Putting Up the Tree!

The best time of year is here! We've had fun putting up the tree. This has been a super-fun Christmas season already, and it's not even December!!! E & KB are giddy with delight, and are begging to open gifts already. (I vividly remember the feeling of waiting to open gifts. It was so hard!) Yes, I have the gifts wrapped & under the tree already. I have been squirreling away gifts all year long. 25 Days to Go!

Hot Honey Lemonade with Ginger

You know what is yummy, and feels great on the throat? This drink from Martha Stewart. You should try it.

1/2 cup ginger simple syrup (see below)
4 TBLS freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp honey
3 cups boiling water
12 whole cloves
4 lemon wedges
12 honey-drop candies (I didn't use this.)

Pour 2 TBLS simple syrup in each of four heatproof glasses or mugs. Add 1 TBLS lemon juice, 1 tsp honey and 3/4 cup boiling water to each. Stir until honey dissolves. Stick 3 cloves into each lemon wedge; drop a wedge and 3 candies into each drink. Serve immediately.

Ginger simple syrup (MAKES 3/4 CUP) : 4 ounces fresh ginger, thinly sliced; 1/2 cup water; 1/2 cup granulated sugar

In a small saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil over medium heat. Cook 2 minutes. Strain the mixture through a sieve, discarding ginger. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

Sugar-Free Pumpkin Pie

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? We had a nice, relaxing day with my parents. We rotate Thanksgivings between Lance's folks & mine. When we spend the day at my parents, I try glean as much information about the meal as possible from my mama in anticipation of the day that I will host the feast at my house.

My mom always made turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potato, and cranberry sauce (and sometimes tofurkey)! Sometimes a few other things thrown into the mix. My mom cooks a mean Thanksgiving meal. This year I made this recipe for Pumpkin Pie, sweetened with Agave Nectar. It's so good, and not too sweet.

What about you? What do you traditionally eat? Do you travel? What are your traditions?

PUMPKIN PIE w/AGAVE NECTAR (and Whipped Cream)


2 cups pumpkin puree*
(or 15 oz. of canned organic pumpkin); 
1 9-inch pastry crust; 
¾ tsp pumpkin pie spice; 
1 tsp ground cinnamon
; 1 tsp salt
; 1 tbsp melted butter; 
3 eggs; 
¾ cup agave nectar; 
1/3 cup whole milk; 
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream



Real Whipped Cream Topping
; 1 pint heavy whipping cream
; ¼ cup agave nectar
;1 tsp real vanilla



In a large bowl, blend together two cups pumpkin, spice and salt. Beat in melted butter, eggs, agave nectar, milk and cream. Pour filling into pie shell.
2. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Refrigerate until serving.
3. To make whipping cream, pour one pint of whipping cream into chilled mixing bowl and add agave nectar and vanilla. Beat with chilled beaters until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until serving.

* Pumpkin puree: preheat your oven to 450 F. Then, cut the top of the pumpkin off and remove the seeds and membranes. Cut pumpkin in half and place it face down in a baking dish. Add about a half an inch of water to the pan to keep pumpkin moist. Bake about 45 minutes until fork tender. Scrape the soft pulp from the skin into a food processor or blender. Pulse until pureed.


Christmas Flashback - 2008 & 2009

Approaching Year 3 for Homemade Christmas. I love, love, love that my family supports this idea! It has been so rewarding for a number of reasons. The siblings on both of our family sides exchange handmade gifts. Here is a flashback of past gifts I've given. Homemade Granola Cereal.
Chocolate Chip Granola BarsFriendship Soup Mix, with Cornbread Mix
And Coasters! I can't wait to pull my gifts together for this year!
Gifts that we have received: Candles, Paintings, Christmas Wall Hangings, Candied Nuts, Pancake Mixes, Spiced Tea Mixes, a Draft Dog, eco-friendly home cleaning kit. I'll post my Christmas gift after the holiday!

The Many Smiles of Jewell

She is smiley. For real. This is what greets me every morning after her morning feeding. I have never seen a more smiley baby! The downside? (yes, there is one!) The downside is that it is hard to get anything done when she is smiling like this. Really? How can I leave this face to go fold laundry?

1 Month

The baby is 1 month! I can't believe it. I got these great stickers (12 Months worth) from Sticky Bellies. They would make a great baby gift for someone who is having their second child, once they have all their basics covered. What a cute way to track the months as they pass!They like her. Can you tell?

Miss Smiley!

Jewell is the smiliest baby I've ever seen! She greets us each morning with a huge grin. I can't believe it has been a month. She's such a joy!

