Merry & Bright

This Christmas sit with your family in a room lit only by tree lights and remember that your blessings outnumber the lights! Happy Happy Christmas from our family to yours!

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."
-Charles Dickens

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{For a super sweet Christmas story to read with your
family click HERE for Kenny's Christmas. You will love it! }

Introducing my very favorite holiday drink...

Russian Refresher

I have always loved hot apply cider and hot citrus drinks & this mix recipe just makes it 110% times easier to make a huge lovely batch that will last all winter (or so) long! I first tried this drink at my in-laws when we were first married and I fell in love...Oh and I just received some mix as a gift from my friend Aubrey and have to say, what a treat! Thanks Aubrey! Make some today! It is super easy and a fun change from hot chocolate and tastes healthier to me too! It smells heavenly as well! You can't go wrong mixing up some of this fabulous drink mix!

Russian Refresher Mix
2 cups powdered orange drink mix (Tang)
1 pkg (3 oz) presweetened powdered lemonade mix*
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 dash or so of nutmeg

*If you buy a larger container of lemonade mix and just measure out 3 ounces it is a lot easier and then you still have most of the container left for making plain lemonade!

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well. Put in a 1-quart container. Label as Russian Refresher Mix and store in a cool, dry place. Use within 6 months. Makes about 3 1/2 cups of mix.

To make Drink:
Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of RUSSIAN REFRESHER MIX to a mug of hot water.
Stir to dissolve.
Makes 1 serving.

I hope this brings some extra warmth to you this very special holiday season!
I can't believe Christmas is in just 5 days!!!!!!

"Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening out hearts." -Janice Maeditere

Two years and counting

{Brittany & Scott from Ryan Southwell on Vimeo.}

Today is our 2nd anniversary.

This morning my thoughts keep going to one specific moment where we are sitting in the temple right before we were sealed. Just sitting there hand in hand, feeling so content and peaceful knowing that I would be marrying Scott. Truly the best decision I have ever made. I can't help but think about our marriage and how lucky we've been. We have received soooo many blessings the last few years (1 dating, 2 married). I am so thankful for the temple, for the blessing of being sealed as a family, and for the comfort of forever. I'm so grateful we were where we were two years ago today and for the many happy years and memories to come.

I love you Scott.

14 weeks

So according to the weekly email that I signed up for, this week our baby-to-be is the size of a lemon. (Or according to another website, "Your baby now weighs about an ounce and is the length of a flip phone, or roughly 3.5 inches." LOL)



Which is considerably bigger than a few weeks ago when s/he was the size of a kumquat!

I don't mean to spill all my pregnancy details & side affects but I just felt like I needed to journal a few things...so bear with me!

The last few weeks I've been feeling lots better!

I've still got to eat every 2 hours or else I start to feel yucky...so I feel like I am eating all the time! The other night I woke up at 3:30 in the morning to eat a banana and a cupcake I was so hungry! Talk about a midnight snack! Oh and I have eaten through 5 jars of pickles these past 3 months...single handedly I might add!

I also get a bad headache pretty much every day and I have to go to the bathroom like every half hour it seems like! My back and hips usually feel round the clock achy, oh and if I do anything out of my normal schedule like go to my sibling's showchoir concert and stay up late or play at Disneyland all day it takes me like 2 days to recover, I just get so tired these days! haha.

I am also really good at being a bit scatterbrained. Spelling has not been my friend the last few weeks so spell check has become my very good friend. It's weird because I just completely blank out while trying to spell easy words!!! Also, basic math is beyond me. While playing the dice game with Scott I was in charge of tallying our points and it was a disaster. I gave Scott way too many points! :] (this paragraph alone had 5 spelling errors by the time I checked! haha)

Another example is that the other night I got dinner all ready, preheated the oven, set the timer for a half hour, came back in a half hour to check on dinner and I had totally forgotten to actually put the casserole in the oven so it ended up taking double the time to cook dinner...but don't worry it all worked out!

Despite all the aches and pains I really do feel GREAT! It is fun to go through all these changes in the name of the end result is going to be a cute little mini me or mini Scott! haha.

I had my 2nd doctor's appointment last week, and heard the heartbeat loud and strong. I couldn't believe for such a little babe the heartbeat was so loud and fast and strong AND that was really coming from my baby inside of there! I may or may not have cried a little on the drive home. It was pretty neat! My next appointment is in just a few weeks and then Jan. 13th we get to find out whether this bebe is a boy or girl baby!!!

It is so weird/fun to say that I am 3 1/2 months pregnant! (A third of the way through! Yippee!) Also it is weird/fun to compare your unborn child to a new fruit every week! haha. Don't ya just love it??! Oh and here's me with my ever growing lil belly :]

Rants

I would just like to preface this by saying 1) I don't like to rant and rave and complain and go on and on but sometimes you just gotta let it out ya know 2) I don't mean to offend anyone by anything I say or don't say. These are simply some of my opinions, thoughts, observations and frustrations as of late. 3) I would love to hear your opinion on any of these topics if you feel so inclined.

