5th day of Christmas

On the 5th day of Christmas: Decorations & Music

I store 6 boxes of Christmas decorations in the shed all year, and pull them out when we are ready to decorate the tree. I refuse to have more than 6 boxes for just Christmas stuff, so whenever I get new items, I have to get rid of older things or decorations I don't want, in order to fit everything into the same 6 boxes. The majority of all our Christmas items is decorations for the trees...

Box 1 contains the four 3' artifical trees that the kids decorate for their rooms.

Box 2 contains lights. There's different colored strings for all the different trees: white lights, blue lights, red lights, and multi-colored lights. There's also strings of white & purple lights for outside.

Box 3 contains ornaments & decorations for our tree. I have two sets (so that the tree doesn't look the same every year): a blue/silver set, and a red/gold set.

Box 4 contains ornaments for the kids' trees. The kids all have their own ornaments in their own separate containers--ones that they've made or have been given. Josh and I also have containers of our own ornaments from our youth in this box.  

Box 5 contains miscellaneous larger items: the door wreath, two larger glass blocks with Christmas vinyl lettering, the larger painted wood nativity, the large crocheted Santa & Mrs. Clause that my grandma made, the tree skirts, and a lit-up window decoration. 

Box 6, the final box, holds all the house decorations, including: multiple smaller nativity sets, Christmas books, stockings, advent calendars, and various Christmas figures.

On the day that we decorate the house and the tree, I play Christmas music on the CD player, and turn it up super loud so that everyone in the house can hear it. I don't let any TV's be on or other radios play music while we're decorating. I only listen to music from the 4 Christmas CD's I own; two of my favorites are: Celine Dion's "These are Special Times" Christmas album, and Michael McLean's "The Forgotten Carols". I love singing along with the songs on those albums as I'm decorating. It totally puts me in the mood for the Christmas season!

4th day of Christmas

On the 4th day of Christmas: Giving as a Family

Each Monday in December, we've incorporated into our Family Home Evenings a lesson on giving as part of the Christmas season.

The first Monday of December, we put up the Christmas tree and each boy created their wish lists. We talked to the boys about asking for things they needed & wanted, and about not being greedy. They were limited to only 5 requests each, and the lists they created were pretty sensible. Ammon asked for new church shoes, church clothes, winter coat, boots, and a pillow. Grandpa T. had extra snow boots in Ammon's size, so we crossed that off his list, and he added the Madden NFL 13 wii game. Jonah asked for a BSU jersey, ice skates, slippers, a mini banana chair, and an SD card for his new tablet. Micah requested an SD card, ice skates, his favorite movie "Over the Hedge", and the new Legos Lord of the Rings wii game, and another wii game. Kanyon wants a remote control monster truck, star wars legos, the Wipeout 2 wii game, a DS game, and a tablet. Josh really enjoys shopping and fulfilling their needs, and Santa usually supplies most of the children's wants. 

After the boys created their wish lists, we talked to them about our family sponsoring another family this Christmas. Josh got lists of items needed for a family, and we all decided to pool our money together and go shopping together to help this specific family. Josh and I went shopping one day, and then Josh took the kids shopping another day to purchase items on the list. The boys all donated $10 of their own money to help this family, and they felt good about helping.

The second Monday in December, we talked to the boys about giving to each other. I told them that I would match the funds that they gave to help the anonymous family, so I would be giving them each $10 to shop for one of their brothers. They pulled names out of a jar to see which brother they would be giving to. I told them that the purpose of this activity was to give, not to receive, so they were not to tell the brother that pulled their name what they wanted. It was up to the giving brother to decide what to get. I've taken them shopping one by one this week to get their items for their chosen brother. They each had to choose on their own what to get, and they've all done so well! They will each be wrapping their gifts tonight to put under the tree for their brother.

The third Monday in December (in 2 days from now), we will be delivering home-made goodies to neighbors and friends and family around Salmon. It takes a few hours to make the rounds, and we all help in the giving: Josh & I have purchased the items to make the treats, I bake the goodies, Josh drives us around to the homes, and the boys give out the gifts!

