Super Bowl

I just found out, or realized, this morning that the Super Bowl is on Sunday. I'm not the biggest football fan because I have no idea about the game, could care less about the teams or who is what or where, sports just don't make sense. I've tried to get into football and other sports but they just don't make sense to me. I'm much more into competitive cooking competitions (where's that super bowl? It would be a much better named event for sure!).

When I was in college I attened a Super Bowl party which was the most boring party I've ever attened in my life. Since I was on a Christian School campus we could not ignore the fact taht we were going to skip worship to watch football, so we had a devotional replete with communion for thsoe who didn't go in the AM. It was really, really boring. I've also hosted Super Bowl parties for youth kids and young families, but never watched the game, snacking and chatting was much more fun to me. There are some who really, really get into this whole football thing--it's ridiculous to me.

However I do realize this is a good time to have a party and eat a lot of great food. I have fallen head over heels, super craving, for this Corn dip that I ate copius amounts of at a Christmas party in December (good time to have a Christmas party, huh?). It's super easy to whip up, you can make it a day ahead, and when the party's over and everyone is gone you can stand over your sink and eat the rest of the dip with a spoon before cleaning the bowl. You have my permission.

I'm trying to incorporate more pictues into this blog, but I am never with a camera. However I do have a camera on my phone, and I'm never without my phone so these picture are courtesy of my camera phone. I hope they aren't too devastating to look at, but at least you get the general idea.

Here's what you'll need for the dip:

15oz can of Mexi-Corn (some places call it fiesta corn)

15oz can of White Corn (shoepeg corn)

4 oz can of Green Chilies

1/2 cup chopped green onions (I used about 4 stalks of green oninon)

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1/2 cup Mayonnaise (the real stuff)

1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt

1 teaspoon Garlic Salt

1 Tablespoon Fresh Cracked Pepper

Open the two cans of corn and pour into a colander to drain. Place the two cans of corn along with the green chilies in a large bowl. I like to use a spoonula (it's a spatula and spoon combination which I love) to stir the ingredients together. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Give it a taste and adjust to your liking, you may want to add more Lawry's or more garlic, or more pepper, or more of everything. The flavors will get somewhat intesified as it sets, so keep that in mind.

This will seem kind of runny at first, but once it sets a little, you'll see it becomes thicker. I haven't used frozen Mexi-corn, but think it woudl be better with thawed frozen corn, both kinds. This is good, but it might be better. I love how this tastes so I haven't played around with the recipe. I can imagine that adding jalapenos instead of green chilies woudl be good, or the frozen corn, thawed. You could try what you like. If you can't find the mexi-corn, I would suggest you add good yellow corn, and 1/2 cup of finly chopped red bell pepper.

Iusually garnish with a few green onions and some more cheese. Cover it tightly with Saran wrap and put it in the refrigerator to cool overnight or at least two hours. Serve with Frito's Scoops.

The Frito's Scoops make this dip really come out. I put a dollop in each one and just pop it in my mouth. I've also tried this with crackers (I found some new Pretzel crackers from Keebler--good!) and Pretzel crisps. I forgot to garnish this dip with the green onion, but you can see how pretty it is. We got that Tulip bowl in Kendra's and my wedding shower. I've loved this bowl since I saw it. I think it's Mikasa. It's super heavy and thick which has helped it not chip. The oval shape is interesting. It's a good vessel for this dip. Of course, you know I can't make this dip and place it in any other container. This IS the corn dip bowl. I'm kind of weird like that. I just had this on Tuesday, but I'm getting a totatl craving for this stuff. Resist, my tongue is still raw from eating so much of the salty chips. Feel the burn and have more CHIPS!

You will love this dip, give it a shot.

Twisted Sister

My sister and I are great friends...now. There are times that I will call her and say, "what's going on?" because I know that there is something brewing or recently exploded. We are connected and bonded, ready to do whatever either of us need no matter the sacrifice. She's the first person I call in a crisis because I know she'll move heaven and earth to fix it, and she to me as well. It's a great, beautiful, wonderful relationship for which I'm very thankful.

