Spreading Christmas Cheer...

This evening, a group of us from our church had the privilege of going to a Kinderspital to spread some Christmas cheer. We put together care packages of toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks, bubbles and a stuffed animal...much of which was donated by the Chapelgate team (a church in Baltimore, MD)



the kiddos had a great time putting them together...






We read a few Christmas stories, sang Christmas carols, prayed for the children and their families and provided cookies for the nurses. It was a wonderful evening :)

"Did you guys buy the Wii last year?"

Tonight we went down to our neighbors, who invited Sankt Nikolaus over to share presents with the kids. (Tomorrow is St. Nikolaus Day here in Austria, and Nikolo always fills our kids' shoes with candy and a toothbrush.) Abby was on to him from the get go. Totally fake beard, etc. So she kept asking all night if we were the ones who fill the shoes. We had a talk at bedtime, explaining some of the greatest of all childhood mysteries. From Nikolo we travelled to the American Santa, led by her question, "So, tell me the truth. Did you guys buy the Wii last year?" And on to the Tooth Fairy (whom we suspected all along was Memoo, although we weren't so sure she was coordinated enough to fly), and lastly, the Easter Bunny. Our little girl is growing up!

P.S. For any child 8 or under reading this, of course the Nikolo who visited us was fake. The real Nikolo, Santa, Tooth Fairy, and Easter Bunny are far to clever to come out of hiding for all to see.

Friday Favorites-Christkindlmarkts part 2

A few weeks ago, we had a little girls' time with Lindsay and we went to the Rathaus Christkindlmarkt. It really is my favorite time in Vienna, when the Christmas markets are bustling and the city is fabulously decorated!






Look at this little guy drooling...


Actually, who am I kidding, I was drooling too!

Anyway- a really great thing at the Rathaus, is that there are "stands" inside, where your child can go to make inexpensive Christmas gifts. These were all the gifts that could be made this particular year:


Kids could also bake and decorate goodies....how cute are they?


Here is Abby making a gift for Brad...


I love, love, love the Christmas markets!

Happy Friday from Vienna!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

(click on photo to enlarge)

Hopefully by the end of the week we will have our tree up too...we just have to find one first! (usually many Austrians do not put them up until the 24th) Brad and Luke went out looking for one the day after Thanksgiving, but came home empty handed!

Advent

Today is the beginning of the Advent season. As this season tends to be so busy and filled with distractions, we as a family are trying to make a concerted effort to focus on Christ.

Advent calendars and wreaths are very popular in Austria, so for our evening family worship times we are going to use a combination of the two. We will light our wreath at dinner and then for our devotions, I printed out scripture verses that remind us of the real reason of Christmas and put it in our little tree with boxes. You could also just break down the Christmas story taken from Luke 1-2. (I adapted this from an Advent chain idea found HERE and HERE)



Then after worship, the kids will get to have a small treat from the numbered stockings, counting down the days until Christmas.





Our family also has really enjoyed reading Mary's First Christmas, by Walter Wangerin Jr. and The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, by Susan Wojciechowski in years past.

What are some of the things your family does to celebrate the Christmas season?

Stuffed...

*Our turkey was stuffed to the gills with garlic, carrots, celery root and herbs


*Our bellies were significantly stuffed with delicious desserts


*and our living room was "stuffed" with a table full of dear friends!

We indeed are blessed and thankful!

Preparing...

We have lived in Austria for 2 1/2 years now and this Thanksgiving feels the most like previous Thanksgivings in America. Although we are missing our family, we have developed a sweet American community who we can share this tradition with! Our feast will actually be on Friday evening, as our kiddos have school, but the preparations have already begun.

Preparing the turkey...
Of course we are thankful for the ability to find turkeys in the bigger grocery stores (although they are smaller than in America, about 9 pounds was the biggest I could find)- still my oven is not too big, so I will be cooking one bird tomorrow and one on Friday. We will eat the one fresh out of the oven first and then if need be, will dive into the already carved one. This is my first attempt at brining.

I used my friend Heather's recipe of:
1 gallon of water
1 cup of salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
10 cloves of garlic (I used about 6 instead)
black peppercorns
onion
thyme
and a few bay leaves

I pureed the herbs, onion and garlic with some water and then added the brown sugar, the salt and the rest of the water and poured it over my turkey. Because I don't have a lot of fridge space either, I put the bird in a small cooler and put it up on our terrace (lid closed) to hang out. We will see if this does the trick for a moist, delicious turkey! :)


Levi is preparing to look handsome with a fresh haircut...


And Milka is preparing to descend on all of the crumbs that make their way to the floor!


HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

Thanksgiving Favorites

I love Thanksgiving and all of the food that goes along with the special day! Tonight I am getting my grocery list started and thought I would pass along some of my favorite recipes...

