Ethel's Sugar Cookies {recipe}

Tonight I phoned my mom asked who Ethel is. I've made this recipe for years & have never thought to ask 'till now.

My grandfather used to deliver bread to some burger joint in the 60's and Ethel flipped the burgers. My grandpa {we call him Cookie} is a jovial guy, always telling jokes and making friends & she sent these cookies home with him one day...our family & friends have been thankful ever since!

Precious little Imani helped me make the cookie dough while the other kids were having quiet time

I wrap the dough in parchment paper {wax paper is fine, too} before placing into the fridge

Here are the excited boys, ready for cookie making!!

Flour is KEY! I bought this sifter last year...I have no idea how I lived that long without it!

Don't let them get very brown. The heart cookies above are perfect {for my taste} since I like them soft.

Ok, I'm gonna be honest here...see a little boy missing from this photo? Ezekiel was having one of his tantrums. They've come A LOT lately. We're working through them, praying lots, and hoping his little heart will heal soon. He has gone through more than any little boy should have to & tonight he got in trouble for being rude & he {completely} flipped out ...then began to really miss his dad {who passed away almost 2 years ago}.

Apparently he always obeyed, his biological parents were always nice to him, and he never got into trouble in Ethiopia. Hmm. Doubtful, but I know it's all a process.

We're just loving him through it.

Ok, onto the cookies...

Frosting time! These are all the ingredients you'll need
{we have a milkman, how cool is THAT? We love the glass bottles}

Ben was heading out to his jiu-jitsu class so the boys took a break for a quick goodbye.

Would you like to know how to do those cute stripes? Just drizzle thin lines of frosting {glaze} in a different color, then gently & lightly draw a toothpick through it. Anton & Laith loved that part, and it turned out quite cute, I think!

{recipe}

Ethel's Sugar Cookies

. mix together .

3/4 cups shortening or butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
vanilla or almond to taste

. sift together & stir in .

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt


. chill 2-3 hours {overnight is even better}

. roll to 1/8 in {I roll to 1/4 in because I like them soft, not crispy}, cut with cookie cutters

. place onto an ungreased baking sheet

. 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes

{I always double this recipe to make 3 1/2 dozen}

{recipe}

sugar cookie glaze

Ok, so I don't have an exact measured recipe for this...I've been making it since junior high or earlier & just go by the desired thickness...I know, you hate me right now. 

. powdered sugar

. milk or heavy whipping cream {experiment with both & see which you like better}

. almond extract

. food coloring

Pour the powdered sugar into your bowl first. Maybe a cup or so. Add a liiiiittttle heavy whip. A little. Seriously. Then pour in your almond extract {or vanilla, if you prefer} and food coloring, if desired. Stir. 

How's your consistency? It should be a glaze, not a thick frosting. Add a little more milk or if you were already a little heavy handed with it, add more powdered sugar 'till the consistency seems easy to work with. It should be a bit runny...think of a glazed doughnut, how it has run over the sides...just a little. Just keep experimenting.

After a day in your cookie jar, your cookies {even if you left them in the oven a little too long and they're a bit crunchy} should be moist & soft. The glaze seeps in and I promise you, it will be the best sugar cookie you've ever eaten. Hands down.

enjoy! 

TERESA

a few of my favorite {christmas} things

I was so excited when I found fresh garland at our grocery store! Since we have only artificial trees in our house, it was a perfect way to add the real Christmas tree smell into our home.

I got several of these beautiful square wreaths from Pottery Barn's after Christmas sale last year. I'd been eyeing them for a few seasons...I just looked online to find the link and sadly they no longer carry them. Glad I finally bought them when I did!

Sweet little Laith {aka Crash} helped me take the outdoor pics. He asked that I take one of him to post, as well. With this little face, how could I say no?!

I used to think you couldn't pay me enough to wear cheerio necklaces or display kids art projects in prominent places in my home. That was obviously before having kids. Now I'd put a spotlight on it if I could!

Loving this art print I got for my birthday {from jones design company } it was a perfect gift especially since I'd been going through Beth Moore's study on Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruits of the Spirit. 

I love using more than just the typical red & green for Christmas. And texture...ooh I love all the texture.

Ben and I were married in late winter with a Winter Wonderland feel {everything was ice blue & silver}. We had green garland everywhere {especially running down the isles of our church} with snowflake and other sparkly ornaments dripping off of them. I love bringing them out every Christmas & thinking back of that exciting day.

Even the kitchen needs a little Christmas joy. Sadly this cookie jar is empty. We're supposed to get a big snow tomorrow so my plan is to round up the kids and make them then! ...and a little hot cocoa & cider, of course.

More decorations from our wedding that I love being able to use every Christmas. Eventually I suppose I'll have to light those birch candles though.

Ben and my Christmas gift from Laith, which he made at school. He wouldn't let us wait 'till Christmas to open it. It's proudly displayed in the main hallway.

