Resolutions...

It's that time of year again, new year's resolution making.
In the past I've never been one much to do this. I've learned (from experience) that most resolutions peter out by mid February! But this year I have fresh feeling of resolve and what the new year has to bring, so why not?
This year I really plan to bring the liturgical year to life in our home. The Church calendar is so rich with celebration and tradition and it is a shame that we do not do more than we do. Passing on the faith to our children is foremost in our lives and what better way to do that than living the Church year.
It's going to take a lot of planning...but hey, I'm one big anal planning/organizing mess!
So join us along the way in celebration of our Holy Catholic faith!

And have a happy new year!

She's a Creamer alright!

The concept of "fetch" has somehow been lost on Abby.

All hail the paddle ball King!

John Paul got a paddle ball as one of his presents. In keeping with the trend of him really loving old school type games, he has taken to this like a fish to water!
He LOVES this toy!
He constantly challenges us to matches of who can get the most hits....trust me, it's no challenge!
We couldn't hit that ball if it was tied to the paddle with string....oh, wait....

The Aftermath

The presents are opened and enough food was eaten to feed a small country.
We had a lovely Christmas and are so thankful to all our family and friends for their love, support, and generosity!

Christmas Day we headed down to Baytown to visit my side of the family.
Christmas at Aunt Bonnie's is always wonderful.

I love watching the boys play with their cousins! I remember running in this very yard as a child and I'm so happy to see them strengthening those ties that bind.

The day after Christmas was spent with the Creamers. Mrs C really out did herself this year by doing ALL the cooking....it was a monumental task! We had a great visit with everyone and the boys so love their uncles Scott and Tim.
The dogs all got along pretty well, too!

Sunday was spent relaxing and recouping and feeling truly blessed!
Hope you had a blessed Christmas, too.

Merry Christmas!

O come let us adore Him!

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!

Love,
Doug, JoAnn,
Ryan, Kyle, Daniel, John Paul,
and Abby

Gingerbread Houses

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Now that my Christmas crafting is done...

It's time to sew something for ME!

I'm making a dress for midnight Mass using the Meghan Peasant Dress from Sis Boom.
It's a downloadable pattern which means you get it as soon as you order it...
and I'm all about the instant gratification!

I made one out of knit to get a feel for the pattern:

It went together easily in an afternoon and will be the perfect house dress.
Still deciding on the length...maybe just below the knee.

I think I might like to make one out of some deep red or hunter green velvet for Christmas.

Very pretty and "peasant-y" huh?

Meatless Fridays

This week's Meatless Friday meal is easy to make in a pinch. We ate it a LOT this summer when we had fresh zucchini from the garden. Plus, it's a great way to sneak in veggies the kids wouldn't normally eat. This week's Meatless Friday meal is:

Zucchini Pizza

One batch of Artisan Bread
One zucchini sliced very thin
Any cheese you like (we like mozzarella and goat cheese)
One jar of pepperochini

Make your artisan bread early in the day or week and pull off a nice big chunk for your pizza. With well oiled hands (and a spritz or two on your parchment paper) push out the dough with your fingertips and heel of you hands. Top pizza dough with thinly sliced zucchini, pepperochini, and cheese. While your oven heats to 450 degrees, the pizza will rise. Bake pizza on parchment paper for about 20-25 minutes - until cheese and dough get nicely browned.

Of course, you can use any toppings/veggies you like, but this one is a winner in our book! And if my teenagers will eat it....it must be good!

Chill-axin'

Who needs a pillow when you can just roll up the dog bed?

Knock, knock...

"Who's there?"
"Turnip."
"Turnip who?"
"Turnip the heat! It's cold in here!"

Turnips will be here by Christmas time!
How the heck do you cook them? Do you use the greens as well?
Help me "turnip" something tasty for Christmas dinner!
;-P

Everything old is new again...

Box of checkers from the thrift store: 75 cents

Bag of marbles: one dollar

Discovering you can have fun without the
computer or Game Boy:

PRICELESS!

My weekend...

