It was such a fun evening with lots of laughs.

The menu was:

4 different soups

breadsticks

2 salads

and a variety of Christmas time desserts

For activities they planned:

a mixer where you had to get signatures from different ones according to whether they had ever did what was listed on the paper

decorating gingerbread houses

Christmas carol charades

As you know by now, I like putting together slide shows, so here is one of our evening. I’m definitely not a professional. I need some skills, people. haha But here it is anyways. Hope you enjoy.

Anyways, just a quick post today about our Thanksgiving.

I perused the web for a few ideas for a tablescape and it all came together quite effortlessly. I had this beautiful bouquet as my centerpiece and I took it, along with the vase it came in, and set it directly in my vintage kettle, which incidentally I use at our hunting camp each year.

And the rest were things I had on hand. The only thing I purchased this year were the 3 pie pumpkins.

My turkey plates I bought from World Market so many years ago at 80% off. I make sure I use them every year. I love the colors on it.

All in readiness…

It was a smaller gathering this year – only 15 of us but it was still very special. In the past we’ve had activities, dressed as pilgrims and Indians, read poems, sang songs etc. This year we sang a few songs around the table and then we had each one say something they appreciated about the person seated on their left as well as on their right. It was a sweet time.

I am very thankful for our forefathers who first came and settled in America…

…and grateful to live in this wonderful country.

It is so sad to see our country destroying itself but I am still glad that it is my homeland.

We have many things to be thankful for. God has been very good to our family and I’m so glad we were blessed with the opportunity to have both my mom and dad seated around our table this Thanksgiving. They are both 80 years young! Don’t they look so good?

Thanksgiving 2017

I cut a long piece of butcher paper (you can buy a large roll at one of the bulk warehouses) and just painted red x’s and o’s all over it.

A tribute to India at Serenity’s place. (carved elephant she brought home as a souvenir)

For the first time in 27 years of marriage we had rib-eye steak. Honestly, I don’t know if I’ve ever bought any kind of steak before. Ninety-nine per cent of our meat consumption is elk that we have hunted. It was a big treat and as one of the kids said, our meal was cheaper (even with it being an expensive meat) than our family of 7 going to any type of restaurant.

Since I’m not familiar with how to grill meat, I asked my son to do the grilling. His experience? Pretty much nil. He’s has one grilling experience to his credit, but that one time was excellent.

Believe or not the meat was great! lol

Daddy with two of his sweethearts.

Fresh squeezed lemonade with sliced strawberries. Yum!

And these chocolate covered strawberries hand-dipped by Serenity were just the right finishing touch to our meal.

We’ve said goodbye to our oldest son till next week when we arrive in Canada for the wedding. He surprised his valentine, Jessica and flew to Canada this morning. Was she ever surprised to see him when she walked around the corner in her house. It was all caught on video, so I can’t wait to see that!

I won’t say who but several of us, (sniff, sniff) were crying as we said our goodbyes to him. Change can be hard even when it’s a good change.

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Lots of fun times were shared with this lovely group of young people this last week and we enjoyed hosting them.

So I wanted to tell you all about the Bruschetta Bar that we put together for our Christmas Eve meal. It was a lot of fun to do and I think a lot of the impressiveness of the meal was due to how it was set up – entirely due to my sister. She’s pretty amazing that way. I showed her some pictures on Pinterest that I liked and mentioned that we had some scrap wood I was thinking of using and in just a short while she had the whole table arranged.

To host your own Bruschetta Bar party here are some of the items you may want to purchase.

Baguette Loaves

Roasted Red Peppers

Cherry Tomatoes

Artichoke Hearts

Charred Corn (Trader Joe’s freezer section)

Spinach

Caramelized Onions

Sauteed Mushrooms

Jalapeno Stuffed Green Olives

Arugula

Eggplant Garlic Spread w/ Sweet Red Peppers (Trader Joe’s)

Olive Tapenade Spread (Trader Joe’s)

Pesto Sauce

Marinara Sauce

Red Grapes

Salami

Smoked BBQ Shredded Meat (meat I had in the freezer from my daughter’s graduation)

Variety of cheeses – we used Brie, Extra Sharp Cheddar, P’tit Basque, Asiago, Jalepeno Cheddar (I think it was a cheddar), goat cheese with cranberries, Paradiso (Italian Style)

Chicken Wings (I purchased these in case there were some heartier eaters that wanted more meat.)

You certainly do not need to purchase everything that I did. I had no idea how much we would use since our family tends to eat quite a bit and there were 34 of us. With all the variety I had, it was almost too difficult to choose what combinations to put together. So whether you choose to have as much variety as I did or less, it all works.

To prepare your baguettes slices for the bar, brush olive oil on each slice and then grill for just a few minutes or until you have some black marks. While it’s grilling, sprinkle granulated garlic on each slice.

