Another great night of Aurora Borealis!

We Gather Together...

Thanksgiving Day was a wonderful, relaxing, and cozy day! After being in Galena 3 years this is our FIRST Thanksgiving to spend here. Yes, every year we have been out for Thanksgiving. It was nice to finally spend one here. We had a scrumptious meal with our neighbors, Tim and Karin, along with their daughter Ida, Karin's parents and then Brother Justin. The food was delicious and we needed a wheelbarrow to roll us back over to our house later that evening. Tim fried a turkey, Karin made sausage cranberry stuffing, corn casserole, sweet potatoes, green beans and pumpkin pie. Keith smoked a turkey(yes there was an abundance of turkey), I made mashed potatoes, rolls, cranberry jello salad, buttermilk pecan pie, sweet tea and Wassail! We did not go hungry at all! We came home with lots of leftovers and what is better then thanksgiving left overs?  It was delicious!

Keith seasoning his turkey.

 It is an art. Bacon butter and Adobo.......This type of turkey makes me believe in yummy turkey!

 Table is set and waiting for the food! IN the middle of the table was a bowl of acorns that we passed around and took one and the passed the bowl around again and people would say what they were thankful for. Kaden said warm houses(at -20 we were glad it was warm inside too) I was very thankful for skype which makes us able to talk to my parents on the other side of the world.

 Enjoying the FEAST!!

 After dinner, there was games and of course talking. It was fun to talk with Brother Justin who was a missionary in Zaire for 10 years. It was fun to talk about Africa and talk in some Swahili. God always seems to bring someone into my life, to remind me that Africa is everywhere even in Alaska!

 Isaiah and Mr. Tim created a really cool marble run!

 He was fascinated!

Happy 2nd Birthday Isaiah!

Isaiah's Birthday was a big success! He had all his little friends over and we all got to eat some cake.

Here Isaiah is helping me make his cake. He likes to sit here a lot to help me cook and I figure since it was his birthday cake he should at least get to lick the beaters. He REALLY enjoyed them!

 

 YUM!

 Getting EVERY dab of batter

 

Isaiah and Rohn(his 2 year old friend that I babysit during the week) decided to hide Isaiah's Lightening McQueen.... It is still hiding some where in the hous. If you were a 2 year old, where would you hide a little car?

 

 The finished Product! Still couldn't find our Lightening but at least Shell had another Lightening to borrow for the cake. I loved how it turned out!

 But the most important thing is Isaiah liked how it turned out!

 How old are you?   "I'm ONE!!"

" OR FIVE!" but by the end of his party he was saying he was 2!

 "Mater"

 Extra Cake and cupcakes. Kaden helped me decorate these

 He got one candle out but he needed his big brother to help with the last one.

 Opening presents. It took him about 1 minute to realized what he was suppose to do..... 

then he was fast!

 Noah's Ark puzzle from Oma and Opa, Not only is it a awesome puzzle with 2 of each animal,  but it is a great car holder. I didn't know Noah took trucks and cars on the ark too!

 Bouncing Horse from Abu and Abuela. It is in constant use! He loves it!

Russian tea and the Zambian Baboon!

