Christmas Memories 2015

We had a very relaxing and fun Christmas celebration this year.

We began on Christmas Eve in Eureka with the Joachims.

Our lifelong neighbor Violet made this quilt for David and me. She had given each of our babies a quilt when they were born and she felt bad that I had been left out. It is beautiful and I love this loving gift from Violet, who is an adopted member of our family. She is 87 and still works part time--she is one amazing lady!

 We also made a visit to Grandma Joachim at the nursing home. She was happy to see and visit with us. We all sang Christmas songs together, which was a blessing for especially me.  I always remember Grandma singing and/or playing the organ when I was at her house as a child. 

Christmas Day was spent mostly at home, and with the extended Melius family in the evening. The family Christmas carols are always a favorite there, too.  My Christmas Day photos are on my other camera . . . however, the kids discovered at 4:30am that Santa had brought remote control cars, a karaoke machine and a Barbie swing set.  (Thankfully the karaoke machine did not start at that time!  It turns out the 4 o'clock hour was quite popular, with several of our friends saying that was the time to check out the surprises under the tree at their houses, too!)

The next day began two days with the Melius family, We all took our turn at snuggling miss Hannah Faith, who is now just over a month old.

 The new favorite this year was Grandpa's "Barrel of Monkeys" made out of an old water tank. He loaded up all of the grandkids and they went "dashing through the snow" behind the tractor!

It was all a wonderful celebration, and we are always thankful for a HEALTHY Christmas break which made it even better!!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Thank you for following our adventures through another year.

God Bless Us Every One!

Take 2!

We are improving on the meringues!

Landen wanted to make some for his middle school snack potluck tomorrow.

We added green food color and a couple of drops of Peppermint essential oil to these. As you can see, we also took the extra step of putting the meringue in a piping bag to make more uniform cookies. 

I am particularly fond of the chocolate sprinkles on the mint cookies.

Yummy and pretty!

Santa's Visit

Where I grew up, we stood in line in the Eureka Gym Lobby for what seemed like hours waiting for a turn on Santa's lap. When I finally reached him, I remember being quite nervous and just wanting my paper bag filled with an apple, orange, candy and peanuts.

Rachel had much the same reaction to Santa, with her only other visit to him on her first birthday at her sister's Story Hour. She wasn't too sure about him then either!

She did agree to sit on mom's lap to tell him she would like a "big Olaf."

Added bonus--Mom got a hug from Santa, too.

Snow Day {Melty} Meringues

School was cancelled for today just after bedtime last night.

That meant a morning of sleeping in a bit (for me, anyway!), waffles for breakfast, and a day of playing in the snow (for the kids--not me.) 

After we received the long anticipated phone call from school, I was reading my December Good Housekeeping last night while eating popcorn and watching "The Profit," as I am wont to do on a Tuesday night, and I discovered several yummy cookie recipes that actually seemed like a housewife like myself could bake. 

Meringues have always intrigued me, and so I decided to try some for the first time today. I just used the "drop" method on these, instead of a piping bag, since I wasn't sure if I beat the egg whites quite enough.

It turns out they could have used just a bit more, but even though they aren't the perfect shape, they still taste great! Let's call them melted snowballs. 

Guess what else!?!? They have 5 calories each!  Mine probably have 15 calories, since they are bigger than the magazine suggested, but still--I like a low calorie sweet treat! (And plenty of high calorie ones, too . . . .)

Wouldn't these be fun on top of a cup of hot chocolate??

Merry Meringues

Dec. 2015 Good Housekeeping

3 large egg whites

pinch salt

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or almond)

Arrange oven racks in top and bottom thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 225. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl with mixer of medium speed, beat egg whites and salt until foamy. Add cream of tartar; beat on med-high until soft peaks form. Add sugar 1 T at a time. Beat until meringue stands in stiff, glossy peaks. Beat in vanilla and additional flavor, if desired. Pipe or drop onto parchment paper. Beake for 1 hour at 225. Then leave meringues in oven for 1 hour with oven door closed. Remove and cool completely. They can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Happy 4th Birthday, Rachel!

She waited and waited . . . and Rachel's birthday finally arrived!  I really can't believe our "baby" is now leaving her toddler days behind her!  We began the day as we do every birthday, with singing and presents. 

