A Holiday Trip

                                     

   Since our family wasn't able to all be together this year for Christmas, we thought we might add a little excitement to the season by taking a short trip to San Antonio.

   We arrived late in the day on Monday and the first thing we did was drive by the house where we once lived.  It's been sixteen years since we owned this house, but it still looks pretty much the same.  It's nice to know someone is enjoying and caring for it.

                           

   Next, we stopped for dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. The Alamo Cafe makes some the best tortillas in San Antonio!

Of course, no trip to San Antonio is complete without a trip to the real Alamo....

I love the unusual way the limbs grow on these trees in the Alamo courtyard...

After a few pictures around the fountain...

We headed over to the Riverwalk Center to do a little shopping...

and people watching.  I love to watch the barges full of tourists float by...

We did a lot of walking up and down the riverwalk....

Then headed over to Houston Street to see the building where my husband used to work.

  After his company's move to San Antonio 18 years ago, bricks were purchased with their employees' names to help pave the walk during the downtown renovation.  So of course, we had to find my husband's to see if he was still making his mark on the city.

Yep!  There it was!  Right on Houston Street...

We also made the perfunctory trip down to El Mercado, the Mexican market.  I don't think we've ever purchased anything there, but it just wouldn't be a trip to San Antonio without dropping by.  Maybe we just enjoy the trolley ride!

And finally, we spent an evening having a steak dinner on the riverwalk.  It was so beautiful with all the Christmas lights!

I hope you enjoyed our little tour of San Antonio.  As George Strait would sing, "There may not be snow in San Antonio, but it's a Texas Christmas to me!"

Merry Christmas, everyone!





My Early Christmas Gift

   This year I got my Christmas present a little early and I'm so excited about it!
    Back in November, I decided to try having a fruit smoothie each morning as a healthy way to start my day.  Then I  read that adding a little raw spinach to a smoothie would make it even healthier, so I tried this in my blender and while I could drink it, it just never seemed to blend real well.
   So, I did a little online research and decided I would really, really like to have a Vitamix blender.  It's as close to a commercial blender as you can get for home use.  It will even make hot soup!
   Well, on one of my many regular trips to Costco they just happened to have a Vitamix demonstration going on and  since I knew they were going to be demonstrating for ten days, I went back three times and watched them before I actually bought one.  In the meantime, I had to convince my husband of the magical qualities of this product and how useful it would be. His first response was, "You want to pay $$$ for that?  It's just a blender!!"  But after promising that I would really use this amazing appliance, we decided to make the investment.
   And I can tell you, I love, love this machine!

This morning I made a smoothie for us using a cup of red grapes, some baby carrots, a whole tomato, a wedge of purple cabbage, an orange, a banana, a cup of frozen blueberries and a handful of raw baby spinach.  I added a few drops of stevia for a little sweetness and some ice cubes to make it nice and cold.

I blended this all for a few minutes, first on low and then on high and I got this wonderful, smoo-o-o-th drink!

I won't have to worry about getting our five servings of fruits and vegetables today!                                       

And you know it's really tasty when a certain little six-year-old, who's not real fond of vegetables, will drink it!                                                                                                                                                             

That's a real seal of approval!

   If you think you might enjoy owning the Vitamix blender, then hurry over to this site http://moneysavingmom.com/msm/2010/12/christmas-gift-guide-a-vita-mix-and-win-one-too/

where Crystal is giving one away next week!.......Good luck!



Real Homeland Security

   A few weeks ago my husband, Mickey, and I visited some good friends in Oklahoma City.  While we were there, we spent a day in downtown OKC.  We got to go to the site of the 1995 bombing at the Murrah Building and visit the memorial.  It was very sobering to view the chairs that honor those who died there.

On the wall overlooking the reflection pool, is the exact time that the bombing occurred...

The brochure given to us when we entered the memorial, stated that at this moment, 9:01 a.m., our country was changed forever and our age of innocence ended. Of course, this bombing was then followed by the attack on our country on 9-11 and we've been on alert against the possibility of terrorist attacks on our own soil ever since.



  We also saw the wall in front of the museum where children from across the country sent hand-painted tiles to comfort the survivors and those affected by the bombing...

   The area right in front of the museum included a sidewalk where children can write with chalk and express their feelings of sorrow, fear and uncertainty that might occur after their visit.

  

   My thoughts while viewing all this were that we will never be able to reassure our children again that our nation is an entirely safe place to live, but, that most children aren't all that aware of the safety of our country anyway. They only care about their immediate security, their home...and we do have the power to do something about that.

   I looked at the couple we were visiting and thought about the life they have lived. They met and married while still young teenagers. Next spring, my friends will have been married forty years. They've raised four children, lived through prosperous times and lean ones, and cared for one child following a life-changing car accident. Through it all, they've remained faithful and loving to each other, creating a safe haven for their children.

Danny & Leslie Loftin

   Too often today, we see young couples give up after a few years of marriage and their children have the rug pulled out from under their security.  "New moms" and "new dads" move in and out, as children are shuffled from house to house, suitcase and stuffed animal in tow.
   Just as our nation's homeland security is worth fighting for, so is our family's.  God created marriage and the family for a reason.  Are you fighting for yours?

