Ok Here's my Resolution! and a Cool Website I found

This morning I made a big breakfast for my family and the extra kids that ended up staying out our house last night.  I don't spend a lot of time cooking, partly because of scheduling, partly because I have some pretty strict parameters around what I like to do when cooking.  And when I say cooking I'm including baking too. 

Many times when I'm in the kitchen my mind drifts to times spent in my Mom's kitchen as a girl.  I watched her and sat on the cabinet talking to her.  She'd let me talk and talk and she'd listen and listen.  She didn't make me do very much to help her other than setting the table and cleaning the kitchen afterwards.  My sweet Mom was sensitive to my dislike for all things cooking then, thus...to this day I can set an incredibly beautiful table, but cooking...not my strong suit!  (I'm totally ok with this, let me say, I am SOO glad that she didn't make me cook!)

But back to this morning, so my husband and I were up before the boys, and ate our breakfast in the family room catching up on TV shows that we'd taped, we finished went back to the kitchen for one last nibble before putting our plates in the dishwasher, and somehow we started talking about pie. 

I tried to make pie one time.  ONE TIME.  It was a Pecan pie.  Someone said it was the easiest pie to make so I tried it.  It was in our first apartment and I remember taking it out of the oven, taking one look at it and turning around and throwing it in the sink and down the garbage disposal.  It was awful!  (Or maybe it just looked awful.)

So in the pie conversation this morning Keith (my hubs) says:  what about making a Pecan pie?
Me:  bleck...remember I tried that once.  But I should learn to make a Chocolate pie like my Mom!
He:  Yep, you should do it!
Me:  If Carmen can do it, I can do it!  (Carmen is my sister-in-law who called me at 11:00pm one night this summer asking me for my Mom's Chocolate pie recipe because she and her husband wanted one!  They ended up calling my Mom and made it that night and it turned out great!)
Me:  That's gonna be my New Year's Resolution!  To learn to make my Mom's Chocolate pie!
He:  Great idea, you should do it!  (He's so supportive...and he loves Chocolate pie!)

This is what it should will look like!

So, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Oh yeah, and I found a cool website reading another blog...this guy works at a used book store and has collected/posted recipes he's found in the pages of books.  Handwritten Recipes

Gotta learn how to do this!

You know we all have tons of Christmas goodies every year, and I remember saying this last year too (to myself though), but I really want to learn how to make some of these!

A friend gave our staff at church a basket full of these delicious apples.  They look GREAT and you know I am all about presentation.  But they taste so good too!  Keith and I shared one last night-one by yourself is a little intense, but just right shared. 

This is why I love being a Children's Pastor #1: Tater Tots from Santa

At church I asked a cute 3 year old boy what Santa brought him for Christmas.  He looked up at me and said, "Tater Tots."
Me:  Tater Tots?
Him:  Yes, but you can't eat em.
Me:  Really, you got Tater Tots from Santa?
Him:  Yes, but you can't eat em.

So I went down the hallway and ran into his older sister and said, "Hey your little brother just told me he got Tater Tots from Santa.  Really?

She said, "No...he didn't get tater tots.  I'm not sure what he means."  She sat there for a few seconds and said, "OH...I bet I know what he's talking about...he got a TEETER TOTTER from Santa!" 

My Mom's Santa and other random Christmas things

My Mom gave me her Santa for my home a few years ago.  As a child I remember him holding candy canes, but I have re-purposed him to hold Christmas cards from our friends.  This is one my favorite things to unpack each holiday season.  Last year, I didn't even pack it away, but kept it in my room on top of a high dresser so I could see it all year.

I have a friend who shared a great idea...she puts all the photo Christmas cards in a basket on her breakfast table, and each morning she and her family choose one of the photo cards and pray for that family.  They do this all year long.  Cool idea I think!

This is my mantle this year.  I love how it turned out!

My husband Keith and I made these ornaments with the names of Jesus on them years ago on one of our first Christmas's together.  They are some of my favorite things to put on the tree.

The remains of Christmas morning breakfast...Monkey Bread.  Can't have Christmas at my house without it!

The table all set and ready for lunch with our family and the Allen's, some of our dear friends. 

Snowflaking

On the left are the snowflakes on my windshield as I pulled up to my office today.  It snowed in Dallas!  (for about an hour) It stuck on the ground! (for about 10 minutes)  My friend Shelly from Chicago called me to say that it snowed in Dallas before it snowed in Chicago this year!  (now that's just funny!) HA!!

But my favorite thing about today was at dinner tonight.  On the right is an adorable 3 year old who was at my table. As he was telling his Dad about his day he said, "Dad, it was snowflaking today!"  Very well put!  That's about all we got today...a snowflaking!  Isn't that cute?  Isn't that 3 year old cute?

30 Days to De-Clutter Report

So, late October I posted that I was going to attempt to de-clutter at my house for 30 days.  I have to say that there were a few days that I skipped, but I did get a lot of work done in the de-cluttering department.  I filled up lots of bags and donated them either to a local charity or the local garbage man!  Isn't it cool that we live in a country where you put your trash out and it disappears the next day?