wow, a month already

Where has 2008 gone? I blinked and it's December! OK, not really, but it seems like this year went too fast.

I'll post pictures soon. Tomorrow Alex will be 2 months old and I plan to take pictures. So those will be up (along with Thanksgiving and I think a few others) by tomorrow afternoon, I hope.

Thanksgiving was fun. Five days with my three children! We had Thanksgiving dinner with Steven's parents at their home. I made green bean casserole (fresh, from scratch! No canned beans or soup!), rolls, a veggie plate and the frozen pineapple-jello-with-colored-mini-marshmallows that we had at Thanksgiving growing up. I've only made that salad maybe twice in the entire 11.5 years we've been married and the last time was a LONG time ago. I didn't realize how much it made! I filled a 9x13 pan and then a smaller one with that salad. It lasted us something like 5 meals!

Steven's mom doesn't like using canned green beans for green bean casserole so I invented a way of making it fresh. Although I thought about it for several days beforehand and did some online research (thank you, Foodnetwork.com!) I didn't actually test-drive the recipe or anything. So I tried out this recipe for the first time on Thanksgiving morning. Dumb, I know. But that's a weird habit of mine--to try out new recipes that I've never done before when we have company coming or when I'm making something for a family dinner or something like that.

So here's the recipe:

Green Bean Casserole from scratch

2 lbs frozen green beans
1/4 c. butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cans mushrooms, drained
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 c. flour
2 c. milk
1 can french fried onions

Steam the green beans until cooked. Dump in ice bath for one minute then drain. Set aside. In large skillet, melt butter. Saute onions and garlic until onions are transparent. Add mushrooms and heat through. Add salt and pepper. Add flour and stir til mixed. Add milk, 1/2 cup at a time, bringing mixture to a simmer before adding the next 1/2 cup. After final 1/2 cup addition, bring to a boil. Boil and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in green beans. Spread in 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with french fried onions. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

It turned out great! Tasted even better the next day!

Christie and Jordan made place cards for the table. You draw the turkey head with brown pen then use yellow, red, orange and brown ink to make the feathers. You use your thumb to stamp the feathers around the head. They turned out pretty cute.

My birthday was the day after Thanksgiving--Black Friday! I have never done Black Friday before and I don't think I ever will. Steven told me to go do something fun. I've been wanting to get some new clothes so I went over to Jordan Landing to check out Dress Barn. I also went to Roberts to look around. I left around 2 p.m. but even that late, Jordan Landing was still quite busy! I also went over to the Family Center on Redwood Road to go to Shopko to look for a Christmas/Sunday outfit for Alex, to JoAnn for some fabric and to Heartland Paper to see if their binders were on sale. The parking lot was FULL! I didn't buy anything at JoAnn's because the line to cut fabric was long and the line to check out was even longer! I went alone so I knew I couldn't spend 2 hours standing around in JoAnn when Alex would be getting hungry! Having a birthday on Black Friday does not make for a great shopping experience, in my opinion!

Well, now we are into December and it's time to start thinking Christmas. We'll put up the Christmas decorations tomorrow (Friday) after Christie and Jordan get home from school (Fridays are early outs) and then Monday the 8th we'll put up the tree. We decided to wait until after Alex's blessing (which is on the 7th) to put up the tree so that we'll have more room in the living room to set up chairs for the family members who will be coming.

This year Christmas is going to be mostly homemade. I'll post pictures AFTER Christmas so no surprises are spoiled!

At this time of year, there is so much to be thankful for.

I am thankful for (in no particular order):

1. My family. This year, especially Alex. It took us a long time to get him and I am so happy to have him!

2. My extended family. They have been a great support to us!

3. The gospel of Jesus Christ. In this time of uncertainty, the gospel offers so much hope!

4. A stable job. Every day I read in the news of companies planning to lay off workers. I am grateful that both Steven and I have steady employment!

5. A house. So many people have lost their homes. I am grateful for mine!

6. Cars that work. 'Nuff said.

7. Good health. Although I don't work with Deaf Mentor families anymore, in the past, I had several families that had children that were not only deaf but had other health problems too. Every day I am grateful for my health and that of my family.

8. Food storage. No matter what happens, we'll not go hungry!

9. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know They love me and will bless me as I try to do what's right.

10. Good friends. Without friends, life would be dull indeed!