There was a time when my sister despised the air that I breathed and would torture me relentlessly. She was twisted let me tell you. I'll give you just a few, brief glimpses into my sister's twistedness:

• She convinced me to eat a root, once. Straight from the ground dirt still attached. I was five and believed she would pay the $10 if I did it. Wrong!
• Our septic tank once backed up and made this really fowl smelling little sludge pond. She convinced me to walk through it for...you guessed it $10. Wrong! No money. NOTE: Do not run into the house onto the freshly polished wooden floor your mother just spent two hours polishing with feet covered in feces. It makes for one mad momma!
• When I was seven, I was washing my hair in the sink (which was a usual custom because I could avoid a bath if my hair was clean) and she drew a smiley face...on my butt cheeks..with a permanent marker! It was NOT funny (but is now). She then gave me a barbecue bristle brush to clean it off! What's worse than permanent marker on your rump? Raw skin from a metal brush exfoliating the first two dermal layers off.

It actually wasn't until she left home that we began to bond, or begin to like each other. When Sis was pregnant with Kirstie, my sister was put to bed for the last six or seven months of her term because her body was trying to abort Kirstie. I basically moved in with her and cooked her meals, did her laundry, ironed Doug's shirts, babysat her kids so she wouldn't lose the income, I was her. I did it without a moments hesitation and would do it all over again if I knew there was a need.

As kids, Sis and I were left alone the better part of a day. Mom and Dad both worked and would leave and the butt crack of dawn to get to their jobs. Sis and I would be on our own to get ourselves ready and to school. Summer's meant that we were home alone all day from us up until around 3:30 when Dad got home. Mom got home around 5:00, which became later and later as she was promoted to higher positions in the hospital. There was a couple of years where we went to baby sitter's, but...I'll just have to post about the evil baby sitter's--you won't believe it.

Sis was convinced that she was my boss and could order me to do whatever she said. For the most part I didn't resist, but every now and then I would find my back bone and stand up to her. It always resulted in physical violence and a lot of pain inflicted upon me, but I felt it was worth it to prove a point. Mom and Dad were kept oblivious to our..."ways" because we didn't want to go back to the sitter's--evil sitters.

Most of the time, however, we were able to co-habitate together. Our Summer days went something like this:

7:30: Me up and ready to begin my TV watching. Grab the gallon of milk, bowl, spoon, and Honey nut Cheerios's. Plop down on the back jack. Incidentally, this is a back jack. Ours was rust red, we had two. You could use them as you see in the photo, as a floor chair, or flip them over and lay on them, my choice. I could lay on that back jack, have my hands free to eat cereal, and watch TV--slothful bliss. My back jack was disgusting from the milk drips, sloths don't care about milk drips.

9:00: Sis up, joins the TV and cereal brigade.

11:00: Still watching TV, cereal up and lunch made. WTBS is given up because the great old sit-coms have been replaced by the movie that even siding companies would not air. It was time for our soaps anyway. ABC all the way: Ryan's Hope, All My Children (lunch happens during commercial breaks), One Life to Live, General Hospital, then the Edge of Night.

3:15: SCRAMBLE!!! Dad's home in 15 minutes and we have to look like we did something other than watch TV all day on our keesters.

Dad was a creature of habit. He pulled into the drive, picked up the paper, got the mail, came in to set his lunch pail on the counter in the kitchen, "hey kids...what did you do all day? Looks like you just got started.", sit in the recliner and read the paper to page two which is where he would fall asleep until around 5 when would get up and get dinner started. That's how it was my entire life, you could set your watch by it. Friday's were a little different because he would go by the bank and cash his check, that bought us a good twenty or thirty extra minutes.

One particular school day, Sis and I had one of our famous encounters. It was report card day and she wanted to see my report card. "No, you can't see it." "William...give me your report card, I'm your boss." "YOU ARE NOT MY BOSS AND YOU CANNOT SEE MY REPORT CARD!" I was a not so good student through grade school and intermediate, when I started a regular hygiene routine in the 7th grade, my grades improved dramatically as well. This back and forth yelling eventually led to a head lock situation. Sis had ME in the head lock. "I'm not letting you go until you admit I'm your boss!" The report card was now dead in the water because it had become a I'm your boss and going to prove it battle. "You aren't my boss, let me go!" This went on for a good five or ten minutes (I don't recommend a head lock for longer than five minutes as it gets really uncomfortable). I managed to wrestle my way into my room. That was my domain, I knew where everything was and it disgusted my sister to be in my room.