I found some really tasty recipes on Olivia’s Cuisine for our Bruschetta Bar.

• 2 pints red grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 16 fresh basil leaves, plus more as needed, chiffonade
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

• 2 cans (15oz) cannelloni beans
• 1 large tomato, diced
• Juice one lemon
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Olive oil to taste
• Chopped parsley to taste

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
2. Refrigerate until needed. Drizzle with more olive oil when ready to serve.

It’s a Do-Ahead Kind of Meal

Everything can be done ahead which is a big plus when you’re putting on a party. The only thing you wouldn’t want to do too far in advance is the grilling of the baguette slices since they can get dried out and too hard.

The magic of candles… they always add so much.

The presentation is a big part of the fun!

A bruschetta bar usually has a rustic look to it. Pull out your wooden cutting boards for this. I only had 2 wooden cutting boards so we used the leftover scraps of wood we had around here and covered a few with foil so they would be food safe.

Labels are necessary so everyone knows the various types of cheeses being offered.

Use boxes for stacking. Make your food presentation different levels. It gives much interest and a sophisticated touch. We had a bunch of Amazon boxes we used and if you look closely you will be able to catch part of the markings on the box. Optimally, you would want these to be hidden but to be honest I never even noticed until after the party when I was looking at pictures.

And that’s how our Bruschetta Bar was put together. It really was a lot of fun and a big hit with the family.

And just like on Christmas Eve, snow is supposed to be coming our way once again the next few days. Lots of it! We’ll see if the weatherman is right.

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We started a new tradition this year of having a crokinole tournament. We  actually did it 2 years ago at Christmas but this year I made it an official tradition. It’s a great game for everyone – a game that’s more well-known in Canada than here in the US. It’s a good game for the older ones as well as the young people and one where you can be indoors when it’s quite chilly outside.

I wanted to have a little trophy to give the winners (you play as a team), so I cut a piece of wood, stained it and then modge podged a piece of scrapbook paper on top that I had printed the words Crokinole Champion onto. The trophy was printed onto shiny gold scrapbook paper, cut out and then modge podged onto the scrapbook paper.

The winners once again this year – they won 2 years ago, too – was my niece and my son.

My tablescape this year was a little different than I had planned since some fabric that was to be my table runner didn’t arrive here in time.

(the sparkling cider bottles kind of detract but I didn’t get a picture before they were placed on the table)

Justus wrote a 5 minute skit of the Battle of Trenton which happened on December 26, 1776.

As you can see from their clothing, it was pretty low-key.

The “bloody” rags the soldiers wrapped around their feet since they had no shoes.

We had a Message trivia game. My team lost.

I love the singing that happens around the piano. It’s one of my most favorite things.

The day after Christmas there were drills (morning exercises) in the walleyball court for the young people.

An ice skating session.

The kids took advantage of the snow that was left on Monday to make the best snowmen I’ve ever seen.

Aren’t they the cutest?

And that wraps up our 2016 Christmas! (I’m still going to do that Bruschetta bar post, so hang in there!)

For the weekend, Serenity put together a hot drink station using my Hoosier cabinet. I love this piece of furniture!

Chalkboard signs are so fun.

My oldest son, Seth arrived home from Canada on Friday night. The kids excitedly ran outside to greet him that night when he drove in. He drove 30 hours with only 6 hours sleep to make it here by Friday night.

Christmas Eve it started snowing and I was outside grilling… for about an hour!

Family started to arrive…after awhile. Some got stuck on our road. Too much moisture made our road muddy and in some areas really difficult to navigate without 4-wheel drive.

My dad with two of his great grandsons. I love the difference in eye color of the two wee ones.

For Christmas Eve we had a bruschetta bar. It was so much fun and my sister did an awesome job with the presentation of it. I’ll do a complete post on that and the ingredients I purchased to put it together in a later post.

We had a jar of butterscotch candies for everyone to guess how many were in there. The one closest to the right amount without going over won.

My nephew won.

But I had a 2nd place prize, too, which my niece won.

Gifts were opened while the snow continued to fall.

Visits to see the cabin (VRBO) were made.

Precious times together…

]]> https://treasuringthemoments.net/2016/12/29/a-merry-christmas-with-family/feed/ 9 https://treasuringthemoments.net/2016/12/22/decorating-cookies-for-christmas/ https://treasuringthemoments.net/2016/12/22/decorating-cookies-for-christmas/#respond Thu, 22 Dec 2016 13:55:55 +0000 http://treasuringthemoments.net/?p=703659 Only 3 more days till Christmas! More family is arriving today (my mom and dad came Sunday) and so lots of little details are getting finished.

Mom and my girls helped decorate cookies yesterday. I was glad for their help because decorating cookies can be rather long and tedious.

