Merry [Belated] Christmas

Though this is a couple days late, I want to wish anyone who reads this blog a Merry Christmas with our family Christmas card.

Christmas is a really important thing to celebrate. I know I take Jesus, and the story of his birth, for granted. I've heard stories about Jesus since I was a little kid, and now I tell my kids stories about Jesus. It's easy to forget who he really is.

But I have spent some time over the last couple months reading Colossians as my church has been doing a sermon series on the book. And the verses in our Christmas card challenged the way that I think about Jesus. He's not just a guy who wore sandals and did some nice things for people. That guy walking around in those sandals was there at the beginning of  all things, created all things, everything holds together because of him. And these verses say, "In him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell." God was pleased to personify himself in Jesus, who began his life in the most humble way, being born in a barn.

The reality of Jesus' humility challenges my pride and my entitlement. I think I deserve so much stuff, status, or respect, when the one who created everything entered the world next to sheep and oxen.

Just as Jesus' life began humbly, it continued that way for a great purpose. "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:10-12

Ultimately, this is the Christmas message—not just that God came to earth as a baby, but the purpose behind his birth, life, and death. He loves us and wants to give us an opportunity to know him in this life, and then spend eternity with him.

As we said in our Christmas card, may the wonder of God-in-flesh be in your heart this holiday. Merry Christmas, from our family to yours.

Pfeffer...what!?

Christmas is a pretty big deal with my side/my mom's side of the family. Some of my favorite and probably earliest memories of childhood are getting all dressed up on Christmas Eve and going to Aunt Betty's house. Here are a few of the highlights of Aunt Betty's house:

- It was a huge house on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. My cousins, sisters and I thought we really made a discovery when we found the servant's stairwell. After this discovery our tradition was eating our dinner in the "secret stairwell."

- Dinner was awesome. There was a buffet around a huge dining room table with buns, meats and cheeses, chips, German potato salad (potatoes + vinegar + bacon + served warm = not my cup of tea), and DONUTS. Yes, Christmas Eve was the one night a year when most of my dinner was comprised of donuts. Chocolate sprinkle donuts eaten in a stairwell. Awesome, right?

- Even though it was his busiest night of the year, SANTA MADE A STOP AT AUNT BETTY'S. Everyone knew it was time when Jingle Bells started playing on the grand piano. Santa would come in, we would then sing Silent Night to remember the true meaning of Christmas, and then Santa would deliver the presents. So fun!

And the night would end with my mom and her seven brothers and sisters getting a big ziplock bag of pfeffernusse (pronounced fefferness), a little ginger-snap sort of cookie, from my grandma. These little cookies are so good, the big bag of them would usually be gone in 12-24 hours.

So this year, as I develop my repertoire of christmas cookies, I thought I'd give it a try.

I dug up the recipe that had been emailed to me last year from my Uncle Greg. My Uncle Greg is a serious baker, and a serious scientist. So included with the recipe was a variety of notes including the chemical reactions for the baking soda and vinegar in the cookies. Incredible.

I'm a little less detailed oriented.

Creme first. Sugar (2 cups), shortening (1 cup).

Then add mild molasses (1 cup) and an egg. This stuff looks like tar. But, confession, I didn't get mild molasses. This is the real stuff and the flavor is too strong. So, I made a second batch of dough and used 2/3 cup molasses, 1/3 cup corn syrup. They turned out about right. But I guessed on that substitution. Google had nothing for me on substituting regular molasses for mild.

Let the mixer do it's thing.

Can I also take this moment to say how much I love this machine? My college roommates got it for me for my wedding and I use it all the time. You can shred chicken in a few seconds. I make mashed potatoes in here a lot. I also make pizza dough and bread dough in it often.

Mix dry ingredients. Crazy that there is pepper in these cookies. I guess pfeffernusse means "pepper nut" cookies.

Then you combine the milk and vinegar, and alternatively add the dry ingredients with the milk to the molasses mixture. The consistency is much more batter-like than cookie dough. I did add 1/4 cup flour at the end to be sure it would hold together. But it ends up holding together because it is chilled overnight.

So the next day, I liberally floured my countertop and formed a 3/4 inch snake out of the dough.

