Mmm mmmm!

Peppermint Whoopie Pies...its a beautiful thing! :) Here are the treats I made for Christmas, and let me tell you, they are D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S

Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes/per batch
Yield: 18-21 large pies or 33-38 medium (I would cut this in 1/4 unless you are making for a big batch of people!)

For Cookies-

Ingredients:
3 c. sugar
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs, room temp.
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 tbs vanilla
6.5 cups of all-purpose flour
2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (I used dark cocoa)
1.5 tbs baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 c. milk (I used whole)

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350. Lightly grease baking pans.

Cream butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes (paddle mixer reccomended). Add eggs, beating each well. Add vegetable oil and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients. With mixer on low, gradually add a little milk and a little dry mix until fully mixed and smooth.

Using an icecream scoop, place batter of baking sheet 2" apart and bake for 12 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks and wait until completely cooled to add filling.


For Filling-

Ingredients:
1.5 c. butter
1.5 c. vegetable oil (or shortening)
9 c. powdered sugar
4 c. marshmallow cream
4 tbs. milk
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb hard peppermint candies

Directions:
Combine and beat first 7 ingredients until fluffy.

Crush unwrapped peppermint candies in a plastic bag with a hammer or meat tenderizer. Sift peppermint candy dust into filling and place large pieces aside for garnish.

Assembly:

Smooth Filling between two cookies and roll in peppermint pieces for garnish.

Enjoy!!!!!!

2010 Christmas Fair...

A couple weeks ago, we had a great evening checking out the annual Douglas County Christmas Fair and spending some time with the "original" Kirkendalls' (Allan and Sheryl) in their WineStem and Alpaca Gifts booth.

They do a great job of displaying their goods! Winestems make such a fun gift and they sold a TON at this year's Christmas fair.

Of course, Dinger is an advertising machine!

I gave these Slate Appetizer Boards to a few people this Christmas. Sheryl had used hers at Thanksgiving and it was such a cute way to label different cheese, sauces, or toppings. Oh and check out the wine barrel votive holders!!! They made them and sold them for $20 whereas places like Napa Style and Frontgate are selling them for over $50 a piece!!!

Every Good and Perfect Gift...

"For I Know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11


"I Have found the one whom my soul loves" ~Song of Solomon 3:4

Today, as I was packing away our bookshelves, I noticed that we have A LOT of christian books on dating, courtship, and protecting your heart as a single. I found it so sweet that Geoff had, almost equally, as many books on these subjects as I did. God was truly and soveriegnly molding our hearts for each other through different books like these...the cool thing is we were reading them thousands of miles apart and at very different life stages (like he was 23 and I was 17 :), but all the same we were being prepared for that beautiful day when we first met.

I am so grateful for a husband who pursues Christ in all areas of his life, and I'm thankful that God made him such a perfect match for me.

Thank you Lord for being such an incredible author of our loves lives!

"Every Good and Perfect gift comes from the Lord, the father of heavenly lights, who doesn not change like shifting shadows" ~James 1:17

Tis' the Season...

Geoff and I set aside this last Sunday for one thing: a full date day of Christmas Spirit...and we loved every minute of it :) After church, we pulled out our decorations and prepped the house to be overtaken with all things Christmas

My grandma Shirley made it her personal mission over the last few months to make sure that these newlyweds had all the decor needed to make our first holiday season as Mr. and Mrs., a very joyful, festive, and cozy one. Let me be the first to say, She TOTALLY out-did herself! So grateful for her sweet, generous heart and impeccable eye for cute home decor. We went from one (maybe two) random ornaments, to this....................

With all these ornaments and decorations...We needed our tree! The tree farm we found was absolutely adorable; complete with a christmas decor shop, a wreath designing barn, and hot chocolate, cookies, wagon rides out to the trees, and plenty of photo opts.....but in true S&G fashion-we showed up five minutes before closing, after dark, and with no camera battery...its how we roll, but my phone sufficed for at least one picture.

