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.

Kale and Kielbasa Recipe

Here's the recipe for the soup we made.  We never measure so this will be approximations!  It's hard to go wrong though, we never make it the same way twice!

Ingredients:
16 oz kielbasa sausage sliced 1/4in- 1/2in thick(we typically use the smoked turkey - leaner but still really good)
1 c. sliced carrot
1 leek sliced
1/2 sweet onion chopped
2lbs russet potatoes (~8 med.) again add as many as you like
3 c. chopped kale
6 c. chicken stock low sodium
1-2 t. herbs de provence (or try sage, thyme, and tarragon) mix up the seasonings to your tastes
thyme
freshly ground pepper
salt

Saute the onions in a little butter.  Add the leeks, carrots, and sausage.  Add the potatoes.  Add the stock and bring to a boil.  Add herbs to taste (fresh if possible!), pepper and salt.  Bring to a boil and then let simmer 15-20min (or until potatoes are tender).  Add kale and cook for an additional 3-5min.  Grind a little pepper over each bowl and you're set!

Baby Gap Contest

Well, we entered Asa in the Baby Gap contest.  If you want you can go vote for him as many times as you like!

Update on my Mom - Good News!

My folks met with the surgeon this afternoon and the cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes.  Praise the Lord. The tumor was 1 cm so chemotherapy is still being debated by the doctors.  The radiation treatments will likely begin in 2-3 weeks.  Thanks for all your prayers!

Kale and Kielbasa Soup!

One of our favorites for fall!

Pictures by Poppy

Idaho Elk Hunting

The beast is dead. Long live the mighty beast.

Isaac Grauke and I went elk hunting. He brought down this nice 5x5. Finally got to put my Idaho truck to its perfect use.

(post by Mike)

Yay the Owens Visited!

Jennie and Jerry came over this past weekend so Asa got to hang out with the cousins. (He's quickly gaining on Celia!)

Picking out Pumpkins

Well I forgot my camera, so these are again Naphtali's pictures. Amara was quite excited about her pumpkin - Asa was ready to fall asleep.

Out of Surgery

My mom's surgery went smoothly and she is in recovery. She's being discharged this afternoon. They won't hear on some of the test results for awhile, so we're still waiting to hear if it's spread to the lymph nodes. Thanks for all your prayers.

Baking Fun

Since Christmas is coming up this is a really fun website for baked good supplies! My sister-in-law, Jennie, gave me some stuff from here and I just love it!

And if you're looking for some great local cupcakes, go visit The Cupcake Company.

Update on my Mom

Earlier this week my mom was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma. They are doing surgery tomorrow and testing the lymph nodes to see if it's spread. After that radiation will begin. Please pray that the surgery would go smoothly, remove all the cancer, and that none of it has spread. Thanks.

Happy Birthday Kajsa!

Kajsa made these cookies! Impressive huh?! Take a look at her blog for more pics.

I see you

When Naphtali and Amara were over the other day Asa discovered that he could look at them through his side mirror.

What to do with leftover Gerber jars...

Aren't these fun? Great for party favors!

Family Cider Pressing

 

I shot these out the car window on our way home.