Saturday Sillyness

Peak....

A-BOO!!!!

What to do with a rainy Sat? We are doing NOTHING! And it is fabulous, I highly recommend it for everyone to try at least once. It seems life is always so busy and our family is always headed in five different directions at once. It is so nice for the kiddos to stay in their PJ's and for me to be cuddled on the couch reading my back log of magazines and watching Heroes with my husband.

So I am wishing you all a happy nothing!

For Friday

I know I will take this challenge. Lord know I could use it.

Friendship

"What I expect from my male friends is that they are polite and clean. What I expect from my female friends is unconditional love, the ability to finish my sentences for me when I am sobbing, a complete and total willingness to pour their hearts out to me, and the ability to tell me why the meat thermometer isn't supposed to touch the bone." -Anna Quindlen

So I went to a retreat (with baby) this past weekend and the topic of discussion was FRIENDSHIP. I did not think much of it, but it turned out to be a very lonely and painful weekend. I spent most of my time watching other women have a good time with one another, and I had one failed attempt after another in trying befriend someone on a deeper level. I felt like an outsider as if no one would have cared less if I wasn't there. I went for a wonderful long walk during our free time. While I was out there I realized that I have not put God first in my friendships. I have prayed for friends throughout my life but never prayed for a friend so maybe I was going about this friendship thing all wrong. I did realize that I do have 2 wonderful ladies in my life that I can be myself and they love me with all my faults. Thank you Molly and Mom for knowing my deep heart and for sticking with me even after you have seen the garbage that is there. The

Lord has deeply blessed my life with the presence of both of you.

Yummy Sunday Dinner

I love soups and stews. That is one of the best things about fall and winter for me. Tonight we tried and new recipe and it was a great hit with everyone in the house.

Creole Rice and Bean Soup

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 large carrots, diced

1 med onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 small green pepper, seeded and diced

1 small red pepper, seeded and diced

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 (28oz) can whole tomatoes with their juice

4 cups vegetable stock

1 (15 oz) can coconut milk

1/4 cup brown rice

1 (15oz) can red kidney beans, rinsed

3 cups chopped and washed kale

1 (10oz) package frozen peas

3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the canola oil in a large pot over medium heat; saute the carrots, onion, celery, peppers, can dried thyme for 5 minutes, until the vegetables are crisp-tender.

Add the tomato puree, whole tomatoes, vegetable stock, and coconut milk to the pot; simmer for 5 minutes. Break the tomatoes apart with a spoon and add the rice.

Simmer uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes, until the rice is tender. Add the kidney beans, kale, peas, and fresh thyme; simmer for 10 minutes. Add the parsley; season with salt and pepper.



This soup was so colorful. It looked great in the bowl and was very easy to throw together. Which is nice on days like today when the baby was super fussy. We made cornbread to go along with it but crusty bread would be great too.

Enjoy