Cookie Exchange

Cookie exchanges are SUPER fun. Thanks to a dear friend we participated in one during December.

Take a look at all the scrumptious cookies we shared.

 

Here are some the kids enjoying the time as well.

 

 

Take a look at the spread of brunch foods she had for us... sticky buns, Christmas tree sandwiches, quiche, fresh fruit, cheese tray, finger jell-o (red and green) and Christmas punch. Needless to say, we were full!

 

Then, she had an activity prepared for the children...

 

Cut-out decorating.

 

Katrina went a bit overboard on the sprinkles, but then again, what 2 1/2 year old doesn't go overboard on the sprinkles?

 

Thank you, dear friend, for such a fun, memorable event.

 

 

Swimming lessons

Swimming lessons are a highlight of our week. We just finished another session and will not be in swimming for a bit as we prepare for the baby's birth (my suit is a bit too tight!) and our adjustment period. Here are some pictures from our last lesson.

  

 

 

 

 

Do you have a name picked out yet?

No.

Here are Katrina's most recent suggestions:

• Sparkle Pony
• Pink Unicorn

Although they are nice names (for stuffed animals) we have officially decided to not go with those names.

All Aboard!

Katrina and I are involved in a baby buddies group through church and today the baby buddies hosted a "sprinkle" for us. A "sprinkle" is a baby shower for a second child (or third...)

The theme was trains and the girls who put it together (Jenny and Christina and Kristy) went ALL out, as you can see! Take a look at what they put together for us.

This is a train assembled with fruit (so creative).

Katrina LOVED the blue frosted train cookies. She is asking for another one as I post!

We are all so overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and blessing our friends and family have given us anticipating the arrival of our baby boy in a bit less than seven weeks. It has been a long haul that I was thinking about just yesterday. It is quite incredible how painful things can be in the moment and then how the Lord can ask us to wait on Him and then later the pain of those days is still present in our memories but it is not as hard to consider and remember. Losing the three babies after Katrina was probably the hardest thing we have experienced in our marriage and I cried more during those months than I have ever and yet now He has turned our sorry into joy as He has blessed us with another pregnancy and a baby that appears healthy.

We do ask for your prayers as we enter the last leg of the pregnancy journey and as we prepare for his birth. The C-section is scheduled for Monday, January 26th at 7:30 AM. We will keep you posted with any changes in those plans if and as they occur. Thanks for coming along with us on this adventure. Although it has been very difficult at times, we have learned so much and have been drawn further into God's gracious arms and for that we would not exchange these experiences for anything.

Another Venezuelan Christmas Tradition

Well, we went on another Venezuelan Christmas tradition adventure today...

Today we made hallacas. Actually it started yesterday. All afternoon yesterday I prepared the ingredients and Katrina and some friends helped me wash the plantain leaves (the wrapping for the hallacas).

Here is a step-by-step of the hallaca-making process.

 

Katrina helping wash the plantain/banana leaves.

Making the dough balls (from corn flour).

Flattening the dough to begin adding all the fillings.

All the fillings: potatoes, garbanzo beans, raisins, beef, red pepper, green olives, hard-boiled eggs, capers, bacon, onion, chicken.

A bit of each ingredient in the center of the flattened dough.

 

Fold over the flattened dough to make a nice pocket.

 

Wrap the pocket in the plantain/banana leaf.

Tie the plantain/banana leaf with the traditional Venezuelan hallaca tie.

47 hallacas all together, tied and ready for cooking.

Boil each hallaca for 60 minutes.

Open and ...

enjoy!

* You do NOT eat the banana/plantain leaf. It is just the wrapping!

Give me a call if you want one. We have plenty! A special thank-you to the Sterken family for coming the third year in a row to help us make these. Soon I hope to post about the progression from year to year. Stay tuned.  

Crepes Anyone?

Last night the men in the family attended a fund raiser for Hope Pregnancy Resource Center where Al Lindner was the guest speaker, a famous fishing guide. Because the men were out for a night on the town, the girls decided we should stay in for a night. We made crepes. Savory and sweet. It was a SUPER fun night. Take a look!  

Here are the finished crepes ready to be filled.

 

Here is the gang, minus me! (From left to right) Leanne, my brother Shawn's wife, my mom, Dawn, a GREAT family friend, Amber, my brother Nick's girlfriend and Dawn's daughter, Katrina.

 

Katrina chose not to fill her crepes (which she called pancakes) but rather to eat them with the fillings on the side.

Venezuelan Christmas Traditions Begin at the Duráns

Today we made pan de jamón. Pan de jamón is ham bread (pan de jamón sounds better, doesn't it?). It is a traditional Christmas food in Venezuela. Because our family is Venezuelan-American I try to do Venezuelan-American things for Katrina so she learns cultural traditions from her heritage. The first year of her life we made hallacas at Christmas (I will post pictures of this event this year early next week). Last year I surprised Panchito with pan de jamón. A good friend, Kristy, made me the dough and I did the rest. Then, last year I received a kitchenaid mixer for Christmas from my parents and this year I am able to make my own dough (without having to knead it myself!).

So, today I went grocery shopping and got the ingredients for pan de jamón (stuff for bread dough, ham, green olives and raisins) and surprised Panchito with a loaf this evening. Take a look at the process.

Here is the dough with the ham on it.

Katrina put the raisins and green olives on the bread.  

 

Then she "painted" the rolled loaf with beaten egg to give it a gold, shiny appearance.

Here are Panchito's first pieces of pan de jamón of the 2008 Christmas season.

 

He said it tastes just great!

Then, with the other half of the dough I made cinnamon rolls (an American tradition!).

 

Stay tuned for more Venezuelan and American tradition posts...

 

I'm Mary

Tonight as we were putting Katrina to bed I wrapped her in her favorite blanket. She was holding her doll and on her own accord she said, "I'm Mary. This is baby Jesus."

Today in her advent calendar the special treat was reading the Christmas story from the Bible at our evening devotional time before bed. We had not even read the story yet, but she was prepared.

It brings such joy to our hearts to know that Katrina is growing up knowing that we make a big deal of Christmas at our house because it is a time to celebrate Jesus coming to earth to eventually die for our sins. I know it is SUPER cliché but "Jesus is the reason for the season" and we are doing our best to live that out each and every day.

 

 

 

What do you think?

I know a lot of you out there really enjoy Pottery Barn Kids. I do, that is for sure. But I don't always afford myself the luxury of getting anything from their magazine because most of the time I simply cannot justify it.

For example, I saw this adorable advent calendar in their Christmas collection that I really wanted for Katrina but I could not justify spending $69 plus shipping and tax for an item we would use for 25 days out of the year.

So, I decided to make one. I wondered what you thought... Of course as I look at the two next to each other I like the pottery barn one better, but I spent $7 on mine and that part I really like! I still have to number it so if you have any ideas for that, let me know!

A perfect day for winter activities

Today was a perfect day for winter activities. When we woke up it was snowing and continued to snow throughout the day. On our way to church Katrina said, "Mama, I want to make a snowman today." I told her that there might not be enough snow to make one, that we would have to see how much snow fell. Then she said, "Well, I will just make a snow ball if there is not enough." (How adaptable!)

Well, after her nap there was definitely enough snow to make a snowman so we got our our trusty snowman kit from Nana Dawn and put together the season's first snowman.

Then, when we came inside we decided to make some dough ornaments. We had so much fun. Even Panchito contributed. Stay tuned for a post with the finished products!