Blog Challenge Day 9: Favorite Christmas Recipe

My all time favorite holiday recipe is what my family calls Won Tons (Some call Sausage Stars).

Package of won ton wrappers
1 lb. sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 ½ C. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 ½ C. Monterey jack cheese, grated

(Or can use 3 cups of the premixed bag of cheese)
1 C. Hidden Valley ranch salad dressing

Press one won ton wrapper in each cup of a muffin tin; Bake at 350 for five minutes (or until the edges are just golden brown). Remove won tons and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining won tons; set aside. Combine remaining ingredients well and fill baked wrappers. Bake at 350 for an additional five minutes or until bubbly. Makes 4-5 dozen.

This is a picture of what they look like before you put them in the 2nd time to get melty. I like mine a little more brown than this the first time so they get crispy the 2nd time but not burnt.

Another favorite recipe is Oreo Truffles.

1 pack of double stuffed oreos (double stuffed is better than regular in my opinion but both will work)
1 cream cheese
1 pack of white almond bark

Crush oreos in a food processer until dust like consistency, make sure to get all big peices. Save a few tablespoons of the oreo crumbs aside for cute decorations for top of truffles. Then add cream cheese and oreo dust together (mix with hands same way you would a cheese ball) until evenly mixed together. Roll out little balls about a 1/2 inch and place on cookie sheet. Then put in fridge to chill for about 10 mins. Melt almond bark and dip oreo balls into the chocolate. While still wet sprinkle a few of the oreo crumbs you set aside onto the top. Store in fridge.

Blog Challenge Day 8: Least Favorite Thing About Holidays

Hmmmm....the least favorite thing about the holidays for me is ungreatfulness. Not much you can say about that. ? I mean Christmas isn't about presents anyways so might as well be greatful for what you get!

I love everything else about Christmas!!!

Blog Challenge Day 7: Favorite Craft for Holiday

Well so far I havent done any. I want to paint ornaments with my sister, Christa. I am going tomorrow wth my sister and my "Little" Darsaya to paint our own pottery (not sure the actual pottery will be holiday themed but since I am doing it in holiday season I guess it will count as a holiday craft). My favorite is usually making some kind of crafty food with my sister. For instance for Thanksgiving we made turkeys out of candy corn, oreos, icing, and whoppers. They were cute! I will have to find something just as cute for Christmas time. I will probably do something that we find in the Christmas isle at Hobby Lobby just for fun.

Blog Challenge Day 6: Christmas Wish List

Well I have been needing to think about this to give mom and Brian some ideas anyways so I guess now is the time!

I told Mom I want some Toms. I need some black shoes and with these shoes every pair you buy sends a pair of shoes to a child in need! How cool is that?

I told Brian I want him and the boys to pick me out some kind of jewelry that represents both boys...right now I have my Africa necklace with Bennett's name on it that I wear everyday. I thought it would be nice to have some type of jewlry that represents both my boys.

I of course always love UL stuff. Love monogrammed stuff. Love picture frames. Love pedicures and going out to eat (gift cards!). Shirts from Ordinary hero. Any adoption shirts or things that support a adoption fundraiser... so if you have one going on let me know so I can inform the people buying for me ;) A King size down comforter. Can't think of much else right now.

Bennett discovers Christmas lights

Brian introduced Bennett into looking under the tree at the lights like we used to do when we were little kids. Bennett loved it.

Bennett Swinging

Bennett wanted back in his baby swing the other night when Brayden wasn't using it...He fell asleep and was out for a long time! haha.

Here is a picture of Brayden and I in our matching Black Friday shopping shirts! He did amazing shopping with me from 11:30pm to 11am the next day! He slept the most of the time. I didnt get a picture of my mom and shirt in their shirts :( We got some awesome deals and great stuff. I had lots of fun doing it with my family.

