Norwegian Christmas Cookies

My family makes roughly 150 dozen cookies each Christmas.
There are 8 different kinds that we make, but the sugar cookies
and Mexican Wedding cookies aren't really Norwegian. :)

Making Sankaker: You press the batter into the little tin molds
in just the right way. I think Than is having the most fun in this picture.



The finished Sankaker


Krumkaker
Than is very carefully putting them away now. They break really easily
- krumkaker means "crumb cookie." The batter is cooked in a
Krumkaker Baker (flat iron) and rolled into a cone shape while hot.



Marzipan
We roll the marzipan into little balls and then dip them in
almond bark/white chocolate to prevent it from drying out.
The recipe is basically half powdered sugar and half finely ground
almonds with something to get it to stick together.
We blanch, grind and sift our own almonds.


Having fun making cookies... and eating the batter too, of course.


This is a picture of my sister with sugar cookies from last year...

Blue Christmas

We kept and decided to re-use our homemade saran wrap, tinfoil and wax paper ornaments.
We also hung our USU stockings that I got after Christmas last year for a deal.
There is a USU ornament hanging on the lamp too, but you can't really tell.


Pictures of our front room and dining room without Christmas decorations...

I would've never guessed...

A few years ago I would NEVER have thought I would be considering
or trying some of these things:

Cloth Diapers - I just ordered some for a trial.
Don't worry, we have some disposables too.

Natural Birth - I guess I should say I'm not trying it, but am going to do it, right?!

HypnoBirthing - Learning a method for natural birth helps me feel more
capable and prepared. Two classes down, three to go.

A Midwife - So this isn't really as "far out" as it may seem because I am going
to give birth in a hospital. She's basically an OB/GYN that doesn't do surgery.

A Doula - I hadn't even heard of a doula until about a year ago. I thought it sounded
interesting but that I wouldn't ever really want or get one. I just want one now,
we're not sure we need one or want to pay for it though.

Think I'm crazy? I would have, but now it seems like the way to go...

Logan

Last weekend we were able to go up to Logan.
We'd been looking forward to this for weeks and it was great!
Nathaniel even took the day off on Friday so we could have more time.

Some of the things we did:

We went to the Logan Temple


Nate and Kris tried push starting their car with no luck...
Brianna came and jumped it.

Nate and Kris went sledding down Old Main Hill


We drank hot chocolate and played Settlers

Brianna threw me a shower and it was really SO GREAT to see so many friends!

We had a yummy breakfast with friends

We visited the Bakers (Here is an older picture of Nate and Kevin)


We visited Jared & Karin (Than's brother)

We went to the Ward Christmas Party

We went to an Aggie Basketball game. They won of course!
(Oh, and Megan gave me a Fight Song shirt - sooo excited!)

We played games


We went to our old ward's Sacrament Meeting, but we had to leave early
and I was very sad (and maybe a little tired and pregnant too...)

We wished we had more time to visit

We forgot to take pictures :(

We made it home safe despite the crazy weather

Forgotten Carols

The other night we were able to go see Forgotten Carols with my
brother and sister-in-law. I hadn't been for several years and it had changed a bit,
but I still enjoyed it. I just really love the songs (maybe except one :)). I appreciate
Michael McClean's ability to see the story of Christ's birth from another point of view,
create the character, write the lyrics, and write the music for it too.
I think the songs are very insightful as he writes from the point of view from
the Innkeeper, one of the shephards, Joseph, and others. Some may think it is silly
and I can't explain myself well, but you should listen to The Forgotten Carols this season.

A Lesson Learned... Again

Yesterday I felt like I had one of those bummer days where you don't feel motivated
and you don't get much done. I realized a big reason for feeling like this was because
I didn't read my scriptures until just before bedtime. (Although I believe reading your
scriptures at night is totally fine, and that used to be my routine for a long time).
Yesterday, however, I was about to read many times but did something else instead.
I believe I didn't actually do much because I was less able to focus and feel motivated
because I hadn't read yet. Even though I put if off for some "good" or "better" reasons,
I could have done better and chosen what was "best." For example, we had breakfast,
and then I did the dishes. By then I realized I had to leave immediately if I was going to
make it to water aerobics. Obviously I had to shower after that. Then I wanted to get
the bread started and some things ready for dinner. And so on. If I had realized the time,
maybe I should've done dishes later. If not, I could have read soon after I showered.
This is a lesson I have learned many times and will be taught again and again.
I know reading scriptures daily and putting God first is critical and brings us true joy.
It doesn't matter who you are or what your struggle is, reading the scriptures daily will
bless you more than you know. Even if we don't have anything that we need "help" with,
it makes our day more happy and fulfilling. Who doesn't want that?