Full House

Mmmmmm.......Chowder!

When I was a little girl, my family would all congregate at my Grandma Betty's house for a special Christmas Eve party.  We would swap gifts, occasionally Santa would make an appearance and it was always a great time.  The thing I remember most however is the food!!  Go figure!  Anyway, one year my Aunt Jackie thought it would be a great idea to add clam chowder to our yearly Christmas Even menu.  It's one of the only times during the year I remember eating it, so it was always special.  I have kept that tradition going with my little family as well, but we like to eat it throughout the year.  This is the recipe my Grandma Betty would always use.

Clam Chowder

1 Cup minced Onions

1 Cup diced Celery

2 Cups diced Potatoes

3-4 Cans Clams (I use a mixuture of minced and chopped)

2 TBSP Red Wine Vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

Pepper to taste

3/4 Cup Butter

3/4 Cup Flour

1 quart Milk

1 pint cream

Open clams and squeeze juice over vegetables.  Add vinegar, salt and pepper.  Add just enough water to cover the vegetables (you won't be draining the water).  Simmer until veggies are tender. 

In a separate pan, melt butter and add flour.  Add clams to mixture.  Mix in milk and cream.  Heat through.  Add to vegetables and boil until it thickens to your liking. 

Hints:

I typically use more potatoes than it calls for.  I like my chowder to be chunky.  Play with your recipe until you find the right amount for you.

I tend to buy half and half instead of combining milk and cream.  Either way works great.  It's basically the same thing but with the half and half you only have to measure one thing!   

Halloween 2010

Boooooooo!!!

We had a smashing time this Halloween.  We had a great time at our ward Fall Festival on Friday night and then trick or treating with friends on Saturday night.  The kids made out like sugar bandits!

The 80's girl, the cheerleader, the witch and the Firefighter

 

I have to say, I was proud of Hailey's hair!  I've still got it girls!  The bigger the better, right?

 

All set to go trick-or-treating!

 
Sorting their loot!  Halloween isn't complete until you

swap a few treats!

 

Halloween 2009

The kids had a great time decorating and carving their pumpkins.  Cooper chose cross hairs, Hailey made a peace sign, Sadie carved her name, Ella went for tattoo's and Brady helped put some "Mr. Potato Head"-like additions onto his.   

 

 

Because of our trip to DisneyWorld we skipped our Ward Fall Festival , but the kids dressed up and went trick or treating in our neighborhood (well, except for Cooper....he's decided he's too old....Boooo!) 

Hailey made a beautiful Cleopatra 

Sadie was a jammin' rock star!

Ella made an adorable bumble bee

And, Brady was an awesome little pirate!

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day was fairly uneventful, but very special nonetheless.  The girls really tried to make the day special for me.  They really wanted to make me a special breakfast, but because we were busy getting ready for church and Joe was at work, they settled on a bagel with strawberry cream cheese and a big glass of O.J.  After we got back from church, I was told to stay in my room until everything was ready.  When I came downstairs, I found signs for special stations set up all around the house.  They really went to an effort to do things for me that they know I love.

Here is a list of all the stations they created, especially for me:

Family Room: "Movie Station" showing Anne of Green Gables #1

Kitchen:  "Treat Station" (get ready for movie station)

Living Room: "Massage Station" (this was on our big comfy recliner)

Bedroom: "Rest Station" (my favorite...and I had a great nap! Score)

I am so thankful to have the opportunity to be a Mother.  It's the only thing I have ever truly wanted to be (except for a wife).  My kids are all so unique and amazing in their own ways.  It meant the world to me that the kids went to such efforts to make me happy.  It means more to me than any expensive gift or grand gestures.  Thanks kids for making my Mother's Day so memorable!  I love you!

Christmas 2008

After a fairly peaceful Christmas Eve, we enjoyed another great day on Christmas.  The kids had a good night sleep and Mom and Dad think they heard a faint sound of jingle bells as they headed to bed around 12:30. 