Please excuse that stray arm on the left. It really does below to somebody. haha

This year it’s Christmas with my side of the family, which I usually host, so I’m doing the planning.

I’ve asked each family to bring 1 dozen cookies for Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve supper is going to be a Bruschetta bar. I’m really excited about it and hope it’s as fun as it sounds!

Pinterest has some amazing inspiration for it.

Not everyone likes icing but I guess that little kid inside of me still likes it just fine.

I got the recipe for the cookies and icing from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook. I really like this cookie book which has hundreds of recipes as well as suggestions and tips.

What’s your favorite cookie to make at Christmas time? Can you name just one?

We even did it in the pergola. We had a giant tarp that went over the top, shade cover on all sides and then covered with plastic. But then we needed heat inside and so we added the two wood burning stoves that we use when we go hunting. It worked! It was about 40°F outside but inside it was not bad at all. Some of the tables had a little more cold to deal with than others but overall I think everyone thought it was just fine. Whew! We weren’t sure how it was going to work out but I’m excited to know that it can be done!

The meal was 3 different types of soups a Caesar green salad and rolls. The desserts were pies and cookies as well as candy. The girls had some fun interactive games for everyone to participate in.

Each table was a team and they had to decorate a gingerbread house and the CK girls were the judges.

The winning gingerbread house.

Then there were Christmas carol charades and you’ll get an idea of how it was played when you watch this 7-minute video I put together. If you click on the little words at the bottom of the video that says You Tube, you can give me a thumbs up after you watch it.

So fun to be able to do these things with my girls… and to have a husband that supports me in all my fanciful ideas – probably because he has a lot himself. haha

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We were invited to a few places but then decided we would just stay home and have a quiet Thanksgiving. But I knew I still needed to do something special since it was Thanksgiving which I think is a very special holiday.

So Wednesday (last minute, I know) I headed to the store and purchased the things I would need for our non-typical Thanksgiving dinner that I’ve done once before.  (I went back to find that post and when I did I could have cried. The kids have grown so much in just 3 short years.

That morning the menfolk worked on our latest project – a little cabin. (I’ll tell you all about it as soon as I get through posting about our trip that we took to the east!)

Meanwhile back at home Audrey and I made Serenity a special bagel breakfast, per her request, since it was her 19th birthday!

Serenity has been such a blessing to our home. I have always heard its harder to raise girls than boys but I didn’t understand what that all meant because Serenity is serenity – peaceful and serene.  But as she’s gotten older it’s been interesting to see all the drama that goes with girls. I guess we’re all the same, ladies. No getting around it but I still think I have it easy with Serenity being as low-key as she is.

Serenity put together a simple centerpiece for our Thanksgiving table.

And here we are gathered together.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

After our non-traditional Thanksgiving meal of:

Spinach salad

Salmon with Brown Sugar Glaze

Shrimp Scampi

Fried Rice

Green Beans

Garlic Bread

we went to see the progress that had been made on the cabin.

and then… we had some 3 legged races in which I was completely hopeless. Between not figuring out the timing and laughing too hard, I was a terrible teammate.

Then it was time for a family game of croquet. We are loving our backyard and have played lots and lots of croquet since we finished it.

Justus and Audrey had served a Thanksgiving meal at a senior citizen center the day before and afterwards there was an pie/cake auction and so they bought a few things including this cake for Serenity’s birthday! They were so proud and tried to keep it a secret till the last moment but I think she had got a inkling.

After a few songs around the piano expressing thanks back to our Lord Jesus and a prayer for those that are going through difficult times this Thanksgiving, we ended our day with some poems and Scriptures.

https://youtu.be/P4fkGdjfHyw

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Keep counting your blessings!

Shalom became a big sister on Monday, November 23.

She won’t be the “big” sister for long because Hudson Israel came into the world weighing 10 pounds and measuring 21 1/2″.

He’s simply adorable.

Serenity turned 18 the day after Hudson was born.

Audrey turned 10 on Thanksgiving Day this year.

Thanksgiving time was a busy day with 26 of us gathered for 3 days and all staying here!

I didn’t have enough of one kind of place setting, so I used two different kinds.

Audrey made some cute favors for the kids.

We even had some Pilgrims and Indians show up at our Thanksgiving.

We planned some activities this year.

Guess how many pistachios are in the jar and the winner took home the jar of pistachios.

A Thanksgiving Trivia Quiz from Pretty Parties.

An art contest with different age categories. They had 20 minutes to draw anything “Fall” related.

Poems and songs finished out the evening. I love that part!

And if you’re wondering did I ever got around to making a guest basket of items guests may have forgotten…. I did! Writing it out on a blog kind of keeps a person accountable. haha

I wondered if there would be anything at all in the basket that would be useful to my relatives while they were here but some of it was gone, so that made me happy.

We have a lot to be thankful for, don’t we? We should count our blessings every day.