Here is the recipe for the Sweet Potato Casserole-taken from the Congressional Club Cookbook

3 cups sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/3 cup milk

Topping:
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Boil potatoes until tender, then peel and mash ( i would often just use canned)
Mix in sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and milk. Pour into 9X13 baking dish.
For topping, melt the butter and mix in remaining ingredients. Sprinkle on top of potato mixture. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

And here is Brad's Aunt Cheryl's recipe for the cranberry jello:

Aunt Cheryl's Wine Cranberry Mold
1 lg. pkg. sugar free raspberry jello
2 C. boiling water
16 oz. can whole cranberries
8 oz. crushed pineapple
3/4 cup good quality port wine or tawny port
1/4 C. chopped pecans
Dissolve jello in boiling water. Stir in cranberries, undrained pineapple and the wine. Chill until partially set. Fold in nuts. Pour into 6 1/2 C. mold and chill until firm (make day before).

And Chocolate-Pecan Pie
1/2 (15 ounce) package of refrigerated pie crust (or make from scratch)
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 cup bourbon
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Fit piecrust into 9 inch pie-plate

Sprinkle chopped pecans and chocolate chips evenly on piecrust- set aside.

Combine sugars, corn syrup and bourbon in a large saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Whisk together eggs and remaining ingredients. Gradually stir about 1/4 of the hot mixture into the egg mixture; add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Pour filling into piecrust. Bake at 325 for 55 minutes.

Taken from Southern Living

HAPPY COOKING AND EATING! :)

Getting Ready...

*We are getting ready to have company this weekend, so I think I will make this Savory Croissant breakfast pudding

*Abby is getting ready to go to a birthday party HERE tomorrow

*I am getting ready to make these for Christmas gifts

*And Levi is getting ready to be a future bodybuilder...as his latest affinity is going around the house without a shirt and flexing for anyone who asks :)

Beautiful...to me

All of these random photos were taken over the last 48 hours. As I was uploading them, I was reminded by how many beautiful people, places and things I am surrounded by...and I am very thankful to be so blessed!


*A little brother trying to be like his big brother


*A father and a daughter making sweet music together


*My girls enjoying one last Fall day


*My friend's baby, Isaiah sleeping soundly


*candied apples


*not-so-young-love


*Milka pooch


*ornaments at the Rathaus Christmas Market

Psalm 100:1-5

Friday Favorites-Christkindlmarkts

They're back...beginning tomorrow! :)

This week: A few words and pictures

This week:

*it has been raining a lot

*a boy in Abby's class told her he "loved her" and she responded "good for you" Ha!

*Luke has been making himself eggs for breakfast (while we sleep) and leaving notes like this behind...too sweet



*we rejoiced when Lindsay put an offer in on an apartment within walking distance from us

*I have been listening to this

*I had a good German lesson

*This man reminded me that I am living in Austria afterall... :)



*Brad started taking a Religious Sociology "block" class this week...meaning he has class all day for several days

*Abby decided she likes playing the guitar



*Levi has gone 4 days without any tears at school and if he goes 5, he can pick something from here

*I am hosting a breakfast and I will be making these cinnamon rolls featured in Bon Appetit, by Molly Wizenberg

*Brad was asked to speak at a "Pray Day" at Luke's public, Austrian bi-lingual school

*We have been memorizing the verse "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For his Mercy endures forever"...

Scenes from Reiten

It's picture day!

Remember "picture day" at school? Well, this morning in our house there was all sorts of braiding, curling and overall primping in preparation for the big day :)

Feelin' all Festive...

I don't know if it is the snow that is falling or the fact that Lindsay let me borrow her copy of the November RealSimple issue...but I am feelin' all festive.

I just signed up for this

I wish I would have ordered my Christmas cards from here
but I ordered them from here

this is certainly on my want list (hint hint)

and this Kate Rusby Christmas CD will definitely get you in the spirit of the Holidays...

Re-Grouping

Fall is trying hard to stick around...but winter keeps unexpectedly appearing. This morning we woke up to snow again. This always makes the kiddos happy, and I myself thought it would be the perfect day to stay warm and dry inside and re-group.





I don't even know if "re-group" is an official word, but after a crazy weekend like we had, I find it necessary to dig through the piles of clothes that accumulated over the weekend, catch up on e-mails that got neglected and just sort of get things about our house back in order.

On Thursday, Lindsay arrived and Abby and I also went to the theater. On Friday, some friends from our former life in Florida, came to visit Vienna and spent the day with us. It was great to catch up and have our kids meet each other. On Saturday we had an impromptu Halloween party and our neighbors obliged us and let us do some Trick or Treating. The kids just pulled costumes from our dress-up box and kiddos from our building came and played and watched some Halloween movies. So low-key and fun. Sunday was rest and church. Monday the kiddos didn't have school, so we spent the day at Bogi park with friends. It was a full, fun and long weekend!

So today was our first team meeting with Lindsay, and then mostly re-grouping, in between 2 trips to pick up the kiddos from school.



Along with sticking around the house today, I made cookies and ate them for breakfast and lunch. :) (We all need days like this right?) They were the perfect energy boost, when all I really wanted to do was crawl back under the covers and watch the snow fall!