Sights and sounds of Christmastime at our house

1. Bright red poinsettia's on the table...I am in love with their color when the light from the chandelier is shining down on them. The kids were so surprised to learn that they were real.
2. Crash, bang, crash: First item on Jonah's list is...(drum roll)..cymbals! He has been upset at the last two music classes because he did not get the cymbals! This is bad. So bad that no other instrument would do. And no he did not want the finger cymbals! He was going over this at home one day, getting upset all over again, when I thought I'd fix the problem. "Jonah, you can use pan lids for cymbals!" (Uninterested stare from Jonah) "AND they even make MORE noise than real ones, -clang, clang!" He snatched them out of my hands, just to see. And yes, in actual fact they are louder. So loud that during the proceeding dinner hour we all tried hopelessly to get him to stop...but he went right on marching and clanging. Happy boy = good. Family with ringing ears = bad. All of the kids are begging him NOT to ask Santa for cymbals!
3. Little Christmas trees in each of the kids rooms. They decorated their own according to a theme of their choice. A contest with prizes involved and I'll let you know what the results are.
4. Candy canes in Santa boots: I have my Grandma Harkers little red santa boots (given to her by her dad when she was a little girl) which she always had filled with candy canes for Christmas.
5. Mandarine oranges: favorite smell. Violet eats them three at a time. She picks off the tiny white parts and says, "Away," handing them to me. That means, "we need to throw this away!"
6. Our elf on the shelf was spotted by Jonah (who, by the way, was up at 6:00 dressed and ready in clothes from his out-grown clothes box) slurping milk from a straw straight out of the jug of milk. He was hysterical!
7. Jonah sleeps in a sleeping bag on the floor of his room under his Christmas tree lights every single night. Tonight Bridget sat with him and looked through "Can you see what I see Christmas," and read "Paddington Bear." She said that as she got to the part when Paddington falls asleep in the chair, Jonah rolled over and fell fast a-sleep. What a lovely thing!
8. Christmas stories read every night
9. Christmas movies: recently watched "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." (or in Jonah's words, "Yes birginia..)
10. Whispers and plans being made for homemade gifts
11. "Can I sleep under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve?" Will asked.
"How about Christmas Day."
"No, I want to be there so that I can see SANTA!"
"But if you do, then ALL the kids will have to join you and then the living room with be so full there will not be room for Santa to step foot in there."
"Please."
"I'll talk to Dad about it and let you know."
12. Making braided swiss "sutfe" bread and Luke coming home from school to say, "Can I have one of those?" Meaning a whole loaf!
13. The glow of Christmas lights. I think I want to sleep under the tree!
14. Christmas music playlist: Favorites include The Chipmunks (Will & Jonah) Where are you Christmas, by Faith Hill (Bridget's), Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant (Me),Jingle Bells (Violet shakes her hands for the bells and turns circles now and then to spice things up a bit) and so many others.
15. The little kids walking up the street to meet Luke when he gets off the bus
16. Using up the last of the snow for a great little snowball fight...which Jonah had been waiting and waiting for!
17. Will singing, "Christmas in our town, what a wonderful place to BE" in preparation for the school Christmas Sing-in on Friday.
18. Bridget doing handstands against the walls. She does a handstand, then -thump- her legs hit the wall and she holds it as long as she can. A new skill she is trying to master.
19. Violet gives everyone a kiss before she goes to sleep. Usually Jonah will say, "What about my kiss," but now Violet is initiating it when she puckers up and makes lip smacking noises as I say, "Say goodnight to Violet!" Everyone gets in line and laughs so hard after they get their cute Violet smooch! And she is as happy as can be!
20. Considerate Will announced: "Mom, I'm just going to ask you for Beyblades and I'll ask Santa for the basketball hoop. That way you don't have to buy the expensive thing!"

Fall recipes

I've found a few new favorite recipes that you might want to try!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
This is a really yummy flavored, healthy and hearty soup. I loved it! Perfect meal with some homemade muffins or bread.

INGREDIENTS:
½ cup butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
½ – 1 cup frozen corn
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup carrots, sliced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked wild rice(I used a box of Uncle Ben's cooked with the seasoning pkt)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups nonfat half-and-half (use normal half-and-half if you prefer, but you won’t believe how delicious this is with the nonfat variety!)
DIRECTIONS:
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery, corn, chicken and carrots and sauté for 5-7 minutes until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through. Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 more minutes. Then add flour and stir well. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Bring the soup just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer, while stirring, for 5-6 minutes, until it has thickened slightly.
Next, add the rice, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and almonds. Allow all the ingredients to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half. Let the soup gently simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. The soup should not boil but should simmer over low heat so that it thickens slowly.



