Cajun Chicken

We received a stuffed chicken for Christmas. A deboned, jambalya-stuffed chicken to be precise. I thought my 2.6 readers not from around here might want to see what it's all about, and even if you don't...I needed something new to post!

As you can see, it came with some extra spice all over it. We haven't fully adjusted to cajun seasoning yet, so I did wash off a bit (most) of the red stuff I thought might set us on fire.

You place the chicken string side down (where it was cut open to debone and stuff) and bake it for 75 minutes at 350*. It sure smelled good baking!

I sliced it open and SURPRISE! There is the jambalya!

You can get stuffed chickens here at the poultry market (or is it poultry store). We have had them stuffed with crawfish, rice dressing, and with pork. They have all been very, very tasty!

By the way~ it's still FREEZING here in the south South.

Out My Back Door....It's FREEZING!

Louisiana is a southern state. It is, without argument, in the south. When we describe where we live in Louisiana, we often say "south Louisiana".

Basically, we live in the south South.

So how does this happen?

I know there are people north of here that are even colder with more wind, more snow, more need for fireplaces. I'm not trying to say we are colder than they are. Just keep in mind~ this is the south South....and it's FREEZING!

(looking around....trying to find the guy that keeps talking about global warming.....)

Raising Readers

Last year I posted the pictures and stats of my kids' reading for 2008. It has become a yearly tradition that our kids look forward to....how many pages (completed books) did they read in the year. These are books the kids choose to read in their free time. Not school assigned books or required reading for anything. They have until December 31st at midnight to complete their books and record them. This year my daughter's eyes lit up about October when she realized with hard work and determination (and more free time than her brother) she might actually surpass his number of pages read.

His report for 2009~

12,342 pages read. Stack is 34 1/4 inches tall.
29 books total (Street Lawyer by John Grisham is not pictured).

Some of the titles included are~ Mere Christianity by CS Lewis, several Ted Dekker books, Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Louise De La Valliere and The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexander Dumas, Trivialization of God by Donald McCullough, and many others!

Her report for 2009~
13,120 pages read. Stack is 36 1/2 inches tall.
47 books total (Mighty Boy by Carol Sonenklar not pictured).

Some of the titles included are~ Several Nancy Drew books not read last year, Lily books by Nancy Rue, the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini, 17 books in the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, and many others!

I have noticed....no one is picking up any books and reading today. I think it's a well-deserved reading break!

Eunice Louisiana, Boomtown

Population: 12,000
Large Fireworks Tents: 6
New Year's Eve: Sleepless

Home For The Holidays

As our family traveled to New Orleans to meet up with family for Christmas Day, I looked up in the sky and saw tons of white lines streaking through the atmosphere. Often you can see one or two white streaks from airplanes in the sky, but at 10 AM on Christmas morning the sky was FULL of airplanes with people busy going, going, going.

It sort of caught my breath as I thought of all the people on all those planes with somewhere to go. Someone to meet. Someone to hug. Someone to give gifts to. Someone to sit down at the table with and eat a special meal with. Someone to visit.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and were in just the spot you wanted to be for Christmas Day!

The Church Family

Last night I had the privilege to sit in the congregation while our church choir performed the annual Christmas music program. I enjoyed the music. I enjoyed the Christmas sounds. I enjoyed seeing the children particpate and be adorable. I enjoyed seeing my son sing in the choir (and be so grown up).

BUT, mostly I just looked at a group of people that are dear to my heart. God continues to knit our lives together in this place, and that is so good. I prayed for each person on the stage last night. I thanked God for the blessing of knowing them all....my church family....a gift from God.

(I apologize for the quality of the pictures. It's hard to take a decent shot with dim lighting and spot lights in the middle of the performance.)