Merry Christmas!!

Christmas in our own home- for the first time ever! What a wonderful thing. We enjoyed good food, family togetherness and fun, thinking about the birth of our Savior, and Santa Fun. It was so fun to start some new, and continue some old Christmas family traditions! On Christmas eve, my parents and my brother Brian trudged through the snow (well, with their van) in Spokane and came to stay and celebrate the holiday. We ejoyed a Christmas Eve feast of artichoke spinach dip, Ham, Potatoes (a special apple and potato side dish), asparagus, salad, christmas jello (my brothers favorite), pumpkin pie and my new recipe for a no-bake christmas stocking cake (which was AWESOME- I will post the recipe at the bottom of this post). We had the kids do a nativity flannel board story and read from the scriptures about the nativity. We also sang Christmas carols and started our new tradition of giving everyone a new ornament for the tree. We had the kids set out their stockings, some cookies and a celery stick for santa and the reindeer.

And, Chrismtas morning- Santa came!!






Some of the kid's favorite gifts were Cynthia's littlest pet shop carrying case and go fish game, marbleworks, the Spongebob box Jon made for Marcus with his woodburning tools, and biggest of all, the game cube - with Spongebob and other games Marcus asked Santa for (which Santa bought off of our neighbor last year). It was so fun to see their excitement! Jon enjoyed the games I bought him, and I LOVE my new purse and calendar Jon got me. What a great Christmas! I feel like I have eaten a ton!! The rest of Christmas day we played games, ate leftovers and just enjoyed being together!
The best uncle ever!! My brother Brian and the kids:


My parents brought sleds for us to borrow- we have had a lot of snow (though not as much as Spokane!!):


On Friday we all to the movies and dinner at Applebees- so much fun! We saw the movie "Bedtime Stories"- it was a GREAT movie! What is better than a CLEAN, cuss word free, Disney, Adam Sandler movie? It was funny and clever- a movie I would love to own someday.


Saturday we went sledding before Grandma and Grandpa headed back to Spokane.


Merry Christmas to all!



No-bake Christmas stocking cake

Description:
Actually, this cake can be made into any shape, not just a stocking. We had this on Christmas Eve and it was a HUGE hit! It is so easy to make too, just a filling and Graham Crackers- the crackers soften and form the layers of the cake. It is suprisingly delicious- and tastes even better each day that goes by as leftovers. This is made a day ahead of time- so is great for those events where you want to get things done beforehand- like Christmas eve.

Ingredients:
1 pkg (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cup cold milk
1 pkg (3.4 ounces) white chocolate instant pudding and pie filling
1 large container (16 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided
20 whole cinnamon graham crackers (about 5x2 inch rectangles)- - even the off brand is great- but MAKE SURE THEY ARE CINNAMON
1/2 cup decorating icing and candy decorations (optional).

Directions:
Note: make sure to start making this at least 7 hours in advance, or even a day in advance. Also make sure your fzn whipped topping is thawed IN THE REFRIGERATOR overnight before you even start to make this - do not set out on the counter or it is too runny. It is also a good idea to set out the cream cheese so it is softened, though in a pinch you can microwave the cream cheese for a minute or so on high until it is really soft.

1. Beat cream cheese on high speed of electric hand mixer until smooth. Slowly add milk and continue beating until smooth (no lumps), scraping down sides of bowl. Add pudding mix and beat an additional 2 minutes or until thickened. Fold in 2 cups of the whipped topping carefully with a scraper.

2. Spread one side of five of the crackers with a small amount of the filling. Arrange crackers, filling side down on a large serving surface (platter, or I used a cutting board) so they don't slide, in a boot shape (or shape of your choice). Boot shape- 4 crackers side by side horizontally, and one just to the side vertically to make the toe of the boot.

4. Top with one third of the filling and spread to the edges, then top with another layer of 5 graham crackers. Repeat the layers two more times, ending with the crackers.

5. Frost the top and sides of the "cake" with the rest of the whipped topping (can also reserve some of the whipped topping in the easy accent decorator or other cake decorating bag to decorate cuff, toa and heel with star tip). Decorate as desired with decorator icing.

6. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Before serving decorate with candies if desired (don't do it earlier, because sometimes the colors bleed onto the whipped topping).

7. Serve chilled.

Number Of Servings:12

Preparation Time:25 minutes, and at least 6 hours in the refrigerator