Winter Vacation 2016

We recently went away on a little winter getaway. It was our third year going to Bend Oregon, and I was still blown away with how beautiful it is. It truly was a winter wonderland. 

You see, we live in a area which never gets more then about an inch of snow (which ends up melting fairly quick) so to be surrounded by snow up to our knees and more falling was amazing. 

The kids could not get enough of it. They wanted to spend every daylight hour outside. Even William (our two year old) enjoyed the snow this year. Last year he hated putting on all the snow gear and wanted us to carry him around in the snow. This year, he lay on the bed patiently while I got his snow pants, boots, gloves, coat and hat on.

I don't know about you, but after helping the kids put on and take off their snow gear two or four times a day for 4 days, I was ready to go back home where there is no snow. Do any of you know what I mean? It can be exhausting (whew). Anyways, I always look forward to our winter vacations, just to get away from the busyness and pressure that we can sometimes feel this time of year, and reconnect with the family and be together without anywhere to be and anything to do.

-our evenings could not have been more perfect-

-the beautiful cabin we stayed in-

-slow mornings are the best kind of mornings-

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-sledding and building forts, a few of his favorite things-

-love his rosy cheeks-

Iced Christmas Cookies

We are on winter break (yay!!) which means we can sleep in, play all day, and cozy up in front of the fire watching Christmas movies.  It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. 

One of my favorite things to do is bake with the kidos, and with winter break we have plenty of time.  

We love making these iced cookies, the kids can't get enough of them. I have used the same recipe for years, the cookies always turn out and the royal icing actually tastes good. 

Cookie Dough

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter (softened)

2 cups white sugar 

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 cups of flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. 

Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. 

Chill dough for atleast an hour or overnight.

( I like to split the dough into 4 parts and wrap them up in seram wrap. It is easier to work with small portions of dough. Plus when I don't use all of it, I can just freeze the wrapped up dough till next time)

Preheat oven to 350. 

On a floured surface, roll out the dough 1/4 inch thick. 

Cut into shapes with any cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheets. 

Bake 9-10 minutes. 

Cookie Icing

Ingredients:

4 cups powdered sugar

8 tsp milk

8 tsp light corn syrup

2 tsp almond extract

food coloring of your choice

Directions:

In your stand mixer, stir together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in the syrup and among extract until the icing is smooth and glossy. 

If the icing is to thick, add more corn syrup and milk (a tsp at a time)

Divide the icing into small separate bowls, add the food coloring to each desired intensity. Use piping bags to decorate the cookies. 

Our cookies are far from perfect, but they are quite tasty :)

Thanks for visiting, 

Christmas House Tour 2016

Welcome to our winter house tour

I love how our cozy our home is right now with all the candles and twinkle lights. 

What is it about christmas lights? Something about them just draws us in. when it is dark and gloomy outside during the long winter days, we are naturally drawn to what little light we can find, and when they are tiny little twinkle lights, well that just makes us warm and cozy inside. 

This is a special season. My favorite time of the year. A time when we slow down and spend time with the ones we love. A time to spread God's love to people around us, a time to be thankful and a time to give. 

May the Lord bless you all this holiday season. 

 It may be dark and gloomy outside, but inside it is warm and cozy. 

 Thanks for visiting, 

Lumberjack Birthday Party

The year has flown by and my older kids are both turning another year older this week. 

How is my oldest 9 already? It seems like it was just yesterday when we brought her home from the hospital, but that was almost a decade ago!!

 We can't stop the time from flying by, the only thing we can do is live every moment to the fullest. 

Love each other, cuddle our kidos while they still like to be cuddle, read aloud to them while they still love bed time stories and spend as much time with them as possible. 

We celebrated their birthdays this weekend with family and friends. It was a such a fun day.

 At the end of the day, my son told me that he wished it was morning again and he could have his party all over again. I agree with you my dear, it went by way to fast. 

This year our theme was lumberjack inspired, both boy and girl friendly. 

Felt boys crown and the girls berry crowns are DIY. The supplies are from craft warehouse

Lanterns are from amazon

Trees are from amazon 

Table runner is from amazon 

Straws are from amazon 

Happy Birthday banner is from amazon 

-Love this years theme, it ties in with my christmas decor so well :)-

-Dessert Table-

Cakes are from our favorite bakery (I just put some animals and trees on them)

Cookies are home made. You can find the recipe here