Lighthouse Gingerbread House Contest
J's Lighthouse - #7
Christmas morning at Grandma's
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Lots of Pictures
Well, to follow that rambling bit of blog insanity, here are some pictures of the past month.
Whirlwind
This was one of the longest blog breaks I've taken in quite a while. Christmas is such a busy season, and even more so when oldest son is flying in from halfway across the country and then you all drive 700 miles to Grandma's house just for a couple of days but get hit with a major blizzard on the day you are supposed to drive back home and oldest son's flight back to TX is cancelled and he's told it will take several days to get him back there so you all drive 700 miles back home a day later than planned but it takes 4 extra hours because of all the traffic and oldest son flies back to TX from here instead and then a week later you drive 4 hours out and 4 hours back to move children #2 & #3 back to college ( where college grad #2 has just gotten a job ) and it snows twice in NC where an inch of snow shuts everything down for days and we have to start back to school but I am seriously not ready in so many ways and I finally go see the doctor for my laundry list of "getting old" complaints and find out I have a vitamin deficiency, tennis elbow, and torn cartilage in my knee and yes, I'm getting old... and my house is a wreck because of all the whirlwind of holiday/basketball/kids moving but I can't seem to gather the energy to really attack it and get things organized again and we decide to look for a new church home and my emotions are just raw over that because a church is a family to me and it is so hard to break fellowship and start again but we really feel it is necessary and there are sooooooo many things that need to be done in my role as homeschool group leader ... and did I mention that I'm getting old and feel like I'm wading through knee-deep mud or having a dream where you try to run but can only move in slow-motion.... yah. So... that is why I haven't posted anything lately.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
This Year's Gingerbread Creation
Jason and his friend, N, have worked together on a gingerbread creation to enter into our homeschool group's Gingerbread House Contest for the last 4 years. This year, they decided to build a Lighthouse! Day 1 involved looking at internet pictures of gingerbread lighthouses and coming up with a design. Day 2 was spent making the dough and cutting out and baking the pieces. Day 3 was for construction and beginning the decorating, and Day 4 was for finishing the decorating. Tammy and I helped out a bit, but the boys did the majority of the work themselves!
The base is an 18 in. x 18in. drawing board, wrapped in parchment paper. Cocoa Pebbles Krispy treats formed the land.
The water was made by cutting a piece of parchment in the shape needed, then placing blue Hall's lozenges on the paper and melting them in a 350 degree oven. They needed to be flattened and spread with the back of a spoon, but that actually helped make the water look wavy and realistic! We laid the melted hard candy over a layer of blue decorator icing.
The base is an 18 in. x 18in. drawing board, wrapped in parchment paper. Cocoa Pebbles Krispy treats formed the land.
trees were made from ice cream cones covered with green decorator icing.
The water was made by cutting a piece of parchment in the shape needed, then placing blue Hall's lozenges on the paper and melting them in a 350 degree oven. They needed to be flattened and spread with the back of a spoon, but that actually helped make the water look wavy and realistic! We laid the melted hard candy over a layer of blue decorator icing.
Time to add the stripes to the lighthouse - chocolate chips and white baking chips. This was painstaking work for this pair of active 12-year-olds. I was very proud of them and the effort they put into their work.
TA DA! Good job, guys.
Here are the previous year's creations.
2008
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
The cupcake mood continues. Fortunately, we are going to a potluck picnic this afternoon, so I'll get to indulge in one and the rest will be polished off by the hungry hoards. This recipes comes from Smitten Kitchen.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 min. Add the eggs, one at time, scraping down the sides after each addition.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Add vanilla to the buttermilk. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Do not overbeat. Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners, filling about 3/4 full. Rap the filled pan on the counter once to release any air bubbles. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely on a rack.
Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl and add the sugar and mix in slowly, then beat until smooth. Scrape sides and beat in the maple syrup, and for a stronger maple flavor, the extract. Spoon into pastry bag fitted with large opening tip, and pipe frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Chill for 30 minutes to firm up the frosting.
YUM!
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick ( 1/2 cup ) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin puree
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 min. Add the eggs, one at time, scraping down the sides after each addition.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Add vanilla to the buttermilk. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Do not overbeat. Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners, filling about 3/4 full. Rap the filled pan on the counter once to release any air bubbles. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely on a rack.
