Welcome to our "other" House

We look forward to building a Gingerbread House each year.  And Costco had me in mind when they stocked up on these kits. (I love Costco!)  Everything all bundled up in one container ~ ready to go.  Candy sorted and in little bags, white and green frosting already made, walls and roof for the house, trees for the yard and so on. No major production or prep on my part ~ lazy aren't I?  I wouldn't call it lazy - its more like, just not crafty.  OK, lazy too.

Anyhow, we spent an evening working on this cute little house.

The bigger kids worked on the house and I helped the littler ones decorating the 4 yard trees.  Oh fun!!

The house was done. Tessa obviously watched very closely because she immediately picked up the frosting bag and started to work.  She was very concentrated on her decorating.  And very proud of what she did.

Merry Christmas!

Welcome to our Home!

 

Come on in!

 Oh wouldn't it be fun if we could get together and spend an evening by the fire sipping on hot chocolate? 

Some things you would see in our home if you stopped by...

 

 

And this is what you would see outside...

Caleb and Abbi building snow forts for themselves and the dogs!

Brrr!

Finally...

enough snow to do some serious powder sledding!  (not to mention road plowing again for Brian - just 2 1/2 miles to keep plowed)

We powered up the sleds and went up to the Big Canyon Lake (that is empty again until the spring melt-off) to ride around in an open space.  It had snowed all day and was still snowing.  Brrr!  But tons of fun.

Caleb drove Weston

Brian drove me

And I took a little spin by myself.

 

Go Caleb and Weston!

One More Thing...

for the Tree. 

Strings of Popcorn!

This is another tradition we have done since the children were old enough to use a needle and thread.  I must not be "of age" yet because I poke my finger every time.  Ouch!

     

 

FYI - Always pop enough popcorn to string and to eat.

Another nice touch to our tree!

Done!

Fish Bait

a.k.a - SUSHI

I had a request for our sushi ingredients.

Sushi Grade Fish - (flash frozen)  Salmon, Tuna, Halibut

         

Imitation Crab meat - safer for the pregnant ladies to eat

Baby Shrimp - shelled, deveined, cooked

Sticky Rice - we use Niko Niko Calrose Rice by SunLuck

       

Nori Sheets - seaweed

Cream Cheese

Sesame Seeds

Red Chili Sauce

Cut in long strips and add to rolls:

cucumber, zucchini, green pepper, red pepper, cilantro, mango  (yum), avocado, ginger root, lemon (peeled and thinly sliced)

                

Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.

                                  

And invite lots of friends!!!

The Ornaments

Let the fun begin!  This is the night we pop a huge bowl popcorn, turn on the Christmas tunes and load the tree down with ornaments.

Our tree is not a theme tree.  It is very much a hodge podge of things.  It is a tree that tells our stories.  Each ornament has a meaning and a story.  The children enjoy talking about them as we pull them out.  We even have some ornaments from Brian's childhood.  The one the kiddos get the biggest kick out of is the dog he painted purple.

Growing up we had a theme tree.  I vividly remember pulling out the gold glitter balls and gold garland each year.  I loved our tree! (Mom, if you are reading this, I would love to have 8 of those gold balls - if you still have them)  

Anyhow, each child gets a new ornament that represents the past year.  This is a tradition (click for more details) that we do each year.

Hudson: Born to Hunt (hunter safety and first deer hunt)

Maggie: Servants heart (happy and very willing to serve)

Tessa: Precious Moments laying down with a plate of cookies (her two favorite things)

Abbi: Oven with bread (has become a great cook/help in the kitchen this year)

Caleb: Black Bear (he finally saw the black bear that lives on our mountain. we knew he existed because of his tree scratches but just had not seen him yet)

Ashley: Two Bears in a Tent and says "Happy Campers". Our first summer of hosting camps at Big Canyon with a lodge.

Elizabeth: Orange Kitty (she loved on our orange kitten all of the time)

Brian: Tool Belt (pretty much built the Big Canyon Lodge - with the help of many volunteers)

Dani Rae: Precious Moments holding an orange kitten

Weston: Gone Fishing (loved his fishing trip with Dad and siblings to Strawberry)

 

Jeremiah: A Baby Bear Sleeping in a Star - Perfect!

He will live in our hearts forever!!  With a little tear in my eye, I must say, I miss that little guy. 

 

What a great year, even in the midst of trials, this year has been.  Thank you Lord, for your goodness!!

Tree Up - check

Lights On - check

Ornaments Hung - check

Christmas Tree Done!