We fell on my bed, me still in the head lock her still insisting she was my boss. We were reaching the 15 minute mark with the whole head lock thing when I hit the wall-I was done. I grabbed a Bic pen from my desk and held it to her throat. "I hate you, you are the bottom of the scum barrel. If you don't' let me go I'm going to stab you. I hate you." "I hate you too, creepy little jerk. Don't ever--EVER ask me for another thing as long as you live. JERK!" With that she released me and left me to my room. I never admitted she was my boss. Dad finally got home and felt the tension, "what's going on?" "William is a jerk, a low life scum bag (they come in a barrel you know) and I hate him. We've been fighting." "He's the only brother you'll ever have, I wouldn't start hating him now." I was still in my room...feeling very, very, very remorseful that I had used such violent language and threatened my sister's life with a cheap pen. Dad went outside to smoke and tinker which left us to our selves.

I couldn't' take it. I walked out of my room just as my sister was walking down the hall. We both burst into tears and began to cry. "I don't hate you, sis. I love you. I'm sorry I threatened to kill you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." "I don't hate you either, bubba, I love you too." We cried and hugged, those arms which had just minutes before held me in a much more violent fashion had now become arms of security and comfort. I still need those hugs to this day. I still need to feel those arms around me because everything is ok when I get a hug from sis.

I've wished a thousand times that "times" were different, but the actuality of it is I wish it were all the same. If I had one minute different there's not telling how my present would have changed and I like where I am and who I am. I especially like the bond I have with my Sis. We are close and we take up for each other and forgive each other before we even have to. That's what siblings should do because we have to stick together. I'd like to think that I would stay connected with her even if our relationship was challenged beyond it's breaking point, because I love her and know that, she's the only sister I'll ever have. She's the only sister I'd ever want. Twisted, yes. Stubborn, yes. Mischievous, yes. My boss, NO WAY!

Now I lay me down to sleep

Well I've had this post bouncing back and forth in my head for a few days, several actually. It's just been bugging me to come out and live will all the other things that have crawled out of my head. I don't usually post two days in a row, and lately I haven't posted two weeks in row, but tonight I just have to get this story out.

Kendra and I are going to the Children's Pastor's Conference in Orlando, FL later this month and we are getting excited. It will just be the two of us for one week, the longest we have ever been away from our three kids together-ever. I've been away to camp but we have never both been gone at the same time. Poppa and Graham are coming up for part of the time and Aunt Lesa will be in for the last half of the time. I've been planning this conference for at least 6 months, so I'm glad it's finally here. I'm hoping Spoon luck doesn't come our way, we have the ultimate worst luck when it come to pre-planned anything because it never goes the way it should.

Kendra and I have often talked about our fear of leaving our children orphaned if both of us were to travel together and die. It's kind of harsh, but we will both be on the same plane and should the unthinkable happen we will both be taken away at once. It's sobering and makes you stop to think about what would happen. I don't want anything to happen at all, but the thought is looming and I just need to be prepared and ready. I'm a preparer and get readier kind of guy.

We have plenty of life insurance to take care of the bills and then get the kids set up with trusts to take care of them through college. I have been looking online at a will website and plan to get that done this week or next, just to make sure. My family knows what I would want in the event I should die, and we have arranged for my sister to take custody of teensy and the boys until they are old enough to be on their own.

So, the deep thoughts I have been pondering are, what will my kiddos miss out on if I'm not their daddy forever? If something were to happen to me, and they were to go live with Aunt Lesa and Uncle Doug, then they would be changed--in more ways than one for sure. But what influences and things would they miss out on if I weren't their Daddy? What things do I want them to know and not forget? How would I talk to them about their first heartbreak? Their first car wreck? What would I say on each of their graduations, or their wedding days? I would miss their life, and I would like to think that they would not be better because of it, arrogant huh?

