I love to sweep!

Avalon has discovered a new source of joy in her life - sweeping. Every time I get the broom out to sweep the kitchen floor (approximately 9 times a day the way Avalon drops food on the floor), Avalon stops whatever she is doing and comes to the kitchen to help. She hasn't quite figured out sweeping anything into a pile, but she does like to push things around with the broom. Last night she dropped the remote control on the tile and started pushing that around. Maybe not the most helpful, but it is awfully cute to watch.

Yummy Christmas Biscotti

On Friday we had a worship team Christmas party. We had to bring cookies for a cookie exchange. I've wanted to try a hand at making biscotti for some time, so I found a recipe and tried it. It turned out mmm mmm tastylicious! (and not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be).

So here is the recipe for any of you that happen to be feeling adventurous - especially Kellie and Mandy :)

Christmas Biscotti

1/4 cup light olive oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

2 eggs

1 and 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt (unless pistachios are salted)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup craisins

1 cup pistachios, shelled and coarsely chopped

(I also added some juice from an orange for a little citrus flavor)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Mix oil and sugar together

Add in vanilla, almond extract, and eggs

In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix in with the egg mixture.

Stir in craisins and pistachios by hand.

The dough is very sticky. It's best to wet your hands with cold water before working with it.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (I used wax paper - no problem)

Divide the dough in 2 equal parts. Form two logs (12 inches x 2 inches) and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 35 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes. Cut logs into 3/4 inch slices.

Reduce oven heat to 275. Back biscotti slices for 8 - 10 minutes or until dry.

You can dip one end in melted white chocolate for a snazzy little touch.

Enjoy!

Turkey Trot

We had a great Thanksgiving celebration this year. My parents and Geoffrey and Suzanne, drove to Fort Worth to be with us. On Thanksgiving morning the whole family (except for my mom) participated in the Fort Worth Turkey trot. We had a blast!

Geoffrey was the overall winner of the 10K. My dad won his age category, and the rest of us were just happy to finish :)

Ready to go!

Still smiling at the end

Daneel and Avalon doing their after race cool down

Waiting to cheer on Uncle Geoff and Grandad

1st place! And the proud winner of a smoked turkey :)

Peek a Boo!

Avalon loves playing with doors and often shuts herself inside different rooms. She can't quite figure out the doorknob, so when she closes the door she is stuck. After a few moments of waiting, she will bang on the door for me to come open it. When I open it, she laughs and promptly shuts the door again, waiting for me to open it back up. If I didn't have other responsibilities, we would probably spend a few hours out of every day playing this game..

Twirling

I'm proud to report that Avalon is finally walking (perhaps waddling is a better description). She took her first steps shortly after her 1st birthday but apparently concluded that walking is overrated. She reverted back to crawling most of the time, throwing in a few steps every once in awhile to prove to us that she could walk if she really wanted to. 

Avalon is now walking the majority of the time and crawling only when speed is imperative - reaching the dishwasher before it gets closed up again, for example.

It only took a day or two for Avalon to become bored with walking. Her real love is dancing. Whenever we have music on, she puts a little boogie in her step. Currently she is attempting to master the art of twirling. She has a tricky time trying to stay on her feet while spinning in circles, but it sure is fun to watch her try. We took this video of Avalon twirling and watching her daddy show her how to twirl. It's pretty amusing if you have 1 minute and 25 seconds to spare. Enjoy :)

Cutest Pumpkin on the block

Last year on Halloween we went to a fall festival at a church down the road from us. They had free food, music, lots of candy, and all kinds of games and activities for little kids. Last year Avalon slept through most of the activity but this year was a different story. She had a blast!!

She loved the live music, the cotton candy, and getting to see everyone dressed up.

We had so much fun watching her!

Blogging Backwards

I'm sure you've noticed, but I'll go ahead and state the obvious. I'm a bit behind on blogging. Phew, it feels good to get that out.  Sometimes life just gets away from me. 

This post is WAY overdue, but better late than never.

Daneel and his family are now officially American citizens! Daneel took his citizenship test back in August. In preparation for the test, he memorized 100 questions about United States history and government. I actually learned quite a few things myself. 

He passed his test with flying colors, and on September 3rd (Avalon's birthday) he attended a ceremony to make it official. 

We're so proud of him.