Pumpkins

In leu of halloween approaching, Zach and I carved pumpkins with some friends on Wednesday night.

I LOVE carving pumpkins. And I certainly enjoy making pumpkin seeds. Funny, isn't it, that my amish, salt loving husband has never eaten a pumpkin seed in his whole entire life! Frightening huh? So, we carved, we roasted and we ate. Zach enjoyed his pumpkin seeds so much, that he took an entire tupperware container to work the next day...he polished off the WHOLE THING!

Tonight my mom and step dad are coming to town. Tony will help Zach in renovating our upstairs bathroom (I absolutely can't wait until it is finished), while my mom and I galavant around town. We are looking forward to playing Farkle with my parents; they are quite humorous.

Tomorrow we get to pass out candy to all the little tikes who stop by. Are you supposed to dress up to pass out candy? Any ideas?

Pot Pie

Yesterday was an awfully ugly day. As I say that, I cringe. The weather just couldn't make up it's mind; cold, warm, rainy, dry, spitting, blistery...on and on.....

So, yesterday was the perfect day for some comfort food. Chicken pot pie is warm, rich, full and satisfying. Yesterday was the perfect day to cook this tantalizing concoction. All from scratch, I might add. Honestly, I was proud of that pot pie.

After consuming the masterpiece with a few friends, Zach and I headed to the West Side Sports Complex for the West Side sectional football game. Being back there was difficult. Too many faces were new and few were familiar to me. Sitting in the parent section, we froze, and talked about what our life will be like when we have kids and when they are in high school. Truth be told, I am pretty excited for that. Obviously that is many, many moons into the future.

Until then.... I will bake chicken pot pie and dream of those days.

Recipe:

Chicken Pot Pie

2 Pie Crusts (I suggest the pie crust recipe out of the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook.)

2 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

2 Chicken breasts - boiled, shredded

1 - 16oz bags frozen mixed vegetables

1 Cup Milk

1 Egg - beaten

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Mix soup and milk until blended. Mix in frozen vegetables and chicken (you may add a small amount of corn starch to thicken the mixture if it appears to be thin). Place one pie crust on the bottom of pie pan. Pour soup mixture into pie crust. Place second crust on top, remove the excess around the edge of the pan and press with the bottom of a fork to seal together. Cut four one inch slits into the top crust and place on preheated baking sheet in the oven. Lower oven temp to 425 and bake 20 minutes. Brush beaten egg onto the top of the pie crust, return pie to oven and lower temp to 375. Bake for 35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool ten minutes before cutting.

ENJOY!

Much Time Has Passed

Much time has passed since I last blogged.
One hundred and seventy nine days, in fact.
Many events have occurred.
On June 11th Zach asked me to marry him. I said yes.
On August 12th Zach and I adopted our crazy little kitten - Sassafras.
On September 5th my grandpa walked me down the isle as my new husband
stood waiting.
On September 6th Zach and I left for the Smoky Mountains and an
incredible Honeymoon.
On September 24th Jackson got fleas.
On September 26th we finished our new walk-in closet...and began the long, long
days of beginning to settle into our house and our new life.
....much more has happened than what would be interesting to you, I'm sure....
Many lessons have been learned.
God always remembers His children, always.
Life as a single woman was difficult and wonderful.
Life as a married woman is equally difficult and wonderful.
Being content right here and right now is important and absolutely necessary.
Our efforts matter, even if they affect just one.
My life is full of people who really, really love me.

As I sit here replaying many memories of life the last one hundred and seventy nine days, I am overcome with a sense of peace. Peace that I am where I need to be. Reminders of how I have been taken care of my whole life and a hope that I can cling to - God is good, He loves me and He knows me.

I must confess that I have the best family in the world.
A husband that is willing to love me when I am stubborn and irritating (and that is putting it nicely). Also, my husband is an incredible mouse hunter. He, without wavering, chased down a mouse on our Honeymoon armed with simply a pillow in his right hand and a shoe in his left. My husband makes me laugh more than anyone in the world.
Our kids our great. Sure, they are hairier than most and bark and meow an absurd amount, but we love them! Jackson and Sassafras are teaching me patience and they sure do keep me laughing.

Overwhelmed; that is how I felt when I realized that I do not have to fight to survive anymore, my husband is fighting for me.
Thankful; thankful for the lasting friendships with incredible people who teach me, love me and exemplify Christ in ways they may never know or understand.
Content; oddly, what I am fighting to be as I strive to trust that passions and abilities are not being forgotten or wasted.

It is good to be back.