Christmas 2011/celebrated in 2012...

     Our family Christmas was celebrated in January this year...

This is what "Christmas" looks like in January with no tree...it sure didn't dampen the spirits of these little ones...

We were just thrilled that 10 little bodies were healthy at the same time...sure, runny noses abound sometimes, but we know as our family grows that there might come the day when somebody is sick for our Christmas!  These 10 little blessings are the product of the last 9 1/2 years...our kids are doing a wonderful job of filling our life with joy, don't you think? 

This is the youngest born on December 27th who delayed our Christmas...but did we care?  No!

Olivia Basil arrived healthy and loved by all!

Here's some of the chaos and joy of Christmas with 10 under 10...

Every year I think we're going to unwrap just one present at a time...yea, right...the excitement outshines organization...and that's just fine!

Here's Steve and Sara working on the brunch that day...it was wonderful!

Here's all the kids enjoying their meal...they always want Uncle John to sit with them...and he obliges!  He'll be a great Daddy someday!(with lots of practice with all his nieces & nephews!)

Papa built some fences for each family...thanks to Nana's suggestion(from pinterest)...

Tate & Lu tried them out first...

then Calvin & Will decided fencing was a great way to play a game without "interference"...

Jillian was excited to hold her new cousin....

and Nathan is such a baby lover!  He already seems to have his family planned with a little girl in his K-1 class...and he's asked his Mom if she'll babysit "Baby Stony"!  This kid has a great imagination!

And here's our newest granddaughter...

Olivia, O, Livy, is already 6 weeks old!  Where did the time go?

We treasure these times with our little ones...my own children were just babies, weren't they?  The days and years seem to fly by...I am thankful for this precious time with grandchildren!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family!  You can see that we sure did!

Pioneer Woman

     I recently purchased something just for myself.....

     It is Pioneer Woman's cookbook!  Every stinkin recipe has a picture!  I love that kind of cookbook....and her recipes are so down-to-earth simple.  If you've never heard about her, you might live in a box...well, maybe not....her website is one I follow on my blog list.  She has an awesome website HERE where she shares her life as a wife, mom, cook...and lots of recipes.  She also has a show on Food Network that's fun to watch.

     So...I am browsing her website this morning and lo and behold...she has a brand new cookbook coming out soon.  Check out her website, you can browse her cookbook on amazon...or purchase your own copy.  I found mine on half.com for a deal...makes me think I need to sell some of my cookbook stash on there...

     This winter weather makes me think of trying new recipes.  What are you up to this winter?  I'd love to hear from you!

     On another note, I have joined the ranks of pinterest and have a button on my sidebar where you can follow me...it's a fun site where you can create "boards" or categories for anything that is interesting on any website...and then you can follow other people and see what their "boards" are filled with.  I love it because I'm old and forgetful and now I have all my web ideas in one spot...PINTEREST!

     Now to go try a new recipe....

Healthy Brownies!

     Have you ever heard those two words together???  Well, I'm here to tell you that you are one lucky dude today...I made them and have been told several times that they are really good!  I happen to be on a 21 day fast from sweets and pop...so...I have not tasted them yet...come Sunday I will find out how good they are!

     Here is all you need to make these brownies...

      I pureed the beans, juice and all, in my magic bullet...you can use your blender, mini chopper...you just want the beans to be lump-free.  Spray your pan...I used a 7 x 10 glass pan to make the brownies thicker.

I sprinkled these little goodies on the top of the brownie dough before I baked them.  If you don't like mint, you can use mini m & m's or chocolate chips, peanut butter chips...you get the idea...

Mine baked almost 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  I only let them cool about 10 minutes...then cut them with my trusty expensive plastic knife...remember me telling you many blog stories ago about how neat the plastic knife is when cutting warm brownies, cake, bars, etc.  It's amazing!

I know, it looks like I'm all ready to eat this scrumptious plate of brownies with milk...it was a set-up just to let you see how thick and chewy they look...I put them back in the pan...just until the 22nd day...and then I drank the milk!  Just wasn't the same without the brownies!

     You can figure out the calorie count/WW points for this food by using the dry ingredient calorie count on the box, this one was 100 calories, plus the can of beans...figures out to 110 calories per 1/20th of a pan...not bad...no fats, no cholesterol...just chocolate!  I swear you can't taste the beans, but the fiber content makes it a reward to eat.   Enjoy!

Happy 2012....and a new baby!

     Blogging gets put aside as the Christmas season progresses...so much to do and never enough time!  Well, we were stopped dead in our tracks this year...we had a new grandbaby coming on Dec. 27th!  We took Wrigley to the doggy hotel and left for the cities on Dec. 23rd.  We played with kids, celebrated Christmas Eve services, spent Christmas morning with little ones...and welcomed our 10th grandchild and 4th granddaughter, Olivia Basil, on December 27th.  She will forever celebrate her birthday during the Christmas season, but I think she'll have no problem with that!  Here's a photo montage of our week....

We attended Christmas Eve services with our son and family at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, listening to Leith Anderson preach his last evening before his retirement.  Very moving service.

Captured a photo after church of Sam's family...before baby's arrival 3 days later!

Spent Christmas morning and day with these munchkins and their parents.  We don't deserve this much fun!

     On Tuesday, Dec. 27th, we arrived early to take care of our grandkids while Sam & Roz left for the hospital....Olivia Basil arrived that evening, surprising us all with who she was...her gender was a surprise to everyone, except probably the doctor!

I got to hold her within an hour or so of her arrival....love those fresh babies!

While Roz was in recovery, Sam & I took Olivia to their room and checked out all her teeny little parts.  She was perfect...of course!

Note the Daddy's face...he's mesmerized yet again by his fourth little one!  So cute!