It's so hard to find Happy Birthday Jesus stuff {especially that's not SUPER cheesy} this little plate isn't too bad. Anyone know where to find better stuff?

Every year we have a Happy Birthday Jesus party. It's such a great way for the kids to understand more fully what Christmas is actually about, especially since they're still so young.

The boys painted the above nutcrackers for me last year. I found them at Hobby Lobby for just a few bucks but you can get them online here.

Ugh. I hate this ugly chandelier. I think it's never looked so good!

Birch birch birch. It feels so wintery to me. The tree I used as the centerpiece is made of it's bark. Wish I could leave it up all year.

Another sweet treasure from one of my little ones.

Here are a few pictures from last Christmas, just after bringing baby Imani home from Ethiopia. Anton & Laith have loved her from the beginning. This is them kissing on their new sister.

And of course she's wearing Stella & Dot. What little girl is complete without a little jewelry??

I love this photo of Ezekiel that they sent to us from his orphanage. We're so excited about his first Christmas with us this year! 

TERESA

Jesus loves me - canvas tutorial

We're renting the house we're currently in since we just moved to Denver and are still trying to figure out what area of town we want to be in. The powder room on the main floor was BEYOND hideous. I'm so mad I didn't take a picture of it because you would have fallen on the floor laughing.

Not sure who had the brilliant idea that rust colored sponge painting would cover up a VERY bad texture job on the walls, but apparently they gave it a go. Didn't help.

Obviously the necessity of painting that room was pretty high on the list but after the room became a grayish beige {accessible beige sw7036}, it looked cold and empty & needed some brightening up!

Initially this was my inspiration... {thank you susie harris}

Our kids' favorite song to sing is "Jesus Loves Me" in fact, it was the only song Ezekiel knew the words to in english when coming home from Ethiopia. So it has a special place in my heart & gave me my own inspiration {the below video while he was still in Africa, a few months before coming home}.

As I've mentioned before, I'm loving the chevron pattern these days so I repeated it here. Unfortunately I wasn't thinking and didn't take any pictures of the process, so this is sadly all I have. The above picture is actually from this post about my joy painting above the mantle. But it's the same process for that pattern, so I suppose it doesn't matter all that much.

I used a stencil similar to this one from Joann's, but mine are from Hobby Lobby. Just look for the largest {within reason} stencil you can find. Most seemed to be way too small.

Originally I was going to simply paint Jesus' name in this beautiful aqua. But I felt like it needed some dimension. Some depth....just...something.

It was late one night and I didn't want to drive the 15 minutes to our nearest Hob Lob {it was probably closed anyway} so I ran into Walmart instead. Yes. Walmart. I've been in there only a handful of times. Ever. I'm not one of those die-hard Walmart people. I just don't see the draw {Target though...different story} but tonight it was close and still open. And since I found these wooden letters, I'd say it was worth the trip.

Ben suggested I use gorilla glue or something similar to affix the wooden letters, but for whatever reason, I didn't want to. Instead I turned over the canvas and got out my staple gun. It worked great and I know they're on there for the long haul.

Please pay better attention than I did when stapling. This is what happens when you're talking and laughing with your kids {above}.

So here she is...brightened the powder room right up & makes me smile every time I walk by.

TERESA

Ezekiel's Hair

Ezekiel has been wanting "twists" basically since coming home from Ethiopia. When we brought him home, his hair looked like this, so obviously we had awhile 'till that'd be a possibility.

Ok, I need to stop for a minute and point out the difference between the above and below photos. 

It is CRAZY that these photos were taken 6 months apart. Look at his face. REALLY LOOK. Isn't it amazing how much older he looks?!

We heard that kids grow a lot after coming home to be with their Forever Family, but he was already so tall, somehow we didn't think he would grow too much. He looks a year or two older though. Sweet boy is getting healthy. He talks about it, too.  

He says, "In Ethiopia I was small because we did not have very much food. But now I'm big because I eat all the time!"

Ok, back to the hair. We cut it several times, but he finally won out in the discussion for twists, so here he is about to walk into the Salon.

I'm so impressed with Ben because he always makes fun of me and my side of the family saying we're like tourists, taking pictures of everything. Yet here he is, taking our son to his first salon...and HE was the one that thought to bring the camera. See? You can teach an old dog new tricks ; )

...and Ezekiel obviously got hold of the camera. That kid is OBSESSED with taking photos. One day maybe this one will be worth big money when he's as big as big as Ansel Adams or Annie Leibovitz.

What a trooper. The whole thing took over two hours. He grimaced his way through the whole thing, not used to anyone tugging on his hair {unlike us girls!}. 

Ben was so smart to have taken him to Jamba Juice on the way, and of course not forgetting to load a movie onto his ipad.

What a handsome boy! It has been a few weeks since getting it done and it's starting to look better. Less constructed and his scalp doesn't show as much. He absolutely loves it and keeps talking about wanting it longer. Um....is he wanting dreads?! No thanks kid. You're six. Give your momma a break...one step at a time {have to admit though...he'd look darling}.