OK I don't know why this tea is called "Russian" tea but whatever the name I LOVE IT! I don't even know if they have this kind of tea in Russia but where ever it is from it is Delicious! My mom used to make this tea mix and have it in a empty Tang Container. It would travel with us anytime we went camping and in the morning mom would heat water over the fire or stove and we would put a few scoops of it in our hot water, stir and enjoy. SO simple. And the flavor.....YUM is all I can say. Until that dreadful day when Keith Kaden and I went home to visit mom and dad. We went camping at the Flat Dogs camp in South Luwangwa. It is a beautiful spot on the side of the river where hippos, giraffes, elephants and of course monkeys and baboons visit camp through out the day. You have to be careful with the last 2 animals because they will get into your tent, luggage or food supply and cause a slight disaster. Ask mom, she has a funny story about the baboons making tea in the toilet! But on this particular trip we were awoken every morning with the monkeys bouncing on our tent. It is at moments like that, that make me glad dad always invests in the HEAVY DUTY tents! If not we would have been crawling out of a collapsed tent every morning. You could usually hear the baboons  coming through the camp because other campers would be yelling at them to "GET AWAY!" "GO" "CHOKA(translates to GO AWAY). When you hear this going on in Camp you start looking for things that they could snatch and you start cleaning up and prepare to start throwing rocks or sticks at them to encourage them to continue on their journey. They like to steal anything that interests them, like sweet potatoes cooking on a fire, tortillas sitting on the table or even apples right out of your 2 year old hand. Let it be known that is the ONLY memory Kaden remembers about that trip, the day the baboons stole his apple. It still makes him sad and makes me giggle because he was so amazed at the troop running through camp he was not expecting them to steal a cute little boys apple right out of his hand.  Along with all this stuff that they stole they grabbed a white canister that we could not see well. So the chase began. Mom, Keith and I chased after this one baboon that was making off with that container, while Dad and Kaden stayed in camp to scare the rest of the baboons off. We ran through brush, dodged trees, ran around termite mounds. He climbed trees, bit into the container and then would continue on the chase. This was a very cheeky baboon! And VERY FAST!!! After a long chase the baboon eventually lost interest or got tired of being chased and dropped the container. It was then we realized what he stole.... OUR RUSSIAN TEA!! That Cheeky baboon stole and ate all of our Russian tea! He must be apart of the Russian Mafia! SO SAD, SO TRAGIC! And mom had just made that batch up for camping! How would I keep up my morning tradition of having a cup! So instead of having a little bit of Christmas in a cup, I would be empty handed! And I am serious about the whole Christmas in a cup thing. It does smell and taste like Christmas in a cup, thus the reason I really LOVE it! I love to make this mix up and have it at Christmas time. Living in Alaska it is even better to have on hand for those cold winter nights. We have a long winter..... 8 months of it. And drinking hot drinks is a way of life here. Coffee is the MAIN drink but I really hate the smell of it. I am a tea drinker. When I grow up I want to be one of those people that travel the world and test wine but instead of wine I want to test tea. Is that called a Tea-oisseur? I have no Idea but it would be cool to taste different teas around the world.  But untill I have my own TV show I will enjoy my cup of Christmas Russian tea, and with every cup I make I will laugh at the Cheeky Baboon who must have had a taste for Russian Tea too!

Russian Tea Mix
3 cups Tang
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup instant tea without sugar or lemon flavored tea powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
Mix together and store in a dry container. Use 1 or 2 spoonfuls for a cup of tea. It all depends on your taste buds! =)

Sweetest Package EVER!!

Packages are very special to us! Getting them makes days brighter and makes us remember that we are not totally alone out in the middle of no where! Today we got one from my dear sweet grandparents. I was so excited to take it home and open it with the boys! Opening it was so much fun! I knew Grandma was sending me a new skirt for Christmas but the other things were a surprise. A variety of mixed nuts, with yogurt, chocolate and salted nuts and then my ultimate favorite gift they sent was a book. The Charlie Browns Christmas, when you flip the pages the voices of Kaden and Isaiah's Great-Grandma and Great-Granddad come on and they get to read to the boys. Kaden has not put it down since he got it. What a special gift! I love listening to them read and hearing their voices. Brings back memories of them reading to me as a kid. What a treasure to have someones voice recorded so you can hear them when they are not with you. My boys love it! THANKS GRANDMA AND GRANDDAD!! We will be enjoying this for a LONG TIME!! We love you and miss you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!! Today I am thankful for:
- A wonderful husband, who loves me even in my bad times!
-A sweet 5 year old Kaden
-a cheeky 2 year old Isaiah
-a nice home
-warmth in my house when it was -20 degrees this morning
-wood for that wood stove
-my parents
-internet to talk to my parents on the other side of the world
-my brother
-my sister in law
- my nieces and nephews
-phones to call my family in Texas
-my brother in law and his wife
-my father in law
-my mother in law
- Friends across the world, literally across the world! On every continent except Antarctica! but I have met people that have worked there =)
-Missionary friends
- a community of friends who gather together on Thanksgiving to celebrate everything God has done for us.
- A awesome church family
-great neighbors that ask you to gather with them for dinner.
-Turkey
-dressing
- green beans
-corn casserole
-sweet potatoes
-mashed potatoes
-cranberry jello salad
-buttermilk pecan pie
-pumpkin pie
-wassul
-our dog Daisy
- games
-Christmas trees
-Christmas lights
-ALL Christmas candies
-Amazon free shipping!
-surprise packages in the mail
-letters
-emails from friends
-trees
-rain
-snow
-dirt that grows veggies
-moose that fills our freezer
-No Black Friday in Galena
-No Black Thursday, Saturday Sunday or Monday either in Galena
-REAL MILK, not the powder stuff we get to drink here
-Orange juice
-Apples
- bananas
-FRESH FRUIT!
- Snow
-Snow machines
-Ski's. Ice Skates, and sleds
-Music
-books to read
-United States of America- our military
-Freedom
-freedom to worship God
-a God the gave his ONLY son FOR ME!!
-prayer and the ability to talk to God
-and so many more things that I am thankful for!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM the Far North!