Big sister, Monica, got her own "newborn" baby from Mommy when we went to visit her new sister.  She was very excited and aptly named her "Baby Weeva"  as she called her sister.  Ben, 5, was so in love when he met his new baby.  Lucien is here...but more interested in his Mom's tubes and wires!

Ben & Lucien introducing Papa to their new baby sister.

We are blessed to be grandparents to Olivia...and 9 more little blessings!

"Little Sister" trying to wake up and see the world...

I'm not saying anyone was tired on the trip home from the hospital, but....

We had a ball with these 3 kids for the 4 days their Mommy & Daddy were in the hospital.  I brought my pink DS, which is always a treat for Ben & Lu...the microwave timer was our new best friend...setting 10 minutes and letting the boys share play time and their sister content to sit and watch.

Sometimes electronics just do their thing when a Nana needs time to clean the kitchen or get dinner ready!

     We left our little charges and drove home on New Year's Eve, hitting a "warp speed" snowstorm when we were an hour from home.  It was beautiful and a rare sight this winter....

I captured this "blue" snowfall when we arrived home...breathtaking...and we were glad to be home!

I can't end this post without sharing our 3 kids up north!  They celebrated Christmas with their other Papa & Nana.  We will have our family Christmas next week with everyone...and I hope to get a picture of all 10 grandkids!  Stay tuned....



Tis the Season...

I am beginning to realize that our "off season" is busier than when the resort is open!  So many projects, travels, activities...we are hardly home to update this blog!  Sorry about that...but we are feeling the old adage..."the older you get, the faster time flies!"  I can't believe it is already December...and it's almost Christmas! 

Again, this posting is a collage of photos gathered in the last few weeks.  The month started off with our 4th annual Cookie Walk at church...I have always chaired this event, but the amazing help I receive each year makes the event a success each and every year.

Here's some of my elves setting up the tables for the shoppers.

A sampling of the beautiful goodies for sale by the pound.

Sugar cookies...always a hit!

We have some of the best bakers in northern Minnesota!  Honestly...we couldn't hold this event without all the church people who bake for days and donate for this cookie walk.

This picture shows an eager shopper with his glove on, picking his cookies for his box...and if you look, you can see some of our new construction in the background.  We have held these fundraisers to raise money to add onto our church...we've raised over $200,000 in the last 3 years!  An amazing total in our small community!  The addition is almost finished and we are all so excited to "move in"!

 On the homefront, we've had lots going on at the resort.  We're closed for the winter, but the work continues.  Our carpenter, Kurt, parks his trailer here in the fall and works on our list as he gets time...

He has finished the new screened porches on cabins #10 & #11.  They will be awesome next summer!

Cabin #11...trim needs to be painted yet.

Cabin #10...needs staining and painting in the spring!

New windows installed in cabin #4...

and windows in cabin #5...wow, did they need it!

Here's what my sewing room/4th bedroom looked like last week...new wood walls, painted ceiling and carpeting will be ordered soon.  The bathroom is still a work in progress...photos to come.

We spent Dec. 3-12th in Shakopee with 3 little ones...their Mommy went on a mission trip to Swaziland, Africa!  We had a wonderful time.  I played house and Papa worked at Max's golf store during the day. 

This little girl and her Nana had a great week together! 

Presents from Mommy showed up mid-week(thanks to Daddy) and it made this little guy feel a little better about missing his Momma.  Nana just does things a little different than Mommy, although I tried my best to stay in their routine each day.  Their Mommy is a wonderfully organized person...and this 60 yr. old Nana probably worked a little slower...heck, I know I did!  But it was such a gift to live amongst all of them for those 9 days!  And their Mommy came home safe from a memorable trip doing God's work....and we're all glad to have her back!

We continue to be thankful for this group of munchkins who fill our life with love and joy!

We look forward to spending our holiday with all of our family, one little family at a time...and then we'll all celebrate together in the new year...if we can find a place big enough for all of us!  There's an addition coming to this family on December 27th...and we're as excited about grandbaby #10 as we were the first time!  I expect we'll have pictures of this new baby shortly after he/she arrives.

Merry Christmas to all my readers!  We are humbled this season when we think of that baby born so many years ago who came to save us all....we hope you have Jesus in your heart this Christmas...and all year long!



I am Thankful For....

Tis the month of Thanksgiving...and we have so much to be thankful for!  God took us on a journey 25 years ago, bringing us to this beautiful resort...and we've never looked back!  Well, maybe we did that first winter when the snowfall was over 100 inches!!  We hunkered down with our four young children and spent alot of time together...time we had not had together for a very long time. 

These pictures are just a sampling of what we are thankful for...perhaps it will remind you of those special people that you are thankful for too!

Little boys with donut cakes on their 4th birthday...

Nathan...who loves his Uncle John more than anything....and....



we think they look alot alike!

We're thankful for breakfast with Ben & Lu at Perkins...

Grandchildren who make Papa's birthday so very special.

Princesses who can't quite go without a nap...and the queen who cuddles!

I'm thankful for a husband who tackles any job....

Thankful for my Dad's pizzelle maker....

Pizzelles with Nutella filling...yum!

Who wouldn't be thankful for red cupcakes in a jar with cream cheese frosting!

I'm thankful that the snow has just barely started....even though it will stick around until April!

Thankful for a Papa taking his crew on the Elfun Trail....

Thankful for cute cousins in pajamas watching "Tangled" on Nana's couch!

Thankful that Tate doesn't mind posing for Nana when I ask her to!  So cute!

And finally....I am thankful for all these little blessings in my life!  Papa & Nana's life would be pretty boring without all these little ones to cuddle and love!

We hope you have blessings in your life that you are thankful for this Thanksgiving!

Enjoy your turkey day with your loved ones...