Luke and Emily - Engaged!

Gina and I are super excited that Luke is engaged.  Last week Luke asked and Emily Haxby agreed to marry him. Everyone in the family is jumping up and down with anticipation.

Here is a picture of the happy engaged couple - Luke and Emily are all dressed up to go to Luke's work party at the Downtown Athletic Club.

I think they look fantastic.  Also very impressed Emily could convince Luke to wear a red shirt.

They sure look happy!

I suggested that since almost the entire family will be in Eugene for Christmas they should get married next week.  Emily didn't think that was such a good idea. 

Pictures 1985 to 1995ish

I'm trying to be disciplined about going through some of our old pictures. We have a large box filled with photos from the pre-digital age.  My hope is to scan the good ones and even post a few.

First some pictures of Autumn and Ellie. 

Grandma holding Autumn and Scott holding Ellie

Autumn just hours after being born. 

Autumn being cute in Dad's lap

This picture has something you never see - Paul wearing shorts!  I love Nathan in the shades.  Taken at Luke's fourth birday.

The Five oldest at Luke's Fourth Birthday

First known picture of the special birthday chocolate pound cake.

Luke's Cake

Paul with a mullet. 

Who is peaking out from behind the door.  This was taken in Phoenix in 1990.  I can tell because Nathan is in the picture and we don't have a yard yet.

Silas and Nathan

At the Hotel Pool with Granpa

Perhaps the rarest person in our photos - Aunt Suzy. 

Aunt Suzy and Silas in Ridgecrest, CA

Silas and Paul Painting in Phoenix

On the train in Scottsdale, Arizona

Silas and Paul - Scottsdale, Arizona

A picture with what Gina calls the ugliest couch in the world. We were thankful for it but didn't shed a tear when it was taken to the dump.

Gina, Silas and Paul

Paul - why doesn't he want the cheesecake?

A real early photo. Taken in 1986 - Novato, California.  The grandparents home.  We had just graduated from Cal Poly.

Gina and Silas - Novato, California 1986

Grandpa and Silas -Novato, CA 1986

Grandma and Silas - Novato, CA 1986

Picture of the Day - The Bridge -Wednesday 12/12/12

I love this picture.  We were hiking at Silver Lake Falls.  The kids laid down on a bridge and someone took this cool picture of the reflection on the river below.

Family Traditions - Pictures Only #1

Every family has traditions that help uniquely define their family.  I started a project of taking pictures that show our traditions.  My plan is to write about each one, the history and reason we do things a certain way.  For now here are a few pictures and you can try to guess what they represent....

The first one is easy

This one is harder but something that I try to do every day.

More than one in this picture.  And is not Autumn wearing a coat during dinner. 

Because we live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

This is a weird one and I may be the only one in the family that knows about this tradition.  And no it is not me teaching everybody how to load the dishwasher the "right' way.

More to come!

Picture of the Day - Brothers - Tuesday 12/11/12

Nathan and Luke were born less than 18 months apart. They played together and they played until they were exhausted.  Gina took more than a few pictures of those two falling asleep in funny positions.

We love this picture of Nathan using Luke for a  pillow.  They are both fast asleep on the couch. Still not sure how Luke ended up in that particular position.

Not really sure what house this picture was taken.  Gina will know, she always knows that kind of stuff.

This picture is typical of the afternoon nap routine.  Gina would put them on our mattress and they would be asleep in a few minutes.  

You may notice the mattress is on the ground.  We slept for years with the mattress this way because we always had at least one toddler in the house.  The little guy/girl could easily climb into or out of bed without fear of falling on the ground and hurting themselves. I think we were married 16+ years before we had a bed frame.

Sunday

Sunday is a busy and fun day around our house. It starts with breakfast.  When the kids were young everyone ate breakfast but now it seems they want to sleep in to the last minute.  So usually it is just me, Hanni and Peter breaking bread (actually eggs).  But everyone seems to get up in time to make themselves presentable for church.

Here is Autumn helping Hanni with her hair.  I'm still getting my head wrapped around the idea that Hanni cares about the state of her hair.  I long for the days when I had to remind her to brush her hair before going out.

Please notice that Autumn's hair already looks fantastic and she hasn't done anything to it yet.  I can never convince her that she doesn't need to straighten her hair.  Why do young ladies with wavy hair want straight hair?  It doesn't make any sense...

After church we get together for a meal. 

Menu for today:

Dad's favorite pasta (recipe sometime later)

Grilled Brussels Sprouts

Baked Butternut Squash

Gina's Famous Cheesy Toast

There are a couple empty chairs but they will soon be filled by Nathan and Julie.

Now everyone has arrived.  I just noticed in this picture that Abe is texting, that is not allowed during the meal!  He will say the meal hasn't started yet so it is still ok. You almost need a law degree to raise a teenager.

Everyone is talking and enjoying themselves. The advent candles are lit and the meal is almost ready to start.

Hope you can join us sometime.

Cool Pic - First Communion

This picture caught my eye and made me laugh. The girl in the background reminds me (just a little) of Hanni.

Best of the Week Dec 7 - Interesting Stuff

Some Interesting Stories and Miscellany

Each week we will highlighted a few of our favorite things from the week. Hopefully things you may not see during your normal web crawling

• Facebook Cover Photos - Communicate Jesus has a few Facebook cover photos that you may want to consider using. They also link to a much bigger collection.