Thanksgiving 2010

We have a lot to be thankful for in 2010! Last year we had no kids at thanksgiving and this year we have two amazing little boys!!! Here are a few pictures from the days activities! Happy Thanksgiving!

Bennett Almost Gets Stitches

So the other night Bennett pushed a chair down over on himself and cut himself above his right eye. He only cried for like a minute. I wasn't sure he needed sitches but we took him to the immediate care center down the road. He did not get them but he got a little glue put on it.

Blog Challenge Day 5: Favorite Holiday Shows/ Movies

My favorite Christmas movie of all is How the Grinch Stole Christmas! I can Brian a Grinch all the time (I am just joking of course!). Roudolph is probably next. A Christmas Story is also a favorite, which plays 24/7 on Christmas day on TV I believe. I am looking forward to show Bennett the first two this year!!!

log Challenge Day 4: Tips/Tricks to a Budget Friendly holiday season

I am not the greatest in this area so this may be short :) My main thing is to shop on Black Friday. Then I shop the holiday sales. I know a few stores that have great deals on UL shirts, which my family loves. We also like giving pictures to people that we know that they would like which isn't usually to expensive. Set a price you want to spend per person and stick to it. Save up throughout the year and dont go into debt just for presents for everyone. Your family could draw names to save money. Also one thing I like to do now is try and find gifts that also fund someone's adoption or orphans in some way. Happy shopping!

Blog Challenge Day 3- Most Meaningful Gift

Well I am not sure if this counts but it is what I am going to say so I guess it will....the most meaningful Christmas gift I have gotten is our son Bennett. Last year he was our Christmas gift. We left the day after Christmas for Ethiopia! I really wanted him home before Christmas but God knew a better time and it was perfect :) We celebrated with him when we got home anyways on Ethiopian Christmas which is about a week after ours. Our life changed after last Christmas. Here is a picture of him in Ethiopia at Christmas time and then at home during our Christmas celebration.

I can't believe our first son has been home almost a full year! We are so glad that God knew the plan for our family and how it would grow when we didn't know. We wouldn't change one single thing that happened along the way, it all had to happen in order for us to have our handsome Bennett Kuma and our little Brayden! God is good.

Blog Challenge Day 2- Black Friday Tips and Tricks

Wow how I love Black Friday!!! My mom has always gone out as long as I can remember on Black Friday to get the hottest toy out for me and my sister when we were younger. It is the hunt for the item that is the best part. Now that we aren't into toys anymore I get to go along with her! I have gone for the past 4 years I think? Last year was my sister's first time to join us. It is fun to all go together. We started a new tradition last year to get these matching shirts for shopping that my mom found on a website. I will have to post after this year a picture with this year's shirt. Here is last years. This year since I am nursing I decided Brayden will just go along with us! He can sleep in the carrier/sling I wear, it will be interesting but fine I am sure.

As for tips and things that you need to do in order to succeed in Black Friday shopping here we go: Thanksgiving day look through all the ads and decide prioriy of the really good items (you may not get all of the big ticket items therefore you need to figure out what you HAVE to get). Get a hour or two of sleep if you can. TIP: FORGET BEST BUY, ITS NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE. We have discovered to never even try Best Buy--you have to wait outside and they normally have such outragous deals with just a few available unless you want to camp outside you wont get anything good. TIP: It is best to start at a 24hour place, such as Walmart. Which is normally our place of choice. They have a great mix of electronics, toys, and other items. You have to have your "team" split up! We get there around 3am. Shop for the things on sale that arent HUGE ticket items that are wrapped up (somethings they dont unwrap and let you get until the sale time starts). TIP: MAKE FRIENDS WITH A YOUNG WORKER TO FIND OUT WHERE ALL THE GOOD STUFF IS PLACED THROUGHOUT WALMART (They may even sneek things from the back for you if you are lucky). Once you have all of your stuff and they open the checkout lanes get ready for some rude people. No one likes to merge lines but a good attitude helps deal with the frustration. Don't want to be the crazy people who actually get in fights shopping! After walmart we usually see if Target has anything good still that we can get. Then it is time for breakfast (its usually about 7 or 8am now). After we are refreshed we may hit up some random stores that had sales we need and then it is time for the mall. The mall usually is okay to wait on items until this time because I dont feel they sell out of things as fast, plus we are usually getting clothes there not anything electronic or too popular. TIP: EVEN IF NOT BRINGING A BABY TO MALL, BRING THEIR STROLLER TO HOLD YOUR PURSE AND BAGS. IT CAN GET EXHAUSTING WITHOUT.