Little entryway table...Geoff loves anything that counts down the days til Christmas (He is such a little boy at heart! :) so her LOVED this cute little sign complete with mini chalk and a mini eraser.

JOY TO THE WORLD...who better to spread Christmas cheer than cute little snowman?

Alas, our first Kirkendall family Christmas tree...and how cute are those little elves!?!?

As I put the final touches on the tree, the cats snuggled in to their new favorite spot in the house...

Geoff made us a delicious treat of hot chocolate and Kahlua (my fav!)....

And we concluded our night in the perfect Holiday way....by watching Elf of course!!!!!

Lucky for Him...

I thought this was very sweet marriage advice, and wanted to pass it along to all of you...

(Darn dimples always kill my "angry" face!)

(Yes, we love each other THIS much :)

"On her Golden wedding anniversary, my grandmother revealed the secret of her long and happy marriage; 'On my wedding day, I decided to choose ten of my husband's faults which, for the sake of our marriage, I would overlook,' she explained. A guest asked her to name some of the faults. 'To tell the truth,' she replied, 'I never did get around to listing them. But whenever my husband did something that made me hopping mad, I would say to myself 'Lucky for him, that's one of the ten."

(Roderick McFarland, in Readers' Digest, 1992)

"Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense" -Proverbs 19:11

In Honor of Squash...

Fall picks from the Grover's Growers this week: Butternut and Spaghetti Squash

Last year I made a feeble attempt at Curried Butternut Squash Soup with one of my mother in laws left over squashes. The soup just turned out okay, so this year I was determined to make an improvement. One of my favorite little boutique restaurants in Salem, The Wild Pear, has thee best Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup...I mean, it is deliciously flavorful ,decadently smooth, simply amazing. I look forward to its arrival on their menu every year, but now that we live to far away to indulge in it as often as I'd like to.....I attempted to make my own and was thrilled with the finish product! It turned out DELICIOUS! In fact, I may need to make more already because we have already gone through the portion I froze too!

Heres the recipe I used: Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup



Next up was the spaghetti squash. I have heard so many people rave about it, so I decided to try to figure out what all the hype was about.





Spaghetti Squash review:
-Very fun to bake and peel the strings apart
-Loved the sweet taste of the squash by itself -Not a huge fan of the marinara-beef spaghetti squash recipe I used, but it was SUPER filling. --Looking forward to trying more variations of it. Any suggestions?

I also used the left over squash to make some morning muffins with walnuts, cinnamon, and ginger. They were really moist and filling, but I thought kind of lacking for flavor (Geoff tore through them, so I guess he had a different opinion).

On a kind of random note: POPCORN!!!!

I found a popcorn popper for $2 while thrift shopping with Grandma this week, and I had to buy it because Geoff LOVES popcorn and hasn't had it since we gave up the microwave in April.

Home popped popcorn+Johnny's seasoning+Amazing Race Episodes on CBS.com=A Very Happy Husband (and Thunder...and Shayla :)

Right before Thunder stuck his face in the popcorn bowl and then slobbered Geoff's face when he scolded him! :)

Holding Loosley, Loving Tightly...

I don't know how many of you have been following www.bowensheart.com, but there was a recent post that really struck me. www.bowenheart.com is a blog that the lead singer of Sanctus Real, Matt, and his wife, Sarah have. They have been journal their trials and triumphs regarding their infant son, Bowen, and his struggle for life. Here is a little piece of the background information they give on their site...

Within one week Bowen was diagnosed with a serious and rare congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). We believe that our boy was knit perfectly together in my womb (Psalm 139:13) and that God intended him to be this way with a specific purpose in mind. We are at peace with whatever happens because we know that our God is in control. That is why we named our son Bowen Matthew. Bowen means small, victorious one. Matthew, besides being his father’s name, means God’s gift. We don’t know why God chose to give Bowen a small heart, but we believe that he and his heart are a gift. In the end we will understand what big plans God, in His love and faithfulness, has in mind.

