We hope each of you has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
I have finished all of my Christmas shopping today, Dec. 22 with three days left until the big day. It really is not too bad to brave the crowds if you head out to the stores early in the morning and beat most of the people to the goods. However as I was driving past Best Buy this morning, the line was already about 50 people long and the store had not yet opened. Maybe I should have been standing in that line to get a good deal, but I missed the ads and had no idea why the shoppers were braving the cold weather to get into the store first.
We celebrate our Christmas celebration last night with hot chocolate, cookies, kolaches, and gifts of course. Seems we were both on the same page as we each received some backpacking gear for the trail. Now we need to find a baby sitter to watch the child this summer while we head out on the trail. It has been over 2 years since the last time I have been backpacking. So it is a must this summer.
We do hope that you and your families have a great holiday season. We will be lifting up great fellowship and asking for safe travel for all of you.
Merry Christmas
December 23, 2007
December 14, 2007
A New Taste Sensation - "Umami"
This is an interesting article in The Wall Street Journal online edition about what chefs are calling the fifth taste, umami.
Read a small excerpt: (Link to Full Article)
Read a small excerpt: (Link to Full Article)
Americans are taught from an early age that there are four basic tastes -- sweet, salty, sour and bitter. But what describes the taste of chicken soup?
To an increasing number of chefs and food-industry insiders, the answer is "umami," dubbed "the fifth taste." First identified by a Japanese scientist a century ago, umami has long been an obscure culinary concept. Hard to describe, it is usually defined as a meaty, savory, satisfying taste.
To understand the taste of umami, imagine a perfectly dressed Caesar salad, redolent of Parmesan cheese, minced anchovies and Worcestershire sauce; or slurping chicken soup; or biting into a slice of pepperoni-and-mushroom pizza. The savory taste of these foods, and the full, tongue-coating sensation they provide, is umami.
While umami is a relatively new concept in this country, it has been well known in parts of Asia for nearly 100 years. It was identified in the early 20th century by Kikunae Ikeda, a Japanese scientist who coined the name umami (pronounced "oo-MA-mee") using the Japanese term for "deliciousness." He found that foods with the umami taste have a high level of glutamate, an amino acid and a building block of protein. Mr. Ikeda developed and patented a method of making monosodium glutamate, or MSG, a processed additive that adds umami taste to food, much as sugar makes things taste sweet.
I just knew their was something different about the food we ate while in China. Maybe it was all that MSG and the "Umami" fifth taste sensation that we enjoyed so much.
December 5, 2007
12:2 Times December 2007
Introducing Again, Kanyon
Kanyon arrived at 4:30 AM on November 20, 2007 weighing 8 lbs 1 oz and 20 ¾ inches long. He has quickly learned how to sleep, at least at most times, besides the party he likes to throw for himself just after midnight. We are learning the new parent skill of getting sleep whenever we can. Now sleep is great if we can get it in 3-4 hour blocks.
We are enjoying every minute of being parents. We have been extremely spoiled over the first weeks of his life. Our Life Group members from our fellowship showered us with home cooking for the first week. Renee came into town almost everyday to shower us with some home cooked lunches. I wonder how it will all go when we have to cook our own meals again.
Kanyon has made two successful trips to the doctor, and mom made it successfully too. At his latest weigh-in he had gained weight to 8 lbs 8 oz. Before we know it, he will be bigger and taller than both of us!
We will try to keep the pictures updated online so you can all see him as he grows. Hopefully you can give us some more insight as to who he most looks like. Right now we think he looks like a good combination of the both of us.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
We wish each of you a great holiday season. We ask for safe travel, if your traveling and a great time of fellowship with your friends and family.
We hope that all we do during this season will be honoring to the Father and reflect the true spirit and thankfulness we have for the greatest gift of all. We do hope to remember the season and not get caught up in the materialism that Christmas sometime becomes.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Football Marathon
The greatest thing about bringing Kanyon home over Thanksgiving week has been all the football on TV. While we are sitting around the house changing diapers and doing his laundry, we had football on all the time. The football marathon started on Monday night in the hospital and didn’t end until the following Sunday. That means we were able to watch a total of 12 football games over 4 days, an astonishing 3 games per day!
