Our amish friend gave us the bad news that there would be no more duck eggs this season...not until spring.  So I decided to make Rachael Ray's Pepperoni Puffs with the last remaining egg.  I followed the recipe...but next time I would add the fresh basil to the puffs...not the pizza sauce.  These were so delicious!  (And they freeze well too!)

 Do you think she likes them?! 

 We enjoyed having hubby home for Martin Luther King Day.  My children have enjoyed playing this game a lot.  It's called Tetrus.  (Maggie stole it from Cody in the Christmas Chinese Auction.  She has felt terrible about that ever since!)

 Mike took the week between Christmas and New Years for vacation.  He spent a lot of time outside digging up stubborn tree stumps.  He also did something special for Anna.

 Remember Anna's treefort that got smushed by Hurricane Irene?  Well, Anna really wanted to save her heavy duty steel steps...but they were buried under some heavy trees.  So they went on a mission to see what could be done.

 Anna was afraid the steps were bent in half. 

I was afraid for what our tree man calls "a widow maker"! 

They followed the directions of Mr. Tree Man and pulled the tree while Mike was cutting it.  That didn't work so they abandoned the rope and Mike cut the tree away with no problems.

 Then they had to dig the stairs out of the ground.  (We used to be so proud of how we had reinforced the stairs by burying them 4 feet deep!)  

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And they're out!  Mike had to do a little straightening, but I think they look perfect!  Hurray!

There's nothing sweeter than doing something for an appreciative child.

They spent the rest of that cold afternoon moving logs and preparing to build treeforts.

Then home to play Tetrus again!

It always takes Anna longer to warm up than the rest of the family. 

Allen planted cilantro, basil and lettuce in his Aerogarden a few days ago.  He wants me to document the progress.

Mike and I are home alone today...something I still can't get used to!  We're going out in a few minutes to stack the woodpile again.  We are going through much wood on these cold nights.  Very thankful for toasty fireplaces and free firewood!

Many blessings ~ Kathie