Pumpkin Monday

For the month of November I am going to post a different pumpkin recipe every Monday. I love pumpkin (oddly enough, pumpkin pie isn't one of my favorites, but everything else I love!) and in my quest to cook with pumpkin as much as I can in the fall, I have collected a few recipes that my family really likes, so I thought I would share them. I am going to try to stick with some that are more unusual, but I may sneak in a few classics.
My personal goal, besides sharing these recipes with you, is to try as many new pumpkin things as I can over the next month or so.

So here's to pumpkin!

Cheese Ravioli with Pumpkin Sage Sauce

1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup shallots*
10 oz Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup canned 100% Pumpkin
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon ground sage
18-20 oz Four Cheese ravioli**
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
*in a pinch onion works great
**I use the Hillcountry Fare frozen four cheese ravioli (from HEB) but any brand frozen will do, or the Buitoni refrigerated kind

Cook wine and shallots in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 tablespoon. Stir in sauce, pumpkin, and sage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water. Stir reserved water into sauce; toss with pasta. Sprinkle with green onion and season with ground black pepper.
Makes 4 servings.

Fall Happenings

This beautiful young lady has made this a wonderful Fall.

Claire Elizabeth 2 1/2 months

One of the best parts about living in Waco is getting to participate in all the Baylor stuff. Homecoming was a couple of weeks ago and we took the kids out to the parade with our dear friends the Walkers. Here are the boys giving a big "Sic Em Bears" with their dads.

We are so blessed to live in between two wonderful families that both have boys around Jack's age. When its pretty outside the boys like to play out front in our yard when the dads all come home from work. This is Jack learning about being tackled.

We went to a turkery shirt painting party--Claire was a champ to let me paint her palm!

Halloween

We went to Houston to visit my mom for a week and spent Halloween with them as well. Jack had so much fun! Their neighborhood has a little party, complete with bouncy slide, hot dogs, a firetruck and a parade! It was literally everything Jack loves! Jack was a bear as you can see, and Claire was our little ballerina. I think they were the youngest trick or treaters and they were a hit! It brought back such great memories for me as a kid and was great making new memories with our family.

Life with Two

I have literally been trying to write this post for a month( in fact I still didn't get this post out until three days after I wrote it). Of course, now it is a completely different post then it would have been then, but it is at least a post and hopefully a catch up.

That is how its been --wonderful, busy, exciting, overwhelming, constant, unending, and better and harder than I could have imagined!

I love Claire, she is a really great baby. She has easily fallen into a schedule that works for our family--not quite as structured as we were with Jack, but still at least regular and somewhat predictable. She sleeps well--especially at night and that is a blessing. We are down to just one early morning feeding and that means one stretch of 5-6 hours of uninterupted sleep for me, so that is nice (oh, how your standards change for good sleep). She likes to be held and doesn't love to be left alone really, so that is the biggest challenge, learning how to take care of myself and Jack with a baby in my arms. She is beautiful and we love gazing at her, in those few still moments when we have time to gaze!

Jack is on the go! He is full of energy and learning so rapidly that I can't keep up with him. He is definately two and is pushing all boundaries, but he is also learning those boundaries really well-considering he is two! I am being challenged in my patience every moment, and hopefully, by God's grace, I am learning to be more patient and wise as we train and raise these amazing children God has put in our care.

Here are a couple of pics of our life lately. I would promise to write again soon, as I fully intend to and have about three posts written out in my head right now, but I also know that probably won't happen. So thanks for being patient with me as I am learning to juggle all the things I have to do and all the things I want to do each week. Keep checking in on us, we will post again--and not too long from now, and I will get more regular.

My Dad came in town a few weeks ago to meet Claire and spent time with us.


This was one of my favorite two children moments. I knew Jack was playing with his cars by Claire--just didn't know that he was playing cars "with" Claire--she was perfectly happy and he was being very gentle as he carefully piled all of his cars around and on her!


One of my favorite parts of having a girl--all the fun stuff I get to dress her in. These are currently my favorite thing of hers.

Jack turns 2

I cannot believe that it has been two years since Jack was born. It has been better than I could have ever imagined! Jack is such a joy. I love his easy going personality and his constant happiness. I love his curiosity and his eagerness to learn. I love his goofiness and his love for laughter. It has been so great learning who he is becoming and seeing him grow.

Here are a few pics from his birthday week. For his actual birthday we had some friends over for lunch and then a cupcake play date after nap. We went to McDonald's as a family for dinner. We gave Jack some cars and a fire engine for his present and that's all he talks and thinks about--CARS!



Jack also had his first day of Mother's Day Out this week (we call it school). He really likes his new class... he naps on a cot, goes to the sanctuary for music and active time, they play on the playground, and do art projects! So much fun!



Then this morning we had his birthday party. We had 6 friends over for music, playing, and cake. Jonathan played a few of Jack's favorites on the guitar and all the kids sat around and sang and played their instruments. We also had cake and PB&J and then opened presents. It was a really nice morning. I made the cake in the shape of a guitar and I have to say, it turned out really good! I loved making it and hating having to cut into it! This might be my new favorite part of our kid's birthdays now, besides making the invites--making a fun cake!!






I have to say, after this really full and fun week of celebrating my Jack, I am prouder of him then ever and also more sad that he is growing so fast and changing every day. It makes me appreciate Claire and each stage she is in, maybe more than I did for Jack. I realize how fast it all goes and I want to fully enjoy each stage of each of my kids!

Introducing Claire Elizabeth Martin

Born August 19th, 2009
3:40 pm
8 lbs 9 oz
21 inches

I am doing great. Claire is a joy and is healthy and happy. I've had an amazing amount of help and am having so much fun getting to know Claire. Jack is in love with her and can't stop kissing her and patting her. We will have grandparents in town for the remainder of this week and then we will be on our own.
I have more to post, so hopefully it will be coming to you soon.

Ready for Claire

This Wednesday I am being induced! We are very excited and can't wait to meet our little girl. I finally have the pictures of her room. It and our whole family are ready and waiting for her! It's been so fun putting a girly room together. I painted her name on the wall in the frame and made the curtains while Jonathan painted the old window with a silhouette of a chandelier.

The crib will be moved in from Jack's room soon, we are waiting on the arrival of his big boy bed!

Family Fun

A lot has been happening and yet I haven't blogged at all, oh, the story of my life, but I guess I would rather it that way than nothing happening and having nothing to say.

I am very pregnant, just 3 more weeks, and feeling it more and more everyday. The next blog entry will be all about things I am doing around the house to get ready for Claire--curtains, painting, projects, etc. But this is just a general catch up.

The beginning of July we went to Colorado on a last minute trip to visit the grandparents, it was a great get away, especially from the extreme heat we've been having. I will share some of those photos below.

Jonathan is officially off for the rest of the summer and that has been great. We've gotten to do a bunch of things as a family--the zoo, swimming, the museum, flying kites, playing with trucks at home, and going to the library. Jonathan is also getting to spend a lot of time in his studio finishing a painting and designing some new pottery to hopefully begin selling. I am loving his work and I love that he is getting so much time to do it--as well as work on my list of things to be done around the house before baby comes!

I will post soon pictures of Claire's room--I am very proud of it and can't wait for her to be in it, as well as a couple of other sewing projects and painting things I've been doing.

In the creek by the family cabin in Colorado. Jack loved playing with his cousins, especially in the cold water!



Kite flying as a family.