Recipes of the Week

My goal is to cook one new recipe a week and if it is good I will post it. This week we tried Cuban Braised Beef and it was super easy, thanks to the crockpot and really good. We ate it in soft tortillas with sour cream, cheese, and avocado sort of like fajitas. 

This week I needed to make something for Bunco night and I was bound and determined to make something with what I already had in the pantry. The cookies were awesome and it makes a ton so they have lasted almost the whole week but I don't know if that is a good thing!!

Potomac Fever

Potomac fever has once again struck the Graning house. On December 16th (I know I should have posted this along time ago) we found out that Rolf had been selected to do a Cardiology fellowship at the National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. To say the least we were very, very surprised with the news but also very excited.  Rolf had been told by almost everyone that it was a long shot and had relayed the news to me in no uncertain terms, so that I would not get my hopes up.  There were at least 6 candidates competing for 4 spots (2 in Bethesda and 2 in San Diego) and although Rolf was a highly qualified and competitive candidate we did not think he would have enough "Navy points" to actually get the fellowship. So as we were plotting and planning our next move, to somewhere like Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and possibly a deployment for Rolf, God once again reminded us that he is in control.

And now to brag on my hubby, Rolf truly has worked so hard for this fellowship. He has known since first starting residency that he wanted to do cardiology and has put in hundreds maybe thousands of hours to make sure it happened. Rolf is not a brown-noser, he stays away from workplace politics, tries to be easygoing and he makes sure every day that the work he does and the decisions that he makes stand for themselves. His superiors value his opinion, his peers respect him, and his patients love him. To say that he came highly recommended for the job is putting it mildly but hey I am a little biased.

Alright, enough of that. Here is a pictures of us going out for a date to celebrate! 

Spoiled Rotten

My parents came in for a weekend visit recently and Liam absolutely loved every minute of getting to hang out with his Mimi and Papa. I don't know who was more spoiled that weekend Liam or mommy! I don't think I changed a diaper or an outfit the entire time they were here. And Papa got up with Liam most mornings changed his diaper and then took him down for breakfast. Seriously!! What an awesome Papa (and Daddy). We even got to go on a date while they were here. Liam loved hanging out with both Mimi and Papa but took especially to his Papa and preferred him over most anyone else, me included.  

Here are some pics from the weekend:

A Heart Healthy Breakfast

This week we tried real oatmeal for the first time and Liam loved it! I mixed the plain oatmeal with a little applesauce and he thought it was great. I think it helped that I let him have his own spoon, I put the bowl on his tray, and since he cleaned his bowl I let him play with it. We have a long way to go before we will be feeding ourselves but he sure is having fun trying.

Signing "All Done"

Odds and Ends

Last post on our Christmas vacation, promise!

Catching Up with An Old Friend

One of the highlights for me from our trip to Sylva was getting to see my good friend Amy! Amy is one of Rolf's good friends from high school, she is my "Big Sis" in AX, she is the person who introduced me and Rolf, and she and Liam share the same birthday (a little creepy, huh)! She is pregnant with identical twin girls due in March and has been on bed rest for over 11 weeks, I think, maybe longer. She looked amazing and seemed to be in really good spirits. I "sort of" did bed rest for 2 weeks with Liam and almost went totally crazy, I could not even imagine being on it for almost 20! Liam and I went over one afternoon and kept Amy company for a few hours which was a lot of fun. Amy's sweet husband Scott "practiced" his daddy skills with Liam and and let me and Amy catch up. Scott is going to be an amazing daddy! Liam loved him and Scott knew just what to do but he is a little concerned with what he is going to do with two. Please keep Amy, Scott, and their sweet babies in your prayers. This pregnancy has been anything but normal and easy but she has taken it all in stride and has an amazing support system to take care of her. I can't wait to head back to Sylva in the spring to meet this two little miracles.

No Mini-Van Needed
Although the picture is a little blurry, if you look closely you can see that there are 3, count'em 3 carseats in the back of my CR-V! This is undeniable proof that I do NOT need a mini-van until I have at least 4 kids!

Baby Abram was so comfortable he even fell asleep on our way to dinner.

Aunt Evie

Just a cool photo I couldn't help but post.

Getting Old Ain't for Sissies

On December 27th, the same day as Abram's baptism, Rolf's grandfather turned 85 years young. It was such a blessing for us to be able to celebrate this milestone with him. He was surrounded by his oldest daughter and wonderful son-in-law, 4 of his 13 grandchildren, 3 of his grandchildren-in-law, his 3 great-grandsons, his "girlfriend" who flew in from Pittsburgh, and several other friends.

