And I Get Candy for Me?

Taylor: Mom, are we going to go trick-or-treating?

Me: Yes, we will go today!

Taylor: TODAY?!?!?!?!?!?! At my school?

Me: No, not at school... Here at the houses in our neighborhood.

Taylor: In our neighborhood? ...Which houses, Mom?

Me: All of them!

Taylor: All of them?????? And I get candy for ME? Goodie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Halloween was a lot of fun this year, as Taylor is finally grasping the concept. Taylor loved being a pirate, and Reilly really liked her black cat costume.

And of course, the candy. Always the candy.

Jacky Lanterns

Today Bryson came home early to carve pumpkins with the kids. "Jacky lanterns," as they call them. And so we stripped Taylor down to just his pants (he is a magnet for all things gooey & sticky) and safeguarded the kitchen table with today's newspaper in order to protect it from the pumpkin onslaught.

Taylor & Reilly were really wary of the pumpkin innards, but were really excited to pick the shapes out that would make up their jack-o-lantern faces. Taylor wanted circle eyes, Reilly preferred triangles.

In the meantime I was fixing up a pumpkin of my own in the kitchen... Tonight I decided to get creative and make dinner in a pumpkin. I had a recipe years ago back in college that was really yummy and I have yet to find a similar recipe to recreate it. So I just decided to wing it tonight. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Dinner in a Pumpkin:

1 lb. ground turkey
1 lb. ground pork sausage
salt & pepper to taste
a few shakes each of: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, fennel seed & chili powder (just go with me on that one)
1/2 onion, diced
1 medium apple, cored & diced (tart is best-- we used Jonathans... what else?)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 T brown sugar
~32 oz. chicken stock (2 cans or one of the big boxes)
1 1/2 c. brown & wild rice mixture (or use what your family enjoys)
1 sugar pumpkin
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

In a large skillet over medium high heat, mix ground meats together & cook until browned. Drain off fat and mix in salt, pepper, spices, onion, apple, mushrooms, & brown sugar. Stir in stock & rice. Cover & cook until rice is tender.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove top of pumpkin by cutting straight across the top (if you cut it jack-o-lantern style the top will collapse in on itself as it bakes). Scoop out pumpkin innards.

When meat/rice mixture is done, add the condensed soup and stir well. Season the inside of the pumpkin with salt, pepper, a little brown sugar, nutmeg, & some chili powder (there it is again!) Spoon the meat mixture into the pumpkin, replace pumpkin top.

Place the pumpkin on a large baking sheet & bake for 1 hr - 1 1/2 hrs at 400, or until the pumpkin is tender. Scoop out portions of filling and parts of the cooked pulp & serve. This is especially yummy with some crusty homemade bread & apple cider from Southridge Farm. :)

Enjoy!!!!!!!

Heirloom

I love history. I think we, as a culture, place way too much importance on the here and now and forget to pay the past the respect it's due. In particular, I love learning about my own family history. For a few years now I've been collecting stories, artifacts-- things to compile and cherish so I can better teach my own children where they fit in the interconnected weave of generations past and present.

Last week I was lucky enough to inherit this bureau from my aunt, who was nice enough to think of me when she decided it needed a new home. As you can see, it needs a little TLC to get it back to its gorgeous self, but I am absolutely ready to get to work.

This dresser belonged to my Great Grandmother. It was given to her by my Great Grandfather just after World War I.

I am completely in love with it.

I think sometimes that this crazy fast-paced world we live in leads us to believe that newer, faster, bigger is always better. But I disagree.

A Girl of Many Words

I remember going in for Reilly's two-year checkup recently and the physician asking if she was now speaking in two-word sentences. I almost began laughing out loud because Reilly, despite being quite small for her age, has quickly developed the uncanny ability to speak clearly and articulately. Bryson even taught her to say that word-- "Articulate." It makes me giggle every time she says it.

Now just the other day Bryson was lounging on the sofa reading a novel-- feet up on the furniture, his brown loafers resting casually on the carpet below. Enter Reilly, the big shoe lover of our household. She walks over to her daddy's shoes, puts her little feet into the soles and says...

Daddy's shoes? No.
Big shoes? Not exactly.

What this little two year old exclaims is-- no exaggeration-- "These are the biggest shoes I have ever seen!"

Bryson & I just stared at her for a moment, then looked at one another and started cracking up with laughter. And this is one of the highlights of my day... looking forward to what interesting things will come out of my princess's mouth. Could life get much sweeter?

Me and My Shadow

This morning I was getting a few things done upstairs when I heard Taylor in the hallway having this one-sided conversation:

Taylor: Hi! ... I'm so happy to see you today! ... How are you doing? ... I'll see you soon! ... I love you! ... Bye, Shadow!

I came around the corner just in time to see him kissing his shadow on the wall goodbye.

When was the last time you told your shadow you loved her?

A New Calling

Shell Shocked. Truly, there are no other words to describe how Bryson and I have felt for the past few days as we have let the reality of the situation sink in. When the Stake President called us in to speak with him last week, we assumed simply that Bryson was going to be released from his current church assignment of serving as our congregation's Elders Quorum President. But no...

"We'd like to extend you a calling to serve on the High Council," were the words that came out of the Stake President's mouth.

What???
No, seriously.
What???

I whipped my head around to glance at Bryson, who was clearly as blindsided by the call as I was. After a few moments, however, Bryson regained his composure enough to accept.

"Are you willing to sustain your husband in this new calling?" came the next question.

But, really, there is no question. Of course I will. I would support Bryson through anything-- he is my rock, my soft place to fall, my best friend.

Besides, we know we won't be alone on this new chapter... Perhaps Bryson's favorite scripture passage says it best:

And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left , and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and my angels round about you, to bear you up.

- Doctrine & Covenants 84:88
With promises like these, it's hard to doubt... despite the overwhelming feeling of it all.
And so we trust and move forward.

Jalapeño Girl

With all the salsa-making occurring in our home lately, our kitchen has been a treasure trove of produce. As I was cleaning up for the day, I noticed something rather strange... a half-eaten jalapeño pepper. Not merely sliced, mind you-- this pepper had an enormous bite taken out of it. I asked Bryson about it, and he seemed as perplexed as I was. The next morning I asked Taylor and Reilly about the mysterious jalapeño. Having eliminated one suspect already, I was pretty certain of the secret pepper eater's identity, as Reilly eats everything and Taylor eats nothing.

Me: Taylor, Reilly, do you know who ate this pepper?
Taylor: No.
Me: Reilly, did you eat this pepper?
Reilly: Yes. (joyfully) My pepper!

Reilly then proceeded to pick up where she left off, munching on the pepper as if it were an apple. Seeds, membranes, the whole enchilada. Apparently she takes after her southwestern-bred Grandma. :) We love our little girl!