Flash freezing peppers

Red Bell Peppers were recently on sale. It is one of my favorite veggies to dip in hummus and I have a few recipes I tend to avoid until the peppers are on sale from their normal $1.50/1 pepper price. I have been enjoying freezing things lately and found a way to freeze these peppers when they are on sale so I can use them later on!

Dice or Slice your peppers and lay them out on a cookie so they are not touching.

Freeze

Then just scoop off and place in ziploc bags until ready to use. They will last for months!

Kid's and veggies

Acorn Squash is something I look forward to about the fall. It is very yummy and very easy to cook! I recently was trying to get some extra veggies into John's diet and came up with a great idea for the leftovers of my squash...

Squash Grilled Cheese

Simply butter one side of bread like normal, lay sliced cheese on opposite side, smear pureed squash on top of cheese and top with additional slice of bread. Cook as normal!

What's in a name?

Everyone has different reasons for picking names. Sometimes those reasons change with each child. John was a family name that we wanted to continue the tradition of using. Stirling, also a family name, I really liked! There is significance to our first child's name because of the family members that hold the names before him. I was named after my grandmother Phyllis Curry and have always loved that connection. My grandmother did too making sure whenever she introduced me to say that I was named for her!

With baby #2 on the way I struggled with naming her. Can we pick a random name just because we like it? Where is the significance if we do that? Is that even important? Should we use another family name? Will my family be hurt if it isn't a family name from their side? It felt like a lot of pressure and stress to name this second baby. But, after much thought and many names that we disliked we found one we loved...Lucie Coen.

Michael's grandmother is named Lucene but goes by Lucie and he has always liked the idea of using this name. But we think the middle name is just as important as the first and we were having a very hard time coming up with one.

I was thinking about names and their significance which led me to think about the significance in this pregnancy versus my last 2 pregnancies. Before John was born we had a miscarriage that was heartbreaking and earth shattering to our reality. It was not something I ever thought we would deal with, which was just foolishness. When we were pregnant with John I was fearful, anxious, scared, and worried every moment of the 9 months. It was a constant battle to trust God and believe that he is sovereign over the life of our children. It is a battle that I believe God has given me some victory in!

"Coen" means confidant trust in the Lord. The definition is what I believe God has given me through our pregnancies and parenting journey. I am thankful to have learned how God can change us, I am thankful to have a God that is in control and trustworthy. I am very thankful for this little girl and that her name will not just remind us of God's grace but will allow us to teach her what a great God we serve!

Lucie Coen Winters is expected at the end of February!

pregnant with Lucie at 20 weeks

25 weeks with Lucie

John loves hugging my belly and we cannot wait to all hug on her together!

The helper helps!

Earlier I posted about how John loved "helping" unloading the dishwasher. Well, now he actually does help. He takes the silverware out of the dishwasher caddy and puts it ALL in the silverware drawer. It isn't in the correct spaces but it is in the right drawer. One thing on my to-do list I don't have to do!