Crazy Cookie Baking & Busy Weekend...

December has been in full swing and it seems to be flying by. I apologize I've been neglecting my blog lately. It is so hard this time of year just to stay afloat day to day. I am still knee deep in Christmas preparations and gifts to be made. I will give you a quick overview of what we have been up to so far....

Last Saturday I hosted my first tamale making party. My Mom and sister came over to make some. I learned last year how to make tamales at a holiday workshop at church. The tamales are yummy and we look forward to feasting on them some more this winter season.

On Monday I began the preparations of my crazy cookie baking. I made sugar cookie dough. On Wednesday, I made a double batch of peanut butter dough. On Thursday, I made gingerbread, Russian Tea Ball and Chocolate dough. I find it a bit easier to prepare all my dough a few days ahead of time. It's less overwhelming of a task.

Just this past Friday, we participated for the third year as Nomads for our churches annual event of Walk Thru Bethlehem. We have so much fun as a family participating in this. If you ever have an opportunity to attend one of these events please do. If you are curious as to what this is please allow me to explain. Picture a Renaissance Fair where the audience is asked to become involved and brought back in time for a little while. Walk Thru Bethlehem is just like that and more. Our whole church courtyard is set up as the little town of Bethlehem of that time period just as it was 2000 + years ago. Costumes, sets, props, conversation, food, animals you name it. Every sensory organ of your body is taken back in time to that important event in History. Thousands flock to our churches event every year and many have become saved as a result to this eye opening event. We have been so blessed to be apart of this and look forward to it every year.

Saturday the cookie crazy baking began. First I baked Double Mint chocolate cookies. This was my first year baking these and let me tell you they are very good and will be added to my Keeper list. I'm a sucker for chocolate and if you have ever tried the Trader Joes peppermint chocolate cookies these are a yummy match for them and are easy to make.

Next I baked was the gingerbread cookies. The kids always look forward to decorating these each year. I found a yummy recipe on the Internet this year. The one I have been using wasn't a soft enough type of cookie. Too crisp. My family enjoys the softer variety. Sorry, can't hang these on the tree. They would probably just fall off.

Next up, was the peanut butter blossom cookies. The perfect blending of peanut butter and chocolate. The quick and easy recipe for this one is on the back of the Hershey kiss bag. I have been baking these for a few years now. One of my favorite cookies are peanut butter. And to combine peanut butter and chocolate it's like eating a Reese's peanut butter cup. Yum Yum!!

This year I added another new one to my bag of cookie tricks. Over the years of baking cookies and candies I rotate and add new ones from year to year. I love to experiment and to display a large variety of different tasty sweets. This one is called Yuletide Linzer Bars. They are very rich and buttery, similar to eating shortbread but inside is a layer of raspberry. Very good. For the next batch, later this week I will add a little more raspberry. I love the tartness of raspberry and I would like to experiment with that more.

My all time Christmas favorite and most requested cookie by far is Russian Tea balls. Other recipe books have referred to them as Mexican Wedding cakes or snowballs. Very similar to a shortbread variety. Lots of butter, flour, powdered sugar and nuts. Family members love to have their own personal stash year after year. I may be making more of these later this week if time permits.

The last one is my hubby's personal favorite, lemon bars. I have been making these even before we were married or dating. People look forward to these especially my hubby.

Well, as for the rest of the weekend. On Saturday evening our daughter, Coco was in the Nutcracker for her ballet class that she is taking. It was not the full length Nutcracker but musical excerpts.This is her first year with this particular ballet class and her first in the Nutcracker. It was very a real treat to see her perform and I just love the music from the Nutcracker especially at Christmas time. She performed in three dances, party scene, flower dance and the Chinese Tea dance. She did a great job.

Well, that's our weekend in a quick review. I am exhausted. My house looks like a bomb went off in it and there powdered sugar every where I turn. Yikes!! Tomorrow the kids and I wake up early to run over to the church and help with the long task of tearing down the set of Walk Thru Bethlehem. It should be quite a job.

I sure hope your Christmas season slows down a bit too. Enjoy some Christmas cookies, drink some hot cocoa and enjoy the fire and reflect on the miracle of the season. God 's Blessings to you all!

Please feel free to request the recipes to the yummy cookies you have read about on this blog.

Merry December!!!

Sunday December 2, 2007

December is now here and Christmas is just around the corner. Please let us not forget the real reason for the season. It is so easy for us to lose our focus during this busy time of the year. Merry Christmas and yes, Jesus did come into the world to save us. Yes, you. Anyone can receive the free gift of eternal life if they just admit that they are a sinner, believe that Jesus came into this world for them and confess of their sins. And if you were the only one in this world He would have done it just for you!

God Bless you this holiday season!!!

