Nutty Pumpkin Waffles

I had a little leftover canned pumpkin to use up, so hunted up a pumpin waffle recipe. I found the recipe below on allrecipes.com and made them yesterday. They were sooooo scrumptious! I goofed and didn't separate the egg yolk and white, but they were still good. And I didn't make the syrup. Maple syrup is fine. Enjoy!

Nutty Pumpkin Waffles
SUBMITTED BY: Libby's® Pumpkin
"Chock full of nuts these Nutty Pumpkin Waffles are a must-bake for the holidays. Moist and light they're fun and tasty for breakfast drenched with homemade Pumpkin Maple sauce."

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3/4 cup chopped nuts

1 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
COMBINE flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg in large bowl. Combine egg yolks, milk and pumpkin in medium bowl; mix well. Add to flour mixture. Stir in butter. Beat egg whites in small mixer bowl until soft peaks form. Gently fold into pumpkin mixture.
PREHEAT waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions. Depending on size of waffle iron, pour 1/2 cup to 1 1/2 cups batter onto hot iron. Generously sprinkle with nuts. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes or until steaming stops. Repeat with remaining batter and nuts. Serve with Pumpkin Maple Sauce.
HEAT 1 cup maple syrup, 3/4 cup LIBBY'S® 100 Percent Pure Pumpkin and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon in small saucepan until warm.

It's a Boy!

We got our first ultrasound yesterday and could clearly see that our active little one is a boy! I'd been hoping for a girl, but we're still thrilled. My ObGyn says baby and mommy are both doing very well, PTL! The picture of us was taken last Sunday at 18 weeks 2 days.

In other good news, we're going to Washington in December!! I'm so excited to see my family, home, and friends. It won't be during Christmas, but at least it will be during the Christmas season.

I'm Lovin' It

Borrowing McDonald's slogan, here's a little list of things I'm lovin':

• Grocery shopping. Every Monday, using the day my mom used for years, I make my little meal plan for the week and then my shopping list. I head to Walmart and sometimes Kroger's and happily roll down the aisles selecting what I need, looking for the best prices, and resisting all the food that looks SO good to me right now! Then I watch the cash register as the clerk rings up each item to see how much I stayed under my weekly "allowance." I'm not exactly sure why shopping makes me happy, but maybe it's my domestic, homemaking genes that just like to "store up" for my family's needs. :-) Cooking and baking also make me happy.
• Having more time to read and even cross-stitch. The last five or so years have seen me not do as much of those two activities as I used to do, so now I'm relishing the opportunity to do so. And we have a TON of books to choose from, between what Dennis had, I had, and what we've bought together. We don't watch TV (except an occasional movie) and I think we're richer for it!
• Fall in Georgia. The days have been gorgeous lately, with golden sunlight streaming through the crimson and amber leaves which are falling to the ground in earnest now. It's cool out but not TOO cool.
• Renewed energy. The farther I get into my second trimester, the better I feel! I'm exercising almost every day now and have the energy to keep up a little better with housework. I do get tired by the end of the day, but it's not the same dead feeling.
• Cozy evenings in front of the fire with my husband or friends. I love having a real wood burning fireplace!
• Knowledge of the baby growing in me. Only a week and a half till our ultrasound! We'll see if everyone's right in their guess that it's a girl. I've fancied I've felt a few little flutters inside, and I'm sure it won't be long before it's clear that Baby is kicking! I'm so grateful for an uneventful pregnancy thus far. I know a number of others that have had various problems and even miscarriages, and it makes me thankful that the worst I've had to deal with was nausea.
• Silly kittens which keep me laughing with their antics. They're also good practice for parenting, I think, as I'm learning to be patient with them while training them out of bad behavior. Unfortunately, I'm not having as much success with Cheeky who now refuses to use the litter box, doesn't like to go outside if he can help it, and thinks that bathroom rugs and curtains are the best option. Aaargh.
• Having a handyman husband. He's not only a stellar deputy with a well-educated mind and great people skills, but he's also got an abundance of practical skills! Right now he's building me a pantry in our laundry room, which will be such a blessing since we don't have much storage space elsewhere. He's had experience in carpentry, plumbing, electrical, tree felling, car maintenance and repair, etc. Of course I have a dad who can do just about everything, but I know that's not common with every guy, and I'm determined that our sons will learn practical skills starting when they're young!
• God's infinite patience with me. He's been teaching me important lessons, and sometimes life's a struggle, but He never gives up on me. He is always good!

Who's in Control?

Last night I kept hoping and praying every time I woke up that McCain would make it, though I knew Obama was doing far too well. Before Dennis left this morning (it's his birthday today!) he checked the internet and we learned the awful truth. I'm not terribly surprised, but still very disappointed. And kind of numb. The Democrats are controlling everything -- the White House, the House, and the Senate. What horrors will these next four years bring??

But wait! They don't control everything! Not really. Here are some verses I read in Isaiah 40 that jumped out at my yesterday:
"Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: that bringeth the princes to nothing: he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hat created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding."

I think about the rulers that Christians have endured in the past -- Roman emperors, English tyrants, European tyrants, Hitler, Chinese emperors, and others, and I've got to conclude that we've had it pretty good here in America. Times will be hard ahead, but maybe they'll help Christians to wake up from their apathy and take a stand for righteousness! It's time to be "hot" Christians, not lukewarm.

I've been studying Revelation and read this sobering bit of info:

The average age of the world's great civilization has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence:
From Bondage to Spiritual Faith
From Spiritual Faith to Great Courage
From Courage to Liberty
From Liberty to Abundance
From Abundance to Selfishness
From Selfishness to Complacency
From Complacency to Apathy
From Apathy to Dependence
From Dependence back again to Bondage
(J.V. McGee)

So where are we?