Update - Out of Surgery

The second surgery went really well.  Now they'll be running more tests to see if any of the tissue is cancerous.  They'll probably also be running a test to see if chemo is necessary.  Please pray that everything comes back completely clear and chemo won't be needed.  Thanks.

Update on my Mom

My mom visited with the surgeon in Spokane today who said that another surgery is necessary.  Apparently the first surgery did not get a wide enough margin of tissue.  So Thursday she'll be going to Spokane for this second surgery.  She'll meet with the oncologist later this month who will decide whether or not chemo will be necessary. Thanks for all your prayers.

We've got teeth!

On Asa's 7 month bday, these two teeth popped up! (Not a very good picture of him, I know, but you can see the teeth.)

Fall Carnival

Mike and the Big Bad Wolf

He's too sweet to be big and bad

And we found Little Red Riding Hood

All the kids in the costume contest for Asa's division. (No, he didn't win)

Amara eating her basket...

Serving chili with the Cohens (5th year in a row!)

 Yay Maggie!

Asa's 7 Months

Asa is officially 7 months old today! He's on his way to figuring out crawling, loves butternut squash soup, gets super hyper when Amara comes over to play, and is still as happy and cuddly as ever!

If Mike needs to get up, I'll frequently get Asa to do the job. Asa loves to climb on Mike and try to wake him up.  This usually involves grabbing his nose, ear, or hair.

More Soup... Potato Bacon Bread Bowl

With all the cold weather (and snow!) we've been on a major soup kick. Bread Bowls sounded really good so we tried them out! This recipe from Southern Living worked great. (Just add a bit more salt than it calls for and I skipped the egg wash).

We didn't have the right ingredients for the soup (Hearty Potato Soup) that they recommended, not to mention I'm not a huge fan of cream based soups and Mike's not a fan of meatless soups, so we made up our own lighter version.

4 large potatoes - cut into 1/2" chunks
3/4 c. sliced carrots
1/2 onion - diced
1.5-2 cans low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. celery salt (more or less to taste)
1 tsp. basil (more or less to taste)
salt
freshly ground pepper
4-6 slices bacon
3/4c. 1%milk
2-3 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c.-3/4c. flour
1/2 c. kale - chopped

Dump the first 8 ingredients into a pot (or crockpot).  Cook until potatoes are tender.  Fry up the bacon and break into bits.  Melt butter in small saucepan.  Add flour and whisk till mixed.  Add milk, a little bit at a time, whisking constantly till slightly thickened.  Add flour mixture to soup and stir.  (If it's too thick add more milk.) Add kale and bacon bits- cook for another 5 min. 
Carve out bread bowls and serve.  Garnish with extra bacon and kale.

Graduated to the Highchair

Pumpkin Carving

Every year since I can remember my mom would do Halloween Hamburgers.  This Sunday we did them again!  I was in charge of carving the cheese and this is what resulted. I tried to do a Superman and Batman logo for Seth but they didn't exactly work out.

We carved pumpkins - and Naphtali created the amazing centerpiece complete with mice and dry ice!!

Amara dressed up for the occasion.

The rubber mice Seth and Naphtali found and put on everything for my benefit.. I am deathly afraid of mice.  I've also discovered some hidden in my kitchen cupboards....

The results!

Our pumpkins!  Mine is the "Hi", Asa's is supposed to be him, and Mike's Browning logo.