We were even able to watch the beloved Denver Broncos twice. They did manage to win one of those games, even though this season has been a bust. However, M’Lynn’s Cowboys continue to win and win big. Is a Super Bowl in their future?
I think we watched so much football that little Kanyon is going to need a game on in the background before he can go to sleep. I just hope he enjoys basketball season as much. Now that the football marathon weekend is over I wonder what he'll be watching as I return to work next week. Kanyon will be home alone with his mother, hopefully not watching too much Oprah.
White Thanksgiving
While I had hoped to have a great story about the day that our son was born, it never really developed. We do have a great story about the day we brought him home for the first time.
I arrived at the hospital wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt, but I would have frozen if I tried to return home in that. All day on Thanksgiving, it snowed and snowed. It rarely snows here, and much less after the temperatures had been in the 80s earlier in the week.
The weather didn’t make it any easier driving home as nervous parents driving with Kanyon in the car for the first time, and much less in the snow. We decided to take the long way home to avoid all the overpasses, that could have been frozen, but probably weren’t. Then we had to carry Kanyon up the snow covered steps to our apartment.
We made it home safe and sound and have since been warm and cozy in our apartment. Kanyon has enjoyed being all wrapped up in blankets and we have been warmed up with endless cups of hot chocolate.
Kanyon arrived at 4:30 AM on November 20, 2007 weighing 8 lbs 1 oz and 20 ¾ inches long. He has quickly learned how to sleep, at least at most times, besides the party he likes to throw for himself just after midnight. We are learning the new parent skill of getting sleep whenever we can. Now sleep is great if we can get it in 3-4 hour blocks.
We are enjoying every minute of being parents. We have been extremely spoiled over the first weeks of his life. Our Life Group members from our fellowship showered us with home cooking for the first week. Renee came into town almost everyday to shower us with some home cooked lunches. I wonder how it will all go when we have to cook our own meals again.
Kanyon has made two successful trips to the doctor, and mom made it successfully too. At his latest weigh-in he had gained weight to 8 lbs 8 oz. Before we know it, he will be bigger and taller than both of us!
We will try to keep the pictures updated online so you can all see him as he grows. Hopefully you can give us some more insight as to who he most looks like. Right now we think he looks like a good combination of the both of us.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
We wish each of you a great holiday season. We ask for safe travel, if your traveling and a great time of fellowship with your friends and family.
We hope that all we do during this season will be honoring to the Father and reflect the true spirit and thankfulness we have for the greatest gift of all. We do hope to remember the season and not get caught up in the materialism that Christmas sometime becomes.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Football Marathon
The greatest thing about bringing Kanyon home over Thanksgiving week has been all the football on TV. While we are sitting around the house changing diapers and doing his laundry, we had football on all the time. The football marathon started on Monday night in the hospital and didn’t end until the following Sunday. That means we were able to watch a total of 12 football games over 4 days, an astonishing 3 games per day!
We were even able to watch the beloved Denver Broncos twice. They did manage to win one of those games, even though this season has been a bust. However, M’Lynn’s Cowboys continue to win and win big. Is a Super Bowl in their future?
I think we watched so much football that little Kanyon is going to need a game on in the background before he can go to sleep. I just hope he enjoys basketball season as much. Now that the football marathon weekend is over I wonder what he'll be watching as I return to work next week. Kanyon will be home alone with his mother, hopefully not watching too much Oprah.
White Thanksgiving
While I had hoped to have a great story about the day that our son was born, it never really developed. We do have a great story about the day we brought him home for the first time.
I arrived at the hospital wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt, but I would have frozen if I tried to return home in that. All day on Thanksgiving, it snowed and snowed. It rarely snows here, and much less after the temperatures had been in the 80s earlier in the week.
The weather didn’t make it any easier driving home as nervous parents driving with Kanyon in the car for the first time, and much less in the snow. We decided to take the long way home to avoid all the overpasses, that could have been frozen, but probably weren’t. Then we had to carry Kanyon up the snow covered steps to our apartment.
We made it home safe and sound and have since been warm and cozy in our apartment. Kanyon has enjoyed being all wrapped up in blankets and we have been warmed up with endless cups of hot chocolate.
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