States & Regions: Washington State

Sunday December 2, 2007


This week our family learned about the Emerald state Washington. There just was so many fun things and ideas to do with this one. On Monday, the kids learned about airplanes. Boeing is a large company in Washington. After we learned about how airplanes are able to stay up in the air we made paper airplanes. Luckily, Chip had a book to show us step by step ways to make some great airplanes. My daughter Coco's plane flew the furthest.

On Tuesday we learned about the fascinating life of a Pacific salmon. Did you know that they can survive in both fresh and salt water? During their growing up years as a small fry they travel from the fresh water to the ocean. After a few years they return to the same very fresh water spot to lay their eggs. To imagine their journey against the rough current of the Pacific ocean is remarkable in itself.


I had the kids make a mini folding book of the Pacific salmon life cycle. We also used the inexpensive fish here to identify body parts and for a stamp art activity. It was a smelly project but if you ever get the opportunity give it a try. The stamp prints we got of the fish scales were great.
















Baba, my youngest boy, it was too difficult for him to decide he loved them all. Coco loved pink lady. Chip liked granny smith and Fuji.

Thursday, we had fun with our co-op friends learning about volcanoes in our home. The cascade range runs through the state of Washington and it extends through Oregon and northern California. Mount St. Helen is found on this range in Washington. There are three basic types of volcanoes shield, cone and composite. Mount St. Helen is a composite volcano. It produces explosive eruptions. We learned about the 1980 eruption and how a volcano. The younger kids got to make a large clay volcano while the older ones learned about how volcanoes work. After lunch all of us had fun watching our volcano erupt.

Here are the books that we read this week:

-E is for Evergreen A Washington Alphabet by Marie & Roland Smith

-Volcanoes! Mountains of fire by Eric Arnold

-Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens by Patricia Lauber

-The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall

-Why Can Airplanes Fly? by Marian B. Jacobs

-Washington in Words and Pictures by Dennis Fradin

-See How it Works: Planes by Tony Potter

-Welcome to the U.S.A. Washington by Ann Heinrichs

-Applesauce by Shirley Kurtz

-Apples & How they Grow by Laura Priscoll

-Salmon by Elma Schemenauer

Next week, we are learning about Oregon.

Turkey Leftovers

It's always hard getting back into the swing of things after a long weekend. Well, the turkey leftovers are all eaten and the last of the apple pie is almost gone. Yum Yum!

We had a busy school week last week with crafts, cooking and other thanksgiving hosting preparations. We opened up our home to a total of 13 family members. A merry and filling time was had by all.

The rest of the weekend was spent resting and having fun as a family. On Saturday we saw the new movie Enchanted. It was very well done. Coco was a dreamy state all day long after seeing the movie.

We put off decorating the house until next weekend. I just needed some down time before decorating for the next big major event Christmas. Luckily, our Christmas shopping is going very well. We are a lot further ahead tan compared to last year. Even with adopting a family for Christmas through the Salvation Army this year hasn't set us back, timing wise. There are still packages to be wrapped and other home made gifts to be started and finished along with my long list of to dos. I hoping to really savor the season this year. To do this I'm looking into studying different Christmas hymns with the children. This should really help us get into the Christmas spirit around here and keep is grounded in why we celebrate this blessed event every year.

This week we off studying about Washington in our State unit adventure. I will try to post this Saturday about our week. It should be fun!

Enjoy this time of year! Sip some hot cocoa for me and watch a good old Christmas favorite.

Hugs,
Amy

California Study: Bridges and Earthquakes

Saturday November 17, 2007

This is our last week learning about California. We have spent just four weeks learning about the history, natural resources and extra stuff about our state. Four weeks just isn't enough time to accomplish everything. Sadly, I never got to have an orange party for the oranges that are grown here. I guess I can save the idea for our study on Florida.

This week the focus was on bridges and earthquakes. I wanted to tie in a little more Science. Our unit was heavy on history so I thought this would be a great way to sneak in some needed Science. Since our week was short with a holiday, field trip and co-op I had to pick ideas that would get to the point quickly.

Here is what we learned about earthquakes:

I taught the kids about the interior of the earth. For instance, the inner and outer core. Then we talked about the plates. I showed them how the plates are drifting an pushing together using play-doh. Then we reviewed earthquake safety. What we do in the event of an earthquake. We still need to update our earthquake bins with fresh water and throw out expired food. If we have time this coming week during our Thanksgiving break we will try to get this done.

At co-op on Thursday the kids got to make a seismograph. We still need to test it out on the spin cycle on our washing machine.

We had fun learning about the different types of bridges. The kids learned how caissons were made with a quick Science experiment. They learned that the Golden Gate is a suspension bridge. The construction and history of it. They even had to construct it using our dining room chairs and string. Here are some pictures to share:

Here are the books that we read this week:

-Golden Gate Bridge by Jennifer Fandel

-Bridges by Carol Johmann

-Earthquakes by David Harrison

- Pop's Bridge by Eve Bunting

-Francis the Earthquake Dog by Judith Ross Enderle

-The Earth Dragon Awakes by Laurence Yep

_ We also finished The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman this week..Yeah!

