I know, I know, you are all tired of hearing about the fabulous Impressus Art Christmas Cards, but I wanted to let you know, that if you order today you will get them by Saturday (Monday for those in far off places!) and will have plenty of time to address them and send them out to your friends and family. Remember that Christmas is twelve days long, not ending on Christmas Day but beginning, there is nothing wrong with the cards arriving in the twelve days.
Our dear friend, Brother John Paul Mary Mfva, emailed me today to let us know that he will be ordained to the diaconate on June 2, 2012. Please pray for Brother as he prepares for his ordination!
Brother has a special place in our hearts as he was the first to see and suggest that Joshua marry me. I tell the story here, about midway down. You can learn more about Brother by going to the Franciscan Missionary’s Webpage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWApGqE_T-k
Today is the Feast of St. Lucy. Traditionally the young girls of the family dress up in a white dress and wear candles on a wreath on their head and present the family members with a sweet breakfast roll. I am all about doing the traditions, but last night, the idea of making a cinnamon rolls the old fashioned way just was beyond my thinking. (The procession in the rain did me in.) I googled around and found a recipe for quick cinnamon rolls, modified it a bit, then got up a bit earlier this morning to make them. Now IÂ present to you:
QUICK CINNAMON ROLLS
The Hardware:
Greased 8 1/2 x 11 glass pan
Rolling pin
Two mixing bowls
Measuring things
The Software:
Filling:
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoon molasses
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons melted butter
Dough:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4Â cup milk
5 Tablespoons melted butter
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease the 8 1/2 x 11 pan
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the sugar and molasses. With a fork, mix then together until combined then add the salt and butter, stir to combine.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine.
4. Make a small well in the center of the flour mixture then add the butter and eggs, stir until a small ball forms, but don’t over mix.
5. Place dough on a floured counter and knead a few more times, to make sure all the dough is mixed. Then roll the dough out 8 inches wide 24 inches long (you may need to split the dough in two and roll out two 12 inch pieces.) Roll the dough out so that the long end is parallel to the counter’s edge.
6. Spread the filling mixture on to the dough, leaving about 1/4 inch at the top for the seam. Starting at the side closest to the counter’s edge, begin rolling the dough making sure that it is nice and tight. When finished rolling, place the seam side down on the counter and cut the roll in to 16 similar sized rolls. (or 8 if you split the dough into two.)
7. Place the rolls cut side down in to a greased 8 1/2 x 11 baking pan and place in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes, they will be slightly brown when done.
Today our parish had a procession in honor of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. We walked from downtown Moultire to our parish behind the image of Our Lady, with traditional dancers and while singing folk songs to Our Lady. We weren’t sure if we were going to go, but in the end, we decided to and I am glad we did!
Yes it rained, yes it was cold, yes we were not dressed appropriately (thanks to Margaret E for stopping at home and picking up warm gear to share!) but we had a wonderful time. The little ones did a great job walking, Benedict even fell asleep!
I leave you with this to enjoy:
I have mentioned in the past that we have been blessed with meeting many wonderful people. Margaret and Mike are two of those people and guess what?! They have a blog! Go over and check it out! Read about their life below the Gnat Line and life with their cute little baby, Alan!
Mandi over at Catholic Newlywed had her little baby! Head over and check out her beautiful little girl!
Today is Caecilia’s Baptism Day! We celebrate them pretty big here. I am making her a saint coloring book for a gift and for dinner she is getting her favorite, Chicken nuggets and french fries. I will probably make Coleslaw too. She has candy from yesterday to feast on for dessert.
Well, what do you know, the Faceparents (uh, myself and Joshua) got it together to have things ready for St. Nicholas Day before we went to bed last night. We hung stockings filled with a bit of candy (even for Benedict) and a small toy or game for each of them. We woke up early this morning to make breakfast so we could enjoy it as a family. We made pancakes and served them with fresh applesauce and whipped cream. I made a pot of Mystic Monk Coffee and had a mug of it with half and half then topped it with whipped cream. I was in heaven. (No I was not counting calories)
The kids slept until close to 730, Joshua had to go up and wake three of them up to come and eat. My kids are usually the ones up at 702 and ready for breakfast. Karol was the first to spy the stockings and they were very excited to dig in to them, even Benedict. After breakfast and schoolwork, Karol asked to listen to some music, so I put on some Sandra Boynton and Veggie Tales and the kids have been dancing all morning and now afternoon.
Tonight is baked potato soup and garlic toast (if I get up and bake the bread).
Happy Feast Day!