Dear neglected blog,

I regret that we’ve not spent much quality time together lately.I’m so sorry, but I’ve been busy with other things.I do promise, however, to be back soon with lots & lots of stories to tell…stories of costumes for a playstories about a son in that play…Maybe even a tale of a new baby quilt!

Just be patient please, for this storm to pass. I’ll be back – I promise!

a mom moment

There  are those instances in a mom’s life where her heart swells up with so much love & pride there’s no place for it to go but to spill over in tears.

The Sunday before Christmas was one such day for this momma…

Our middle son decided it was time to publically proclaim his own personal faith.

Alec

I pray he will always be able to say with such boldness, “Yes, sir!”

This is Christmas

Thank you God, for loving the world so much that You sent Your only Son to restore us!

Aunt Ruth’s Kielbasa Stew

I was sooooooooo excited when Kelly from View Along the Way announced a holiday heirloom recipe party! I fixed a warming & filling soup for my boys that I first encountered almost 30 years ago.I was a sophomore in college and I was living at home. However, my folks had moved away to Oregon for a few years. During that lonely phase of life, my aunt made sure I didn’t starve & that I spent family time with her, my cousins & uncle. The evening we decorated her tree, some extra guests popped by for dinner.  This is the meal she frugally stretched to feed us all.Aunt Ruth got the recipe from her mother-in-law. (Evidently it was a Danish family recipe that Gramma J wouldn’t even entrust to her own daughter…)

My guys & I found that it is a great soup for a cold evening. We sat outside by the firepit (finally cool enough for a fire…) and enjoyed our lit tree.Here’s the ingredient list for the soup:…and here’s how to make it:Here is what it looked like in the pot:…and this is how it looks just prior to being devoured:

Key Lime Trifle (the gluten-free way…)

I was very pleased with my Thanksgiving dessert! Evidently, so was everyone else, for this is all that was left:I need to work  a bit with the texture of  the cake, but the flavors worked so well together.
Here is what I mixed together for my “Faux Graham Cake”:I’m pretty sure I tried to get too much cake into the trifle dish. Using half of the 9x13” would’ve been sufficient.I’m very pleased with the lime/cream cheese layer. (As previously mentioned here, we prefer our key lime pie to not have the traditional sweetened condensed milk flavor…) Our limes were ripened on the tree, so you might need to adjust your lime/honey ratio to your own taste. (No need to worry about the extra liquidity, for it will be absorbed by the cake.)Here are the ingredients I beat together:
Honey whipped cream is becoming a favorite at our house. Being “off” of processed sugar, cream tastes so sweet to me. The boys love to stuff this into scones or slather on a piece of berry pie.
I crumbled a layer of cake, spooned on the lime filling, then dolloped on the whipped cream. Repeated the entire procedure…
Covered it with plastic wrap & refrigerated until we served it after dinner.
Here you see it in it’s natural state: (empty plate & 1/2 cup of coffee…)

Thankful for…

Cousins!

sibling rivalry

Thanksgiving was a wonderful gathering this year. (We certainly, however, missed our sister who celebrated in her favorite far-away place again.)My brother indicated on facebook that he’d made a gluten-free zucchini nut bread. I felt so sorry for him. Poor boy. It probably had a terrible texture & I was so ready to tutor him (with my incredible GF baking knowledge) on ingredients…

Oh my! I got to sample the first slice (which may or may not have been slathered with Neufchâtel…) of that incredible breadand knew I needed to share his recipe here.

If you enjoy it, you can thank my brother for it…

Psalm 100

"Never Once" by Matt Redman

Matt Redman - Never Once (Live) from matt-redman on GodTube.

Blue Boy roses

I ♥ roses.

I ♥ blue.

I most especially ♥ my Blue Boy roses.

How I wish my blog came with a "smell this" link; for these have filled our home with their incredible scent! Thank you God, for bountiful gifts from my garden.

mmmmmmm -- ima lovin' !

Today I'm grateful for impromptu after-school naps...

...finishing my first camera strap cover...

...cousins who travel great distances for a visit...

...the beauty of brushfire smokey sunsets

and moonsets...

...lovely buds on my "Blue Boy"...

...and wonderful FIL who met a need.