Thursday, September 22, 2011

Cuteness and Recipes!

 This morning while I was making breakfast for the boys, they did something truly astounding. They didn't run around making an early day mess. They didn't fight. They didn't bug for things or dawdle.

They sat down together on the couch and Samuel read to Zakkai:)


It was SO cute to see Zakkai just soaking up the story, to hear them giggling together and to hear Samuel read like a pro! They must've read it at least 4 times!

Every Wednesday Samuel is able to get a book from his school library and this week he chose "Not A Box", which is an adorable book we have read before. It is about a rabbit who invents all sorts of things out of his box. Simple words but a great, imaginative story line! Both boys borrowed it from preschool several times because there is just something about it that they love.

And I love to capture priceless moments like that:)
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Some wonderful things happened today that are such an answer to prayer! They may be small to you but to me...

First of all, I've met the nicest mom at Z's preschool who has a son Z's age and a baby girl 2 months older than E. We have really hit it off and today we've decided to carpool! That is such a blessing to me since I am van-less a few days a week and as much as I don't mind the long walk now while the weather is nice, winter is another thing!

Also, we had an unexpected blessing today that showed us God is watching over us and He hears our cries! On the days I am tempted to worry and not to trust, which unfortunately is many sometimes, I am trying to change my outlook by saying (many times if needed) "We have what we need for today." It's too easy to look at tomorrow and worry or be disatisfied, even though God tells us not to worry!

But if you look around you, you can find so many blessings, big and small, and chances are, you'll find that you have exactly what you need for today. And that is enough.
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As I've been trying to stretch the items in our pantry, I came across this recipe for Black Bean Soup, which I happened to have most of the ingredients for! It was so good, served with a side of cornbread. You know me and my bread!

And if you don't...you should:)

Black Bean Soup
1/2 lb black beans, rinsed and soaked (I'm talking about dried beans!)
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
1/4 lb cooked ham, finely diced
1/2 tsp salt
1 jar (16 oz) chunky salsa (I only had part of a jar left and it still had great flavor!)
1 tsp cumin

Preparation:
1)Combine soaked beans, water, ham and salt in large saucepan or dutch oven. Bring to a boil; cover. Reduce heat; simmer 1 1/2-2 hours or until beans are tender.

2)Mash 1/3 to 1/2 beans with a potato masher to thicken soup. Add salsa and cumin. Simmer over Low heat for 15 minutes; stirring occasionally. Can serve with shredded cheese and sour cream (shudder!)

I was going to make this in the crockpot...however, my crockpot kindly decided to die on me yesterday. It was a good crockpot while it lasted. Sigh.

Anyways, enjoy!

Also, I forgot to share my recipe for the delicious cheesecake we had a few weeks ago! Just so you know, it freezes well:) I had to wrap it all up in slices to avoid the temptation eating it all ~ not that we really could. It's rich!

3 comments:

Charity said...

Praise Him from whom all blessings flow!

grandma said...

Answered Prayer----A new friend and you can share driving. How good is our Lord. I could not stand the thought of you trying to walk in those cold winter days of Chicago. How well I remember. That got me thinking what did we do back in the day. I know it was a different time but I guess we had to walk on those cold days. Brrrr.

Grandma W said...

Z cooking, S reading, how precious are these little guys? God is good - even in the hard times.

Followers