Next week will be a light week of reading and fun Thanksgiving crafts and prep for the big day. I'm hoping to get back to our Vincent Van Gogh study. I had to put it on the back burner with all the busyness around here. The week after Thanksgiving we will be learning about Washington. It's my week to lead co-op too. I'm thinking I'll have the kids construct a volcano. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Take this time of the year to reflect on the many blessing the Lord has provided for you this year. Praise His name! For He is Lord!

Eureka! California Gold Rush

November 10, 2007

This past week in school the kids learned about the California Gold Rush. We had a fun and creative learning with this one. On Monday, after I read to them a little about the California gold rush I had them try their hands at gold digging. I got the idea from a teacher book to give the kids a store bought chocolate chip cookie and a toothpick. They were to use the toothpick to pull out as many gold nuggets(Chocolate chips) as they could. Baba even wanted to try this one. What kid could pass up chocolate chip cookie crumbs.

I expanded on this concept a bit further by using a plastic Math scale to have them weigh their findings. Our scale weights only had gram weights to be used so we needed to learn how to convert grams into ounces.
We found out that an ounce of gold back then was priced at $21.00. I had my oldest, Chip do the conversions and weighing. The winner would be named the best "forty-niner" in the family.

Chip learned that there are 28 grams in one ounce. After weighing he discovered that each kid did not even have an ounce or a half ounce. Coco had a quarter of an ounce. He calculated roughly $5.25. Baba from what I remember had earned $3.33. Chip had $2.25. I think more eating and less digging took place with the boys. Coco was our mighty "forty-niner"!

When the kids were finished they got to eat their gold and some more yummy cookies!

After writing about the Gold Rush on Tuesday the kids wanted to dig in the backyard in search for gold. All they did find was rocks and a rusty old nail.

On Thursday we had a field trip to the Western Heritage Museum. We enjoyed a docent led tour about the Gold Rush and the Indian Culture. The Gold Rush event was educational and hands on for the kids. The lady was impressed that our kids were so knowledgeable. The kids got to outfitted as gold miners and to experience panning for gold. If you are ever in the Los Angeles area you must visit the Western Heritage Museum. You must preregister in advance to do the docent led program.

Here are a list of books that we read this week:

-Boom Town by Sonia Levitin

-The Story of the Gold at Sutter's Mill by Conrad Stein

-Paul Bunyan by Eric Blair

-Paul Bunyan by Brian Gleeson

That's all Folks!

Our Classroom Mascots

November 10, 2007

Reluctantly, we had to get rid of our previous cat that we had adopted. He was a male Tabby, Spike. We adopted him from a no-kill shelter. He had many issues that our family couldn't take anymore. We put the inevitable on hold. Praying about it and waiting for our daughter, Coco to give us the OK. He became more aggressive and neurotic. We finally had to explain to her that he needed to go. We explained to her that we tried to love him the best we could but he just wasn't willing to return the affection. God provided a great learning opportunity in this.

About three weeks later we adopted to kittens. Two brothers from a very affectionate home with a mother who loved and cared for them. They are so lovable and the difference is like night and day. Our daughter Coco says it was hard for our old cat, Spike because he was an abandoned kitten and lived at the shelter. The kittens we have now had a mother that cared for and loved them. She is so right. Here are few pictures of our two rascals...

More about our Mission Study

November 3, 2007

I'm actually posting this a week later. After the kids were sick two weeks ago I ended up getting a sinus infection. My head was so stuffy and it was quite painful. We still managed to do school even if it was from my bed. The kids enjoyed it and asked the following Monday if we were going to be doing that again. Here are some photos from our California study on missions and Halloween snapshots of the kids.


Here are the kids pumpkins that they carved. Baba had the most fun. He wanted to save all of his seeds to replant them for next year. Sadly, each year I keep forgetting to plant seeds in the summer. One year I did it with the kids our pumpkins were huge. Hopefully, this year I will make a better point to do this.






Here are the two boys in their costumes. Coco was too sick to join in the fun at church that night. I stayed home with her. We watched movies and ate candy. I was too cold that night for a young girl with a terrible cough. Baba's costume will come in handy when we study Lewis and Clark in a few weeks. I will have to save this costume for Baba's kids one day.

For our California Mission study I had the kids build a model in conjunction with a report. They chose San Juan Baptista Mission. I opted to get a package model from the craft store. I am so glad I decided to do this. Less stressful and with the kids being sick it was a quick project. Here are a few photos.

We added sand to the paint for the walls. It help give it more texture. Just the two older kids worked on this project.

Chip also wrote a report about the San Juan Bautista Mission. We added a board with pictures from our trip to the mission too. Coco wrote a report on Father Serra.

