In the Kitchen with Judy

As many of you know, my mom left this life in 1988.  She was far too young and had so much more to give... and the selfish child that I am,  wants her back.  Two of the things that keeps her close to me are church ( she loved church, she loved singing and most importantly she loved our Lord) and she loved to cook.   When I am missing her more than usual, I often find myself in the kitchen (thus the title)  attempting one of her recipes.   Now for clear clarification... my mom did NOT use recipes... She cooked from scratch without any help.  She  could eat something and then go home and recreate it... One time we were in Duncan at WoolWorth's (long time ago) at their little café.  They had a strawberry pie... she had a slice.. figured out what she thought it was and of course went home and created it.. And it was better than theirs!  Anyway.... Here is her version of "Sexy Pie"... according to my daughter Amy, the original was called "Better than sex pie" and Mom did not like the title, so she renamed it! 
  Hope you enjoy!
 Sexy Pie       

Ingredients:   1 cup flour            1 stick butter    1/2 cup chopped pecans (PEE CAns or pa cons depending on your
                                                                                                area of the neighborhood)
                         1 cup powdered sugar        8 ounces of Philly Cream Cheese          1 Large container of Cool Whip
                         1 large Chocoalate Instant Pudding              1 Large Vanilla Instant Pudding     
                         1 chocolate bar, grated or a handful of semi sweet chocolate morsels


Crust:            1 cup flour, 1 stick butter   (double as you need it for larger batches)  chopped pecans
                       Mix together and press in pan.  Bake at 350* until golden brown.  Remove and completely cool


Filling            Layer 1:  1 cup powdered sugar, 8 ounces of Cream Cheese, 1 cup Cool whip
                                  Beat powdered sugar and cream cheese until smooth, add cool whip and mix thoroughly.
                                  Spread on top of COMPLETELY COOLED CRUST.

                       Layer 2        1 Large package of Instant Chocolate Pudding mixed as directed only use 2 2/3 cups of milk
                                            Spread on top of cream cheese layer

                       Layer 3        1 Large package of Instant Vanilla Pudding, mixed as directed, only use 2 2/3 cups of milk.
                                            Spread on top of chocolate pudding layer.

                        Layer 4         Cool Whip (enough to cover top)  Spread on top of vanilla pudding layer

                      The original recipe says to grate a chocolate bar on top for garnish... I am lazy... I sprinkled semi sweet chocolate chips 
                      on top!    

Daughters....#2

There is nothing sweeter than the expressions between a mother and her child.  This picture captures pure joy.  I have long been convinced that joy comes naturally.... Not something that has to be worked for.  Joy comes in so many different ways... From love of your family, to love for your fellow man, to a walk in Mother Nature's lanes, joy can be found everywhere....if we just take the time to look.  Now how you may ask, does this tie in with my subject of daughters? Webster says this about joy:

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joy

a feeling of great happiness. : a source or cause of great happiness : something or someone that gives joy to someone.

I have been blessed in my life to experience this through my own daughters as well as through some who are "almost" mine.... 

If you have been blessed as I have been, you understand what I am talking about.

Daughters: more than just the female offspring...more than just the next female generation.... Daughters: my source of joy.

Daughters

Installment 2 is coming soon!

Daughters

I have been thinking a lot about the subject of daughters.  I have raised 3.  But to give you an idea of my beginnings, I wanted to share pictures of my grandparents. My paternal grandparents are Ernest and Birttie (Stelding) Teel  (1st pic) and my maternal grandparents are John and Nettie (Doss) Braswell.  They raised their children beginning in the early 1900's.  (My dad and mom were born in 1918 and both had older siblings)  in the weeks to come I will share different photos of the women in my life which of course are all daughters! I hope you will follow along.

A review and things to come......

2013..... Where have you gone?  It seems as if it were just a few weeks ago, that we were welcoming in the new year.... Many things happened this year... Our family was blessed in so many ways and we are so thankful.  We gained a new son in law, our 4 grandbabies, became "legally" ours, and our youngest is one semester from graduating from OSU.  2013 also has had its share of sadness.  We have seen friends leave this earth and we continue to miss them.  And many would say "that's life"... and yes it is, but it doesn't make it any easier.  Our first big "cold snap" has left us wishing for warmer weather and as the song goes,  it's Christmas time in the city..... well, it's also Christmas time here at Redstone Farm.  
Things to come.... 2014 is not far off.  In fact, about 24 days away.... My plans for the New Year, are to continue to improve my photography skills, enjoy my job, and be kinder.  My plans also include to do a better job of updating this blog.  I've got several ideas and hope you will enjoy them. 
This is my last blog for 2013... so from our "heart" to yours,  May the good Lord bless and keep you and remember this....

Don't ever sell your saddle
Never owe another man
Watch where you spit on a windy day
Find the Lord before you need him
And never lose your pride
Don't ever sell your saddle
Cause life's a long, long ride...... Randy Travis

with love and hope,
Charla

Happy 4th of July

IWell it's actually late on July 5th, but am reminiscent of the day's activities... How did you spend yours? Ours was a slow paced, not planned out day.   A visit with our kids and grand kids and fun time in the pool... It's so much fun to watch the grand kids having so much fun and them just knowing that its a normal event in their little lives. We ended our day with a get together with our best buddies, enjoying great company, great food and watching several fireworks shows.  And then we were free to drive home and enjoy a good nights rest in our comfortable home in our wonderful bed ... And once again I give thanks to our Lord, for the blessings in our lives, and thank those who provide the freedoms we enjoy.  I do truly appreciate living in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

A Day of Blessings

Our journey began in August of 2010, and our hearts were filled with joy as one by one each of these children became our own. Through many ups and downs, tears and fears of them possibly being taken from us, June 18, 2013 finally arrived and they became forever ours legally!   My heart is overflowing with gratitude to our family and friends who stood by and supported our Amy and Jeff through this entire process.  And our thanks to Jessica Woods of Two Sticks Photography for capturing the moments of this day!