Apple, Chicken and Brie Cheese Panini
(This is from my sister-in-law Lis - when I stayed at her house in Baltimore)

Chicken breast, thinly sliced
Seasoning for the chicken, such as montreal chicken seas. or sweet mesquite seas. or a mixture of spices that you like on chicken
granny smith apple (sliced thin)
brie cheese, sliced
runny honey
bread, or ciabatta buns


1. Put the chicken slices in a ziploc bag, add the seasonings and shake to coat.
2. Heat butter or oil in a skillet on med-high heat. Add chicken and stir fry until done.
3. Butter one side of the bread or buns. On a heated panini pan or george foreman grill, assemble the sandwiches in this order (at least make sure to put the honey on the cheese) :
bread (butter side on the grill)
chicken
cheese
drizzled honey
apple slices
bread
4. Grill until everything is melted and bread is toasted.

Enjoy!
So good!

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps
Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps
*Makes 6 wraps*
1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 green onion, finely sliced (white and green parts)
1/2 red or green pepper, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups shredded cheese (I used a combination of monterey jack and sharp cheddar)
Sour cream (optional)
6 burrito-sized flour tortillas
Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. (Optional: on some of the wraps, I dotted the cheese with about 1-2 tablespoons of reduced fat sour cream before arranging chicken and rice mixture down the center – it made the wraps delightfully creamy.) Roll stuffed tortillas, leaving edges open. Spray the tortillas all over with cooking spray.
Heat a large non-stick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange 2 wraps, seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve.

This is a very simple meal! I like it because it uses ingredients that are always on hand (sometimes leftover in the fridge from another meal) and makes them tastey in a short amount of time! You can make these more healthy by subbing whole wheat tortilla's(we used these) and brown rice. And taste the rice after you've added the seasonings to see if there is enough...you can always season it up a little more than it calls for.
*I thought that putting the sour cream and cheese inside took them from good to YUM!

BBQ Chicken Salad

*Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS:
Chicken and Salad:
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken *if you use the recipe for Crockpot BBQ chicken that follows you will omit the 2 cups BBQ sauce:
2 cups BBQ sauce, storebought or homemade
½ head iceberg lettuce, cored and chopped
2 romaine hearts, chopped
1/2 red onion diced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, cubed small or shredded
4 ounces Monterey jack cheese, cubed small or shredded
Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise, light or regular
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 to 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
DIRECTIONS:
For the salad, combine the cooked chicken and BBQ sauce in a medium bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
In a large bowl, toss together the iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, red onion, cilantro, corn, black beans and cheese. Toss the mixed salad with about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the dressing, if desired. Otherwise, you can serve the dressing on the side. Place salad on plates and top with the prepared BBQ chicken and additional dressing.
For the dressing, combine all the ingredients together and whisk (or shake, if using a jar) vigorously to combine. You could also run this through a blender to make it even more smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Recipe Source: salad from Mel’s

This was a great salad that everyone loved! Not really fall-ish, but a good way to get lot's of greens into a meal. Will ate two plates of it!

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (i threw them in frozen... even easier!)
1 bottle BBQ sauce (sweet baby ray's all the way!)
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder

mix BBQ sauce with all ingredients listed under it. place chicken in crockpot. pour sauce over it and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. you pretty much don't even have to stir it... how easy is that!? and please eat it with these.

In the last hour of cooking I shredded up the chicken a bit so that it could absorb more of the sauce. Then I divided it up into containers: Some to use in the BBQ Chicken Salad recipe, and the rest I saved for our BBQ chicken pizza tonight. It saved some time and was even better than doing the regular sauce with chicken on top.

Food for thought:
You can substitute 1/2 of the butter in your cookie recipe for mashed avocado.
When I tried it I added the avocado with the butter and mixed it till it was smooth, then added the rest of the ingredients just like usual. They took a little bit longer to cook than usual, and there was a bit of a different color to them(have I scared you off yet?) but seriously, it was worth it!
None of my family could tell there was anything different, and I loved that they were getting half the fat. Something to try for fun!

We went to Salt Lake to visit the Capital building and a National Monument for Luke's citizenship in the Nation Merit badge. It was a beautiful day and we all loved the Capitol building. We chose the Lion House as the National Monument and Luke, Bridget and Will took the tour, while I took Violet and Jonah on a tour of Temple Square. They were all toured out after the capitol building, so they got a little freedom to run and be loud and find all the water they could dip their hands into. We met the others at the Lion house pantry and shared a few yummy little cakes between us. The Church History Museum has a new children's exhibit that was great. Violet loved the Latin dancing and sported a lovely yellow skirt while she tried to learn the dance. Luke was digging the sweet comfy headphones, wishing' he had a pair.

