Minnesota Wild Rice Soup

A friend just asked for this recipe and that brought it to mind. I haven't had this for a couple of years at least but it's so yummy! (Not lo-cal though).

Minnesota Wild Rice Soup

½ cup wild rice, rinsed and drained

¼ cup slivered almonds, lightly roasted

2 2/3 quarts chicken stock

1 1/8 cups diced onion

½ cup diced carrot

½ cup butter

1 cup flour, plus 2 TB

½ cup diced ham

1 tsp salt

¼ teaspoons pepper

2 cups whipping cream

1 1/8 cup chopped parsley

Cook wild rice in chicken stock, covered for 45 min or until tender. Strain rice from stock and save both. Meanwhile, sauté the onion, celery and carrots in butter until onion is transparent. Add the flour into the vegetables. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken stock slowly, stirring. Cook until slightly thickened. Add ham, salt and pepper. Heat for 10-15 minutes. Add cream, rice and almonds. Heat and sprinkle with parsley.

Heartbroken

I've been making regular visits to a dear friend's house for several years. Until March, these visits were mostly to pick her up or drop her off as we carpooled to work. The friendship and fellowship we've shared has enriched my life so much! Then, because she began to lose her battle with the brain cancer she'd fought against for more than 10 years, my visits became a time to go be with her in her home. It is almost time to say good-bye and I'm heartbroken. However, she continues to be with me as I listen to the music she recorded singing these words, "When money can't buy a solution, and plans can't find a way, when what worked before doesn't work anymore, and words have nothing to say....When tears are flowing like rivers and hearts are breaking in two, if it seems when you pray God is so far away, there's still one thing you can do....rest in the arms of the everlasting one. Rest in the care of God's ever loving son! When all you can do has already been done, rest in the arms of God!" She knew how to do that and is still teaching those of us who love her. Still heartbroken I know I won't need to say good-bye....just see you later!

State Fair

Yesterday, thanks to some generous neighbors who gave us free tickets, we took Morgan & Gracey to the fair. One of the highlights was the dinosaur exhibit! These guys moved and roared and looked real enough to scary Gracey , although she insists she was only scared the first time through! The other shows we watched were free and very good too-the Chinese acrobats and the hypnotist!

Miles and Miles...

The road between here and Spokane seems more familiar than ever! The gorge is beautiful but the miles and miles of desert and sagebrush do get old after a while. However, I discovered while traveling this road alone 5 times this year (counting each direction) that it provides a wonderful reflection and worship session! Singing in the car is like singing in the shower! No one hears the off notes but the Creator and he wants us to "make a joyful noise"! We all need solitude although it's hard to come by in our busy lives. I'm thankful for this unexpected gift. I enjoyed the time with mom & Gil too immensely but am grateful that the 6th time along the road was with my husband, who flew up this weekend to help with the work at mom's place and then drive back with me!

Mini Miracles

Sometimes in the middle of these larger life events small miracles go unnoticed and unappreciated. Yet when we look, they are all around us!

For instance, last night our church was broken into again. Several police responded (including canine officers) and apprehended one suspect. The police were very thorough and remained a few hours fingerprinting, collecting evidence, etc. (My husband was there too to help with information needed about the church contents.) Anyway, Dan came home about 6:30 am and shortly received a call from one officer who was missing his camera and thought it had been left at the church. Dan met him at the church and they scoured it and even the parking lot but found nothing. (The officer thought he might have left it on the trunk of the car while filling out the report). Just before church was to begin that officer called to let us know that after calling his wife and asking for prayer, and being off duty he began heading home and should have gone south on I-5. Instead he found himself heading north and thought-"Boy, am I tired. Why did I take this ramp!" And at that moment spotted his camera along the road! (Ah, so he had left it on the trunk and driven off). We have a God who specializes in finding the lost---He found me when I was lost just like he found this tired officer's camera.

Mini miracles are all around us. Look for one today-ask for one!

Two of a Kind

Grandpa and DJ are quite a pair! I really needed a video camera and not just a phone camera yesterday for their antics. I'm sure there was some telepathy going on! (DJ is almost 5 months old now!)

Grandma's slumber party!

I found PJ's that were pretty close to some Gracey had so we decided to have a little slumber party! Gracey thought it was pretty funny to get to whack me with a pillow!

On another note, I've discovered that I only have the will to either facebook or blog, but not both. Time management isn't my strong point.

It's been quite a weekend!

