A few thoughts while sweeping...

I was sweeping the mud room today and the thought crossed my head- Our house would be so much cleaner if I swept the mud room every day. We walk through the mud room every time we come into the house. It's where we keep the shoes and coats, etc. That's where we bang our shoes, wipe our feet and then go into the main part of the house. And if I swept it every day, we wouldn't be tracking in all the dust and dirt into the main part of the house. Sounds simple, right? Not a cure all, but it would definitely help!

I know my mind is simple, but here's what it made me think: Do I need to sweep my "mud room" every day? What are the things I'm allowing to enter my head, my mind, my heart? I'm not necessarily talking about big sin issues, but little things that can get us down and clog up my life. Like the dustiness of a negative attitude. Or the little clumps of discontent and nagging tongue. What about just a general lack of responsibility?

Every morning I have the choice of waking up, sweeping the mud room; that is going to help keep a lot of the dirt out of the house. Not all of it, but it will help.
Every morning I have the choice of waking up and being responsible and "sweeping the mud room" of my mind. Removing all the little things that can keep me from being the kind of Christian, first of all and sibling and daughter, second of all, that I can be.

Here is a thought that encourages me to no end. And is a nice ending to what I'm trying to say-

...lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith...
Hebrews 12:1&2

"If it's not billowing black smoke, it's probably ok"

That's what I told my little brother Silas when he came in and told me to come smell my food that was in the oven! When I checked, it was fine, just smelling yummy! If you hadn't noticed...I love to cook. :) Like a lot!

In my last post I mentioned Tomato Soup...well here's the recipe! It's kinda a mix of several...we all liked it fine...especially with melted cheese sandwiches! Enjoy!

Simple Tomato Soup

1 onion, minced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart tomato juice
1 large can diced tomatoes and one can rotel blended
a little extra tomato juice if needed.
sweetening to taste
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
basil to taste
2 cups 1/2 and1/2
1/2 tsp. soda

Saute onion and celery in a little butter until just cooked through. In a stock pot heat broth, and tomato juice (all of it!) . Add onions and celery. Season with the basil, garlic (small amount!), salt and pepper. Taste soup, adjust seasoning and add sweetening. (not too sweet) Right before serving turn soup off and add soda. (the soda keeps the 1/2 and1/2 from separating) Stir in 1/2 and 1/2 and serve with melted cheese sandwiches.

Did I mention these are good with melted cheese sandwiches?! Haha...oh by the way, it would be even better if you had melted ham and cheese sandwiches, as this is a little low on protein. Plus, you could also make some really yummy hot chocolate to go with the general atmosphere of a cold winter day and eating warming, favorite food! :)

"All hands to the kitchen!!!"

Well, first let me say that I finally figured out that you can click on that little tab at the top right hand corner when you're typing your post out and "compose" means you can actually dress it up, not just have the plain layout of "edit Html"! Oh yeah! I'm the smart one! So! Moving on!

Today was a coldish rainyish kind of day...you know the kind where you like to eat warm food and watch a movie! So for lunch I decided to make Tomato Soup and Cheese Melts. (Melts because we are low on bread. So single slices and those left over biscuits work just fine! By the by, I made TWO batches of bread this week. TWO!!!)

So picture this: Miles is washing dishes and Nathan is drying. Anna is making pizza dough for supper and DJing the music for us. (it's movie music-Pirates of the Caribbean, Cowboys, Quigley Down Under, Lord of the Rings, Chicken Run, Narnia, to name a few!) Naomi is grating cheese and making the melts, Silas is setting the table and doing little tricks for me, and I'm making Tomato soup. Now in case you don't really know me, 1) I love to cook and 2) I love to tweak recipes. So I had looked up Tomato Soup on-line and scribbled down a few notes on my handy dandy marker board. So I was happily fretting over my soup and consulting my board.

The kitchen was filled to the brim with people and teeming with humming, singing, harmonizing and conducting of music, questions, conversations and reminders to go around!

"Silas, paper plates and bowls" "Nathan! Will you please rinse!!" "Miles you just sloshed the water!" "Is this enough cheese?""What part of the movie is this from!?" "How many pizza's should I make" "Lollie, how many do I set for?" "Could you hand me a squeegee please?" "This music is nice!""Could you taste the soup?"....

So then, suddenly, the melts are melted and smelling great, the soup is done and awaits the final test...whether it's edible or not....we call Dad and Mom in and have a lovely lunch. It's calm, it's peaceful, and cozy. It's another typical meal and time with my family....and I love it! :)