The kids had all camped out together in Sadie and Ella's room.  Brady started to stir around 5:30, but Cooper swears that he had been awake since 3:00 AM.  He finally came into our bedroom around 6:30 to ask if he could wake the other kids up.  Hailey was already up, but we made him wait a few more minutes.  Another family tradition started by my Mom is torture by waiting.  Joe and I finally made it out of bed and let the older kids congregate on the top of the stairs while we snapped a few pictures, turned on the lights and made sure that Santa had stopped by.

What do you think?  Does it look like he came?

 

As always, the kids made out like bandits.  Between Santa, grandparents and family, there is just too much to mention.  Here is a shot of their "big" gifts.

 

Cooper got the .22 rifle he was asking for.  He's a happy camper!

Hailey was speechless when she opened the portable DVD player she had been wanting!

 

Sadie was stoked about her new bike.  Now that she can ride without training wheels, she can take off on a big bike.  She said that she got the best present out of anyone in the family! 

 

Sadie might have gotten the best gift, but Ella definetly got the biggest!  Her awesome doll house is equipped with all the essentials...elevator, spiral staircase and even a silver disco ball!

 

Brady had to be coaxed into joining us on Christmas morning.  He wasn't happy to be awake so early, so he spent the first little while in his high chair mackin' on a candy cane.  Santa knew of his fascination with TRASH, so he gave him a Tonka trash truck.  It even has miniature trash cans on rollers (just like the real ones), carboard trash to fill them up and a lift to empty them into the big truck.  He LOVES it!!

After all the presents were opened, Brady got into some of the kids Tootsie Rolls.  Who could be upset at such a sweet little mess?

We also went on a drive to the shooting range that afternoon so Cooper could try out his new gun.  We had a great time.  Joe took his .22 and a couple of his pistols.  Everyone shot at least a couple of rounds (with the exception of Brady).  When we left the range at 6:00 PM, the thermometer in the car said 80 degree's!!!  That's just not Christmas, but we'll take what we get!

 

Of course, we are all thankful for the true gift of Christmas.....the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.  We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas filled with the love of the Savior and the joy his love brings.

Christmas Eve 2008

So, I'm a few days late posting this, but it has been a busy week!  We had lots of fun celebrating as a family this year.  Once again, we were so happy to have Joe home with us!  It just wasn't the same without him last year.  We did miss being with all of our family back home.   Through all of these years living so far away from family, we make the best of it with our own little troop!

We started Christmas Eve off with my family tradition of a clam chowder dinner.  My Aunt Jackie (did any of you take dance from her back in the day?) started this tradition when we were very little.  It has always been one of my favorite things, so I have continued it on with my family as well.  Thankfully, they all (except for Ella) love it too! 

Once dinner was cleaned up,(well, I thought it was, but it looks a mess in the picture as do I) the kids mixed up their own batches of reindeer food.  That's one craft I can handle!  Their faces light up when they are filled with the magic of Christmas!

Next, it was time for the kids to exchange gifts.  They drew names for each other this year.  They were allotted 5 buckeroos a piece to buy for the sibling they drew for.  So, what did they get?

Cooper got a set of long range Walkie Talkies from Brady.  The value was a little over the $5 limit, but they were "in stock" at our house.  He has used them a ton already with his buddy accross the street. 

Brady got a ball and a drum from Hailey.  I didn't get a picture.  I think he was too tired and grumpy at that point. 

Hailey received her dream gift from Cooper (remember she's 9).  She got some fake airbrushed nails and some  play dough stuff.  Again, she's nine....anything goes at this age!

Sadie and Ella drew each other's name this year.  Sadie got a cute little dog in a carrier. That girls loves her animals!

Ella got a jewelery kit to make bracelets and necklaces out of.  Just the thing for our girly girl.

Next, we moved onto to opening the traditional gift from Mom and Dad.  Like so many other houses, our kids always get jammies on Christmas Eve.  The quickly opened them up and put them on for one last Christmas Eve photo op.

