Halloween and My Favorite Trick-or-Treaters

First Time Pumpkin Carving

Happy Faces

For You, Mom (Chicken Chimis)

Preheat oven to 350
Cut up 2-3 chicken breasts into small pieces
Dice up an onion
Warm olive oil in skillet, add chicken and onions
Add two minced garlic cloves
Garlic powder, onion powder, garlic salt, pepper and salt to taste
When onions translucent, add one can cream of mushroom soup and one can cream of chicken
Bring to low boil; add 1/2 soup can milk, stir until mixed
Add 1/2 bag shredded mexican cheese; stir until melted

Using a package of 10 flour tortillas, place one 1/4 c. scoop of chicken mixture in center of each tortilla - fold up like burrito and put in slightly greased 9x13 pan. You should be able to fit 7 - 8 chimis across and 2-3 along the bottom. Thin remaining chicken mixture with more milk and pour over flour tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 40 min. Serve with salsa, sour cream, shredded lettuce and tomatoes on the side.

Love you, Mom. Try it soon and tell me what you think. MA and I enjoyed it tonight.

Pumpkin Spice Tea

Ever since I battled my most recent bout with strep throat, I've kind of been craving tea. I don't know why...especially because every kind I've tried makes me gag. The craving remains. The only tea-related liquid I've been able to get down is Tazo's Chai tea concentrate (you add milk), Celestial Seasoning's Sleepytime Throat Tamer and now, A CREATION OF MY OWN. 

Tea. 

Yes, you read that correctly. 

Tea. 

T.E.A.

In one of the blogs I follow, the girl mentioned loving fall because she could curl up on her porch with her warm wool socks, sipping pumpkin spice tea, journaling and drawing. I can't imagine anything better...well, except for the tea...UNTIL NOW. That blog post stirred up my tea craving and I began scouring the stores for pumpkin-flavored tea. No luck. I got online and looked at ways to make my own. I found an article that mentioned pumpkin butter so I tucked that away in my brain for future reference. 

Last night, the girls were upstairs doing homework, JP was at work, I had the kitchen clean and tidy, I was wearing my snowman pajamas and watching a movie with all the candles lit. The fireplace was on, I was warm and it was peacefully quiet and cozy...until I just had to have pumpkin tea. Soooo -- I quickly changed my clothes and, at 9:30 p.m., drove to Central Market. I scoured their tea aisle for pumpkin spice tea but couldn't find any. Then the creative part of my brain kicked in and I thought about all the flavors I like so I picked up vanilla chai tea, pumpkin butter, course-grain raw cane sugar and milk. When I got home I experimented for awhile and came up with this approximate recipe. It was so very, very DE-LISH-US.

Begin with 1 c. hot vanilla chai tea

 Add 1/2 t. cane sugar

Add 3/4 t. pumpkin butter

Stir in desired amount of milk

Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on top

Enjoy...preferably with thick socks, flannel pj bottoms, a fire in the fireplace and a good book or movie to keep you company.

Tonight's Menu

Sausage Potato Soup (recipe here)

Salad (click recipe below to see larger image)

Thick-sliced bread

Frozen fruit bars

Smiles From Today

 Pretty colors from a Physical Science lab

 The view from my desk

Presents from momMA

E-mail from JP

Today's the Day!

Everything to Me by Avalon

This is one of my top five favorite songs. It gives me chills every time I hear the end of the first verse heading into the chorus..."Ask me why He loves me and I don't know what to say but I'll never be the same because He changed my life when He became...Everything to me..."

Corn Maze with Girls' Club 2012

The beautiful corn/sun picture was taken by me. Oh, and the cornfield, too. The rest of the AMAZING photos were taken by one of my girls. She's got an eye for beauty! Traces of God in each of these kids as I observe their creativity, intellect, thoughtfulness and enthusiasm. Love them.

Joy and Radiance

“The out-and-out Christian is a joyful Christian. The half-and-half Christian is the kind of Christian that a great many of you are...little acquainted with the Lord. Why should we live halfway up the hill and swathed in the mists, when we might have an unclouded sky and a radiant sun over our heads if we would climb higher and walk in the light of His face?” 

 ~ Alexander Maclaren