Mmm, soup!

I love food! It is true, I love to eat and I love to eat good food. We got some butternut squash from my parents at the end of the summer, they have been sitting in the little storage under the porch in the basement.

So last week I decided that they needed to be used, I looked for a recipe and found this. I love soup really almost anytime, but I especially love it in the winter.

This recipe really was fabulous, I love soup and so I have tried a few. :) I'll be making it again for sure. I felt like it could have been a from Zupa's or Paradise Bakery, it was that good. (Even my son enjoyed it.) Give it a try!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Some call it Human Rights Day but really we celebrate the good that one man did for all people in America. I stole this quote from my sister-in-law, Jill. She had it as her status on facebook. 

‎"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

A little something to think about today and everyday for that matter. What kind of a world would we live in if people honestly thought more about others than themselves? 

Gratitude

"Gratitude is express in prayer and thanksgiving, but more so in living lives of honor and integrity, of kindness and compassion, in awareness of others and their needs, and an honest expression of gratitude for all those who bless and affect our lives for good. Thanksgiving is best expressed in thanks-living - in lives of goodness and obedience and love and service."

- A. Theodore Tuttle

This quote is on my fridge, I need a reminder handy. Ever noticed that when you are grateful for the things around you that you are happier? Happens to me all the time. Things I am grateful for today:

1. Faith and hope in Jesus Christ

2. Being married to my best friend for eternity

3. Having the cutest son in the world (yes I am biased!), he always makes me smile

4. Hot chocolate

5. Adding color to my life (more on that later)

** 01.25.11 UPDATE: I recently started reading another blog mostly for the recipes but today is Gratituesday, how clever is that? Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Golden Moments

This is probably cheating that I have found good in the world because of the same person two days in a row but this is my blog so I guess I should make the rules, right? I hate taking down Christmas decorations. I get so excited to put them up each year and I enjoy them so much. Maybe it is that I hate to see the wonderful season end, I'm not sure why but the glow of the lights and shimmer of the decorations are a comfort to me. It could also be that I dread January so stretching my Christmas decorations out helps me deny January is here. My husband has been bugging me to get them down so I finally made a goal that today would be the day. I started taking it all down and throwing myself a pity party. My little man was "helping" me and that made all the difference. He helped me realize that I needed to stop being dumb about this and just enjoy each moment. He put the tree skirt on his head and we ended up playing together in the skirt. 

Silly guy with the tree skirt on his head. 

"Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour." -- John Boswell

Man's Best Friend

At least my little guy thinks they are best friends and wishes he could see her all the time. Chilling in his new chair with the dog after church.
(Dec. 26th)

"Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in". - Mark Twain

Zygo Cactus

I love flowers and plants! My Mom gave me a Zygo Cactus, or holiday cactus, a couple of years ago. It was in bloom when she gave it to me and it hasn't bloomed since. I have been meaning to look up how to work with it to get it to bloom again. They have some of the most interesting and beautiful blooms. This month I noticed blooms starting, just in time for Christmas and New Years! I can't wait for the rest.

Why this Blog?

I have been thinking about creating this blog for quite awhile, a couple of years. Isn't that pathetic it took me so long to do it? Well a couple of things have inspired me to get to it.

1. My sister-in-law, Jill. She has this awesome photography blog where she posts pictures everyday. I was talking to her about it and how I was inspired by it. To me it seemed like you would have to look a little deeper to find things to take pictures of and that was intriguing. Not that I think I am a great photographer, I just enjoy taking pictures.

2. BYUtv. I know you may think that is dumb, but they have had this ad campaign recently about "Seeing the Good in the World," which is where the title of the blog came from. (Hopefully they don't mind.) I assume the name came from the 13th article of faith, "[...] If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy we seek after these things."

I realized there is so much good and so many beautiful things in the world that I don't always take the time to notice and appreciate. So there it is, nothing spectacular or earth shattering just my attempt to share the goodness and "seek after these things".