What this Christmas means

It's been snowing off an on for the past five days or so and more snow to come. Somehow it doesn't put off the shoppers. Every place I've gone has been packed with people. Hopefully that will be good for the economy. D4 should be ecstatic about the snow, since she insisted that we have snow for Christmas. I took some pictures of my dog running in the snow. She is the smartest dog in the world. I got out the camera and opened the door to the back yard where there is at least a foot of snow. Most dogs would just run back inside, but I showed her the camera and said, "Run!" and she took off bounding through the snow. Then when I had taken three pictures (posted here), she decided that was enough and ran into the house. It's good to have something to make me laugh.

Christmas time is a wonderful time. We rejoice over the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ and we rejoice in His plan for our family to be together forever.

We are so blessed this year in spite of missing my mother, who died in April. We have enough and to spare when so many others are hurting. Part of having enough was started years ago when I felt the need to pursue a Ph.D. and also when my husband changed to his present job. Both moves seemed a bit risky at the time, but because of those moves we are employable during recession times. So, we're OK.

But the most important thing this year and every year is family, family, family. All of our family are safe. Most of the family will be home during the holidays. I'm super excited about that. I will miss D2 and SIL1, who are staying at their home, but we hope to visit them in the next few months.

I am reminded of D1 when she was just six years old. I had just had our fourth baby, D3, and D1 cuddled the new little one, saying, "Isn't it wonderful that the more babies we have, the more people there are to love them." Think about it.

New recipes and why my grandchildren love my cooking, but not the PhD

OK, so I'm not just a writer, teacher, and Ph.D., I'm a mother and a grandmother. What's pretty ironic is that my grandchildren don't care at all about my three degrees, or that I present at conferences, or that I do anything professional at all. What they care about is my cooking and cuddling while watching a movie or playing table games. My oldest grandson (12) brags to his friends about my chicken soup and my stew. Even better, he still likes to hug me. Every Sunday night that we can, we have the entire gang over for dinner and a family activity. Tonight I made a slow cooker pot roast with potatoes and carrots. We also had corn on the cob, brussel sprouts, and fruit salad, plus homemade apple pie. I made a lot, but they ate most of it. It was like the locusts descending in hordes. When everyone was stuffed, we watched a Christmas movie together. My son and his wife say that the kids are really disappointed if they don't get to come to Sunday dinner. Sometimes it seems like a lot of work, especially with my writing and teaching schedule and my church volunteer work and taking care of my aged father, but it's worth it. Wouldn't it be sad if my grandchildren didn't know me or my husband? If the incentive is scrumptious food and it takes some effort for me to prepare it, so be it.

Here is my chicken soup recipe that my grandson (GS1) loves so much (Last time I cooked it, he ate nearly two quarts in one sitting). This is the gluten free recipe:

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (a whole roasting chicken is good, too, but there is more fat and the cooked meat must be separated from the skin and bones)
3-4 whole bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1 tablespoon powdered onion
1/8 teaspoon powdered garlic
salt to taste
pepper to taste
water, enough to cover the chicken
DeBoles corn spaghetti style noodles

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients, except the noodels, in a large pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.
2. Simmer, with cover on the pot, for about an hour. Skim the foamy junk off the top every once in a while.
3. Shred the chicken and put it back into the broth.
4. Break the noodles up into short lengths. Add to the hot broth and cook on high until the noodles are tender. Serve.
5. If you have a pressure cooker, even better. Use it instead of a regular pot. Bring to a boil and let the rocker rock for about 15 minutes. Cool down before opening the pressure cooker. Follow steps 3 and 4.

This soup freezes well. Try freezing it in individual servings. It will last in the refrigerator for at least a week.