Winter Fun

Eli loves a good snow. I hold in my secret despite of cold weather as he could play outside in snow in ANY degree weather. I don't want to rain on his parade. :) The weather prediction turned out to be accurate the second week of December and we had a beautiful five inches of snow, perfect for sledding. Most of the kids' snow gear from last year still fit and Marc had thought to buy us some plastic sleds a few days before the snow. We were all set for a day of sledding!

 Up the hill they go

 And back down they came!

Eli wiped out pretty hard a few times but kept at it for quite awhile!

Marc ended up carrying Hailey up and down the hill for most of the morning because she was so slow. He was quite sore the next day! She of course loved the extra pampering. :)

We were so glad some of our friends joined us at the park. After the kids were finished sledding, we played in the snow and made a big snowman.

We didn't bring any supplies to decorate him, so we just used leaves and sticks on the ground. He looked a little plain so I decided to add some leaves for hair. :)

 Our beautiful snow angel!

We all stayed pretty warm but were happy to enjoy some hot chocolate on the ride home. Then, while the kids napped I made us some chicken and dumplings just like Memaw's. This was my first time to make my own broth from cooking the whole raw chicken. It was really rich and yummy. Comfort food is an essential for me after braving a cold day in the snow!

Memaw's Chicken and Dumplings

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbs. Crisco shortening

1 egg

5 Tbs. water

2 Tbs. chicken broth

1 whole chicken or hen, boiled until tender, remove from broth.and debone. Reserve chicken meat and broth. (can substitute meat with a cooked rotisserie chicken and 2 qts. canned chicken broth)

Stir flour and salt. Cut in Crisco with a fork and add egg, water, and broth. Mix together. Place dough on floured surface and roll out using a rolling pin. May add flour as needed to roll smoothly without sticking. Cut in strips and let dry for 10-15 min. Have broth boiling. Pat strips slightly as you pull them apart, one at a time dropping them in the broth. Add chicken pieces back to the pot. Stir, cover, and reduce heat. Cook slowly for 30 min. Serves 4-6.