The fourth Monday night in December is Christmas Eve. We will be reading the Nativity story, and talking about the gift of the Savior's Life, and the gift of the Atonement for us. We will share stories about giving to others around us, as Jesus would like us to do. We all had a goal at the first of the year to perform acts of service every day, and we will continue that discussion and implement the continuous desire to give and act on that goal. This is our gift to Jesuss for his celebrated birthday, to serve others.

2nd & 3rd days of Christmas

Every year (except for the first year of our marriage), Josh & I get a live tree to put in our home for the Christmas season. And every live tree we've obtained (except for one) has come from the same location on a mountainside near Salmon.

On the 2nd day of Christmas: the Tree
Traditionally, we go and cut down the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving as a family. This year was no exception to that tradition...the only thing that was different about our annual tree-hunt was that I didn't go for the first time ever. I was just one week post-knee-surgery, and I didn't think I would be able to traverse the terrain successfully. I was really sad about it, but I gave Josh the camera and gave him strict instructions to take photos so I wouldn't feel completely left out of it! There was a big group this year that went tree hunting: Grandpa, Josh & our boys, Gid & Alyssa, Mal & his gal pal Molly, and several of Tiffany's kids. Josh took some fun pictures, and he did a great job picking out the tree without me; he brought back our biggest Christmas tree yet! Gideon took two smaller trees, and Mal & Molly each took a smaller tree for their college dorms. The kids all had a great time on the excursion, too!

On the 3rd Day of Christmas: Decorating the Tree
I have always been the one to put the lights on the tree (with just two exceptions of Josh doing it), and I didn't have the energy to do the job until a week after the boys cut it down. The Monday after bringing it home, we did a Family Home Evening project of rearranging and cleaning the living room to bring the tree inside. We moved the piano to a different wall so that the tree would be placed along the wall with the tallest ceiling. Josh still had to cut the base of it as well as a few branches off in order to fit it in the house. It now stands at 8 1/2 feet tall--truly our biggest tree ever.

The boys wanted to decorate it the same night we brought it in, but unfortunately for them, I just couldn't do it. That was the first day I'd returned to work, and I was so sore and stiff, and in pain and so exhausted that I couldn't put the lights on the tree. So instead, I got out the four artificial 3' trees for them to decorate with their own ornaments and lights for their individual bedrooms. They were happy to have a project, and they all got right to work.

Finally on Friday (after 4 days of the boys' begging and the tree standing naked--and a full week after cutting it down), I put the lights on the tree. Josh & I have not always seen eye-to-eye regarding tree lights. I like plain-colored lights, and he likes multi-colored lights. Last year, I compromised by getting all blue lights for the tree. They pleased me because they were all the same, and they pleased him because they were colored. So, I chose to do the same compromise this year by getting all red lights. We've never had an all-red tree before, and our whole family loves it! After spending an hour putting the lights on, and putting the tree topper on, I took a break from tree-decorating and let the boys take over. The 3 youngest boys decorated the rest of the tree themselves, using the red & gold decorations. I was so impressed that the boys pulled over kitchen chairs & stools so that they could reach higher on the tree to place the ornaments. They did an outstanding job and I enjoyed watching them do it all on their own accord, without any help from me! It truly was a family project that we all contributed to: Josh picking out the tree, me putting the lights on it, and the boys placing its decorations. I think that's part of the reason why I love it so much--because it was a collaberative effort. We all love coming home in the evening to find its red lights on and the house lights off; it's such a beautiful and peaceful sight!

12-12-12

Today's date is 12-12-12. How cool is that?! I was thinking this is the end of the "Once in a lifetime days"; you know, where the day, month, and year are all the same. No more 01-01-01 dates will happen for another hundred years (or 88 years, to be mathematically precise).

