A Halloween Conversation

Last night as she was going to bed, Kylie was showing me pictures of Halloween stuff that she had. The very last one as a "man-walrus".

"A what?"

"A man-walrus. Look, his teeth stick out like a walrus."

"Oh, that's right sweetie. But sometimes, people call them vampires."

A Little Baker

Tonight we decided to decorate some Halloween cookies, not how Mommy likes them, but how Kylie likes them! She started out decorating her pumpkins the traditional way- orange with green stems...

With the exception of the icing being an inch thick, these look pretty plain, huh?

That's not the Kylie I know! When she realized that she had put on a lot of icing, she came up with the idea of a cookie sandwich, all by herself! Here she is tasting her creation...

They were good, but not quite decorated enough for her. Here is the finished product...

Spooktacular!

Costume Contest Winner!

Thanks, Noni, for spending your time and energy making me this beautiful Pocahontas costume! I won "Best Overall Girl Costume" at the Moms Club Costume Contest today! See my medal?

Texas Chili Recipe #1

Last year, I played around with a chili recipe that turned out pretty good, so this year I decided to step up and measure what I've been doing (along with making a few changes), just to see what I could crank out. I've decided to keep track of the different permutations to see what works best. The liquid is what makes it authentically Texas.

You'll need:

1 pound ground sirloin
6-8 slices of bacon
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, chopped and seeded
1 orange bell pepper (go Hippos!), chopped and seeded
2 Tbs. + 1 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbs. cumin
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 lime (just the juice will do)
1 12 oz. Shiner Bock
1 12 oz. Dr Pepper
1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
2 16 oz. can of diced tomato
1 16 oz. can of Ranch Style Beans (and, yes, I know that real chili doesn't have beans, but if you're cheap, it stretches the meal)

1. In a large stew pot, add 2/3 can of beer and 2/3 can of Dr. Pepper and reduce. While that's going, chop bacon and place in large skillet to render all the fat from the bacon.

2. Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce to stew pot, as well as rendered bacon. Reduce heat to low. Save about 2 Tbs. of bacon fat and cook onions and garlic.

3. Add onions, garlic, jalapeño, and bell pepper to stew pot.

4. Heat skillet to high and sear ground beef on each side. Lower heat to medium and cook through.

5. Add beef, spices, lime juice, and remaining beer and Dr. Pepper. Cook on medium about 5 minutes or so.

6. Add Ranch Style Beans and send it straight to the fridge.

We'll be eating this tomorrow night, and I'll post some thoughts on if it's any good or not. Before it went in, it was a little sweet at first, with a little back-end kick. We'll see what changes in 24 hours.

The Pumpkin Patch

It's Got a Good Beat

Yeah, yeah, it's been a long time since I blogged last. But life has been nice a busy. Erika's got a few new tutoring students, which means I'm pulling solo-dad duty more. It's not that bad actually. Kylie's been a good help, and she's learning how to do a lot of things on her own, which helps.

Kat is talking (well, cooing, but it counts). She loves to watch the fan turn. I can't believe it's been two months now.

Olde Tyme Days was a success. Smoother than last year.

I'm doing a lot of traveling over the next month, starting this weekend with a trip back to Dallas.

I like the rhythm I've found. Good times with friends, family, work. Everything is nice and steady.

Olde Tyme Days Weekend

We had company this weekend to see Kylie perform her dance at Olde Tyme Days- my mom, sister Amanda, nephew Landon and niece Lillie. These are some pictures of our time together!

Kylie and Kathryn Pictures

It was the Computer!

From the Hutto Police Blotter:

An Officer was on a traffic stop and heard loud screaming profanity coming from inside a nearby home. The officer broke off the traffic stop and investigated the possible disturbance. It was determined that a male subject in the home was playing a football video game and loosing to the computer. The individual became angry and started yelling at his TV. The home was checked everything was OK.

It wasn't me. I don't play football games.

11 Years

Eleven years ago yesterday I decided to become a pastor. I've been a church planter for about half of that time. For the most part, I feel as fulfilled as I hoped I would be when I made that decision.

I'm very excited about helping our community with the Orange Santa program, a partnership with the Hutto Police Department. We'll be organizing the community wide toy drive for Christmas. I've done stuff like this on a small scale in years past, and it's been very rewarding. I can imagine what it will be like for over 100 kids.

My calendar is filling up with lots of projects and responsibilities. I've yet to have those panicky, "what have I gotten myself into" feelings yet. Hopefully they stay away.

It was a step of faith 11 years ago to become a pastor. I knew I was giving up a lot of opportunity for more money and prestige. But, the things I really want out of life have come into focus and I'm as happy as I've ever been.

Anticipation

We're looking at starting some preview services in March. We'll do one a month for a couple of months, and then we'll officially launch into a regular worship service. I'm excited and hesitant at the same time. This is one of those "no way back from here" kind of decisions, but I really feel it's the right one. We've been able to do a lot for the community so far, so this is the next step.

So, life is about to get busy (busier?). We're trying to form a band, and get some of the logistic stuff underway. And I'm going to try to speak every chance I get. But we still have to think about meeting space, sound equipment, kids stuff, trailers, storage, volunteers, and how to pay for all of it. At least life is always interesting.