So here it goes....

Rant #1. Why when someone has a child and all of a sudden they have cute pictures to share you are all of a sudden cut off from the existence of their blog? It's like a secret little clique that I don't want to be a part of. haha. So I basically boycott private blogs and it really it makes me sad when people change their blogs to private because I have made up my mind that I won't read them. I just say adios...another one bites the dust. Even some of my fam members have private blogs and I don't read them any more because my emails are confusing and I would have to give you 5 emails just to make sure I would be logging into the right one. Too much trouble! Anyone else feel the same way? If you are thinking about turning to the other side, just say no to private blogs. There are so many other things I could say on this topic but I will stop there...I don't like private blogs....but I still want you to know that I will love you if you have a private blog.

Rant #2. Also, I really enjoy getting calls from debt collectors looking for Juan. NOT! 1-2 times a week I get a call from someone speaking Spanish and before they can even utter anything past , "Hola!" I say, "No this is not Juan, losiento. Wrong number. Bye!" I even try handing the phone to Scott and they still don't get what "You have the wrong number" means in their own native tongue. What did Juan fall off the face of the earth or something? Why hasn't he changed his number? I have had this phone for more than a year now! Oh and they always call at annoying times like 7 in the morning or during dinner. Stop that now! Also we are constantly getting mail for the last owners of our apartment and we have lived here for 6 months. Why can't THEY change their address. I have even been so nice as to call the county court house for them telling them that they should not be imprisoned because they are not recieving this piece of mail telling them they need to go to jury duty. I don't get this phenomenon. What happened to responsibility people??

Rant #3. It really upsets me when people live together before they are married. I seriously have anxiety over it. I just think it is so saddening and the whole concept just really upsets me. Please just get married people. Did you know that living together is considered to be more stressful than being married? & Many believe that couples who live together before marriage have a rockier journey in marriage. More than 50% of couples who live together before marriage end up apart either through just moving out or divorce later on. I just don't like it!

Rant #4. I can't stand cigarette smoke especially now that my senses are heightened and everything I breathe in goes not just into my lungs but into my baby's as well. Even while in Disneyland I have to hold my breath and run past the smoking area when trying to get to the Finding Nemo ride. Yes I could have gone the other way but I didn't okay. In Vegas it stunk too. I tried to stay out of the casino area as much as I could but some times while just passing through I just wanted to hurl. The smoke was so thick and gross. I had to leave my family behind while I raced to the safe zone and then waited for them to hurry up and meet me there. haha. Just quit people, you can do it!

Funny Note # 5. I think it is pretty hilarious how Southern Californians will wear boots, gloves, scarves and a hat when it is 50 degrees outside. This is considered warm in most parts of the country this time of year! haha. I love it! When I would come home to visit my family from school during breaks they would be in Uggs and scarves and I would be in capris and flip flops and would be shedding my sweat shirt because it felt so muggy to me compared to Idaho. haha. I am not saying I have the warmest blood but living in Idaho for 3 years sure has changed my perspective on this California warmth I so took for granted!

Ahhhh I feel better. Now I just have to take a deep breath and go have a happy & fun weekend with my hubs! Lates!

Date Nights at Disneyland

The last few months we have been using our annual passes to Disneyland a few times a week after Scott gets off work! It has been a lot of fun to just ride a few rides each time or walk around and just enjoy the atmosphere. Last night was crazy busy and we were about to roll some heads there were so many 1 mph baby strollers and stop-in-the-middle-of-the-road-picture-takers blocking our path I couldn't believe it...it was all making me pretty dizzy and a bit frustrated...but all in all it was tons of fun! We got to ride the Storybook Land ride and Finding Nemo, munch on a churro and watch fireworks! A pretty successful mid-week date night I would say!

Here's some proof at how crowded it was just walking from one part of the park to the next....ughh not too fun! Just think how packed the next 2 weeks will be!!

I'm glad we have gotten to go twice this Christmas season and see the parade and especially the holiday fireworks show. It is phenomenal! They could stop at this one really great part but NO they just keep the fireworks going...it really is magical. They also blow out fake snow at the end which is really just little clumps of bubbles falling from the sky. I remember as a kid thinking that was soooo cool! Now I just try to avoid getting it in my hair haha! But seeing all the excited kid's faces and all the families enjoying the excitement gets me really excited for when I get to do that with my kiddos someday!

Candy Cane Christmas Cupcakes

I LOVE candy canes during this time of year & I wanted to make some festive cupcakes to bring to a Relief Society progressive dinner, so when I came upon these lovelies at bakingbites.com I knew I just had to try them out!!

The cupcakes start with vanilla/white cake that is flavored with peppermint extract and layered into the cupcake pan in such a way as to create red and white stripes. I will admit I used a boxed cake (and pre-made frosting) which makes my recipe not at all from scratch but very quick and easy, no hassle kind of stuff ya know...but the recipe below does include the one from scratch if you are so ambitious to do so :)

The candy cane layering technique makes these cupcakes extra special and fun. First the batter is divided and food coloring is added to one part, then alternating spoonfuls of batter are put into the cup and baked. The heat of the oven does the rest of the work for you and you end up with a beautiful candy cane-like cupcake!

