the sugar mixture.
Chill 2-3 hours or overnight. (I kept mine in the fridge for about 2-3 days because I got busy and didn't have to roll/bake them right away.)
Roll out to 3/16 inch thick. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake in 375F oven for 7-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
For my mom's variation, she uses 1/2 c. butter and 1/2 c. cream cheese. She uses 1 t. vanilla and no almond extract.
OK, no one wants to eat cut out sugar cookies plain, right?
I didn't want to make a powdered sugar icing because, well, that's not what I grew up with for sugar cut out cookies. I talked to my mom and she said she used buttercream frosting. Could this recipe be any easier? Honestly, why would I ever buy a can of frosting again??
16 oz. Powdered Sugar
1 stick of Butter
3 T. milk (add one at a time as it's mixing so the consistency is right)
2 t. vanilla
This makes about 2 & 1/2 cups of frosting. Wow, it was good. I couldn't find where I'd put the food coloring, so I saved some white frosting and I mixed some green colored decorated sugar into the rest of the frosting. I made cut out of bells and trees so the bells are white and the trees are "snowy" white/green. :)
These recipes were delicious, simple and well, obviously, fool-proof since I made them with great success. I gave K a bite of a cookie when they cooled and within 10 seconds, she came running into the kitchen saying, "I need nother cookie, mama!" Excellent.
Christmases Past
I was just thinking about Christmases past...
1976 I remember getting an engraved angel necklace charm from my maternal grandparents. It's the only thing I clearly remember my grandma Elsie giving me. (She died in 1979).
1980 I remember getting a Barbie who was a ballerina -- she had a beautiful tutu and built in crown. I was thrilled.
1983 Cabbage Patch Kids came out and even though I was in 4th grade, my mom's coworker had connections to get a doll. It was a Christmas surprise because my parents didn't remember where they hid it and I didn't get to open it until we'd be done opening gifts for a while.
1988 I went ice skating with my brother and my cousin Sylvia at Running Park while my mom was working at Fairview Southdale. I slipped getting on to the ice and broke my wrist. As soon as mom got home, she had to turn around and wait 4 more hours in the ER with me. They called in my brother's bone doctor (from when he broke his leg) -- he was at Mass and had to leave. I felt so bad about that.
1996 I was living in Guatemala and we (the single female teachers) were invited over to a school family's house for supper at midnight. No lie. Midnight. It was SOOOO fun. I got to sit next to grandma. All she could say in English was, "I was born in Chicago." At dinner they served Mogen David (dessert) wine and grandma kept telling me, "Es muy sauve..." Ha ha ha... don't have to tell ME twice to drink that wine.
1998 I was living in St. Louis and didn't drive home to MN because I had to sing in the church choir on Christmas Day. One of my seminary professors asked what I was doing for Christmas and when I told him that I would be staying on campus (I lived in a small guest housing room at that point), he immediately invited me over to his home and said his wife would be thrilled to have another person at Christmas dinner. True to his word, they were both very gracious hosts and there were other Seminarians at their house as well. After a wonderful meal and wine, his wife played Christmas hymns on the piano and we all sang along.
2003 I had just started dating Todd. He was in NY visiting his parents (his grandma and aunt were there too). Heidi & I went to Cross View to deep clean the high chairs in the infant room and all the toddler room chairs that were caked on with old jello and all kinds of crud. It was just a nice, relaxing time.
2005 Todd & I were newlyweds. We had purchased a pre-lit artificial tree the day after Christmas the year before so it was very fun to decorate our home.
2007 Kathleen's first Christmas. She was 9 months old. She received a lot of books and accidentally slammed her thumb in a book. She cried a lot but was fine. :)
Wow, so many blessings throughout the years.
1976 I remember getting an engraved angel necklace charm from my maternal grandparents. It's the only thing I clearly remember my grandma Elsie giving me. (She died in 1979).
1980 I remember getting a Barbie who was a ballerina -- she had a beautiful tutu and built in crown. I was thrilled.
1983 Cabbage Patch Kids came out and even though I was in 4th grade, my mom's coworker had connections to get a doll. It was a Christmas surprise because my parents didn't remember where they hid it and I didn't get to open it until we'd be done opening gifts for a while.
1988 I went ice skating with my brother and my cousin Sylvia at Running Park while my mom was working at Fairview Southdale. I slipped getting on to the ice and broke my wrist. As soon as mom got home, she had to turn around and wait 4 more hours in the ER with me. They called in my brother's bone doctor (from when he broke his leg) -- he was at Mass and had to leave. I felt so bad about that.
1996 I was living in Guatemala and we (the single female teachers) were invited over to a school family's house for supper at midnight. No lie. Midnight. It was SOOOO fun. I got to sit next to grandma. All she could say in English was, "I was born in Chicago." At dinner they served Mogen David (dessert) wine and grandma kept telling me, "Es muy sauve..." Ha ha ha... don't have to tell ME twice to drink that wine.
1998 I was living in St. Louis and didn't drive home to MN because I had to sing in the church choir on Christmas Day. One of my seminary professors asked what I was doing for Christmas and when I told him that I would be staying on campus (I lived in a small guest housing room at that point), he immediately invited me over to his home and said his wife would be thrilled to have another person at Christmas dinner. True to his word, they were both very gracious hosts and there were other Seminarians at their house as well. After a wonderful meal and wine, his wife played Christmas hymns on the piano and we all sang along.
2003 I had just started dating Todd. He was in NY visiting his parents (his grandma and aunt were there too). Heidi & I went to Cross View to deep clean the high chairs in the infant room and all the toddler room chairs that were caked on with old jello and all kinds of crud. It was just a nice, relaxing time.
2005 Todd & I were newlyweds. We had purchased a pre-lit artificial tree the day after Christmas the year before so it was very fun to decorate our home.
2007 Kathleen's first Christmas. She was 9 months old. She received a lot of books and accidentally slammed her thumb in a book. She cried a lot but was fine. :)
Wow, so many blessings throughout the years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