It all Started with a Pizza...

It was the evening of November 13th, Keith Kaden and I were in Anchorage Alaska eating at our FAVORITE pizza place...... Moose's Tooth. It is an Alaska Classic. Everyone who lives in Alaska has eaten there! It is world Famous..... Don't ask how I know the internet told me....=) Just kidding, majority of the time, when you ask someone if they know of the best pizza place in Alaska, they will say Moose's Tooth. (If you haven't eaten there... you are missing out!) Anyways, we had just sat down in the booth and were snacking on the appetizer we had ordered, when I got this light uncomfortable pain in my very pregnant stomach. I thought it to be from being cramped into the booth so I stood up and tried to change my angle of sitting. The pain was not sharp but it was uncomfortable and it continued, and it seemed to be getting closer together. When the pizza arrived I told Keith that I thought they were the beginning of contractions. You see with Kaden, he came so fast that I never had contractions until I was already at the hospital. This was something totally different to me. So after eating our pizza( I didn't want to go to the Hospital hungry, and I didn't want to miss out on Moose's Tooth.)so after eating we drove to the hospital and checked in. They hooked me up to all these monitoring machines and they measured my contractions. Keith got on Facebook and was checking in with parents and saw that my brother and sister in law were ALSO at the Hospital in Texas in labor! We both had the same due date which we thought it funny, and telling our parents the news was definitely interesting! But now we were both in labor on the SAME DAY!!! Renee had a C-section so you can't really stop that. My nephew Josiah was born November 14th. After a while of monitoring my progression, it kind of stopped. I was so ready to meet our new son and for the long pregnancy to be over that I was a bit disappointed. OK that is an understatement! After 1 month of living in town, in a apartment that was about the size of our living room with 3 people, one of them being a very active 3 year old, was just exhausting me and my patience. I was ready to return to my home in Galena with a baby and not with a belly that everybody stares at and asks "Are you pregnant?" or pet it like your a puppy, or even a hubby that told you that your turkey timer(belly button) popped so you must be done. I was ready to be done. I was ready to hold my new born baby and enjoy being a family together. But that was not in the plans, so we returned to our small apartment to wait...... A week later, we were at Moose's Tooth AGAIN! Must be the pizza that brings on labor pains! Anyways. I told Keith but I refused to waste time going in to the hospital because I figured the same thing would happen. I still had a few weeks to go till my actual due date, so I figured this was just another "event". So after pizza, we returned to our apartment, while my slight pains continued. We went to bed and I thought reclining would help ease the pain. It didn't!  I was in so much pain that I really started to monitor the contractions. They were INTENSE... but they were about10 minutes apart... then 12 minutes apart....then 15......then 20.......WAIT aren't contractions supposed to get CLOSER together? At around 2 am,  I woke up Keith and told him I was in terrible pain and needed to go to the hospital. Keith dropped me off at the door and parked the car with Kaden who was still sleeping and waited till I called to tell him what the doctors thought was going on. So plugged up to more machines to monitor me, the doctors saw I was indeed in labor this time. So I called Keith to let him know and he then drove Kaden over to some friends house the Dials. They were missionaries in Africa with my parents and were now missionaries in Alaska. Talk about God working out all our details of us meeting up with them! Anyways, by the time Keith arrived I was already in a room and set up to deliver a baby. So now we were just waiting. While we were waiting, Keith and I were still talking about what to name our new bundle of Joy that was arriving. We were not in agreement.  We really liked the name Parker in honor of our friend Tina Parker. Keith wanted a Keith Jr. I wanted an Isaiah. Naming a child is one of the hardest things ever because it is something that the child has to live with the rest of his life! When it came time to push, we still didn't know our little guys name but we figured when he arrived we would suddenly know what to name him. After a while it was time to push. And then he arrived at Providence Medical Center in Anchorage Alaska at 5:55am. A beautiful baby boy with red hair, weighing 8 pounds 14 ounces. When we saw him we knew his name was Isaiah Keith Ramos.