We thought it would be a laid-back, putter-around-the -house weekend. Oh, how wrong we were! Our not-quite 2 month old grandson was taken to Doernbecher Hospital Friday evening with RSV, which is serious in infants. That left one-year old Michael and big brother Jacob with us (and poor little Michael is sick too). I've spent many, many sleepless nights rocking a sick baby but it was over 25 years ago! But love doesn't see how old we feel, just need! There are blessings tucked in amongst these times too. D & C were able to stay at the Ronald McDonald house for instance, and today Michael is able to finally sleep and take a nap without being held and we are told that DJ has turned the corner and may get out of ICU tomorrow! PTL! Today I have 5 of the grandchildren but they are entertaining each other so this sleepy grandma is coping.

PS-Dusty will come home later this evening to watch the kids since I have to work tomorrow.

Let the games begin!

Every year our church has a "Game Night" on New Year's Eve. I know it sounds a little tame but put our group together with too many snacks and those board games you only bring out once a year and the competitive spirit and hilarity abound! This afternoon a couple of our grandchildren (cousins) have started the celebration early. Let's hope we grown-ups can be as civil!

PS-Why don't we play board games more often? We actually interact with humans instead of the computer!

The beach in December!

Amazing! The sun was shining and it was shirt-sleeve weather at the beach today in Lincoln City! (Ok, I wore my coat but I'm always cold.) The kids had fun feeding the seagulls and building sand castles for hours, with a break at Burger King for lunch.

We're Ready!

Cookies are made, pies and pastries baked, a second batch of fudge finished (after a disastrous first try), presents wrapped and now we're ready. A bit different from the first Christmas so long ago when the responsibilities of daily life brought an expectant couple to Bethlehem where, because there were no vacancies in the local inn, they bedded down for the night in a stable. Not a likely place for a king to be born but the Creator showed mankind that sacrifice is an inseparable part of love. Oh, how He loves us! So we're ready for the holiday festivities and all our company tomorrow. And we're ready to accept the amazing gift given so long ago. Merry Christmas!

Santa's Little Elf?

Becky was holding DJ as he tried to remove the hat that mommy & daddy thought was so cute! He'll be one month old on Christmas! Look at those big feet!

A Christmas Card to All

Click on this link & have speakers on: http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=2007134554829&source=jl999

Grandma's brag book

Let's face it-this blog will mostly just be a grandma's brag book from here on out. Here's the latest!

Christmas Memories

Big brother had a Christmas program last night but the little guys were the center of attention! DJ had his "tux" sleeper on and Michael was taking a look a the first cookie he was allowed to have. It didn't take him long to figure out what to do with it and then he was snatching them from Dad as fast as he could and not too happy when they were taken back!

Double Shots

Thursday was the day to go get that yearly check-up at the Doctor's office. It feels more like a "tune-up" (look under the hood, kick the tires, etc.) but it's at least over for now. While there, I got a shot in each arm. After having a son and a dear friend go through the misery of this nasty bug, I was happy to get a level of protection! I know there's other strains of it out there, but I'm hoping I can miss it this year!

You know it's winter when.........

It must be winter, maybe not by the calendar date, but when pipes burst, cars stall, and the flu hits then all the signs are there! Yesterday was one of those days for family members. The son & daughter-in-law in Newberg came home to find pipes inside the garage wall had burst! Another son had his car break down last night on I-5. Thanks to good friends, the car was towed and I stayed with the little ones while his wife picked him up. Jacob has the flu so he slept through it all but the two babies were glad Nana was there. Let's hope today is a bit quieter!

Giving Thanks!

We had a wonderful, hectic Thanksgiving this year. Everyone was at our house but the food was not the main event this year. We welcomed our newest little grandson as he came home from the hospital to join us. Here's a picture of the two new family members we've added this year and feel very blessed to have them both in our lives. Randy's bride is holding two day old DJ.

Thankfulness

It's always a good idea to count your blessings and be thankful even in the midst of hardships. This year it'll be easy--our new little grandson will be coming home from the hospital to join us for Thanksgiving! DJ was born at 5:43 this morning and weighed in at 9 lbs! After struggling to carry him to term and even being hospitalized, we rejoice at his safe arrival. His brother was born almost a year ago and spent 20 days in the NICU center.

Weekend at the Beach

Ok, so it wasn't the typical anniversary weekend but we still had fun! My husband of 36 years and I took our 11 month old grandson to the coast with us so his very pregnant mommy could get some rest. It was his first trip to the ocean so we had lots of fun and although we were exhausted long before he was, it was quite an adventure! Here's a view from our room and then a few of the little one enjoying it all!