In Celebration of Fall

November 20, 2016November 20, 2016Amber Leave a comment

I really love fall with it’s crisp weather, lingering pumpkin spice scent, and rich traditions. This year Texas weather has been insanely ~~warm~~ hot so it’s been a little harder for me to get in the fall spirit. Seriously, my kids were wearing shorts last week and the air conditioner has been running. Nonetheless, I filled our home with warm fall décor in hopes fall would one day appear. We aren’t hosting Thanksgiving this year, but I decided to set our new dining table anyways. It was begging for a little splash of fall. Since having the table fully decorated, I realized it stays looking pretty and never collects random items like usual. From here on out, I think I’ll have to keep seasonal tablescapes out.

On the table, I pulled together an assortment of glass hurricanes and filled them with items I had including cranberries, wine corks, and coffee beans (the aroma is fabulous). Deco mesh and heirloom monogrammed chargers completed my table scape. To fully enjoy our fall table, we may have a family dinner there this week. I’m certain the kids would enjoy a “fancy” meal.

I kept the entry way simple with a collection of antique books, a fresh pumpkin, a framed fall printable (a gift from my friend, Amber), and a pumpkin spice candle. Did I mention I adore pumpkin spice?!?! Even with summer like heat, the scent feels like fall.

This was the first year the kids each chose their own Halloween costume and weren’t part of a theme. Long before Halloween arrived, they determined exactly what they would wear and proudly stood out as individuals- Rainbow Dash, a pirate, Rapunzel, and Spider-Man. George and I pulled together coordinated costumes, however. Complete with bowl cut wig and fitted red pants, George dressed as Howard Wolowitz while I was his wife, Bernadette from the Big Bang Theory.

Though the kids celebrated their fourth birthday this summer, we still hadn’t taken four year photos. We decided it was better late than never so we staged a fall DIY photo shoot. One of the kiddos (I won’t name names…) may not have cooperated with my Pinterest-y clothing scheme, but we managed to get some great shots and had fun taking them.

The individual photos capture each child’s personality perfectly…

Happy fall, ya’ll!

hugs,

Amber

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Lifespan of a Pumpkin {Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake & Spiced Pumpkin Soup}

November 26, 2014May 27, 2015Amber 10 Comments

This year, my mom charged me with making desserts for Thanksgiving. My Dad, sister, and I enjoy the tradition of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, but it’s not my mom’s favorite. In order to make something my mom would like, and preserve tradition, I thought pumpkin pie cheese cake would fit the bill. I found a recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake bars, but it wasn’t pie-like enough so I adapted it.

As I made my shopping list, George reminded me that instead of using canned pumpkin, I could roast sugar pumpkins for a more robust flavor. And, better yet, I could use the sugar pumpkins from the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch to make fresh pumpkin puree. I was slightly hesitant since these pumpkins had been on our porch a while. George gently reminded me that pumpkins sit outside at pumpkin patches all season and are still good to eat as long as the flesh is firm.

Roasting sugar pumpkins is a simple process, but I was thankful George took over and involved the quads. First, he washed the pumpkins well and peeled the monogramming from them so the paint wouldn’t leech inside. Next, he cut the pumpkins in half and scooped out insides. Finally, he laid them face down on a foil lined baking sheet. They roasted in the oven for an hour at 400 degrees.

The quads took turns helping to scoop out the insides.

The aroma of roasting pumpkin was delightful! Once the pumpkins were roasted, we removed the skin and pureed the pumpkin in our food processor.

I added about a cup of water to the food processor to smooth the pumpkin.

Once the pumpkin was done, I used it to make my Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake.

To make your own Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake, you’ll need the following:

Crust

1 1/2 c. graham crackers crumbs (I used a food processor, and it was about 3/4 sleeve of graham crackers)
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. melted butter

Filling

4 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 c. roasted sugar pumpkin puree (1 can of pure pumpkin would also work)
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (you can also combine equal parts nutmeg and cinnamon)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a spring form pan, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter then press evenly across the pan.

