Light Parade

It was cold during the light paraid this year but not as cold as last year. We had a great time. I always enjoy seeing all the decorated floats. It gets me in the Christmas mood. And as you can tell from some of the floats they are a great way to witness.
You might want to lower your volume when you see this video.

Pumpkin Pure'

I am so excited about what I have done today. I really feel like a home maker. As you know I am hosting Thanksgiving for my in laws. My good friend Ann had a bunch of extra pumpkins lying around and was telling me how easy it was to make fresh pumpkin pie. So I followed her simple instructions and made pumpkin pure'

First I cut the pumpkin in half and took out the slimy innards. Then i baked it for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Don't forget to put some water in the bottom of the pan to keep the pumpkin moist.

After baking and cooling I scooped out the tender meat. It came out very easily!

Next I put the meat in to my food processor. So that it could be chopped and mushed into a nice smooth texture. Can you see it mixing?

See how smooth it looks. I bet this will make a tasty pumpkin pie!

This is all that is left of the pumpkin when I was finished.
I cant wait to show you my other baking endeavors. I plan to make Sweet Rolls, Pecan Pie, Cheese Cake and apple pie. I am also tempted to make homemade stuffing. I saw a recipe on the Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. But we will see what time and patients allows.

ATTENTION ALL PARENTS!

I was innocently downloading pictures for another blog entry when I discovered these shots! I guess this is what happens when an 11 year old gets a hold of a camera.

Gee he looks kinda scary. Maybe I should save these pictures to share with future girlfriends.

Holy cow where did his eyes go? Gorss!

Hey the Dog has the same expression as the boy taking the pictures. I wonder why? hmmm I bet the boy did something to make him angry! You can almost hear him growl.

Gee look now the dog thinks he should be cute for the camera! Don't you just want to scratch his tummy!

This should be a warning to all parents. Keep your camera out of your children's reach.

Oh, My Aching Back!

O.K. so I have the honor of hosting Thanksgiving for my in laws this year. Exciting right? Hmmm, My back doesn't think so. You see my house has been in a slight state of disarray since my Little guy went home. Most of the house has been livable but his room was a total disaster. Have you ever seen Clean Sweep on TLC? Thats what this room looked like. Man I wished they would have been here to help. Anyway, my room mainly had laundry to put away. My 11 year old sons room was of course a night mare and the living room and kitchen weren't in too bad of shape. I had just recently cleaned them. Well after feeding my son a great breakfast of French Toast and bacon we were set to tackle our bedrooms. It took me until about 2:00 to clean, vacuumed, dust and wash windows and mirrors. Then I made lunch before tackling the baby's room. I decided to rearrange and take down the crib. Its been hard to even look in there and impossible to walk in there. We started to use it as a "lets toss all of our stuff that we don't want to put away" room. By the way I don't suggest this method of procrastination it creates much more work in he end. It is now 9:30pm and I am finally finished with the spare bedroom. WOW! I must say that my son was the funniest or most frustrating part of the day. I'm not sure which one it was. He just couldn't understand how his room got so messy. (You couldn't even walk in it.) Well after some whining, crying, stomping of feet and about 8 or 9 hours he finally got his room cleaned and dusted. I'm still not sure that he understands why this had to be done. Well tomorrow we will tackle the rest of the house because I work Monday and Tuesday. Then Wednesday will be filled with baking pies and roles for our feast! I hope the family enjoys their visit! For now a hot bubble bath is calling my name!

The Dreaded Flu Shot

I have avoided getting the flue shot for all of my adult life. I would rather be sick than have a needle in my arm. However the last few years I have gotten the flu. I usually start getting sick around Thanksgiving and stay sick through January. Every year the Dr. Lectures me about not getting the flu shot. I was in so much pain last year that I decided to be brave and go in for my shot. I remember the last time I had to get a shot. I was 16 or 17 years old and we were living in Germany. I can still picture the office. We needed to get a shot in order to come back to the US. I panicked and cried like a baby. So as I walked into the office this afternoon I apologized in advanced for crying. There were three nurses standing in there. I can spot a trainee a mile away. I said no way. So the other nurse gave me the thought. I am proud to say that not a tear came to my eye. I called my daddy and told him of my accomplishment. He said I was growing up. I think it was the 18 little prayers that said from my classmates and their encouraging words that they said as they shared their flu shot stories and the 19 hugs they gave me before they left school. I thank God every day for those little children that he has put into my care.

Christmas is Approaching QUICKLY

Yesterday we went shopping for things we probably didn't need. As we entered the mall it was adorned with Christmas music and decorated trees. I even spotted Santa's sleigh. I was thinking it's not even thanksgiving. I am not ready for Christmas music and the like, Not yet. I like to wait until the day after Thanksgiving. I like to enjoy each holiday as it comes with out rushing it out the door. I was looking for thanksgiving decorations and they were nowhere to be found. one of my favorite pastimes is people watching. I love to watch and listen to people where ever I am. As I was watching and listening I heard the same things from many shoppers. They would shake there head and say. "Christmas already? Its only the beginning of November. " Actually many stores have had their Christmas displays up since October. How Sad. I think that retailers should listen to their customers and wait just a little let us enjoy fall and all it has to offer. I love Christmas and celebrating Christs birth. I think about it daily in my walk with the Lord but I am not quite ready to pull out all the decorations and listen to the music just yet.