Kimberly’s Cookies

When winter rolls around at our house we saunter over to my kitchen drawer and pull out our favorite cookie recipe. Then we go to the store and stock up on Teddy’s peanut butter and Hershey’s Kisses. That’s how we know the season has officially begun.

This delicious peanut butter cookie recipe came to us by way of our dear friend and family member, Kimberly McClure.
It arrived at our house on December 7, 2003 in an email titled “Eat Yummy Cookies!” The email said, “All of our holiday parties were canceled this weekend so we gave away most of our goodies to the fire fighters who were shoveling out the hydrants in the neighborhood. Too hard to have all of those tasty treats around.”

Tasty treats indeed… Chocolate chip cookies with various embellishments had been our family favorite until we tried this recipe. Now it’s “Kimberly’s Cookies”. When my daughter recently flew home for the holidays I smiled when I overheard her telling my sister we were whipping up a batch of “Kimberly’s Cookies” for the neighbors. They have become a family legacy.

Here it is. The recipe is delicious as is but we find using crunchy peanut butter and adding a few chocolate chips to the dough gives you a salty, crunchy, sweet experience that is not to be missed! I have to admit that next to eating these yummy morsels, my favorite part is placing a Hershey’s Kiss on top of each one right after they come out of the oven…

1 ¼ Cups of Peanut Butter
1 Cup Butter
¾ Cups White Sugar
¾ Cups Packed Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla

2 ¼ Cups of All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

1.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.    In a large bowl, cream together peanut butter, butter,
both sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine
the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Stir into
the peanut butter mixture. Add chocolate chips if
you are so inclined!

3.     Form dough into walnut sized spoonfuls and place
on ungreased cookie sheet.

4.     Bake for 12 – 15 minutes. Allow to cool 3 minutes
before transferring to wire rack.

Munch slowly with a glass of cold milk…

Shared Memories

How cool is it to wake up on Christmas morning and say to your sister, “Let’s go see if  Santa came!” This year one of my daughter’s little sisters, who lives in a different home, was able to come and spend Christmas with us. It was an amazing gift for us all.

On Christmas Eve they came home from a Christmas party and helped set out Santa’s tray with cookies, milk
and carrots for the reindeer. The tray had a pretty sign that said, “Merry Christmas Santa!”

As they were going to bed on their conversation was full of excitement. It went like this:
“Was that a reindeer?”
“No. I think it was Santa’s sleigh.”
“Didn’t you say that we have to be asleep before Santa will come?”
“OK. We’d better go to sleep now.”

In the morning, our daughter woke up and said, “Oh my gosh! It’s Christmas morning! Wake up! Let’s go see if Santa came!”

As they rushed down the stairs to see if there were presents with their names on them, joy radiated through the house. They found a pile under the tree and rushed back up to tell us the good news. Then they rushed back down to check on the stockings. It was 7 AM.

“This is how it’s supposed to be,” I thought as I pulled on my pants and headed downstairs to pour glasses of juice and fix our Christmas morning tray. My husband put on soft Christmas morning music and made a fire in the fireplace while the girls joyfully sorted through the gifts.

When the stage had been set, we each chose a couch and/or chair and took turns opening presents. There was a lots of gratitude in that circle and it stayed with us all day long as we visited additional family members, went to the movies, and dined on Chinese food with friends.

At night we were all ready to climb into bed, read stories, and share Christmas highlights. Each of us had our own special memories. Each of us had a good story to tell. The common element in our stories: siblings. Creating shared memories with them made the holiday truly memorable.

Holiday Wishes

Big snowstorm coming down!
They say 10 – 12 inches of white powder.
A definite
White Christmas,
Snowy Hanukkah,
Candlelight Kwanzaa,
Silvery Solstice, and
Feliz Three Kings Day Celebration…

As I ponder all of the wonderful ways to
create joyous family memories this year, in between
trips outside to shovel the driveway, I see
the celebrating has already begun. There is
nothing like snow to bring out the neighborhood
collection of colorful sleds. You can hear the squeals
of delight as the kids climb aboard and head downhill..
Then there are the snow angels and assorted snow people
and animals lined up for all to see.

Entryways are lined with:
Boots
Hats
Mittens
Scarves
Snow Pants

And, oh what fun it is to come
inside and put your cold hands
around a cup of hot chocolate
and pick up a homemade cookie
to munch on in front of the fireplace
while you thaw out.

I had the gift of coming inside after my
third round of morning shoveling, to find
a hot cup of tea and a heartfelt
Christmas wish in my mailbox waiting for me.

The Christmas wish was from
a very dear friend and mentor – a wise woman
who has taught me so many valuable lessons about
how to be a stellar “every day mommy” to someone
who has a “tummy mommy and birth family” she loves
and wishes she could live with.

It said:

“Dear God:
The lady reading this
is beautiful, classy and
strong, and I love her.
Help her live her life to the fullest.
Please promote her and cause her to excel above her expectations.
Help her shine in the darkest places where it is impossible to love.
Protect her at all times, lift her up when she needs you the most, and
let her know when she walks with you, she will always be safe.”

The message brought tears of appreciation to my eyes.
It is such a gift to be seen and honored. I wish it for
everyone on this beautiful snowy day – those of us
who are young, those of us who are old, and those
of us who are young at heart.

Double Digits

Remember turning 10? I do! Double digits…

Tomorrow is my youngest daughter’s birthday and we started celebrating early so we can make sure to include every family member possible.

This celebration started in August at Camp To Belong MA at our camp wide birthday party with her big brother. It resumed in November when we went to Bugaboo’s with her big sister. Kissing the moose has become an annual tradition!

Last week at Sibling Sunday we paid homage to everyone who has a December birthday so she was able to celebrate with two siblings over snow people sundaes. On Friday we went out to dinner. Tonight we will honor the birthday girl with a neighborhood fiesta. Tomorrow, on her actual birthday, we’ll wind things up!

While this would have been over the top for my two children by birth, it feels just right for my daughter who was placed in foster care at 4 months of age. Keeping all of her family connections intact is critical to her health and well-being. Interestingly enough, this cannot be accomplished by one party for the simple reason that not everyone in her family knows each other.

This is common in families where siblings are separated when removed from their homes and placed in foster care. This may seem complex to folks who have not experienced foster care adoption, but as I search the internet for the best chocolate frosting recipe ever, it simply feels what you do to celebrate your child’s double digit birthday!

Happy Holly Daze!

For almost 20 years I spent the month of December in my toy stores, listening to the latest Hanukkah and Christmas tunes while chatting with customers and wrapping beautiful gifts. Some days I would wrap for 8 hours straight. My big kids grew up in the stores and I carried my little one around in a Baby Bjorn carrier when she was 6 months old. What a great place to raise kids!

Every Christmas Eve, while my husband and kids engaged in an annual Yankee Swap at a friend’s house, I put on my favorite music and wandered around the store, carefully choosing toys for my kids and then slowly wrapping them. Some people love hanging out in kitchens creating fabulous meals. I loved hanging out in my toy stores, surrounded by beautiful toys, stuffed animals and dress up clothes creating a shopping experience!

These days, while fundraising 24/7, I find myself wishing that the lovely customer who showed up every year on Christmas Eve with a shoe box full of cash would appear at my door like the Millionaire and wish me a Merry Christmas. Or, that I would win tonight’s Mass Millions prize. I bought some tickets just in case she doesn’t show up…