So, here's just a sampling of the things I would hope my teensy and the boys have in their hearts, in the fiber of their being that will make them who they are better than they could have ever hoped to be:

• Compromise: There isn't anything that will destroy you faster than compromising. If you choose to be associated with people who are constantly wanting you to compromise what and who you are, then you don't need to be around them. If you want to be around them, then you have to have the courage to stand up to them and not compromise who you are or what you believe. You gain more respect and strength from being a person who doesn't' compromise than from someone who has no ground to stand upon because they didn't believe in themselves enough to stand up.
• Integrity: Shaping your integrity might seem to be this huge, abstract, ominous thing, but it really isn't. Integrity is putting the suffocating earth worm back on the grass after a drenching rain, it's putting the shopping cart back in the "right" place and not just by your car. It's putting the things in the store back where they belong and not leaving the milk with the trash bags because you remembered that you didn't need it. Integrity is doing the right thing, all the time, without expectation of a reward, other than knowing you did the right thing. These little things will prepare you for the large things that challenge you to compromise your integrity.
• Dress: Don't ever thing that a pink, black, or red bra will be invisible under the white t-shirt. It is so don't do it. Black shoes...black belt. Brown shoes...brown belt. If you have on khakis or slacks of any kind, the socks must--MUST be the same color as the pant. Wrinkles of any kind mean you don't care about how you look. If you don't care about you then why should you expect anyone else to care about you?
• Avoid buffets!
• Wash your hands after coming in contact with any public thing! Hand rails on the escalator..elevator buttons...door handles. The secret to good health is proper hand washing.
• If you are a booger farmer...don't eat what you grow.
• Anytime you ask yourself or your friend, "does this make me look cheap?" the answer is, "yes." You should have never bought it in the first place. If that friend says yes, then they are no friend at all. You should not dress like you are desperate or for sale.
• Chastity: People can take a lot of things away from you, and probably will. Your education and your virginity are things that no one can take away from you. Being a person who loves themselves enough to stay pure and not compromise themselves for love, but instead saves themselves for their life mate has made a wise decision. There is more, so much more to making love than the physical pleasure, it's the least of the many things you will share with your partner. Save your self for marriage.
• Deal breakers: When you begin to date there are some deal breakers that no matter how nice or how reformed they may be, these are deal breakers. If the person you are interested in dating is not a christian--it's over. Move on they are worth your time as far as a relationship goes. You don't' need to date a project. If the person you are interested in dating is not a virgin--it's over. Move on because they have intimacy issues that you don't need to worry about. If the person you are interested in dating is disrespectful to their parent(s) then it's over. They won't honor you and love you as you deserve to be honored and loved. Move on. If the person you are interested in breaks plans with, for any reason other than life threatening issue, it's over. Move on because they won't honor you and Cherise the time they have with you when all they have is time. If the person you are interested in dating has all of the above...find a brick wall and firmly place both palms on the wall, shoulder length apart and as quickly as you can drive your head into that wall!
• Faith: The Lord wants to be your friend. He is not to be feared, or avoided, but instead should be loved and adored. The Lord can take you to places you never imagined or dreamt of. The Lord has great plans for you and created you to do something amazing. He doesn't waste his time and he doesn't make mistakes--you are here on this earth at this time to do something great that only you can do.
• Check your zipper right before you speak to any group of people.
• Help the elderly at the store. And for heaven's sake--smile!
• If someone is rude to you, pray for them. You never know what kind of day that person had before you, but you can certainly determine how their day will end after you leave. Make a lasting impression on that person and show them how the Lord changed you.
• Second Guess: If that small voice in your head says, "I probably shouldn't do that." Don't listen to that small voice, I attribute it to the voice of the Lord and I yield to it's guidance on many things.
• Thankful: Be sure to thank the Lord for everything. If you begin to notice and thank the Lord for the parking space closest to the door that just opened, then you will be able to broaden your spectrum of thanks and see how bountiful the Lord blesses us each day of our life. Noticing the small stuff prepares you to see the big stuff. Remember, the Lord has great plans for you.

I know there is more, but my brain is giving up. It's screaming, "it's out already, shut up. Give me a break...!"

I love my children more than life or words can ever express. I know I've let them down, but I try every day to make it up to them. I want them to know everyday that their Daddy loves them with all of his heart. I'm so very proud of each and every one of my babies and would do whatever i could to see their lives lived full of happiness and free from pain.

Love you,

Daddy.

Brooks babble...Rivers run deep.

