Oh Happy Day!

Other than my wedding and the occasional funeral, I've never really cried in church - until now. My choir director Paul is Ukrainian, so we're use to singing Rachmaninoff, Gretchaninoff, and other Russian/Eastern European heavies. Although it sounds beautiful, it's like we're in a constant season of Lent. Today, that all changed. Paul chose a piece by Paul Halley, a British composer, who took the words from Song of Solomon and arranged it with a gospel twist. The words were beautiful and I've never heard Karen, our soprano soloist sing like that:

The Rain is Over and Gone

The rain is over and gone,
And the winter is passing by,
The time for singing has come,
And the clouds have parted from the sky.

Arise, my love, and come away,
For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone,
Over and gone, my love,
Come away, my fair one, come away.

We will rise and go to the city,
The city without any walls,
Where we can live in freedom,
To the new Jerusalem we're called.

Arise my love, my fair one,
For lo! the winter is gone,
The flowers appear on the earth again,
And the time for singing has come.

Sing of life and love and laughter,
Sing of freedom to live in peace,
And there shall be no more crying,
Only joy that will never cease.
****************************************

I think half of the congregation was crying after we finished singing.

Ya'll asked for it - Here it is......

For the fans of my latest dessert, here is the recipe. My mom has to get the credit here - she's made this for our family for as long as I can remember

German Chocolate Pies
2 uncooked pie crusts
11/4 cup sugar
1 stick butter or margerine
2 TBSP flour
1 bar German Chocolate bar
2 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup angel flake coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Cream sugar and butter. Melt chocolate over low heat. Add eggs to first mixture and mix well. Gradually add milk. Stir in remaining ingredients. Divide mixture into 2 uncooked pastry shells. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325. Bake 20 minutes longer. Let cool.
Great with vanilla ice cream or cool whip.

Yummmmmmmmmmm.........

OK, so the rule is, if I give a recipe, you need to leave one. I'll take anything - sweets, savories, etc. Just no broccoli!

The Birthday Boy Meets the Girls from Ipanema

I've eaten so much, I can barely type. Chris' birthday dinner combined with Mother's Day Brunch makes me think I'll be eating salad for the rest of the week. For Chris' birthday, he chose Rasika in Penn Quarter. I wasn't a fan of Indian food - until now. WOW! For Mother's Day, we went with our dear friends Kristin, Jamie, and Aida (who Kate loves) to a Brazilian BBQ place called Fogo de Chao downtown. I actually went to the one that's in Sao Paulo, Brazil back in 1999, and it still hasn't lost its appeal. Kate did amazingly well and managed to stay seated for most of the meal. Given the fact that we don't take her out to many restaurants (with the exception of Los Tios, Generous Georges') she did very well with impulse control, etc. I think it may be because of the fact that we bribed her with promises of cookies afterwards, or it could be that she wanted to be sweet as a Mother's Day gift.

Nah, it was the cookies.

How Does Our Garden Grow?

The best part of our house? Hands down - the garden. We moved here in February 2006, and there was nothing in it except for dead-looking roots, stumps, and a weary blue spruce in the corner. I was prepared to implement a scorched earth policy and burn the whole thing down and start over. Thanks to my friend Anne, and Alexandria City (who forbids you from burning your backyard down) I found out that the garden was just "sleeping" - that nestled just below the ground were hibernating flowers. From March - September, something blooms every week, whether it's daffodils, lilacs, irises, azaleas roses, peonies, hydrangeas, black-eyed susans, rosemary, lemonbalm, etc. I was inspired by the butterfly farm Chris & I went to in St. Martin, so I'm starting my own butterfly garden with butterfly bush and milkweek. Additionally, our resident mourning dove, Maisie, has come back to have her babies in our hanging basket beneath the rose trellis. She recently gave birth to Johnny and June and they're just learning how to fly.

