I Have a Barbecue Sauce Fairy

I am not surprised. Not at God. Not at my BBQ Fairy.

I had shared with someone about the November Challenge that the Keena family was on, to "make it to November". The other day Grace fixed herself a chicken patty and was looking for some bbq sauce, but the bottle was nearly empty. She squeezed just enough out of it, to make do. She declared "We need more barbecue sauce, Mom!" I told her I would buy some in November, because our grocery budget was shot for the month, and we would just have to do without for now. I mean, it's only bbq sauce. The next time she made a chicken patty (yes, this is one of her favorites!) she was surprised to find out that I was true to my word, and had NOT bought any bbq sauce yet. Her "We still don't have any bbq sauce?" was answered by my restating that I would buy some in November, because our grocery budget was shot for the month, and it WAS only bbq sauce. A similar conversation occurred the night we had baked potatoes WITHOUT cheese or sour cream. We did have plenty of butter and salt and pepper, and that's really what you're supposed to put on baked potatoes, right? So once again, I told my family I would buy some cheese and sour cream in November. Of course just the phrase "in November" made it sound all the more dramatic, I thought, so I WAS working it a bit.

Fast forward to today, I was having lunch with a friend, we'll call her Barbie Q. Faree, and I shared these bbq-sauce-desperate stories with her. We chatted back and forth about the challenges of feeding our ever-hungry children, including where to find reduced meat, buying from the locals, and what specials were where this week. We also shared that both of our husbands only get paid once a month, and the challenges that come with that. Including not having any bbq sauce at the end of the month.

After lunch, she drove me back to my house, only after having stopped at a local grocery store to pick up some steaks that were on special. She got several packages for her family, as well as a couple of packages for mine! What a blessing! I can't remember the last time I bought beef that wasn't ground!

I had been home for about 20 minutes when the doorbell rang. It was Barbie, and she handed me a couple bags of groceries and said "You left these in my car!" ??? I had not left any groceries in her car, because I distinctly remembered doing the "We Have Steak Dance" in the kitchen as I was putting my meat in the freezer. She handed the bags to me, and I could see it was not just meat, but a few more items. Care to guess? In total there was another package of steak, plus a couple pounds of ground beef, plus a large carton of sour cream, plus two blocks of cheddar cheese, plus BARBECUE SAUCE! I set the barbecue sauce on the table with a note that said "To Grace & David" From God. What do you think they had for snack?

We had more month left at the end of our grocery budget, and God had just the right amount of bbq sauce that He thought we needed. So he enlisted His bbq sauce fairy to deliver the goods.

I am not surprised. Not at God. Not at my BBQ Fairy. Because I know my God delights in watching over the smallest details of my life. And because I know my BBQ Fairy delights in helping God execute His plans. I'm so glad they are both in my life!

Caden James Clark

Three most delightful things to see:
a garden of white potatoes covered in blossom,
a ship under sail,
and a woman after giving birth.
Irish Proverb

Apparently, Caden is his daddy made over!

Beautiful red hair!

Bailey checking out the new competition!

7 lb. 4 oz. of perfection!

We're glad you're here, little buddy!

I've Been Tagged?

Only because I dearly love my brother am I doing this. So enjoy, Mr. Cooper!

Well, I've been tagged and thus am required to tell you 7 things about myself you may not know.

1. My full name is Kim, not Kimberly.
2. I hate crocodiles.
3. I would like to live in a log home.
4. I could eat applesauce at every meal.
5. I can't stand it when people leave dirty dishes in the sink.
6. I need a job, a perfect job.
7. Oh, and I have a new grandson, Caden James Clark, born tonight!
( More on this one later!)

Snowing and Slidin'

I woke up this morning to beautiful snow, falling ever-so-gently onto Bozeman. Didn't really see that coming, but it was beautiful! Through some negotiation, I opted to have a "Stay At Home Mom Actually Stay At Home Day". So this morning, as the snow was falling, and I was baking bread and listening to the radio, I had warm Christmas fuzzies surge through my veins. What a wonderful feeling! That lead to more baking and doing the Electric Slide in my jammies! As I was Slidin', I was struck with the realization that I was Slidin' alone. And I suddenly felt very lonesome. In years past, Slidin' was a crazy family bonding time. Acting silly, bumping into each other, groovin' together! I missed that today. Honestly, I don't always miss my underfoot brood, but I do miss my being-all together-brood. Can't wait to be Slidin' with some of them this Christmas. Ahhh, there are the warm fuzzies again!

I'm With You Wanda

As Promised

A beautiful snow storm continues to fall outside. The roads have been drivable, so we were able to get to Grace's Volleyball Tournament today. Oh, did I mention that her team won the championship! Go G-dawg! And Chicago friends, Trishie and Maeve endured all day at Bozeman High School. I think they were glad to just sit and watch Grace win. At least that's what they said!

Winter Weather Storm

"A very potent early winter storm will prevail over much of the
West right through the coming weekend."

And so begins new weather patterns in our new home. It's been brisk today, and Chicago-windy!

Fortunately, I had a lovely day at home. Thursdays are my favorites. I have a Moms In Touch group that meets in my living room on Thursday afternoons, so guess what I do on Thursday mornings? Yep, I clean house! And today I also baked whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes for Grace to take to school tomorrow (Did you know tomorrow is "National Cake Decorating Day"?) and cooked Wheat Berries with Craisins for dinner. The fam did not object too awful much to the new side dish, so I may make them again sometime. Next time more savory than sweet.

Tomorrow Grace has two visitors coming from Chicago. Two of her best buds, flying in at noon, if the runways are cleared of snow! Should be a great weekend for the three amigas! Grace always seems to find something interesting to do with her friends.
In light of the impending snow storm, tonight we tried to fit both cars into our two-car garage! Success! Drivers just have to be oh-so careful in backing out, not to hit the sides of the garage. I told Em, her scraping windows this winter is dependent on her ability to get the car out of the car without causing any damage. If she hits the sides, her car is back out on the street. Literally! I think the prospect of not having to scrape windows is a great motivation for careful driving.

November Election

Subject:
New Presidential Candidate... It's someone we know!

Hi,

There's an effort to elect an unknown random person as President... and it's someone we know! Watch this online video about the surprising new nominee:

http://www.tsgnet.com/pres.php?id=370743&altf=Kjn1&altl=Lffob

Jot back a note to let me know what you think!

Yessssssss!

You may or may not remember that I did not want David to play football. And you may or may not remember that after much begging and pleading, we let him. Remember, too, that it was through the football physical that we found David's cyst that had to be removed. So on the one hand, "Yay, football!" because without that physical who knows what might have happened. And on the other hand "Booo, football!" because twice Saturday boys were hurt on the field and had to leave the game (one in an ambulance!). Well, I think football has served it's purpose for David. The other day when I was taking him to practice he said "I don't think I'll play football next year. I just don't want to get hurt and have to sit out of practices and games!" David is definitely a player, not an observer! Yessssssss!