Breezing Through: December 2009

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Why I have been too busy to blog, this month...

The storm has passed!

I love December...for all of it's craziness and stress as much as anything else. My next few posts are a look at some of the things that have kept the Skidmore family busy over the last couple of weeks. These have been...

Baby it's cold outside

The only thing missing, this time of year, is my mom. She was such a huge presence always, but especially at Christmas. I have been telling my kids how much their Grandma Peterson loved buying them Christmas toys.

I miss her, now.

But, we feel her with us at the cabin. That's why we go.

Christmas wouldn't be complete without a trip there.

12k's of Christmas!!

This was the first year for this race that benefited local animal shelters.

The kids loved getting to pet all of the sweet dogs, but I hated how much my knee hurt the entire 7 1/2 miles. I have been off of my legs since. I'm feeling so out of shape and our race is in less than 2 months! My break is just about over:(

A Night in Bethlehem

This year's ward party required us (and by 'us' I mean 'the kids')to dress as though we were there when the baby Jesus was born (who knew what a few pillow cases and stretchy headbands could do?!).

(Fia's friends, Kitty and Rivers)

Of course, Fia would make fast friends with the livestock.

It was fun(ny) to see everyone in period dress. We kind of thought that Bishop Johnson, front and center, looked like Aladdin.

Christmas Sweets and Sharingtime!!

This season was filledwith a lot of baking for me. Here is the recipe for the Orange-Ginger Baby Cheesecakes that I made for the Relief Society Christmas Party.

Ingredients
3/4 cup finely crushed gingersnap cookies (about fourteen, 1 3/4-inch cookies)
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For crust, in a small mixing bowl, combine crushed cookies, brown sugar, and melted butter. Divide crumb mixture evenly among sixteen 1-3/4-inch muffin cups. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides of each cup. Bake in a preheated oven for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup of the marmalade, the egg yolk, and flour. Divide cheese mixture evenly among the muffin cups. Bake about 15 minutes more or until a knife inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool cheesecakes in tins on a wire rack (centers will dip slightly). Remove from muffin tins. Top each cheesecake with about 1/2 teaspoon marmalade. Serve at once or cover and chill up to 24 hours.
3. Makes 16 servings

I just have to add, Martha Stewarts' glitter kits are awesome.

Phoebe's Birthday Party!!

I have heard over and over again, how much people hated their Christmas-time birthdays, when they were young, because they felt overlooked or they got jipped on presents.

So, for 7 years, now, we have waited until at least a week after Christmas to celebrate Phoebe's December 26th birthday.

That's why I was so surprised to hear Phoebe say that she wanted an entirely Christmas-themed party, this year.

We had it just days before Christmas with red and white decorations, Christmas wreath (donut) decorating, ornament painting, and a gift exchange. She loved all of it, especially, the penguin cupcakes that she and I made the night before.

Here's the link.