I think that is all I can think of right now. Once you go a few times you tend to learn what works for you and your family best!

Day 1 of Blog Challenge: Christmas/ Holiday Traditions

I love LOVE love having traditions. I am trying to think of more to have with the boys. We have to make several family visits for the holidays to incooperate both my moms side, dads side, and Brian's family. Brian and I have gotten pretty good at getting to spend a lot of time with both sides.

THANKSGIVING:

For thanksgiving we always go to his parent's house first around noon and stay there until around 4pm (unless my dad's side has something then we add their house for about a hour during this time). My dad will go to Brian's parents house as well so that we can spend time with him. We leave his parents and go to my mom's house for dinner (usually it is just my immediate family and uncle Phil and cousin Brittany but this year my Uncle Chris and his family are coming as well YAY!). After turkey dinner at mom's we sit and go through the Black Friday ads and decide our plan of attack for our shopping! Then the shopping begins... more about that on the Black Friday blog challenge post.

CHRISTMAS:

We always get a family ornament made and now the boys will get a new one each year. We now have 3 Christmas trees, a 12ft green one for the living room, a 6 foot white one to look girly, and a skinny green one for UL decorations.

A new tradition I want to start is one I saw the other day called Elf on a Shelf! LOL. It looks so cute. Here is the discription of the tradition: "How does Santa really know whether a child has been naughty or nice? The elf answers the age old question in "The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition."The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition is an activity the entire family will enjoy - and one that is sure to come back year after year. This cleverly rhymed children's book explains that Santa knows who is naughty and/or nice because he sends a scout elf to every home. During the holiday season, the elf watches children by day and reports to Santa each night. When children awake, the elf has returned from the North Pole and can be found hiding in a different location (yup - that's where you come in as a parent - you get to find a new spot each night!). This activity allows The Elf on the Shelf to become a delightful hide-and-seek game each and every morning." You buy the book and it comes with the cute little elf you can hide! How fun is that?

For my mom's extended family we always pick a weekend that works for everyone's schedules within a few weeks before Christmas to celebrate together. This is always done at my mom's house. We have a big dinner and exchange presents.

I want to start the tradition of reading the the Christmas story in the Bible to the boys after breakfast on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is spent with my dad's side of the family. We always go to someones house (used to be my Aunts but the past couple of years has changed, once at our house and then at another relatives, not sure where it is this year). There are always several little ones running around and Brian and I always love playing with them, and this year we get to add our own! We have several appetizers and snacks that everyone brings and eats on all night and the actual "meal" is eatten at mednight. We have had this tradition as long as I can remember. The family always plays games together at the kitchen table. Makes for a late night.

We are starting the tradition to give the boys Christmas pjs on Christmas Eve to wear. We will set out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. We will put presents under tree after boys are asleep. In the morning we will wake up with the boys and open presents with them. Once we have done that we will head over to my mom's house (we only live 12 houses away from her now!) to open presents with them when they wake up (so likely by 10:30ish) and have some breakfast. After that we will head to Brian's family's house for lunch and presents. We will stay their until about 5:30pm and then head back to my mom's for dinner. My dad will come to Brian's parents house too so that we can see him on Christmas day too. At mom's we will have Christmas dinner. I want to start the tradition of having a Birthday cake for Jesus and singing (I think the boys will like this and it will emphasize Jesus's birthday to them). Every Christmas night we go to the movies (even last year when we were leaving for Ethiopia the very next morning we went! We left early due to my mind not able to concentrate very well on the movie lol but we still went!)...this year we are hoping to find a good kids movie to attempt to take the boys to.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR TRADITIONS???? I AM LOOKING FOR FUN THINGS TO DO WITH THE BOYS. ESPECIALLY THINGS TO INCORPORATE CHRISTS BIRTH INTO OUR HOLIDAYS!

