Today’s a special day here: Evan turns THREE!

Since she surprised us three years ago by arriving two months early, she has not stopped amazing us. Her size has never been an obstacle for her. Despite the fact that she weighs less than her little sister (Ferris is 13 months younger than her,) Evan has NO problem keeping up with the big kids… She talks circles around many of them, too.

Nate and I took her on a date all by herself on Saturday. She cracked us up. She was excited all day that she got to go on a date, but by the time we got in the van, it was evident that she wasn’t sure just what a date really was!

“Daddy, is a date somethin’ you ride on?”

“No,” Nate explained. “It’s something you go on. It’s when you do something fun with people you love.”

“Oh…” she said. Then she started SCREAMING, “DATE, WHERE ARE YOU?! DATE, I CAN’T SEE YOU!! COME OUT DATE! WE NEED TO GO ON YOU! WITH MOMMY AND DADDY! WE’RE NICE PERSONS!!”

She’s a trip. Today, she’s at the Tea Room with Nana and she’s wearing a princess dress.

So hard to believe that she once weighed just 2 pounds, 12 ounces. As the nurses joked, I practically sneezed her out.

She’s got more spunk than I sometimes know what to do with. Here’s how I described her in this year’s Christmas letter:

Evan remains the fireball that she was at birth. She is still much smaller than others her age and appears that she may never outgrow that “preemie” title. She has a big personality and flits around with a song in her heart, though much of the time the lyrics are made up. She plans to marry Daddy one day, but for now spends her time making giant messes, like creating a winter wonderland in her room out of baby powder or  perfecting unique hairstyles for Ferris using diaper rash cream as super-strong hair gel. Thankfully, she takes instruction well and is becoming a proficient cleaner. Evan also loves babies and is often seen with two or more dolls at a time. She gets that from Mom!

She recently graduated to a new toddler bed and she’s very proud of it. She’s our girl and we’re thrilled about it.

We love you, Monkey! Happy Birthday.

You know that beautiful shade of silvery-grayish-blue?

Here, I’ll show you. Here’s blue with a little Gray mixed in:

Isn’t that adorable? I know he’s my own kid, and I know I’m biased, but I find this photo irresistible!

PS-That’s one of the rare times around here that you’ll ever see the bottom of the laundry basket.

It’s really cold and snowy here in northwest Indiana. I really need to do some grocery shopping.

Nate’s work schedule is crazy busy this week… But the idea of taking 6 kids grocery shopping and trying to unload the cart and buckle seatbelts with wind swirling the zero-degree temps around us just didn’t appeal to me.

So, my dreamboat husband offered to pick up a few necessities for me after work last night. *happy sigh*

So, I texted him a list: “Milk, eggs, cereal, etc.”

He came home with three gallons of milk, two dozen eggs and TEN boxes of cereal. TEN.

I think he’s got me figured out! I’ve never read that “Love languages” book, but I’m pretty sure mine are acts of service and provision. And buying in bulk when things are on sale!

My kids like to cook. All of them. Even the boys. (Well, I suppose the jury is still out on little Gray, since he’s only 6 months old. If his enthusiasm for eating is any indication, he’ll like to cook, too.)

For Christmas, I found them a neat little kids’ cookbook. It has pictures that help them understand the recipes and lists of the “equipment” you’ll need to make each dish, too. (I was a bit sad that some of the recipes weren’t healthier and more from-scratch, but I can understand why they did that.) We also got each of our kiddos and apron. I even painted their names on the fronts of each one (and sewed some ribbon on the girls, too!)

We made monster cookies on New Year’s Eve, so the kids all donned their cute little aprons. Unfortunately, with so many eager helpers, each child only got to help with one or two steps of the process. They still had fun.

The boys took their aprons off right after we got the cookies mixed, but the girls wanted, as Evan puts it, “to play titchen” a little longer. In the photo above, Ferris was a bit irked that she couldn’t eat the dough right away. Telling her we’re making cookies and then forcing her to wait 11 minutes is cruel punishment. She’s acting two already. She’s mature for her age.

I know the photo is a bit wanky, but just so you know, I DO know how to spell Evan’s name. Her apron really does say “Evan,” but she’s got a smudge of peanut butter above the ‘v.’ Messes are just drawn to her like magnets. Thankfully, she’s still cute. Or at least I think so.

It’s family tradition around here to read Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus before opening gifts at Christmastime. We do it as a family and also with our extended family.

A couple of years ago, our now 9-year-old nephew Joshua read the passage aloud and did great. This year was my Andy’s turn. We had explained to Andy a few weeks ago that it might be his turn and he was NERVOUS, but he knew what an honor it is! There are already 12 grandchildren on that side of the family (Joshua is the oldest,) so repeat performances aren’t too likely.

I didn’t get to hear the beginning of it because I was cleaning up vomit (hey, we KNOW how to party) but I heard he did well… except for calling Mary Joseph’s “exposed” wife.

Special thanks to Aunt Heather for capturing this photo
of Andy reading Luke 2 to the family (with Uncle Seth!)