Then cut up the snake into these little pieces. (A pizza wheel is recommended, but I used a chef knife)

Then you put these little guys on the pan and bake for 10 minutes at 350. Uncle Greg also recommends not to overload the pan, and only use one pan in the oven at a time for the most crisp, Grandma-like cookies. However, to follow this takes incredible patience. The recipe makes 18-20 dozen cookies. I eventually started loading the pan and putting multiple sheets in the oven. Forgive me, Grandma.

But they turned out good. Really good. I ate a lot of them!

Here's the actual recipe:

Jeanette's Pfeffernusse Cookies (Adapted by Uncle Greg)

2 cups sugar
1 cup (7.0 oz.) shortening
1 cup molasses, mild
1 large egg

1⁄2 cup sour milk ( 1⁄2 cup milk + 1 1⁄2 tsp. vinegar)

4 cups (20 oz.) all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Crème sugar into shortening with stand mixer. Add egg and molasses, mix well.

Separately sift flour, salt, pepper, and cinnamon together.

Into mixer bowl gradually and alternately add flour and sour milk to make a soft dough.

Transfer dough to large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight in refrigerator.

To make cookies, roll dough into 3⁄4” diameter snakes on liberally floured surface. Cut into medallions and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.

Makes 18 to 20 dozen cookies.

Water your Christmas Tree

I hope my last blog was not misleading.

I may have made it seem like a farm fresh Christmas tree is a blissful, fill-your-home-with-the-scent-of-pine sort of experience, without drawback.

The reality is, there is responsibility that comes with a real Christmas tree. Because, seriously, a dried-out tree with electricity strung through it is a serious hazard. But all you have to do is water it. That's it. Simple. Just add water.

The problem is, I spent so much time last week admiring our beautiful tree, that I forgot to be responsible and water it. I also thought Tim was watering it; he thought I was.

So yesterday, when I realized the potential neglect of our fur tree friend, I ran over to it to check the base.

Dry.

Bone Dry.

I added water immediately. Tim did research about this sort of dry tree mishap. The results were not positive. A few hours after the trunk of the tree is dry, a layer of sap forms over it, sealing the trunk. The tree will not take any water from this point on.

So, instead of taking immediate action at 11pm, we thought we should just be sure it wasn't taking water, so we left it overnight. And we didn't light it this morning, which was very confusing to Penelope.

Sure enough, 12 hours later, the water was exactly in the same place. We knew what we had to do.

I took off all of the breakable ornaments. Tim came home over lunch. I siphoned the water out of the base with a turkey baster. Then we carefully removed the tree from the base, I held it up while Tim sawed an inch off the bottom with a rusty old saw that is not meant for cutting tree trunks.

Not the typical way people spend their lunch breaks.

But the trunk definitely had sealed itself, so we are glad to have fixed it. And we have a new coaster.

All this to say, water your Christmas tree.

Festival of Trees and Cookies

I really appreciated my friend Andrea's blog about Advent. She is purposefully making the decorating and cookie baking minimal this year and really spending time focusing on Jesus' birth.

I appreciate her attitude about Christmas because I feel like I am in a similar place, for much less spiritual reasons. I'm just pregnant. 

We started a new family tradition this year of getting a real tree at a tree farm. It was pretty fun and idilic, but by the time we made it home, I was feeling sick and exhausted. So, I put a few ornaments on our tree, but mostly I watched Tim do the trimming. I would give feedback from the couch about where there weren't enough lights or ornaments. He actually did most of the decorating around the house. I gave him a general idea of where I wanted things, but he did it. 

But our tree looks great. (Sometime I may share my Christmas tree decorating tip that will change your life... or at least your Christmas tree). I even like our simple mantel... I like to call it The Festival of Trees and Lights. :) Now, from my faithful spot on the couch I get to gaze into our shiny, glimmering tree as I moan through my first trimester.

There is something magical about having young kids around Christmas. Every morning when Auggie wakes up, he is so amazed and excited about the tree. Penelope thinks every day is Christmas. 

Keeping in line with the magic of Christmas with little kids, the one dream I had for this Christmas season was to make cookies. So, I was thankful to feel good and ambitious enough on Saturday to whip up some dough. I don't think Penelope has ever had as much fun as she did while we were cutting out the cookies and then decorating them. She kept saying, "This is so fun, Mom!"

Sprinkles were everywhere. The kids mostly ate Funyons and sprinkles for dinner . Mom of the Year, I know, but we had a great time.

