Merry Christmas

We would like to take a moment and wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Sooooo.....

Merry Christmas!

We had such a great day! With lots of family, yummy food, great movies, and gifts to share. You couldn't ask for a better day. However, it's soooo important to remember the 'reason for the season'.

I'm so grateful to my Savior for the abundant blessings I've been given. I have a sweet husband who loves and supports me in everything I do. I have a wonderful home to keep me warm and comfy. I have amazing family whom I love very much. I have the knowledge of the gospel to guide my life. I have a testimony of my Heavenly Father and my Savior. I live a truly blessed life.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and got everything they wished for! I'll close with a few pictures of our stunning sunrise, the tree, and our stash!

I love you all!

The sunrise this morning

From the front door

Our tree, close up

With all the presents

Chris' stash

Steph's stash

Fantabulous Break!

So, we're out of school for Christmas break! Woohoo!! We don't have to go back till January 5th! I'm super excited about that! This semester has been very challenging.

I'm taking 17 credits! I've got some intense classes, that I knew nothing about when I started, so I had no advantages! Thankfully, after mid-terms, and a TON of studying, I've got straight A's heading into Christmas. The semester ends on January 18th. So, if I can keep up for a few more weeks, I'll be home free!

Chris is also doing very well in his classes this semester! He's taking 6 credits, and he's got an A in one class, and a B+ in the other one! So proud of him! Through all the health challenges he's had lately, he's managed to stay on top of his studies. What a stud. I sure love him!

I know I usually do pretty long posts, but not this time. I'm keeping it short but sweet. Just wanted to share the excitement we have over our 'Fantabulous Break' from school!

Love you all

Christmas Traditions

I was chatting with a few friends and family members about their different traditions during the holidays. There are so many great traditions. Since Chris and I are still a young little family, (we have no human children) it'll be fun for us to observe different holiday traditions so we can create some of our own! I've compiled a list of the various traditions from my loved ones I'd like to share with you.

• Jessica L.'s family makes "chex mix" when family comes into town.
• Emily L.'s family gathers at her parents house, opens all the presents on Christmas Eve and spends Christmas day at their own home with their families. They also have a huge turkey dinner.
• Tiffanie H.'s family has tons of relatives in Australia. Because Aussie's are a day ahead, they open gifts from those relatives on Christmas Eve so they can spend "Christmas Day" with them. Then they sleep over at Tiff's parents house, and open the rest of the gifts in the morning.
• Kesliane L.'s family has a big party on Christmas Eve with homemade eggnog, yummy food, and they share their talents.
• Jessica M.'s family opens one gift on Christmas Eve, always jammies, then with money they get from Grandma, they buy games and play all night. They also make gingerbread houses, decorate cookies and new stockings, and eat yummy food.
• Jaimie S.'s mom buys a Christmas pop-up book every year. They then read the book together. They have quite the collection. Jaimie also gets together with all her best friends at a local restaurant and exchange gifts and chat for hours. Always fun! Mama Mia's was yummy!
• Rochelle O.'s family growing up, would make home movies of Christmas day, and mail them to Grandma so she could be part of the fun times! They would also have clam chowder and cornbread on Christmas Eve.
• Tammy M.'s family packs into the family van and drives around looking at Christmas lights.
• My family heads to my aunts house on Christmas Eve for a family shindig. We eat yummy corn chowder, breadsticks, and various candies. From divinity, fudge, and peanut brittle, to fruit cake and popcorn balls. Then we open one gift on Christmas Eve. The rest on Christmas afternoon. We also have a huge family dinner. It's pretty much like Thanksgiving part 2. So yummy.
• Chris' family growing up would wait to build the suspense! They'd open all their presents on Christmas morning and spend the whole day sharing and playing with their new things.

So many wonderful traditions! I'm so excited to have fun things like these for my own children to enjoy one day.

One of my favorite things about the holidays are the yummy treats. I have a super yummy recipe for a Pumpkin Roll Cake.

Cake:

• 3/4 cup cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup golden brown sugar, packed
• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin, packed
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Powdered sugar
  

Filling:

• 1 cup whipping cream, chilled
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup English toffee pieces for garnish
• Additional powdered sugar, for garnish
• 1 1/2 cups purchased caramel sauce, warmed, for garnish
  

Directions:

For the cake:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Line a 15 by 10 by 1-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray.
• Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice into a small bowl.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until very thick.
• Add the pumpkin to the egg mixture and combine at a low speed until incorporated.
• Add the dry ingredients and beat at a low speed until mixed.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry. Fold into the cake batter, with a spatula, until most of the white streaks are gone.
• Spread the batter onto a baking sheet and smooth out.
• Transfer baking sheet to the oven and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 15 to 18 minutes.
• While the cake is hot, dust generously with powdered sugar. Loosen the edges and turn the cake out onto a kitchen towel.
• Fold the towel over the edge of the cake and roll up. Cool completely, edge down, for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

For the filling:

• Beat the chilled whipping cream and powdered sugar in a large bowl until peaks form.
• Fold in 6 tablespoons English toffee pieces.
• To assemble, unroll the cake and sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of English toffee pieces.
• Spread the filling over the toffee. Start at 1 long side of the cake roll and, using the towel as an aid, roll up the cake to encase the filling.
• Place the cake, seam-side down, on a platter.
• Trim the ends of the cake at a slight diagonal.
• Dust the cake with powdered sugar.
• Spoon some warm caramel sauce and the remaining toffee chips over the top of the cake.
• To serve, use a serrated knife to cut the cake crosswise into 1-inch thick slices.
• Drizzle more sauce on each slice and serve.

