Nose to Nose

Gabriel (8 weeks old, then 16 months old) and me...nose to nose

(top photo taken by Stephanie Wimberly King)

A Snowy Day in Texas Without Snow

It snowed today here in Central Texas.  And yes, I have "snowy day" pictures to show you, but without the snow.  See, in these parts snow doesn't usually stick.  But that doesn't really matter when you look this adorable in a winter hat.

After school the boys worked on "homework."  Bryan will be featured at his school in Dec/Jan and is working on a poster about himself to be displayed at the school.  Gabriel is learning how to color, and hopefully not eat too many crayons in the process.

Gabe loves to snuggle (and I love it, too!).

If the snow made it's way to you, I hope you had as much fun as we did in it (or not so much "in it" :)

A Glimpse into Thanksgiving

The Poppy family actually enjoyed three Thanksgiving celebrations this year with family.  Sadly, we still missed two families!!!  We have a lot of family, to say the least.  Anyway, the first celebration was with my momma and brothers, and we ate yummy homemade Mexican food.  I made homemade salsa and accidently got serrano pepper juice in my eyes (even though I washed my hands!!!) so there are no pictures from that fun time.  The food was great that my momma prepared and I always enjoy my "little" brothers.  I say "little" because while they are younger than me, they are anything but smalll...I believe the shortest one is at least 6'2" tall. 

Yes, I did just post random pictures of my brothers.  Anyway...

The next day we went to my dad's parent's house and I did manage to get a couple of photos there. 

Finally, we spent the weekend in Abilene and celebrated with my husband's parents and siblings.  My sweet cousin and his family allowed us to stay in their home while they were out of town, which was wonderful for the boys and for us. 

I'm thankful for all of the loving people in our lives and look forward to many more special memories in the future!

Sinus Infection & Photo Rejects

I've been M.I.A. from the good ole' blogosphere for the last couple of weeks due to an annoying sinus infection.  It's dried up all of my brain power, so I'm forced to write only one or two sentence thoughts on facebook, rather than an entire post here on Poppyseeds.  But I've got antibiotics now, and things will be looking UP soon.  In the meantime, I leave you with a montage of funny photos from our effort as a family to get a Christmas picture taken (these were the rejected photos!).  Notice how I'm unmoved by the chaos around me in each photo:)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Baking: Happy Fall ~ Sugar Cookies

For several months now I have wanted to try making sugar cookies with piped icing and fun icing colors.  I finally had a great excuse to make them, as B's school is having a Fall Festival this weekend and they needed some items for the Bake Sale.

I've been nervous about trying to make these sugar cookies and I'm so glad I finally tried it out. 

Is there anything you'd like to learn how to do, but have been too nervous to give it a whirl?  Why not try?  What's the worst that could happen?

Music: Heaven is the Face

Driving home on Saturday night I turned the radio on and heard this song by  Steven Curtis Chapman.  Beautiful, heartfelt, sad, hopeful...you should definitely take a listen...

Recipes: Salsa Time!

Fresh, homemade salsa is one of my most favorite foods ever!  Store bought salsa simply does not compare, so a couple of weeks ago my friend emailed this recipe to me and I thought I'd share it with you.

Simple Salsa

Ingredients:
* 1 small onion

* 1 or 2 cloves garlic

* 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (OR MORE - I use MORE)

* 1 jalapeno chili pepper, chopped roughly (or a seeded Serrano pepper)

* zest of 1 lime(optional)

* juice of 1 lime (or just a squeeze :)

* 1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes

* 1 dash hot sauce or 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional - I don't use this)

* 1 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt

* 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper

Directions:

Peel and slice onion in quarters. Place in the work bowl of a food processor, fitted with a metal blade. Add the garlic cloves. Pulse four to five times, until onion is diced. Be careful not to over-process, or the salsa will end up mushy. Add the cilantro, chili pepper (with or without seeds), lime zest, lime juice, tomatoes and hot sauce. Pulse until the salsa reaches the consistency of a thick puree. Be sure to leave in some chunks, too. It makes it look more homemade. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
 
Our COM group had a fajita & taco salad dinner tonight, so I made this fruit salsa with homemade cinnamon tortilla chips and it was definitely a hit!  It's super easy and delicious.
 
Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

Ingredients:

1 Fuji apple - peeled, cored and diced
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

2 kiwis, peeled and sliced

2 bananas, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-------------------------------------
1 cup oil for frying
6 (10 inch) flour tortillas
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon


Directions:
1.In a medium bowl, mix together Fuji apple, strawberries, kiwis, bananas, lime juice, white sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cover and chill in the refrigerator approximately 20 minutes.
2.Heat oil in a medium heavy saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

3.Slice flour tortillas into triangles. Carefully place tortilla triangles into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
4.Place white sugar and cinnamon in a large ziplock plastic bag. Drop fried tortilla triangles into the bag and shake to coat.
5.Serve the cinnamon chips warm with the chilled fruit salsa.