May it be to me...

I've really enjoyed seeing everyone's pictures from last week when it snowed. I waffled as to whether to bundle the kids up and get them back out to play in it or not. We had a conference that night up at day care about Bella's biting issue, and by the time we got home and had supper it was almost 8 o'clock. The thought of getting all those little feet and arms back into shoes and coats was sort of overwhelming. So no snowbaby pictures this time. After they went to bed I went out to the grocery store and practically danced into HEB I was so happy and at peace with the world. I don't know how to express how excited I was about the snow - enchanted is probably close to the right word. I really like these pictures of the house with the lights up and the snow. I guess since I'm a woman and a mother, and from a Mexican-American family, I really connect with the Virgin Mary and I am always reminded of her story at this time of year. I pray that I could exhibit even a fraction of that kind of grace. We have this Nativity scene up in our dining room and just having it there reminds me to slow down, take a breath, speak with more patience. What an amazing thought - the salvation of the whole world became possible all because one mother was willing to follow God's plan instead of her own. Luke 1:38 "I am the Lord's Servant, May it be to me as you have said".

Harvest Day Soup Recipe

This recipe comes from the 1851 Historic Maple Inn Manor in Springfield Kentucky. I have tweaked it somewhat. This was my humble contribution to Jessica's baby shower. Sorry it took me so long to post the recipe, I couldn't find it, I looked and looked and then finally tonight remembered I left it between the pages of my big yellow cookbook. 1 pound sausage (I use maple breakfast sausage) 1 large finely chopped onion 2.5 cups chicken broth (I use organic, 99% fat free, low sodium) 1 15 oz. can of pumpkin (be careful not to get pie filling, you want just plain pumpkin) 1 teaspoon lemon juice 16 oz. Half & Half (or milk or cream, whatever you have) 1/2 tspn nutmeg 1/2 tspn cinnamon salt pepper Brown and crumble the sausage. Set aside, saute onions in drippings until very soft and translucent. Add all the other ingredients. Add back in the sausage. Heat until hot. Serve with French's Fried Onions on top for garnish and some bread to sop up the bowl. That's it. Easier than pie. It's not particularly healthy but it's also probably not something you'll eat everyday. After all, how often does it get cold enough here to even want to make and eat soup?

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

We've been very busy making Christmas preparations around here. Since our old fake tree died, we decided to try getting a real one this year. Growing up, we always had a real tree but it was a new experience for Will. People always talk about the mess. But I think the artificial trees shed an awful lot of needles too. This one smells really nice and the needles and branches were really soft (they are a bit spikier now as time goes on). Its been surprising how much water it drinks up - I would say about 6 cups a day. So far, it's been really pleasant and picking it out and bringing it home took less time than getting the fake one down and putting it all together and messing with each branch to get it looking fluffed out. I'm mildly concerned that the branches aren't as springy as when we first got it, I'm thinking it will be good and dead by the time Christmas is over. Then we'll recycle it and that's another positive as well. This past weekend we put lights up on the house. This is definitely something that falls into the category of Things That Will Does To Make Shaun Happy. I think he secretly enjoys them as much as I do, once they are up. Will doesn't do heights, which makes this act of kindness all the more sweet. Thanks honey! In other news, Bella is teething again and we are having a biting problem. I was on the phone with the director of the school because she bit three times in one day and she actually bit a FOURTH time while we were on the phone! Aack. It makes me feel like a bad parent, but she doesn't bite at home, so it's hard for me to really know what to do. Most of the incidents were because kids kept putting their fingers in her mouth and she bit down on them. Maybe I'm being too technical but it doesn't seem entirely fair to me - isn't putting your fingers in someone's mouth kind of asking for it?