Leftover Ham

We had lots of leftover ham after the holidays so this is what we turned it into.... well, some of it that is. We've still got a bunch so if you have any good ideas for using up the rest, let me know.

I just used this recipe for dinner rolls to wrap the chopped ham and shredded cheese and it turned out perfectly. Baked them at 400 for about 15 minutes. It made about 8 pretty big pockets. YUMMY! This will be a regular around our house from now on. I bet you can make them with just about anything too... taco pockets, pizza pockets, I'm sure I can come up with a ton of good stuff to fill them. : )

2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 - 115 degrees)
1 cup warm milk (same)
3 Tbsp shortening
1 egg
2 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 cup flour

In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth and elastic. Dough will be sticky. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and rise in warm place about an hour.

Divide into 8 chunks and roll them into 6-8 inch circles. Fill it with your ham and cheese and fold it in half. Seal the edges and bake on greased sheet.

ENJOY!

Christmas Festivities

We had a very laid back Christmas Eve. We had little smokies and popcorn for dinner and then watched Miracle on 34th Street, such a cute movie. We had to take a quick break in the middle for some peppermint ice cream, and then we let the boys open their one Christmas Eve gift... Christmas Jammies! They were thrilled at being able to open a present before Santa even came. Then it was off to bed for three little boys. I have never seen Sam so excited to go to bed. We could hear him upstairs demanding Seth to go to sleep as quickly as he could.


The next morning, the boys learned a little about Santa's messy side. Santa brought the boys lots of little balls, but he must have dropped the majority of them on his way to check on them, not bothering to pick them up on his way out. There were balls all over the tree, under the tree, going up the stairs, and even in their bedroom. We could hear several whispers of "Holy cow!" and "What on earth!" as they tiptoed their way down the stairs and into the living room. It was very cute!

The morning was really fun! The boys were thrilled with their new transformers and games. Aaron wasn't quite sure what to do with it all, but I think he figured it out somewhat by the end. We made a very tasty honey ham with mashed potatoes, carrots, and green bean casserole. It was delicious! Overall, it was a wonderful day, and we really enjoyed talking with so many of our family members that we missed getting to share the day with.

The boys received a bounce house for their big gift this year. We got it all set up down in the basement, and the boys are having a blast with it... even Aaron! It will be nice for them to have something to expend some of their boundless energy this winter.

Christmas Cookies

We made our Christmas cookies today... I did the dumping, Sam did the mixing, and Seffers joined in for the decorating (and eating :-). We've spaced our Christmas goodie making out over several days/weeks this year. Two weeks ago we made Peanut Brittle, last week it was Caramel Corn, and finally today was our Sugar Cookies. I just don't seem to have the energy this year to tackle too many projects at once. For some reason, neither item has lasted more than a couple days around this crowd.

As I write, the wind is howling at the window next to me, and the snow is really coming down. Adam went out and shoveled a couple hours ago, but you can't even tell. It's gonna be a white Christmas here! Love it!

Frosty the Snowman

We finally had the chance to go out and build our own Frosty the Snowman!!! Or, Frosting the Snowman as Seffers calls him. We've discovered that around here if you want to play in the snow, you have to do it while it's fresh - otherwise, it turns hard as stone soon after. So, today we had a couple inches fall so the boys and I headed out for a couple hours to shovel snow and just have some fun. Thankfully, I am all finished with my Christmas shopping and can now just sit back and enjoy the snow (and freezing rain... uggh!) that is supposed to be scattered throughout the next several days.

The boys are really looking forward to Christmas this year. Sam has written several lists for Santa and is really trying to figure out how he's going to get into our house without a chimney. He's decided that he'll have to stay up and unlock the door for him. Seffers just spends most of his day rearranging the ornaments on the tree. So far all the candy canes are still hanging there, in different spots of course. Aaron is just busy growing. He is finally gaining some weight and getting little rolls on his legs and arms... so cute! And, he got his 2 front teeth just in time for Christmas - the second came in this past weekend. Yay!

Merry Christmas!

That's pretty tall alright!

Here is my contribution, last week they gave us a paid day off to attend one of the worlds largest radiology conferences held in Chicago every December. While the conference was truly awe inspiring (literally - I have never seen a gathering of people even remotely approaching the size of this conference) I thought this was rather incredible as well - and more appealing to the masses than a bunch of CT,MRI,Plain film,PACS,ultrasound machines, etc.

Since I was a little kid I heard about this building as the tallest building in the world (having since been surpassed) and thought wow that's pretty tall, but then to stand at the base of it and look up was truly an amazing experience....

A couple more shots:

Well, the snow has finally come. We got a couple inches today and the kids couldn't stay away. Aaron was feeling left out so he got to watch out the window and thought that was pretty cool. Of course, after the cold they had to have hot cocoa!

It's late now but looking out the window, the snow is still coming down - we'll see how much we have in the morning!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

We all bundled up yesterday and drove out to a Riehle's Tree farm to purchase our very first Wisconsin Christmas Tree. Sam and Seth were very excited to play in the snow... since we have yet to get any of our own (not that I'm complaining... soon enough!). They soon realized, however, that they should have waited until after we had picked our tree to play in it and get all wet and cold. Aaron loved being out in the fresh air. It was a really good time, and we brought home a very beautiful tree.