 Peeking at the new world

 Hanging out with Daddy

Kaden giving his brother kisses. Even after 2 years this is quite common! Kaden LOVES his brother!

 

Isaiah has been a blessing to both Keith and I and even to his brother Kaden. He loves his brother and they both make us laugh a lot! Isaiah has grown into a clever little boy that loves cars and trains. We are so blessed that God gave us such a sweet, loveable and huggable boy. 

We love you Isaiah! 

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY!!

Thankful Day 20: Meema's Jello Salad

Today I am Thankful for my Meema and Jello Salad! Since Thanksgiving is 2 days away I am going to post my favorite thing to eat at Thanksgiving! Yes I love to eat the turkey, potatoes, stuffing and all the other things that go with Thanksgiving but my absolute is Jello Salads! Meema makes the BEST! Whenever I go home to her house, that is the ONE thing I request her to make for me! She always makes it in a ginormous bowl, that I could eat ALL BY MY SELF, except my uncles and aunts and cousins always show up when I am about to sit and eat it ALL! So I share, at least till everyone got some and then I sit and eat the rest by myself. I could eat it everyday! It is so delicious! Try these 2 recipes and enjoy!

Meema's Jello Salad
1 (15oz) can crushed Pineapple with juice
1  (6oz) box lime jello
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup coconut
1 cup Chopped Pecans
1( 8 oz) Coolwhip( or dreamwhip)
Place the pineapple and juice in a pan on stove. Stir and Heat to boil. Remove from stove and add jello. Stir till jello is dissolved. Cool and add buttermilk, coconut and pecans. Cool completely and add coolwhip. Chill for 4 hours. Get a big spoon and enjoy!
( I know Meema puts in marshmallows but I think it takes away from the yummyness of this dish. SO I Omit them.)

My other favorite Jello salad is from a friend Tamy Widener in Florida. She made this for Easter one year and it has become a favorite among my family for EVERY holiday! It is simple and delicious!

Tamy's Cranberry Jello Salad.
1 cup boiling water
1 cherry flavored Jello
Stir together till jello is dissolved
Add:
1 Can Whole berry cranberry sauce
1 small can crushed pineapple
Mix well and chill till jelled. DELICIOUS!!

Thankfulness Day 16: Burnt Cakes?

Once upon a time(meaning it did happen) in the year 849 there was a boy born named Alfred. He was the fifth son of Aethelwulf of Wessex and Osburga. His brother was King Aethelred.

OK Pause here for a minute. Are those not the coolest names you have ever heard? I think I will name my next son Aethelwulf! Or my daughter Osburga! Don't those sound like romantic names..... yeah not quite but they definitely are interesting. I guess in those days those names were quite common. I am just glad common names of these days are Emily, Sarah, John and Michael and nice names like that! OK Back to my story.

There was danger in the land. Vikings were attacking King Aethelred's land. They were viscous and deadly. In the year 870 the Vikings attacked King Aethelreds kingdom and at a battle called Ashdown King Athelred was killed. Alfred became the king at the age of 21.  The land was full of problems and the King was in danger. Therefore, during those hard times, the king felt he needed to go into hiding. He traveled to Somerset in disguise and hide among some of his loyal subjects. They were a family of Swines herders. For those of you who don't know what that means, it means a pig farmer. The swine herders wife was a wonderful cook and was well known for her cakes. And one day she was baking some of her famous cakes over the fire in the hut, when the King came in and sat by the fire. He was deep in thought and was trying to come up with a plan to defeat the Vikings and drive them out of his land. The Swines herder wife, had to run out for a bit and asked the king to mind the cakes. For those of you who don't understand European English, Mind the cakes means to watch them. With his mind drifting off to issues of national security, he must not have heard the lady or forgot the cakes and sad to say the cakes got burned.... TOASTED! When the Swines herders wife returned to see the burnt cakes, she was Furious! All that work and all those ingredients wasted! She grabbed a stick and began to wallop the king with it. She walloped him good. So I wonder who was the king in danger more from? The vikings or the angry Swine herders wife? Oh the images I have running through my head right now of a king running away from a woman with a rolling pin!

