So Thankful...

I have so very much to be thankful for...

My husband who is such a Godly leader, my precious children who give me such joy to teach, my wonderful friends and family that give me such wonderful memories, and my God who has given me blessings beyond measure in my eternal salvation and security through Jesus Christ.

Isn't Nicole Nordeman's song Gratitude just perfect for Thanksgiving?! I just love her lyrics!

In lieu of the upcoming holiday, last night we made our Pumpkin puree from organically-grown pumpkins. It was so fun... messy, but fun! You can look at The Pioneer Woman's blog for more details and pictures of how to make your own pumpkin puree. She also has lots of Thanksgiving Recipes that look scrumptious!


Here are the soon-to-be carriages, I mean, soon-to-be pumpkin purees. (Our Fairy Godmother was busy, so we had to make a plan B)



Singing "The Farmer in the Dell"... "we chopped off their tops with a carving knife"



Caroline and Ava scooped out all the yummy (or should I say yucky) insides. We saved the pumpkin seeds so we can roast them later to eat. Yummy recipe here!



Ava showing off her hollowed out pumpkin. (she really wishes it had been a carriage)



Caroline showing off hers, too. (she's not thinking about carriages... only the pumpkin pie)



We then cut the pumpkin into quarters. Ironman (aka Daddy) had to use his brawn to get the job done. (Isn't he cute?!)




We roasted the pumpkin quarters in the oven on 350 for 45 minutes...



Then peeled and cut off the skin...



And chopped it up in the food processor to make the yummy puree. (Of course, Ava had to eat some of it immediately)



We measured out the puree in cupfuls, and bagged them up. (Notice Ava's dish-washing gloves she's donning).

Next, we will make homemade pumpkin pie with our purees... oh, and I have to go make the crust. I guess it would defeat our purpose of making all the ingredients from scratch and then pour it into a pre-made crust. We're going to try Mrs. Klause's recipe for the crust. Whew!... more baking fun upahead. (how did the Pilgrims do it all?!)

I found out that Mrs. Fuentes has a precious recipe for the cookies pictured below. This will be the girls' fun project while I finish brining and preparing the turkey.



This morning, the girls and I awoke to finish our Thanksgiving day preparations... we pulled out our recipes, started making a plan of action, and then I said:

"STOP!"

"We are trying to prepare for Thanksgiving without preparing our hearts first!"

So, Caroline grabbed some pillows and we curled up by the blazing fire place and read 1 Thess. 5:16-18: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

We discussed how we can be joyful, prayerful and thankful... always. Ava, who is our voice of reason, kept telling us that we can't do it always. But... we CAN!! We are AmeriCAN, not AmeriCAN'T!! (rip off of Beverly Hills Chihuahua... lol!)

So, we made a list of everything we are thankful for. I won't publish the whole list here, but I'll recap a few of them:

Some of Ava's thankful list: Mommy, Daddy, Caroline, ability to read the Bible, Jesus, home, dogs, friends and family.

Some of Caroline's thankful list: Mommy, Daddy, Ava, Jesus, pets, a mommy and daddy that teach her the bible (Awwww!), a mommy that homeschools her (double Awwwww!), food, safety, home, friends and family.

And we ended our devotion by praying to God thanking Him for all He has given us, as well as asking Him to help us when we complain or are ungrateful about things we want and don't have. We asked for help to replace those thoughts with a thankfulness for everything we do have!

What an Awesome, Loving and Giving Father we have... may we choose joy, prayer-fullness, and a heart of thanksgiving... in ALL circumstances... ALWAYS!

Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled... Cucumbers?

I did it... or should I say, we did it!!! The Klause family came over and we pickled cucumbers! Good Times! :)

We used the organically grown dill from our garden and yummy "pickling" cucumbers from Costco. (along with a few other ingredients, of course)

Yee-haw!... I'm ready to move out to the country and milk some cows now! If I can make homemade pickles... and I mean GOOD-TASTIN' homemade pickles... anyone can!

The girls had so much fun cutting the cucumbers and preparing the ingredients! And the end result was ABSOLUTELY delicious pickles (11 jars of them to be exact).

Here's the recipe we used from Mrs. Klause's blog:
Homemade Pickles Recipe

Have a blessed "dill-filled" day! :)

Your kids are going to love this broccoli and cauliflower...

I made some of the yummiest broccoli and cauliflower last night and had to share the simple recipes I found from Southern Living. I’ll be honest; I DO NOT like broccoli or cauliflower, and I REALLY liked this! Erich said, "This is the best broccoli and cauliflower I’ve ever eaten.” Ava and Caroline ate it so fast, they requested seconds. OK… so here they are:

Broccoli with Garlic Butter and Cashews
Prep: 4 minutes Cook: 15 minutes

1 ½ lbs. fresh broccoli
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons white vinegar

1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup salted roasted cashews *(I didn’t have cashews on hand, and the recipe was still delicious)

*Remove and discard broccoli leaves and tough ends of stalks; cut broccoli into spears. Cook in a small amount of boiling water 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain well. Arrange broccoli on a serving platter. Set aside, and keep warm.

*Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat; add brown sugar and next 4 ingredients. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Stir in cashews. Pour sauce over broccoli, and serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings, Calories 168, Fat 13.8g, Cholesterol 28mg, Sodium 688 mg

Cauliflower with Herb Butter

Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 10 minutes

1 large cauliflower
Juice from 1 lemon
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or ¼ teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, crushed

*Remove large outer leaves of cauliflower. Break cauliflower into flowerets. Cover and cook in a small amount of boiling water 8 to 10 minutes or until tender; drain. Arrange flowerets in a serving dish and sprinkle with lemon juice.

*Combine butter and next 4 ingredients; pour herb butter over flowerets. Enjoy! :)

Yield: 6 servings, Calories 115, Fat 10.4 g, Cholesterol 28mg, Sodium 229mg