Christmas Post (Finally)

I'm a little late on my Christmas post but I just downloaded pictures today from Christmas weekend. 

This year, we decided to go to my parents house for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We surprised my mom by showing up early since Darryl didn't work.  I called her to ask her to leave the door unlocked for us since she would be at the Christmas Eve Service but, than said "How about if you just open the garage door for us now"  She didn't believe us until she actually walked out and saw us unloading LOL

Josh - heading to grandma's.  Notice the shoes?  Yep, those are mine.  He refused to take them off and wore them the whole trip. 

Nate with his laughing frog - ready for the ride!!

 We all went to the Christmas Eve Service together.  Josh was not into sitting quietly through a service so he and I ran laps through the church until I finally locked us in my dad's office.  He drew pictures on Grandpa's white board and ate lots of cashews!!

Once we got home, we enjoyed our normal Christmas Eve Snack fest.  This year we had Shrimp, Cheese Ball and Crackers, Mini Crescent Dogs, and Chili Cheese dips.  Josh's favorite, though, were the peanut butter bars :-)

The last things we did that night was let the boys open their Christmas Eve gifts.  They each got new Pajama's and a musical book.  Nate's plays bedtime songs and Josh's is actually a piano.  After this, we did baths, put on the new PJ's and read "The Night Before Christmas" before putting them to bed.

 The boys each have a stocking :-) Which they don't get to open until Christmas Morning

Nate, waiting for Christmas breakfast, not sure about this look LOL

 Nate got into opening his stocking - trying to save his stuff from his brother!!

Josh loved the little flashlight that grandpa put in his stocking.

Josh got lots of presents.  He loves this sesame street bus.  And he got a big Thomas the Train set which he is figuring out how to put together.  Not to mention a little people fire house, a stuffed elephant webkin, matchbox cars and more.  He was THRILLED!!!

 Nate figured out how to open his gifts slowly.  He got this really neat musical stack able table, some trucks, this great little cow that makes noise when you roll it, a Weebles house and extra Weebles, and more.  He loved every moment of the day! 

We loaded up the car on Saturday night (loaded to the gills) and headed home.  Than we got ready for our little family Christmas.  The kids were in bed so we brought in their toy boxes and bean bag chairs and than put gifts inside the boxes.  We are thinking this will be a tradition - the week before Christmas, we'll go through all of their toys and let them pick out the things they don't play with.  Than, we will leave the toy boxes empty and the night before our Christmas, we'll wrap their toys and put them in their toy boxes. 

 Nate peering into his toy box.

 Josh got a new drum filled with all kinds of percussion instruments (yes, I bought him this LOL) along with a piano, and a 2 in one scooter.  He also got lots of little people stuff :-)

 Nate got a 2-in-1 scooter and a really cool bath toy, plus a driving toy.  And lots of little people things!

 Josh playing with toys as I got them put together - he had a blast on Sunday just playing!

 The train set - Nate loves to tear it apart quickly!! While Josh loves to play for hours with it going "Choo Choo"

The new bath toy - it makes bubbles and plays music.  Both boys love it!

So Christmas was a blast.  The kids were blessed with lots of things from the grandparents, for the church and from others.  My parents surprised us with some awesome gifts too (Like a Tassimo coffee maker!!)  Lots of fun memories and laughs were had by all :-)

Turkey Vegetable Soup with Stuffing Balls

We had this soup last night with the last of the leftovers from our Turkey dinner on Sunday.  It was pretty easy and very tasty. 
This is a Food Network Recipe.

Ingredients

• Carcass from one 12-14 pound roasted turkey, picked clean
• 2 large onions, one quartered and one chopped
• 4 peeled carrots, 2 coarsely chopped and 2 sliced
• 4 stalks celery, 2coarsely chopped and 2 sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, 4 smashed and 2 chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups leftover stuffing
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 cups shredded leftover turkey meat
• 1 cup leftover corn kernels

Directions

Put the turkey carcass, quartered onions, coarsely chopped carrots and celery, smashed garlic, bay leaf, and peppercorns in a large stockpot and add enough cold water to just cover, about 2 quarts. Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook for 1 hour. Remove from the heat and strain the solids from the broth. Pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer and reserve; you should have about 10-12 cups broth.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the eggs, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and some black pepper together until smooth. Add the stuffing and mix until well combined; cover and reserve.

Wipe the stockpot clean with a paper towel. Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the sliced carrots and celery, thyme sprigs, and reserved broth and bring to a simmer; cook vegetables are just soft, about 10 minutes.

Roll level tablespoons of the dumpling mixture into balls with wet hands (see note) and drop into the simmering soup; cook until dumplings float, 3-4 minutes. Gently stir in the turkey meat, corn, and season with salt and pepper, and simmer until heated through. Serve immediately.

