Our 3rd Annual Cookie Swap - 2011

The draft for this post was originally started over a week ago...I am finally forgoing the somewhat perfection of a recap and going with it for the simple fact that I have to wake up to get on an airplane in less than 3 1/2 hours, and even spending this much time on it is ridiculous at this point (well, at least that's what dear hubby who just crawled into bed said).
Though I have literally scheduled "down time" in our family's weekly schedule for the past several weeks, things have been picking up speed around here lately...hence the lack of posts. I do have a lot to share and hope that over the next several weeks to catch up. But in the meantime, enjoy this holiday season with friends and family. ;)

This past weekend we hosted our Sunday School class for our 3rd Annual Cookie Swap/potluck. My cookie choice this year: Gingerbread. Super cute and Super Yum....and Super time-intensive. Quite possibly the last time I do these for a cookie swap..we'll see. After 3 evenings and 1 morning of working on these sweet little men for a number of hours, I placed them in their decorative packaging and happily moved on to other notions. I am quite excited to share this delicious recipe with you though. It is being added to my personal cookbook of cookie favorites. :)

In the past, I failed miserably at my gingerbread cookie attempt. The cookies were tasteless and too hard. This year, I did my research and found the perfect recipe for what I was going for. I will share it soon!


Pumpkin Bread and Strawberry Loaf loaded up in a basket to share with our Sunday School friends.

We are never short on food when this group gets together...

(this picture was taken minus 4-5 dishes.)

Several of the kids made their own Reindeer Cookies; such a simple and fun Christmas treat that kids can make themselves! (recipe will be shared soon!)

Cookies galore...We had a variety that included Andes Mint Cookies, Gingerbread, Sugar cookies, Chocolate Covered Ritz with Peanut Butter, Russian Tea Cakes, Peppermint Melt-aways, Fudge, Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Covered Grahams, Peanut Butter Oatmeal Butterscotch...the cookie table is always overflowing!

The girls...

...and the handsome guys

And this was the best attempt of a group shot of (most) of the kids. Cooper was long-gone passed out by this point in the evening. ;)

As tradition goes, I took pictures of each of the couples in front of the tree (I was sad that I did miss getting a few people in the end, but I think 12 of the 14 couples is pretty good considering the chaotic and busy evening.)

I am not going to post each and every one of the couple's shots up here this year, but I am going to post my favorite couple's shot of the evening...Ryan and Lindy. Hilarious. They know how to shake the formal pictures up a bit. Love these guys so much. Lindy is expecting their first baby in March..yeah!..so excited for them!

It seems like more time has passed since our original Cookie Swap in 2009. Here's a look at 2010 (at least it didn't take me a whole 2 months to get this one posted! ha!) Back then, we still felt so new to this area and were fairly new to our Sunday School Class. We were soooo hoping to make some more good friends here in Minnesota. The cool thing is that the original five have made it to the cookie swap each year since that first year. And now, look at how the fellowship has grown!! Clay and I feel so thankful and so blessed to have the amazing friends that we do.

Simple facts about 2011 Cookie Swap:

One thousand one hundred seventy-six cookies

14 couples

8 kids (I think)

12 different types of cookies

7 hours of fun from start to finish

3 nights in the kitchen prior to the party working on my little gingerbread men...and the morning of

1 forgotten dish to return to owner

and a LOT of laughter and good memories made.

Thanks again to each of you for coming out! The cookies and appetizers were absolutely delicious. Looking forward to seeing the cookie choices next year...and in capturing ALL of you next to the Christmas tree for our "couple pictures!" :) Thank you for being such amazing friends and such a blessing to our family. We love each of you.

  

christmas parties and busy days

A daycare Christmas Party...

a friend's birthday party...

and just keeping mama busy with our daily antics...

and messes...

Mama says she is a little busy right now with life, but will be back soon. :)

Fao Schwartz Bears from Rassie

Boys with their FAO Schwartz Bears "Take 32": My mom went to New York for Thanksgiving this year and sent both boys a bear from Fao Schwarz. To make it more special, she sent a picture of herself outside of the store with the live toy soldier model to include in each of the boys' books. With this picture of Rassie in New York, I wanted to include a picture of the boys with their New York teddy bears. It only took 32 attempts to get the one I was looking for.

...although I have to admit that "take 17" without the bears was pretty cute too...and no, my youngest child is not just posing with the ornament in his hand to be cute...he intends to eat it as "take 14, 15 and 16" show.

visiting Santa: Macy's Santaland "A Day in the Life of an Elf"

Since moving to Minnesota, I have wanted to visit the downtown Macy's at Christmastime to see Santa. After attending the 2011 Macy's Santaland I do not know if we will miss a year going forward. North Pole, here we come!

The night before going to see Santa downtown, Parker wrote out his wish list...he was also kind enough to write out a few things for Cooper too. :)

(quite enthusiastically I might add...)

I was a little nervous when all but one item on his list was completely different than anything he had mentioned ever before. Looks like Santa will be working late in his toy shop this year.

The 2011 theme that Macy chose was "A Day in the Life of an Elf." As soon as one stepped into the magical tale, you learned the story of the young elves and all that happens at the North Pole as they prepare for Christmas.

Once we stepped into Santa's Workshop we looked on to see: "Elfin Sleeping Quarters," "The Laun-tree," "Santa Claus Square" and other magical North Pole wonders...

the "Reindeer Stable"

"Elfin Classroom" including Sleigh Routes and Toys 101

"Elfin Dining Hall"

"Santa's Workshop: Once your letter's received, elves know just what to do!"