These cupcakes are very moist and keep very well. The peppermint flavor is not aggressive, although it is distinct, and it really complements the look of the cake. If you want to increase the peppermint and get and even more candy cane-like flavor, feel free to do, but I prefer these to be a little bit understated. The cupcakes aren’t very sweet on their own and, though they look really interesting plain, I think they do need frosting to make them into something special.

I opted for green frosting to make these especially Christmasy, but there is no need to color it if you prefer the look of white frosting or simply don’t want to fuss with more food coloring. I used pre-made frosting but you could make a lovely cream cheese frosting that would be amazing. I didn’t add any mint to the frosting so that there would be a nice balance between it and the cake. Normally, I wouldn’t be that excited by green frosting, but on these particular cupcakes I think it looks amazing. I suppose I could had gone a little greener but whatever shade of color you choose, these are sure to be showstoppers at any holiday party!

Candy Cane Christmas Cupcakes

2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red food coloring

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix together eggs and sugar until mixture is light and creamy and the sugar has mostly been dissolved. Stir in milk, vegetable oil, vanilla and peppermint extracts.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Pour into wet ingredients and whisk just until batter is smooth.

Measure out one cup of batter and place it back in the medium bowl. Add red food coloring to this bowl and whisk to incorporate.

Put a spoonful (approx 2-3 tsp) of the white batter into the center each cupcake paper and let it spread slightly on its own. Put a spoonful of red batter in the center of the white. It will push out the other batter and, as it sits for a moment, will also spread itself. Alternating spoonfuls of the two batters and trying to keep the amounts as even as possible (after the first layer, I used smaller amounts of red and white with each spoonful), repeat the technique until all the batter has been used up.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of each cupcake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

& I just filled a zip-block bag with the icing and cut a corner off to pipe them onto the cupcakes! Super easy & cute! Oh and if you are going to go with pre-made, store bought frosting go with the whipped sort (like this one found HERE)...it is a lot more fluffy, light and delicious! Enjoy!

Hey baby

I was looking at pictures of my sweet husband when he was just a youngin, and then I found some pictures of me when i was just a wee baby & It looks as though we will be sure to have adorable, happy children with awesome hair. haha! I'm so excited!!!

Weren't we such cute little angels??

We are getting so anxious to find out what gender our little Newton will be. {My family nicknamed our babe Newton because I told them lil babe was the size of a fig at the time. Go figure!} Only a few more weeks and we will be able to tell what our, now lime sized, baby will be. I just hope I can wait that longggg!

I have felt like we are going to be having a boy for some reason. I even woke up in the middle of the night with the name "Gabe" popping into my head a few nights ago! I actually sat up in bed & it sounded good to me at the time. When I woke up in the morning I was like, "Hmm yeah, wow that was weird! Really cute name but I don't think it will be the name." I have also been having some crazy weird pregnancy dreams but when do I not have crazy weird dreams??! My brain just never turns off...yea that must be it.

Oh and I also had another dream where my Dad decided on the name for our baby, Bronson. & Scott was okay with it and I was freaking out because I wanted to choose our baby's name! haha.

Anyways....Scott thinks our babe is a boy too so we will see! We both might be totally off. I have always pictured having a girl first...but whatever it is we are so excited to find out!

Here's another belly pic from last week...week 11. Week 12 (3 months!) I still look pretty much the same. I love having a baby bump even if that bump is a tiny little baby one right now :) You would think I would be bigger with all the food that I eat though. haha!

Best homemade chicken noodle soup ever...

I found this amazing recipe from Our Recipe Club blog and I just had to share! Here is the link to the recipe for the best homemade chicken noodle soup ever! It is so SOUPer rich & tasty & so super easy you won't even believe it! I also made some bisquick biscuits to go on the side! Now I just can't wait for Scott to come home so we can partake in this chicken noodle soup goodness! Yummmmmy!!!! You'll have to try this too!!!

2 tsp. chicken bullion
2 cans chicken soup stock
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can evaporated milk
2 cups cooked, diced chicken
2/3 bag Grandma’s homestyle egg noodles, already cooked

Heat chicken bullion & stock together. Add vegetables & simmer until tender. Add cream of chicken soup & milk. Add cooked chicken & noodle. Simmer until noodles are tender.

Makes 2 1/2 quarts or 10- 1 cup servings

Welcome December

This song is one of my very favorite Christmas songs!

Breath of Heaven
by Amy Grant

It tells the awe inspiring story of Mary's journey, carrying and bearing the Christ child. She asks Heaven to hold her together, lighten her darkness and be forever near her.

I heard a quote the other day that said...
"Christmas is not a date but a state of mind that should last all year round!"
I love it!

May we ever remember the significance of the birth of Jesus Christ
and the unending light and redeeming love that comes from Him.

I just love CHRISTmas time!