It's beginning to look a lot like...

Winter/Advent/Christmas everywhere I look....

After our first real snow of 4" the other week, we decided it was time to decorate.

The Christmas lights on the back deck are a bit more blinking and Vegas-like for Matt and I but the kids love them and we do live in the country, you know.  In fact last evening, Matt came inside while he was stacking wood and fixing the snowblower/tractor in 10 degree weather with 35 miles an hour winds to see me sewing while listening to country music in the glow of our Vegas Christmas lights and gained a new found respect for red necks, now that we are ones I guess.

Christmas cookie making with the kids.  Yum!

 

Another snow storm on Wednesday.  We probably about a foot.  Good bye grass!  See you April!

Another season of preparation...for us: preparing for snow, for more clothes and shorter days,for a slower pace of life.  For the world: the birth of our Savior, the Son of God, Prince of Peace, Immanuel! 

Thanksgiving pictures

Pictures from Thanksgiving to share with the family and friends.  Thanks to each of you for planning your time around our visit and making this a great holiday.  We enjoyed spending time with each of you!

My brother's band, The Silent Wire, playing unplugged in the basement with my dad's collection of instruments...without my brother since he really doesn't play unplugged drums...
Thanks again guys for the awesome music and company!  I was singing
Wire songs all the way back to MA...

Recipe test #1

I have been looking for a yummy but nutritious but not-too-filling after school snack that my kids won't give me a hard time about eating.  I am looking for a miracle, I know.  Below is the recipe I tried from the Stonyfield Farm yogurt container.  After that is my review and revisions for next time.

Yogurt Cereal Bars

2 cups corn flakes
3/4 cup plus two Tbls all purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tps cinnamon
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup Vanilla yogurt
1 egg, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine cereal, 3/4 cup flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Cut in margarine until coarse crumbs form.  Press 1/2 mixture firmly into the bottom of a greased 8-inch square pan.  Mix yogurt, egg and 2 Tbls flour into another small bowl.  Spread over cereal mixture in pan; srpinkle with remaining cereal mixture.  Bake for 30 minitues or until golden brown.  Cool in pan on wire rack.  Cut into bars.

Review -
Overall, tasted yummy.  Yogurt and egg mixture made a tasty custard like filling that I liked and wasn't too sweet.  However, not happy with the corn flakes being so chewy instead of slightly crunchy.  Proportionally, way too much filling to crust-ness.

Changes for next time -
Use 3 or 4 cups of cereal -1-2 cups corn flakes & 2 cups granola
A bit more cinnamon and flour to keep taste a consistency the same
I used butter instead of margarine and I would not increase the amount.  There was too much for the original 2 cups of cereal. 
May consider using less yogurt next time.  The filling really rises and was almost overwhelming.  Need to experiment more with the amount.

Summary -
Tristan ate it up and I did too so definitely good enough to eat as is.  Just could use some tweaking.  Fun, easy, not time consuming recipe to make with kids.  If you try it let know about your experiments.  Enjoy!

Updated edit - This tastes much better cold than warm right out the oven.

Back from NYC

We are back from our whirlwind East coast urban tour and back in the woods with a coating of snow.  Here are some of my favorite pictures while we were in NYC.  We spent lots of time at museums and at parks: the Natural History and Children's Museum, of course, but this year we also made it to MoMA and the Intrepid.  And the kids' favorite tradition of riding the Ferris wheel at the Times Square Toys-R-Us.

View of lower Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry

Tristan's favorite at the Natural History Museum - TREX!

The fancy hotel at the corner of Central Park by FAO Schwartz and the Mac store - the Plaza, I think?















The 4 of us on the Toys R Us ferris wheel


Art at MoMA (don't remember the artist but I love the light and character)



 The pace of city life...


Van Gogh at MoMA - could have spent hours looking at that















Matt & the kids at the "Bessie" statue in the Bronx zoo.  No crowds in November!  We spent the whole day there with lots of our students.  That was one of the best days of the trip.  Just hanging out with our students in the city talking about nature, animals, life, and learning.















Gotta have Heinz ketchup even if you are living on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean sleeping in a bunk room with 30 other men and being attacked by Kamikazes...Go Steelers!















The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.  Fun, educational, and expensive.

Well, don't those faces just sum it all up!  Thanks NYC for another great visit.

"Flu-like illness"

Of course on the day the kids are scheduled for their flu vaccinations & Matt is in NYC, Tristan develops a fever, chills, an ache and a cough.  Abigail was able to get vaccinated but since we are leaving on Sunday for NYC he won't be able to until we get back in December.  And then of course there is the decision of do we skip the H1N1 vac since that is probably what he has or do we do it in December since we don't really know for sure what is making him sick and do the seasonal flu as well?  Too many unknown factors and options.  To put the situation in perspective, though, he is mildly sick compared to what other kids have experienced.  But there goes my plans of having all our stuff packed and the house clean before we leave.  Oh well, being organized is overrated anyway (are your eyes rolling yet, Matt?).

Hi, there!

a.k.a. - I am the worst blogger ever!  But new news and pictures are on the horizon...I swear...a year and a half later but I am coming back...soon...

First day of spring

I would have posted this yesterday but, as you can see from the picture, we got an ice storm that weighed the trees, full of sap from a few upper 30 degree days recently, down into crazy almost touching-the-ground-positions successfully blocking our satellite internet signal.




So this is our first day of spring. It is almost April. April?! Spring?! Warmth?! I know it will be here eventually because I have seen the buds on the trees but the view from our window tells a different story.

I am finding parallels everywhere around me in nature to this season of the church year. Knowing there is hope for life and warmth in the midst of a frozen wasteland that speaks to the opposite. Seeing, living and interacting with nature in such an interdependent way has given me lots of metaphors for faith. If I can be so sure of spring's arrival against all odds here, can I not also remain strong in my faith for Christ's redemption of all I see as well?



This a tree leaving on the telephone pole that carries all our utilities to our house. Nice, huh?

Speaking of new beginnings, below are two new and important parts of our life. With mud season coming, as soon as the snow melts, we needed a 4 wheel drive vehicle of our own since the truck will be needed for Manice. Here is our new (used) Jeep that we love.



And our dog Holly, who is so sweet! She really has just a great laid back, gentle personality. Great with kids and other animals. I think she will make a find camp dog. We are also beginning to see her watch dog side. She is really the total opposite from aggressive in so many ways you might say she is a push over. I have only heard her bark or growl twice in the 2 weeks we have had her and both times were when she thought someone was threatening her family. I feel much better having her around when Matt is gone for work, especially considering it takes the state police 45 minutes to get here!




Prayers for an Easter season of hope and new life, even if it is buried under a frozen wasteland.

peace