Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin is a pantry staple for me during the fall and winter seasons. I love any foods with pumpkin! These muffins are my favorite. They may not be the healthiest muffins around (hello, sugar!) but they are moist and delicious. [I made the mini muffins for Nella. :) ]

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F.

1. Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, sugar, baking soda, and salt until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture just until combined.

3. Fill muffin cups until about 3/4 full. Bake 25 until golden brown and a tooth pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

4. Cool & enjoy!

I sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon-sugar onto the tops before baking. Mmmm.

The recipe is from Gourmet Magazine (they're ceasing publication next month) but I found it posted here.

I still have lots of pumpkin to use up. I'm thinking I'll make pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin milkshakes, pumpkin spice bread, pumpkin soup, pumpkin . . .

Nella = 20 Months

Our girl is 20 months old. She enjoys playing with her baby dolls and giving kisses to her baby brother. She is learning lots of new words and has used her potty chair 3 times now. She is hilarious and we enjoy every second with her. Here are a few recent photos of our silly Nella.

Little girl. Huge tub.

Sportin' her new puffy vest.

Little mommy takes her babies for a stroll.

Boxer brief hijab.

Kiddos at the Park

Okay, so it's just cutesy pictures of Nella playing, but Silas was there too.
There is a fun little city park right next to our apartment complex. The mornings here have been way to cold and the afternoons have been getting colder. We're taking advantage of the last of the warm-ish weather and bracing ourselves for a long upper-Illinois winter.

How cute is this (almost) 20-month old girl?

Swinging is her favorite. (Side note: the apartment complex in the back is not ours. That is the shady one that may or may not be a hub for Chicago drug trafficking).

She loves the ladybug too.

And the slide.

And the peek-a-boo thingy.

See? Silas was enjoying his nap at the park.

Nella Holds Silas

Silas Gray

September 21, 2009, 6:27 pm

7 lbs. 6 oz.

19 in.

Carle Foundation Hospital - Urbana, IL

Everyone is well and we get to go home this evening.

Packin' Up

Here are a few photos from tonight:

"I'll supervise this for you mom." * "Ok, they did it right."

"Sniff, sniff, pout! I don't wanna leave!" * "I'm cute; I'll make new friends."

Look at those filthy feet! She had a blast 'helping' the guys load the truck.

Caleb and Jonathan loading up the Jeep.

A big, huge thanks to everyone who helped out. We appreciate you; your time, your servant hearts, and your prayers.

To Illinois

In case you haven't heard, we are moving (back) to Illinois this weekend. We'll be making our new home in Champaign-Urbana (probably best known for this). Caleb will work full-time with the education program at Cunningham Children's Home as a teacher's assistant. However, our main purpose for relocating is to join the core team of Redeemer Church (website coming soon), a new church in Champaign-Urbana. We'll miss our Louisville friends, church, and SBTS like crazy. But we're so excited for the opportunity to learn about starting a new church and we can't wait to see how God will bless Redeemer.

We look forward to keeping you all posted on our new ministry in Illinois.