CHRISTMAS!

It usually takes so long to get to the day of finally celebrating Christ's birth!  Maybe because of the snow earlier this week (that threw all our plans katywampus) or because Kotch is home and helping so much or just because I'm getting older: for whatever reason, Christmas came "early" this year!

And, boy did we have fun:

Up for Midnight Mass at our parish ....

treats left out for Santa in case he came while we were gone ...

gift opening when we got home (and found that Santa had left the family a Wii ... incl a charger base ... smart Santa ... and a Nancy Drew game) 

with gifts from college-aged sister who spoils her siblings:

and hand-knit gifts for each of my loved ones (the boys are wearing the vests I made them):

hats and scarves for the girls ...

 

and wool slipper-socks for the guys (dh also got a cozy hat to keep his hair-challenged head warm in our chilly 65-degree house).

We finally all were abed by 3:00 a.m.  Dh and LegoManiac were up for 9:00 Mass (LM served) and then we attempted taking a family Christmas picture:

The girls got tired of the boys' attitudes and decided to have a picture with Big Z in lieu of their two brothers ...

then we made Almond Kringle (recipe to follow)

and roasted chesnuts (just because we could ...):

and playing Wii and making Miis for all the family ... fun!

A very blessed and happy Christmas to one and all and prayers for a holy, healthy and happy 2010

from our house to yours ...

 

Here's the recipe for the Almond Kringle:

Almond Kringle (from the Solo Foods website)

(NOTE:  I halved the recipe to make just one cake; my changes for one are below but you can click the link to get the recipe for doing two)

1 tbls dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbls granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 can Solo almond filling (or about 1 cup of almond paste; the filling is so easy to use, but some folks are purists -- I'm NOT!)

Optional:  powdered sugar icing = powdered sugar + water

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and stir to dissolve. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes or until foamy. Combine flour, granulated sugar, and salt in large bowl and stir until blended. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat eggs and milk until blended. Add to dry ingredients with yeast mixture and stir just until all particles are moistened. (Dough will be sticky) Cover bowl with plastic wrap and overwrap with aluminum foil. Refrigerate overnight. (dough will rise very slightly)  [this is one thing I really like about this recipe is that I can START it in the evening and cook it hot for breakfast/brunch]

Grease one baking sheets and set aside.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Sprinkle 1 piece of dough with flour and knead gently 10 to 12 strokes on lightly floured surface. Roll out to 18 x 12-inch rectangle. Spread almond filling in 3-inch strip lengthwise down center of dough. Fold 1 long side of dough over filling and fold other side over. Pinch edge and ends to seal.  Place, seam side down, on prepared baking sheet.Cover with towel and set aside in warm, draft-free place to rise until light, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack.

Finish:  ice with powdered sugar mixed with just enough water to drizzle (once cooled) or dust with powdered sugar.   Serve warm.

Family: we are part of the 21st Century (at last!)

Although I am pretty tech savvy (and dh is pretty good, also), we have avoided some of the latest (as in, the last ten years or so) technological advancements ... Game cube, Wii, iphones, cable tv, HDTV, TIVO, ipod ... well, I think you get the picture.  Some of the deprivations have been purposeful:  we don't want to teach the kids that life is all about entertainment ... that personal entertainment devices (ipods or xbox) are a better substitute for playing games with siblings ... Some of the deprivations have been "just can't afford" issues:  sure is a lot cheaper to have a free cell phone with our contract than to buy the iphone on top of the contract commitment! 

But, since we've settled in rural Virginia (God willing, permanently), we have been getting more and more into the 21st century -- yes, it's paradoxical, but that sort of sums us up!  We have digital cable and can wifi when people come visit!  These are conveniences which really help us ... especially dh as he's able to do his grading/classwork remotely so he's home instead of hanging at school and can bring the laptop into the bedroom and still connect to school.  Digital cable has also allowed us to watch college football as a family (even occasionally getting LSU coverage up here in ACC territory!), great shows on EWTN and even Sherlock Holmes on PBS!  Life is good in the 21st century.

I have even re-activated my Facebook account and am loving it!  Originally, I opened it to keep an eye on my college-bound ... but decided that was a bit creepy, even voyeuristic.  But now I'm finding that Facebook is a GREAT tool for me:

• reconnected with old friends from our various abodes (including far-flung folks from our years in Austria)
• connected to knitting and free-lance writing folks
• ability to talk to family wall-to-wall

How cool is that?  I'm also tapping into a larger world of homeschool folks, good opinion pieces and world-wide news. 

We are in the 21st century!  What else could we possibly need?

Well, it looks like Santa (shhhhhh, don't tell the kids, please!) will be bringing us a Wii (including the Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board).  This is both a social and a financial decision.  We have had so many different families tell us how fun the Wii is for the whole family: bowling, tennis, etc from the comfort of the living room.  This is NOT a personal entertainment device, but rather a family-night boon!  The three littles have been lobbying for this particular Santa-gift for the past year or so ... this year, they've talked dh and I into also signing the Santa letter to, and I quote, "make sure that he knows he only needs to bring us a Wii for the whole family".  Cool huh?  And financially, the Wii is $100 less than it was and we can get other games for Little Christmas and the kids, dh and I will be having a blast throughout Christmas break!

What more could we want?  Isn't the 21st century fun -- now that we're 10 years in?