Christmas Time

It was great to have Kendall's family here for Christmas this year all under one roof - Larry, Donna, Kirby & Darcie, Chase, Brock, Torrie and Holden.  They began arriving on the 21st and the last leave today.  We had great family time, eating time, and shopping time.

Christmas Eve morning we headed to Prescott for brunch and to hang at the cabin for a short time.  On the way we saw a lot of balloons.

Bags standing in as stockings to hold the goodies

Kirby and Darcie

Christmas Eve supper is traditionally homemade pizza, and this year was no exception.

Back at the table: Torrie,Chase Darcie

On the couch: Holden, Larry, Donna, Kirby, Brock

Santa has a new head light

Another tradition - lottery tickets.  No one quiting their job for the winnings this year!

Torrie, Larry, Chase

Holden, Donna, Brock

Christmas was breakfast casseroles, church and then a yummy ham dinner.

Early on the 26th (Monday), I went on a job with Kendall at Auntie Anne's Pretzels in the Outlet Mall.  The Christmas tree is the tallest in the country at 45+ feet high.

Last night Kirby and Darcie treated the gang to Mexican food before heading to a hockey game.

Miracle on 34th St.

We had such a fun evening with Kendall's parents at the dinner theater.  'Susie' was played by an excellent young actress.  What a great way to kick off Christmas vacation!!



Hot Chocolate

It was time to do another TV appearance yesterday on the Morning Scramble. I was able to join my friend Janne for this one (she did a French Toast Casserole).  I made Phebe's Hot Chocolate Mix.  With the recent change in format, friends and family can now stream the show live on their computers.  This time mother Donna and sister Phebe were able to see the show.

Hot Chocolate Mix

1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

¼ cup mini chocolate chips

½ cup mini marshmallows

Combine all ingredients; store in an airtight container. To serve, add 2/3 cup hot water to 1/3 cocoa mix. Note: mini chocolate chips may be substituted with mini mint chocolate chips to make mint hot chocolate.

http://www.mysistersrecipes.com/

Football

We attended the AZ Cardinal football game yesterday and cheered them on to a win in overtime

Living Close to God (when you're not good at it)

This is a book for the average person who wants a deeper relationship with God, but as the author puts it ‘’not naturally spiritually inclined”. He is repeats often throughout the book that he is a spiritual failure who keeps trying. There are rich nuggets presented that anyone can practice to delve into a relationship with God without needing to do such things as spending two hours a day reading the Bible and praying.

Some of the nuggets include:
• Spend 15 seconds in the morning when you first awake and before getting out of bed to reflect on the Lord, telling him you love him. Don’t ask for anything! The Lord isn’t Santa Clause.
• Find objects that will remind you to pause and reflect on your love of the Lord for just those few seconds. Objects could be your car keys, food, water, a garage door opener….
• Use the Psalms and other scriptures as a two way conversation with God.
• As you are on this journey, resolve that you will have failures.
• There has never been a job created that doesn’t allow you to slip Christ in between the cracks of the day.

The author’s humility and confessions of his own shortcomings allows the reader to move through the chapters without feeling like they are getting a sermon. Any steps taken are a step closer to God than you were before.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Winter Wonderland

What a wonderful relaxing weekend at the cabin!  We were fortunate to time our weekend there with a winter storm, and it was so beautiful.

There was snow when we arrived Friday evening and it continued through the night.

Saturday morning revealed more snow and it continued throughout the day.  I stayed cozy and warm by the fireplace.

The birds were happy for extra food

We seemed to have more than usual

Our buddy Bob hung out most of the day

In the evening we went to the annual Courthouse Lighting ceremony where they read the Christmas story from the Bible and light the lights.  This year we found friends in the crowd (Ted, Cindy & family) that we were able to share the Christmas spirit with.

This year they doubled the number of trees lit to be 101 in honor of Arizona's centennial birthday - February 14, 2012.  Following the lighting we headed to The Pine Cone Inn for a romantic dinner.

Thanksgiving

We were so pleased to have Dad, Mom, Harold, Eva Jean and Anna show up on Monday and Lois on Thursday.  Holidays with family is always the best!

There were crossword puzzles to work on.

Pool to be played, as well as the pool to swim in - at least according to Dad.  He took a dip and a got some exercise swimming one afternoon.

There was always a Mexican Train game either being played or about to be.

Dinner of course was one of the high points!  Lois was able to be with us Thursday morning to Friday afternoon.

Everyone seemed to enjoy.

There were leftovers...

The menu included turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, sweet potatoes, cranberry chutney, homemade rolls and for dessert: pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie, chocolate/peanut butter pie and Mom's chocolate cake.

Eva Jean enjoying the leftovers with a smiley face of whipped cream

Thanksgiving evening we had a very pleasant visit with Dan and Karen and their children Paul and Claire.  Paul was in town for a hockey tournament.

One of the trees was put up on Friday.  Harold and Eva Jean posing Sunday morning before leaving.

The van pulled out Sunday morning about 5:45 heading north and back home to Maryland.

Visit to the Old Capitol

Last week I was in a photo shoot for the group formulating the Arizona response to the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) report on The Future of Nursing.  It's been a good group to work with and our goal sit o continually improve the quality of nursing and patient outcomes in the state.

It was a beautiful day to be out of the office for about an hour.

There are a lot of statues and artifacts in the Capital Square.  This is the WWI Pilot that Luke Airforce Based is named for. 

Fall Bunko

It was my turn to host Bunko last night.  The menu was a nod to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday with Chicken Dressing Casserole, Sweet Potato Casserole, homemade dinner rolls and Jenell's Apple Dumplings with ice cream.  Yum!

Weekend with Ivan

Kendall's college friend Ivan was in town to visit for the weekend.  We went to the state fair on Saturday and the Cardinal's football game on Sunday.

The Fair 

The Midway

The view from the top of one of the Farris Wheels

There were pretty cows...

Ivan with a goat...

A goat that loved attention - note the crate being used as a way to get closer...

Performing Pigs...

and pigs for petting.

The Game

A flag the length of the field was unfurled before the game; very impressive.

One of the scoring plays. The Cardinals finally won again - this time in OT with a 99 yard return.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

This morning on the TV show, The Morning Scramble, I demonstrated how to prepare a Pumpkin Cheesecake.  I thought it was fitting for the fall season and it went over well with the hosts and the crew.  It was nice to have Kendall along this time, cheering me on from the sidelines.

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins made with Pumpkin Puree that I made yesterday by cooking and pureeing a big pumpkin.  It yielded 14 cups of puree!

Pumpkin Festival

Although still warm in town (90+), it has begun to cool in the mountains.  Saturday we headed to the cabin to do a few chores before the gets really cold.  On the way out of town we stopped at the Pumpkin Festival.

The trees at the cabin are a beautiful yellow with the sun shinning on them

We took a 'hay ride' from the parking area to the produce section

They are making the apple cider we bought - it doesn't get any fresher than that!

A tractor like one from Kendalls' childhood

And one similar to one from mine

We took a bag of kettle corn from this batch