Under His Wings

When Tim mentioned he wanted a Hormel 3 lb ham for our Christmas dinner, I was thrilled.  Memories of my house filled with the aroma of said ham baking in our oven every Christmas morning flooded my mind.  YUMMY!  I can't wait to pick up on the tradition tomorrow morning. Some other Christmas memories have been brought back in the past week.  My oldest son, Elijah, brought home some Turtle candy from his best friend's house one night.  Mike's mom works at the local candy factory that makes the delicious nutty treats.  It was a tradition on mine in my Grandma's later years (she's been gone 11 years), to get her a box of Turtles and something with a teddy bear theme. The same Grandma also liked pretty sweatshirts.  I saw some at Kmart when I was there.  I bought a beautiful black sweatshirt with a cardinal on it on Saturday.  It reminded me of watching my Grandparents feeding peanuts to the cardinals off their back door.  It's a tradit...

A new waffle iron was one of my Christmas presents from my son, Elijah.  It's a neat little thing.  It was a Thanksgiving night buy.  There's a Multigrain waffle at my Aldi store that I really love, so I decided to see if I could find a recipe to make my own.  I found a yummy one.  They turned out pretty well I thought.  I used white wheat flour and white cornmeal for my version. For the buttermilk, I used 2% milk and a bit of melted margarine.   Here's the recipe copied from www.eatingwell.com/recipes/multi_grain_waffles.html Multi-Grain Waffles http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/multi_grain_waffles.html From EatingWell: Spring 2003, The Essential EatingWell Cookbook (2004) Traditional waffles are a butter-laden, high-carb indulgence, but they make the transition to good fats and smart carbs beautifully, yielding crisp, nutty-tasting waffles with all the sweet pleasure of the original. The batter can also be used for pa...

I can't believe another year is almost over.   2011 has been a great year for the most part.  Well, except for my major hernia surgery in April and a few family health problems. December is a big month in the Cone household.   My son Nate will turn 9 in less than 2 weeks.  It's going to be a bittersweet day.   Nate shared his birthday with his Grandma Cone who died about 2 1/2 months ago. I'm hoping to get home to see my parents and brothers on Christmas Eve.  I still have a lot of shopping to get done before then. Nate and Anna are going to be in a Christmas musical on Christmas day.  They both are in the play and have solos.  How cool.  It brings back memories of my days of acting and singing in Christmas programs in both school and church. The end of December is quite emotional for me.   On December 29, my sweet daughter Gabrielle was born and 14 hours later we lost her.   I'm looking forward to a gr...

Picture this...3 excited children waiting patiently for Daddy to show up with the movie camera. Soon the bright lights appear blinding those 3 anxious children as they dash down the stairs to their awaiting mom, grandparents and most years great grandma. Later in the day, the smell of ham permiates throughout the house. The family gathers around the kitchen table that has been moved to the living room. Pistachio salad, olives and pickes and soda are among the Christmas menu favorites. Fast forward 30 years.... those parents along with the 3 children now adults in their mid 30's to 40 with 3 grandchildren gathered around a now smaller table in the living room. Some of the same favorites are on the table along with some new ones. The gifts are opened now in the early afternoon instead of early morning. The conversations are now focused on childhood memories and thoughts of the future. It was so wonderful having my parents, brothers and I together today for Christmas. It is...

I went on a Christmas shopping adventure today. I'm honestly not much of a Christmas shopper. I leave most of it to my wonderful husband! I did find some neat treasures for my family and friends. I found a crock pot plus a recipe book (at a different store) for about the same amount of money I would have spent on just the crock pot itself. I'm looking forward to hearing about the neat concoctions my friend will come up with. She loves trying new recipes and her crock pot she has been using has a broken knob. I thought it would be a perfect gift for her. I bought my other friend a nice blouse. I found it at a store she likes to shop and doesn't get to very often. I know this will look pretty on her. At the same store I found my husband a pair of gloves he wanted which was selling about half the retail price. I did mess up a little bit though. In picking up a gift card for my dad, I looked at the picture and not the greeting. "Happy Birthday" it said....

4 years ago I joined my local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. I spent 4 years as a "MOPS mom" and this year I am a "MOPPETS" worker. I have been watching the babies. It's been so much fun. Although last time I was alone and I had 6 babies screaming at the same time. That was stressful. Through this group, I have met many wonderful friends. I haven't really had the opportunity to visit with them too much the past few months, so I was glad to get an invitation from the MOPS coordinator, Carrie to go Christmas caroling in our friend Laura's neighborhood and a party at Carrie's house. I took my 2 younger children with me. I wasn't sure how they would like caroling. Other than a few incidents of Nate hiding his face in my coat and Anna's feet getting cold. It went well. It was nice hearing some really great harmony as our small group sang. Nate requested to sing Jingle Bells at least 3 times. We only sang it twice though, At the...