A day out together during Fall Break

We went to Salt Lake to visit the Capital building and a National Monument for Luke's citizenship in the Nation Merit badge. It was a beautiful day and we all loved the Capitol building. We chose the Lion House as the National Monument and Luke, Bridget and Will took the tour, while I took Violet and Jonah on a tour of Temple Square. They were all toured out after the capitol building, so they got a little freedom to run and be loud and find all the water they could dip their hands into. We met the others at the Lion house pantry and shared a few yummy little cakes between us. The Church History Museum has a new children's exhibit that was great. Violet loved the Latin dancing and sported a lovely yellow skirt while she tried to learn the dance. Luke was digging the sweet comfy headphones, wishing' he has a pair.

World of Dance

This is where Adam and I were on Friday Night.
And Bridget too.
The perfect show to see with a ten-year-old girl who loves to dance.
We sat on the second row - their faces told us they love to dance too.
She sat on her heels so she could see the dancers feet.
We clapped along with "dance to the music" and their tap shoes were so fast we could hardly believe! (She whispered how they got flourescent tap shoes: duct tape over their black ones)
The Irish ballet was my favorite, with fog and everything.

We got ice cream at the Wilkinson Center then walked through campus while we ate; spied on a dance; and peaked into the library from the windows above.
"I want to dance in the 'World of Dance!' What will I have to do?"
I say, "Your dance teacher can tell you exactly what." (She was on the BYU contemporary dance team last year)
"Nobody ever talks to her. We are all too shy"
I say, "You can do it Bridget."
"I'll tell her I went to the show and ask her if she knows any of the dances they did!"
Adam says, "What if she says 'I don't care!'
"Giggles and smile."

Gi-no-mous

These days Jonah's words are thrilling me. It started last week while he was getting out the Book of Mormon "Go Fish" game:
"Mom, I can siwiously say Hagoff!" (Hagoth)

As Violet and I helped him harvest all the ripe tomatoes he said, "THESE TOMATOES ARE GI-NOMOUS! Here's goes NUFFIN!
In the mean time, Violet sat and squished cherry tomatoes between her fingers. I showed her how to take off the green tops - someone's got to do it, and it would keep her from ruining them, but she wasn't interested in THAT job. Squishing them seemed quite a bit more fun. But last night as she was sitting on the table next to a plate of whole tomatoes and a few peppers she promtly removed each of the tops (even from the peppers)! So she did listen and learn! I was impressed with her skills as well as her ability to dodge a job...this is not good.

He stopped me after the first line of "I am a child of God" and asked, "Why did he send me here?"
After telling him, again, that we came to recieve a body and to try to choose the right so that we could live with Heavenly Father again he added,
"And to get a head, and arms, and legs, and what Mom?"
"and eyes and a nose and a mouth etc."
I think body to him is your stomach and chest, so he was not satisfied with my description and had to help me out.

Yesterday he was rocking in the chair and asked, "How do we be nice?" I gave him some ideas; help Luke put his backpack away, play ball with Will, help Bridget with her lunch box, share with Violet, help Dad with his jobs, etc. He was very excited and said, "They will LOVE it if I help them, won't they?"

Today, as I vacumned the living room I moved the couch and then decided to leave it in a new place. He walked in and cried, "This is the awesomest room I've ever seen! Can I live in this room?

The Lake

The night before school started was Family Home Evening so we decided to go out on the Lake for an hour or two. It was beautiful and calm and the water was refreshing.

As soon as we get out to a quiet spot the first thing we do is stop the boat and jump (or get nudged) in for a swim.

Violet loathes her life jacket. Loathes it. She doesn't enjoy herself for one minute until that thing comes off.



At the end of the ride Will said, "Yeah, we need to get home so that I can get in bed for school tomorrow."

First Day of School 2011

Luke's first day of Junior High at Vista Heights Middle School started on Monday, August 22, 2011. His excitement woke him first at 2:00AM, then again at 6:30AM.


There was someone sitting at the bus stop and Luke had to check to see if it was his friend Max, which it was, so that meant it was safe for Luke to head up and wait. The other two getting on at this stop were two girls from our ward - that would have been a disaster to have to wait with one of them! As they drove off we saw (yes we were all watching from our driveways) the girls sitting at the front of the bus, and the boys at the back- typical.



He's going to be towering over most of the 7th and some of the 8th graders!


Bridget and Will's first day of 5th and 2nd grade started today, August 23rd 2011. Bridget is in Mr. Rasbands class, a new teacher we are excited to get to know. And Will is in Mrs. Larsen's class, who taught Bridget in 3rd grade. She is one of the most fabulous teachers I've ever met! When you talk to her she makes you feel like you are the most important person in the world! We are so excited for Will to have her. She has three big bouquets of balloons outside her classroom with a sign that says, "Up with second grade." On one classroom wall she has huge cutout drawings of all the UP movie characters with some sayings.

