Family Traditions

Mom used to read these Raggedy Ann and Andy stories to my sister Nancy and I each night at bedtime.  I hope to continue the tradition and read them to my grandkids.

I started a tradition a fews years ago of giving my grown children a hardbound children's Christmas book each year at Thanksgiving. That way they will have it to enjoy throughout the holiday season. I just love the beautiful pictures and heartwarming stories. They are fun to read at any age. Here are some of the books in my collection:

This year for Christmas we made gingerbread houses. It was so much fun I think we will do it every year. I was surprised at how much the men in the family enjoyed this.

Around Valentine's Day I made heart shaped pancakes for the grandkids. It was a little trickier than I thought it would be. You put the pancake batter in a ketchup bottle and squeeze onto a hot griddle. I found out that the batter needs to be fairly thin and beat with a hand mixer to get all the lumps out or it won't go through the small hole in the bottle lid evenly. Also the griddle needs to be quite hot so the batter doesn't spread too much. I made the heart first, then waited until it set before adding the lacy edges. Mine did not look as beautiful as the picture I had seen but the kids thought they were great.