Christmas Cookies

Yesterday my mom and I got together to bake Christmas cookies. Something about cookies you only make once a year really makes it feel like Christmas. Granted I put most of mine in the freezer so I will have them for next week's cookie swap and for Christmas week. This is one of our favorite Christmas cookies. They are a great with a cup of coffee!


Ribbon Cookies

1 c softened butter
1 1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 salt
1/4 c diced red candied cherries
1/3 c chocolate chips melted
1/4 c pecans, chopped
1/4 c diced green candied cherries

Line bottom and sides of a 9x5 loaf pan with foil. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Dough will be stiff.
Divide dough into thirds (about 1 c each). Add red cherries to 1/3 and press into pan. Add chocolate and nuts to 1/3 and press over cherry layer. Add green cherries to 1/3 and press over chocolate layer. Cover and chill 3 hrs.
Invert pan and cut in half lengthwise. Cut each section into 1/8 in slices. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on ungreased pan. Bake 350 for 10-12 min.



Ok, that is the recipe but of course recipes are only guidelines so this isn't exactly how we make them. Here are our adaptations.
#1 Dividing the dough into 3 parts is a pain. We make the recipe three times. The first time is for the red cherries ( triple the amt of cherries, but not anything else.) We also add red food coloring. Divide into thirds and place in 3 pans.
#2 Second batch is the chocolate layer. Triple the chocolate, but not anything else. We never have put in nuts.
#3 We don't like green candied cherries. We leave this layer white and substitute almond flavoring for the vanilla.
#4 When cutting the cookies, cut the loaf into thirds lengthwise. Cut each section into 1/8 in slices.

I cooked one loaf pan of dough this morning and made enough cookies to fill a cookie tin and my cookie jar. I'll keep the rest in the fridge or freezer until I want(need) to bake more. This way my cookies for the swap will be fresh and will not get eaten up this week!

New Look

This post is for Priscilla and Rachel. Priscilla, here's the new hairstyle you wondered about. Dennis said I could cut my hair and donate it to Locks of Love. The ponytail we cut off was 15 inches. Rachel, I am now 14 weeks along and feeling fine for the most part. Neither of you should get too excited about holding this new baby because if you ask our Rachel only she will hold the baby. Grandma and Oma might get to hold the baby when she goes potty and can't hold the baby. I'm not sure that in her mind I will be allowed to hold the baby, although she did say I could change the diapers!! I think we might need to help her see that this will not be HER baby. :)

Baby Update

Rachel showing Daddy where the baby is









This picture was taken at about 8 weeks. I am actually 11 wks now.

She Cracks Me Up

Ok, I promise this is not going to turn into "Isn't my girl so cute, wonderful, etc" blog. Sometimes though they say the funniest things.

The other night she woke up screaming and wanted to snuggle. (Why can they be so full of energy after an hour of sleep?) So we started snuggling in our bed and had the following conversation.

Me ( to Daddy): I was just going to get a snack because my stomach is saying eat NOW!

Rachel: Rachel eat hungry!

Me: No, you're not hungry. Mommy's new baby is hungry ( I figured that would make more sense to her)

Rachel: New baby hungry

Me: Do you think Daddy will get a snack for the baby.

Rachel (full of confidence): Yeah

Later she found my rice sock and was playing with it. She asked me to turn it on. I told her it didn't turn on, and she said "Push buttons." I explained the sock didn't have buttons. Her response - "TV have buttons" Ahh, a child of the 21st century. :)

Big News

Silly faces for Daddy as we get ready to go to Jog-a-thon and Harvest Festival at his school.



The Troyer family is expanding!! If you haven't already heard the news, we are expecting a new little Troyer in June. I'm about 8 weeks and am starting to feel better. Thankfully, I don't get really sick just fatigued, sensitive to smells, and a little queasy. Rachel loves babies so we have started to talk about us having a baby and that she will be a big sister.

Feeling Thankful

Right now I'm so thankful that we live close to our parents. Rachel has been sick all week and lovingly shared with us. Grandparents to the rescue! My mother-in-law came over for a few hours on Weds with supplies for the sick girl( special juice, a Happy Meal - you know the essentials) so I could try to accomplish a few basic things ( that stinky sinkful of dishes, some laundry, etc.) So then Friday, Dennis and I woke up feeling lousy. Of course, I was supposed to make food for a bridal shower and attend that all Saturday morning. My mom swept to my aid, fixed my casserole, and took all my other stuff to the shower. I also called my mother-in-law to see if she would take Rachel for a few hours on Fri evening so Dennis and I could sleep. It is now 3pm on Saturday and Oma still has her. It was so wonderful to just go to bed early last night and take lots of naps today. Oh and my folks are bringing us some chicken soup later. I'm so spoiled!!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Last night Daddy took our girl out to color on the sidewalk. She saw the pepper on the pepper plant and wanted to pick it. We have been waiting for the pepper to get big enough. Daddy said she could pick it, and this was the result. She ate the whole thing! Good thing it was not that big.

Life with an almost 2 yr old

Today was the first day in over a week that I had to clean pee off the floor!!! I know better than to expect her to be constantly accident free, but I do see the light at the end of the potty training tunnel.
Our next step will be learning to tell Mommy when she needs to go.

I know this isn't the most exciting news for all of you, but it is where we are right now.

Mama's Helper

Just Thinking

Yesterday at church, I heard two really good sermons. The morning one was about our tongues and how difficult it is to control them. The evening one was about Samson. It was sobering to see how Samson chose to do what he wanted and wasted the blessings God had given him. One verse in the story caught my attention.


"Then she said to him, 'How can you say I love you, when your heart is not with me?
You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great
strength is.'
And it came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him,
that his soul was annoyed to death."

Maybe it was because we had been looking at the power of the tongue in the morning, but this made me think. Delilah nagged and prodded Samson until he was willing to give up the blessing of the Lord just to quiet her. Maybe he proudly thought he was invincible, but her method allowed her to get her own way. So now, do I use my words to bless my husband and family or are they annoyed to death by my words?