A little pre-Halloween face-painting...

Sean bought a face-painting kit at the grocery store last night and decided to paint Ben's face just for fun. Ben is going to go trick-or-treating as Batman but wanted a little ghoulishness for kicks and grins. I must warn you. The after photo is somewhat disturbing. Thanks Sean.

My sweet angel boy.

The little ghoul in my life...

Yikes!

Tee Hee...

Early Bird

Early ballot voting rocks! I'll never drive to the polls again!

A little support

I have been following the story of Stephanie and Christian Nielson for some time. I am so impressed with their strength and that of their families in the face of tragedy.

Mindy Gledhill will be performing a benefit concert in support of Stephanie and Christian.
























You can hear a sample of her sweet voice here:

Tortilla Soup

Yes, it is time once again to bring out the soup recipes and enjoy simmering-on-the-stove goodness. Chicken Tortilla Soup is fast becoming a family favorite and I made a pot to share with Grandma and Grandpa Judd the other night. Grandma Judd has just undergone major surgery and is getting better and stronger every day. We love her and Grandpa so much and are so glad she is going to enjoy a better quality of life.

So we filled our bowls with tortilla soup and had some yummy cornbread on the side. We also got to watch "On The Lord's Errand" again. It is such a wonderful tribute to President Monson. He is such a great man and I know he is always on the Lord's errand as he leads our Church. We had taped it during General Conference and we wanted to share it with Grandma and Grandpa. I get pretty choked up when I watch it!

Ok, so I guess I'll share the recipe since Kelly reeeeaaaaaalllly wants it! It's pretty easy and you can certainly add your own touch. I made it Ben-friendly and he digs it! This makes a pretty good sized pot of soup.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 to 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 Cups of water

1 1/2 to 2 Cans tomato sauce

1 can red enchilada sauce

3 celery stalks, chopped

1 Lg onion, chopped

3/4 Cup Masa Harina (ground corn flour)

2 TBS chicken boullion

1 Can of corn, drained

1 tsp Garlic powder

Pepper to taste

sour cream

chopped green onions

cilantro

grated cheese

2 TBS vegetable or canola oil

Corn chips or totilla strips (I made my own tortilla strips by slicing corn tortillas into strips and deep frying them, oh my heavens they are good!)

Place chicken breasts in pot with water. Bring to a boil and cook until chicken is no longer pink. Turn heat off and let sit for about 15 to 20 minutes. Save water for stock. Remove chicken to cutting board to cool. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred or chop to the consistency you desire. Meanwhile, bring chicken stock back to a boil and add boullion, tomato sauce, enchilada sauce and garlic powder. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Saute celery and onion in oil until just tender, then sprinkle Masa over vegetables and stir. This will get rid of the "raw" flavor of the corn flour. Add vegetables and Masa to pot and stir. Reduce heat to a low simmer and add canned corn and shredded chicken.

Assembly is very important! :)

Place some tortilla strips your bowl.....

Ladle soup over the heavenly tortilla strips....

Then pile on the toppings. I am all about toppings! Hope you like it!

He can compute.

Ben has become obsessed with the laptop. He loves playing the Curious George games on PBS.Org. I suppose it is better than being obsessed with the Playstation 2.

Here's the thing, he's starting to give me a bit of attitude about it. I remember a time when I was pretty cool and fun to him. I'm sure I'll be cool and fun again when he is asking for money and to borrow the car...

What's For Lunch?