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
2 8-oz. pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, room temperature
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp maple extract
Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl and add the sugar and mix in slowly, then beat until smooth. Scrape sides and beat in the maple syrup, and for a stronger maple flavor, the extract. Spoon into pastry bag fitted with large opening tip, and pipe frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Chill for 30 minutes to firm up the frosting.
YUM!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Raising Real Men
The 1st Tuesday of November = Election Day. I am pleased with the results, as I truly believe our government was making very bad decisions regarding the economy and many other issues. I do believe in individual liberty and responsibility - I'm a homeschooler, after all - and that smaller is better when it comes to the federal government! So I'm hoping that the newly elected GOP members of Congress have heard the Tea Party message loud and clear and will take it to heart!
The 1st Tuesday of November, or of any month, is also our Lighthouse homeschool support group meeting night. Last night we had a great turnout - probably close to 100 people - to hear our guest speakers, Hal & Melanie Young, talk about "Raising Real Men". Hal & Melanie are homeschool parents of 8 children - 6 boys & 2 girls - and have written a book called "Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching, and Appreciating Boys".
Together, often finishing each other's sentences, Hal & Melanie shared wonderful insight into appreciating the qualities that God has seen fit to pour into our male children - ambition, competition, aggressiveness, adventure, boldness. These are traits that we don't want to squelch, as we want to see our young men grow up to be strong, bold, adventurous leaders - of their nation, community, church, and family! Even the most quiet, mild-mannered boy will someday grow up to lead a household - and he should be encouraged to develop the skills and qualities that will enable him to do that with excellence! Now, if misdirected or left unchecked, these traits can lead to some common sins, such as anger, laziness, and lust, and as parents, we need to be diligent to make our boys aware of these pitfalls and to steer them away into more positive, constructive habits.
They talked about boys & heroes. When you look around at the heroes embraced by a majority of young men today, it can make you cringe. Athletes, actors, singers, and other celebrities are typically the object of adulation, and very rarely could they be considered desirable role models! As parents, it is our job to teach our boys about REAL heroes, who exemplify real virtues like courage, honor, integrity, leadership, determination, humility, kindness, and self-control. We also must teach our boys that REAL heroes, real men, make mistakes too. George Washington, Martin Luther, William Carey, William Wilberforce, Abraham Lincoln - these were not perfect men. But they were men of strong, Godly character, courage, and conviction.
It is also vital that fathers understand their role as Hero. A boy will look to his dad as his first hero, and that position carries a huge responsibility!
Hal & Melanie talked about teaching our boys responsibility and leadership bit by bit, first by giving them small tasks, and gradually increasing expectations as they prove faithful in the small things. There is a biblical example to follow here. A practical tip was to give a chore or responsibility to the youngest child capable of doing it - not the oldest, as we are prone to do ( because more training has occurred and that usually means the job gets done faster and better ). We moms need to relinquish some of our desire for efficiency and perfection in order to allow for training and learning - THAT is our purpose, mamas. Our home is a training ground! This is something that I realize I have not done very successfully in my family. My youngest has been let off pretty easy, so some things need to change around here - pronto.
In discussing discord among brothers, the Youngs cautioned against calling something sin thatis not. Wrestling, teasing, poking, jabbing - typical boy activities- are not necessarily sinful, but cross the line when someone is being hurt. If no one is objecting, then it is probably okay to let it go. But if someone is being physically or emotionally hurt, then that has crossed the line. Toy weapons are okay, as our boys are wired to be defenders and to do battle for their families and for God, but weapons shouldn't be aimed at another person. Because "you don't aim unless you intend to shoot, and you don't shoot unless you intend to kill", said Hal. So toy guns and bows & arrows are aimed at targets, or at imaginary bears, robbers, bad guys - always good vs. evil. Again, think in terms of what you are training your boys to be!
Finally, they briefly touched upon purity, and urged parents to not wait too long to engage your sons in discussions about purity and proper attitudes towards young ladies. The "I don't want to introduce those thoughts into his mind" argument is naive at best. Even if you don't have a TV in your house, you'd have to put blindfolds on your sons as you drove down the street or walked through any mall or even grocery store to avoid images of beautiful women selling just about any product a guy might buy. Just about every TV show aimed at kids age 6 or older includes a boy/girl relationship of some kind. This is something that parent must confront head on, teaching what is right and good and true, and also why the attitudes portrayed and embraced by so much of society are damaging and destructive.