We decorated our tree this evening, and the boys did a really good job. At first I thought the tree might fall over with all the weight on just one branch, but we were eventually able to convince Seth to put some ornaments elsewhere. We even hung some candy canes and are eager to find out just how quickly they disappear. I think Adam counted them first, so we shall see... It's fun to get out all the ornaments and remember where they came from or who made them. I just love Christmas!

My version of a Man Cave and a Sleeping Kid

Well, since I have started posting to this blog thing you may have noticed a paucity of words, cuz that is how I roll. However, this one probably requires a little explanation.

This is my current project... Since I hear from everyone here that the winters are long and cold, I figured that I needed to have a workbench in the basement. With no budget for such things, I began looking for wood in dumpsters and such and this is what I have come up with and the bench part is made of desk tops I got at the local JCPenney outlet for 20 bucks. I still have some work to do, like build shelves for the cabinet on the right (actually, eventual plans include drawers on that one), screw the top down, and mount my vise...

This is just a picture of the youngest kid in the best mode (Sleep mode)
Note: Thumb is fully engaged.

Sams new skills

Fall Fun

Well, I guess it's time to blog... especially since I've received several not-so-subtle hints lately. I really like Daniela's and Christa's collages so I thought I'd try it out myself. I downloaded Picasa from Google so hopefully it works. We'll see if it passes Adam's scrutiny.

It has been a such crazy time for us recently. We've all been sick for so many weeks that I find myself wondering if we'll ever be healthy again. It just keeps circling around and around, but I am really hoping we've gotten it all under control and can now move on. Other than being sick, we've been just hanging out at home. Kindergarten is going super well. Sam is already reading many, many words - he can read basically anything with the short vowel sounds. He's such a smart kid! He's also mastered the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord's Prayer. It's just incredible how their minds just soak it all up.

It's so amazing that Fall is ALREADY here... and almost winter!!! It doesn't seem like we've been in Milwaukee long enough. But, the fall is definitely beautiful here... and lots of work. We've spent several days out raking up leaves, a chore that I can't remember ever doing. Every year we've gotten pumpkins at a Pumpkin Patch and done the hayrides, mazes, and all the fun stuff, but this year we weren't able to do that for health reasons. So, we got Pumpkins at Walmart. Yeah, not quite as fun, but they made the boys happy. I also had the brilliant (or crazy!) idea to make the boys costumes for Halloween this year. Bob and Larry from the Veggie Tales. They turned out amazing!!! The boys had so much fun with them today. We came home loaded with a bucket full of candy and three very tired little boys. Wonderful day!

And, tomorrow will be another.... church, raking leaves, and planting tulip and daffodils.

Have you ever seen so many leaves???

Back to normal... somewhat

Sam's disease (mononucleosis) of the past week has had us all pretty frazzled. Nobody except Aaron was able to get any sleep for about 5 days straight. His throat was so swollen and hurting so badly that he just cried and cried for days. He was basically living on Advil and Tylenol. We could tell exactly when it wore off because, exactly 5 hours after each dose, he would just start wailing and run to the bathroom to throw up. It was just no fun at all! Last night, finally, we were able to sleep thru the night... such a wonderful feeling. Today he woke up with plenty of energy and smiling like nothing had happened. He's still hurting, his voice still sounds terrible, and he took a 3 hour nap, but he's feeling a TON better. We are ALL feeling a TON better! Thanks for all the prayers... I don't know how we could have made it thru this past week without them.

*****

I thought I would share with you my awesome birthday gift too. I have been wanting a new ring for a few years now. My wedding ring is so big (not that I am complaining!!!) that I am constantly scratching the boys, catching my sweaters, pulling my hair, etc. that I wanted something a little flatter and simpler. So Ad bought me one for my bday this year. I absolutely love it!!! It's not much simpler, but it is flatter, and I can't wait to wear it - I had to get it sized, which takes a few weeks... bummer! All in all, it was a good birthday, spent with the people I love the most!

How could it possibly get any better?

Priceless...

Well... today (my birthday) started out pretty good (Adam wished me happy birthday right at midnight) but it quickly deteriorated from there. Samuel became really sick last night so we were up, off and on, taking care of him and just listening to him as he moaned and tossed back and forth in his bed just above our room. Poor guy! It's been a terrible day for him. He
has a very sore throat and is throwing up just about everything, which is making his sore throat even more unbearable. Please pray that he gets better soon. Aaron was recently sick as well, and it lasted 2 full weeks!

But, in the midst, of the sickness I received a precious card from Sam. Except for supplying the paper and helping him sound out a
few words from across the room (stop & mom), I didn't help him at all. In fact, I was not even allowed to see it till my birthday. It is definitely something I will treasure forever! It's funny how the most simple thing from your child can melt your heart and bring goodness to a very yucky day!