I can’t remember how long ago I started making these truffles at Christmastime, but ever since I did, they’ve been a hit. I originally got the recipe from Taste of Home magazine. My Aunt Jane requests them every year, and every year I happily go home with an empty platter tray! A few more people have requested the recipe, so here it is:

Cookie Dough Truffles

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I ALWAYS leave these out.)
• 1-1/2 pounds dark chocolate candy coating, coarsely chopped

• In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour, alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Shape into 1-in. balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm.
• In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip balls in coating, allowing excess to drip off; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. If desired, remelt remaining candy coating and drizzle over candies. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 5-1/2 dozen. (Or much less at the size I make… maybe 3 dozen on a good day.)

NOTE: As I said above, I never put the walnuts in. Ever. There’s enough going on to make them yummy without nuts.

Also, I have a small ice cream scoop that I use to create even sized balls. It’s slightly larger than a melon baller. Makes it a bit faster, but can be done without that part.

I sometimes just use plain ol’ melted chocolate chips for the outer coating instead of buying chocolate coating or bark. I like to melt white chocolate and drizzle on the tops. The constrast makes it pretty.

Again, if you make them, let me know how yours turn out!

We live in a melting pot of cultures. The variety of restaurants we have is truly amazing, if you consider we’re in Indiana… you know, the place most people consider to be one giant flat corn field. Nevermind the fact that our area is considered to be part of “Chicagoland.”

Anyway, here in northwest Indiana, we’re exposed to lots of different kinds of people. Lots of yummy restaurants. Tons of great food. One of our family favorites is lemon rice soup. ALL of the Greek restaurants up here serve it. Some make it better than others. We prefer Grand Park Cafe’s, if you’re ever up this way. I could eat a vat. I digress.

I wanted some today, so I looked for a recipe online. There are a LOT of variations to the recipe. I wanted Grand Park’s, so I tried this recipe and it was pretty close!

Greek Lemon Rice Soup

I’m not sure how it came to be exactly, but each one of our children has had bananas as their first taste of non-breastmilk food. (Sort of… Connor tasted Dorito powder first, but that’s another story.)

We wait until they’re 6-months old to introduce any sort of food and it’s family tradition that the first thing they are served is a real banana, smashed up and mixed with water.

I can’t believe Grayson has already reached that milestone, but it’s true. He seemed to REALLY LOVE the banana… He seemed to lunge at the spoon and tackle each bite Nate fed him. He cracked us up. Here are a couple of photos:

The boys have been plowing through their school work. They’re amazing little sponges. I’m honored to be their teacher!

Andy just turned 7 last week. He’s now learning cursive (gasp!) and today he started multiplication (WHAT?!) It’s almost hard to keep up with how fast they’re growing.

To help them remember who’s who in Bible class, I started a chart… sort of like a family tree. Anyone in particular stand out to you?

Don’t worry… This is just a rough draft. The graphic artist in me is going nuts at the unclean lines and sketchy quality (not to mention the poor cell phone photo.) I’m sure I’ll have it up and working as a real, fluid, computer graph soon.

I’m always on the look-out for recipes that are not only “cheap and cheerful,” but also ones that can be made in large quantities just as easily. Of course, I’d like them to be healthy, too!

Several years ago, someone made this for us and it has become a family favorite. My husband loves this white chicken chili!

I like it because it’s just as easy to make for 2 people as it is to make for 20. Not too expensive, either… PLUS, it has a unique chicken / lemon / cumin taste that makes it delightful. Not too heavy, like some chilis. It’s very aromatic and flavorful without being spicy hot.  Have I convinced you to try it yet? Here goes:

White Chicken Chili

Start by boiling 4 chicken breasts in a large stock pot. Let boil until cooked through, then remove to cool and cube. These will be added to the soup later. You can use this same large stock pot to make the rest of the soup, so don’t bother cleaning it now.

Base:

Cook the base ingredients (below) together in a small sauce pan until onion is softened.

• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic (you can easily substitute garlic powder equivalent)
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1-1/2 tsp. oregano

Then, in your large stock pot, add the base ingredients PLUS:

• 4 chicken breasts (previously cooked) cubed
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tsp. lemon pepper
• 2 Tbsp. juice
• 2 15 oz. cans of white northern beans, undrained
• 2-15 oz cans of shoepeg corn*

Mix all together in one large pot and bring to a simmer. I’m guessing this would serve about 4 people.

NOTE 1: This is the recipe as it was given to me. I like the lemon taste to be a bit stronger, so I put in a little extra lemon juice and more lemon pepper seasoning.

NOTE 2: I also like my soup to have more contents than broth, so I add a third can of corn and a third can of beans. Make adjustments however you like!

NOTE 3: *Instead of buying the shoepeg corn, I found our supermarket carries their own brand of “small white sweet corn,” which is identical to the Green Giant shoepeg corn, but for less than half the cost.

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I like to serve this with a simple biscuit, roll or croissant. The soup is light and flavorful, so you don’t need a fancy side dish!

If you give it a try, let me know how you like it!