10.19.10: Bowen's mom wrote-

I’m getting weary. My brain does not seem to have room for anything else. Everyday seems to reveal a new obstacle and a new thing to wrap my head around. A friend told us she prays that we would learn to “hold Bowen loosely.” So I am learning to hold Bowen loosely, but love him tightly. This is a very difficult task. I didn’t realize how tightly I have held the people I love. In the past, loving with all my heart meant holding on very tight. Now I am having to do it a different way. Well I’m very tired and need to sleep so I can take on tomorrow. I hope you are all doing well:)

-Sarah

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to things that are unseen…” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

What incredible strength God is giving this mother to trust Him enough to hold her precious baby "loosley" by recognizing that he is not her own, but God's. I am praying for all the loved ones I am holding "tightly" and am asking God that he would show me how to love them loosley, knowing that His plan for their lives is sovereign and perfect. What a comfort that is if you can learn to whole-heartedly embrace it!

Our Anthem...

I heard this song for the first time on country radio the other day, and I am totally charmed by the lyrics. I feel like they speak of so many of the things that are important to Geoff and I in this journey together. It melted my heart....It's our anthem...I'm sure you'll understand why.

"Thats Important to Me" by Joey + Rory (click link to listen)

Not planning our day around a TV set
Paying our bills and staying out of debt
That's important to me
That's important to me
Openin' the windows and lettin' in air
Holding hands when we're saying a prayer
That's important to me
Yea, that's important to me
Having somebody to share my life
Loving my husband, and being a wife
And the very best mother I can be
That's important to me

Telling the truth, and being real
Feeding my family a home cooked meal
That's important to me
That's important to me
Planting a garden and watching it grow
Keeping it country on the radio
That's important to me
Yea, that's important to me
Always having you to hold,
Being beside you when we grow old
And they plant us 'neath that big old tree
That's important to me
Always having you to hold

Being beside you when we grow old
And they plant us 'neath that big old tree

Believing our dreams will take us somewhere
Still bein' ourselves if we ever get there
That's important to me
That's important to me
Yea, that's important to me
That's important to me

That's important to me
That's important to me

Secret to a Successful Life...

Why Mr. Beans, I do believe you're on to something :)

I couldn't resist the photo opt (made me really wish I had a camera that could focus), but this is truly a great read about doing the daily, little things that will enrich your life exponentially. Here is a little bedtime story excerpt...

"The Story of Two Frogs"

One night, two frogs left the safety of their swamp and ventured into a nearby farm to explore. They soon found themselves in a dairy. Hopping and jumping around (frogs, will be frogs after all), they jumped into a milk pail half full of cream.

At first, they were both thrilled. They had never tasted anything so delicious! They drank and drank. Soon (after some contentious belching and much giggling) they were both full-bellied and getting just a bit sleepy. "time to get out of here and head back to the swamp for some shut-eye. burped the first frog.

But there was a problem. They'd had no trouble hopping in ...but how to hop out? The inside of the pail was too slippery to climb, and there was nothing on which they could place their feet for traction to get up a good hopping distance...or any hopping distance at all.

They awful reality dawned on them; they were trapped.

Frantic, they began to thrash about, their little frog feet scrambling for a foothold on the elusive, slippery curve of the pail's edge.

Finally, the second frog cried out, "It's no use! We're doomed, my brother! Let us save our dignity we have left and die here like frogs, with our eyes facing our homeland!"

The first frog cried out to stop him. "NO! We should never give up! When we were tadpoles, which of us would ever have dreamed that some day we would emerge from the water and hop about on land? Swim on, and pray for a miracle!"

The second frog eyed his brother sadly and said, "there are no miracles in the life of a frog, brother. Farewell." And saying so, he turned his face in the direction of the swamp, gave a sigh, and slowly sank out of sight.

But the first frog refused to give up.

He continued to swim. He swam and he swam in ridiculous, pointless, useless, futile circles, hoping against hope for a miracle. Fired by adrenaline, he paddled mightily...yet his brother's dying words clutched at his thoughts, even more insidious than the growing fatigue that tugged at his weakening muscles. Was my brother right?, he though desperately. Am I a fool? Are there no miracles in the life of a frog?