Who you callin a brook! Guilty as charged. I am a babbler. I've always been one to be chatty Cathy, especially when I'm in awkward situations. Man can I ever talk about nothing like it's something. Kendra gets keyed up when she knows I'm going to be in a potentially awkward situation because she will say, "don't start babbling. Just sit there and hold my hand." Truth is that I don't even know I'm babbling until I look into her eyes and see that, you are babbling. Probably the most famous babble episode, among the throng of countless babbling episodes, was when we tried to set up our friend Lealon with a girl. She was a sweet girl who was looking for a good man, and Lealon was a decent guy with a desire to find a good girl. Well Kendra and I tried to play matchmaker.

The horrible event went down first at my condo. Lealon and I lived next door to one another. The girl, for the life of me I can't even remember her name--probably didn't give her a chance to say her name, let's call her...Cathy! Cathy met us at my place and we were all going to go to a nice dinner and just enjoy each other company. There were two great Italian restaurants in Oklahoma City, Tommy's and Bellini's (sister restaurants), Tommy's was closest to our place so we decided to go there. I loved their four cheese linguine but usually got their chicken Marsala which was just the most wonderful and delightful dish ever created. I conned one waiter into giving me the secret once (cost me double tip) and now can make their chicken Marsala at home. Soo good.

The ambiance of both places was very subdued. Dimly lit with ambient light, cloth covered tables, cloth napkins, wine glasses used as water glasses, wait staff in stiffly starched aprons with crisp whit shirts and ties. It does kind of bother me that a female waitress wears a man's shirt and tie because they can dress appropriate to their gender and not look all goofy in a shirt and tie. I digress. The atmosphere was very relaxing and causal, just the perfect place for love to ignite it's spark in two souls. Unless their mouthy, awkward, scared that no one will talk and ruin the whole evening friend is at the table.

I started talking about nothing, then decided to elaborate on nothing a little more until I was in a full on out of conscious rambling random buffoon. I can't really recall what I talked about because I talked about everything. I'm sure I went into a rant about how people were dressed, how each of them were dressed and why they decided to dress that way, do they shop for clothes on sale..blah blah blah. I do remember seeing Kendra, Lealon, and Cathy just staring at me like I was coming down off of some hallucinogenic drug, or the mushrooms in my Marsala had been the kind you DON'T eat. The date didn't go very well at all and love found a more quiet, less spasmodic table to woo and work it's magic upon.

Babbling on an on is for sure a problem. Babblers are not very considerate of their peers, we who babble just go into to rant because we feel insecure in our surrounding and feel that this verbal abuse of air space builds a wall that won't allow people into your most protected spaces. I've spent a good many years trying not to be a babbler, I'm a recovering babblholic. There are times when it just happens, but now I try to take the course of my much older, steady, certain, cousin the river. I try to listen and observe (I'm the world's best observer) and not say much. I try to answer question directly and immediately with out commentary. If there is a way to answer the question with a simple, "yes" or, "no" then that is what they get. I know that deep down in my heart I'm a brook prone to babbling and holding the ears of my peers captive.

One of my friends and for sure the one man who has had the most profound affect on me as a professional is Darrel Rickard. He was the minister of the first church I "officially" worked for and taught me so much about how to minister to people. I've been working on a post dedicated to him since I started this blog and hope it is able to come out some day, with such deep and connected feelings it's hard to pen the words in such a way that you present the picture you want. Who knows that day may be here before you know it. One of his sayings was, brooks babble...rivers run deep. The first time I heard it I knew that I would never forget that phrase and would use it forever, just like whiffenpoof! Love that word. Darrel grew up with grandparents who had deep Indian heritages and they shared some of those feelings with him of which was not talking just to talk..babble!

I have this other curse which is being an gatherer of random and useless information on varied and sundry subjects. I'm no expert on any one subject but know a little about a lot of things. Being a storehouse of random and useless information means I can usually talk about things with come certainty of sanity. I trick a lot of folks! Mildred and I share this randomness. We can talk about nothing for hours and hours upon end. It's actually pretty exciting when we can talk about things that need to be discussed.

This is my last paragraph so I'll apologize for snaring you with this random babbling post--Gotcha! Please don't' hate me because babble, most folks who know me don't really care that I babble and find it somewhat comforting that I do what I do. Maybe in some vicarious sort of way I put them at ease with my babbling because they know they will be off the hook to input. That is unless they have the babbling brook syndrome too.

