Merry Chirstmas

Our Christmas Holiday Break began

with Larry getting ACL reconstructive surgery

on his left knee.

It's been a long wait for him...

almost 5 years since his original injury.

He's missed many activities due to

the missing tendons and has suffered

much pain and swelling with too much

strain.

It's been hard over the years to find the right

time to leave work for recovery,

 the right time in between having kids

that I could survive without his help,

and the right insurance coverage.

Finally the stars have aligned

and with a string pulled from his

own hamstring, Larry's knee is mended!

So we enjoyed the comforts of home

together with Dad home

(even if he was asleep from his

pain med's for most of it)

and made due spending time

in each other's company.

We painted ornaments,

made forts,

watched Christmas movies,

read 1,000s of Christmas books,

put together two 500 piece puzzles,

and finally on Christmas Eve

we made sugar cookies for Santa.

I have admit, this table is awesome.

It holds are family (+ more) and has plenty

of space to spread out.

One happy family.

(We didn't forget Dan, but we knowingly

plan "hands on" activities like these for

when he his peacefully napping)

Who's that hungry girl?

Little Orphan Annie?

Nope, it's our little Keira Jane.

She ate her weight in cookies

that afternoon!

Daddy was her servant as she ordered

him to put specific colored icing on

her cookies and then saved the shaking of

sprinkles for herself.

Sydney got out toothpicks

to add details to her cookies.

Emma was very concerned

about making her gingerbread girl

to look exactly like her!

And then she ate it.

Ben and his "half smile"!

I am treasuring this photo.

It is the first time I have caught

that cute facial expression.

Classic Photos

 I promise,

if you take the time to scroll through

this posting of pictures

you will NOT be disappointed.

I am pleased to say that I can take

partial responsibility for how rad

these pictures are.

The photos are taken from our

ward activity that I put together with help
from friends.

In other words,

I am really really good at asking

people to do stuff for me.

The background of our Santa set up

is my Christmas tablecloth,

the lighted tree goes next to my front door,

and I asked a dear friend who

does professional photography

to take the photos for free!

As for how well my children preformed

in the photos,

that is.... ALL their doing!

Here is Keira looking slightly happy,

but more scared.

Kind of on the verge of running 

in the opposite direction.

Here is Ben with the typical

awkward smile that goes with

4 yr old boys

and finding comfort with sugar in one hand

and a matchbox car in the other.

And Emma desperate to tell Santa

her long list of things she wants

for Christmas, as Santa strains to 

hold up Emma and her burly,

muscled body which can make a leg

go numb in a matter of seconds.

Then there is Sydney,

too old to still be sitting on Santa's lap,

but enduring for her mother's sake.

Plastering her pretend smile

wide across her face.

Lastly the classic group photo

with the baby screaming at the top of his

lungs!!

With death grips by his older sisters,

holding him in place while the

torturous picture is taken.

And Keira, scared to death,

because she doesn't understand

why her brother is so desperate

to get away.

And let me tell you,

I loved every minute of it.

Laughing heartily at Dan's expense.

9 Going On 19

 Somebody is growing up!

Right before our very eyes.

Sydney is the big "9"!!

We started the day by letting

Sydney open her present from

the Grandparents.

Her requested present from

MONTHS ago

was finally here...

a tiger pillow pet!

Then a quick breakfast of

eggs!

For dinner the kids all put on

dress up clothes

and we decorated Sydney's chair

like a present.

Dinner was hot ham & cheese sliders

and her chocolate Rolo cookies for dessert!

Each of my kids have loved the

birthday plate they get from

primary!!

Daddy preps the candles.

9 candles make for a big glow!

She huffed, and she puffed until she

BLEW

out those candles!

And her party?

Nope, not this year.

Just the $$ for the cost of the party.

She is saving up for an American Girl Doll!!

Look at her just concentrate on counting 

how much $$ she is holding in her hands.

Then it's time for the traditional

scavenger hunt to find your present!

This year Dad did pictures of things

around the house to send Sydney

off to the next clue.

Ending with the garage.

On first glance, Sydney didn't see her new bike

among the billion sitting in there.

But finally she spotted it and jumped on.

She is very excited to finally have something

 on her bike that none of the previous ever have...

....A KICK STAND!!!

2 Helpers Makes Double The Fun

 Ever had a "helper" in the kitchen?

Sometimes it's great.

Fun, even.

Exciting to watch their little minds

concentrate at the task set before them.

Then there's the times

when your helpers are just

major nuisances.

That's when I take several

deep breaths just to make it

through.

