Easy Dessert Recipe: Jen’s Scrumptious Cranberry Cake

This one is delicious!!!  For Thanksgiving this year, we had a couple families join us for dinner.  With 7 kids (all age 7 and under) and 6 adults, it was crazy, it was loud, and it was lots of fun. 

This recipe is a cake that my friend Jen brought over.  Let me tell you, this is wonderful.  Served warm with a little (my sweetie adds: “typo! typo!  That should be l-o-t!) whipped topping.  Mmm, mm, mm, mm, mm!  And it’s really easy to make.

I don’t know what Jen calls this cake, so I am naming it….

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Jen’s Scrumptious Cranberry Cake

In a pie plate, layer:

2 cups of whole cranberries,
1/2 cup chopped walnuts/pecans
1/2 cup sugar
(in that order)

In a separate bowl, combine:

3/4 cup melted butter;
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour

Mix well and pour over cranberry/nut mixture in pie plate.
Bake for 1 hour at 350.

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Comment Policy

Just so everyone knows, I LOVE comments on my blog.  Please keep commenting!  In fact, my sweetie thinks I’m a little obsessive about watching for comments to my posts.  He just doesn’t understand.  Poor boy.  Maybe someday.

Unfortunately, there have been a couple of comments that I agonized over whether to allow on this blog or not.  And, because I don’t like that twisted feeling in my gut that comes from agonizing over whether to delete someone’s comment, I have created a Comment Policy for mypeaceandjoy.  This comment policy will not affect 99% of you out there.  And the policy was not created in response to anyone that I personally know…so please don’t take this as a personal offensive.  It’s just me trying not to feel guilty on the rare occasion that I have to use my *star wars theme song playing in background* “editorial powers”. 

She was beautiful and she was kind…

My Aunt was killed Wednesday night.  She was hit by a car while crossing an icy street after dark to take flowers to a neighbor.  Aunt Janice was my Dad’s youngest sister.

I admit that it has been far too long since I have seen my Aunt.  I live so far from home now, and have for so many years, that connections with family — outside of my immediate family — just don’t happen very often.   Life ends too quickly.  And too tragically.

I remember my Aunt Janice as being very glamourous.  Whether or not she felt that way, I don’t know.  But she always seemed very “together”, trendy, outgoing, fun.  I remember her big smiles.

I wish I remembered more about her.  I wish I could mourn her with the rest of my family rather than from afar.  I wish that I could give my dad a long, long hug.  And my grandfather, too.  It was my Grandpa’s birthday yesterday. 

She was younger than my parents.  And now, so quick, she is gone.

Please pray for my family during this time.  Prayer is powerful.  God can comfort across the miles. 

Family Christmas Letter — 2007

Christmas, 2007 

Merry Christmas to all!                                                                     

 

It has been a good year for us up here in the wilds of New England, and we are thrilled to finally be enjoying a “real” New England winter. The ground is currently covered in white, and we have accumulated well over a foot of snow in the last week. We are so excited! Last year we did not see snow until late January, so we (especially the kids) are hoping for a white Christmas.

 

Jonah turned seven this fall and is loving school. History, astronomy and grammar are his favorite subjects. He also recently started a weekly half-day program at the YMCA that is just for homeschoolers. The day includes adventure (usually a rock wall), swimming and gymnastics. Action, action, action…perfect!  Jonah is in his fourth year with Awana and is working on his second Sparky book, which he is sailing through.  Jonah also joined Cub Scouts this fall and is proud to be a Tiger Cub. He loves his uniform (we need to remind him that it is only for meetings) and all the different activities and badges he can earn. He has also proved himself a natural at sales by selling a whopping $990 in popcorn for the Pack. He tells us that he wants to continue with Scouting all the way through Eagle Scouts!

 

Abby is three and loves having school time with Mama this year.  She enjoys working on her colors, practicing her letters and having snacks. She writes her name on all her pictures and frequently “reads” to her dolls.  Although Abby is not old enough to attend the YMCA program, she does enjoy joining Jonah for gymnastics at the end of the day. Abby also LOVES being a Cubbie at Awana’s this year. She is very proud of her book, bag and vest, and asks at least 10 times a day if it is time for Cubbies. She still loves anything pink and/or princess and has promised she will not suck her thumb anymore now that Mama paints her nails!

 

Sarah has been very busy this year with work, school and all the kids’ activities! She is continuing to work remotely with the Oklahoma City law firm and is happy to be able to work from home, even if the lines between working and not working are occasionally blurred. She is also really enjoying adding more science and history into the school schedule.  In September, Sarah attended her first Beth Moore conference, and Scott fears that it will be only the first of MANY. Sarah is currently about half way through a reading track that will take her through the whole Bible in 90 days.  In August, Sarah began blogging. Scott thinks she might be a bit obsessive with it, but Sarah disagrees.  You can check out her blog at http://mypeaceandjoy.wordpress.com.

