Holiday Tags and Morton Update {Welcome Colt}

As you can see we've been a little busy around here! This past month and a half we celebrated Halloween, welcomed our new little one, counted our blessings and then decked the halls. Phew! Here's a quick recap of our family but first, let me share this great video on how to make your own decorative tags for great gift-giving that makes a splash!



Happy Halloween
We had some pals come trick or treat with us this year. Uncle Drew and Whitney brought Brayden (aka: Thor) over to reign terror over the streets of South Jordan with us. We couldn't believe how much candy the kids collected this time! The dentist is gonna LOVE this bunch!

Snow Monsters
Our first good snow of the season called for suiting up. Brook and Aidan had a great time making tracks all over the backyard and even fit in a few Monste... er, Angels.

A Welcome Addition

Our house welcomed our new little brother into the world in November. Colt Glenn arrived a day early by cesarean and weighed in at 9 lbs and 11 ozs. He had a hard time adjusting at first due to his size and the c-section and spent some time in the nursery with an IV line until his blood sugar stabillized. When he was born he had a little bit of fluid in his lungs and had started to grunt while breathing, indicating labored breathing normally, so as a precaution they kept him on oxygen for a couple of days. Turns out he just likes to grunt like the other kids did. Completely amazed the doctors. We're glad they took the precautions anyway!



Smile, you're on Aidan's Candid Camera, Mom!

Roast Beast

This year we stayed home for Thanksgiving and had the whole Morton family over. It was great having everyone together again and Mom always puts on a good spread!







Canning

This was a new experiment for me this year. I've dabbled a little bit with freezing produce but really have wanted to learn how to do this and to be more self-reliant. We have a great little garden started and I'd love to be able to put some of our harvest up for a later date.

Last week I tried applesauce for the first time. After a few mishaps and some trials and more errors, I finally got something worth giving! The kids passed it off as a keeper and I gotta say, it feels great knowing that my 7 hours, 2 broken nails and bad temper really was worth seeing those jars on the shelf!

Deck the Halls

Wasn't sure about this adventure this year with a new baby and a 2.5yo Turbo-powered kid running around! Turns out the older two were more, eh.. acrobatic than Garrett. They put every ornament I had on the poor tree and half way through we lost the bottom rung of lights. *Sigh* Mom's fancy trees are a thing of the past for some time to come, it seems, but it turned out pretty nice and they had a great time!



It's been great being off work for the past month. I don't want to go back! I can't say it's been a vacation.. cuz it hasn't. But I've loved spending time with each of my children and my husband and the great way we have come together to work at making our home a great environment for our family. I'm really going to miss that as I move back to the hustle and bustle. Hopefully we can keep a little bit of that in our daily lives. But one thing I am looking forward to... going into the gas station again instead of paying at the pump because I have a car full of kids I don't want to get out of their seats!

Warm wishes,

Grandma Nina's Spaghetti Sauce

This recipe is dear to my family. It's the best darn Spaghetti sauce there is - and I'm sure that's partly because it was Grandma's homemade recipe handed down through the family - and partly because it stands on its own. Every time I make it, I am reminded of my Grandma and of the evenings we'd have it when I was young. At the time, we had it because it was cheap and fed the whole family.  I always believed we had it because Mom knew it was my favorite! 

Its a great food storage recipe as it uses canned everything (you can even use freeze-dried onions, mushrooms and tomatoes) and its just as good with fresh everything. I like to switch it up depending on what's on hand. Just don't forget the worcestershire! ;) That's the secret ingredient that makes this sauce stand out! Without further ado, here it is. (Still missin you, Grandma!)

Grandma Nina's Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb. ground beef, browned

1 medium onion, chopped
1 can Hunts Diced Tomatoes
1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup
1 can Hunts Tomato Sauce
1 small can sliced mushrooms
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Italian seasoning
Salt & pepper

Brown your hamburger and onions, then add the rest of the ingredients. Let simmer 20 min to let the flavors blend, before serving hot over your favorite pasta. (I like Angel hair best because its the fastest to cook - and who wants to spend all day in the kitchen?)

Warm wishes,