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a day to be thankful

November 24, 2011 at 4:18 pm
a visit to Israel with our 2-month-old daughter

This morning I woke up remembering last year.  That Thanksgiving was a difficult day in this house.  Elliott was on a one-year deployment in Egypt, I was 5 months pregnant with our little Lena, my grandmother died around 2am in Cincinnati, my entire family was with her except me, and I got up at 6:30am to get my dad’s phone call about my grandmother and then went in to work a 12-hour shift in the ICU.

It was a rough Thanksgiving.  Although even then Elliott and I sought every reason to be thankful, we were very ready to pass that day by and look to the future. 

Now we’re living the future, and we are together.  Waking up next to Elliott instead of thousands of miles away from him… can’t ever take that for granted again!  And now there’s Lena, too, our snuggle muffin and little joy.  Although the difficulties of last year will always be with us (I miss my grandmother so much, I’ll never have a “newlywed year” with Elliott, etc.), God has indeed replaced a lot of our struggles with rich blessings and much joy these days.  Take none of it for granted!

Is this Thanksgiving a special one of joy, or one in the middle of a year that you’re ready to see end?  Life isn’t always “peachy keen,” I know.  I’d love to hear about your joys and your struggles this year, knowing they often come hand in hand.  

0 :: in family, holidays, thoughts

the mission to drink from a Starbucks red cup

November 4, 2011 at 10:10 pm

The Starbucks red cups have been in stores since November 1 and have always heralded the start of the winter holidays for me.  This year the red cups seemed especially seasonally celebratory thanks to an email series my former roomie Sarah started to chronicle every day between Nov 1 and Dec 25 to celebrate the coming of Christmas.  She has extolled the Christmas-y joy of the red cups, and her excitement is usually infectious. Starbucks is a treat in this house, and an extra-special treat with all this build-up!

For our journey to drink from a red cup, Elliott packed some old-fashioned soft pumpkin cookies, which I made a couple of days ago with my fourth can of pumpkin so far this fall.  Here’s a photo that will hopefully make you want to come over and sip coffee with me while we discuss knitting projects and eat cookies…

(recipe included at the end of this post)

Anyway, back to our journey to Starbucks.  We decided we had to work for our rewards, so we were going to take a long walk to a large downtown Starbucks.  We set off on that chilly Thursday with Lena’s Peter Rabbit blanket tucked around her legs in the stroller.

First stop was at the San Antonio Art League Museum, which is down the street from our house.  Elliott snapped this gorgeous photo of Lena in their permanent collection upstairs.

Next we slipped into the steamy warmth of The Filling Station Café, a former car repair shop that has been transformed into a popular lunch spot.  We all read the paper while we waited for our pizza.  Reading the paper was easier for some than others.

And finally, on to Starbucks!  After a long walk, we pushed the stroller into the cozy store, interlaced our fingers behind our backs, and studied the menu.  It didn’t take long to decide.  Peppermint mochas for both of us.  Ahhh.  Christmas is coming!

Near the Starbucks is Hemisfair Park, which has a fabulous playground that reminds me of my favorite childhood playground in Australia.  We introduced Lena to slides for the first time, and she loved them!  (This was her last ride down the slid out of many, during which Elliott sent her down and I caught her, and photos were impossible to take.  That baby traveled fast.)

Here’s the recipe for the old-fashioned pumpkin cookies, which I found on this creative blog:

Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened
  • 1 cup 100% pumpkin (Libby’s)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Glaze (see below)
  • Optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips or nuts

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease baking sheets.
  2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and set aside. 
  3. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended.  Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth.  Gradually beat in flour mixture. 
  4. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.
  5. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. 
  6. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle glaze over cookies.

For Glaze

Combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 tsp vanilla in small bowl until smooth.
6 :: in eat this, family, holidays, Lena, Texas

the mission to drink from a Starbucks red cup

November 4, 2011 at 9:10 pm

The Starbucks red cups have been in stores since November 1 and have always heralded the start of the winter holidays for me.  This year the red cups seemed especially seasonally celebratory thanks to an email series my former roomie Sarah started to chronicle every day between Nov 1 and Dec 25 to celebrate the coming of Christmas.  She has extolled the Christmas-y joy of the red cups, and her excitement is usually infectious. Starbucks is a treat in this house, and an extra-special treat with all this build-up!

For our journey to drink from a red cup, Elliott packed some old-fashioned soft pumpkin cookies, which I made a couple of days ago with my fourth can of pumpkin so far this fall.  Here’s a photo that will hopefully make you want to come over and sip coffee with me while we discuss knitting projects and eat cookies…

(recipe included at the end of this post)

Anyway, back to our journey to Starbucks.  We decided we had to work for our rewards, so we were going to take a long walk to a large downtown Starbucks.  We set off on that chilly Thursday with Lena’s Peter Rabbit blanket tucked around her legs in the stroller.

First stop was at the San Antonio Art League Museum, which is down the street from our house.  Elliott snapped this gorgeous photo of Lena in their permanent collection upstairs.

Next we slipped into the steamy warmth of The Filling Station Café, a former car repair shop that has been transformed into a popular lunch spot.  We all read the paper while we waited for our pizza.  Reading the paper was easier for some than others.

And finally, on to Starbucks!  After a long walk, we pushed the stroller into the cozy store, interlaced our fingers behind our backs, and studied the menu.  It didn’t take long to decide.  Peppermint mochas for both of us.  Ahhh.  Christmas is coming!