Today is also the beginning of the 12 days of Christmas for 2012. Last year on my blog, I did  "Twelve days of Christmas" posts, in which I shared each day about a memorable Christmas from my past. This year for the 12 days of Christmas on my blog, I want to talk about one activity per day that we do to celebrate Christmas in our home.

On the 1st day of Christmas: Advent Calendars

My kids love advent calendars. They love counting down the days until Christmas. Their favorite advent calendar is the disposable ones that have little doors on them for each day of the month, with a Christmas-shaped chocolate behind each open door. I try to buy 4 different designs so that they don't get confused as to whose is who's. A few years ago, they were all matching and I wrote the boys' initials at the top of their calendar, but Kanyon (who didn't know his letters at the time) ended up eating chocolates out of all 3 of the other boys' calendars. The boys all became emotionally distraught when they discovered what their youngest brother had done. They were even more upset to find out there would be no replacement for the stolen chocolates: when I went to buy more calendars to replace theirs, the stores were all sold out of them. We learned our lesson that year: never buy matching calendars again! 

We also have a Nativity advent calendar that we've used for years. We received it from a secret santa the year that the twins were born, and I treasure that somebody thought of us to bring us such thoughtful goodies, including the calendar. Each day a character is taken out of the numbered boxes to add to the nativity scene at the top, always ending with the addition of baby Jesus on December 24.

I loved doing advent calendars when I was a kid, too. My favorite advent calendar was a Hallmark Around-the-World one from my youth. When I was a young child, my mom received it with a Christmas card. She laminated it, and we used it each year. One paper doll wearing a costume from another country was placed in the numbered slits on the wreath each day. I loved looking at all the different & colorful outfits from the varied countries. On the backside of each paper doll, there was explanations about unique customs from the country, too. My sisters and I had to take turns putting one person a day on the wreath, and I always hoped for the Mexico day--I loved the girl in the fancy red dress! On Christmas Eve, there was a Santa to place on the calendar. My mom has since thrown it away, and I've searched online, but only have found one {terrible quality} photo of what it looked like. I loved this advent calendar:

di-nah-guh-gle boys

Tonight, Ammon & Kanyon played a game. It was a game they made up, and it doesn't have a name.

Here's how you play it: One brother covers his face with a shirt. The other brother calls out directions for the first brother to walk around the room. The directions that the second brother give make the first brother walk purposefully into objects or furniture. Then after the first brother crashes into the object or furniture, the two boys laugh hysterically, and trade turns.

They played it for quite a while, and as Kanyon called out orders he would say: "Go right. Go left. No, I said LEFT! Go backwards a teeny tiny bit. Go right. Go right. Go right. Go di-nah-guh-gle (diagonal)."

It was hilarious to watch. It was funny to listen to my 5-year-old Kanyon bark orders, and for my 12-year-old Ammon to willingly obey and crash all over the place. It was hysterical to listen to them giggle and laugh at such a simple game. I loved observing their game and their interactions as brothers!

Fall 2012 Top Ten

Today is the 1st day of December, so for me that means the beginning of Winter, and the official end of Fall. Here's our completed Top 10 Fall 2012 list:

1. Eat yummy food at the East Idaho State Fair
Josh & I had some classics that we both love: the fried turkey leg, the tortatoes, and the funnel cake. And we tried some new foods, too: the fried cheesecake bites, the chocolate bacon, and a new smoothie flavor.

2. Have a party for Jonah & Micah's birthday
It was their turn for a friend party this year, and they decided on a pirate theme. It was a fun, and successful party with lots of boys running around!

3. Watch Ammon run in XC meets
This was Ammon's first year running Cross Country, and he did so well and he really enjoyed it, too. I will be posting more about this in an upcoming blog. 

4. Go to HS football games
Due to the severe smoke conditions this fall, our football games scheduled at home were either cancelled or played at another high school that's 2 hours away. Only ONE game was played at home: the last one on the schedule, senior night. We all went and had a great time watching our team win. It didn't feel like fall until we could attend a football game, and I was so glad we finally could go to one!

