Thanksgiving in Memphis

We loaded up Wednesday morning and took a detour to pick up Aaron's ninety-one year old grandmother before arriving outside of Memphis to enjoy the bounty of family at Thanksgiving.

Sarah made two pies before we left our hometown:  apple and peanut butter.  And I pretty much got kicked out of the kitchen once we arrived.  It was Oma and the girls.  All four of her granddaughters were there, soaking up her "kitchen magic".

We are so grateful for the opportunity to live close enough that we can make a quick trip to celebrate with our families.  

Not many couples our age have the privilege of spending time with their grandmothers.  And we have three.  Abundant blessings, indeed.

I think these two have missed each other!

From year to year, our Thanksgiving celebrations have looked quite different, but no matter where we are, we recognize God's hand of provision and direction in our lives.

Every time we come back to the land of the libraries, we add new favorite books to our baskets.  Libraries are such a huge blessing!  Yesterday, the girls and I sat down together to read aloud through some of our Thanksgiving books.  Some new favorites that we've added to our faithful book friends...

Grandma's Thanksgiving Dinner by Maria Hoskins

The Thanksgiving Door by Debby Atwell

Sophie's Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller (Not really a Thanksgiving book - but our girls made squash into babies in the village, so we found this book hilarious!)

Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin

Thanksgiving With Me by Margaret Willey

One is a Feast for Mouse:  A Thanksgiving Tale by Judy Cox

An Outlaw Thanksgiving by Emily Arnold McCully

Round the Turkey:  A Grateful Thanksgving by Leslie Kimmelman

Turkey Pox by Laurie Halse Anderson

Savory Breakfast Muffins

One of our new favorite recipes to warm up our mornings.  These freeze beautifully for busy mornings!

Savory Breakfast Muffins

from "Taste of Home:  Diabetes Family Friendly Cookbook"

Prep: 25 minutes

Bake: 20 minutes

Makes: 16 muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon canola oil

3/4 cup cubed cheese

3/4 cup finely chopped fully cooked ham

1 medium sweet red pepper, finely chopped

4 green onions, finely chopped

1.  In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper.  In another bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, butter and oil.  Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.  Fold in the remaining ingredients.

2.  Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.  Bake at 400 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.  Serve warm.

Per Serving: 

124 calories    6 g fat (2 g sat fat)    40 mg cholesterol     319 mg sodium    

13 g carb      2 g fiber     6 g protein

Handstands and Read-Alouds

This is what my girls do while I sit on the porch swing and boo-hoo, I mean read, "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" aloud to them.

A New Sister!

One of the best parts about living in America again is getting to participate in events with our extended family. 

When my youngest brother called me last Friday night to let me know he was going to propose the next morning and invited us to attend, we were thrilled to go!

My creative brother began by giving each of Bekah's nieces and nephews a Ring Pop and asking them one by one if it would be acceptable for him to marry Bekah and become their uncle. 

The kids were more concerned about what color they got than the life changing event encircling them.

Eventually, my brother got around to popping the question to Bekah herself, and she said YES.  She is a sweetheart. 

I used to baby-sit her and her older siblings. Twenty-five years ago.  Who could have imagined what unfolded this weekend?!?  I can't think of a more lovely family for my brother to join. And I get another sweet sister as part of the deal.