Friday, November 27, 2009

Many Blessings

What a beautiful Thanksgiving it was. It was in the +20's so the boys gave the little ones a ride in the sled before they took off themselves.

Very happy kiddos.

Candles are so fascinating for all ages.

I didn't take a bunch of food photos today. We had the basics...ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, wild rice, stuffing, fruit salad, rolls and pumpkin pie. The kids even had their own bottles of sparkling apple cider. We sat down to eat a few minutes before the boys got home from snowmachining/snowboarding.

Homer and I were so thankful to have each other and our five beautiful children all together on this holiday. Of course, there was a bit of sadness and always in our thoughts were our three children who were not with us. They are never forgotten, always missed and we look forward to a day when they'll come home again. Until then we are thankful for a heart full of memories and thankful for the family we are now.

Even though he fell asleep during the movie he still kept his babies in his arms. Such a great daddy.

Although it was around +20 at our house it was -2 in town where the boys went riding. Elijah didn't wear warm enough gloves and his hands got too cold. Took him awhile to get warmed up.

Nick had the chills, too. Typical Nick...don't cover up with the blanket right next to you, but instead lay under a pile of pillows. Silly kid.

I have no idea why Emily is standing on her head to watch the movie. She's silly, too.

It was a perfect night for a bonfire. We are tearing out the old kitchen and burning those nasty cabinets was so much fun!

The fire died down a little so out came the fire crackers. Then off they went to get the pantry door.

Our friend, Dave, was out drive-by pieing (you know, visiting one friend after another throughout the neighbor having pie). Unfortunately, his snowmachine had other ideas. My dear husband refuses to let any machine get the best of him so he worked on it while I enjoyed the fire.

This is an old kitchen we are tearing out, and by the way it heated up it was obviously not made of real wood. So glad to be getting rid of it. Looking forward to it all being gone and my grow room being built.

Can you see the fire smiling at me?

Such determination.

He did it! There was never really any doubt.

Lucas and Olivia came out to throw snowballs on the fire. Such entertainment. Elijah was still chilled from snowmachining and stayed in the house playing xBox.

The boys had Jordan over to spend the night so they stayed home while we rode the snow-go down to the neighbors with the girls. There were video games, Twister, lots of make-up, board games, television and snow play. Emily and Olivia had such a good time.

Homer and I had a fantastic day with five of our kids and we hope our other three had as much fun, too. The holiday is over and now there is so much to do! I took Emily back to her dad's this morning, the other kids all slept until noon and are moving pretty slow, Hurricane Holiday went through the house so I have major clean-up duty, and it's +30 at my house (can you believe it?) and it's going to be hard to work and not sit by another bonfire all day. After clean-up there is a wall to paint and rearranging to do so we can decorate for Christmas. Oh, and I need to work on my Christmas gifts for the kids. *sigh* So much life to live and so little time. Guess I'd better get to it!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Dogs On Thursday

I'm really beginning to believe this is all they do. (Rusty and his daughter Ruby).

Dogs on Thursday

Watery Wordless Wednesday: Snow Globes

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Ruby Tuesday: The Love Doctor

This morning I was sitting at the kitchen table drinking my coffee in silence when I looked over and saw this. Artwork by 10-year old Emily. I'm afraid to look inside the binder. What could she have to say? Just thinking about it was enough to make me giggle.

More Ruby Tuesday!

Salmon Anyone?

Apparently, the hat goes with everything...including pajamas. I think maybe it is puppy toenail cutting time. That'll be 16 feet, please.

My dear husband is enjoying a hot meal on the table every night and I love making him happy, but I find it stressful rather than relaxing. Timing all the dishes to be done together isn't easy. It was really easy to time a bowl of cereal.

I've never enjoyed cooking, but I collect cookbooks. Odd. Homer is originally from Texas (and can still slip into the cutest southern drawl when he's around the right people), but he grew up in Nome, Alaska. I thought it would be fun to use a salmon recipe from a Nome cookbook. Incidentally, this baked dish came from Patty Anderson which happens to be Homer's Aunt's Sister-in-Law. Is that an Aunt-in-Law?


The kids had Lemon Pepper Chicken.

Nick's plate of chicken, buttered noodles, garlic bread and orange slices. Emily also had marinated cucumber slices on her plate.

For Dad it was the salmon, green beans in mushroom soup, salad greens with marinated olives, orange slices and garlic bread. The salmon was a huge hit. By-the-way, it was the salmon that we caught in Valdez this past Fall.

After dinner Elijah was off on his computer, Nick was reading Of Mice and Men for his English Course and Lucas read books and played Legos (with his peanut butter sandwich. He didn't want any part of the chicken).

Homer and the girls watched Another Cinderella Story. A perfect night.