Three Day Cookie Endeavor

Pin It Now! Day 1: Make dough, then refrigerate overnight.

Day 2: Roll out and cut dough into cute Christmas shapes.

Day 3: Frost and decorate.


By day 3 I am a little bit grumpy and asking myself for the umpteenth time, "Why do I do this every year?" Baking these cookies is no easy task, and it can get kinda messy. And my mid-back is usually on fire from slightly bending over and being on my feet in the kitchen for hours at a time. Ugh.

HOW DO BAKERS DO THIS FOR A LIVING?

I remember the very first year I attempted to make the dough and cut out the shapes on my own. Let's just say I became quite angry and frustrated. But since then, I have mastered the art of working with this Prize Sugar Cookie dough recipe that's been passed down through the generations on my mom's side. The old-fashioned, silver cookie cutters shown in these pictures used to be my grandma's. :)

So, beside the fact that my grandma made these cookies and my mom made these cookies every single Christmas, I make these cookies because of these sweet, little faces. (Well, and I absolutely love to eat them!)

Startin' to get a bit messy...

But, everyone is having a good time. Memories are being made. And one day I will pass my grandma's cookie cutters on to my children. :)

Mullin, who is always thinking of ways to be generous, took all of his freshly decorated cookies to his friend down the street.

**Maybe next year I won't double the recipe!

Candy Land Party

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My sister throws the best birthday parties!!  I can’t believe she took the time to make all of this Candy Land stuff!!

Grandpa D was King Kandy and my brother dressed up as Mr. Mint.

 

 

Line of cousins—twins wouldn’t come out of the bouncy. :)

 

 

 

Livi, the birthday girl, and Shiloh standing in front of Lollipop Woods.

The gumdrops in the background were made out of terra-cotta pots.  So cute!

 

 

Almost time to start!

(My camera is not taking very good pics, as it is ancient and held together with tape.  Pics are turning out so dark—ahg.)

 Shiloh and Livi pass Plumpy and pull some suckers off the tree.

 Mullin helps Easton---too cute!!!  And of course, Mr. Mint passes out candy canes!

 

 Lincoln helped one of the twins, Kenny, follow the rainbow path.

 Isn’t Gloppy grand?!  (I know these pictures are making you all want to get Candy Land out and play a game, huh?)

I am supposed to be Princess Lolly.

Instead of Gramma Nut, it was Grandpa Graham handing out graham crackers.  Both my sister and I have children who are allergic to peanuts~crazy!!

By the time they reached the end, everyone had enough supplies in their bags to make gingerbread houses.

Fun party!

I Love Citrus Season!!

Pin It Now! Our first orange of the season. Shiloh picked it before the sun came up this morning. :)

Sadly our tree didn't bear much fruit this year--only 12 oranges. It is still young, but I was hoping for more.



Picking tangelos at Grandma's house.

Can't wait for folks to start passing their grapefruits and lemons on to us!!! Bring on the home made lemonade!

Day With Great Grandpa

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We drove 62 miles to see my Grandpa today. The kids are blessed to have a great grandparent here in AZ! We were treated to pizza and a sweet time of visiting. :)

And you just gotta love someone who tells you, "You remind me so much of Cindy Crawford!" every time you see him.

*Please just let me bask in the compliment and refrain from any "Hmmm, bet he can't see very well," comments. ;)

There's A Magnet On My Bathroom Door

Pin It Now! You can't see it, but it is there. Door shuts. Invisible magnet power turns on.



I think there's one installed in every mother's master bathroom door. This magnet is especially designed to attract KIDS! Somebody please tell me how to deactivate this thing!!!



Kids just have a knack for needing you right after you've shut the bathroom door, don't they? I can almost guarantee hearing a loud, "MOM!" yelled from our kitchen downstairs or a soft knock on my closed bathroom door every single morning. After breakfast, after making beds, after the kids are all ready to start home school, it's my turn to have a few minutes to "get ready".



I was literally interrupted 6 times this morning for various things. Ahhhhhh! Good grief, I just wanted to get ready in peace!! Then there it was, another voice talking to me through my bathroom door. ----Sigh.



This little muffled voice said, "Mommy, I have the most beautiful prayer."



"You do?"



"Yes."



Well, I wasn't about to keep the door shut any longer. I couldn't let this moment pass. Isn't this what my mothering is all about? Raising these babies up for the Lord?



So, I opened the door for the seventh time, still not "ready" for the day, and I sat down beside my sweet little girl who was holding our Adorenament book in her hands. (My previous post just happened to be about our Adorenament tradition--guess she's really been paying attention!) She opened up the book and while turning to each and every page, she proceeded with these words:



"Dear God,

Thank you Jesus that you were born.

Thank you for the door that you walk inside it and there you are.

Thank you for the tree and the grapes that die on it.

Thank you for the water that you have to keep running back to get it.

Thank you for the candle that glows in the dark.

Thank you for the star that shines bright in the sky.

Thank you for the lion and the sheep.

Thank you for the shepherd that takes care of the sheep and the crown that is so sparkly.

Thank you for the bread that fills our tummies and for the cross you died for our sins.

Amen."



Then she added, "I am going to say this prayer during Bible, too." And she did. So I got the last half of it on tape. :)

Today I was glad for that 7th interruption. :)