Batters up!

My nephew turned 8 this year, and I was asked to make him some cookies! I love every chance I get to make these sugar cookies, so of course I said yes. My sister wanted a baseball theme, so I made baseballs and bats. The bats turned out to look more like chicken legs (and I was teased the whole night after the cookies came out) but that was ok because I didn't have a cookie cutter for that, I had to improvise. But I think the balls turned out great!

Also for the 4th, we had some family over for a picnic. I made some salads and we grilled burgers. For dessert I planned rootbeer floats. I also made some plain star sugar cookies to go with. When I was making the cookies, I tried to do something like this.... (again from bake@350)



but they wouldn't stay on the cups like I wanted. So, we just had plain star cookies, and I think everyone enjoyed them.

Thanks Becky!

My Sister-in-law Becky is so talented! She made Kris a hat like this recently and she asked if I wanted one too.... Of course! She picked gray for the hat and a burnt orange for the flower. It fits perfectly and the flower is on a pin so I can wear it with other things too. *so smart*

First Birthday!

Having the family here, makes this place warm.

The Haan family came over to our house tonight, and we got to hang out with the nephews. We had a great time playing with blocks, LEGOS, watching the cats and Maisy (the bunny), and playing on the computer. I showed Jake how to run Photo Booth. Here are some of our great creations.





Even Sawyer got in on the action.



Jake really picked up on how to run the computer mouse. It sounded like he hadn't really had any experience with it before. Sawyer turns one tomorrow. It is great being able to see him grow. He even tried to take a few steps tonight. He was quick to grab on for help after he realized what he was doing. He will get the hang of it soon.

Back to old traditions.

I love Thanksgiving.
I love family.

Yet, I will miss the small gathering we had in Chicago for the past two years. Spending the holiday with friends was warm, thoughtful, and a little quirky without the turkey. Gathering around a table full of food prepared by loving hands really reminds you of what you are thankful for. I am happy that this year we get to spend this wonderful holiday with family, but I will still be thinking of those who we celebrated with for the last couple years.

To celebrate, I think I will prepare...



Apple Cranberry Raisin Stuffing
Ingredients

* 1 (1 pound) loaf Italian bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
* 1 (16 ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
* 3 Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced
* 1 cup golden raisins
* 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
* 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup apple cider
* 1/2 cup melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a large casserole dish.
2. In a large bowl, mix the bread cubes, cranberry sauce, apples, raisins, lemon zest, and orange zest. Season with salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, cider, and butter. Toss the egg mixture with the bread mixture until evenly moist. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish.
3. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.

In four years we have...

1. graduated college

2. moved to Chicago
3. got and conquered diabetes
4. went to a huge handful of awesome concerts, plays, and museums
5. learned an amazing amount about life, ourselves, and cats
6. suffered important loses
7. witnessed beautiful births
8. ate sensational food
9. drank a lot of coffee
10. worked full-time jobs in our fields
11. decided that we wanted to be closer to family
12. moved back to Sioux Center
13. been incredibly happy the entire time

Happy Anniversary!

getting back to my roots....

Rob and I are officially residents of Sioux Center now. He came out to Chicago with my family this past weekend, and we came back with all of our stuff. (For the record - my dad weighed the trailer before and after and our life weighs about 4,500 lbs.) We are so excited and relieved to finally have the move over with.

So... HELLO Northwest IOWA!

Look Mom... I'm on TV!

Rob and I went to a free Willie Nelson concert for the taping of Soundstage for WTTW. It aired the last weekend of February. Here is a clip of a close up.

We need to catch up.

Many things have happened since November when we last posted. Here is a picture summary:

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our place with friends who were in Chicago.

In the beginning of December I was admitted into the hospital because I had pneumonia. I first went to an urgent care where they told me to go to an ER because my x-ray was funny. They took a CT and determined it was a really bad case of pneumonia. Within the first 24 hours, I also had an allergic reaction to something they had given me or the sheets, so I had to use my own sheets from home and wear my own clothes instead of the hospital's gowns. Rob took a picture of me with the beautiful flowers everyone sent, and the awesome pj's he gave me. I was there for three days. It took me a while to recover, but am feeling a great deal better.

My siblings and I put together a quilt for our parents. We each made a square to represent us, and we also made a couple to represent the family as a whole. It turned out great! Even though there was a lot of snow over Christmas, we had a good time catching up with as many family members as we could. Becky and Steve had a baby a week before Christmas, and because of weather, we didn't get to see him yet. We are planning to go back for baptism at the end of February.