To conclude the story if you were interested....
After developing a strategy and learning the Vikings tactics and training his own men to use the same tactics King Alfred's army defeating the odds, he beat the vikings in the battle of Edington in 878. And eventually a peace treaty was signed. Because of his heroic and tactics Alfred has gone down in History as Alfred 'The Great'.


 I find this story about the cakes extremely funny! Even more funny because this was a ancestor of mine. This is one of the stories that my Uncle Mark found of a Great great great........ multiplied a lot Grandfather. I am glad I am not the only one in my family that burns cakes! I am very glad someone found it important to write down funny stories about family history even if it was about burnt cakes! Have a great Friday! I am thankful for fun stories and times to laugh!

Thankfulness Day 14: Heat

To borrow some lyrics from a song...."Baby it's Cold out side"!  But today it warmed up to 8 degrees.... Yes I said it WARMED up to 8 degrees. Sounds crazy, I know but it was -20 yesterday and all I wanted to do was transport myself to Puerto Rico and be swinging in a hammock at my In-laws house and maybe with a Pina Colada(non alcoholic of course)in my hand.

Well with a WARM front arriving, the boys and I headed out to Ice skate. That lasted about 30 minutes till I thought my nose was going to freeze and fall off! It was nice to be out in the little bit of light we have right now for I know soon it will be dark most of the day. We got inside to warm up and ate lunch. It is cold days like today that I am thankful for HEAT! We have a new wood stove that is so much more efficient then our one from last year. It heats the WHOLE house and not just the living room which our previous one did. I have named it Big Bertha.  Bertha is very efficient and you can have a piece of coal the size of a chicken nugget and put wood on top of it and BOOM the fire starts! I love it! Brings back memories of fire duty at RVA. Though this one won't make the shower burned and scald you skin when someone flushes the toilet or make your dorm mates made at you for forgetting to stoke the fire on Saturday morning. Hey, I didn't say they were all good memories! But I learned a lot from those dorm jobs.
But I am glad I know how to provide heat for my house.  Living in a place where temperatures can drop to -68 degrees and below from what I hear, I am very thankful for HEAT!

Thankfulness Day 13: Cookies

I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving! It has gone by so fast and I don't think I am ready for it to be here yet! I want to savor this season! I love this time of year. Ask anyone that knows me and they will usually tell you "Tabitha LOVES Christmas!" "Tabitha ALWAYS knows how many days there are till Christmas" "Tabitha already has her Christmas tree up....in October". Yes, I love Christmas, Yes I have my tree up and if you were wondering there are 42 days left till Christmas! Christmas music is usually playing on my Ipod and Elf a movie that I watch at least once a month. I really don't have to watch it since I can quote it completely but I love to smile..Smiling is my favorite! I love the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Family time, memories and always good food. As Thanksgiving approaches I think back on the years we would return home from RVA. After 3 months of really GREAT(insert sarcasm here) food we were ready for a good home cooked meal and some of mom's goodies. These cookies were almost ALWAYS in the cookie jar. Seldom EVER do I remember these NOT being able there when we got home. They NEVER lasted long but they were there at least for the first 10 minutes of our arrival. These were one of my favorite cookies and mom would always stock us up for our trip back to school after break was over. These cookies are the type you don't want to share...... Is that a bad thing? I am still wondering that! I know my mom taught me how to share but it is SOOOOOO hard with cookies like these! I will be making these this season and savoring every one I get to eat. They are also really pretty to plate up.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
3 squares (one ounce each) Unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs(this recipe DOESN'T"T WORK with egg replacer!)
1/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
Powder sugar

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Combine sugar, oil, chocolate, vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in Milk. Stir together flour and baking powder together, then stir it into egg mixture. Chill (this is very important) Using a Tablespoon of dough, shape into balls roll in powder sugar. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.


Today I am thankful for cookies! yep I am very thankful for cookies and the memories they bring back!

Thankfulness Day 12: Veterans

Today I am thankful for all who served and are serving in our military! Many sacrifice their life so that I can enjoy the freedoms that we have. All of them have sacrificed their time serving, many in dangerous places!  Thank you for your sacrifice!