I didn't get a photo of them today, but we gave her some little dolls and a working toy mixer. She used it to whisk our eggs for our chocolate chip cookies this afternoon.  She requested baking chocolate chip cookies, just as she does almost every day. Lucky for her, we go through chocolate chip cookies almost that quickly!

She wanted a butterfly cake, with mom and baby butterflies on it.

We made a stop at Hobby Lobby and found some mama butterflies in the party aisle and some babies in the scrap booking aisle! Cake decorating took on a whole new and--easier dimension--when I realized that cake decorations need not be edible. :)

The girls decorated a beautiful butterfly cake together after school.

Happy Birthday, Rachel! May all your 4 year old wishes come true!

Support Marilyn & her family!

As usual, the blog posts are pretty light this year, with Christmas preparations taking the bulk of my extra time. This is the most important thing I can share today:

There will be a benefit for Marilyn Neuharth TOMORROW Dec 12 at the Wolff Den (on Main Street) in Eureka. A free-will supper will be served from 5:30-7:00pm with a live auction to follow.

Come out and support Marilyn and my dear friends whose lives were changed forever after a car accident in September!

Lunch

Today Rachel and I rode along to Sioux Falls with David.  It had plenty of perks, especially being able to do a little Christmas shopping and having a delicious lunch with Uncle Rick at Johnny Carino's, one of my favorite restaurants.

We stopped by Walmart on the way home, since we were nearly out of basic food necessities, such as milk, bread, and Pepsi!

At the checkout, Rachel asked for a treat from the candy aisle.
"We already had a treat today," I told her. "We ate lunch at a restaurant!"

She answered, "That wasn't a treat. That was LUNCH!"

'Twas the Day Before Thanksgiving

Here we are!  This, as I say every year, is one of my favorite days of the year.  I love this day of cooking and preparing my favorite fall feast favorites!  It is also a day of anticipation for the holiday to come--the family, games, Black Friday plans, and homemade apple cider (to which our favorite Captain is always invited to make an appearance). :)
I truly have much to be thankful this year, besides the BIGGEST blessings of family, friends, faith, our health, safety, and our home.

What else am I thankful for?

A new niece that we will meet this Sunday!  Hannah Faith was born last Sunday and will be baptized this weekend.

David's grandparents celebrate their 60th anniversary this week as well!  I am so thankful for my grandparents, who I do not get to see nearly often enough. They still continue to teach me lessons every time we are together.

OK, I already mentioned my friends, but they have to be mentioned again.  I am so very thankful that my friends' mom Marilyn is continuing to recover after her miraculous, really, survival from their September car accident. Never, ever give up hope. Thank you for that important lesson, Marilyn.  I think good stubborn German genes help, too!  And for all of my friends. God gives each of us quite the survival kit to navigate this tricky life on earth and I am so blessed by you.

Adele's new album.  I was a fan of the songs from her first album, 21, although I never bought it.  I bought 25 last week and--wow--close to vocal perfection. The subject matter is also timely, with the theme of growing up past childhood and letting go of what used to be.  I spent most of my year 36 with those thoughts and feelings, of times and responsibilities changing.  Am I that much more immature that it took me 11 more years than Adele to realize this?  I think I was just too busy having babies at the time!

Cooking kids. Landen made lunch today and Nathan handled tomorrow's special cranberry sauce. We made our own recipe because . . . well, why not?

Oven bags and slow cooker liners . . . I know I mentioned these last week, but I really do sing their praises every time I lift them out of a pan and throw them in the trash.

UNO. This card game is revived every once in awhile.  Now we're all old enough to play, even if we don't all use strategy. :)  You better be ready to say UNO if you play with the Melius family!  My kids show no mercy.

Amazon Smile. It's easy to donate .5% to your favorite charity if you go through smile.amazon.com, which has the exact same stuff as Amazon.  Our favorite, Cranio Care Bears, has already earned over $1,100 through this program.  (David asked it that was from MY shopping only.  I assured him that I was not THAT great of an Amazon shopper, although our mail carrier may disagree.)  There are many charities to choose from and you can always change to a different one, too.