5. Go camping for the last time this year
Our last camping trip of the season was to Challis Hot Springs in October. We usually go there in the spring, but didn't this year. So when Ammon had a XC meet scheduled there, we took the opportunity to make a family camping trip out of it, and it was so wonderful!

6. Sell pumpkins from the patch
This was the 4th year we've had a pumpkin patch, and sales were so successful this year that we sold out of all the big ones. We were blessed with good weather and nice customers this year. I will be posting more about this soon, too. 

7. Dress up & go trick-or-treating on Halloween
I love Halloween! I'm so grateful for ward parties, the merchant's trick-or-treating, school parties, and Halloween Carnivals that give me and my children the opportunity to dress up, get candy, and have a good time! More to come about Halloween...  (I'm obviously behind on my blogging)

8. Have a bonfire
With all the branches that fell off our trees in the major windstorm this summer, our burn pile was huge and we were looking forward to burning it down this fall since we couldn't in the summer's hot and dry conditions. One weekend in October, Malachi (Josh's brother) came home to visit from college with a bunch of friends, and Josh's dad burned the pile when they were here. I was in the pumpkin patch that day, and couldn't leave to go watch or take photos, but I let my pyro-lovers Jonah and Micah leave the patch to go help burn dry limbs and leaves in the fire.

9. Celebrate Josh's birthday
I took Josh to Boise overnight for his birthday the first weekend in November. We went to a BSU game, ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, took a tour of the newly renovated Boise Temple, and did some shopping. It was a lovely retreat!

10. Eat Thanksgiving dinner with family
Edward & Kathy hosted this year, and all of Josh's siblings came home for the holiday. We had a great time playing games, eating, visiting, and lounging!

November 2012 on FB

Nov. 3: Today is the day that I've been waiting for for months! Taking a tour of the Boise Temple Open House this afternoon, having dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, and going to the BSU Broncos game tonight with my hubby for his birthday!!! It's gonna be an awesome day!

Nov. 4: I love Winco!!!! Wish groceries in Salmon were that cheap!

Nov. 6: I just finished reading the book "Wicked". I love the music of the Broadway play, but I didn't like the book.

Nov. 10: Josh planted our tulip bulbs just in time yesterday before the snow fell & stayed on the ground. I've wanted tulips for years, and I'm so excited that we finally got some bulbs to plant. Thanks honey!

Nov. 11: I am so thankful for blue skies, especially after living without them for 2 months this year!

Nov. 13: ate homemade French Onion soup with onions from our garden. I only make it once a year, but should make it more! It is SOOO good!

Nov. 14: It's gonna be such a great night tomorrow! Relief society dinner, a high school play, the midnight release of Twilight, and spending time with my bestie! I'm thinking of it as the Last Supper & Final {Fun} Act before my dreaded knee surgery on Friday morning.

Nov. 15: I don't like it when people go so much of their way to create problems for other people. Specifically, I don't like it when people go behind my back and say untrue things to hurt me. It really gets to me, and I hate having to defend myself because of someone else's lies.

Nov. 19: Other than my lopsided walk, i'm feeling so much better today! I could finally remove the bandages and look at the scars and take a shower, and the pain in my knee is definitely bearable now. So grateful to be on the mends from surgery, and just in time for Thanksgiving with family!

Nov. 21: I'm thinking that "Wreck it Ralph" is on today's agenda!

Nov. 23: payday + black friday + bum knee = lots of online shopping

Nov. 24: loved going to the cheerleaders bazaar & the festival of trees this morning. now I'm making pumpkin puree all afternoon as a homage to the end of fall.

Nov. 26: We put up our live Christmas tree today--it's 8 1/2 feet tall! Our biggest tree ever! And I am SOOOO in love. I was super sad that I couldnt' go tree hunting this year, and I'm so proud of Josh for picking the perfect tree even in my absence!

Nov. 29: [from Josh] "Schwedde Balls make a great Christmas Gift" at Season's Eatings with Kala.

the perfect autumn bite

The new recipe I tried in October was Pumpkin Fudge.

