Winter Wonderland

This is our own little "winter wonderland". Now this is nothing compared to what mom and dad have over in northern Idaho, but it is a lot for the Seattle area. When we get a bit of snow everything closes down.

But the kids have a blast. We found some black ice under the snow and it was like we were ice skating. The kids enjoyed slipping. Unfortunately, we did not have a sled.

We had snowball fights.

And we made a snowman. Hannah was quite upset though, because she said snowmen are supposed to have black top hats. But I finally got her to agree to put her hat on it. Then she said "that's ok, we will have a snow girl" :)

Cute Kids

*****BEWARE*****

This is a mommy bragging post.

I just have to tell you all how beautiful my kids are. Is that not the cutest face you've ever seen :)
I am so blessed. Don't they look cute together. I was surprised that I got them to sit still, well kind of. But they definitely love each other. Hopefully as they grow older their love for each other will continue to grow. My hope is that they have as close of a relationship as me and my brother have. Love you Bro.

Out of the blue Jacob will go up and touch Hannah's arm and she will say "ahh, I love you too Jacob". Is that not the cutest?

Oh and by the way, we have had snow now since Saturday night. I hope it lasts until Christmas :)

Love you all. Merry Christmas.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Okay, so I made a really yummy soup the other day. Thought I would share the recipe. A friend of mine gave it to me a year or so ago and I just finally made it. She got it from a cafe that went out of business. So the recipe is for a serving size of 24, but I had company over and then froze some or you could cut the recipe in half.

1/2 Cups Vegetable oil
1/4 Cup Chicken Bouillon
3 Cups Onion (diced)
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
2 teaspoons Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne
2 Cups Masa Corn Flour (I used 1 Cup Corn Meal and 1 Cup Reg Flour)
4 Quarts Water (divided)
2 14oz Cans Tomatoes (drained)
1 Pound American Cheese (diced)
3 Pounds Chicken breast (cooked,chopped)

In a large dutch oven (or large pot), saute oil, chicken base, onion, and spices until onions are soft. In a large bowl, combine masa and 1 quart of water. Stir until smooth, then add to the dutch oven. Add remaining 3 quarts water and bring to a boil.

Continue cooking 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cheese, stirring constantly until melted. Add chicken and tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes until contents are well blended.


You should try it. Tastes really good, especially on a nice cold or rainy day :) Enjoy

The Christmas Tree

So I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving with Jeff's family, whom I love. My sister in law and her boyfriend had a huge spread at their house, with 3 turkeys. Needless to say, we had more than enough food. We had such a great time, and the kids love going over their. Lots to do :)

But it was a very nice and relaxing day and we spent the weekend with mom and dad. On Sunday we went to church together and then all piled in mom and dad's van and went eagle watching. On Lake Coeur d Alene, the fish spawn this time of year and after they do they die, so the Bald Eagles migrate there to eat. It was pretty amazing to see those huge beautiful birds. We probably spotted about 5 or 6 of them. It was way cool.

So now onto decorating the Christmas tree. The kids were so excited and could not wait to get the tree up. So we had the Christmas music going and the hot chocolate and all of the ornament at the bottom of the tree :)

So those of you who have had children remember when they are little your tree looks so off balance because all of the ornaments are on the top of the tree to keep the kids out of them. I think that was my tree a couple of years ago. Nothing on the bottom.

Well........times have changed, because this is what the bottom of my tree looks like this year.

Each branch has about 5 or 6 ornament on it. They thought that it looked better when they were all together like a "family" :)

So now that the tree is up, Isn't it supposed to be time for Christmas?????

We are having a hard time now waiting for Christmas to get here.

I hope everybody has a blessed day.