Near the Starbucks is Hemisfair Park, which has a fabulous playground that reminds me of my favorite childhood playground in Australia.  We introduced Lena to slides for the first time, and she loved them!  (This was her last ride down the slid out of many, during which Elliott sent her down and I caught her, and photos were impossible to take.  That baby traveled fast.)

Here’s the recipe for the old-fashioned pumpkin cookies, which I found on this creative blog:

Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened
  • 1 cup 100% pumpkin (Libby’s)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Glaze (see below)
  • Optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips or nuts

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease baking sheets.
  2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and set aside. 
  3. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended.  Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth.  Gradually beat in flour mixture. 
  4. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.
  5. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. 
  6. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle glaze over cookies.

For Glaze

Combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 tsp vanilla in small bowl until smooth.
6 :: in eat this, family, holidays, Lena, Texas

halloween in San Antone

November 1, 2011 at 4:51 pm

“Becca, it looks like people are going trick-or-treating around here.  Wanna come?” Elliott called up the stairs.

“Yes!” I gasped, “but oh no… we don’t have a costume for Lena.  What are we going to do?”

“Hmm… she could wear her hat.  The apple one,” Elliott suggested.

I couldn’t help laughing as I pushed the almost-too-small knit hat down over Lena’s ears.  It was a pretty lame last-minute Halloween costume, but she still looked stinkin’ adorable.

I should note that thus far that day I had felt very removed from Halloween merriment that I love.  My sister-in-law had sent several photos that afternoon from the Lawn of UVA, where hundreds of Charlottesville parents and their children were trick-or-treating from Lawn room to Lawn room, crunching fall leaves, mingling with students, and soaking up the autumnal holidays in true fall weather.  I had also been remembering last year in DC, when Elliott and I walked down East Capitol St to a Shakespeare production at the Folger, winding around and through groups of darling trick-or-treaters making their way down the main thoroughfare of Capitol Hill.  Here we were, in America and with a little darlin’ to dress up, but far from our favorite Halloween scenes.

Yet as we walked out into our neighborhood, we discovered that we had landed in another neighborhood that celebrates the storybook side of Halloween.  We made our way down the street past the gathering groups of little trick-or-treaters, each in the most fabulous costume their imaginations could design this year.  The parents and grandparents (and, yes, even the maids) of all beautiful King William homes were out on their front stoops, waiting for the little Belles and Raggedy Andys and escaped convicts and flower children to come dig their sweaty fists into straw baskets of M&Ms and Peanut Butter Cups.

“Would mom and dad like to trick-or-treat too?” one understanding homeowner asked, proffering a basket of goodies.  Bless her soul.  Yes I would.

Thus far in her life we can still convince Lena that flowers are just as much fun as candy.  Probably by next year she won’t be so gullible. 

I wish I could have taken pictures of all of it, but in general parents don’t like strangers taking pictures of their children.  So we contented ourselves with a leisurely walk to admire costumes and decorations.  Later, long after we’d put our tired little apple to bed, we could hear the merriment and music and calls of “trick-or-treat!”  A sweet little Halloween after all.

3 :: in family, holidays, Lena, Texas

halloween in San Antone

November 1, 2011 at 3:51 pm

“Becca, it looks like people are going trick-or-treating around here.  Wanna come?” Elliott called up the stairs.

“Yes!” I gasped, “but oh no… we don’t have a costume for Lena.  What are we going to do?”

“Hmm… she could wear her hat.  The apple one,” Elliott suggested.

I couldn’t help laughing as I pushed the almost-too-small knit hat down over Lena’s ears.  It was a pretty lame last-minute Halloween costume, but she still looked stinkin’ adorable.

I should note that thus far that day I had felt very removed from Halloween merriment that I love.  My sister-in-law had sent several photos that afternoon from the Lawn of UVA, where hundreds of Charlottesville parents and their children were trick-or-treating from Lawn room to Lawn room, crunching fall leaves, mingling with students, and soaking up the autumnal holidays in true fall weather.  I had also been remembering last year in DC, when Elliott and I walked down East Capitol St to a Shakespeare production at the Folger, winding around and through groups of darling trick-or-treaters making their way down the main thoroughfare of Capitol Hill.  Here we were, in America and with a little darlin’ to dress up, but far from our favorite Halloween scenes.

Yet as we walked out into our neighborhood, we discovered that we had landed in another neighborhood that celebrates the storybook side of Halloween.  We made our way down the street past the gathering groups of little trick-or-treaters, each in the most fabulous costume their imaginations could design this year.  The parents and grandparents (and, yes, even the maids) of all beautiful King William homes were out on their front stoops, waiting for the little Belles and Raggedy Andys and escaped convicts and flower children to come dig their sweaty fists into straw baskets of M&Ms and Peanut Butter Cups.

“Would mom and dad like to trick-or-treat too?” one understanding homeowner asked, proffering a basket of goodies.  Bless her soul.  Yes I would.

Thus far in her life we can still convince Lena that flowers are just as much fun as candy.  Probably by next year she won’t be so gullible. 

I wish I could have taken pictures of all of it, but in general parents don’t like strangers taking pictures of their children.  So we contented ourselves with a leisurely walk to admire costumes and decorations.  Later, long after we’d put our tired little apple to bed, we could hear the merriment and music and calls of “trick-or-treat!”  A sweet little Halloween after all.

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