Using a stand mixer, combine cream cheese, vanilla, eggs, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice. Pour filling into the spring form pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for an hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before refrigerating. Keep in the refrigerator at least 3-4 hours before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice.

I was admittedly a tiny bit nervous about serving a dessert on Thanksgiving that I created and had never tasted before, but felt confident in the ingredients. It was a winner and enjoyed by everyone, including the quads! I think it will be on our Thanksgiving menu annually.

I had quite a bit of pumpkin puree leftover after baking my pie. I decided to use the remaining puree to make Spiced Pumpkin Soup from a recipe we clipped from a magazine years ago (we’ve had it so long, I don’t know the original source).

You’ll need:

4 tbs. butter
2 minced onions
2 tsp. minced, jarred garlic
1/4 tsp. red pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed coriander
pinch of cayenne
6 cups pumpkin puree (you can also use three 15 oz. cans of pure pumpkin)
5 c. chicken broth
2 c. milk
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. brown sugar

Melt butter in a stock pot then saute onions until clear. Add garlic until aromatic then stir in spices. Cook about another minute.

Add pumpkin and broth, stirring well. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Simmer 10-15 minutes. Slowly add brown sugar, then milk and cream. Serve with crusty bread.

I’ve been enjoying our spiced pumpkin soup for a few days and have enough to freeze for later. From the farm to the table, our pumpkins had a quite a lifespan, and I’m happy they didn’t end up in the garbage.

What is your favorite pumpkin recipe?

Hugs!

Amber

P.S. Now that Thanksgiving was fully celebrated, the Christmas decor commenced at our house!

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Dear Thanksgiving, You Aren’t Forgotten

November 26, 2014November 26, 2014Amber 2 Comments

The week following Halloween, George and I took the crew to Half Price Books in search of Thanksgiving books. Behind an elaborate Christmas book display, we found a meager shelf labeled, “holiday”. This shelf contained a conglomeration of holidays ranging from Valentine’s Day to Easter with a smattering of Thanksgiving books. Sadly, the majority of the Thanksgiving books were geared to older children. We snagged two age appropriate books worth purchasing so we’ve read these two at least once daily all month.

The Best Thanksgiving Ever is a charming story about a family of turkeys that gather to celebrate their many blessings. Naturally, their feast consists of corn.
Let it Fall describes the change in seasons and family activities during autumn. The illustrations are beautiful and capture the beauty of family time.

After our trip to the bookstore, my Facebook news feed began overflowing with pictures of children clad in Christmas attire as they visited Santa, evidence of wrapped packages, and fully decorated Christmas trees. Seriously, this began around November 3rd. Anytime I entered a retail establishment, holiday music lingered and Christmas products were in the fore front. It started feeling as if it were December already, and there was an urgency to prepare for Christmas. Then, our neighbors began adorning their homes in twinkling lights. It became such a trend that our home owner’s association left notes at homes where decorations were out 30 days prior to the holiday. Consequently, the HOA president has been dubbed “Scrooge of the Neighborhood” by some overzealous residents. Holiday light citations may not have been necessary, but I tend to agree with the notion it’s too early to commence Christmas activity the first week of November.

Instead of following the masses, I dug my heels in this year and refused to begin decorating for Christmas when the turkey hasn’t been carved. This year, the quads are learning about the seasons and holiday traditions, and I want to teach them about Thanksgiving as much as any other holiday.

To give a little attention to Thanksgiving, we spent time decorating die cut leaves and then writing what we are thankful for this season. (In case you were wondering, the quads dictated, and I transcribed.) Since the quads have been working on prayers expressing gratitude, this task was an easy one for them.

For a little festive fun, we also made turkeys from paper plates and toilet paper rolls.

