Baking Memories

Last Friday started our baking day- one of our 12 days of Christmas. I spent last week planning what we would bake and making 6 different cookie doughs. I love to make candy, so that was planned for too!

As I would mix each cookie dough I would remember who I got the recipe from. I would remember the different times I've made the cookies and all the memories that surround each one. My thoughts turned to my MIL who has been gone for over 15 years now.

I remember as a young bride, trying to merge two family Christmas traditions into one, I had gone over to Vaughan's parents home and asked his mom for some recipes of cookies that Vaughan liked. I hand copied several. One of those recipes is "Holiday Fruit Cookies" I haven't made these forever. Vaughan and I love these, but my kids don't. So, I quit making them. But for some reason this year they were calling me! So, I bought the dates and candied cherries and included these in our baking day! These were the first cookies I started baking on Saturday! They smelled heavenly and tasted better than I remembered!

I thought of my MIL the whole time I was baking. What an amazing woman she is! I miss her. I always see her smile and hear her laugh when I think of her. I hope in sharing some of her recipes with my girls I am sharing her with them also. Only Hillary and Heather have any memory of her.

I think that is why baking at Christmas time is so important to me. It is so full of memories. As I mix up the Russian Teacakes I think of my Grandma Moore and going to her house on Christmas day. She always had a gift for everyone. I don't know how she did it on her meager income, but we all got something. Then she would pass around the treats she had made! When I first got married she gave me a bunch of recipes she had typed up. Russian Teacakes was one of those. I also think of *MY* mom, I remember her teaching me how to form them just right and putting the powdered sugar on them. (They must be formed in little log shapes, not round or square! But little log shapes. They just don't taste the same otherwise!)

I always think of my mom when we make our annual Peanut Butter Blossoms or Spritz cookies. I added the spritz cookies back to the menu this year. I found a recipe online that sounded good! It was! My mom taught me how to make these when I was little. Then one year she gave me an electric food shooter for Christmas. This makes making these a snap! The girls had fun making these for the first time! (How could you not have fun using a *food shooter*? Just the name sounds fun!)

And of course I think of my MIL when we make ginger creams! This is another recipe that was copied by me early in my marriage! They really aren't hard, but mine have never tasted as good as hers. But, I keep trying! They were better this year! Maybe she put her finger in the batter!

It was fun working along side my girls. Showing Hope how to measure flour and sugar as she made a special gift for Hillary. Teaching her how to *cut* in the shortening! ("This is hard Mom!")

I want to teach my girls all the things that will help them be good wives and mothers some day. I know I don't always have the patience and take the time to do what I should to help them.

I am grateful for two mother's in my life that have taught me what I know. I see them in my memory as I work in the kitchen. I hear them tell me little tricks and secrets to making the food and treats taste yummy. I am grateful for five daughters to pass this knowledge on to. I hope they realize the amazing heritage that they share. And how much LOVE is felt through *baking memories*!

Family Traditions

One of my favorite family traditions is doing the 12 days of Christmas with my family! I blogged about this last year, but I thought I would share again!

You can do it different ways, but this is how we do it now! We have three little trees set up in our family room. Hanging on the tree's are 12 tags. One for each of the 12 days of Christmas. My kids really look forward to seeing the tags get put on the trees! On December 13th we start the 12 days of Christmas as a family. The idea is to spend time as a family enjoying the Christmas season as a family! It's so easy to be stressed and busy and not take the time to relax and enjoy each other. I used to buy games, puzzles and movies as gifts for Christmas that we never played or had time to do together! Our 12 days of Christmas tradition stretches the fun and anticipation throughout the month! We have learned to adapt the 12 days to activities that we have like Ward parties, concerts and family parties, but we still take the time to do things with just our family!

This year we are spending our 12 days of Christmas like this:

1. Go look at Christmas lights. (It wouldn't be Christmas without a drive to see the temple lights and then a drive around town to see light displays in various neighborhoods! We like to sing Christmas songs and end up at home for hot chocolate and donuts!)
2. *New this year!* Share a favorite Christmas Memory. I thought this would be fun for FHE. We'll probably end with the Christmas Story from Luke.
3. Sing some Christmas songs around the piano!
4. Holli's Choir Concert
5. Story Night (I like to buy a new Christmas book every year. We have a very neat collection of Christmas stories. Some short, some for children, some longer! I put them out each year and we re-read them through the month.)
6. Game Night (I bought a new game...It is wrapped under the tree and ready to be played! We will spend the evening enjoying our new game together!)
7. Baking day.
8. Movie Night. (We love Christmas movies at our house! I try to buy a new one each year.)
9. Durfee Family Christmas Party.
10. Puzzle Night (Vaughan & I choose a new puzzle, I wrapped it and we opened and started putting it together yesterday! They are working on it as I type! This is fun because they will spend the rest of the month putting it together! The kids LOVE this one!)
11. Deliver Goodies. (We like to make treats for our neighbors!)
12. Moore Christmas Eve. (We will have our traditional FIESTA Dinner and gift exchange. We have a family talent show after dinner and then the cousins exchange their gifts! Our talent show is pretty low key - basically you perform if you want to and it's one per family! We have music, a story and singing! Sometimes it is pretty hilarious!

I found some other ideas on a blog I like to visit. I think I will try some of them next year! They looked like fun. Whatever traditions you have as a family I hope you are enjoying the holiday season! I know I am!

My Little Girl is All Grown Up!

When did time fly by so fast? How come our kids grow up in the blink of an eye? And how long before another change in our family??? These are questions I've been asking myself this past week! What prompted these thoughts? Winter formal...

My cute daughter Heidi went to Winter Formal on Saturday. Seeing her in her beautiful {borrowed} dress was exciting, yet scary! I couldn't help but think of her someday standing there in a wedding dress. *sniff sniff* I'm not ready for anymore changes in our family! I kinda like my kids around me! Oh well, you can't stop time, huh??

It sounds like they had lots of fun. They went to Golfland for their day date and had a picnic lunch at a park. Then they gathered at one of the girls houses for dinner. I heard it was very delicious! Then they went to the dance and took pictures. They ended up at our house for ice cream and played the Wii and some other games.

I'm glad they had so much fun! Now, I will just have to start preparing myself for that inevitable day when she is standing there in her wedding dress!

Cute hair! Compliments of Hillary! (Thank you Sis!)

Isn't she lovely???

Here's Heidi with her friend and her date Aaron!

Homemade Bread Goodness!

One of my goals this year was to learn to make bread! I must admit that one of the reasons that I want to make my own bread is economics! Not because I can't afford to *buy* bread, but because I don't want to pay the price they want for *good* whole wheat bread!

In order to accomplish this goal the requirements are that the bread be moist, light and whole wheat! As opposed to dry and crumbly! Basically, it had to be as good as my Mom's! I had my bread making lesson in October at the cabin. The bread turned out amazing! YAY! Then it was time to do it on my own!

It didn't look so pretty, but it tasted wonderful! So, I'm counting the goal as accomplished! There is still room for improvement, but at least the taste and texture are what I was aiming for! I knew I'd hit the mark when I asked Hope if she minded having homemade bread in her lunches. She said no and that all her friends told her she was lucky! I believe she said it like this "luck-eee!"

So I now make 5-6 loaves of bread every two week and it nice to use my wheat AND know that my family is eating something healthy and nutritious and made by ME!

Can't you just smell the goodness? Mmmmmm