This is a picture of my brother Jesse when he returned from a tour in Iraq a few years ago. My parents and I all got to be there to welcome him home. Thankful for him!

 

Thankfulness Day 10: Saturdays

Today I am Thankful for Saturdays! Even though my kids wake me up before I WANT TO!  After a long night of processing Polish sausages and Brats, I was tired! I was not ready for my boys to wake me up before Noon....but that didn't happen. So we ended up watching my favorite Christmas Cartoons while I rested on the couch. It was fun to watch the shows that I grew up on. Frosty, Rudolph, The Grinch that Stole Christmas and many more! How can you NOT like a story that starts

 "Every Who Down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot.....

But the Grinch, who lived just north of Who-ville, DID NOT!"

I LOVE IT!! Brings back memories of watching these shows with my brother Jesse. Except when we watch them at Christmas time we were always DREAMING about White Christmas' and trying not burn up. Our Christmas was always green and rainy and Hot! But just watching Frosty made you feel a little cooler! Our Saturday today is consisting of Shoveling snow, eating pumpkin soup and enjoying some classic movies! We may just have to watch White Christmas tonight! As my elderly neighbor Grandma Virginia said Snow makes you feel festive and like Christmas! I love Saturdays like this! I am thankful for Saturdays when I don't have to babysit(which I do as a job during the week) and just relax and have a fun snow day with my kids! We just spent the afternoon shoveling 11 inches of snow(the weather man said to expect 1 to 3 inches) off our ice skating rink and driveway. I love snow!! And I love Saturdays!

Thankful challenge Day 9: SNOW

Today I am thankful for Snow.... Today is the first day that it has reallllllly snowed and snowed and snowed.... ALL day! Snow is beautiful! White! Clean! Fresh! And makes me want to watch the movie "White Christmas" It truly is beautiful! When it snows it means the temperature warms up! Sounds weird right? Coming from the south that would be crazy. Snow means cold but here when it is -10 degrees and snow clouds come in it means it warms up to 15 degrees. Meaning I can go out and Ice Skate with my new skates that were arriving today in the mail!..... That is if the plane with the mail would have not been cancelled today due to the snow! OH WELL you can't have it all right? However, right now I am enjoying watching it snow and can't wait to be able to get out on my new skis that I bought this summer! I love the snow! Thankful for the pure whiteness and the ability to make Snow Ice Cream for dessert! =) "Let it Snow Let it Snow! Let it Snow!!"

Thankful Challenge Day 8:

Today I am thankful for my wonderful husband. A man who works hard to provide for his family. He makes me laugh and smile. I am so thankful that God picked him for me! Seven years of marriage and it has been an adventure. From our first date at Bass Pro Shop(yep he was hooked) to working with him with endangered species such as Sea turtles and Manatees, raising kids and enjoying new places. I love it all and can't wait to see where God takes us for the next 100 years! What other husband would help clear an Ice Skating rink and spend 2 hours as a "date" pouring water over it to make it smooth? Thank you for making me laugh! I love you Keith!

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

Last night was one of those nights that I really didn't feel like cooking a "Main" meal. I didn't feel like eating roast, chicken or any other normal supper option. I was very hungry for breakfast! So when Keith told me he invited Karin and Ida over for dinner I told him we were having Pumpkin pie pancakes! I LOVE these pancakes. If you haven't notice pumpkin is one of my favorite ingredients to make stuff out of and who needs IHOP when you can create your own supply of endless pumpkin pancakes? These just make you feel warm and cozy! I love them!

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBSP sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin(if you don't have pumpkin spice you can use pumpkin pie pumpkin)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup( or more) chopped pecans
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin spice, salt, and sugar. Whisk in buttermilk, pumpkin, eggs, oil and vanilla. Blend well.  Add pecans Heat griddle over medium heat spray with pam. Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls on griddle. cook till bubbly and golden brown on bottom and flip over and cook on other side till golden brown.  serve with syrup! YUM!!