One of Grandpa's favorite quotes is "Getting old ain't for sissies" by Betty Davis. To say the least this past year has been a hard one for Grandpa. He has seen many challenges and had to make several very hard decisions but through it all he has shown that you can grow old with grace and dignity.

Edward Loren Farrell

Born December 27, 1924

A look back

George reads from a scrapbook given to Grandpa for his 80th birthday detailing his life.

It was a big day for Abram too!

These two were just looking for trouble!

Mommy's favorite boy!

"Let the little children come to Me"

"Let the little children come to Me, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
~Luke 18:16

This adorable little guy is our "Godson" Abram Aksel Graning. He is the second son of Rolf's older brother Ben and his beautiful wife Jessica. We feel so honored that they asked us to be his godparents and were so blessed to be able to stand beside them as he was baptized on the Sunday following Christmas. Abram is an adorable bundle of energy and spunk. He was easily able to keep up with his big brother Caden and Liam over the holidays and is already giving his mommy a run for her money. Abram is a blessing from God and we can't wait to watch him grow into the person that God wants him to be. We are excited to be able to help shepherd him along his journey and pray daily that he may see God's glory and grace.

A Prayer for Baby Abram

Grant this little child Your love

As each new day appears,

Grant his parents guidance

And wisdom through out the years

Smile down upon this baptism

And in Your loving way

Let Your presence gently bless

This little one today.

Merry Christmas

On Christmas Day, Mary Anne/Aga/Mom had to work so Rolf's sister, Evie and her husband Sebastien hosted everyone for a brunch at their house just down the road. We had everything from banana pancakes with chocolate chips to kringle (another Graning tradition) to bacon to egg dish to fruit and the list goes on. Needless to say we were not hungry again for a long while. After brunch we headed back to the Graning's to start cooking dinner. We divided up all of the dishes and by the time Mary Anne made it home from work the meal was almost all pulled together.

Once Mary Anne was home we opened more presents! What? More presents, seriously, looking back on it we sure did open a lot of presents! We are truly blessed! Mary Anne and George did stockings for all of their children and "children-in-law" and then all of the "kids" did stockings for all of the adults. It was really a lot of fun trying to figure out creative gifts that would fit in a stocking. Dode and Doda who also joined us for Christmas this year were the ones that truly spoiled us all especially their grand-nephews.

After we opened presents we all enjoyed another wonderful meal together and then as we cleaned up some people gathered around the piano to sing Christmas carols. I bet you might recognize that guy playing the piano! Finally to cap off the evening, we celebrated my birthday with a wonderful rendition of Happy Birthday, my favorite pecan pie and ice cream for dessert, and some really great birthday presents!

In my 29 years this was only the second time I have celebrated Christmas or my birthday away from my birth family and although I still missed them very much you all made it great! Thank you everyone for making it such a special and memorable Christmas and birthday. I love joining in on old traditions and seeing how new traditions are starting as our family grows. God has truly blessed me and I am so thankful for each and everyone of you.

Christmas Morning

We had a great time celebrating Christmas morning just the three of us. Although Liam is still too young to understand Santa he sure did have a fun time checking out all of the cool things he brought him.

A Traditional Norwegian Christmas Eve Dinner

On Christmas Eve we attended the Children's Mass and then came home to celebrate Christmas Eve with a traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner. A traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner in the Graning house consist of Rumagrit (a sweet rice pudding), Norwegian Christmas cookies (all with funny names), and lots of chocolate. I know you are probably thinking I skipped what we had for dinner and went straight to dessert but nope that is actually what we ate for dinner. We had appetizers before dinner with all of the savory stuff like meatballs, spinach dip, cheese and crackers, crab dip, and lots of other stuff. I mean really everyone deserves to eat like this at least once a year, right?

After dinner we did our "Secret Santa"gift exchange with all of the kids and significant others. It ended up being really fun this year because some how all of the guys drew guys names and all of the girls drew girls names. It is supposed to be a random drawing but I would like to know the odds of that really happening randomly. As we gave our gift we each said something about the person we were giving the gift to which made it about so much more than just the gift.

Here are some pics from the night:

Uncle Ben watching all of the kiddos!

Silly Caden!

Liam having fun with his cousin Caden.

Sweet baby Abram.

Trying to steal Aunt Jessica's coffee!

Doda, Rachel, and Aga

Uncle Ben & Aunt Jess

Uncle Charlie & Lillian