"North Pole-Stal Station: the daily mail is quite a sight!"

"Reindeer Flight School"

"Christmas Tree Forest: At the Do-Re-Tree Songfest, the music's a wow! After each concert, the trees take a 'bough'"

Parker was running so fast from one enchanted room to the other that we had to keep calling him back to us. Both boys had huge smiles on their faces throughout the exhibits. That was my favorite memory of all.

After seeing the elves at work at the North Pole, we were able to squeeze back into a special room to sit with Santa. Cooper surprised me by not crying when he sat on Santa's lap, but instead acted quite intrigued by the whole experience. (Although by the end of the 5 minute period, his little lips threatened to quiver a bit.)

Parker, on the other hand, was nothing but excited to see Santa this year (unlike years in the past). When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and handed him a special pin for his shirt, our little boy beamed.

After visiting with Santa, we headed over to the big man's special mailbox where we dropped in a letter with our Christmas requests.

Whenever we visit downtown, Parker likes to take out running through the skyways like he owns the place...brownie points for the 3 year old who was willing to stop and let his mama take a picture of him.

We wrapped up our morning out with a lunch downtown. On the way, Parker stopped to listen to a band playing Christmas music.

Santa, we look forward to your visit so very soon! Thanks for letting us come visit with you today and good luck with your last minute toy making!

busy and tired from Christmas festivities...be back soon!

Busy with Christmas festivities and too tired to catch up right now...back after the holidays with a wrap-up! Hope you and yours are enjoying every moment of this Christmas season!

Decking the Halls

The weekend after Thanksgiving we started Decking our Halls with all things Christmas and Winter!

One of the first things we did was put Parker's little Christmas tree up in his room. I was so excited to get a couple of these this year for our boys' rooms! This is a tradition I have been looking forward to passing on for some time now. Every year growing up, my brother and I had one of these in our rooms; my bedroom became enchanted every single night as soon as the lights went off and my little Christmas tree lights came on. (My tree actually didn't have lights, but I had a flashlight that I would turn on for my little magical world to come to life.) I do hope that my boys will let their imagination soar and in the years to come will look back on these little Christmas trees and find that these were another treasured memory that helped to make their Christmases even more special and magical.

Parker took his job of decorating his tree very seriously.
I had opted not to use the hooks this year because of our sweet child who likes to put everything in his mouth. ;)

I thought Parker was hanging the decorations on the branches with the little loop in the ornament, but after taking a closer look (and after seeing a number of ornaments fall to the ground a few minutes after he hung them) I realized that all the ornaments were going on the lights. I roared with laughter; that would explain the very serious expression in all 30 something pictures I took where he is concentrating to get his ornament on just right!

Quick view of one of my kitchen countertops...

Parker rocking in his chair and sipping hot chocolate while Clay and I start putting up the tree.

A little nook in the play area sprinkled with a few new Christmas books and trinkets...

Rassie sent the boys the Fisher Price Nativity Set to help them decorate and get ready for Christmas and they absolutely love it. Hours have already been spent on the floor playing with Baby Jesus, the Wise Men and the Angel. Their favorite part: When Baby Jesus lights up and it plays Away in a Manger"

A favorite Christmas item for kids: Fisher Price Nativity Set

Little basket filled with children's Christmas books...

Of course, our little elf friend who likes to be sneaky and hide in places he is not supposed to be...

and a little winter green for our porch.

...to end with this sweet, precious angel (who was being a little naughty in this picture and taking all my ornaments of the tree!)

There is a reason they call this the most wonderful time of the year! Amidst the chaotic events and days that lead up to Christmas, it is such a perfect time to thank God for the birth of our wonderful Saviour. The warmth, memories and special moments that Christmas brings is one that you remember for a lifetime. I am looking forward to sharing sweet memories and passing on traditions to my little men just as my parents did for me.

Now, it is off to bed for me as I believe the last batch of my gingerbread cookies have cooled and are ready to be stored away for the evening. Tomorrow will be a busy day around here. Decorating 120 Gingerbread Men, a birthday party for the boys to go to, finishing last minute cleaning around the house before our Sunday School Class comes over for our 3rd Annual Cookie Swap, baking 24 loaves of pumpkin bread and strawberry loaf...and well, I'm just going to stop there because that's about all I will fit into one day.

(Still need to order Christmas Cards and start wrapping presents--please tell me I'm not the only one out there!)

Christmas Party with Friends and a Holiday Recipe

Some friends of ours from Small Group, Ericka and Mike, hosted their 1st Annual Christmas Party this year. Have I mentioned before that Ericka loves to bake...and Mike loves her for that. :) Her beautiful and tasty treats not only please the sweet tooth, but are quite easy on the eye as well. I could not help but take a couple of snapshots of her "cookie table" to share.

...the snowflake cake pops were heaven on earth.

Our Small Group, plus Susie and Mike (the honorees :)):

Along with the scrumptious treats, Ericka whipped up a yummy drink: Drunken Smores. After trying one that evening, I immediately begged her for this tasty recipe. I would highly recommend whipping up one of these next holiday season as you sit by the fire wrapping Christmas presents. It is delicious!
Ericka graciously shared the recipe with me, to which I would like to share with you. Enjoy and just remember to pace yourself... ;)

Drunken Smores
1 part Marshmallow Vodka
2 parts Irish Liqueur (Bailey's or any brand works)
Top with Gingerbread Cookie and you are sitting happy! :)