Make sure you have a tall glass of milk! This bad boy is super sweet! Enjoy!

Christmas Tag

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags. They're so much easier to handle.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real all the way! I love the smell!

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the first week of December.

4. When do you take the tree down? February! I'm not gonna lie, we actually didn't take our tree down from last year! So, we're ready to go! :)

5. Do you like eggnog? Ewww! Gross! I hate it, but Chris loves it!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My pink teddy bear from my big brother when I was about 4. I have a picture of me sitting in his lap on the floor in front of the tree hugging it.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad!

8. Easiest person to buy for? Chris! He acts excited about anything I buy him! Even if it's the lamest thing ever. I love him!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? I sure do! I think I have like 4 of them.

10. Best Christmas gift you ever received? My Harry Potter collection. Sounds weird I know.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't think I've ever gotten one that I didn't like actually...

12. Favorite Christmas Movie (s)? I love the Family Channels 24 days of Christmas on tv. They show some great movies!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I usually try to find things all year long, that way I'm not as rushed as everyone else at the end of the year. Plus, I get some super good buys!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't know of one person who hasn't.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Turkey and my mom's southern cornbread stuffing!

16. Lights on the tree? Clear/white

17. Favorite Christmas song? Josh Groban's NOEL cd. Best CD ever!

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I think I like staying home better! Our first year of marriage, we went to Disneyland for Christmas. It was a little too crazy.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Sure can!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I have a star on my tree.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One Christmas Eve, the rest Christmas afternoon. We're not little anymore, so we know how to sleep in!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? All the rush rush rush! People don't seem to know how to relax and have patience during the holiday season.

23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Turkey!

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? Health and happiness for my friends and family!

I tag... anyone who reads this! :)

A Little Intro

Chris and I met in January 2005. We met through a mutual friend. Well... to be perfectly honest, I kinda dated that friend for a few months. But anywho.. We met in January, began dating in May, and were married a year later on the anniversary of our first date! May 6, 2006.


We honeymooned in Alaska, at a family friend's fishing lodge, Doc Warner's Alaska Fishing. Such a cool place to be! Chris had never been outside the state of Utah! WHAT?! NEVER?! That quickly had to change! So to Alaska we went!
Once we returned home, we moved into our tiny house in a cute little town surrounded by beautiful trees.

Not long after we returned home, we decided to adopt a few babies! We now have 3 of them.

The oldest is Teddy. He's a 12 year old Yellow Lab that Chris has had since he was a kid. You'd never know he's a tad on the old side. He has more energy than any dog I've ever seen! He will literally drag you down the street when you take him for walks. He's very temperamental. He doesn't particularly like me too much. He tends to growl at me if I come too close to Chris. Unless, I have a dog biscuit. Then we're friends. But as soon as the treats are gone, he's back to growling at me. I feel so used! Crazy dog!

Our middle baby is Koda. She's a 5 year old black domestic long hair cat. She LOVES everyone! If you even think about petting her, she's your best friend for life! She is also very territorial, especially if it's concerning Chris. (I think I'm sensing a trend!) If I happen to be sitting too close to him on the couch, she will come and sit between us. She will wiggle and wiggle and wiggle until she's right in the middle of us. She will put her head on his lap and stare at me.... giving me the eye! Drives me nuts!

Our youngest is Banks. He's a 2 year old black domestic long hair cat. His biological mother is Koda. He's a very shy and skittish kitty. He only likes Chris. (Definitely found a trend!) Evidently, my cleaning his litter box, filling his food dish, and buying him toys, does not make him like me. However, he is very sensitive to peoples feelings. If I'm sick, he will come and lay on the end of the couch with me. He's faaaaar away from me so I can't touch him, but hey, at least it's a sweet gesture! I suppose I should consider myself lucky!

Some random things you may not know about Chris.....

• Can eat an entire pack of Oreos without realizing it
• Loves anything with cheese
• Loves to play sports, especially basketball
• Favorite color is blue
• Has a crazy sense of balance
• Loves watching 'old school' cartoons, X-Men, Spiderman, Rugrats, etc...
• Favorite TV show is Heroes
• Favorite food is anything Italian
• Favorite drink is Sprite
• Loves to cook

Some random things you may not know about Stephanie.....

• Favorite show is House
• Favorite color is green
• Hates being cold
• Loves anything Apple Cinnamon
• Can sing
• Home schooled during high school
• Favorite food is Mom's southern cornbread stuffing (ssssooooo goooooood!)
• Loves to bake
• Can be quite crafty
• Loves to fish

Chris and I are both current college students. We both happen to be majoring in Business. Chris wants to open his own business, so he's soaking up all the info he can about business management. I am emphasising my degree towards accounting. I am going to be a CPA! Making money! Woot woot!

I do believe that's quite a bit of information! I will now have to think of something fun to post about next time!

Until then.......