Merry Christmas!

Christmas Snow

The beautiful, peaceful view from our back yard. It is a winter wonderland. The snow began Friday evening dropping at least 1" an hour for several hours. We woke up this morning to 10" and it has snowed most of the day with a little bit of rain and sleet.

Hershey needed to have a path made before she would go out but then she ran and jumped and "chomped" on snow and caught a few snowballs.

David ventured out to get some gas for the generator just in case the electricty goes out. The wind has picked up so anything can happen. He said he barely could get out of the driveway with the 4wheel drive!

Crisp Mountain Bird Ski Resort!

David and I enjoyed some chili and played games this afternoon. This is the scene from our kitchen table.

Hershey's Christmas portrait.

How can I say thanks, for the things He has done!

Our Thanksgiving began when Brett and Jes came up for the weekend just before Thanksgiving. We spent the weekend enjoying each other's company and thankful for the time we get to spend together. We took these pictures after church. We had asked Brett and Jes if they would sing in church and we were very blessed that they agreed.

David and I flew out of Reagan National Airport in DC very early allowing us to get to Texas before lunch!

We are so thankful that Mom was able to join us in Texas at Patrick and Jana's. She had several special moments with Hannah and Charlie.

Hannah is very sweet with Charlie!

We spent a beautiful day at the Dallas Arboretum. David and I had so much fun walking and playing with Hannah. She was delightful!

I am so proud of you, mom. You have truly fought a good fight this year and allowed the Lord to strengthen you and fill you with His peace.

The picture of contentment.

The last morning we were there, David and I enjoyed spending time with Hannah at the park just a few blocks away. Special times for all this Thanksgiving!

On Thanksgiving, we all took a few minutes to share what we were thankful for. We all had many things we gave God the glory for, not the least of which is the extraordinary way God has worked in our lives this year. "To God be the Glory, great things He has done..."How can I say thanks

for the things You have done for me
Things so undeserved

Yet You give to prove Your love for me

The voices of a million angels

Cannot express my gratitude

All that I am or ever hope to be

I owe it all to Thee.

To God be the glory,

To God be the glory,

To God be the glory,

For the things He has done.

With His blood, He has saved me,

With His power, He has raised me.

To God be the glory,

For the things He has done.

Just let me live my life

And may it be pleasing, Lord to Thee

And should I gain any praise

Let it go to Calvary

With His blood, He has saved me,

With His power, He has raised me.

To God be the glory,

For the things He has done.

Friends and Fishing on the Potomac

Saturday was a beautiful day! The sun was shining and the temp was mild, mid 80's, and low humidity. But the best of all was getting to spend the day with friends on the water. Our friends Bob and Holly have a boat (Revelation is her name) and invited us for the day. I went earlier with another friend, Linda, and we girls spent the morning at the pool at the marina at Port Kinsale on the Potomac River. We then enjoyed a wonderful summer lunch of shrimp and wild rice, fresh corn salad, and fresh tomatoes with basil. The men arrived after lunch and we headed out to try our hand at fishing.




Unfortunately, we didn't catch any fish, not even a nibble but we had a wonderful time anyway. Thanks so much Holly and Bob for sharing your blessings with us. It was a perfect day!

Linda, Holly and Des

Fresh Corn Salad

I made this the first time a few years ago for a group of friends who came for dinner. It was a huge hit! I made it again this week for lunch with friends and was reminded how wonderful and fresh this salad is. Try it.

Fresh sweet summer corn requires no cooking, which makes this a particularly appealing warm-weather side dish for grilled fish, poultry, or meat.

Yield 8 servings (serving size: about 1/2 cup)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup light sour cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 5 ears)
1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 cup finely chopped green onions

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add corn and remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 112 (21% from fat)
Fat: 2.6g (sat 1.3g,mono 0.3g,poly 0.5g)
Protein: 4g
Carbohydrate: 22.2g
Fiber: 3.1g
Cholesterol: 8mg
Iron:0.8mg
Sodium: 94mg
Calcium: 13mg

Brett and Jes came to visit this weekend. We started our weekend golfing at Windy Hill Par 3 Golf Course. David and I went earlier in the week and had such a good time we wanted to go again this weekend. We all had a great time and we each enjoyed a few great shots! We also got to enjoy a few hours at the pool to cool down and relax. Later we went home and fixed a great meal together. We had grilled turkey medallions with orange citrus & red onion salsa, baked coconut shrimp and whole grain rice with black beans and cilantro. We had a red, white and blue dessert made with angel food cake (sugar free and fat free), blueberries, strawberries and sugar free Cool Whip. Delightful!

Our garden is really starting to produce and we are picking several tomatoes almost everyday. So, I decided to have a tomato themed lunch on Sunday. We had BLT's, Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad, and Tomato Mozzarella Basil Salad. Delicious!

We missed the rest of our family and hope you had a blessed weekend. We love you!