Littlest UL fans

Here are the two cutest Cardinal fans around. Bennett has been enjoying going to the basketball games at the new stadium with Daddy and Uncle Darrell!

Bennett's Adoption Finalization

November 16, 2010 Bennett had his court date here to make the adoption "final" ( it technically already was but more paper work pretty much). This court date made him a USA citizen and changed his name legally! Very exciting to have him become a citizen. Brayden also turned a month old.

12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge

So I have never done one of these blog challenge thingys before but my friend Ryan posted this and I thought that I would try to do it too!

Day 1: Christmas/Holiday traditions
Day 2: Black Friday/General Shopping Tips & Tricks
Day 3: Most meaningful gift/best gift you've received
Day 4: Tips/Tricks to a Budget Friendly holiday season
Day 5: Favorite Holiday Movie/TV Show Special
Day 6: Gift ideas (what do YOU want? We all have family/friends reading our blogs...so let them know!)
Day 7: Holiday Craft/DIY (If you don't make anything, what do you WISH you could make?)
Day 8: Least favorite thing about the Holidays
Day 9: Favorite Holiday recipe
Day 10: Favorite Christmas Songs/Caroles
Day 11: New Year Resolutions
Day 12: Show us your decorations (indoor/outdoor)
Day 13: Favorite Cookie Recipe
Day 14: Oprah's Favorite Things: What item(s) would you want if you were in the audience?

Days 1 -3 are November 22 - 24
**** NO BLOG CHALLENGE ON Thanksgiving! ****
Day 4 will pick back up on November 26th!!
This starts on Monday, so gather your ideas and be ready to link up. Go visit Aly's blog for more details!

Shutterfly Holiday Cards!

I really love photos, especially of my boys :) Shutterfly is a great place to order prints of your photos. I have used them to print photos, print Brayden's birth announcement, and make a photobook for Bennett with pictures of him from Ethiopia. They have tons of great gift ideas for the holidays as well. I plan on using them to print my Christmas cards as well! I will be able to add photos of the boys and a family picture too! Here are just a few cards that I like so far. This one I could have one of each boy and then a family one. Plus it says Merry Christmas. You can find it here.

This one would be nice for a picture of each boy. You can find it here.

This one is a folded card so you could put a message inside! You can find it here.

If you have a blog you can get 50 FREE holiday cards from Shutterfly....sign up HERE!

A lot of people who read this blog are in the process of adopting or are starting a family so Christmas cards may not be in the budget...but they can be now!

Adoption Awareness

November is Adoption Awareness month and today was Orphan Sunday. Our son once was a orphan in Ethiopia and now his is ours forever and a orphan no longer. It is easy to ignore the fact that there are several orphans all over until you see their sweet faces. Here is one face that I saw :) This is him in an outfit that we sent over for him in Ethiopia.

Our first meeting.

Here is my little man now!

Words cannot express how much we love this little man!

Brayden's First Time to Church

October 31, 2010 Brayden was able to go to church for the first time at 2 weeks and 1 day old. He did so good in service.

Halloween Season Pictures Overload

Here are some pictures of all of our Halloween fun. Bennett was a lion and Brayden was a pumpkin. Below they are in their Halloween pjs.

Family picture after trick-or-treating.

Auntie Christa was scottish.

Brayden in the candy bowl.

Bennett rode in style while collecting candy.

Brayden rode in his carrier.

On the hayride at church's fall festival.