Christmas Day

I finally got some Christmas pictures downloaded. This was what the living room looked like before it was invaded by the kids.


Then they awoke. They were very excited. This year they really did not know if they were getting anything. I am sure they had high hopes and faith that somehow mom and dad would pull it off, that was proven by the fact that they were up by about 7:30 am, but they know that money has been tight lately. They know daddy had been getting home early a lot and that means he will get less money from work. Before they went to bed they were talking about mom maybe getting some paper route money so I could go to the store in the middle of the night and get some presents. They really did not think that we had gotten anything before bedtime Christmas eve(I love having an attic!!). We usually at least have all the cousin's presents wrapped and under the tree but this year I had not wrapped anything before Christmas eve.

We got to see genuine thankfulness when they opened presents to find things they had really hoped for but really thought was out of the question. All Kalysa wanted was littlest pet shop, and she got that along with a baby bed, a new doll and a few other things.

Just about a week before Christmas, Kenyon had told me "If I could have just one present, I would want it to be an instrument." He did not know that I had a guitar waiting for him since about July. He loved it. He also got the book to help him learn how to play. My mom also gave all three of them a small organ so he actually got 2 instruments this year.


Keslee got a baby doll that she had wanted and a stroller and a cd player along with a "Patch the Pirate" cd but I think her favorite gift of the day came after we went to Aunt Darla's for dinner....My cousin Tony and his wife Jessica had Kiara Elizabeth Lea on Sunday before Christmas so she got to hold a 4 day old baby.

All in all it was a great Christmas day!

HOMEMADE NOODLES

My grandma has always made THE BEST homemade chicken and noodles. A few years back I told her that she was gonna have to teach me how to make them someday. That is when I learned that it is SO easy. First I boil a chicken. When it is about done I start my noodles. I use 2 eggs, about 1/3 cup of milk, salt(I like onion salt), and pepper. Whisk until frothy then add flour until you can stir into a dough ball(about 2 cups). Roll it out on a floured surface.

When it is rolled thin, cut into noodles. I have a noodle cutter that cuts about 6 at a time-I have no idea where it came from! It is one of those things that was in my drawers when I first moved out and for years I had no idea what it was for but I kept it. A pizza cutter would just fine for this step.

Some people like to let the noodles dry but I just sprinkle cut noodles with some flour and make sure there are no sticky parts. If you are like me you may think-" this doesn't look like enough noodles. I think I will just double the batch!" Don't be fooled! this makes plenty of noodles after they have expanded. If you want to double the batch, be sure you have a tall stock pot with plenty of liquid. Doubling the batch in a regular pot WILL result in burned noodles to the bottom of the pan!! It stinks and is not fun to get out!! Just trust me on that one!

After the noodles are cut, I remove the chicken for deboning and add the noodles to the chicken broth. The broth has to have a good boil or the noodles will get sticky and gooey. I add the chicken as I debone it. The noodles take about 30 minutes at a good boil for the consistency I like. Just check them periodically in case you want them softer(less time) or harder(more time).

You can always add some veggies it you like. We enjoy the plain0 chicken and noodle.

Don't be scared to make homemade noodles. They are kinda like rice krispy treats-everyone thinks you must have slaved over them but they are really very easy. I have never really messed up the noodle(even saved most when I burned them to the pan) even if they don't come out exactly the same every time. It is one of those recipes that brings memories of Grandma's cooking back and is just as good as hers.

We are still here! We survived the Holidays and are trying to get back to normal!

Well we made it through Christmas with the family. We really have had a good week. Monty had been home for 5 days at Christmas and 4 days for New years and the kids loved that. Kalysa even asked if daddy had quit his job. She just is not used to getting to spend so much time with him. It has been really great because Monty has got to see some of the issues I deal with with the kids first hand. It is gonna be a lot easier to correct some of them when Daddy understands what Mama is talking about!! Chastanie and her family and Chuck and his family all came down Christmas day. We all went to Darla's for lunch and presents. It was a lot of fun. I love to see all the cousins together! I have so many things in my head to post about but just have not found the time. Just wanted to touch base and let everyone know-WE ARE HERE! I am hoping today will be the day that the house is finally back in order after the holidays and then I will be able to get back to normal life and regular blogging. I have several pictures to post and even some recipes so stay tuned for that.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE TAYLORS!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE TAYLORS!!!

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Merry Christmas!!