Once we finished our Thanksgiving crafts, I nestled the turkeys into our mantle decor and taped the die cut leaves among the autumn garland. The leaves are nice reminders of the little things we appreciate in our lives.

Despite my reluctance to start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving, I did purchase the quads Christmas pajamas. In my defense, I was burned the first two Christmases with the quads. I waited until after Thanksgiving and found barren shelves! Harper was forced to wear pajamas about a size too small two years in a row. I wasn’t making him do it again. They’ll get to wear their new pajamas the night our Christmas tree goes up.

When do you begin decorating for Christmas? Perhaps you’re an eager beaver. Maybe you wait until Christmas Eve. Maybe you’re like me and want the turkey gobbling to cease first. Or maybe you celebrate a different holiday altogether.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Amber

Teaching Toddlers Thankfulness

November 26, 2013Amber 5 Comments

George and I have been working more on teaching our children virtues recently. As they communicate better and interact with each other more, being kind, patient, generous, and gracious are increasingly important. My heart melted when Mason showed a generous heart at dinner, sharing his milk with Harper.

I really hadn’t considered how to teach them thankfulness until I read a post written by my cousin at Confessions of a Pastor’s Family. Showing gratitude is important year round, but this time of year is a nice time to spend a little more time devoted to it. I loved how her family worked together to create a “Thankful Tree” where each family member wrote some of the things they are thankful for on the leaves. While the quads aren’t old enough to verbalize what exactly they appreciate, I combined our usual baby art with thankfulness. I love creating art using their hands and feet because it preserves their size at various stages of life. This year, we did the cliché hand and foot turkey. On each of the little fingers, I wrote things I believe they are thankful for (e.g. Wubbanubs, Elmo, shape sorters) as well as things we are thankful for as a family (e.g. our doctors, family, friends). In the future, I think it will be fun to see what they liked as babies and how they evolve into appreciating other things.

I realized after I snapped this pictures, I was short one item for Harper so I added "baby gates". I have now idea how we'd function without them!

I realized after I snapped this pictures, I was short one item for Mason’s pinkie so I added “baby gates”. I have now idea how we’d function without them!

Our turkeys are hanging in the art gallery frame in our playroom. I think they may live their beyond Thanksgiving as a reminder of the very blessings in our life- great and small.

While I had fun reflecting upon what our family is thankful for, that didn’t really teach the quads much this year. I took note from Jennifer and added the sign, “thank you” to our repertoire. They already mastered basic requests and “please” so “thank you” was a logical next step. They haven’t mastered, “thank you”, but they certainly understand the concept. I also pulled a small collection of books about being thankful from our library, reading them daily. Since the babies were in the NICU, I have always prayed with them. I’m not typically a “pray aloud” person, but in order to teach babies and children prayer, you really have to pray aloud. Each night as I tuck each one into bed, I pray over them thanking Jesus for our day and our blessings, then I extend our prayer to others. Even though I’ve been praying with the babies their entire life, we are just beginning a mealtime prayer. I have always liked the one Jennifer’s family says so we are adopting her version as a mealtime prayer. It is very close to the one my father’s family says, but is a little more child-friendly.

Come Lord Jesus be our guest.

Let this food to us be blessed.

Make us mindful for the needs of others, we ask in your name.

Amen.

Jennifer suggested a few books about thankfulness, but I found these right on our own bookshelf. The babies favorite is, Thank God for Puppies!

Jennifer suggested a few books about thankfulness, but I found these right on our own bookshelf. The babies favorite is, “Thank You, God, for Puppies!”

Family is always something we are thankful for, especially when raising quadruplets. We celebrated Thanksgiving with George’s extended family Sunday. We missed family gatherings last year due to lock down and it’s nice being with extended family again. His 90 year old twin great aunts really seemed to enjoy meeting the newest multiples in the family.

Our family has been blessed in many ways, and it is important that we teach our children beginning right now to be thankful for what we are given each day. What are you thankful for?

hugs!

Amber