Finally, he could swim no more...and with a great cry of anguish, he stopped paddling and let go, ready at last to face his fate like a frog.

But something odd happened...or rather, didn't happen. He didn't sink. He just say exactly where he was. Ever so tentatively, he stretched out a fott...and felt it touch someting solid.

He heaved a big sigh, both sad and grateful, said a silent farewell to his drwoned brother, then scrambled up on top of the big lump of butter he had just finished churning...

...and hopped out of the pail and off to the swamp, alone but alive.

"The SLight Edge" by Jeff Olson

Keep swimming my friends...Keep Swimming!

Boxing...

Yes, boxing. I'm devoting an entire post to boxing! Mr. K has never been more proud...

My husband decided to take up boxing a year or so ago, and has really enjoyed taking lessons and sparring with other guys at his club. He hasn't had an actual fight yet which I am grateful for because honestly I didn't think I could watch one! I'm not scared for him...I'm terrified for the poor sucker who is going to get beat up! A couple weekends ago I was trying really hard to be supportive so I went to some fights with Geoff... I was SO surprised by how much I enjoyed them! It wasn't the bloody brawl I was expecting, but an actual sporting event!

This is the first club Geoff trained at...Coach Hal was hosting the fights.

I should probably add here that the guy standing next to me actually did get blood splattered on him from the ring! I looked at Geoff and said, "I swear, if I get blood splattered on me...I"M OUTTA HERE!!! :)

We watched about 15 fights and it was fun because Geoff has boxed with two different clubs that had fighters, so we knew TONS of people there. It was definitely not "our" (I mean my) circle of firends, but we (I mean I) felt pretty cool walking in and getting so many hellos. I mean, Geoff hasn't even had a real fight yet, and he get respect from all these guys because he hits them so hard in practice matches :) Not kidding!!

Everytime I see his coach, James, he asks me, "You ready to let him fight yet??? Is he ready???" My answer is usually something along the lines of "Well, we already took the wedding pictures, so I'm not as worried about crooked noses now...." I like his coach so I'm pretty confident he would put Geoff in a fight he would win, but I'm sure I'll be asking for prayers for MY nerves that week :)

Apparently its embarassing to have your wife snapping pictures of you at a boxing match, but he was pretty patient with me...

Hanging with some of his guys...

So Geoff's coach, James Irish, is the one on the far right and, oh ya, he is THAT slick ;)

Because I survived the night so well, I was allowed ONE posed shot...ONE.

So the moral of the story is, I survived...I think I could do it again...I actually kind of, maybe enjoyed it, a little. Got to go---Geoff wants me to watch ALL Tyson's greatest fights on DVD...WHEN DOES IT END?!?!?!?!?! ;)

J♥G Continued..

Friday morning all the girls headed to the spa at Seven Feathers. Jessica spoiled us with pedicures, hot tubbing, lunch and mimosas. It was wonderful!

The Bride and adorable flower girls Haven and Lilly

Cheese!

Jen and I enjoying our mimosas and discussing theology...Love that girl and her heart for Christ!

Some people say Jess and Kim could be sister...this pictures explains why :)

Then it was Off To The Rehearsal...

Aww I love this picture!

All the girlies awaiting directions

Lets practice ONE more time...just for fun

Sid, the officiant and Dorian flew all the way out from Connecticut to preform the ceremony...they have to be one of the funniest couples I know!

Sibling Love=this is Exactly why I have a middle child complex :)

Grant's parent did a wonderful job on the Rehearsal Dinner!

How cute are these pictures his mom had set up everywhere??

We had a great time giving toasts and roasts to the Soon-to-Be's and then moved over to the Caberet Lounge for a cross-dressing, Country Western music show. Trust me, I was a skeptic but it was actually really funny!

Here we are with all the, eehhh, ladies?

From there, we danced the night away and celebrated with new friends

Okay, too tired to upload anymore pictures tonight! Guess this is good enough for now! Sweet Dreams everyone!