Halloween

Have I really not posted pictures yet of Halloween? Here are our Jedi & Cupcake at Trunk or Treat. Cute, Right?
And this is our first family outing! Yes, of course I know honey. Sorry it was the best picture I had.
And here is our wonderful life group, our small group at our church. We love these guys!

Big Happy Family

Still having lots of fun these days!

International Adoption

We have a couple of dear friends who are adopting internationally & I'm excited to follow their stories. Jaime & Murray are adopting from Ethiopia. Rachel & Darren are adopting from China. This Sunday we are remembering Orphan Sunday, so I'm thinking about ways I can support just a few of the 147 million orphans in this world. What about you? Are you adopting? Do you have thoughts on ways we can support some of the world's orphans? Do you have any thoughts on how to support friends who are going through this process?

First Bath

Her cord fell off! So it's finally time for bathtime. The first bath in our house was a major event and everyone wanted to watch! There were lots of arguments about who got the best spot in which to view the event. I think Jewell even enjoyed herself!

Fall Fun

We had lots of fun hanging outside these days! It's so beautiful around here. And who doesn't love rolling in the leaves?My little pig in a blanket.But a little dirt in the face is always a bummer.

J. Crew Hair

Checking out J. Crew the other day, and I noticed that I am totally rocking this hairstyle. It's a good thing for me that the disheveled is in style.

Birth Photos

We hired a birth photographer! I don't know anyone who has done this, but I was inspired when I saw these photographs on DesignMom's blog. After the birth of 2 kids, and very few photographs of one of the most important moments of our lives, I decided to do things different this time around. Our friend Laurel was willing to join us & I'm so glad she did! I love the pictures she captured of these blessed moments. There are some amazing pictures, but here are a few!This is after I changed my mind & got the epidural. The smile was a sign of true relief. It's amazing how the photos changed from a pained & exhausted face to one of relief.This is a sweet moment we would never have captured otherwise! A daddy holds his newborn for the first time.The first time I held my sweet newborn. She had meconium in utero, so they whisked her away to suction out her lungs before I had a chance to hold her. It was a few anxious minutes before I could hold her!Our sweet Jewell. There are lots more beautiful pictures of the experience, but these are a few favorites!

A Day in the Life

More pictures from today. KB picked out & put on her own socks and shoes. Cute, huh? And, yes, I had to bribe them to actually get this picture taken! :)
Jewell at 6 days old! I think she looks a lot like Ethan, and the most like me of any of our kids. Here is a picture of Lance & I as newborns.

New Baby Gifts

E & KB got new gifts from the baby, with a little help from mommy & daddy. The kids were thrilled!
They didn't waste any time digging into them. It was a nice distraction. Boy, do we have helpers! Only a few hours into their new roles, the kids are ready to hold, change, layer on 4 blankets, give her pacis, help feed her rice, show her their special tricks, brush her hair, blow her nose & put hats on our new baby. Wow. It's a lot of work just keeping their little hands at bay! This will be a ride for sure!

Our Growing Family

It was so much fun seeing the joy on the children's faces when they came to visit!

Jewell Louise

Many of you already know this, but yesterday we welcomed Jewell Louise into the world!!! It was the longest of all my labors, totalling about 24 hours in all. I started having very minor, short & consistent contractions on Wednesday at around 2 in the afternoon. They started getting painful at around 5 (but still short.) They continued throughout the night, and finally we went to the hospital around 10 am on Thursday morning. I was 5 cm dialated when we got there, and 20 minutes later I was at 8. Although I wanted to give birth without an epidural, I changed my mind somewhere along the way. I was exhausted from a long sleepless night & simply out of gas. Why can't I ever be one of those quick 1 hour births!!!??? Anyway, Jewell was born at 1:30 pm, 8.11 ounces (my biggest baby!) and 19 inches long. Jewell is my grandmother's name. Louise is the middle name of both of Lance's grandmothers, as well as his mother and sister.

More pictures to come soon!

Crafting

We've been having fun these days. Yesterday we made these bowls. A few weeks ago we made these fun volcanos. And hopefully soon we'll be painting some of these flowers!

I'm so thankful for all the fun websites that show fun stuff to do with kids. Here are my favorites. Do you have any good inspirational spots on the web? Or kids crafting books?
Makes & Takes
Skip to My Lou
Crafty Crow

Sickness

We haven't gotten sick yet this fall, but it seems like the germs are making their rounds a bit early this year. I need to make another batch of this stuff!