Advent 2011

So how has it happened that it has been a year already that I have abandoned my blog?! Why does it seem that as every winter season comes upon us I feel the urge to write and reflect? If only I could keep it up all year! This year will be the year! Who am I kidding!? Life is so busy in our neck of the woods. With Avery attending Jr. K every morning as well as soccer and skating, and Taylor doing ballet, and Reid terrorizing the house now that he is walking! I can't believe he is 14 months already...and oh yeah did I forget to mention I am expecting #4 this spring!We have so much fun here in this house or ours, amidst the chaos and I always find myself thinking, " why didn't I take a picture of that, or write that down!" I really want this blog to become just that. I always read such neat ideas on other blogs that I often tweak and try in our home and I want people to be able to do the same thing from mine. With advent just beginning I have so many awesome things for the kids to do as well as for all of us as a family. I would love to share them all with you. I am going to try!First I should tell you about what we are doing as a family to prepare for advent. And when I use the word advent I mean it in the catholic sense, not the store bought chocolate sense! For Catholics advent is suppose to be a time of quiet waiting and anticipation of the joyous event that lies ahead. We try to have all our Christmas shopping done prior to the start of advent because nothing can put you in a worse mood than being stuck in a crowded mall. Now that our kids are getting a little older, Avery being 4 1/2, we are Starting the tradition of the Jesse tree. Which in case you are not familiar with the term is a family tree for Jesus. I made mine out of felt and we hung it on the wall right by our kitchen table. Every night before we eat dinner we read the appropriate verse from the bible and the kids put on the matching ornament.

Tonight was the story of creation in Genesis and the ornament of the earth. We then then pose a question to the kids to get them thinking about what we read in the bible.seeing as I read from our adult bible I fell this part is important to help the kids understand the sometimes difficult language. Tonight I asked them what can we do to help take care of the earth that god created? Right away Avery said we could share with people that don't have any food. WoW! What a moment. Earlier today I gave him a grocery bag with peanut butter and jam in it to take to school and told him it was for the Christmas hamper. He said, "Christmas camper?" LOL! I then explained that the food in the bag was going in to a big box to be given to people who didn't have enough money to buy their own food for Christmas. I didn't get much of a response out of him and figured he either didn't really understand or that it didn't apply to him so he forgot it instantly. Boy was I wrong! It is so amazing what can happen when you really just sit down and talk with your child! They are amazing little people. Anyways, after we talked about helping to take care of the earth. We said a short prayer thanking god for creating the earth and then we lit the first candle on our advent wreath and ate our dinner. The advent wreath is another way we are celebrating advent. We light the candle every night during dinner and keep the wreath on our table at all times. The kids seem to always enjoy eating with candles, maybe it is the flickering of the flames or the mysterious glow but it always seems to make dinner a little more enjoyable.
During advent my kitchen is always a bustle of activity! I try to keep meals fairly simple or economical as a way to spend more time with my kids and in a way to not overindulge what with all the sweets I am busy creating! I love trying out new Christmas recipes to see which ones will become keepers and make it into the yearly repitorie . Today we made:EGGNOG CUPCAKES and they were fantastic!!! Seriously the best cupcakes!!
For the cupcakes:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg¼ cup
1 cup eggnog
¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
For the frosting:
20 tbs. butter, at room temperature
2½ cups confectioners' sugar
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2½ tbsp. eggnog
For garnish:Ground cinnamon or grated nutmeg Cinnamon sticks

Directions:To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; whisk to combine. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the rum, eggnog, vegetable oil, vinegar, and sugar. Beat on medium-low speed until well blended. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling the cups 2/3 full. Bake 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, 20-30 seconds. Add in the powdered sugar, salt and nutmeg, and mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the eggnog and whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 4 minutes. With the mixer on medium-low speed, blend in the rum. Fill a pastry bag with the frosting and decorate the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon or grated nutmeg, and garnish with cinnamon sticks if desired.

Nativity Carnival that I joined up to, feel free to do the same!