Pond Town Christmas

On the way home from the appointments and shopping today we went through Salem and I drove around the pond to look at the lights. They have signs all over advertising the "Pond Town Christmas". I don't know why, but I think this is a really funny name for some pretty Christmas lights on a pond.

Sandbakels

When I was growing up,
every year at Christmas time
my mom would make Sanbakels.
These are a traditional Norwegian butter cookie
pressed into tins of various designs and baked.


On my holiday visits home,
since I have grown up
and started my own family,
I can always count on a Tupperware bowl
filled with Sanbakels waiting to be enjoyed.


Every year when Christmas rolls around,
and I am far away from my mom,
I get this urge to make my own Sanbakels.
The only problem with this idea
is that I own approximately 3 Sanbakel tins.
At the rate of 3 cookies baked every 15 minutes
it would take me an entire day
to bake a batch of Sanbakels.
I quickly become discouraged
given these statistics.
One year I searched every store
I could think of looking for Sanbakel tins
with no luck at all.
Another year I found them online,
but the shipping time
would have resulted in their arrival in mid January.
I have no desire to make Sanbakels in January.
Now, I know I should have just purchased them
and I would have had them the next year
when I decided I wanted Sanbakels,
but chances are I would have forgotten
where I put them by then.
(Like the package of 10 tins
that I vaguely remember buying
at a thrift store
possibly within the past 3 years.)

This year I decided while I was in Utah
helping my mom get through chemo and radiation
and with all of her Sanbakel tins at my disposal
I was going to bake Sanbakels.
I pulled out the tins


and the recipe
dictated by my mom
from my Grandma Christiansen.

Sanbakels

1 heaping cup of sugar
1 # butter
3 eggs
1 t almond flavoring
flour

That's it.

I had never actually gotten to the recipe part
of baking Sanbakels before.
I've always been stuck on finding the tins.
When I looked at this recipe it raised a few questions.
I do know what heaping means,
but if you can only find a 1/2 cup measuring cup
do you fill it heaping both times??
I was smart enough to figure out
that the # means pound
and I know that 4 sticks of butter make a pound.
(That's a lot of butter).
Anyone who passed home economics
knows that the lower case t stands for teaspoon.
However, the flour was a little trickier.
Flour - that's pretty vague.
My mom seemed to think
that maybe she used about 4 cups.
"You just keep adding flour
until it feels right."
Right.
Then the lack of a temperature
and a cooking time made me a little nervous.
Most things bake at 350 degrees so we'll go with that.
My mom and I did differ a little on the time though.
She kept telling me that my cookies weren't brown enough,
but I don't like my Sanbakels brown.
Sorry hubby, no offense meant, but I made pale Sanbakels.


They taste just like Christmas to me.
All I need now is some of Aunt Rose's Hot Punch
to wash them down.

Today I am thankful for

Childhood memories that make me feel happy.
A reminder of my Grandma Christiansen and my Norwegian ancestors.
Snow outside that makes baking cookies a lot more inviting.

If You're Missing Baby Jesus

Tonight my brother and sister-in-law and 3 of their sons brought dinner to my mom's house and came to share family home evening with us. It never ceases to amaze me how much better food tastes when someone else does the cooking. My sister-in-law made wheat chili which sounds kind of strange but was actually quite good. She told me the recipe, but I can't remember what all was in it. According to her youngest son poison was very likely one of the ingredients and it possibly could have killed me, but I'm still alive so I don't think that was on the list.

The mother of the family had brought a book to read for our lesson. It was called "If You're Missing Baby Jesus" by Jean Gietzen and although apparently all of my extended family are familiar with the story, it was one that I hadn't heard before. It is based on a true experience from the author's childhood. Her mother had purchased a Nativity set that year and when she set it up at home there were 2 baby Jesus figures. The mom and the children really worried about the set that was missing the most important part and the person that purchased it and how sad they would be. Finally the mom went to the store and asked them to post a sign with her phone number to call if anyone was missing baby Jesus. The story tells about what happened when someone finally calls. It was a sweet, touching story and my sister-in-law had to pass the book off to her eldest son when she got a little emotional as she was reading it. He finished off the story and of course I cried and was touched by the message that this book shared. However, as often is the case at our Family Home Evenings, someone had to bring up the fact that this child and her siblings were allowed to ride in the back of a pickup truck in below freezing temperatures and that perhaps the parents should have been charged with child abuse. I guess it is nice to know that my home is not the only one where attempts at feeling the spirit and keeping it around for a while are thwarted by a silly boy. I personally enjoyed the story and got much more out of it than a desire to call CPS. Sometimes I feel like my Christmas Season is missing the most important part of the celebration. It's always good to be reminded of the real spirit of Christmas, which is the spirit of Christ. If you haven't read this book you might want to add it to your Christmas collection. A version of the story is available here.

This story reminded me of a friend's blog that I read today and her nephew's insightful placement of the figures in her Nativity Sets. I too want to be close to Jesus and I am glad that Christmas gives me so many little reminders of Him and His love for me.

We ended our fun evening with chocolate chip bar cookies. Mom even got a candle in hers in honor of her upcoming birthday.


Today I am thankful for

reminders of why I celebrate Christmas.
dinner made by someone else.
opportunities to spend time with family I don't get to see as often as I would like.

