Potato Soup...Count me in!

Soup for lunch, soup for dinner was my husband's request the other day upon his stuffy, head cold sickness.

(image courtesy of:  http://kitchenscoop.com/recipes/baked-potato-soup/)

So, for lunch I warmed up Elton's yummy veggie soup.  Then I set out looking for a great potato soup recipe...you know, along the lines of O'Charley's wonderful loaded potato soup.

Enter Pat's Cream of Potato Soup recipe.  YUM!  I did alter it a bit, and here's what I did...

First, you'll need:

bacon bits (or chopped up slices of bacon)
1 onion, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
3 sliced or chunked potatoes
1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1 cup half and half

Then, you can:

1)  Brown your onion and bacon bits on medium heat.
2)  Start your chicken broth in a large pot.  Bring to a boil.
3)  Add onion, bacon, potatoes, and instant mashed potato flakes to the boiling broth.
4)  Bring heat down to a simmer and keep it on for 30 minutes.
5)  Pour in half and half.  Stir and serve!

**you also could top it with cheese, or put it in a bread bowl.

We were both fans.  So, Pat, whoever you are, if you are reading this...THANK YOU for the start to a great potato soup :)

Snapshots of 'da Hood

I was looking at a photographer's blog the other day and was inspired by their motto, of sorts.  This photographer is really good at looking for the great in the ordinary.

Jas and I often walk around 'da hood.  I don't normally bring my camera, but this night I did.

So, let's just say, this was my personal attempt at finding great (or at least good?) in simple surroundings.

(I actually can't take credit for the photo above.  That's my awesome hubby's doing!)

A cactus fruit.  As always, I'm diggin' the color.

Two of my favorites.

Are they as creative as I would have liked?  Nah.  But I am going to be more in tune to finding the great in my simple :)

Retreat-ed

This past weekend we retreat-ed with the RBC youth! We headed up to good ole Boone, NC (where Jas and I both went to college) and spent some time in cabins hanging out with youth guys and girls.  There was studying of God's Word, good eating, skeet shooting, wood-chopping, cooking, and shopping involved.

I somehow managed not to take too many photos this trip.  However here are a few I captured :)

It was a good, good trip.  And the mountains, ohhhh the mountains!  Joy!

Feelin' (a 'lil) Fallish...

This post would probably be more applicable if it weren't 80-90 degrees outside! Ay yi yi, please bring on the cool weather!

I digress....

I was feeling a little fallish yesterday as I was making cookies for the upcoming youth retreat to the mountains!  You see, I LOVE fall!  It's my favorite season (with summer in a close second).

In case you're wondering why I am such a fan of fall, here ya go, a list...
cool weather (not hot, not cold, just COOL!)
scarves (they're fun :)
pumpkin spice lattes
pumpkin spice chai tea
anything pumpkin spice!
pumpkins and pies
fall colors (need I say more!?)
warm drinks to be felt in my hands
sweaters and comfy clothes
Thanksgiving (and the foods that come with it)
great smells (food, outdoors, candles, etc...)
deer hunting (for my other half, of course, he wanted to make sure it was on the list)

And while that list is not exhaustive, it certainly names some of my favorite fall aspects.

If only it would get cooler.  Come on now, I can't enjoy a pumpkin spice chai tea in 90 degree weather!!!  Maybe it will feel more fallish in the mountains this weekend...

Much to look forward to as fall (hopefully) sets in :)

Book Review: Evidence Not Seen

Reading is quite a fun hobby of mine.  I enjoy it.  I learn a lot.  Generally.  So I decided every once in a while I would do a little book review on a recent read.

Take this one for example.  I could hardly find a better place to start.  

Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose is among my most favorite of favorite books.  It's a must read.

Let's start with a summary:  Darlene Deibler was the first woman missionary to Macassar, an island in the East Indies.  She and her newly wed husband pioneered the way for Christ to be shared and for missionaries to come.  They worked their way to the remote island during the late 1930's.  They had already touched many lives pre-World War II when they both found themselves prisoners of war to the Japanese.  Darlene documents the many extremely tough trials she faces during this most trying time in her life.  She lays out her faith and dependence on the Lord.  Even facing death, Darlene writes about her confidence in the Lord and His faithfulness to her, His child.  This books shows God's power and providence as well as provides an example of an awesome Heroine of the faith.

Here's why I loved it:  Conviction.  Plain and simple.  Darlene Deibler Rose was (and is..she's still alive!) a ROCK in her faith.  She trusted the Lord, although not always understanding situations she was in, NO MATTER WHAT.  How powerful her testimony.  How well she knew the Bible.  Her trust and faithfulness to the one who saved her.  These are all things I aspire towards.

Great book, friends, please read it :)  Oh, and you may need some tissues nearby too!

Because I just can't resist...

Some of the sweetest faces in Haiti:

Can I adopt every single one of them, please?  I think we've reached the end of the Haiti pics for now...

More Pics and Caps

Just another dose of Haiti pics with some captions explaining...