My Favorite Place

When we first bought this house, Adam and I both wondered if we would ever really even use the living room. The kitchen was so big and sunny, and we had the yard, our own hobby rooms, the basement... why would we just sit in the living room? Well, it has definitely become my favorite place in the whole house. I love how cozy and comfy it is. We spend hours in there... especially since starting Kindergarten. I nurse Aaron in the black recliner. We do Bible stories in the chair and a half - I sit on the ottoman while the boys snuggle up in the chair. I fold laundry on the big couch. We spend hours playing games and doing puzzles on the red rug. It's really a wonderful place, my favorite place!

SETH ~ Seffers

Seth is really into doing everything for himself lately... including dressing himself. I sent him upstairs to get some clothes one day. When he came down he assured me he had picked out an outfit that matched. "See Mom, there are orange stripes on my shirt and orange stripes on my pants." I guess he kinda gets it : ) Another day he picked out his Lightning McQueen outfit and was ecstatic because he could wear his Lightning McQueen shoes that matched. Anyway, I guess you could say we are on a matching kick, for now.

We are also (sort of) working on potty-training. I am letting him take charge of that. If I push him at all he seems to back off, so I've figured out that if I don't mention it he will come to me to go "poopy in the toilet." A huge help in the process has been the Bumbo potty seat. It works so much better than any other we have tried. I am hoping to have only one child in diapers by March (Seth's 3rd birthday), but we will see.

Silly Boy

Hopscotch - I love this one!

"I'm stronger than you" he says to Sam... everything is a competition between these two.

If ye shall ask anything in my name,
I will do it.
John 14:14

Kindergarten Korner

SAMUEL

We don't really have a whole room in our house to devote to kindergarten so we've set up a nice little corner. I found this great desk for $15 on craigslist and painted it red so it would look like it belonged in our living room. It's AWESOME! Sam loves it and he LOVES kindergarten. So far, we've been mostly just reviewing the vowels and their sounds. He's really great at picking out the vowels in each word. We are doing Bible class first thing each morning and both boys are soaking it up. We are memorizing verses, learning Bible doctrines and new songs. It's so much fun! We typically start between 7:30 and 8:oo and end by 10:00.

Today was an especially great day because Sam got to pick his first prize out of the prize bag. He has to earn 10 stickers (10 perfect papers) in order to pick a prize. Seth actually got to pick a prize as well. He looked at me with those huge brown eyes and said "I go to school too." How could I refuse that! So we spent the rest of the morning outside blowing bubbles and playing with rocket balloons.

The 3 cutest boys in the world!

Another thing Sam has learned recently is to ride his bike without training wheels. He picked it up so amazingly quick. I couldn't believe it the afternoon that Adam came in and told me Sam was riding his bike. What an amazing kid!

Movin' Along

Aaron is not even 6 months old yet , and he's all over the place. Since this video last week he's begun getting up on his knees and rocking back and forth. I'm guessing he'll be crawling in just a matter of days. So crazy! Am I ready for this? NO!!!




Also, these are pretty cute video's of Seffer's from when we first got here... some things never change :o)

New News

Yeah, I know..... it's been more than forever, but I have been just a little busy. Things are starting to slow down finally, and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. I'm sure that sounds totally crazy, but I think we've been so busy that I haven't allowed myself time to just freak out about all these changes and the crazy things that have happened in the last several months.

I love Wisconsin! I wasn't sure what to expect when we got here; I was excited about the move and ready for some changes, but I expected it to be a lot harder to adjust. It's been so awesome... People have been so helpful and friendly. We have found a really great church (Brookside Baptist Church) with lots of young families to connect with. It's much larger than we had planned on, but we really just seemed to fit right in. This Sunday, we are going to lunch with our new pastor and a few other families... I am looking forward to it, but am a little nervous too :o)

We are really enjoying having weekends. It has been so long since we've had a weekend with Adam home, and now we have them every week. It's AWESOME! We're really looking forward to being able to just kick back and relax, though. We've been shopping every weekend since we got here... sounds great, I know, but I'm all shopped out! We've bought 2 cars, 4 beds, 4 dressers, 3 desks, 2 end tables, a bench, table and chairs, a recliner, sofa, chair & ottoman, a lawn mower, and a dishwasher... and that's just the big stuff. I think we are basically finished for now. Yay!!!

Here is our new dining room table... we didn't buy this. Adam built it for me... he is so awesome!!! I wanted something simple, to match our kitchen, but that I wouldn't worry about the boys scratching up. Then he went and built this BEAUTIFUL table... so now I don't want it ruined :o) Oh well... thanks Babe... I LOVE IT!

********

Seffer's and I were sitting in the hallway yesterday morning, just in front of Aaron's bedroom door. I heard a few little noises coming from his room and I looked. All I saw was a few wispy little hairs sticking up above the bumper... then a couple little fingers...


Then the sweetest little smiling face...


I just love this kid! He is so happy almost all the time. Lately, he is teething, but he still tries his hardest to put on a smile even thru the whimpers of pain. He is growing up way to fast... it makes me sad. I want to keep him like this for much longer.... I just don't want him to become a 2 year old :)


If you look closely you can see those little teeth poking thru... love it!