Another Christmas tradition- Gingerbread houses

Each year is different. When I have a new baby or am pregnant, we use graham crackers. Other years, I make real gingerbread pieces. This year, however, Anne volunteered to take over the whole operation. She outdid me. She not only made real gingerbread, but she made a whole village.

 Anne made herself a fancy mansion, complete with gabled roof, sugar windows, and front porch.

We put Christmas lights inside to make the windows glow.

 

 Here is the church Anne made for Emma to decorate.

 This is the school, made by Anne and decorated by Elsa.

 Anne made regular houses for Caleb and Maelie to decorate.

I think I'll let Anne take over permanently!

Our favorite Christmas traditions #1

Going to see the lights at Temple Square is one of our families' VERY favorite Christmas traditions!

We are members of the LDS church, and the temple pictured above, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, is where Kendel and I were married and sealed for time and all eternity. Adult members of our church visit the temple often to do proxy ordinances for the dead, such as baptism and sealings. Only members with a recommend of worthiness from a local bishop are allowed to enter the temple, because of the sacred work that goes on within, but the grounds are open to everyone, and there are LDS guides who give tours and answer questions.

We live a distance from the Salt Lake temple, so we usually visit closer temples to do proxy work, but we do visit the temple grounds every year at Christmas time as a family because the light display is phenomenal! The grounds encompass several city blocks and are absolutely covered in lights. Plus, there is a beautiful nativity, almost life-size, with narration and music. It is pictured above, but this photo does not do it justice. Another part of the temple grounds holds nativities from countries around the world.

Christmas would not be complete for our family without this wonderful tradition! I want to post some of our other traditions this week, too, in between my sewing projects (Christmas gifts) and wrapping and baking. Don't be too surprised if they show up in January!

Cool Clouds

Happy Thanksgiving!

Don't judge me, I know I'm a month late!  This Thanksgiving dinner was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Day, and I intended to post it Thanksgiving morning, but I was busy making rolls and getting eight kids ready and out the door to Grandma's house, so here it is December 19th. C'est la vie! Emma and Elsa made the centerpiece and helped with all of the pies and rolls. Anne made the green bean casserole, including the homemade French fried onions that top it. It sure is nice to have such great help!

Sadie!

 

This is Sadie, our new dog

 

Isn't she downright adorable?

 

She is 12 weeks old,

 

an Australian Blue Heeler,

 

and the newest member of the Saunders animals.

 

She is well loved,

 

by all of us, even Zizzy.

 

Zizzy hasn't quite gotten used to the licking yet,

 

but she will.

 

'Cause Sadie is here

 

to stay!

The beauty of homeschooling

Among the many beauties of homeschooling is the ability to drop everything and follow an interest. After finishing breakfast this morning, the kids were cleaning the kitchen and I was hanging out laundry, when suddenly a huge blackhawk helicopter swooped across our neighbor's field. The kids all ran outside, and we watched as 6 army guys parachuted out of the helicopter, right into the field. Emma ran inside for the camera, and we spent a couple of hours watching what must have been a military parachuting practice. The helicopter took multitudes of army guys up and dropped them in groups of six, over and over and over. It inspired all sorts of questions and learning, from how binoculars work to why the army guys roll when they land. I LOVE learning that is inspired by experience!

Zizzys Birthday- A post by Emma

Lizzy's Birthday cake. Anne made it, doesn't it look so cute? The top is butter-cream roses, the middle is fondant and the bottom is made of fondant too. Well, it's made of cake, and covered with fondant.

 This is Lizzy's Birthday present. Grandma bought it for Lizzy and she had so much fun ripping the paper off of it. 

When Lizzy saw the baby she immediately wanted it out. While 

 we were getting the baby she screamed and cried, she was so excited.

the baby cries, laughs, says mama and baby.

I would like to invite you all to my new blog, EmmaSimpleMusings.blogspot.com. I have to blog my school stuff for our homeschool records, and I'll blog cool stuff, too.

Soap Making

I've taught several friends to make soap, and still have many unfulfilled requests, so here is a soap-making tutorial to learn from, or just be reminded by. The class is far too full of information to be able to assimilate in two hours. Cheryl, Karista, Jessica, Laila, and Laila's daughter are my guests at this class.

Soap making is very simple and fun. You might become addicted to it, like me, and have to start selling your product, or you will end up with a huge box of finished soap in your basement, like mine. I don't know that I will ever, in this lifetime, be able to use all of the soap I have, even with 8 grubby farm children.

 I'm sure you all know that the skin is your largest organ. Everything it contacts is absorbed by your body. That is why you should always start with the best soaping ingredients you can find. I use organic,  non-hydrogenated, preservative/additive free and cold-pressed to preserve the nutritive value. NEVER use vegetable oils other than coconut and olive oil. They are all extremely processed, with additives and preservatives and chemical residues from the processing. Whatever oils you use, your bars will be greatly superior to factory soap, as the factory removes the glycerin to sell as a byproduct, because of its commercial value in other industries. Glycerin is very soothing to your skin and will be retained in your homemade soaps.

Always use stainless steel or glass receptacles and utensils, as lye is very corrosive. Use a food scale to accurately measure your ingredients. This is a wonderful lye calculator to use.

Here is a great, basic recipe to start with. Then, find your favorite oils, learn their sap values, and invent your own recipes. I'll share more of my favorites over time, along with my favortie lotion recipes. This recipe is a small batch of soap, and more easily managed. Plus, you'll try this one and certainly want to immediately try another, with a different essential oil, so small batches will probably be right up your alley.

24 oz olive oil
24 oz coconut oil
38 oz tallow (beef fat)
12 oz lye
32 oz liquid (either milk or water, I use raw goat milk because I have it on hand and it imparts extra skin-nourishing minerals to the soap)

1. Measure oils into a large pan and melt them together over low heat.

2. Measure your lye into a large glass jar. I like old pickle jars, obviously.:)

3. Add the lye, slowly to the slushy milk. NEVER add the liquid to the lye, it could explode! Having the milk partially frozen helps the chemical reaction to take place more slowly, which keeps your milk from curdling. The milk will turn yellow as the reaction occurs.

4. Get your soap mold ready. I usually just line a shoebox or two with a plastic garbage bag, and staple it into place. You will want your soap to be smooth, so smooth the garbage bag nicely and make tidy hospital corners.

5. Pour the lye/milk mixture very slowly and smoothly (no splashes!) into the oils while your helper gently agitates the oils. Stir gently to expose all of the lye to the oil, allowing saponification to take place. Remember that lye is caustic and be safe.

6. Stir your soap until it "traces." I forgot to take a picture of this step, but it is simple. Occasionally, just lift the utensil out of the soap and let it drip on the top surface. Tracing is when the drips remain visible, instead of just blending back into the mass. Once your soap traces, add several drops of your favorite essential oil, if desired. Then pour the soap into your prepared molds and put them into your cooler for three days. I didn't get a picture of this step easier because my soap had an unusual reaction and I had to panic for a minute. It turned out well, though. You leave the soap in the cooler because the lye takes that long to fully react with all of the oils. It gets hot in that cooler. Don't check, though, just trust me. Leave the heat in and let your soap fully process.

 7. After 3 days, dump your soap out of the shoebox mold and cut it up! The smaller bars in the second picture below were made in a silicone soap mold. I prefer the larger bars, though. We made lavender soap, cranberry soap, and oatmeal, milk & honey soap. Place the soap in an out-of-the way place and let it cure for three weeks. The longer it cures, the better it gets. I have some seven year old bars that last forever, even through my kids' soggy baths, because they have cured so long.

Feel free to leave any questions!