New Skin

Of all the people who avoid change, I'm it. I don't really like change and find routine to be soothing and comforting to me. One of my biggest challenges in the morning it deciding what to wear. Mind you, as a man my pants choices are: blue, brown, black--period! It's the shirts that get me into trouble because I go over and over the shirts in my closet (I probably have over 200) wondering if anyone would remember that I wore that shirt two weeks ago, or a month ago. I have this ridiculous fear of criticism about what I wear and the frequency of it being worn. That all goes back to my high school days, when I began to care about clothes, showering, etc. I noticed that all of the popular people never wore the same thing twice, it was always different, and somewhere in my mind it clicked that I should be the same way. Isn't that ridiculous. Most people don't even notice that kind of thing, but I do. At any rate, I say that to say that I would love to have just one outfit that I am totally comfortable in and just stay in that. Johnny Cash always wore black, Mr. Rogers always wore khakis, a sweater, and a blue oxford shirt, Captain Kangaroo always wore his red coat, see you can get away with wearing the same thing--you just have to always wear the same thing for it to be ok.

Any interruption into my normal steady routine gets me all a twitter. I get ready in the exact same order, everyday and do not vary my routine at all. It's really bad when I have to remember to take something, because "remembering" isn't in my routine and I usually forget to take it. I'm such a creature of habit, but I like it. I park in the same parking spot/location at every store I frequent(Mall, Target, Wal-Mart) and do it without thinking. I even park in the same spot when we go to Joplin to the Mall I've been going to my entire life--that' pathetic huh! It drives Kendra crazy because she doesn't think about it she just parks where ever she feels like it and call it a day.

I haven't ever been really in love with my blog skin, and wanted a different one. I what reading one of our missionaries blogs this morning and noticed I could get a free blog template...so I went shopping! I am pleased with this skin, even though I lost my counter ( I didn't need it anyway) and my click thing (easily retrieved). I really like it and hope you do too. If you hate the skin you are in, go shopping and see what strikes your fancy. Just look at the top of your screen and you'll see a place that you can click to go straight to the place I found this new skin.

I wouldn't look for this skin to go away anytime soon, unless something even cooler and more, "hey this is you" comes a long. Happy Friday!

Ride the wave.

Having wrapped up our West Texas journey, we returned home Thursday night for some rest and a brief moment of relaxation before our next holiday wave come in. Friday afternoon Nonny, Aunt Lesa, and Drew came to stay with us until the new year, Kirstie and Colton would arrive Saturday night, Poppa and Graham were coming for Sunday lunch and Christmas with Teensy and the boys.

Our boys love it when Nonny and Aunt Lesa come because they get to play until their hearts are worn out, then go some more. The first order of business was a trip to the grocery store for food. Now when I say food, I'm talking snacks, drinks, party food, regular food, pantry staples, then the special foods that I wanted prepare. One of the great and fun things about shopping with my family is that we are immediately sucked in to new stuff. Sis and I have this from Nonny, it's a hoot. Following our trips down the aisles the bill was over $700! Can you believe that? Needless to say we were set for our weekend.

We needed to get some dinner and most every place in town was slammed busy because it was the dinner rush. Billy Sim's barbecue was right by Wal-Mart so we jumped in there. I normally don't recommend going to Establishments named after someone who became famous for something else. Apparently he's a football player of some renown. In addition to recommending you not go to establishments named after someone who is famous for something else, I tend to avoid places in which you smell like the food you just ate upon leaving. I knew the minute I walked through the door I'd smell like a smoked pig for weeks! There is another place in our town called Ron's Hamburger stand where you smell like grilled onions for the rest of your life. I just don't think you should smell like food!

I need to back up and say, that not even an hour into our fun, Chubbers had an encounter. Two of his most cherished people in the world are his Nonny and his Aunt Lesa. He goes into a hysterical, screaming, joy filled, gleeful sprint around out house just venting the joy he feels knowing they in his house to see him. Well, he was spinning around our kitchen performing for them when he tripped and broke his fall with his head...on our wall. He was millimeters away from the corner which would have opened his head up big time. We all saw it happening in slow motion unable to prevent it or stop it, paralyzed to the certainty of pain. His head was swelling up and turning black. It was horrible. We called a good friend of our who is an ER doctor and he said that there is an artery running along the bridge of your eye brow that is often busted, which causes swelling and blackens the eye. No wonder you get a black eye when punched! He wasn't interested in having anyone deal with him and certainly didn't want to have his picture taken. This is the picture of him protesting my attempt at taking his picture. "No take me head pitchure DA DA!" Chubbers is one tuff nut, and didn't slow down. There is a dent in our wall by the way.

