Christmas Catch-up Part 2: Gingerbread Construction

The afternoon of Christmas Eve found Grandma and Grandpa's house abundant with Duerschs (and Andersons and Cutlers) big and small busy building gingerbread houses (and other delightfully sweet creations).

Paul, the master gingerbread house builder

Ruth, fresh home from four months in China

KristiAnne and Jason

Alene, Kelv, and Grandma

Cute Camden watching the fun

Paul, unsatisfied with the simple look, remodeled his house to include dormers and a garage

Alene's gumdrop paradise, alongside Ruth's China-inspired house

I loved Alene's gumdrop Santa with his sack of toys!

Ruth's "Great Wall"

Kelv's house

Jason's tree house

Marianne's snowy A-frame in the woods

Grandma's licorice cottage

Grandpa's fiber-rich palace

Paul's custom gingerbread home, decked out in colorful lights

Vicky's icicle-draped house (unique roof architecture courtesy of Paul)

The entire gingerbread village!

During the entirety of the construction party, Benjamin insisted that he wanted me to do his house for him as he was too busy playing trains with Braeden. Of course, after all of the houses were done (and all of the gingerbread used up) he declared his desire to make his own house.

Christmas Catch-up Part 1: Pre-Christmas Gifts

We have so much to say about what has happened over the past month that I've felt too overwhelmed to begin! I feel that way about my personal journal almost all the time, so it's always missing great stuff. (I guess that should be my New Year's resolution.)

This Christmas we made a sort of impromptu decision to go to Utah, so some of our holiday plans had to be rearranged. Since we would be flying down there we decided to give some of our bigger gifts early.

They boys received these really cool trucks from Grandma and Grandpa Duersch (before we knew we'd be with them for Christmas). Benjamin quickly assumed playing rights to both vehicles at once (hooking the backhoe's bucket onto the dump truck and using one to tow the other) so Rhett occupied himself with the packing materials until he could secure some of his own time with the trucks. In the picture Rhett, with his chubby little fingers, is putting a tiny screw through a hole in a plastic piece of packaging. Can you believe we had to get out a screwdriver to disengage the trucks from their packages? That's anti-theft for you, I suppose.


Paul's gift to me may not seem like much, yet it's one of those things I wouldn't necessarily rush out to buy for myself but that I will definitely use a lot for many years. No, the Rubbermaid tote is not part of the gift. That's how Paul wraps presents.


Paul's gift from me was supposed to be a surprise, but I need to practice my secretive gift-buying. For one thing, don't buy it with a credit card since he'll eventually check the account and notice a purchase at Home Depot for the amount of the item I asked him if he might want a week earlier. Most importantly, don't put it in the back of the car, carelessly wrapped in some new jeans, where he's sure to find it as he repacks the car for our trip home from Richland after Thanksgiving. As much as I wanted him to, he didn't forget about it or think it was for someone else.

Making and Baking for Christmas

Things are busy at our house these days. I know we're not unique. I'm sure some people would roll their eyes at our busyness. Mostly my mind feels busy as I try to make sure I don't forget anything.

I've been sort of checking things off of a mental list (which really isn't a list at all, but just a mess of things I try to get done as I think of them, while trying to finish the thing I thought of before that, and the thing I forgot about yesterday).

First, sew Christmas stockings.

I wanted to make stockings last year. We decided they would be more meaningful (and cheaper) than if we bought one for each potential member of our family (I like uniformity in my stockings). But I was still a major sewing novice last Christmas and I had no real idea how to make stockings, and only a vague idea of what I wanted them to look like. I stressed over it for a while, and almost tried to just do it, but didn't because I didn't want to waste time, or the fabric I had carefully picked out, on stockings I would hate. I wanted to have a plan. I wanted to know that they would be just the stockings I would want to hang up every Christmas for the rest of my life.

I'm glad I waited because in the past year I have graduated from "sewing novice" to "fairly confident sewer," thanks to the help and tutelage of some very sewing-savvy ladies (Terri Booth and Melissa Jensen in particular), a myriad of ideas and tutorials on the internet (my favorite blogging sewer is Dana of Made), and a good deal of practice.

So having learned some basic principles of constructing things out of fabric and thread in the past year, I set out this week to make our family's Christmas stockings. I traced one of our old $1 stockings from the Christmas after we were married to get the shape I wanted, narrowed it a bit (less stocking to stuff), and got to work using the instructions from a stocking pattern book I got from the library. I do want to say, though, that even though I used the instructions, I could have done without them thanks to the things I learned this year from doing other projects.

So here they are, the first four stockings. Call me traditional, call me boring, whatever you want. I know these look just like a hundred other red and white, furry-cuffed stockings out there. But I have never been one who could embrace the latest decorating trend knowing that it will be out of style in a few years. (Hence, why there aren't many decorations in our house. Yet.) There are lots of cute ideas and things out there, but I'm not going to invest our money in it only to have to buy or make the newest fashion next year. I want to love it and want to keep it forever before I buy it. So that's why I went with these stockings. And also because the red and white, furry kind is what I grew up with. Basic. Traditional. Not trendy, but something that should stand the test of time.