  

    



Friday Family & Friends - Daddy's Garden

   During the entire fifty-four years that I knew my dad, he always planted a garden.  Until I was thirteen, we lived in town on just a small tract of land, but he managed to have a garden, along with a few chickens, quail and rabbits. Oh, and I forgot to mention the hunting dog that barked a lot at night.  I'm sure we were despised dearly loved  by all our neighbors. :)

   Later, to the relief of  most of them, we moved to the edge of town on an acre of land and my dad was in heaven!  Our plot of land was long and narrow, and the back half became his garden and orchard.  He planted tomatoes, onions, okra, squash, beans, peppers, corn, strawberries, sweet potatoes,cucumbers, watermelons and cantaloupes.  He grew apple, peach and plum trees and had a few blackberry vines along the fence.

   Each evening, he came home from work, ate his dinner and headed out to the garden, where he stayed until dark.  He plowed, hoed and watered it lovingly.  The rows were straight, the plants grew tall and strong, and it was impossible to find a weed anywhere.  After he retired, he would sometimes be out there even before he had his breakfast.  In the afternoon, with the sun bearing down, he would remove his shirt, drink a little water, and just keep hoeing and plowing that garden.

  His garden yielded enough that we had to buy a large, chest-type freezer to hold it all.  He took boxes of tomatoes and squash to church and left them in the foyer so that others could share his bountiful harvest. He took vegetables to all of our relatives and neighbors.  Our window sills were always full of ripening tomatoes and our plates were a rainbow of healthy, beautiful fruits and vegetables.

    Every year, my mom, tired from all the work of freezing and canning, would tell him that his garden was too large.  But every spring, after much planning and thumbing through the gardening catalogues, he continued to plow up the whole plot and start again.

  I wish that I could grow a garden like Daddy's.  But our soil is nothing like his rich, Oklahoma dirt.  We live on sticky, mucky, blackland and I would have to bring in a lot of dirt and build up beds to have much of a garden. But this year,  I've decided to plant some tomatoes in those new Topsy, Turvy planters.  I plan on hanging them from hooks on my patio.

  Yesterday, I went to Walmart and bought all the things I'll need. Or rather, all the things the side of the box said I'll need.  The total came to $34.00 for just two plants!  Those two plants are going to have to produce a lot of tomatoes for this venture to be profitable!

   I'm sure Daddy would be rolling his eyes and chuckling if he were alive to see this.  But that's okay, because I know he would be proud to know that I at least tried to grow something on my own. And  he did pass on some of his heritage to me.  Every year, I go out and pick blackberries, peaches and blueberries.  I fill my freezer and share my homemade jellies with friends and neighbors.

   If you check back in about sixty days (according to the instructions with the plants) I might just have some tomatoes to share with you!  Happy gardening!

  

  

Thankful Thursday

  

Today I'm thankful for my sweet son-in-law, Erick.  Not only is he a good provider, but he's also a great husband and father.  This weekend he is sending his wife on a trip to visit her old college roommate, for a much needed break, while he stays behind  to care for a busy five year old son and a two year old daughter with special needs. 

    While my daughter is shopping and getting a pedicure, he will be home changing diapers, inserting feeding tubes and playing "cowboy".  He will give baths, have devotionals and stay up nights with a crying two year old who's having a seizure.  He'll do all of this with a patient and kind spirit.

   Since entering our lives ten years ago, we have watched Erick grow into a mature, Godly man who provides a secure and happy home for his wife and children.  He has become the man he is through his love of the Lord and because of Godly parents who set a wonderful example for him.

  Erick's mother once told me that when he was a high school senior, he was asked what his goal was and he replied, "to be a good father".  He's achieved this goal along with being a great husband, son and son-in-law! 

   We love you and appreciate you, Erick.  What a great blessing you are!

Pick 'n Edom!

Last Monday we made our annual trip to Edom, Texas to pick blueberries. Edom is about 19 miles southeast of Canton and is a great destination for a day trip! This was Michael's fourth year to pick blueberries and even though he had to get up quite early, he was really excited!

We arrived at Blueberry Hill Farms about 9:00 a.m. and picked until about 10:30. This year the blueberries were plentiful and very sweet. If you've never picked blueberries, it's a lesson in patience. Unless you find several berries in a cluster, they have to be picked one at a time and you only have one hand to pick with because the other one is holding your basket. Our first year, we were a little overly enthusiastic and took the biggest baskets into the field to pick. After about 30 minutes we brought them back to the barn and traded them for the smaller size! It's a lot more fun to finish with a small basket that's loaded rather than a big basket partially full. I know that's purely psychological, but it works when the temperature is close to 100 degrees and you're pondering whether Edom is big enough to even have an ambulance service or if they would just let you die in the field if you were overcome with heat exhaustion.

After picking, we enjoyed one of the heavenly blueberry muffins baked by the owner's daughters. Blueberry Hill Farms is a family owned business and the whole family chips in. The farmer, his wife and three daughters run a little store on site that sells muffins, ice cream, pies and lemonade all made with their delicious berries.

After cooling down and changing to dry clothes, we headed on down the road to the Edom Bakery, where Mendy and I enjoyed a great lunch of quiche and salad, while Michael feasted on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and entertained us with songs about picking blueberries.

Wow, it's awesome to view excitement from a four-year-olds perspective!

Then, it was back home to wash, dry and fill baggies for the freezer. FYI: We've found that

if you put blueberries away dry, they won't clump together and it's easy to remove just the right amount needed for a recipe.

Here's our favorite Blueberry Smooothie recipe. It makes enough for two.

Blueberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

one banana

one-half cup of blueberries

one-half cup of fat-free vanilla yogurt

one cup of skim milk

one packet of Equal

one cup of crushed ice

Directions: Combine all ingredients in blender and mix until blended. Pour into two glasses and enjoy! This is a great lowfat treat for breakfast or an afternoon snack.