By this time, we had our fill of fun, but neaded to talk about the true meaning of Christmas.  We read the Christmas story our of Luke, and then watched "Joy to the World" to cement the events into the kids minds.  Then it was outside for a quick sprinking of reindeer food and off to bed for the night. 

Hmmmm.....I wonder if those kids were good this year.  Do you think Santa made a stop at the Christensen house???  Stay tuned to find out!

Dangit!!

The FedEx gal came the other day when I was gone.  Joe was home to receive the package I've been hoping he didn't know anything about.  He wasn't surprised to see his new fancy dancy computer monitor arrive.  So much for surprises!  Dangit!!!

When to "spill the beans"

What if someone you love very much told you about something they were REALLY wanting.  While it's a deal of the century, it's a chunck of change and you've already spent gobs and gobs of change on other people.  You put them off and mention that we should wait a little longer.  Maybe there will be better deals after Christmas.  As a few hours pass, you decide that in fact, this much desired item would be very useful and could bring a big loving smile to your dear's face........you go ahead and purchase.  By the time that your sweetie gets home that night and hops back onto the computer to check for the deal one last time......POOF!!!  They are sold out.  Aaaarggh you hear them say.  You can't really tell if they are mad or not that you didn't allow them to purchase at the once in a lifetime price, or if they are just a bit disappointed.  Oh well, no worries.  You know that you're covered.  It will all be ok on Christmas morning.  Your dearest will be oh-so surprised and you will be the hero that made it all possible.  Aaaaahhhh......bliss for all!!!

WAIT!!  There is just one problem.  You realize that when you paid for the item with PayPal, you forgot to change the email notifications to your address instead of theirs.  When you log into their account, you verify that they have indeed opened the email with notification that the item was purchased.  Deary keeps acting like they don't know that it's coming.  They even keep shopping for similar items online.  You can't tell if they are just trying to throw you off so they can pretend to be surprised, or if they didn't pay much attention to the email because you also bought a few other things from the same website. 

Someone tell me what to do!!!  Please!! Do I instruct him NOT to buy any other "like items"?  Wouldn't that tip him off if he really DOESN'T know?  Should I just spill the beans and tell him that I bought the damn thing already???  But then, if I do that and he really doesn't know and I will have ruined the surprise.  Too much to worry about!  I think I'll just keep my lips sealed and wait to see what happens.  Ho-hum!  It will all work itself out eventually.  Won't it?

*No worries....he never checks this blog unless I'm showing him something special.

A Baby Changes Everything

I saw Faith Hill perform this song on her Christmas special last night.  I loved the twist on the Christmas message, so I thought I would share.  Pause the media player on my sidebar for a minute and enjoy!

Typepad isn't cooperating with YouTube right now, so click on this link if you can't see the video.

Catch Up

After all of the crazies of getting ready for Christmas and having a sick family to boot, I haven't had much time for any "extras" lately.  Can you tell that I'm trying to play catch-up today before the kids get home from school?  At any rate, I am feeling much more prepared for the holidays.  All of the packages that needed to be mailed to family in different states has been done.  Almost all of my shopping is complete.  I'm hoping that by next week when all of the kids are out of school, we will have some down time to bake and maybe do a few crafts. 

The tree is decorated and finally has a topper (couldn't find the big bow to go on top.  How does something like that just disappear??).    I sometimes have a hard time looking at the poor thing.  It's getting old, it's been hauled from house to house and state to state as the Army moves us around.  It's nearly falling apart, but we made it work for one more year.  The kids put on most of the decorations.  It's messy and it constantly re-arranged, but they love it.  As a matter of fact, when I came into the living room a few days ago, I saw ornaments all over the fake tree behind the recliner.  Sadie promptly told me that "every tree in the house has to be decorated, Mom!".  I've slowly moved all of those ornaments back to the big tree, but they occasionally make their way back to the fake tree in the corner.  What a silly girl!  It's fun for her, and that's such a huge part of Christmas.  Who cares if things aren't perfect and proper as long as we're happy!