I bought Hal & Melanie's book last night and have just started reading it. I encourage you to do the same. The book has gotten great reviews and endorsements. You can find out more at their website, www.raisingrealmen.com
The 1st Tuesday of November, or of any month, is also our Lighthouse homeschool support group meeting night. Last night we had a great turnout - probably close to 100 people - to hear our guest speakers, Hal & Melanie Young, talk about "Raising Real Men". Hal & Melanie are homeschool parents of 8 children - 6 boys & 2 girls - and have written a book called "Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching, and Appreciating Boys".
Together, often finishing each other's sentences, Hal & Melanie shared wonderful insight into appreciating the qualities that God has seen fit to pour into our male children - ambition, competition, aggressiveness, adventure, boldness. These are traits that we don't want to squelch, as we want to see our young men grow up to be strong, bold, adventurous leaders - of their nation, community, church, and family! Even the most quiet, mild-mannered boy will someday grow up to lead a household - and he should be encouraged to develop the skills and qualities that will enable him to do that with excellence! Now, if misdirected or left unchecked, these traits can lead to some common sins, such as anger, laziness, and lust, and as parents, we need to be diligent to make our boys aware of these pitfalls and to steer them away into more positive, constructive habits.
They talked about boys & heroes. When you look around at the heroes embraced by a majority of young men today, it can make you cringe. Athletes, actors, singers, and other celebrities are typically the object of adulation, and very rarely could they be considered desirable role models! As parents, it is our job to teach our boys about REAL heroes, who exemplify real virtues like courage, honor, integrity, leadership, determination, humility, kindness, and self-control. We also must teach our boys that REAL heroes, real men, make mistakes too. George Washington, Martin Luther, William Carey, William Wilberforce, Abraham Lincoln - these were not perfect men. But they were men of strong, Godly character, courage, and conviction.
It is also vital that fathers understand their role as Hero. A boy will look to his dad as his first hero, and that position carries a huge responsibility!
Hal & Melanie talked about teaching our boys responsibility and leadership bit by bit, first by giving them small tasks, and gradually increasing expectations as they prove faithful in the small things. There is a biblical example to follow here. A practical tip was to give a chore or responsibility to the youngest child capable of doing it - not the oldest, as we are prone to do ( because more training has occurred and that usually means the job gets done faster and better ). We moms need to relinquish some of our desire for efficiency and perfection in order to allow for training and learning - THAT is our purpose, mamas. Our home is a training ground! This is something that I realize I have not done very successfully in my family. My youngest has been let off pretty easy, so some things need to change around here - pronto.
In discussing discord among brothers, the Youngs cautioned against calling something sin thatis not. Wrestling, teasing, poking, jabbing - typical boy activities- are not necessarily sinful, but cross the line when someone is being hurt. If no one is objecting, then it is probably okay to let it go. But if someone is being physically or emotionally hurt, then that has crossed the line. Toy weapons are okay, as our boys are wired to be defenders and to do battle for their families and for God, but weapons shouldn't be aimed at another person. Because "you don't aim unless you intend to shoot, and you don't shoot unless you intend to kill", said Hal. So toy guns and bows & arrows are aimed at targets, or at imaginary bears, robbers, bad guys - always good vs. evil. Again, think in terms of what you are training your boys to be!
Finally, they briefly touched upon purity, and urged parents to not wait too long to engage your sons in discussions about purity and proper attitudes towards young ladies. The "I don't want to introduce those thoughts into his mind" argument is naive at best. Even if you don't have a TV in your house, you'd have to put blindfolds on your sons as you drove down the street or walked through any mall or even grocery store to avoid images of beautiful women selling just about any product a guy might buy. Just about every TV show aimed at kids age 6 or older includes a boy/girl relationship of some kind. This is something that parent must confront head on, teaching what is right and good and true, and also why the attitudes portrayed and embraced by so much of society are damaging and destructive.
I bought Hal & Melanie's book last night and have just started reading it. I encourage you to do the same. The book has gotten great reviews and endorsements. You can find out more at their website, www.raisingrealmen.com
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