In following in the footsteps of my older and wiser brother Chris, I have decided to do the year end blog/letter and post it to save on stamps, address hunting and general proactive effort. 2013 has been an eventful year for the ABCDJ Spencer clan filled with excitement, silliness, growing and stretching in all kinds of ways. So lets get started with the breakdown.

 Jenna, the Princess Spencer. (age 4)

This year Jenna was in preschool in Colonsay and now is in Prekindergarten in Meadow Lake at Jubilee School. Jenna completed her first year of canskate and figured out how to stand on her feet with out help. She played soccer for the first time as a member of the Timbits soccer association. She was very good at waving to the crowd and flinging her hair about. She also started taking ballet in September but had to stop when we moved. She is a sweet girl who loves to dress up and play house.

Daniel (age 7)
This year Daniel played soccer for the second year. During his tournament he had the chance to play on both teams and to play completely soaked due to the rain. He loves to draw and enjoys to read. He loves cars and playing the wii. He is a firework waiting to go off all the time. This year Daniel learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. Daniel shares his brother's passion for wildlife and all things nature. He and Benjamin got to see a sandhill crane migration and to hold a saw whet owl.





















Benjamin (Age 9)
Benjamin is a fount of useful and not so useful facts about everything and anything. He has taken to studying our bird book. He even asked for his very own bird book for his birthday which he did get. Benjamin also played soccer this year. Soccer kept us very busy and worn out. He also started cubs and really enjoyed going to his cub pack meetings. He continues to astound his teachers with his non-fiction knowledge. He enjoys reading, as long as it is non-fiction. He has a harder time finding fiction books that he enjoys. He is a good older brother and tries to do what is right.

Chantel (age amazing)

At the beginning of the year, Chantel started teaching piano lessons. She had two students come every week. She continued to volunteer at the local library and the school. After 5 years of being on the Colonsay Library Board, she resigned so that we could prepare for our move to Meadow Lake. She also resigned after 3 years of being on the Colonsay School SCC. She continues to love reading and always has a book handy. Chantel loves to play the piano and continues to use her music talents at home and church. She fills our home with LOTS of baking. The kids devour her homemade bread. After 9 years she finally got to see Les Miserables. Nine years ago, we had tickets to attend Les Mis. Her sister and brother-in-law were going to go with us. Due to the early arrival of our first born, born one week early and on the exact day we were suppose to go see the show, we were unable to attend. It was fantastic and she still gets goose bumps about Les Miserables.

Andrew (age immature)
2013 was a year of dramatic changes for me. I started the year as a Territory Sales Manager for JELD-WEN Windows and Doors, the executive secretary in the Stake presidency at church and living in Colonsay. I went through a shaved head phase (I miss it still). In April I was able to attend a couple of Winnipeg Jets hockey games, travel to Toronto for a trade show, and visit Uncle Hugh and his family. In August Chantel and I went to Mexico for our tenth anniversary. It was a week of very warm weather and relaxation. I got a pretty cool sunburn. One day we saw wild dolphins as we were walking the beach.

In September I took a position as the service manager at Pineridge Ford in Meadow Lake. This led to two months of commuting every weekend back to Colonsay.We all moved up to Meadow Lake in November. It has been a dramatic change in work responsibilities and in location. At this point we still own our house in Colonsay (it is for sale or rent if anyone is looking). Some of the goofy perks of the job is I get to drive a whole lot of different cool vehicles (everything from police cruisers to the Ford Raptor). I work with an amazing group of people and get to have a chance to learn a lot of different things.

I have been blessed with a wonderful family, a great employer and friends that love and support me. Have a Joyous Christmas Season and an amazing New Year

With Love
Andrew

Random cooking

So we have had a random assortment of cooking these last few weeks. We made Butter Tarts, Donuts (that didn't work) Ricotta Cheese and Eastern Chicken. If you want the recipes give me a call.  Making the cheese was really simple. Pretty much needed whole milk and an acid.

Random Recipes of fun

So this week we have done some random cooking. Chantel and I have really enjoyed grabbing a cookbook and picking out something to cook. Here are the pictures.

