i heart food...and my baby girls.

I heart food.

I don't think this comes as a shock to anyone.

I have two amazing cooks as grandmothers and my mother has also inherited those skills. Beyond that, I am loving learning how to cook some favorites. The best $7 I think I have ever spent was on a Campbell's cookbook. I got it on clearance at Barnes and Noble and I have been able to make about half of the recipes so far in the past eighteen months that I have owned it. They're quick and simple and involve simple ingredients that I normally all ready have in the house.

confession: i hate it when i get really excited about a recipe to only realize that i need some crazy ingredients that cost like $25 per ounce. not cool, recipe people. not cool.

This experimenting with cooking is about to come in handy...

But more on that later.

I also heart my baby girls.

Last night, I had my baby girls over to my house to have our Christmas celebration. About eleven people showed up and we ate chocolate and laughed and opened presents. I loved seeing how my girls know each other--each present was something that everyone will enjoy. Be it a zebra striped Snuggie, or a hot cocoa set, or some Wolfpack ornaments, it was so fun!

Since it was the last meeting of the semester, my girls naturally asked what was in store for us next semester (I will not think about it being my last semester. I will not think about it being my last semester. I will not think about it being my last semester...). My reply, "I have no idea." That seems to be a common theme in my life these days.

We decided to move our Bible Study to Wednesdays and do it early...so I can feed them dinner!!! I'm really looking forward to spending a meal with my girls every week next semester. We used to meet at Fountain Dining Hall on campus their freshman year, and it was an amazing time of fellowship. I loved watching their personalities come out while they interacted with me and each other. I also remember towards the end of the year, I was running really late for some reason, and I showed up to dinner, paid to get in, got my food, and headed to our usual table...to find no one sitting there. And it wasn't because someone else was sitting in our seats...my girls were no where to be found. The little pranksters had moved to the far corner of the other end of Fountain and were snickering as they were hiding out and stuffing their faces with food. Silly little angels.

After they left, I headed out to Kanki to meet up with my family to have dinner for my dad's birthday! I sure do love that man!

When I got home, I sat down and began to think about what I would cook for all of my girls next semester. I started making a list, and am about 3 meals short.

QUESTION #1 OF THE DAY: Do you have a recipe that could feed between 10-15 cheaply that I could add to my list of meals to serve my girls? I'd appreciate an email: sanderson.rebekah@gmail.com.

After we decided I was going to feed them every week, we then realized we had to decide what to study next semester. We went through some options, but still came up with a blank.

QUESTION #2 OF THE DAY: Is there a Bible Study book that you could request to help me out when figuring out what to teach my girls? Feel free to email or comment!

Here's some qualifications of what we're looking for in a study:
--I have a vast range of believers in my study. I normally appeal to the more advanced ones so that the "younger" ones are challenged and learning and the "older" ones aren't bored.
--As much as Beth Moore has to offer, she's rather time consuming and expensive. We're overworked and underpaid college kids. We love her, but she's just not right for us.
--We would also prefer a topic instead of a book of the Bible. In Spring 2010, we did a book called "Becoming a Woman of Excellence" by Cynthia Heald and it was fantastic. We might look into doing another one of her selections.
--I realize that "contentment" and "dealing with singleness" are usual topics for college girls, but going back to the idea of a "vast range of believers" I have labeled that as more of a one-on-one topic with my girls, rather than a group discussion. We do use it as a supplement, but it's not something that we're going to discuss for fifteen weeks straight.

I would really appreciate any advice!

Happy Hump Day :)