Note: Moistness of stuffing can vary; if the dumpling dough is too soft to roll, add flour a teaspoon at a time until it is firm enough to hold its shape while rolling

My Notes:
*I did not have a pot pig enough to submerge the Turkey Caucass so I broke it up a little bit and than just filled the pot up as full as was feasible and let the rest of the carcass stick out of the water. 
* I did not have leftover stuffing since I didn't make stuffing - I made a small box of Stove Top and it was just over two cups of stuffing.  Next time, though, I would make the stuffing in advance - I had to stick mine in the freezer because I didn't want scrambled eggs by adding the egg mixture to hot stuffing!!!
*This makes a ton of really good Turkey stock - for our family of four, in the future I will only use have the stock and freeze the rest for another batch of soup later.  I'm thinking of straining out my soup after lunch today and freezing what is left because there is a ton!!!

Potato Pancakes with Fried Eggs and Turkey Hash

On Sunday, I cooked a large turkey and the "fixin's" for our little Christmas at home with the kids.  I then went searching for some really good "leftover" recipes and tried this one tonight.  I'll be honest, I was a little scared as I was making it but, in my husband's words, "this is fantastic, I would order it in a restaurant" which means he liked it :-)  This recipe came from Food Network.

Ingredients

• 1 cup leftover mashed potatoes, at room temperature
• 1 large egg, plus 4 for frying
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped sage
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
• 8 ounces diced leftover turkey meat, about 2 cups
• 1/2 cup leftover turkey gravy
• 1/4 cup leftover cooked corn kernels
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
In a bowl, mix the potatoes, egg, and milk together until combined. Add the flour, season with salt and pepper, and mix until smooth. Heat 2 teaspoons oil on a non-stick griddle over medium heat; pour about 1/3 cup of the batter onto the warm griddle, gently spread it to a circle about 4" wide, and cook, flipping once, until golden brown, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to the oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small skillet over medium low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook until softened, about 4 minutes more. Add the turkey, gravy, and corn and cook, stirring, until turkey is heated through. Season hash with salt and pepper, stir in the parsley, and keep warm over low heat.
Heat the remaining teaspoon of oil on the griddle over medium-high heat. Crack the eggs onto the griddle and cook until desired doneness. To serve, put a warm potato cake on each of 4 plates; top the cakes with a fried egg and divide the hash evenly among them.

Notes:
* I made the hash first, than the pancakes and eggs so I didn't need to really keep the pancakes warm.  If you cook together, one could cook the pancakes and one the eggs so they are both done at the same time
* The pancakes were REALLY good - and the yolk acts like the "syrup" so it isn't dry.  If you wanted you could use a little sour cream with chives to dip it in as well
*This would be an easy meal to do anytime - if you have a roast chicken and mashed potatoes - just make extra potatoes and make this recipe the next night.   I actually didn't have gravy left so I just used a packet mix to make some and it was the exact right amount for the hash. 

Song of the Week "Love Me"

Have you heard the song out by JJ Heller - Love Me?  The first time I heard this I had to sit in my car until the song finshed - I couldn't stop listening.  What a powerful message the song brings.  Just read the lyics!  Haven't we all uttered those words at some point - "Who will love me for me?" 

He cries in the corner where nobody sees
He's the kid with the story no one would believe
He prays every night, "Dear God won't you please...
Could you send someone here who will love me?"

Who will love me for me
Not for what I have done or what I will become
Who will love me for me
'Cause nobody has shown me what love
What love really means

Her office is shrinking a little each day
She's the woman whose husband has run away
She'll go to the gym after working today
Maybe if she was thinner
Then he would've stayed
And she says...

Who will love me for me?
Not for what I have done or what I will become
Who will love me for me?
'Cause nobody has shown me what love, what love really means

He's waiting to die as he sits all alone
He's a man in a cell who regrets what he's done
He utters a cry from the depths of his soul
"Oh Lord, forgive me, I want to go home"

Then he heard a voice somewhere deep inside
And it said
"I know you've murdered and I know you've lied
I have watched you suffer all of your life
And now that you'll listen, I'll tell you that I..."

I will love you for you
Not for what you have done or what you will become
I will love you for you
I will give you the love
The love that you never knew

Scroll down to the bottom to click on the you tube video - I wish I could add this to my player but it isn't out there so make sure and pause the player to listen :-)

Life on Purpose - Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of "Life on Purpose" - planning your 2011 with purpose so that you accomplish what you really want to do and not be taken over by the "little" things that seem to eat away at our daily lives. 

If you missed the first post or either of the first two documents just click here to see the original post. 