Wednesday nights. There's "church school," and after our return home, "Survivor" night with my husband. Red wine and popcorn.  I love our mid-week "dates." "The Profit" night on Tuesday is a close second, and then there's "The Middle," which continues to be my life in a 30 minute episode every week!

And . . . is it too soon?  Christmas card season!  I love sending them and getting them.  Stamps are purchased, although the Christmas letter is still yet to be penned.

One more thing before Thanksgiving break . . . Nathan and my super special cranberry sauce!

1 cup orange juice

1 cup white sugar

(Dissolve sugar in juice in a saucepan.)

1 bag fresh cranberries, 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup frozen raspberries

Cook until mixture comes to a boil and cranberries start to pop.  Remove from heat, cool, and pour into a serving bowl. Refrigerate until Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Countdown

We are now less than one week away until Thanksgiving!  I have been preparing to host again this year and have been thinking of what every cook should do in these days ahead of TURKEY day.

1.  Put your turkey in the fridge now.  Yes, right now.  Make sure it is in a pan on the lowest shelf.  It will take at least this long to thaw a larger size bird by next Thursday morning. If it still isn't completely thawed come Thanksgiving, run some water through it. (Just be careful not to splash turkey bacteria water all over the place!) Remember to remove the bag of giblets, too, before putting it in the oven.  I like to cook mine in a cooking bag.

2.  Use cooking bags and slow cooker liners All. of. the. time.  No scrubbing or soaking huge pans or crocks in your sink all day!

3.  Ask your guests to bring your favorite dishes.  Mother-in-law's dressing and bread?  Check.  Mom's one-of-a-kind cole slaw?  Check.

4.  Have your bought your refrigerated pie crust?  DON'T. Use THIS RECIPE and you will have a more delicious homemade crust in less time than it takes to bring a store bought one to room temperature.  Trust me.

5.  While we are on the subject of pies, go ahead and serve a frozen pie if you must, but don't lie to your guests and say it's homemade.  That's just wrong. :)

6. Save your Black Friday ads from the Wednesday paper (if you live in rural South Dakota). These will be excellent afternoon entertainment for the ladies on your guest list.  Better yet, ask your guests to bring their store ads, too, so there are more to pass around the table.

Hmm . . . anyone have any other suggestions????

I will let you know if I think of anything else before next week!

Walking Together 2015

I finally got around to taking the 2015 road picture yesterday.  Thankfully it was still nice enough for no coats!

We always have to take a few silly photos, too!

37

I turned 37 yesterday.  I'm feeling alright about it, even though Teresa exclaimed that I am OLD!

Although I do have a video of the candle blowing and birthday song singing, I don't have any photos to share of the day.  That's what happens when the family photographer has a birthday. :)

I ended up spending most of my day helping a friend and her family move out of their home and onto their next adventure. It was a bittersweet day to be sure, but I am excited for them and it was a blessing to be able to help out for the day.

After I returned home, there was supper, cake, presents, and my cup overflowed with blessings once again.

Life is good.

Even at 37.

Happy Birthday Nathan!

This post could also be called . . . Why You Don't Hand the Camera to your 12 year old to Take Birthday Photos. :)

Nathan's 10th birthday ranked right up there with the best, thanks to a surprise visit by cousin Jared and three of the Melius cousins--Thomas, David, and Elizabeth.  I had forgotten this, but Jared and Jan were actually visiting South Dakota when Nathan was born and came to visit us in the hospital!

What great timing for this visit. (We missed you, Jan!)

The kids played Nerf guns and football all night. Before they left, I had the exhausted party goers line up for a photo.

Whew!

By the looks of all the leftover candy and cake around this place,

it's been a pretty great last few days!

Nathan is 10!

Nathan David (aka Nater) entered our lives 10 years ago and it has never been the same!  He has been adding excitement to our lives even since before he was born. 

"For this child I prayed, and God has given what I asked of Him."

On November 3, 2005, God answered our prayers and blessed us with a healthy blue eyed boy who LOVES life . . . and adding life to our family.

His first smile captured on camera.

One year old photos

Nathan being Nathan!

We were able to ride Thomas the Train in 2007, shortly before Nathan became a big brother.

