SpruceHill

Family Gathering

Picture taken by Miss H

We have had a wonderful Christmas here on Spruce Hill. Eaten way too many meals and sweets. Opened an enormous amount of gifts. Before Christmas the girls asked me what I wanted and I told them, all I need is you girls and Daddy and I am happy with that. Family is the most important thing.

As most families are winding down their festivities ours is just kicking into gear. As I sit here typing on the computer I have a house full of guests. Happy girls and one boy running around doing karaoke, jumping on the trampoline and playing indoor flashlight tag. All of us gathering to celebrate Christmas, but sad at the same time. My husband's Grandmother died yesterday at the age of 98. So our gathering is filled with a few tears mixed in. But as we sit here together we seek comfort in our memories of her. She was a tough lady, a devout Catholic, and an amazing cook. She loved all her grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She was one of a kind. She will be missed. We all love you and will miss you Nana!

Merry Christmas from Santa's Elves

 

Santa's elves........

 
On Spruce Hill

 
Are wishing you a Very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

"I refuse to wear this ridiculous hat! Tinky ran away, She has the right idea"

"Cocoa, It's really not that bad. She gave me peppermints!" 

"OK Merry Christmas, but I am not wearing the hat!" 

Deck the Halls

We have been busy around here getting ready for Christmas. 

We have been making candy too. Here the girls dipped pretzels in chocolate. It's amazing what they can find to dip in chocolate! We sprinkled them with different things. Mini chocolate chips, toffee pieces, peppermint, and white chocolate drizzle.

 
We made these truffles today and boy are they good!  We made them with Nutter butters and Golden Oreo's. Both versions are good here's what you need.

1 package Nutter Butter Cookies

8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, Room Temperature

1 package Chocolate Candy Coating

Finely crush cookies in a food processor or place them in a ziploc bag and crush into a fine consistency.

Combine with softened cream cheese. Combine the cream cheese with the cookies in the food processor.

Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.

Melt chocolate candy coating as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate with a spoon. Tap off excess coating and slide balls on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.

If you would like to half the recipe to make different kinds, it works well. We have also made this recipe with regular oreos too. They are fantastic! 
Once they are dry, enjoy!
Chloe can attest to them looking very yummy!

Hope everyone has a Happy Christmas Eve! 

The day after

Wow we got a lot of snow yesterday! The official Spruce Hill measurement is 20 inches. It has been a long time since we have had that much snow here in Maryland, and in December too!.

 
We woke this morning to blue skies and beauty everywhere.

Super Daddy had the snow blower out before 8am this morning.

It attaches to the lawn mower so he stays nice and toasty in there! What guy wouldn't want to take this around for a whirl?

Little E is having a ball outside!

The girls made a snow fort under the trampoline. It's the place to be out in the back yard.

  

Little E took some time out of her busy schedule to pose for some shots for me.  

We are keeping snug and warm in the house, baking lots of cookies and spending time together.

Happy snow!

Christmas Snow

We woke up this morning to 6 inches of snow at 8:00am.

As the day goes on, the snow keeps coming. Miss H has measured 13 inches, as of 3:00 this afternoon.

Everyone is having a ball!

I went for a walk and the snow was up past my knees!

 


The house looks as pretty as a Christmas card.

Super Daddy is on his second stage of snow blowing. He likes to do it in stages so he can keep a handle on it.

The dogs are good in small doses of snow.

 
But then it's good to come into the warm!

We are expected to get 20 to 30 inches of snow today and tomorrow. What a Christmas snow!