Saturday, October 29, 2011

fall festival

our sweet church put on a wonderful fall festival/costume carnival this year. we are thankful that we had some costumes around the house to use as we are short on cash and sewing skills. marit chose from her assortment of ballerina/princess supplies to be some sort of hybrid of the two. graham wore a hand-me-down tiger coat thing and miles wore the dinosaur/dragon suit that graham wore for his first birthday. lucky for miles, it was about 30 degrees cooler today than it was two years ago for grahamers.

too much candy...


we ran into frodo...amazing costume on such a precious baby.


chillin' and he has his daddy's BIG feet!

with georgia and annie


group shot failure

tigers eat dragons apparently

for fun, here is graham with his neighborhood birthday buddies two years ago. i can't handle the cuteness...

Thursday, October 27, 2011

lentil-walnut burgers


*relatively unnecessary disclaimer:
have i mentioned i struggle with being a people-pleaser? idolizing the approval of others is something i am constantly repenting of and walking securely in the light given to our family by Jesus without feeling the need for any blessing but His is the goal. sometimes i wonder if i should just ditch the whole "social media" thing because it seems so easy to offend people or to take general statements way to personally, but i don't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater either. there are lots of useful and edifying ways to use it and so i walk forward and post a recipe that has "burger" in the title, but has no beef!

i am not promoting any particular diet (other than balanced and healthy) and we love our meat-eating and non-meat-eating friends alike and we ourselves enjoy a good beef burger every now and then. however, once upon a time i did study nutrition, and one cannot deny the health benefits of delicious legumes like lentils and nuts like walnuts (hooray for omegas!). i always seem to be looking for ways to use leftover lentils, so this is perfect. other things make this recipe delicious...greek yogurt, coriander from world market (thanks bethany!), cilantro (thanks for spotting me tara!). if you like to bake bread, homemade buns make it even more yummy. this time i made oatmeal multigrain bread (maybe i'll post that recipe some other time), but there are so many options with breads and grains. and i should note that the first time we made this the kids were apprehensive, but the second time they loved it. make some oven roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes and the meal is complete. ok, the recipe:

Lentil-Walnut Burgers:
3/4 cup toasted walnuts, cooled
1/3 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3/4 cup lentils, cooked, drained, and cooled
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large egg

Yogurt-Cilantro Sauce:
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. In a food processor, combine walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; process until finely ground. Add lentils and 1 tablespoon oil; pulse until coarsely chopped (some lentils should remain whole).
2. In a large bowl, whisk egg. Add lentil mixture; mix well. Divide into 4 equal-size parts; roll into balls, and flatten with the palm of your hand into 3/4-inch-thick patties.
3. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add burgers; cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, turning gently with a thin-edged spatula, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.

Per serving (without sauce): 460 calories; 28.9 grams fat; 18.7 grams protein; 35 grams carbohydrates; 13.6 grams fiber


Yogurt Cilantro Sauce
1. In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, cilantro, and lemon; season with salt and pepper

source: pbs everyday foods

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

to my dad



dear daddy,
thank you for your steady, faithful care of your family, even when we should be independent already! thank you for raising us with dignity and grace. thank you for your generosity and tenderness toward us and our children. thank you for all your wisdom on pretty much any major life decision. thank you for all the repair jobs you have done to save all of us sooooo much money. thank you for teaching us to be frugal and faithful. we love you and are so thankful for all SIXTY years of your life and pray the Lord will continue to use your life to bring Him glory. happy birthday!



Sunday, October 23, 2011

cousin mike's wedding

some of the family on my dad's side gathered yesterday for my cousin mike's wedding. it was a long day for the little people, but i'm so glad we went!
miles' party trick

kid table

my beautiful grandma and aunt kathy


some of us spent most of the ceremony outside...



grandma dancing with the groom


all the great-grands

cupcakes at the park

we took some flying bug cupcakes (graham loves to chase and catch bugs) to the park to share with a few friends in celebration of our sweet boys.
sweet moms and sweet babes


a little baby romance

obsessed with balloons


graham with his best bud sam

not such a fan of his first cupcake

singing-love that shy smile



neato light-up swords

emma and ella

Friday, October 21, 2011

scrammer grahamer is 3

our next october birthday is sweeeet scrammer grahamer who is 3 today. this boy is strong, athletic, tender, stubborn, talkative, crazy about marit and miles. sometimes i worry about overlooking this precious middle child of mine in all the chaos. i count it a grace that he is usually my earliest riser so i have him for his first(he usually eats a second with marit) breakfast and time to read a few books together snuggled up under a warm blanket. i love this time with this firstborn son of ours. he still naps about half the time, but he loves to play with people and marit or miles are usually willing playmates. he is always overhearing what marit is learning and i am always amazed at the verses, catechism, letters and things he knows. we are so thankful for this handsome son!
fresh

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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

footage from whirlwind family rendezvous

my family quickly gathered at tom and kelly's for me to get the kiddos from my parents and to see my sweet sister passing through town for the day. i don't need to emphasize how much i miss char char bar, but my goodness it was good to see her. a few sister outtakes



miss you bethany!


sweet four-yr olds

char's art skills are captivating

peek-a-boo with b-ma


come again soon beautiful sister!


and i should add that miles and i were able to see some sweet friends who recently moved to athens on sunday night and then to sleep at my old college roomie's house. it was so good to see old friends doing well, loving Jesus, striving to be content, serving others. only, i forgot to take any pictures of those dear folks...