This photo was taken moments before August fell off the table. Again, Mom of the Year. 

And I think the cookies turned out pretty well.

We made the sugar cookies and icing, but I also whipped up these Texas sheet cake cookies I saw on Pinterest. They are good with milk, but I expected them to taste like the Pioneer Woman's Texas sheet cake that has 4 or 5 sticks of butter in it.

So Thankful

I started thinking about the fact that I haven't been blogging as much as I wanted to, and thought this is the perfect opportunity. It's thanksgiving. So I started thinking about all of the things I'm thankful for, and I have concluded this: I am suuuuper blessed. So Here's what I'm thankful for, in no particular order. I'm going to do this in sort of a stream of consciousness method. So it might get kind of funny. Here goes:

Lord, I am so thankful for:

1. That I get to be an American and enjoy so much liberty and freedom. 

2. I get to worship God freely, without fear of persecution.

3. God created you and me and he loves us all so much that he sent his son to die, so that we can know Him. 

4. I have the best kids in the whole world. 

5. I come from a great family where I always knew that I was loved -- and unconditionally so. 

6. My family (The Bouskas) really really like each other — probably more than ever — and we love hanging out whenever we get the chance. 

7. I married into a really great family that loves each other so much. 

8. I get to live in a really great house that is warm and stays warm thanks to the new furnace we got on one of the coldest days of the year last year. 

9. We have two cars that work well. 

10. I get to stay home with my kids and watch them grow up.

11. IPTV now comes in through our archaic rabbit ears -- since we rearranged our family room and moved the TV. (Coincidental that this comes after being thankful I get to stay home with my kids!?)

12. This week, Penelope, August, and I somehow, by the grace of God, avoided the food poisoning that my parents both got after eating chicken at their house. Apparently, they ate contaminated pieces and we didn't. I'm sorry, mom and dad, that you have to go through this. But I am so thankful we are well!

13. I'm thankful we got sick the week before Thanksgiving. I might never be able to eat turkey and mashed potatoes again if I had to try to catch them in a bowl while Penelope threw them up. 

14. I'm thankful Penelope is getting old enough to throw up into a bowl. (Seriously, this is a huge deal.)

15. August has the best laugh in the world. Yesterday, as the kids and I were coming back from Minnesota, August had just woken up from an epic nap (that got us all the way to Ames), he just kept laughing. Not only was it one of two non-stop trips we've made from Minnesota in the last three and a half years, it was so pleasant to have a kid laughing, not crying in the back seat. 

16. I'm so thankful for that car ride. And that I didn't get pulled over for speeding. 

17. I'm thankful for the really great snow suit I got on Craigslist for August that I got just in time for the snow. And for the really cute snow suit we got from the girls next door for Penelope. These kids really like playing in the snow!

18. I'm thankful for the early winter. Romans 5:3-5 tells us to rejoice in our sufferings, so that is what I will do :) But seriously, though, it is annoying and it takes an extra 30 minutes to get out of the door...and then my van doors get frozen shut so we pile in through the hatch. But winter is so beautiful. And I'm honestly thankful for how the white snow reflects the dim light of winter. I think God had a plan with the season. 

19. I'm thankful for my husband. (Sorry I didn't get to you until #19.) He is so gracious and loves The Lord. He compliments me so well. And he cleans up after me a lot. 

20. I'm thankful for how Tim loves our kids and spends quality time with them. I'm thankful for how excited they are every night when he comes home from work. 

21. I'm thankful that we have plenty of clothes and plenty of food. 

22. I'm thankful that God's grace meets me at my sin and imperfection. 

23. I'm thankful for the Bible -- that I can read it and know who God is and understand what he wants for me in this life. 

24. I'm thankful that there is more to life than just this little, fairly insignificant life. I'm thankful that God can use my life here and now, and after this is over, I will get to be with God in heaven. 

25. I'm thankful for my incredible friendships. I have friends here in Des Moines that I met the first week of my freshman year at Drake. I have a history and commitment with these people.

26. And then I get to make new friends all of the time. And I am so encouraged by my newer friends' lives, too. I just know so many people who love people so sacrificially and selflessly. It is a beautiful thing. 

27. I'm thankful for story time at the Library. I get to see a couple of my college roommates there with their kids. It is so fun to have this time to catch up and encourage each other. The three of us go to different churches, but our hearts are really about doing the same things, and I love it. 