 

Scott is desperately trying to keep his head above the water with school and work! He is really enjoying the classes, although he does not enjoy writing the papers. In February, Scott was walking down a hill on campus when he slipped on ice and landed badly on his right wrist and thumb. He was in physical therapy for 7 weeks and was not able to hold a pen or type for almost two months. (Not helpful when doing school work or working at the I.T. Help Desk!) Through extensions and the kindness of his professors, he made it through, and he is very glad that is all behind him! This semester is going much better, and we are all looking forward to the Christmas break.

 

We were blessed to have our first visitors over the summer. (HINT, HINT.) Scott’s folks and Gram were here in June and Sarah’s folks followed in July. It was so much fun to explore New England together, although we still find it odd to be able to travel through several states in one day! 

We wish you all a blessed Christmas and a wonderful and peace filled New Year!

 

Twelve Days of Christmas — Straight No Chaser

Check out this great version of the Twelve Days of Christmas. 

Straight No Chaser – 12 Days

And thanks to my friend, Aline, for sending this to me! 

Family Christmas Letter — 2006

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings and wishes for a beautiful and graceful holiday season.

For those of you who have not heard, we are now in Massachusetts.  Wow!   In February/March, we received Scott’s acceptance letter to Seminary in MA. Praise God! Scott and Sarah had a very busy April as we drove the kids to stay with Scott’s parents in Albuquerque for a week, drove back to Oklahoma, flew to MA to visit the school for 4 days and flew back to OK. It was a quick but wonderful trip that helped us to feel comfortable with the school. After much prayer and worry, we were able to get school housing – we have a nice two-bedroom apartment – and tuition/rent money for the first semester…so, in late July, we packed up all our belongings, shipped them via ABF and took the next 4 weeks to travel by car from OKC to Albuquerque to visit Scott’s family, to Idaho to visit Sarah’s family, to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore and finally to MA!

We are all enjoying New England very much. There is a playground right outside our door and many, many little friends for Abby and Jonah. We feel truly blessed by the community here that has given us good friends and spiritual accountability. We didn’t realize how much we had been starving for that until this move. We feel much more relaxed and comfortable here than where we were living in Oklahoma City.  

We have found a church close by that offers Awanas, so Jonah has graduated to “Sparkies” (for K-3^rd grade) and loves it. He has a friend from campus who goes with him every week. The mom’s (Sarah and Jen) use Awana’s time to run up the road for coffee/soda and fellowship. Jonah and Sarah are also enjoying “officially” homeschooling this fall. Jonah loves reading and is beginning to find words everywhere that he can read. In early December, Scott and Sarah were discussing when to buy a Christmas tree. Not wanting the kids to understand (and thus start pestering), Sarah spelled out the word “tree”. Jonah sat there for a minute and said “T-R-E-E spells “tree”. Are we getting a Christmas tree?” Talk about bittersweet! I guess we’ll have to practice up on piglatin. LOL.

Abby is our independent “girly girl”. She loves dressing herself (in anything with a princess theme”, hats, purses, shoes, combs and Mama’s make-up. She tries her best to copy everything Jonah does and has learned to say her alphabet and count to 12. She is very proud of herself. She loves to watch whatever Mama is doing: cooking, cleaning, working…

Scott is doing very well with his classes. There is a huge amount of reading that he has to do every night, but he is keeping up. He also has a part-time job with the computer help desk at the school, and enjoys receiving a paycheck.

Sarah is working part-time for the same law firm in Oklahoma City. She has been blessed with a great employer who set up the office computer to be accessed remotely, so Sarah can now type, e-mail, etc. on the office computer from our home here in MA. It makes for a crazy schedule some days (with homeschool, potty training and work), but we are so thankful for the opportunity.

Although being back in school is definitely not easy and we know there will continue to be struggles over the next couple years, we have seen in many ways that this is where our family is to be right now. We miss being closer to family, but are thankful for e-mail, telephones and instant messaging!

We love you all and think of you often. We wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and a joyous New Year!

Our first gingerbread house, EVER!

                                       

Ta da!  We made our first gingerbread house, ever!  Well, in all honesty, we didn’t really “make” the gingerbread house because that implies that I baked, which in this case, I didn’t.  Instead, I paid…for a really great kit at Costco.  It came with everything.  Pre-baked, pre-cut gingerbread, frosting, and “over 1 pound of candy”! 

                                              

Yeah, the kids are sky high on sugar right now. 