My neighbor Paul once told me that his garden is his therapy. I totally agree with him, although, as a therapist, I may lose money with that attitude. Maybe in my second career I'll own a greenhouse/butterfly farm....:)

Have You Ever.....

Wished that a day would never end? For me, that was yesterday. I was sitting on a blanket in the front yard with my friend Kristin watching our girls (Kate & Aida) chasing bubbles around the yard. It was the time of day when the planets were perfectly aligned - the girls were playing nicely, Chris & Mr. Jamie were swapping sports/lawyer stories, and everything in the garden (lilacs, azaleas, roses, etc.) smelled heavenly. As we were sitting on the blanket outside, Kristin & I noticed that cars were lining up around a particular house in our neighborhood, along with a stretch SUV. We noticed girls piling out of cars in their finery - dressed to kill for the biggest night of their high school lives - PROM NIGHT! The girls looked so glamorous - quite a change from the huge crinolines of the 80's that I wore. Then I thought - that will be Kate & Aida one day - SOONER THAN I'D LIKE. Since Kate celebrated her 3rd birthday this week, I've been lamenting over how time is flying for her. I could've gotten depressed about this, but I kept reverting back to Kate & Aida - chasing bubbles. That moment is frozen in time for me.

Happy Birthday My Brown-Eyed Girl!

Yes, I know her birthday is technically on the 23rd, but in this house, we celebrate someone's birthday all week. Kate turns three on Wednesday, and it's amazing how time has flown. April 22, 2005 seemed just yesterday when I went into labor at 10:22 p.m. and FINALLY gave birth (thankfully without a c-section) at 4:28 p.m. the next day. She's still her father's daughter - big brown eyes, chestnut-colored hair. Some of her favorite things these days:

1) Favorite person - Grandmommy in NC - Mom's been a part of Kate's life since week 1 when she came to help out two clueless, tired parents. Nicknamed "The Wolf" (from "Pulp Fiction"), Mom's been the biggest supporter of Kate's development and the biggest help to us.

2) Favorite food - big cookies from Cake Love bakery. Chris takes Kate there when I'm in Church on Sunday. Yeah, yeah, I know - lots of sugar - but hey, she loves it, and as my friend Kristin famously says, "don't judge me." I'm just grateful she doesn't have any food allergies like a lot of the kids around here.

3) Favorite TV show - "Bill Maher" - no just kidding, although I wouldn't mind. It's actually Sesame Street and "Pingu" videos.

4) Favorite Book - Right now (and this changes hourly) - "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein.

5) Favorite girl friends - Aida and Hannah

6) Favorite time of day - snuggling up to Mommy reading books and singing songs before bed. This is my favorite time of day too.

Happy 3rd Birthday sweetheart - we love you to pieces!

Mama & Daddy

Goodbye Ellis Family - We'll Miss Ya'll!

A little over a year ago, we met the Ellis family (Kristin, Abram, & Max) through our neighbors, Marianne & James. They've been such a joy to have in our neighborhood and our lives. Aviva (Vivi) was born in September, which finally added another little girl in the area!). Things we'll miss about the Ellis':

1) Kristin's cooking and love thereof - you're the only person I know who loves it as much as I do. You should have your own show or write your own cookbook with all the recipes you've handed down. Girlfriend got me to like asparagus with her blue-cheese vinagrette sauce recipe. Your empanada recipe still holds a place in our hearts.

2) Abram's smoker - and of course, you too, Abram! Chris has been coveting this thing since he met you. Now he's going to get his own. Thanks for expanding his culinary education!

3) The Annual 4th of July Parade around the pond. This was a classic - Kate STILL has her red, white & blue headband from that day. This tradition will continue with us - we can't let something that fun leave with you.

4) In a world of cynicism and doubt, ya'll have to be one of the most "true to your faith" couples we know. Thank you for being an example in "keeping the faith!"

We'll miss you Kristin, Abram, Max, and Vivi. Stay warm in Ann Arbor!