Christmas Ideas

Earlier this week I was so inspired from our MOPS Christmas brunch. We had a very insightful pastor come and speak to us about how to keep Christmas simple and meaningful, followed by discussion at our individual tables about the struggles and joys of Christmas in our families. I came away full of ideas of how to enhance my family's Christmas seasons in the future. Even though I called Rick right away about all this, I know we both are so forgetful so I thought I'd jot them down here and share them with you.

Samaritans Purse: The pastor's brother and his wife have ten children and to keep Christmas simple in their household they give their children the gift of giving. Each child is given forty dollars to spend however they would like from the catalog Samaritan's Purse, which is an international relief organization.

Jesus Ornaments: For the month of December every day you put a new ornament on your tree that has a different name of Jesus written on it. After you place the ornament on the tree, you read a passage or quote about that particular title.

Secret Elves: For the 12 days of Christmas your family draws names and secretly does nice things for each other daily until Christmas.

Nativity: Place a child friendly nativity set below your tree in front of all the presents to remind your children that the real gift of Christmas is the birth of Jesus.

There were so many other great ideas but already I have forgotten them! I'm glad I at least documented these so I can start on some of them next year. If you have any other Christmas traditions or ideas please share!

Baby Update

People that are near and dear to me seem to be having babies lately!

On December 13th, my brother Steve and his beautiful wife Jamie had a big handsome baby boy named Charlie who weighed in at 10 lbs 1 oz and was 22 inches long. This is a large baby by any standards, but Jamie is only 4'10" with a petite frame and so I am especially impressed. I wish we lived closer... I am dying to meet Charlie!

My brother Kevin and his gorgeous wife Rachel had a sweet little girl also named Adelaide (we love that name in our family... one half of the cousins have it!) Adelaide was born October 15th and was 8 lbs. 10 oz and 21 inches long. Rachel's labor was really long- she is so incredible! I got to meet Adelaide a couple weeks ago and will see her again this Christmas... so excited!

My good friend Shelley and her husband Mike recently had a precious baby boy named Liam. This is Shelley's sixth child, yet she still remains so relaxed and easy going- she is amazing! I met him for the first time today and I am in love!

Santa is Scary

Over the weekend I took Adelaide to a Christmas party so she could sit on Santa's lap. Well, apparently Santa is really scary. She super freaked out when I tried to put her on Santa's lap, but settled on a pouty face when I held her next to him for a quick picture.

She mostly resembles Rick but sometimes resembles me when she makes her sad face.

1st Popsicle

Yesterday Adelaide had her very first Popsicle. I didn't grab the camera in time but when she first got a hold of it she held the cold part in her hand and started biting on the stick instead. Eventually she figured it out and seemed to enjoy it. :)

Headbands to the Extreme

Normally these girls have a hard time keeping their headbands on but this particular day Adelaide and her friend Dakota couldn't get enough of them! I know, they kind of look like hospital patients with brain injuries.

Adelaide & Dakota

Little Miss Tech Savvy

I recently got a smart phone and I am still trying to get the hang of it- I am a little technologically challenged. I seriously think Adelaide (who is technically not allowed to touch my phone) knows how to use it better than I do. I have seen her pick it up and gently swipe her fingers across the screen to unlock it. Funny girl!

This is not staged... she got up on the bed next to her Dad , put my laptop on her lap and pretended to talk on the phone... wants to be like her daddy I guess.

Figuring out how to use Mommy's phone.

One Hand Out

It has been chilly here in Boulder so when Adelaide and I go on our morning runs I bundle her up. Well apparently Adelaide doesn't like to be so cozy. This morning she was a little whiny for the first mile and then suddenly she was quiet and happy. I looked down at her and noticed one of her arms had escaped out of her jacket. Once it was free Adelaide enjoyed the rest of the ride despite the funny looks we received from other joggers and their dogs.

happy & free

Baked Pears

I have never baked a pear before in my life, but let me tell you that these stuffed pears are so delicious! I originally saw this idea in one of my vegetarian cookbooks but then I found a recipe I like even more on the blog Live Laugh Eat. I only changed her recipe slightly:

Ingredients:

3 pears

4 oz goat cheese

5 dried figs

1 T honey

1/4 C chopped pecans

dash of cinnamon

sparkling cider

Directions:

preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the goat cheese, figs, pecans, honey and cinnamon in a bowl.

Cut the pears lengthwise and cut out the cores.

Spoon the filling into the pears and place in a baking dish. Pour apple cider into the pan so it creates a shallow bath. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

I served it on its own platter alongside a spinach salad with poppyseed dressing and it was a big hit... Even Rick liked it and he normally hates goat cheese.

Missing my Grandparents

Two nights ago I woke up at 4:00 in the morning from a dream about my grandpa. I was in a large room with tons of people and I heard my grandpa laughing and looked over to see my dad and some other people talking with him. By the time I made it over to them my grandpa had left and then I woke up. So now I can't stop thinking about my grandpa and how much I miss him... He is one of my greatest role models and I was always impressed with how kind, wise, charitable, loving and adventurous he was. Sometimes before I make a decision I think to myself "What would Grandpa do?" and I find that always helps me take the better path. I especially think of him and my grandma around the holidays because I have so many fond memories with them during this season. The day after Christmas we would go up to the Santa Cruz mountains and chop down our Christmas trees and then head back to their house to put up their massive tree and eat Thanksgiving leftovers. On the drive down the mountain the grandkids would sit in the back of his truck alongside the tree and sing Christmas carols. We would go up to their cabin in Tahoe most winters and go sledding, eat Grandma's snow ice cream, and play games. I miss those days and I miss my Grandparents but just thinking about all this brings a smile to my face.

Me Grandpa & baby Jessica

Best Juice Ever

Rick gave me a juicer two years ago for Christmas and although I was initially super excited about it, I haven't used it much since we moved to Colorado. I am suddenly motivated to use it again and that is partly because of this delicious recipe I spotted online. I have adapted it slightly and here is what I used to make the best juice of my life:

Ingredients:

1 large apple

2 carrot sticks

2 oranges

1 lime

1 mango

1 inch cube of fresh ginger

Directions:

Cut everything small enough to fit into your juicer, scrub the carrots, peel the oranges, lime and mango, and cut a little cube of ginger. Throw it all into the juicer and enjoy!

I think I especially like this juice because it's cold outside and this feels like a little tropical getaway in liquid form.