Honey Garlic Meatballs (with noodles). We took our normal meatballs and made a honey garlic sauce that we found in the Company's Coming Beef Cookbook. Should have halved the sauce recipe or doubled the meatball one.

Blueberry Cheesecake. Benjamin and Chantel love Cheesecake. They found a random cookbook at the library and found the simple cheesecake recipe in it. They fought over who got to lick out the pan.

Cranberry oatmeal. Chantel was cold and I was craving something more substantial for snack tonight then chips. This made enough oatmeal to feed our entire family twice... Jenna loved the pink colour but no one else would eat it except Chantel and I. I found the recipe at http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/cranberryoatmeal.htm

Have a great week.

If you want any of the recipes give me a shout. 

Pancake Santas

We were looking through one of Dad's cooking magazines and found a recipe for Santa Pancakes. In the end we actually didn't follow the recipe at all.

But here is what we did.

We used our favourite pancake recipe. Purchased some extremely healthy cool whip in a can, grabbed some strawberries, a banana and some chocolate chips. The picture above shows the results.

Try it some time. They taste great.

Pizza Wraps

Due to popular demand I am going to start posting some of the recipes I am trying and the food storage I am attempting.

So without further ado here is the first one.

Chantel and I were flipping through Company's Coming Rush Hour Recipes and found on page 31 Pizza Wraps.
here are the ingredients listed in the book:

can of pizza sauce  7 1/2 oz
large flour tortillas  4
chopped cooked ham 1/2 cup
slivered pepperoni   about 16 slices or 1/2 cup
medium red pepper slivered  1
small red onion (sliced)  1
sliced ripe olives   1/4cup
pineapple tidbits well drained 1/3 cup
grated medium cheddar cheese 1/3 cup
grated mozzeralla cheese       1/4 cup
finely grated parmesan cheese 1/4 cup

Divide and spread pizza sauce on 1 side of each tortilla.

Layer next 9 ingredients, in order given, down centre of each tortilla to within 2 inches of bottom edge. Fold bottom edge over filling. Roll up from 1 side to enclose filling leaving top open. Arrange tortillas, seam down, on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 375 F oven for about 15 minutes until lightly browned and crisp. Makes 4 wraps.

We used the ingredients we had and found them really suprisingly filling.

should have taken a picture. Oh well next time.

Home Fire Safety

About a week ago I started thinking about fire drills and how they are essential in all work places and schools. I thought about how for fire drills to be successful there first has to be training on what to do and then practices on how to do them.

I decided that our home fire plan (which we discussed in a family home evening several months ago) needed a practice run or two. I wanted to impress on my children the need to be prepared and to know what to do when an emergency happened.

So I discussed my plan with my lovely wife Chantel, who is long suffering and is willing to endure my crazier ideas, and then put it into action.

For Family Home Evening this Monday we all sat around the kitchen table and discussed what to do if the smoke alarm goes off (not just when I'm cooking). We talked about checking the door first to see if it was hot and then if it isn't hot carefully opening the door. We then all moved to the boys bedroom and shut the door. Prior this I had tacked a sheet about my knee height by their door to represent the smoke barrier. once the kids were in their room I started making the smoke detector off. Chantel and the boys then touched the door to make sure it was safe and then opened the door. They crawled underneath the "smoke" layer and ran to the safety of the front door. After opening the front door we all ran to our meeting spot on the street and discussed that we don't go back into the house unless the fire people say its ok.

All in all it was a rewarding experience. I know that we can never fully prepare for a fire but I want to make sure that my family is as safe as they can be.

Apple Sauce and other adventures

This month marked the coming of ripe crabapples. I picked up two large boxes full from my parents and from Chantel's parents. I got back from Regina and started my applesauce production. Crabapples make the nicest pink applesauce that you can find. By the time I finished my third night of production I had 10 gallons of applesauce. I have 29 quart jars of applesauce that I canned and ~20 medium freezer bags of applesauce.

During this whole process I came to realize that I really like preserving food. I love to take produce and store it. I can spend hours cutting crabapples or strawberries and love it. I lose myself in the work.

I can't wait for pears and peaches to come on sale so I can do more.

Andrew