Did you remember to grab your eye drops?  They may be needed! :)

Forgot this one yesterday while talking about the beach...this guy found a starfish and let me take his picture with it.  Cool!

Blanchard student.  School day.  Toothless grin.  Precious.

He's cute in that bandana ;)

Marianne, Nate and 'lil Jo (their sponsor child)...who might I add is NOT looking at the camera, haha.  Isn't he adorable?

This picture just warms my heart. Wanderson, Stanley, and other hilarious kid.

He is ROCK'N those glasses.  Haha!!

Cite Soleil cuteness.

The garbage dump Cite Soleil is built on.  And this guy above was scavenging.  He's got a hernia...ewww..  (that's the large bulge you see on his side)

Family shot (plus some Haitians) at the old Cathedral site in Port Au Prince.

A fallen bell at the Cathedral, post-earthquake.

Five pastors/leaders + some Haitians + Christian entitled bar = hilarious photo

A quite lovely view of some bums on the way back to the compound.

And we snapped one last shot together.

What a blessed time.  Thankful for the opportunity to have gotten to go back to Haiti!  We will return, promised!

One SWEET trip

Haiti.  That word in itself brings to mind a gazillion different adjectives, thoughts, feelings, sounds, smells, sights...  This past trip was perfectly SWEET.

Was it mosquito free?  No.  Was it free of blisters?  No.  Was it cool outside?  No.  Was it devoid of the dreadful post-Haiti tummy issues? No. Was it every bit worth it? YES!  It was a great last trip for us for a while.  We got to see lots of our Haitian friends, work hard for four days, sight-see on the last day, bond with some local church leaders, worship/fellowship with Haitians, and spend some quality time in a place we love.  It was just all around good.

And God got my attention.  Again.  No surprise there, right?  He's rather adept at getting our attention.  I read a book this week (early at night, bedtime, wrapped in my mosquito net and covered with bug spray ;) The book is "Evidence Not Seen" by Darlene Diebler Rose.  It's amazing.  I will surely blog a whole post on it.  But between that, recent events taking place in life, and a week spent in Haiti, I am again reminded of the importance of making the most of everyday for our Lord.  More to come on this...

In the meantime, check out these "hot" (get it?) Haitian pics:

Church on Sunday, followed by a visit to see Wall's Guest House (which has changed a ton!).  Below is sweet Venaika...love her!

We did get some time to spend on the beach Sunday afternoon before the busy work week started.  Above, Nadege and I.

Original Haitian artisan paintings.  Can't beat that color!

The stages of an almond!  How cool is that!?  You can actually eat the almond fruit, too.

It was nice and relaxing at Wahoo Beach.

Always delicious dinners cooked by the Haitians for us.

Then work began bright and early Monday morning.  We had four successful work days which included three tin-roofed houses, and help with the foundation for a new wall in Repatriot.  Good stuff.

That's probably sufficient enough pictures for one day's post, but can you believe there are more where these came from?

You may need some eye drops for the many pics coming at you tomorrow (you know, if you decide to tune in for more Haiti pics and all ;)

A Sad Goodbye...

Tomorrow early morning we head home from Haiti to the states.  This has been a GREAT week of fellowship and hard work. We have a great and mighty God and a God who is worthy of all our praise.  And I am THANKFUL that the Haitians exemplify this (and teach me oh so much)!

It's a sad goodbye for us in a lot of ways knowing that we won't return to Haiti for probably (at least) three years.  But ya know what, we will always have all our memories of this place and these people!  And we will come back when we can!

Lots of pictures to come, don't worry...be reassured ;) 

Celebrating and a TRIP!

Jas celebrated his birthday yesterday with:  

breakfast with DeAndre

chapel for some David Platt

lunch at his fav Wake Forest hot spot

a good Bella walk

dinner at Wild Wings

a double layered sugar cookie cake

cards and presents with the family

and with lots of love!

He says it was a good day!  I'm glad :)

Tomorrow we are off to Haiti for what is likely one last trip for us for a while : (  We are excited, but it's bittersweet, too.  One last time (at least for a couple years) of seeing Leon, Jackie, Wanderson, and all our Haitian friends!  Pray for the team!

Be back in a week, friends! 

September 9th: A Day in History!

Today just so happens to be the BIRTHDAY of my studly man.  He's 29!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, babe!

I love you, Jas.  Hope it's a GREAT day!

AND he shares this day with another special man in my life--my grandfather!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, love you too!

Krystal, Coffee, and Shootin'

Back a little bit ago I posted this post and said if anyone is interested in getting coffee, wants a photo shoot for my practicing, or just wants to hang out...let me know.  Well, my sweet friend, Krystal, from Appalachian days got in touch with me about two of those...coffee and photos!

We set off to Starbucks, indulged in some fine chatting and coffee/tea and got to catch up.  I hadn't seen her in a while so we had a lot of ground to cover.  It was great! But the greatness didn't stop there...then we headed out to Duke Gardens for some photo-ing :)

Thanks Krystal for a fun afternoon and for being a model!  It was great to catch up, we'll have to do it again soon :)