One of Drew's favorite things in the world is French Toast. We make Hawaiian bread in our bread machine then use that sweet bread to make French Toast--he loves it! I'm not sure anyone who loves French toast wouldn't love it made with home made Hawaiian sweet bread. I don't have any pictures of the recipes I made, I wanted to take photos but didn't have a camera handy. I'll post my top three favorite recipes from the weekend next. You'll want to try these great dishes, they are super.

The Dust Tastes Nasty

Teensy and boys along with Mom and Dad have just returned "home" from West Texas. We left on Friday morning, December 21st. Getting the Spoon's ready for travel away from home is daunting and makes me want to find a dark corner, assume the fetal position and rock soothingly as I suck my thumb. We started packing on Thursday so we could leave on Friday. Had we started packing on Friday to leave on Friday we would have left Saturday morning. Just to drag you into the aneurysm inducing trauma too here's the rundown.

• Gifts: We had to pack all of the gifts purchased for Kendra's family. This included: Poppy, Granny, Uncle D, Kendra (yes, his wife shares the same name as my wife, isn't that...special), and Uncle D's kids, Brylee, Reece, and Kendal, Grandma Greenfield, Grandma Rushing, Aunt Mimi, Uncle Randal and Aunt Janette. Having wrapped and secured those gifts it was time to dig out all of the gifts that Santa had dropped off early to our house which needed to be taken to Granny's house so our children could believe in the magic of Christmas. PLUS, oh I'm not done yet (and you are already looking for a corner aren't you?) we had to get our gifts to our children out and ready to pack.
• Teensy: Since we were going to be gone for seven days we needed to pack two cans of formula, a case of bottled water for her cereal, drinking, and bottles, enough cereal (two boxes) for her breakfast, lunch and I just need a little tide me over snack, food, teething medicine, gas medicine, diapers, wipes, shampoo, outfits that were guaranteed to make her look just absolutely adorable because, after all this was her debut in West Texas. Clothes, Lord we packed enough clothes for her to change three times a day. Then there were the toys, blankets, pack and play for sleeping, and night night pj's. Oh yes, and a coordinating bow for every outfit, except the pj's because it really balls up the whole sleeping thing. Most of this went into her hot pink with white polka dot duffel bag that will be her luggage until she's old enough to tell us she hates it.
• Chubbers: Chubber Chubber needed two changes of clothes per day, he could have used five changes of socks per day, but we just let him eek out on one pair per day, pj's, his special cream for eczema, special lotion, special soap, special shampoo, special spray for his beautiful curly, velvety soft hair, special comb that helps him not scream the entire time we are coming this luscious locks. Tooth brush and the toothpaste he'll use, Tylenol because his two year molars decided it would be a good time to burst through his gums, great timing molars! We of course could not forget the gucky, his special security blanket which travels with him everywhere. A pack and play for him since he sleeps in a crib still and would fall out of a traditional bed. Blankets, sheets, and a pillow so he could smell hom e as he slept. Toys, movies, and shoes. Plus jackets for windy, cold and windy, and the coldwindywhyintheworldareweoutinthiscrap jacket. This packed in a grey toned camo duffel.
• Mister T: Titus was the least of our worries as he's the most content in most situations. He's a well seasoned traveler. When it was just the three of us we drug him all over timbuck too. He's a great traveler and a good sport when it comes to going because that's what he's been doing for his entire life. We packed pj's, clothes, play clothes, two pair of shoes, movies, games, and toys for his entertainment. He shares Emma's soap and shampoo, and of course his toothbrush and toothpaste. He usually takes along an animal but decided they could all stay home since he would be with cousins. Worked out pretty well animal free. And a pillow. This was all packed into a green and black camo duffel.
• Snacks: This is no small feat. We filled a laundry basket and two insulated bags full of the things that our kids like to snack on. They are huge snackers and eat almost all day long. There is snack restriction from 5:00-5:30 while Mom is cooking dinner but other than that they are free to eat at anytime they wish and we make sure they have healthy snacks at their finger tips. Go-gurt, grapes, three boxes of different crackers, cheez-it's, Frosted Mini-Wheats, cookies (Mom made chocolate chip!), Sugar wafers (they aren't healthy for everyone but me loves them), Capri Sun Roaring Water, four cases of Diet Coke, Christmas snacks we made, Strawberry Newtons, and Chocolate. Nesquick for Chocolate milk in the mornings. I think I've covered everything.
• Mom: All of her clothes fit into a hanging bag, then her toiletries bag, make up bag, and hair dryer. A pillow.
• Me: One duffel filled with all of my clothes, shoes, house shoes, and my kit bag which had the essentials to my survival. Chief among the essentials is Claritin because there is something about West Texas my body doesn't like and I get sinus trouble every time I go so these pills are gold!