Violet's First Birthday

Violet's first doll: Baby Stella, who came with a soother that magnetizes to her face. Violet caught on to that immediately! She pulled the soother off, put it back on, off, and on. And to see her little chubby hands pushing it onto the babies mouth was too cute for words. A little mother already. I love the way she knows and want to take care of a little person already...she's still a baby herself!!



Violet was so fun to watch with her cake. She enjoyed touching it and looking at it - oh and holding her fork; eating it wasn't so important. She ate a few small bites. Being the first really sweet sugary food she has eaten in her life, she reacted with some surpised faces.

(You should have seen the sugar burst she had about an hour later!! She was up and down and all around...the kids and I laughed our heads off. She totally put on a show for us, like nothing we've ever seen her do)

Happy Birthday Violet! We love and cherish you so much. You are a delight to have in our family. Thank-you for all the joy you bring to our home!

A Teaspoon of April and a Morsel of May

It's been a rainy Spring here! The 5:30 AM runs have been a bit sporatic the last couple of weeks because of it. But today at 5:15 I peeked out the blinds to see that everything was wet, but there was nothing falling. The initial feeling was of course a bit of disappointment because the chance of falling back into my bed was still a hope, but once I got ready, stretched, and started walking and breathing the extra fresh air I was so glad! The lovely thing about our usual route is it starts off with a hill. Straight up to the top of our neighborhood we go. We usually leave each other alone - not very much talking - just breathing, until we get to the top. It's a challenge, but always so rewarding.

I got home and made breakfast burritos and hot chocolate and O.J. while Luke was upstairs showering...finally something he is doing religiously without prodding. Adam wondered why until I reminded him that the 6th graders are in the middle of their dance unit, which they practice daily in preparation for the end of year dance. This will involve dance cards with randomly selected girls on them, leaving a spot for hanging out at the refreshment table. Luke pointed out that he would NOT do it if he had to ask a girl on his own. I guess they know exactly how to break them in slowly. As we drove to school he was picking something out of his teeth, and asking if we could buy breath mints before June 2nd. For sure. We'll get some for you.
Sound guys during class play MacBeth

Luke's default setting
The kids are getting so excited for school to finish. Will rolled out of bed at 7:40 and walked into the school at 7:59. He's so happy that he is completely done with homework for the year..."My teacher is SO Nice!"
crazy hair day
Will and luke are all about basketball
...and soccer these days.
He couldn't get enough of this salad at dinner the night before so he requested it for lunch the next day
On the other hand, Bridget is wondering if Mr. Young will have a website next year that she can check. And asking, "Do teachers get paid, because Mr. Young said they don't?" As well as preparing for her air band to "Eye of the Tiger," next week and Adam is teaching her the moves that go with the song, uh-huh, and she is thinking of taking a video camera to record a day in Mr. Young's classroom. Girls night which included Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure (and it was) - and some episodes of Cosby Show. We loved it.
Jonah is working on being a happy guy more than a mean guy. We're singing alot of, "I want to be kind to everyone... and "Jesus said love everyone..." and it's working! He's the happy guy/mean guy police around here and it's great. When I said no to him yesterday he said, "Don't say that to me Mom, that's a bad word." When he sees injustice between the kids he goes to the guilty person first and says, "Don't be a mean guy to ______." Then he goes over to console the other one, "Are you okay? _______needs to be a happy guy to you." It's amazing, really. Every family needs one.
Super Jonah!
This is just after Jonah said, "When I was Violets age I drank milk in a bottle, and then whisked her bottle away!" (which was fine by her)


Violet finished getting one of her bottom teeth, phew, which means that she is happy again and that has been wonderful! She is a sweet singin (only in church), sloppy kissin' booty shaker(when the right music comes on)who lights up our home.

A sunday morning snack served by Jonah

checking her email

her seat of choice where she's learning all the basics of cooking

with her toys

Her first visit to the sandbox was yummy!

I put her down for a short nap at 5:00 and she woke up at 11:30 to have a tea party with Adam and I.
She was so cute kicking back and reading her scriptures with us

This week I am finishing up my personal progress by finishing the Book of Mormon. It has been a great experience and can't wait to do it again with Bridget. Did you know that Sister Dalton's husband earned his Personal Progress and has a gold tie to signify completing the Virtue value experience and project! Who new that the guys could do this with us?

Here is a fabulous talk to read.

And this was one of the favorite videos we watched on Sunday.

The recipe for Will's favorite salad (from my cousin Emily Perry)

Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce
strawberries (quartered)
1 can mandarin oranges (drained)
salted cashews

Dressing:
3/4 - 1 cup mayo
2 tsp poppyseeds
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar
thin with milk to desired consistancy
And other than that we are staying busy with Soccer, Fathers and Sons, playing and working in the yard etc.