Nothing Much and Advent

This week's baking for the baking challenge was Rich Peanut Butter Cookies (pg 20 of the Farmer's Wife Baking Cookbook). They are the best peanut butter cookies I have ever tasted or at least very close to my friend-who-is-opening-a-cookie-shop's peanut butter cookies. Next time I think we will put a Hershey Kiss on top after baking. A little chocolate never hurts. :D We didn't have any lard available so we used all butter instead of 1/2 and 1/2. This recipe will definitely go into my binder of tried and true. These have a slightly crispy yet slightly soft, smooth texture, unlike peanut butter cookies that often have a grainy texture.

My husband is not a peanut butter cookie lover like his ever-loving wife so when I asked what he had to say about the cookies he said, "I don't know? They are round?" *chuckle*

Eowyn roller blading down the hall.... actually I think is it more accurate to say roller-chugging as she was not at all blading, just kind of trying to balance and move forward.

On the way to the butcher. Poor guy. I've had days like that too.

Well, here we are... Advent. One of our little traditions is to set up the buildings of our ever-growing Fontanini Nativity set and each day of Advent the children rotate putting up one or two figures. This year we set it up in the bookshelf next to the piano. We'll see if it stays there, Poppy tries to climb up it now that there are no baskets or books to deter her from the effort.

I got this cute little idea from one of our homeschooling groups. In all our 14 Advents/Christmases with children we have never made a paper chain that I can recall. Someone came up with this idea that you cut out enough papers for each day of Advent and on each paper you write a person or family or whatever to pray for. So all 9 of our children-who-can-talk-somewhat-coherently each came up with 3 people/intentions to pray for (Poppy merely came in and said "HI!") and I wrote the names on the strips of paper. I have to admit to being secretly glad that some of the children thought to mention "mom and dad".

It's also the beginning of the Liturgical Year so a great time to start "new year's" resolutions in light of our prayer lives and how we live that out.