• What Causes people to change? - Did you read David Brooks column about a now infamous email that British father Nick Crews sent to his adult children, berating them for their poor life choices. Here is a Christian take on it.

• Aboard a Medical Mission Ship - A mother blogs while living aboard the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship, the M/V Africa Mercy.

• Honey Laundering - Somebody is importing honey from China and then labeling as USA local.

• Google Photo Editor - Snapseed - If you are a Google+ user and/or have an Android device you might like this.  I think it is better than Instagram

Cooking For Dad - A few Hints and a Recipe!

Every guy should have a few go to meals or side dishes.  For a dish to make the "DAD LIST" a few critical criteria must be met:

• Taste Amazing - I rarely cook and when I do it needs to be impressive.  
• It has your signature - I want everyone in the family to say  - "We love when Dad makes ________". I want to make a memory as much as I want to make a meal.
• Involves fire or the grill - It is way more fun to cook with fire and the kids love it.  The grill is a good backup because it is still outside
• Your kids can help and they will actually enjoy helping.
• Your wife likes when you cook it and would prefer not to go to the hassle of making it.  I add this because once my wife starts making a dish it is always better than when I make it.

One of my recipes is Grilled Brussels Sprouts:

I know you are thinking, nobody likes brussels sprouts.  I had that ignorant opinion until trying this amazing recipe.

The full recipe is below the pictures.  I just want to add a few comments.

• The ingredients are likely found in your pantry
• Buy good quality Smoked Paprika.  The quality really varies between brands and price.

Brussels Sprouts - Ingredients

• A stalk of Sprouts usually yields about 3 lbs of vege goodness.  Normally I cook 2 lbs and refrigerate 1 lb for cooking a couple days later.
• Microwave for 4 minutes if cooking 2 lbs at once
• Don't use a skewer.  It just takes longer and doesn't add anything to the flavor.
• For my taste, more pepper is necessary.  I always think more pepper is needed, it is the secret ingredient to separate Dad cooking from Mom cooking.
• Do not skimp on the olive oil, you need all of it but you don't need more than called for in the recipe.

Most often I use the grill but if the weather is nice, using an open flame is fun and guaranteed to get the kids helping.  Also if you have trouble getting your children to try eating these sprouts, seeing them cooked on a wood fire is great motivation.

 A benefit of using the fire ---- You can roast marshmallows!  More Dad points.

I love Peter's expression and Hanni's wardrobe.
Doesn't Peter look like he is up to no good.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, as uniform in size as possible*
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• Directions

  *Cook's Note: In order to facilitate even cooking, it is important that the Brussels sprouts be as uniform in size and shape as possible.

  Heat a grill to medium.

  Cut off the stem end of the Brussels sprouts and remove any yellowing outer leaves. Place the Brussels sprouts into a large, microwave safe mixing bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 3 minutes. Add the olive oil, garlic, mustard, paprika and salt and toss to combine. Allow the sprouts to cool until you can handle them. Skewer 4 to 5 Brussels sprouts onto each metal skewer with the stem ends facing in the same direction, leaving at least 1/2-inch in between each sprout. Place the skewers onto the grill with stem end closest to the flame. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the skewers over and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Serve as is or for additional flavor, remove the sprouts from the skewers, return them to the original mixing bowl and toss with any of the remaining oil and garlic mixture before serving.

  SERVES: 4; Calories: 126; Total Fat: 8 grams; Saturated Fat: 1 grams; Protein: 4 grams; Total carbohydrates: 11 grams; Sugar: 2 grams; Fiber: 5 grams; Cholesterol: 0 milligrams; Sodium: 509 milligrams

  Original Recipe - Alton Brown

  
  

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A Reason to Sing

Recently we experienced some trials that brought us to our knees. Really we had never experienced the emotional heartbreak that the events of June 2012 caused.  It was terrible. We felt deserted and injured. Each seemed as if we were were walking listlessly through a foggy forest. We hope you never have to go through it.

During that time we never felt or believed God had deserted us. We were confident He would work everything together for good, even though we had no idea how that could possibly be accomplished.  Now six months later, we are stronger in our faith and love of Jesus. We still don't know how all things are going to work together for good, but we can see some good results already.

During the depths, we walked into a new church and we sang this song. I love to sing and especially sing songs to God, so this song felt written especially for me and it caused me to weep. Anyone who knows me won't be surprised. The older I get the more emotional I become.  

Peter Turns 12 - O Happy Day!

The youngest male Snider turned 12 yesterday. Here is a picture of said young man calmly reading on Sunday, while he waits for all the woman of the household to get ready for church.

I was very careful to say youngest "male" because Peter is now 12 and no longer a boy, he is now a young man.
(And check out his new red basketball shoes)

 Because we had so many basketball practices, babysitting appointments, assistant coaching and other activities on his big day, Peter had to choose between opening presents first thing in the morning or waiting until 9 pm.  It didn't take him long to choose - -  early morning.  So here he is ready to go at 7:30 am.  You can see it was a little chilly in the house at that hour.

Not everyone was so excited to get up and out of bed.  I can only show the photo of Hanni. Autumn will not allow me to display a photo of her that early in the morning.  I don't know why, because as you all know her hair looks amazing in the morning.

Check out the HUGE Snickers Bar. It is bigger than his head!

He tried to fit it into his mouth but it didn't work.

It was a fun birthday. Too bad you missed the chicken cacciatore, it was crazy good.

Photo's - Spring 2012

Spring 2012 Photo's