This day we were whipping up

a special cookie Sydney requested

to eat for her birthday dessert.

Rolo Chocolate Cookies!

My helpers were very excited to

make a treat for their Big Sis.

Ben's first task, was to unwrap

all the Rolo's.

He excelled at that,

by creating towers.

So I gave him a harder task of hiding the

Rolo's inside the chocolate batter

and wrapping it around them.

I was surprised at how well he did!

Keira usually does things like

stir, whisk, count the cups of flour, hold the beater,

clean the beaters (with her tongue), etc..

but today she had a cough.

And the last thing I need was her

to cough into the bowl.

So she was on clean up duty.

And MAN!

Was she good at it!! 

It's snowed on our cookies!!

If you haven't tried making chocolate cookies

from a the box of Devil's Food Cake mix.

You have to!!

So easy, quick and versatile.

You can put anything in them.

White chocolate chips, Reese's pb cups,

Reese's pieces, a cherry, etc...

Holiday Preperations

Ever felt like you spend 1/2 the holidays stuck

in the kitchen baking something?

I swear that I have either had a spoon

or a hot glue gun 

in my hand for the past 2 months.

But that's ok.

I love to be creative.

Usually that means trying a new

recipe or making a new

decoration for my house.

This year the treats for friends

and neighbors included this delicious

Orange Glazed Poppy Seed Cake.

And a jar of blackberry jam!

Which is soooo easy to make.

Gotta love the instant fruit pectin!!

This year is probably our last year

of doing the "live" tree.

We love the smell and the fresh look

of a live tree,

but it's just not cost effective.

And we would rather by more presents,

then a new tree each year.

(fyi: the tree isn't that "thin" the cording is still

around it!)

Indoor Soccer

To keep up on Emma's improving skills in soccer

we enrolled her in indoor soccer

for the winter season.

Although I do have remind myself 

of those reason why we signed her

every time we have to find a way

to balance out the holiday activities

and this opportunity.

Big Kick from E

On her first game she scored 5 goals.

One of them came from the back field bounce off the

lip of the wall right by the window, went over

all the girls heads and landed in the goal!!!

And yes...

she is still a head taller then

most of the kids her age.

She gets that from her mom!

Staying focused.

These two enjoy rocking out to tunes

on the MP3 player to help pass away the time.

It's Rare

These moments don't happen every day.

All the kids...

sitting peacefully...

(usually a fight breaks out because

the younger 3 always crowd around

#1 and #2, cramming themselves

on to 1 couch even though we have two)

It was just before bedtime and all the kids were washed,

pj's on, teeth brushed and a quiet Christmas

cartoon was found on Netflix for all to enjoy.

Dan also loves his new freedom that has come

with the accomplishment of being

able to pull himself up and on

to the couch.

That night, I too had a rare moment

with my two big helpers.

We finished the cartoon together while the 

little kids dosed off to sleep.

I have to say,

Larry and I really love having an extra hour

with Sydney and Emma at night.

It helps us connect with them,

hear about their day,

spend quiet time doing homework,

working on projects,

reading books or even just

going over spelling lists.

We always take a deep breath and relax just

a little bit more and discuss just how

quiet it is when a few kids are asleep.

How To Make A Dress "Fancy Nancy"

Last year, after Christmas,

I found 3 matching dresses 1/2 price

in all my girls sizes.  Rare?  Yes!

In "Rachel Style", I bought them

and hung them in my closet,

refusing to let the girls wear them

until this year.

But after staring at these dresses for  

a year I decided they just weren't 

fancy enough.

Too plain for my taste.

So I bought a few odds and ends

and came up with this....

BEFORE

AFTER

Cut gold tulle into strips,

sewed with red thread three lines down

each strip.

Then twisted and hot glued them into flowers.

And took apart some cheap poinsettia flowers

and hand stitched them to the dresses.

Best Kept Secret

By random chance Larry and I caught the evening news

before bed last night.

They were interviewing a couple who 

decided to pay for a company to come

and put up lights for them.

(something I wish we could afford)

So as they were showing clips of the process

of how they lights were put up,

we saw a worker us a hot glue gun on the back

of those large lights and push it onto the side

of the house.

Both of us did a double take and said

"did he just use HOT GLUE?"

I am not sure if they meant to show

a trade secret on the news,

but we were so happy for finally know

just how they get those lights up with

brick houses.

If you look closely you can see some hot glue

bulging out the back of this light.

All you do is put a glob of glue on

and hold it there for 5 seconds.

Then move on to the next light.

Finally lights up around our house,

without having to climb the two story ladder!!