Ward Christmas Party

Our Ward Christmas Party was tonight. My 3 boys and I went, as well as the oldest daughter and her hubby. It was a pretty low key event. We started with a dinner of ham, funeral potatoes, fruit salads, and rolls. One of my beach friends even snuck me one of her delicious potato rolls that were hidden in the kitchen for the really nice people. YUM! After dinner the primary kids all went into a room and made Christmas crafts while the adults enjoyed a musical program. I gathered up my nursery kids and together we decorated paper Christmas trees with stickers. The trees were two pieces of paper with slits in them so they could be put together to become 3 dimensional and stand up. We decided they were easier to decorate in two pieces, but most of the kids were convinced that their job was to cover up the slits with stickers to hold it shut. Then to put them together we had to move all the stickers. The oldest daughter used the "I have to go to the bathroom" excuse to sneak out of the program and come in and help. We had fun and they turned out cute.

Some of the stickers ended up on other places than the trees.

Some of the littler kids got bored or lonely for their parents before they got their trees completely decorated. I had a helper who was more than happy to finish up all the trees with me. She was a sticker sticking machine.

To end the evening Santa made his appearance. I had a great time watching all the little kids sitting on his lap. They really know how to get excited! These pictures just don't show it.

Today I am thankful for

Kids that help me to be excited about Christmas.

Someone else making me a delicious dinner and all I had to contribute was a salad.

Young men who earn their Eagle Scout rank and set a good example for my son.

Holiday Centerpiece

This morning I went to an enrichment class and was led through the process of creating beautiful centerpieces made out of evergreen branches. This has been a yearly event in our ward and it was the second time I have attempted to create a masterpiece. The sister that is in charge belongs to a professional florist family and is extremely talented. I love how she is so positive in her instruction and her suggestions. She makes me feel that I am just so amazing and that is a lot of fun. I know that basically she does everything except actually place the branches and decorations, but I leave there feeling like an artist!

This is the centerpiece that I made to take to tonight's engagement party at the future in-laws house. Here it is undecorated

and here is the finished product

I thought it ended up looking great, if I do say so myself.

This is the one I created for myself. I used the same embellishments that I used last year, but I wasn't as happy with it as I was before. I still think it looks pretty good though and it cost me absolutely nothing. I am also sure that it smells very Christmasy, unfortunately I can't smell anything at the moment.

It was a fun morning.

McClintock Holiday Concert

Tonight we went to the youngest son's band concert.
When we pulled into the parking lot my hubby said,
"This isn't the Christmas Concert is it?"
and although I agreed with his thinking
that it is a little bit early in the holiday season,
I am very glad that "Yes, it was the Christmas Concert"
and we don't have to go to another one before the 25th.
I have been to a lot of Christmas Concerts over the years.
One year we had kids in 4 different schools,
some in band and choir,
and went to lots and lots of concerts.
Tonight I was trying to figure out how many years
I have attended the McClintock Holiday Concert.
I'm thinking that when the first daughter was a freshman
she was in the JV band and performed on a different night
and the same was possibly true of the youngest son as well.
Last year the hubby and I were flying to Seattle
for my nephew's wedding
at the same time the son was performing
but still I'm thinking this is probably my 8th year
attending this particular event.
This concert is a big tradition at McClintock
and it has some rules that are always adhered to.
The "Christmas Festival" and "Sleigh Ride"
are always performed by one of the groups.
I am a fan of Holiday music at Holiday Concerts.
I am not a huge fan of technically challenging pieces
that sound like every member of the group
is playing their own little song.
To me, music should be pleasing to my ear.
"Christmas Festival" and "Sleigh Ride'
meet this criteria.
Unfortunately, a couple of the songs that
were performed tonight didn't.
Overall, it was a great concert.
The A Capella choir sang "Fruitcake"
which was quite entertaining.
The tradition that I enjoy the most each year
is at the end of the evening
when the A Capella choir and alumni from the choir
gather on the stage and sing "Song of Mary".
They sing it twice and during the second time
the choir moves from the stage
into the side aisles of the auditorium
so by the end of the song you feel as though
you are surrounded by a choir of angels.
I remember the first Holiday Concert
when I experienced this
I was brought to tears.
It was so beautiful.
Each year it never fails to give me the chills.
There has been some controversy over the years
about singing a clearly religious song at a school concert
but so far it continues to be sung
at the conclusion of the performance
and I am extremely grateful.
It truly feels like the Holiday season has begun to me
after I bask in this yearly experience.
Thank you McClintock High School
for another wonderful Holiday Concert.

Today I am thankful for

dedicated teachers who are willing to work with my high school student.
Christmas music.
Holiday traditions that help me to feel the spirit of the season.
the opportunity my children have had to have music in their school experience.
Siblings who support each other during their special events.

December First

This is probably a December First first for our family -
the Christmas tree is up AND decorated.
Hooray for us!

This is the booking photo of the hooligans
I had to force to assist me in accomplishing this feat.

You would have thought they were part of a chain gang
from their lack of enthusiam over this annual holiday experience.
I seem to remember the youngest one
used to be over-flowing with excitement
over decorating the tree.
Obviously he has outgrown that immature behavior.
I did appreciate their help regardless.

Today I am thankful for

light. Little white lights that sparkle and make an inexpensive, well-used, artificial tree look beautiful and magical.
light. Electric lights all over my house that come on with the flick of a switch, usually.
light. My Savior, Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.