Next, is creating your task map.  You may want to open or download the document first by clicking here so that what I say makes sense.  On this page are two circles, the large circle should include everything that you do for your family or yourself.  The documents gives a few ideas to get you started but just list away.  The inside circle should include your "work" tasks - whatever you do for work.  (If you are a stay at home mom this may overlap or it should also be anything you volunteer for such as room mom, Nursery Coordinator, etc - anything that isn't home related)  Once you have finished with listing everything - take time to underline the 2 items in each area that cause you the most stress and circle the two things that you enjoy the most.  One project you can work on is how to make those two items NOT stressful - whether it be learning more about the item (such as finances, budgeting, organizing, ect) or delegating it to someone else - and another project is how to find more time for the two items that you enjoy the most.   I will admit that this one worksheet is one I struggle with the most - I already have my daily chores broken up into what I do on specific days so I had already done this step, just in a differant way.

Have you ever sat down and thought about your year in advance - making note of the important things each month.  The next worksheet I really enjoyed and I'll share both a blank one and mine (as much as is done now)  With this worksheet, list everything major that you need to do each month for example, Darryl's birthday is in February so in January one of my items is "Plan Darryl's birthday" so that I actually remember to plan for it.  Than I also add in February "Darryl's Birthday".  By doing this list, you can see at a glance the top items that you need to get done each month but it does something else.  One of our goals this next year is to paint the outside of our house so I can look at my month by month plan and see which month(s) I can plug this item into by seeing which months are the least busy.  Obviously, since it is painting, I need to look between April-Sept. and than take a month that is the least full so I know I won't have to work around other items to get it done.  You can see mine here.  This is also the place to write down the things you do once a year or once every three months  like clean out the garage, clean out the attic, change the screens, change filters.  This is a road map of your year.  You may notice that as I share documents, they start to get a little more specific - we started with just a brainstorm of ideas and now we are writing down monthly items . .. .so you can guess that we are going to get to goals, monthly, weekly and daily to do's. 

So, now, take time to fill out your task map and your month-by-month plan.  This is also a good time to pull out your 2011 calendar and fill out birth dates and any items that are already set - get those dates written in NOW so you don't double book yourself (and it can help you fill out that month-by-month document!)

Your Task Map

Month-By-Month Plan

My Theme Word for 2011

One of the blogs I follow, Women Living Well, is one of my favorites for encouragement and lessons.  Courtney's posts often cause me to stop and think.  Throughout December she posted a Peace on Earth December Challenge.

I have not participated in this Challenge - I had some other things I was focusing on throughout the month of December and didn't take the time to follow too closely but the title of this weeks post caught my attention and I read the whole thing.

One of the areas I've focused on this month is "Life on Purpose". I shared a post here with the first steps for setting up this system and have another post that I'll put up tomorrow.  All "Life on Purpose" is, basically, is a way to plan your 2011 so that you make time for the most important things in your life so that those things that aren't so important, don't take over.  I'm hopeful that I can get two more "Life on Purpose" posts up this week as well so you have all the info prior to the new year!

So, when I read Courtney's post about a Theme Word for 2011, it seemed to fit right into what I was doing already.  She challenges each of us to find time to get alone (she suggests going outside but, here in the North, it is way too cold and snowy to think outside!).  The scripture she suggests is Matthew 27 and 28 (but maybe you have a favorite scripture to read too!) than, take time to evaluate 2010 and commit 2011 to living your life completely for God.

There are 5 areas to evaluate - evaluate 2010 and decide what to do for 2011:
1. Evaluate your walk with God
2. Evaluate your marriage
3. Evaluate your children
4. Evaluate your Health
5. Evaluate your ministry

Courtney offers great questions and suggestions for each of the above areas so, if you are interested, read her post to read the full article.

Once done with your evaluation, take time to chose a them word for your year - what one word wraps up all of your goals for the next year.  I know, if you read her article, it will seem like I'm copying her, but I'm really not - something I have felt the need to work on is . . .to Simplify my life.  To take out those things that are not important which includes clutter in my home, things in our schedule, anything that gets in the way of my family relaxing and enjoying time together - laughing, listening, and loving fully.  Time passes much to quickly to have to spend hours every day cleaning and dusting, we have so many fun things we want to do each day!  I want my children and my husband to enjoy a peaceful, relaxing home, which I believe begins with Simplifying those things around us. 

Take time this week to focus on those areas, write them down somewhere for you to see, and look at them daily.  Search for ways to accomplish them - to do one item each week for each goal. 

Toy Packaging

So, with two little boys, I spent hours today taking all of their toys out of their packaging.  There were twisty ties to untwist, wires to unwind, strings to break, and those little clips to turn so they unlock.  Oh, and yes, their were even toys that had screws holding them to the packaging.  As I worked on the packages this song ran through my head . . .. .have you heard it?  It is by Sara Evans and is called "Toy Packaging" - I've searched for a video or MP3 I could attach but can't find one so this link at least gives you the lyrics!

Sara Groves - Toy Packaging lyrics | LyricsMode.com

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas