We are home sweet home after several days visiting our childhood hometown. Luckily, Joe and I hale from the same city and we both immensely treasure our time there and we do not have to split up our family vacation time visiting two different cities. The trip "back home" was an insanely crazy trip so I will try to hit the highlights of the trip:We got there safely, in one piece and down some Styrofoam insulator because Fenley snacked on his car seat out of boredom on the ride there.
The first stop on this trip was to stay with my mom. Staying at my mother's house for a few nights was crazy and funny because the children got to stay with Aunt Kimmie (my sister), Gigi (my mom), and Cousin Aiden (he is three weeks older than the twins). There were 4 children under two years old in one house.....you better have a sense of humor, patience, and some prayers to survive this wrecking crew. We mostly hung out and played.
The highlight of our visit with my mom was the Live Nativity show we went to at Aiden's school. We loaded up our crew, Aunt Kimmie, Gigi, Cousin Aiden, and brought Honey and Papa Joe along for the chaos. Joe and I were elated because we got to eat at an old fav Mexican Food restaurant with everyone before the festivities which kicked the evening fun off to a fabulous start.
We then bundled everyone up and huddled together outside in the cold to watch the Live Nativity Story in this really neat outdoor amphitheater at the church. Our lambs and baby bear were in awe. They loved every minute of it and I loved watching their little faces soak it all in. They listened and watched in amazement. This was a pretty cool production too because there were live camels, sheep, a real baby Jesus, tons of people/cast members, songs, and baby sheep on stage. The children really loved the Angels in the Heavens that glowed, glittered and shimmered. One angel even had a disco ball for a head (I am pretty sure) because she was a very sparkly angel!
Luke 2:13-14 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “ Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
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| This was a quick attempt to get all the cousins together for a photo. They were bribed with Smarties and it did not go over well. Sorry for the poor quality of the phone picture. Did I mention BOTH of my cameras were dead when we arrived for the big trip? Bummer. |
The twins and bear also really enjoyed the petting zoo at the church after the production. Yes, it seems we go to a lot of petting zoos and we leap at the opportunity. Bear loves them the very most but the twins are really into animals too. It was sweet and they had baby goats, baby piglets, baby chickens, ducks, donkeys, camels, etc....you name it, we got to pet it. This Living Nativity experience was really neat because I have been reading our children stories about Baby Jesus being born in a stable and they got to see the story and animals all together in a very visual and physical sense. They saw a live Mary, Baby Jesus, and Joseph with animals surrounding them which beats our Little Tikes manger set and our books any day to really understand the birth of Jesus Christ.
Luke 2:9-12
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. (10) And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (12) And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
At my mother's house I also started my "experiment". I call it my experiment which is completely tongue in cheek because I am trying to contemplate what on earth to give my neighbors and friends that is homemade and personal yet festive. Did I mention easy and not too too hard? Here are my current best ideas:
1. Homemade Cocoa Balls and Homemade Marshmallows
2. Homemade Powdered Cocoa and Marshmallows
3. Homemade Toffee
4. Homemade Chocolate Bark
5. Biscotti
6. Cookies in a Jar
I decided I would begin the quest for the perfect gift with the easiest recipe(s). It was a toss up between powdered cocoa or cocoa balls. I was concerned the powdered recipe would be kind of bland and then I remembered there was a recipe in Cook's Country Magazine for the homemade cocoa balls that you could keep in the freezer or fridge until you wanted a nice cuppa cocoa back in the October issue. I wanted to see how easy, doable, and yummy these gifts would be before I multiplied the recipe and got busy for a major Baby Boom type production in my tiny kitchen. I did not want to be Diane Keaton with jars of applesauce all over my house! I began Sunday and made the mix. I never got around to making the balls until Monday night because the Live Nativity and cold tuckered me out. I started in my mother's kitchen and ended the project in my dad's kitchen a couple days later. I dragged this porcelain bowl around to keep the dream of finishing what I started alive. I finished...delicious!! Yum!! Wow! Why on earth would anyone ever eat powdered cocoa from the grocery store if they could do this?! Here are the pictures and the recipe. Happy Melting to you (which is the only skill you need to accomplish this)!
Rich and Creamy Hot Chocolate Balls
Microwave chocolate, cream, and salt in a large bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth. This takes around 2 minutes but depends on your microwave. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Roll 3 tablespoons chilled chocolate mixture into 2-inch balls. Individually wrap balls in plastic wrap and transfer to zipper-lock plastic bag. Refrigerate for 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months. To make 1 cup of hot chocolate, combine 1 unwrapped chocolate balls and 1 cup milk in large mug. Microwave, stirring as needed until smooth, around 2 minutes. Serve, drink and enjoy!! Yummy!!
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| This picture had to be in black and white. These little treats are less than picturesque. I see why this recipe was in black and white in the actual magazine and tucked into a small corner! This is not the prettiest gift to give but I swear it is gooooood. make sure you buy good quality chocolate chips which makes it so much better |
After a few days with my mom we went to visit my dad. The children had a wonderful time visiting Poppy. It was a whirlwind couple of days so I will try to recap quickly. The kiddies met Santa. Um, the Bear was interested. Fenley had a nonchalant approach to the Big Man but Mamie (what Fenley calls Mary Ellie) um....to say the LEAST...she was less than impressed. In fact, Mamie was downright......ticked at meeting Santa Claus and wanted none of it. We quickly scuttled away from Santa and momma promised to just send him a quick email to let him know what they wanted and fled to the train. We love trains around here. Choochoos are our favorite thing around here these days. Fenley seemed interested but again....Mamie...not so much. Screams erupted from the train and the conductor had to stop it and let us off.
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| Better not pout?? |
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| I am not sure if you can see her face very well but Mamie was really letting the conductor know she wanted to exit the choochoo. This was not what she had in mind apparently! |
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| The twins starting the choochoo journey before the screams erupted! |
Alrighty folks. I gotta run. This blog entry has taken me several days to finish and I promised Connor's mommy she could have the cocoa balls recipe about 10 hours ago. Sorry! Thank you to Gigi, Aunt Kimmie, Cousin Aiden, Honey, Papa Joe, Tammy, and Poppy for making Christmas 2010 a blast. We enjoyed the Live Nativity, petting zoo, Baby Jesus, the camels, the shining angels, Santa Claus, the train, the ice skating rink, suckers shaped liked Christmas Trees, Smores, and seeing so many Christmas lights. It made our trip home really special and full of great memories. I also loved seeing my sweet friends but those pictures and memories are for another entry. I still have Christmas Cards to make! Sweet dreams all and Merry Merry!
