Soup Season

After a hot summer I really look forward to the cooler weather. I love the change of clothing, activities and food. I especially love soup served with really great bread. The best meal ever. I found a good recipe in the BHG magazine this month and then modified it a little. This is what I came up with. It is really simple and fast. Have fun. Let me know if you alter it and how it turns out.

Potato chowder

6 to 8 medium red potatoes or 4 large russet
clean, peel if you want, and chop them into 1 inch squares

place in medium sauce pan and cover with 1 box Swanson chicken broth
bring to a boil and cook till fork tender. It should still hold shape.

mash a little with a potato masher and add 2 cups milk.

grate 2 cups smoked Gouda (or any strong flavored cheese)
put 4 to 6 Tbsp of flour over the cheese and toss it together
covering the cheese with the flour.

Add this mixture to the potatoes and milk along with
some chopped broccoli (about 1 cup) and bring just to a boil
cheese will melt, stir frequently so it doesn't stick.

cook until all ingredients are done the way you like.

serve right away. mmmmmmmm It is really good.

Blessings

I have inherited my mom's worry bone. For quite some time we have been living with out fire alarms. It has been a worry in the back of my mind for several months. I just never think of it at convenient times. I usually think about it in the middle of the night or on my way to work or on Sunday. You know how it is. When that happens I just say a little prayer to protect our home. Lately Gary and I have made a concerted effort to have family prayer, scripture study and family time. I think that it is no coincidence that this week the fire department showed up at our door offering free fire alarms and installation. What a blessing. One worry off my mind. I am not even going to count the others. I am just so grateful for this little blessing. A little reminder that we are not alone and that heavenly father answers even simple prayers.

Boys will be boys

We came home from church yesterday to find a cricket who had some how found respite in our home. Yuck. I have an intense dislike for all things creepy, crawley or otherwise spider like. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Brayden however had a complete fascination for the ugly black creature. Brayden followed it all over the house laughing with delight. I should have taken a picture, but I was too freaked out. I have decided that I do not want to pass my irrational fears on to my child, so I let him have time to explore and play. He laughed as it jumped and at one point he actually had hold of its leg. Brayden kept looking at me with his "this is the most fun I have ever had" expression. After about 10 min I had all I could take. I wisked Brayden out of the room and then smacked the heck out of it with my shoe. You should have seen the look on his face. It was so sad. I felt like the worst mother who ever lived. It was at that moment I knew this was only the first of many "mom look what I brought you" moments. I am raising a true blue no doubt about it boy. I love him more than anything, but bugs and creatures live outside. :)

Braydens Birthday

My Very first Cake
not really sure what to think of this
I can't believe that mom is letting me do this.
Now I am just a big ham.

we had a lot of fun on Bryadens 1st birth day. We had the kids over for a family party and celebrated 4 birth days this month. Gary, Nathan, Christine and Brayden. We made burber bites and had a great time. The burgers were supposed to be regular size, but they shrunk up. We are still learning how to use our grill. They had great flavor, just a little small. Brayden got some really cute clothing from his sister Shawnee. A few books, some p.j.'s and shoes.

Gary was a little jealous and wanted to try on Braydens new out fit. It really looks better on Brayden. He wore it to church today and got a lot of compliments.

Took him a while to get the hang of presents. Maybe he will understand when Christmas rolls around. He really had more fun with the paper.

Ok, so I am usually a pretty quick learner. I will admit to being challenged in the technology area. However I work on a computer every day. I have a pretty good brain. At least I thought so. I just tried once again to upload a photo on my own. But no. I tried for 40 minutes. Annie is a great teacher but the student is in need of a brain transplant. I don't know when I will see Annie next, so I will just tell you. Brayden cracks me up every day. He is walking now and getting around like none other. We have been trying to avoid the whole toilet paper on the floor thing for some weeks now. A few weeks ago he learned how to spin it off the roll. I turned the roll around. That fixed the problem until he saw me pull the paper from the back. You should have seen his little face. His eyes popped open and you could actually see "bingo" appear on his face. He scooted right over and began to spin the paper from the back. No problem, I will just put the roll on the bathroom counter. That worked for a few days until I forgot and got busy. I am in the kitchen and Brayden is really quiet. You know, all parents warn you about quite children, but you never really understand until you have one. So he is really, really quiet. I sneak up on him and he is surrounded with paper he is happy and laughing. Seriously this is the time of his life. I got a great picture. As soon as I figure how to up load it. I will show you. Any way. I am loving life and this little boy of mine. How did I ever have any fun before he came along?

Thanks Annie. I can blog now.

This is a really cute photo of Brayden. My friend Ginger went to Italy with her family. While there she sent this cute Gondolier outfit. Brayden was 9 months when he finally fit into it. He is such a sweet boy. This post is for Ginger. Now that I know how, I will work on providing more info.

Annie is here and we are learning how to up load photos. Here is a cute one of Brayden. It is a few months ago. I think he was only about 4 months old in this photo. I am working on getting some more recent photos. I hope to post a blog of our Michigan trip soon. So, stay tuned. :) xoxoxo

Ok, have a little fun at my expense. It is rather funny that the only photo I managed to upload was a Christmas photo. I am having a lot of trouble with this whole blog thing. I seriously need lessons. Sandra, don't feel so bad about the math test. I cant even figure out how to keep a blog going. I think you are a genius. So, I love you all and I really do have a desire to tell you what is going on in my world. Lets face it, I am no Annie. :)

The picture I really would have like to upload is a cute little photo of Brayden learning to brush his teeth. It is probably the best part of our day. In the evening we have dinner, bath and then its time for the highly anticipated tooth brushing. We place Brayden on the counter, pull back the medicine cabinet door to reveal the masterpiece. Brayden squeals with delight and lunges for his tooth brush. He giggles as he chews on the bristles. He watches intently as I brush my own teeth. Sometimes he leans forward to get a closer look. Often he will try to imitate what he sees me doing. Brayden would probably sit there for an hour if I would let him. He gets really sad when we rinse off the tooth brush and put it away. We always wave good bye and there are a few tears. I think he is starting to understand that we will do it all again tomorrow. So, maybe when Annie returns from Utah she will help me find that photo and you will have a clear picture. :) xoxo