7th Annual Christmas Eve Party

First came the preparation: lots of goodies to be made...

Pretzels dipped...

Reese's Peanutbutter Cookies...

Reid & My Favorite: Chocolate Marshmallow Candy....

and Peanutbutter Balls

And finally time to eat
Time for some pictures:

Please everyone, just one good picture...

Now a goofy one... This kind of picture is easier to take.

This was not an easy picture to get, a group of 21... which do you like better?

Time for SCREAM-O

What started out as our family tradition on Christmas Eve has grown into quite an event. No longer is it just us eating a supper of snacks, finger-foods and candy, staying up late playing games. Over the past two years it has grown to include more family. We have been blessed to have my parents here, although they weren't able to make it this year. Last year Roger, Peg, Drew & Jaden joined us and now this year Rob, Emily, Logan, Olivia and Jane (Emily's mom) were here. And of course, the required attire is pajamas and the party doesn't end until it is officially Christmas!

New PJ's~A Christmas Eve Tradition

Elijah waits patiently to open his pajamas

Avery likes hers, though they are a bit too big

Autumn is happy hers are pink

Another tradition: The picture in front of the tree in new pajamas~Smile!

A Christmas Piano Recital

Hannah, Avery & Autumn have been taking piano lessons from their Aunt Emily since September. They decided it would be fun to put on a recital for the family. On Tuesday evening they did their recital at Rob & Emily's. They did a very good job. It was fun to see how much they have improved. Autumn even sang us a few carols.

ATTITUDE

"In addition to friendship, attitude is one of the few things in life where we have a true choice. We cannot change what is fated to happen or the actions of events or other people.

What we can change is our reaction to such things with the attitude we adopt. In truth, our attitude can be more important that anything we do. It can make or break families, companies, and nations. It is more important that schooling, talent, looks, or wealth.

How we react is everything and our attitude is the choice we have; it is a choice we make every minute of every day. It is a state of mind that no one can take from us. If we are in control of our attitudes, we are in command of our lives. And that is the best way to live."

~Author Unknown

I recently placed an order for some snowboarding equipment at The House Boardshop, along with my invoice was a letter that included this, their company motto. In my opinion, it says perfectly the importance of attitude.

Simon Elk Hunts in Colorado

Simon standing by an elk rub

A memory that will last a lifetime

Simon & Duane, Two Happy Hunters

Definitely not in Iowa

Anyone who knows my boys know that they like to hunt. Simon recently got the chance to spend two weeks Elk hunting in Colorado with his Grandpa Schlabach. Duane has been going hunting in Colorado since Simon was one. This year one of Simon's dreams came true when his Grandpa called to ask if he could go along this year. Simon was so excited, I am glad he only had to wait 3 days to leave once he knew he was going. Not only did he get the chance to spend time hunting with his Grandpa in beautiful Colorado, he actually killed a Bull Elk. Until Duane and my boys explained the odds of getting a Bull Elk, I didn't realize what a big deal it was that Simon had got one his first time. Anyway, it is a BIG deal, and I am sure he will enjoying telling anyone who asks all about it. For now though, I am just going to post a few pictures from his trip.

Elijah Ray turns 13!

Almost 13, that's something to smile about
What a handsome 6 year old
Elijah Ray and his Mommy Kris
Elijah & Caleb, looks like trouble to me
Elijah (6) & Hannah (4) at our wedding

Yes it's true, Elijah is turning 13 tomorrow. We will have 6 teenagers at home...HELP! I honestly don't know where the time has gone. It still seems like the age range should be 3 - 16, not 9 - 23. I must admit that there are a lot of times I have to remind myself of this fact. My children aren't as young as I think they are. Elijah is growing up to be quite a young man. He is helpful and hardworking when he's in the right mood. We celebrated Elijah's birthday early on Saturday night. He was thrilled to finally get the iPod he had been wanting for a looooong time.

CANNING

Apple Pie Filling~Makes wonderful Apple Crisp
Mikayla making sure all the sugar clumps are dissolved~FUN!
Spaghetti Sauce cooking
Wednesdays accomplishments, minus the apple sauce

About 2 weeks ago on Monday evening my friend Kristyn called and wondered if I would be interested in doing some canning if she got some tomatoes at the produce auction in Frytown. She also had a friend who had apples if I was interested. Of course I said "Sure, that would be great." Little did I know that when she got here Tuesday night she would have a truck full. There was close to 6 bushels of apples and 12 boxes of tomatoes and a 50 lb. bag of onions. My sister-in-law Peg joined us also. We spent Wednesday morning making apple sauce and apple pie filling to can. After a trip to Carroll for lunch and supplies we returned to make Salsa and Spaghetti Sauce. We were exhausted and our feet hurt when we finally called it a night at 2:30 AM. Unfortunately we only got half of the tomatoes used up. Kristyn and her family returned home Thursday and Peg and I spent Friday making more Salsa and Spaghetti Sauce. I wish I had better pictures to post, but we were so busy that we almost forgot to take any. It really was something to see, the amount of work going on all at one time. Organized Chaos is what I would call it. And by the time Peg & I finished up on Friday I can honestly say I was sick of the smell of Salsa & Spaghetti Sauce cooking. But I am THRILLED with all the yummy food we have to enjoy. Here are the totals: 60 Qt. Apple Sauce, 28 Qt. Apple Pie Filling, 47 Qt. Spaghetti Sauce and 60 Qt. Salsa. We were all happy with what we ended up with. It is amazing how much fun you can have working when you are doing it with friends. Thanks Kristyn for asking and be willing to make the trip. You are truly a special friend.

Grandma Widmer's Cinnamon Rolls

Grandma teaching Reid how to make the twist just right
Look at all those rolls... 59 to be exact
Grandma's magic touch

I don't think I am exaggerating when I say I have the best mom ever. We are always blessed with yummy treats when she comes to visit. I enjoy baking too, but it is more fun when mom is here. We have certainly done a lot of baking during some of her visits. I don't think my kids could decide which they like better, Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls or Pies. Unfortunately with so many mouths around here to eat her treats, they never last long. I can't think of anything much better then one of these rolls while they are still warm from the oven.

YUMMY! YUMMY!

We LOVE Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls!!!
Delicious!
Are you hungry yet?

PARTY TIME!!!

Avery wanted her cake shaped like an A and frosted in her favorite color
Autumn requested her full name Autumn Renae on her cake
The best part... opening presents

Once again we were blessed to have lots of family here to celebrate Avery & Autumn's birthday. 3 sets of grandparents were here, Grandpa & Grandma Widmer, Grandpa & Grandma Schlabach, Grandpa & Grandma Hoyt plus aunts, uncles and cousins of course.