He doesn't look too sure of the future here.

For as energetic as he is, Nathan has a calm and peaceful place in his heart for animals. When we visited the Butterfly House in Sioux Falls, he stood still until he finally got a butterfly to land on his finger.

This is the famous 4th birthday monster cake that didn't get eaten after he used spit instead of air to extinguish his candles.

Another one of my favorites. He ALWAYS has a ball in his hands. He could throw accurately by the time he was 2!

t-ball days

Nathan "couldn't believe it is a girl" when Rachel was born, but he quickly became her biggest protector and best bud.

100 years old for the 100th day of school

All that Nathan personality in one little person!

Happy 10th Birthday, Nathan!!!

Happy 8th Birthday, Teresa!

Happy 8th Birthday, Teresa!

We spent our afternoon at Colorful Creations painting pottery with Bella (and mom and Aunt Amanda!) Teresa has been planning this birthday for two years--and she said it was the best one ever.  I'm so glad it lived up to her expectations! :)

Then it was time for our trick or treating at Grandpa and Grandma Melius' house!

Grandma always has a birthday cake and a fun party ready for Teresa on Halloween, too.

We all went trick or treating in Cresbard this evening and returned for one more birthday cake--a princess dress of cupcakes.

Hope

I don't know if you have noticed this, but life is HARD.   Yesterday was my fifth funeral for the month, for a sister of my dear friend Rachel.  My core group of friends has been rocked by tragedy and loss this past month.  It's the type of thing we would sit and ruminate about in high school . . .  things we hoped would never happen to us.  And now they have. And it's so very hard. Each day as I flip on "on" switch on my Hope light, I say an extra prayer for Marilyn,  that God will allow her to awake from her coma SOON and speak to her family once again.  Hope does not disappoint. Yesterday I had the opportunity to end my day on a Rosary Walk with the youth of our church.  Believe me, walking in the cold wind (with a cold) was not high on the list of things I wanted  to do, but as we prayed as one  for an increase of faith, hope, and love, and for respect for all life,  I was blessed.  So very blessed. How appropriate that Gus Lloyd commented on these same things in his reflection for today. For more Reflections by Gus Lloyd, visit www.GusLloyd.com The Love of Christ St. Paul’s letter to the Romans is such great reading. Today we hear St. Paul asking the question, “What can separate us from the love of Christ?” He then gives a list of things that we are afraid of. More on that in a moment. In the Gospel reading from Luke 13, some Pharisees come and tell Jesus to get outta Dodge because Herod wants him dead. Jesus says that he will continue on His way. Read what else He says. Anguish. Distress. Persecution. Famine. Nakedness. Peril. The sword. These are all things that St. Paul proposes might separate us from the love of Christ. But do they? I don’t think so!! “No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.” St. Paul then goes on to give a laundry list of much more powerful things, none of which will separate us from the love of Christ. I hope you realize that we are in a constant spiritual battle. Satan and his minions tirelessly try to get us to despair, to give up, to think that, especially when we’re going through trials – like those mentioned by St. Paul, God can’t possibly love us. But Jesus loves us ALWAYS! In fact, it is in those times of great tribulation that Christ loves us all the more. Don’t let Satan let you think otherwise. Fight on, brothers and sisters!! Father, we thank you for victory! Victory over sin and death and Satan and evil. Teach us to rely on the strength of Your Son, Christ Jesus, from whose love nothing can separate us. Amen.

Melius/Johnston Pheasant Hunt

On Saturday, the Johnstons and Meliuses gathered for their 66th (give or take) pheasant hunt.

They now have a fourth generation joining in the hunt!

Jack O' Lanterns- Day 1 and Day 2

After many years of trying to get pumpkins to grow in our garden, we finally had a bountiful harvest this fall.

Nathan, Teresa and Rachel carved three on Thursday night.

The kids didn't have school on Friday and it was raining, so we all got a break from harvest.

Landen joined in the fun that day and Nathan made two more of his own.

As soon as we started talking about carving Thursday night, Rachel had an idea of what she wanted hers to look like.  She kept making this face and saying that is what she wanted.

(She was OK with it if I couldn't give the pumpkin hands.) 

:)