But it was lots of fun.  The kids were able to contribute a lot (of eating and decorating), and I didn’t stress out over burnt or broken gingerbread.  It was a major success!

Easy/Crock-Pot Recipe: Mom’s Creamy Chicken

Here is a yummy and super easy recipe for these cold winter days.  It is creamy, comforty, yummy and easy.  And it only takes four — FOUR — ingredients.  Thanks Mom for this great recipe!!  It also works great with pork (chops or roast).

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Mom’s Creamy Chicken

4 Chicken breasts (skinless, boneless preferred, but use whatever you like)

1 envelope Onion Soup Mix

2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup

Cooked Rice

Place the chicken in your crock-pot.  Sprinkle onion soup mix over the chicken and top with Cream of Mushroom soup.  I sometimes also add a little bit of Worchestershire sauce, just for a bit of kick.

Let cook on low heat for 6-8 hours.  Serve over cooked rice.

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Kangaroo Toots…Seriously?!?…Don’t EVEN get me started!…

Kangaroo Toots Better for Environment…

So, we’re going to genetically alter cows and sheep to toot like kangaroos and call that a contribution to the environment??? 

Because after all, it’s easier to genetically alter an animal than change our own lifestyle.  Right?

As I said, don’t EVEN get me started on the whole genetic manipulation thing. 

OK.  Deep breath.

I’m done.  

For now… 

Question: What’s your take on ”Kangaroo Toots”? 

Family Christmas Letter — 2005

December, 2005

Merry Christmas

Well another year has come and gone so that means it is time for the old Christmas letter! We have had a fairly good year, no major illness and God saved us from one serious disaster!

As many of you know, Scott applied to several graduate schools over the last year and was accepted into New Orleans Theological Baptist Seminary in August of this year. While Scott had been accepted into the school for the fall 2005 semester, delays in the application process did not allow us enough time to prepare for such a major move, and so we requested to have Scott’s enrollment postponed until Spring 2006. Ten days after receiving his acceptance letter, hurricane Katrina hit. Although we were initially frustrated by the delay, once the hurricane hit, we were very thankful for God’s hand in keeping us in Oklahoma. The school is now rebuilding much of their campus and although they plan to reopen for classes this coming Spring, we are currently seeking God’s guidance in whether New Orleans is the place that we need to be.

So, without a major move, we have enjoyed a rather settled life this year. Scott has continued to be a stay at home Dad, and is really enjoying the experience. He is also currently co-teaching a Sunday School class with a friend of his. The class is studying a book called “How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth” and we are enjoying some in depth discussions on the bible.

Jonah is an increasingly busy 5 year old. He continues his speech therapy with Ms. Thornton and is making great improvements with his enunciation. Over the last year, he has also started gymnastics lessons. He calls them his exercises and is happy to have a place where he is encouraged to run, jump and crawl over the equipment! Jonah really likes his teacher and we hope that by this spring he will be able to participate in his first meet. Jonah also started Awana’s cubbies this year. He completed his first book in May and is halfway through his second book. He is very proud of his vest with all his badges and does his best to memorize a new verse each week. He has learned that the answer to most questions is either God or Jesus, and that they love us very much. He loves to help people, and is a very caring little boy. Jonah is always telling us about how much he loves and misses his cousins, and how they need to come and spend the night at his house!

We have learned that Abby is a born feminist. If Jonah gets something then she feels she must have it as well (that does not hold true for shots though!). Her hair is finally starting to thicken and grow, which is good since she is almost 2! She has a whole stack of hair clips that are just waiting for hair! She surprised us about a month ago by insisting that she start trying to use the potty! I think that it goes back to the feminist thing, since Jonah uses the potty, she wants to as well. She loves to dance and sing, especially when we are in church! Her vocabulary is growing rapidly, and she is starting to really warm up to people that are not her family. She enjoys playing in the nursery at church and watching her brother in gymnastics, although she would rather be in the class with him! We are planning to let her start a Parent/Tot gymnastics class the beginning of the year.

Sarah has continued to work for the same two attorneys, even though the firm name has changed. The law firm broke away from their old partners and set out on their own with just three lawyers and Sarah. Then a couple of months later one of the lawyers left to enter the ministry leaving just two lawyers and Sarah. They are very grateful for all the hard work that she does and will have to hire 3 people to replace her! The month of November was a very stressful time for the firm, as they had a major trial they were preparing for. She was working like crazy, and had over 40 hours of overtime in the two weeks before Thanksgiving!  Sarah continues to work on her scrapbooking when time allows and has even started to learn belly dancing; Scott really supports this last decision!!

We have been blessed this year with a happy family and plenty of wonderful activities. We hope that your holidays are great and that the Lord blesses you and your families during this season and throughout the New Year!

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26 NRSV