catch up, catch up part 1.

Christmas is the easiest time to get behind on a blog, but also the worst time to get behind!
I got a little over my head this year with all the things to be done before Christmas, and something had to give.  Sorry, blog.
When I last posted, the boys' Christmas recital was the next day.  It went well.  I really like the Christmas recital.  It's less pressure than the big spring recital, and I just love Christmas music!  This year Joseph played an arrangement of The Ukrainian Bell Carol (Carol of the Bells), Brigham played an arrangement of "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear," and Mosey payed the Children's Primary song book version of "Away in a Manger."  They played well-- every year I'm amazed at what these kids can pull together in only 6 weeks of practicing.
Here are the videos of their performances.
Joseph was first:


Then Mosey:


Brigham played just after Mosey:


Everyone brings some kind of finger food to share after the recital.  I had intended to go to the grocery store the day before, but that never happened, so the morning of I went scrounging around the internet to see what I could make with ingredients I already had.  I ended up making something I really liked!  I didn't take any pictures of it, but here's a picture of something similar to what I made.

And here's what I did so I can remember for another time.
I cut out circles of corn tortilla-- I think 2 1/4 inches in diameter, and then pressed them into the cups of a mini cupcake pan (I heated them up in the microwave for a few seconds before doing this so they didn't shred.  Then I baked them at 350 for 7 minutes or so, then took them out and set them upside down on a plate for a few minutes.  They got nice and crispy.  Then I mixed up a can of Mexican-style refried beans (with tomatoes and green chiles), the rest of a leftover box of cream cheese-- probably 1/3?, and a handful of Mexican blend cheese.  I heated this up over the stove until the cheese was all blended in and melted.  Then I filled each cup with the beans and topped with another sprinkle of cheese.  Voila!  Easy!  And they all got eaten up, so I guess that means they were OK.  :-)

After the recital we went home, changed clothes, and then went to get our Christmas tree.  We got such a pretty one this year!  Apparently the owner of the tree lot we went to got a great deal on noble firs from Oregon, and they were about 1/2 the price that they were last year, and cheaper than the usual kind we get (we usually go for the cheapest kind).  I love it!  It's taller than we've ever had-- Ben had to move it next to the balcony and go upstairs to put the star on it.

And after THAT Ben and I went to take family pictures for a family in our ward.  This was an extended family with 3 married kids and 2 two-year-olds who really loved getting their pictures taken.  Not.  :-)  Thank goodness for digital photography.  Head-swapping, here we come!  It was freezing that day (not literally, but the 40's is close enough for me), but still so pretty down by the lake.

We decorated the Christmas tree in the evening, and I spent a late night working on my Christmas card.  Yay!  I love Christmas!