Thankful Challenge Day 7: Boys

Today I am thankful for my two silly boys!  I am so blessed with 2 boys that are full of life and love. They are about as opposite as you can get from Kaden's brown hair to Isaiah's red. Kaden is the "safe" one and Isaiah is fearless, though Kaden is more adventurous when his brother does it first. Kaden loves puzzles and crafts while Isaiah would rather break everything that we make. Isaiah, I think, is related to spider-man and has the ability to climb walls, cupboards and anything else to get where he wants to, while Kaden is still intimidated by climbing trees.(though here in Galena he doesn't have many options in tree climbing) Kaden is more picky about eating veggies and "weird stuff" as he would call it and Isaiah will eat anything. Thankfully Kaden has not figured out that Isaiah finishes off everything on his plate after Kaden is done eating.  But even being opposites, the boys prove the quote "opposites attract" because they love to play together. Both love trains, cars and planes. both love to read books and both are very curious! I love my boys. They are truely a blessing to me! Today(and everyday) I am thankful for my two boys!

Thankful Challenge Day 6:

Today I am thankful for the RIGHT TO VOTE!!!!!! I am so thankful to live in a country that has elections that are allowed. Where you can go to the polling station and have no fear or be intimidated by people with guns telling you how to vote. We live in a country where every vote counts and you can have your voice heard. You can check your ballot with no fear of being influenced by military or other forms of oppression. WE ARE FREE TO VOTE FOR WHOEVER WE CHOOSE!  I have been to many countries where that is not the case. elections are rigged. Presidents just veto the vote and remain in power and oppress their people, in some instances killing their fellow countrymen because they stood up against that oppression! I have seen countries that were once a democratic country become a dictatorship with presidents that use their power to influence the military and push people out of their homes, kill and murder their opposition. It drives me crazy when people in the U.S. say they are not going to vote because they don't like any of the candidates and then after elections complain about how the country is falling apart. VOTE PEOPLE! That is your voice! VOTE and if you don't, DON'T complain about politics because you lost that voice to complain when you didn't vote! VOTE PEOPLE! If you want to change a country VOTE! I am not saying who to vote for, but exercise your right and privilege to VOTE!!! Praise the Lord welive in a country that we are free to vote! Today I am Thankful for living in a country that we are FREE TO VOTE!

I voted today...... Did You? VOTE PEOPLE!! VOTE!!

Day 5 of Thankfulness!

Thanksgiving Challenge Day 5: Today I am thankful for  VERY GOOD friends. I have many friends that I am very glad to have. Some make me laugh, some make me act silly but there are those friends that are close as sisters. I never grew up with a sister, and I do have an amazing sister-in-law that I LOVE! But there are also other ladies that I have grown close to that have become like a sister to me. They are the ones who take your hurts and tears and give you back hugs and encouragement. They pray for you in your trials. They care for you and share in every joy and concern you have. Today I am thankful for those close friends that know you at your best but take you at your worse and still love you! Thank you Friends!!!

Day 4: Thankful for Galena Bible Church

Thanksgiving Challenge Day 4: Today I am thankful for a wonderful church family and the freedom to worship with no fear of persecution. I am thankful for a warm building, where we can meet on a cold morning. Meeting together is so wonderful and I am glad God moved us to a community with such a wonderful church!

I love this picture Keith took of the Northern Lights over the Galena Bible Church!

Thanksgiving Challenge Day 3: Buttermilk pie

Today I am thankful for some great memories of Rose and Dudley Johnson and her Buttermilk Pecan Pie! I don't know anyone who can make a buttermilk pecan pie like Rose! I was blessed to live with the Johnson's while I was in college in Lake Jackson Texas. And boy could she cook! She was well known for her sausage balls, bread & butter pickles and pies. I have the EXACT recipes that she used, except for the pickles which are a family secret, and my pies NEVER turn out like hers. I think it was the LOVE she put into it that made it so good. And she loved a lot. There are many fond memories of living with Rose and Dudley! Game nights, watching football with Dudley, dinners, and lots of laughs. I don't know many people that would let a college girl come sleep with them in their room during a hurricane.  Rose just said I was keeping them young. Today I made her famous Buttermilk Pecan pie and ooohhhhhh is it sooooo good!! It is one of Keith and my favorite. When Keith and I were dating, Rose would make these pies and Keith loved them. One day Keith came over to watch football with Dudley and Dudley asked Keith if he wanted to have some Buttermilk to drink? Keith thinking that if buttermilk can make a pie soooooo good..... so Dudley poured him a cup and Keith drank it.... and about choked! "How can something so bad as buttermilk be made into a pie and taste so good? I have wondered that myself but whatever magic it is, it works! So while I go through todays post on thankfulness, I am thankful for the time and memories I had with Rose and Dudley Johnson! What a sweet couple that loved a missionary college student, that they barely knew enough to let her live with them. Dudley was also the man who led my husband to the Lord.  This couple will always have a sweet spot in my heart. I miss Rose a lot! She died a few years ago unexpectedly but  I am sure she is up in Heaven helping fill the banquet table with pies and all kinds of goodies. But here is her recipe.... Again I have never been able to make it just like hers, so put lots of love into it!