All of this fit into our van, along with us, how I did it was a Christmas miracle. We were off by 9:30 Friday morning and 1,000 feet into our journey had to turn around because Mom forgot her camera. We were on the road again by 9:50. The trip there was grueling because it took forever! 13 hours in the car with a 14 month old, 2 year old, and 5 year old is grueling. The mistake was in our choice of route. We chose to go through Oklahoma City, then Fort Worth, which is where the whole problem started. Fort Worth was a mistake. Traffic is always an issue but this particular day was among the worst traffic days in recent memory. It took us over an hour just to navigate through Fort Worth form Texas Motor Speedway to I-20 headed for Weatherford. It should have only taken us 25 minutes at least 35-40 at most. By the time we were through the Fort Worth traffic I was a fuming, angry, keyed up, road raged Daddy. If one more care had pulled into the fast outside lane and made the decision to drive slow I would have exploded! We pulled off and ate dinner to give me some time to cool down. Fort Worth was only half way and we should have already been there. We pulled into Granny's drive way at 9:40. Then we had to unload--EVERYTHING! I didn't get to bed until 11:30 that night and I was exhausted.

We haven't been to West Texas for Christmas since Titus was a baby, he's only had one Christmas at Granny's. Granny was able to have Christmas with all of her grand babies under one roof. This was all the gift she needed, but she enjoyed the things we brought her other than her grand children. Granny had not seen Teensy since she was in the NICU so needless to say she had changed a lot since she last "saw" her. Pictures just don't' do for Granny's ya know.

Kendra's family has lived in their house for over thirty years, so most of Kendra's memories are in this house. It was cool to have our kids under the same roof enjoying Christmas that their Mom enjoyed when she was their age. We made sugar cookies for Santa and used the same cookie cutters Kendra used. This kind of stuff makes me happy inside and comforts me because I'm huge on nostalgia and memories. Most of my family traditions aren't practiced at Christmas with Granny, but I don't mind being involved in their traditions and giving mine a break.

Christmas morning in my family always meant home made hot chocolate, cinnamon rolls, and pigs in a blanket. After we enjoyed that we dug into the gifts. Someone was always designated "Santa" and sorted out all of the gifts. We usually opened one at a time watching the expressions on each package opened. All of our Santa gifts were wrapped under the tree in one special paper. All of the other gifts from family were wrapped in different paper. Kendra's family opens family presents on Christmas Eve, then on Christmas morning the kids walk into the living room and see all of the Santa gifts just set out. Opened, assembled, batteries installed, grouped by child. It's a pretty stark difference and not easily over come. Making sure my wife is happy, and my kiddos are happy is VERY important and takes precedence over this tradition. Personally I would like to combine the two and settle. Have family presents on Christmas Eve, but have the kids find wrapped Santa gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. I don't really push the subject, but maybe someday.

Our kiddos had a great time playing with their cousins and we had a great time visiting with family. There is nothing to do in this town, but be with family, chat, reminisce, and relax. Sitting around the kitchen table, drinking Folgers coffee and reminiscing is a great prescription for hustle and bustle. Stopping to know that the fiber of your being is woven together with memories of family, and celebrations, and the foundation upon which "you" are is strong because you have time to be together and close and tell those you love, "I love you."

The dust in West Texas still tastes nasty, but being with your family at Christmas is delicious. I love you Teensy, Chubber Chubber, Mister T, and Kendra! You are what makes my year bright.