They're made out of wool felt and some sort of silky, velvety faux fur, and lined with this "believe" fabric, which I really like. If anyone reading this wants some good instructions for making a cuffed and lined stocking like this, I'd be happy to pass them along. It was really pretty easy. Although I did have to rip out part of the seam and re-attach the loop on every single one, not matter how hard I tried to get it right the first time.

If you've read this far, I'm impressed.

Another thing to check off the mental list was the Relief Society Christmas celebration and cookie exchange.

I decided to make some cookies that we always made at Christmas time when I was growing up. We never had them any other time of year, and I can't remember a year when we didn't make them back home. I haven't made them for myself for a couple of years because Paul told me that they were "not his favorite" (code for "I don't really like them"). The RS cookie exchanged seemed like a perfect reason to make them again.

I made them Wednesday in preparation for the activity on Thursday. Twenty-five cookies total, and I only needed to bring twenty-four. Perfect! I could eat number twenty-five and take the other two dozen to the party. I could enjoy my cookie, and Paul wouldn't have to have any.

We were about to sit down to dinner on Wednesday evening after Paul came home from work. I happened to glance to where I had left the cookies on top of the washing machine and noticed a hole in the middle of the group!

Lovey! Did you sniggle a cookie?!

Maybe...

You only took one, right? (As I'm thinking to myself, "That was my cookie!)

(Long pause)

You took two??

(Guilty face)

Ah! I'm supposed to take twenty-four cookies, and now there are only twenty-three! Now I have to make a whole new batch! (All in a very lovingly frustrated voice.)

So of course I had to go to the store to buy the one ingredient I had used up in making the first batch. But I got to have more than one of a memory-laden cookie, and now I know that Paul does like them! (But only at Christmas time, he says. Which is fine because that's when you're supposed to make them.)

Butter Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
3/8 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 Tablespoon anise extract
2 1/8 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/6 cup finely chopped blanched almonds
whole cloves
confectioner's sugar for dusting

Beat butter with sugar until fluffy in a large bowl. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla, and anise. Sift flour and baking powder into butter-sugar mixture; stir until well blended. Stir in almonds and chill 1 hour.

Shape into 1" balls using about 1 Tablespoon dough for each cookie. (If dough sticks, lightly flour palms of hands.) Stud each cookie with a single clove. Arrange on ungreased cookie sheet about 2" apart. Bake in 350 degree oven 15 minutes or until cookies are a very light sand color. Remove from oven and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar while hot. Remove carefully from cookie sheet with spatula.

Makes about two dozen cookies. Or less if your husband is a sniggler.

I thought I'd share what we went through the other day to get a picture of Benjamin smiling in front of the Christmas tree. The second to last is my favorite. After much hopping and wiggling, we finally got one that worked. I think we got him to stand still long enough for the picture by telling him to say "Chick Hicks!" I guess "cheese" just won't do it anymore.

O Christmas Tree!

Last weekend we went back to Stoney Ridge Farm to buy a Christmas tree. We went there last year for a tree also, and look what a difference a year makes! (Although Benjamin was wearing those exact clothes just today, only they fit better now.)


Benjamin was so excited to get a tree! We strapped everyone in for the 30-minute drive...


...and when we got there Benjamin was asleep.


We grabbed a saw and ventured through the merry Christmas tree forest.


It was cold, and a bit windy if my memory is correct, but the boys were troopers. Last year it was even colder, to the point that it was painful, and they weren't as tolerant. Finally we found the one.

After it was cut and measured, they put it through this cool baling machine.


Before we left we visited their Nativity scene. The boys thought it was cool. Rhett tried to climb through the fence to join the crowd by the manger. The real donkey and camel were fun to see.

See that pair of gray and black gloves on top of the fence? Yeah, Paul bought those in Alaska and he's pretty bummed that they're probably still sitting on that fence. He doesn't think it's worth the hour's worth of travel to get them back.


We enjoyed some of the festive decorations, then loaded the tree in the car to go home.


Benjamin was very eager to help decorate the tree on Monday night. He especially loves the miniature John Deere tractor ornaments.


He also enjoyed vacuuming the pine needles that fell off the tree.


Ta da! Paul was missing from the house for about an hour until I checked the garage and found him creating this fantastic star for the top of the tree. (It will be painted gold soon.) Almost all of the ornaments have been relocated to higher boughs since the initial decorating. Can you guess why? Somehow I still find one or two on the floor every day. I think Benjamin stretches really high and/or shakes the tree.


He even got his own little tree to decorate (one that I got in Young Women's years ago).


Our house is feeling festive these days (even if it's a bit cold thanks to our old windows). Hope yours is too! (Festive, not cold.)

Auction for Benson and Claire at Bloom

Some of you who read our blog already know this, but I wanted to spread the word further for those of you who haven't heard. Over at Bloom today through Saturday there is an auction to benefit Benson and Claire Skinner, who you can learn more about here. Little Claire needs both a new liver and a new kidney, and proceeds of this auction will go to her transplant fund.

There are some items on there that would make great Christmas gifts, so head on over and take a look!