Beet Soup

I'm a big fan of beet soup. It always seems to come out yummy even when I change up the ingredients.

Saute peeled and chopped onions, garlic, carrots and celery in butter.
Add a quart or two of chicken stock.
Add peeled and chopped beets and lots of potatoes.
Boil it all until the potatoes and beets are soft enough to puree in a blender.
Make the puree (leaving some of the beets and potatoes in the soup) then stir it back into the soup.
Add a tablespoon or so of vinegar or lemon juice for a very tiny little kick.
Add lots of dill weed, salt, pepper and any other herbs that sound good at the time.
Simmer 'till you can't wait any longer to eat.

Yum!

horse transformer

A few weeks ago, I made a very homemade hobby horse of cardboard and duct tape for my horse-loving boy. He named it "Pioneer."

Rody loves the amazing, high-tech transforming ability of this horse: the stick becomes a baseball bat when he pulls it out.

I might put a picture up sometime, maybe . . . if it becomes a horse again.

"Look, Mom! I'm Angel Moroni on top of the temple."

When I heard the proclamation, I came around the corner from washing dishes to behold my little climber atop the exercise bike. He proceeded to make a trumpet noise and shouted, "Jesus is coming! [more fanfare] The gospel is restored!"

Olive Fingers

The baseball glove shown is the one I used as a kid. Now, my kid rarely takes it off. Luckily, for him, he only needs one hand to eat olives.

Backyard in Autumn

Our leaf pile became a campfire for roasting hot dogs

   

That was fun; now let's play baseball. (surprize, surprize)

Kindle a Fire

Isaiah 50:11
"Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks; walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow."

For years, I was intrigued by the imagery of kindling sparks, fire and light in the first sentence of this scripture. But, I never understood and even felt slightly disturbed by the seemingly strange juxtaposition of second sentence, especially considering the discordant ideas presented. First, the beautiful imagery of light, hope, faith, then sorrow??? and at the hand of the Lord? What is going on here?

Several times in the last couple months, I've pondered over this scripture. In the last few days, I've received additional insight that presents a profound beauty and wisdom of the previously disturbing juxtaposition mentioned above.

When the scripture above is considered with a connection to Genesis 3:16 and Moses 5:11, a whole new meaning opens up in my heart and mind.

Genesis 3:16
"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children . . . ."

Moses 5:11
"And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient."

When I think of the sorrow at the hand of the Lord as mentioned in Isaiah as the sorrow that comes with the creation of children and families, then the juxtaposition makes sense. The positive imagery in the first sentence comes to life with such a deeper meaning.

"Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks; walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled."

Sparks become Children. Fire becomes Family. Light becomes Love.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the LOVE OF MY LIFE!

I could, but I won't get all mushy about how much I love my amazing husband and how grateful I am that my best friend will be with me for all eternity.

Instead, let it suffice to say that because they played on Pedro's birthday, [deep breath] I'm glad BYU's football team got lucky and barely beat my Utah State Aggies.

Happy Birthday, Love!

Grandma and Grandpa come to Minnesota

What did we do while G&G were here? What didn't we do?

Hopefully, I'll get a highlights video made and posted in the next few days.

Thanks for coming! We LOVED having you here.