Rose's Buttermilk Pecan Pie
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups sugar( but I use only a 1 1/2 cups cause Keith likes it a little less sweet)
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
3 eggs
3 TBSP flour
1 pie crust

Preheat oven to 300 degree. Bake pie crust about 10 minutes.
Cream butter and sugar together. Add salt and eggs one at a time. Mix well. Add buttermilk, vanilla and flour. Sprinkle pecans in pie crust shell. Gently pour batter over pecans. Bake about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Till golden on top and firm in the middle. Let cool before cutting.

Day 2 ~Thankful for.....

DAY 2: Today I AM THANKFUL FOR FLOWERS! . I know that sounds silly but here in Alaska, flowers are RARE unless it is summer. I am not a very green thumb so growing flowers is a challenge. I did NOT inherit my moms gardening ability. She is great at it! If you have ever been to her yard you would see that. Her worker that helps with the garden will tell you "Amai(Mrs) Lindy lives in a Jungle" and she does!  But there are 2 plants that she has never been able to grow. African Violets (go figure she lives in Africa and can't grow them) and Orchids. I am not sure why she doesn't grow orchids but she doesn't. But there ARE 2 plants that I CAN GROW! Can you guess what those 2 plants are? Yep  African Violets and Orchids!

My first Mothers Day here in Alaska. Keith and Kaden got me a beautiful pink African Violet. It has grown and has now created two plants so this summer I replanted them in to two pots. Now I have doubled my violet collection. They are so pretty and bloom a lot.

 Orchids are my FAVORITE plant and flower ever! When Keith and I got married and came back for visiting family in Puerto Rico, I brought a carry on full of Orchids. They grow like weeds there. Some of them don't need soil and just survive off of the humidity and rain in the air. They are beautiful! When we moved to Florida, my collection of orchids traveled with me in the truck. Sadly when we moved to Alaska it was in the dead of winter and we flew and not drove so my orchid collection had to remain in Texas with my Grandma who is raising them. They have flowered for her in Texas so that makes me happy. The first summer we were here my mom and dad came to visit and mom brought a few clippings from my plant for me to grow. Those are still growing..... slowly and though they have not flowered yet I hope one day they will. Just having them in my window makes me feel like I am transported into the tropics.

While we in town(Fairbanks) last month, there were some beautiful orchids for sale. I kept walking by them every time we were shopping and wished I could get one home. After the week there, the night before coming home, we shopped for all our fresh stuff to take in our luggage. After filling up on sour cream, cheese, and fruit we packed up and realized we had 20 lbs plus 2 carry-ons that needed filling, so before heading to the airport, we stopped and bought a few more pounds worth of food and I bought myself an orchid. So my carry-on was full of a jack-o-lantern pumpkin, a cantaloupe and an orchid. I know that is NOT the typical things people put in their luggage UNLESS you live in Alaska. But my orchid made it here and just look at the beauty that is blooming in my window!

 Living where winter is around for so long, it is nice to have the beauty of flowers in my window. So I today I am thankful for the beauty of flowers.  

Batman and Monkeying around!

Halloween is not my favorite holiday but how can you resist such cute little boys as this? 

My little Monkey!

Monkeys say "aahh aahh"

 

 My dark knight!

 

 Playing the bowling game!

 One tired and hot monkey

 Fishing for some treats

 Trick Or Treating

 It didn't take him long to get the hang of the whole Trick Or Treating business! 

Say trick or treat and get candy. Got it!

 At the Elder center

 Hitting the streets

 People thought I was dressed like a cowgirl, 

But I told them this is they way I ALWAYS dressed in Texas..... Uuhhh Not quite but I had fun=)