Thursday, December 18, 2008

Snow much fun!





























































It's official! We are covered in a layer of snow and it is sticking around ... and snowing each night and some days. So, even if it warms up and melts off in the day, it comes back in the night and we wake up to a good covering of the white fluffy stuff. It finally feels like it is really winter around here. The girls LOVE the snow. If the snow is melting away when we are heading out, Allyson will find any little patch of it and eat it. So cute. It is quite an adjustment planning enough time in the morning before we go anywhere to warm up the car, and get hats, gloves, boots, and coats on. Coats don't go on easy when the little ones have thick long sleeves on. It's hard to keep the shirt sleeves from bunching up in the coat sleeves. Ah, the problems of the snow! We have snow tires with studs and snow scrapers in the car. This is such a contrast to Houston. I do believe we have gone from one extreme to the other.













Sunday, December 14, 2008

Little Lambs























We have a family at church that keeps a flock of sheep. While the mama sheep usually have their babies in the spring, one of the little boy sheep got "too big for his britches" (as they tell us!) and 3 sheep had lambs last week. So the family is busy trying to keep these little babies warm and fed in the cold December weather. Thinking that Allyson and Lauren would really enjoy seeing the lambs they invited the girls and I to come out last week and look at them. The girls did love it. Allyson kept telling me that she was a good mom and Lauren had a little one following her around. Allyson held one and fed one - good mom! Lauren was just curious about the whole affair and went from sheep to sheep to check it all out. Lauren has no fear of any animal. She charges right in. They have a dog that lives with the sheep and it is half St. Bernard and half something else - anyway this dog is the size of a small horse with long, thick, and stinky fur (lives with the sheep) and Lauren was hugging and kissing him. This really was a treat for the girls and a treat for me to watch them enjoy themselves so much.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Recipe to Share

These are a little on the sugary side, but who can fault a cookie for being too sweet? I got some coupons in the mail the other day and there were a couple of recipes included. The girls and I tried this one today! I think they taste delicious. They are sweet and crispy. They don't taste like Vanilla Wafers, but they taste yummy anyway. This was a quick and easy recipe to make and it made two cookie sheets - so quick batch to whip up if you need something sweet to take to someone.

Vanilla Wafer Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.




Wednesday, December 10, 2008

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ..


















I can't believe we are already into the month of December. We have been busy doing fun and festive things. Putting up the tree and seeing Santa being at the top of Allyson's list! Allyson has a look that she gives Santa (the same one she has reserved for my dad) and it is of pure love and admiration. Lauren was not too big of a fan of Santa. She's kind of in a mommy phase right now and handing her off to some strange man at the mall was not her idea of a good time! They both love the tree and Lauren gives it hugs and kisses quite often.






Here's a couple of pictures...