At Home in the Mountains

Showing off her craft night art work Huge pot of white chili I made for the homecoming chili cook off at DBU. It was the month of turkeys.....turkey cards, turkey trots, turkey eating. We had turkey twice because Aaron wanted me to cook one that was in our freezer and then we had turkey at Mema's house. I used to get tired of turkey but I actually really like it now. I made all kinds of turkey soups and casseroles out of the leftover turkey we had here at home. Maddy loved making hand turkeys...you know the ones where you trace your hand and then color it like a turkey. Maddy also discovered that she is a fan of pumpkin pie. Oh! We also had turkey for our church's thanksgiving meal the Sunday before Thanksgiving so make that triple turkey dinners for us this month. I thought of that because I was telling Maddy what we were going to have for lunch: "turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and stuffing..." and Maddy piped up at the end and said ...

Every year on this day I reflect back on the day when our doctor called us into his office and told us Maddy wasn't going to make it. I also reflect on God's grace, mercy, and healing for Maddy. I also reflect on God's grace and for me and Aaron and his blessing of giving us a gift beyond what we could have asked for or imagined. About a month or so ago we talked about making decisions and pursuing our goals and dreams in one of our Sunday school classes. Most of us agreed that the percentage of people who actually get to fulfill what they dream of is very low. There are so many dreams that go unfullfilled for so many reasons. However, this class also made me realize how amazing it is that when we trust in God we often get something so much better than we ever dreamed, even if it doesn't seem like it right away. Having a child with arthrogryposis certainly wansn't my dream for my life. (It certainly wasn't a nightmare either. I didn't even know it existed ...

With Thanksgiving and the Christmas season fast approaching, my mind has been on all the great food that goes along with the season. As a young child, I was the beneficiary of all the great cooking and candy making done by my Mom, Mema, Grandma, and even people from church. These days I still look forward to eating my Mom's homemade peppermint patties or my Mema's legendary homemade rolls, but my mind also dwells on food because I'm now responsible for preparing meals and treats for my own family. Another thing I think about is all the wonderful family celebrations centered around special meals that we had growing up. My mom always cooked a birthday dinner for each one of us. We would get to request whatever we wanted and she would make it. I never remember going to a restaurant or even ordering pizza for a birthday while growing up. I think my bother and sisters and I would have been offended if my mom would have suggested restaurant food instead of her delicious home coo...

October was a crazy month. Between school, Aaron, Tammy, and I all getting sick and losing our voices at the same time, The World Series, and Halloween, the month flew by. Maddy was the cutest Minnie Mouse ever for Halloween. We took her to a trunk or treat at a church within walking distance of our house. This Halloween it all clicked for Maddy. We stopped at a couple of houses in the neighborhood on the way over (ones that people were already sitting outside and we didn't have to knock). That got her warmed up enough to the idea of what trick or treat was about that by the time we got to the trunk or treat she was ready to go. She would stop at each car to get candy and grab her treat bag and open it up wide for the person to put the candy in. They also had a place where you could get you picture with Yoda. Maddy had no fear of all the different costumes we saw or spooky decorations we passed walking over to the church but she was terrified of Yoda. We put her on a bench in f...