Children--Day 5 of Gratitude

 Day 5 of Things I Am Grateful for is really a no-brainer. Anytime I see a number 5 I think of my five children.
There are no words on the gratitude I feel for the fact that God trusted me with FIVE lives to raise, teach, love and watch grow into adulthood.

 I realize I am MORE than a little prejudice, but when I was taking this picture a couple of weeks ago, I turned to my husband and said, "One thing about it, we really produce beautiful children." (I told you I was prejudice!!)  Names and ages for those that are interested...and if you aren't ...sorry!
Annabelle Caitlin, 27; Coulter Ferguson, 22; Fielding Jourdan, 28; Luke Timouthy, 21; Taylor Clancy, 25. Yes, we had our hands full....

 I always wanted a house full of boys. I love boys! 
 I love ballgames and dirty uniforms and healthy appetites and dirty pockets and wrestling on the living room floor and incessant teasing and girls that call on the phone to talk to the boys and how much boys love their mama!!!!

  When I got two daughters as well as three huge boys, I got the Lucky Straw.  My daughters are brains and beauty and balanced. They were the ones that kept those boys in line and hovered over their younger brothers.
(Actually the girls still look out for their brothers!)

Their personalities are as opposite as their looks. Yet, when other mothers talked about how much their daughters argued and fought, I could never join in. My girls rarely disagreed. Perhaps it was because of their opposite personalities!

 (In case you had not figured it out, I buy any 5 I see!)

 Fielding takes the job of being the oldest very seriously. He likes to give (sage!) advice to his siblings. (They have not learned to appreciate it yet!) He will make a wonderful husband because he is so caring. He picked a wife that we all love.

 The Blondes--They actually share very similar personality traits. (And, as my husband likes to point out, they seem to be my personality traits!) We like to be a little more adventurous. We are emotional. We crave, CRAVE brownies. We love bread products. We love the sun. We love to read. We tend to be bossy. We need very little sleep. Our motors tend to run at  a little faster pace! (I was trying to say all that in a good way!!!)

The Brunettes--(including Fielding) also share personality traits. (AND, those traits tend to take after my husband.) They are more laid back. They love TV and movies. They love music and can tell you every band and singer and everything they ever sang since the beginning of time. They have a ritual of food they prepare every single Game Day. They are very kind to everyone.

 All five of them are compassionate. They cannot stand to hear of any human or animal mistreated. They are all huge animal lovers. They all spoil their younger cousins. They all dote and worry over their grandparents. When we get together as a group now, it is always fun. There is still wrestling and bossing and hovering. There are stories of 'when they were little'. There are tall tales of ball game heroics. There are games and stories and memories. It is a wonderful time....just as every single stage with The Five has been. I am forever grateful, that I was blessed with five children that are as beautiful inside as they are out. (I told you I was prejudiced!)

Pumpkin Pie..with a twist Day 5 of the Feast

This version of the pumpkin pie came from my cousin Jan. Believe it or not, I do not like pumpkin (even tho I have all these pumpkin recipes!!) I do love the way it smells and bakes up, AND my family loves it, so I bake with pumpkin frequently. My Human Taste Testers tell me this version of the pumpkin pie is delicous! It is SO easy as well.

INGREDIENTS

1 roll out pie crust

(fit the pie crust into your pan. Crimp edges. Make it look beautiful)

1 can Libby's Pumpkin Pie MIX

(make sure it is the mix...it already has everything in it)

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

(this is the secret...make sure it is sweetened condensed. And yes, use the WHOLE can.)

2 eggs, beaten

Combine filling ingredients. Mix well.

This will fill one deep dish pie (or two smaller regular ones)

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Continue baking for another 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

When a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean, it is done.

Remove from oven. Let cool. Pile on the whipped cream.

Sprinkle a little cinammon sugar over the whipped cream for looks.

Enjoy.



Unplanned Moments--Day 4 of Gratitude

 I am grateful for wonderful moments, nice surprises, and unplanned memories that happen when we are not expecting them. It works to make them even more special. Such is the story of the pinecones.

 One of my sons played football for a small college in Kansas. The second year he played we got the nice surprise that the Air Force Academy was on his schedule. And it was an away game. I knew instantly that if my son was going to play against the Air Force Academy that I wanted to be at that game.

 We left for Colorado Springs on Friday evening after our high school son finished his football game. We met my parents and one of our daughters in the middle of Kansas and spent the night. We then headed off to Colorado Springs in the wee hours of the morning. We got there in plenty of time for the game. It was a cool, crisp, beautiful fall day. Their campus is breathtaking. The view from the football field was postcard-perfect.  There was a definite reverence about the place. We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of football.  My son had to drive back to his college with the team, but my parents, daughter and Hubs had the rest of the weekend to explore Colorado Springs. We went to the top of Pike's Peak, shopped all over Colorado Springs, ate at wonderful places and headed home on Monday (we had taken that day off of work). It was a wonderful weekend.

BUT before we left the campus on that Saturday afternoon, we walked around.  Right outside the football field, on all sides, were pine trees. I gathered up several sacks of pinecones and brought them home with me.
Now every single year in the fall when I get the pincones out, I think of the weekend that my son got to play football against the Air Force Academy and we got to visit the beautiful school and enjoy Colorado Springs for two days. What a great memory!

FEAST-Day 4--Scotchies

 There is only one problem with Scotchies.  They don't last.

 And when I say they don't last, I am not talking expiration kind of not lasting, I am talking....if you want one, then get it when you see them. They go quickly. Super quickly. Especially when they are hot out of the oven. Guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser.

 SCOTCHIES

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinammon

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups oats

1 pkg. Butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugars until creamy.

Add the eggs and the vanilla.

Add to this the flour, baking soda,

salt, and cinammon. Mix well.

Add the oats and butterscotch.

Mix well.

Drop by cookie scoop on to cookie sheet.

(I cover my cookie sheets with parchment paper first.)

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden.

Eat the ones you want now, because they will

be gone the next time you look.

Tomorrow: Pumpkin Pie (with a twist)

Simple Beauty and Gratitude Day 3

I am grateful for the simple beauty I see in every day objects. Really, it is there. All we have to do is look.