Next week we will be learning about the California Gold Rush. Here is a list of books:

- Mission San Juan Bautusta by Allison Draper

-Father Junipero Serra by Sarah Bowler

-How they Lived a Mission Padre by David Stienecker

-Nine for California by Sonia Levitin

Home with Sick Kids Today

Saturday October 27, 2007

Today is the second day we have had to take it easy. We were suppose to be out of town this weekend with friends to a cabin nearby. Sadly, we had to cancel yesterday. All of our three little ones are fighting sickness right now. A lot of it is due to the unhealthy air we have been breathing as a result from the widespread fires throughout Southern California. The smoke is thick and disgusting. Even though it is not black as in nearby San Diego we can still smell it here. All week we have had sinus headaches and watery eyes. Our two older kids have had high fevers. God willing this should pass soon as well as the terrible smokey air soon.

Here are some pictures from a field trip we went on Thursday. We went to a nearby California Mission, the San Gabriel. This is our third Mission our family has toured. This one was special because it was led by a docent in the company of friends.

The San Gabriel Mission was founded in 1771. It was the fourth Mission built along the California coast. For those that aren't familiar with the California Missions. California was once owned by Spain as well as many of our states today in the southwest. Spain had also owned what is today modern Mexico. Spanish explorers came here in search of valuable spices and later gold to bring back to Spain. Years later Spanish priests were sent here to convert native Indians to Catholicism and to teach them Spanish and Arts and Crafts. Missions were built with the Indians help for the Priests to travel as well as the trading of goods. There are 21 missions in all.

I wasn't able to get a picture of the inside of the church. The lighting was too poor. I did manage to get a picture of the baptistery. The copper bowl that is shown here was a gift from Spain in 1771. It is hand hammered and it is still used today. The small hole off to the right corner is where the holy water left from the baptistery is eventually drained through an underground aqueduct. Our docent mentioned that holy water must be properly disposed never just dumped out. The flooring is original as well. It is the same flooring once stepped upon by the friars and padres of long ago.

This is the tanning area located in the large courtyard. Traders and buyers traveled by ships from the east coast to the US to purchase leather and leather goods from the Missions of California.

There are four large cisterns in the courtyard that were used to make candles and soap. They have a total capacity of 2,686 gallons. At one time the San Gabriel Mission supplied soap and candles to most of the other missions.

After touring the courtyard, extensive historical museum our group ate lunch. My daughter, Coco complained that she wasn't feeling good. Little did I know that all the children would be sick in bed the next day. I hope all of you stay well during this cold season. May God bless you with a great week. Next week we will be building a California Mission model as well as learning about the Natural resources from our state.

The books we read this week are:

-The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman

- California from Exploration to Statehood by Edna Ziebold

-San Juan Bautista by Allison Draper

-G is for Golden by David Domeniconi

Learning the 50 States

We had a busy week with co-op and a field trip to a nearby pumpkin patch.

Here is a picture of the kids with their pumpkins. It was a nearby very small Heritage farm owned by the Historical Society. We got a ride around the farm on a wagon . We were expecting a hay ride but sadly there wasn't any to be found on our ride. The kids got to hold and see some adorable new baby chicks. They were just three days old. My daughter, Coco begged to take one home with us for a small price of $3.25. I explained that she would need to talk to Daddy about this one. After taking a walk around the farm the kids got to select and decorate a pumpkin to take home. It was a nice field trip for the fall season.

We also hosted co-op this week in our home. It was a small group. We normally have four families with 12 kids. One family has taken some time off and the other couldn't make it this week. Small is easier to manage but we can't wait to see our friends next week for our California Mission tour.

For co-op the kids learned where North America is located on a map. What oceans and other countries are nearby. They labeled the 50 states. Here is a picture of them labeling each one. Since this was an introduction if they needed help they got to look at a map in a book for help. We sang songs and the older kids then labeled the state capitals while the younger ones made sugar cookies in shape of the USA outline. We played more games to match each state to what they are famous for or what is found there. (One of the KONOS activities).

Here the kids are decorating their cookies. After the kids decorated and ate their cookies they worked on USA puzzles both large and small.

I think the kids had a lot of fun at co-op. It was hard for many because this is their first time hearing about the states. I'm sure as we get deeper into this study it will become much easier. My oldest, Chip is having fun with this unit already. He already knows where the 50 states are located on a map thanks to his love for Baseball. Now I am challenging with him learning the capital for each. Coco who is in second grade I will have her learn each of the 50 states and to locate them.

Here is a of the books we read this week:

-A is for America by David Scillian

- This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie

-Stories of our American Patriotic Songs by Lyons

Next week we begin a four week unit on California starting with the missions. I will post pictures next time our California Mission model the kids will be making. Have a great week! God's blessings to you!