Spent sewing and knitting for the ones I love.
The weekend was foggy, rainy, and cold. I had to fight off the temptation to curl up in bed with a kid or two and a cup of hot tea...truth be told, I willingly fell into that temptation more than once!
Doug and I did sneak out for the hospital Christmas party Saturday night. It was lovely! Good music, good food, and definitely good company.
Wishing I had my own workshop like Santa's elves! Seems like I'm not getting much done these days...

...well, I still have one more weekend left before Christmas!

Meatless Fridays

Who doesn't love pasta and garlic? Make a batch of crusty artisan bread to go with this and you'll be in carb overload Heaven!
This week's meatless Friday meal is so simple to make and DE.LI.CIOUS:

Garlic Noodles

7 ounces dry Chinese noodles or spaghetti
1 large shallot, minced or you could just garnish with green onion
2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves of finely minced garlic
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce

Boil a large pot of water and cook the noodles according to package instructions.
Drain the noodles and wipe the pot clean. Place the noodles back in the pot and set aside.
In fry pan bring butter to a sizzle and add shallots and garlic. Stir fry for 12 minutes being careful not to burn the garlic.
In a small mixing bowl add the brown sugar, soy sauce, and oyster sauce and stir well to mix. Add the noodles and toss well evenly distribute the sauce on the noodles.

Oh, and pick up a tin of Altoids at the store!

Yuck!

Now I know why they call this a
"mud room"!

I love my country neighbors!

As the snow was falling Friday morning there was a knock on my door. One of my wonderful country neighbors brought by a mountain of delicious tangerines from her tree. She picked what she could to save them from the snow. Man, they were soooo gooood!

Then I got to thinking...

...and ran outside to harvest what I could before the ice and snow devoured my garden!

Too late!

I did get three big heads of broccoli cut and a bunch of collard greens, and sent them down the road to our kind neighbor.
We'll see if anything survives this blanket of snow!
If it doesn't, that's ok.
The sight of that snow and the joy my kiddos had playing in it was all worth it!

SNOW!

Can't believe there is snow in south Texas! The boys have been out in it all morning. What a beautiful site...

Meatless Fridays

This week's meatless Friday meal is super simple and comforting.
It's COLD here in south Texas!
Cold rainy with a chance of snow (we are SO freaking excited!).
Tonight we'll be warming up with a hot bowl of:

Mexican Chili

(Makes a LOT of chili! Serves 8
You can either freeze half or cut the recipe!)

2 15-oz cans garbanzo beans
2 15-oz cans black beans
1 24-oz jar of your favorite salsa
2 15-oz cans Mexican-style corn
2 tbsp chili powder - or more!
1 tbsp cumin
2 cups water

Optional: diced jalapeno or red pepper flakes to taste

Add all the ingredients to your crock pot and simmer on low for at least four hours or all day!
Serve over crushed tortilla chips or hot jalapeno cheddar cornbread.
Top with sour cream or pepper jack cheese.

The annual Creamer family Christmas card fiasco...er, um, I mean photo shoot!

You know it's the holidays when you drag the kids out for the annual Christmas card photo! Trying to get just one usable shot is an all afternoon event around here.
Let me explain why...

Trying to get four boys to all look one way at once...impossible!

Cute pic, but I can't see little Danny!
And what the heck are they all looking at?

Somebody is always talking smack.
It usually results a smack-down from one of the older boys...then the crying starts...and somebody always ends up with red puffy eyes and a runny nose....you get the idea.

Hey Danny, quit shoving rocks in your pockets!

Then inevitably somebody starts giggling...usually over fart jokes.


Then Dan pulls out his stash of rocks and the throwing begins!

Hey, at least this year no one got hurt!

Check your mailbox soon for the one picture we were able to get!

Farmer Dan

Danny helped me harvest some HUGE broccoli heads from the garden this weekend. It's the one vegetable he really likes! After he washed and picked the "little trees" we made a batch of broccoli cheddar soup for the freezer.

It'll be good on a cold and rainy day like today!