I searched on Pinterest for recipes, and tried a few. The one that I found the best was this:

Ingredients:
3 c. sugar
2 TB light corn syrup
3/4 c. butter
2/3 c. evaporated milk
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice (1 t cinnamon, 1/4 t ginger, 1/4 t nutmeg, 1/8 t ground cloves)
1 12 oz. pkg white chocolate chips
1 7 oz. jar marshmallow creme
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Instructions:
Butter a 9x13 dish. Combine 1st 6 ingredients in heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugars dissolve, then continue cooking until mixture begins to boil, stirring constantly. Boil until a candy thermometer reaches the soft boil stage of 234* (about 30 min. of stirring). Remove from heat. Stir in white chips until they are melted & mixture is smooth. Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Pour into prepared pan, store refrigerated in airtight container. Makes approx 60 pieces. (I used a smaller pan so that the pieces were thicker, and it made 30 pieces).

My whole reason for making pumpkin fudge was to sell pieces of it at the pumpkin patch. I've made pumpkin pies for the last 2 years to sell at the patch, too, but not everyone likes the texture of pumpkin pie, so I wanted to make something else in addition to it. I sold the little 1" fudge squares for 50 cents each, and I sold out of it each weekend. Everyone kept telling me that it's "the perfect little bite of autumn flavors"! I use my own pumpkin puree that I make from the pumpkins we grow in the patch in both the pies and the fudge, and I think that it makes it that much more delicious!

Speaking of my homemade pumpkin puree, it's on my list of things to do (and make) today...

I {heart} Fall!

I love the cold, crisp mornings and nights.

I love the harvesting of the garden.

I love the colorful landscape.

I love the dropping leaves.

I love autumn holidays.

I love the food.

I love fall!

 

 

one good shot, then another

Last fall, Ammon completed the Hunter's Ed. Safety course in preparation for his first hunting season this year, since he turned 12 in January. Josh was looking forward to finally having a hunting buddy--he hasn't gone hunting himself since 2008. One evening in mid-October, Josh took Ammon, and they went looking for deer on the ranch--there's always ample amounts of deer grazing the surrounding hay fields. The boys were gone several hours scoping out their targets. Ammon made a few shots at a buck that night, but due to the twilight, it was difficult to see, and the shots were unsuccessful.

 

A few days later, Josh was on his way home from work in the afternoon, and spotted a buck in one of the ranch fields. Thankfully, he had his rifle with him, and he took 2 shots at it, and it did the job. His 2nd shot went right through the deer's neck, and Josh was so glad since that meant there wouldn't be any wasted meat. Unfortunately, his phone was dead (because Kanyon had been playing on it), and that was the only camera he had with him, so he didn't get a photo. He got to work gutting it, and lifted the body into his truck to take it home. When I drove home after work, I passed by Josh, who was shutting the gate to that field, and he had a giant smile plastered to his face. It's unusual for him to look so happy, so I knew something was up. After we both got home, he gleefully told me about his successful hunt. Then he got his dad's tractor, hooked the deer onto it, raised it up, and started the job of skinning it. That's when I finally got a picture of his prize meat (bloody and half-skinned, and raised in the air like a pinata!).

The very next evening, Josh took Ammon up to the field just above our house. They had been observing the deer patterns for a few days, and figured this would be the best time/place for Ammon to make a kill. And their observations turned out to be right! Within a half hour, Ammon spotted a buck, took just 1 shot, and the buck was down! The bullet went through its spine. Ammon was so happy, and we felt so lucky to get 2 deer within 2 days!

Josh gutted it for Ammon in the field before the sun went down, brought it back to the house on the 4-wheeler, and skinned it the same way he did his own the day before. 

Josh took both bucks to the meat packing shop in Salmon, and we are anxiously anticipating when we can start eating lots of yummy deer jerky and deer burger! I am so proud of both of them and their successful first hunting season together!