28. I'm thankful that we killed the two mice that were living under my bed. True story. I would wake up at night hearing things right beneath me. Tim would touch me and I would scream, thinking a mouse was actually in the bed. But they are gone now. So thankful. 

29. I'm thankful we didn't have a bat in our house this fall. 

30. I'm thankful for the girls next door. They are 8 and 4, but they play with my kids every day we are in the backyard. They came over today and made a giant fort in my living room. They are great kids, and it is such a blessing to have playmates for Penelope. 

31. I'm thankful that I get to go to bed around 9:30 most nights. I love my bed. I'm always exhausted. You know you're in a new phase in life when you are in bed on a Friday or Saturday before 10 and you feel like you've won the lottery. ha!

32. I'm thankful for my sister Beth and our friendship. I'm so thankful that she was blessed with such a healthy boy this year and that she is a great mom. 

33. I'm thankful that, even though my sister Julie lives in London, she comes home so often I see her just about as much as I would if she was still in Minnesota. And I get to see her in a few weeks!

34. I'm thankful that my kids go down to bed fairly easily, and that they sleep through the night most of the time. 

35. I'm thankful that we are all very healthy. 

36. I'm thankful that God is for me (Romans 8:31-32); that he has really good things planned for me as I trust him. I'm excited what this means for our future. 

37. Speaking of the future... This is something to be really thankful for:

Another Laehn will be coming home sometime in June. We are really excited about this. Penelope wants a sister. 

I could keep going, but this seems like a really good place to stop. Happy Thanksgiving!

Kitchen Reveal

On the hottest weekend in August, Tim and I shipped the kids to Grandma's house so we could undertake a project. We were determined to do a little remodeling... of a useless entertainment center.

It looked kind of like this. Except it was white. (We didn't take a before photo. I just did a quick search on Craigslist and this is the closest thing I could find.)

But this is what it looks like now:

I'm pretty particular when it comes to what toys look like in my house. I just want to avoid big plastic things if possible. The Pottery Barn Kids play kitchen is like $700, the IKEA kitchen is reasonable, but not cool at all. (Penelope had zero interest in it when we were there.) So, making our own was the best option. And Tim and I like doing projects together, so everyone was excited about it. 

We did a lot of shopping at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and found some good deals. We got the faucet for $10, the backsplash tiles for $1, and the towel rack for $1. 

The cooktop is a muffin tin from Walmart. We painted the tops to make them look like burners. It's kind of weird that the burners sit so high off the countertop, but we figured kids have an imagination. 

Underneath the sink and cooktop is plenty of storage for pots and pans. 

And there is plenty of storage in the fridge for food. Penelope got a lot of play food from friends and family for her birthday. 

The most expensive part to the kitchen were the knobs, coming in at $16. We debated improvising with some wooden knobs, but we knew the real ones would be a detail that would make it look legit. 

The greatest thing is that Penelope loves it. 

Out and About

So here we are in fall, home to pumpkin spiced everything. And here at the Laehn house, we have been trying to get out as much as possible, knowing that winter is lurking. Here are our three favorite Des Moines destinations:

1. The Hubbell Pedestrian Bridge: When you live as close to the interstate as we do, you really have to make the most of it. Luckily, there is a pedestrian bridge just a few blocks away. Nothing is more entertaining to kids (and me) than to watch hundreds of cars zoom underneath you.

2. The P-A-R-K: This fall I have really begun to love parks again. When Auggie was crawling and eating sand and wood chips every moment I looked away, a trip to the park was more stress than it was worth. Now that he is walking (and running) he is much more self sufficient.

The most unfortunate thing about our neighborhood is that we don't have any parks within walking distance. But, the closest one, Chamberlain Park, is a two-minute drive and it is perfect. And the best part is Penelope's hair looks like this when she goes down the slide:

3. Fountain at the Downtown Library: The days of splashing around in this guy are numbered or even gone for good. But, if the temperature reaches 70, we're up for some wet feet (we stopped by a couple weeks ago).

In the summer, this is my favorite alternative to pools and splash parks. You get it all to yourself, and there are different levels to climb on and falling water to play in. No crazy splashing things that my kids hate.

Another perk, there's a public piano outside the door to the Library, so if you're lucky, you may even get some music to dance to. And did I mention Starbucks is just a few yards down the sidewalk?