I just have not been able to find the time to post anything lately and I am sure a lot of people haven't had time to check in anyway. We have been getting ready for Christmas. My sister and brother are coming down on Thursday. My grandad(mom's dad) and grandmother are coming from Washington. We are all supposed to go to my Aunt Darla's(mom's sister) house for Christmas dinner. It will be a good time I am sure!! Darla just became a grandma again on Sunday. My cousin Tony and his wife Jessica just had a baby girl. She is coming home from the hospital today so we will all have a brand new baby to hold on Christmas. I still have a ton of laundry to get folded and put up but the kids have really been a big help this week on getting the house cleaned. OH! To share a blessing...I have talked some about Monty's job being sooo slow lately. He has not even been getting 40 hours for the past 3 or 4 weeks. This has hit us REALLY hard, especially since we are used to him having some overtime just about every week. Well the company decided that all full time employees get to have Christmas Eve, Christmas day , and the day after off for the holiday. He got home by 9:30pm last night so at least we know he will have 3 full 8 hour days this week. Also, they have decided to shuffle some of the shifts around, so as of January 12, he will work 12pm to 8pm instead of 330pm to 12 am. He was hoping to move to the first shift but this will be good. He should be more sure of at least 8 full hours and also if the night shift needs help he can always stay for overtime. We are not a go to bed at 830 get up at 630 start school by 800 kinda family. We are all night time kinda people, so if he gets home by 830pm, my kids will get to spend time with dad everyday. That will be something new for us all and we can't wait!! We haven't told the kids yet but I know they will be ecstatic!! Well I hope you all have a Wonderful Christmas!!!

Chicken Pot Pie

I have not posted recipes on here before but tonight I decided to share one of our all time favorites-homemade chicken pot pie. It is oh so good!! My family LOVES this so I use a large pan. This recipe would make about a cake size pan.

pie ingrediants:
chicken
3 or 4 chopped potatoes
2 cans of mixed vegis
cream of chicken
sour cream

I boil a whole chicken and debone it(I use 1/2 the chicken for another meal). While I am deboning the chicken I add several chopped up potatoes to the broth. When the potatoes are soft, I add a few cans of mixed vegis and the chicken. I drain the broth keeping about a cup in with the chicken and vegis. Then add a small container of sour cream and can of cream of chicken some salt and pepper and mix well.

crust:
2 cup flour
2/3 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
salt(I like onion salt)
pepper

mix the crust and pinch peices off and press against sides and bottom of pan.


pour chicken mixture into bottom crust.

for top crust, rollout between wax paper or saran wrap and lay on top of pie

put slices of butter on top and put in oven at 350*

about 30 minutes later, when the crust is golden brown, dinner is ready!

About 5 minutes after that-IT'S GONE!

This is an all time favorite. If anyone trys it, let me know what your family thinks. I have not yet decided if I should include more recipes on the blog. I just don't know if anyone really wants to read about them, so let me know how you feel about that.

Baby Jesus Arose while the Sheep and Angels Grazed!!

Last night the kids put on their Christmas program at church. It was supposed to be pretty simple. Half of the stage was set up as a living room and the other half was the manger scene. The older kids and the teens where carolers. They came in singing, knocked on the door and were invited in to Mrs. Brown's "house" to warm up and hear her read the Christmas story from the Bible (Luke 2 1-20). After every few verses, the carolers sang an appropriate song. During Little town of Bethlehem, Joseph(Brandon) and Mary(Keslee)-holding the baby Jesus- walk down the aisle to the manger. They looked sooo sweet as Mary laid the Baby in the manger. After a few more Bible verses the Angels arrive and take their places around the couple. Then the sheep are herded in by 3 tiny (totally adorable) shepherds. As they take their places around the manger, one small shepherd(Caiden) tripped on the manger. Baby Jesus went flying and hay was Everywhere! The sheep began their grazing with help from the shepherds and a few angels. As Mary collected her Baby and laid him back in an almost empty bed, the others continued to crawl all over the stage collecting hay and putting it back where it belonged. One little sheep(Jeremiah) did escape and ran down the aisle to his mama. As one little angel(Trinity) stood over (via a bench) the scene, she picked hay from the top of the scene and tossed it gently into the air to watch it float down. With the spotlight on this little angel and everyone whispering her name, she remembers her solo "Hawk the hewald Angels sing, Gory to da new born Ting!" It was the sweetest solo ever!!
The kids had a great time, the audience had a great laugh and the carolers were still able to sing their songs(for the most part). The message was delivered, even as our Lord was arriving- life was happening. The problems we all face everyday and the unplanned obstacles that pop up happened just the same 2000 years ago but our Savior still came. He could have called the whole thing off but He loves us so much that He chose to arrive amid the chaos and always be there beside us.

(I forgot my camera but if I can get some photos from someone, I will post them later.)