That Blessed Dependency

I had the privilege to attend the Spring Concert at my father's church in March. The second half of the program was a performance of K. Lee Scott's new Requiem. Mr. Scott has been invited to conduct his Requiem in Carnegie Hall next year.

It was a beautiful Requiem, from a distinctly Protestant perspective. The movements incorporate scripture about death as well as quotes from John Donne and Timothy Dudley-Smith which tie Christ's death to our redemption.

My favorite movement of the Requiem is part 7 - That Blessed Dependency. It is a quote from one of John Donne's sermons:

"There we leave you in that blessed dependency, to hang upon Him that hangs upon the Cross, there bathe in His tears, there suck at His wounds, and lie down in peace in His grave, til he vouchsafe you a resurrection, and an ascension into that Kingdom, which He has purchased for you, with the inestimable price of His incorruptible blood. Alleluia! Amen."

I changed some of the spellings to contemporary English to make the quote easier to read. (ie. we instead of wee).

If I remember correctly, this particular sermon was the last one Donne preached before he died. Either way, it's a beautiful reminder of what we as believers rest in!

Cinnamon-Pecan Buttermilk Waffles

So, I have a bunch of pecans in the pantry and Damian wants to know what I'm going to do with all of them. I hadn't really decided yet, so he suggested making some Cinnamon-Pecan Waffles.

I knew I wanted them to be buttermilk waffles as well, since I love buttermilk pancakes and also happened to have some in my refrigerator. I did a search and came up with a few good looking recipes, but none of them had all three constituent parts I was looking for. So I compared a few recipes and saw that the main ingredients were basically the same, so I was able to combine the parts I wanted into my own recipe (which turned out really darn good!):

Cinnamon-Pecan Buttermilk Waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 T brown sugar
1 1/2 t cinnamon
4 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (toasting is optional)

Preheat waffle iron.

Sift together first 6 ingredients, set aside.

Beat eggs in standing mixer until pale yellow. Stir in buttermilk, mix well.

Gradually add dry ingredients, mixing until smooth. Stir in butter until smooth.

Stir in pecans.

Pour into waffle iron (my iron takes approx. 1/3 cup of batter per side). Enjoy with syrup!

These were some of the best flavored waffles I've ever had. They weren't too sweet and the pecans really stood out.

Try them and let me know what you think!

Sean is 6!

I know this is a little late, since his b-day was March 8th! but better late than never...

The kids have been really enjoying soccer this year, so much so that Sean requested a soccer cake for his birthday!

My mom didn't even have to help with the cake this year! I actually had it completed the night before (if 1:30am counts as night!).


Sean insisted on the number 6 candle along with 6 regular candles.

The most anticipated part...

The kids always have 'help' when opening their presents.

Sean was very excited about his Star Wars Legos (and all the other presents as well).

Once we make some of these planes, I'll have to post pictures of them.

I think Connor has enjoyed playing with this gift as much as Sean.

The part was a fun time. The kids spent most of the time outside playing in the yard and woods. I can't believe Sean is 6 years old already. The time has flown by and he's grown up so much.

Banana Bread

Reagan had wanted to make this particular recipe for some time now. The recipe came with a miniature baking set that she got for her birthday a couple of years ago!

Reagan is very good at measuring dry ingredients. I try to let her do this herself as often as possible.

She's pretty good with a whisk too!

Reagan loves cracking eggs. She did it perfectly for the banana bread.



Into the oven....

The finished product!

Leighton

Damian and I are happy to announce the birth of our nephew

Leighton Reaves Cleon McClure
February 16, 2008
11:12 pm
8lb. 6oz.
19 1/2 inches



Leighton's name comes from several sources. His first name is the masculine form of my sister Savannah's middle name. Reaves is my maternal grandmother's maiden name. Cleon is his father's middle name, and paternal grandfather's first name. So, this boy is chock full of family names!



This is keeping with the Katherine baby naming tradition of using family names. Her daughter, Lorien Swann (above with her new baby brother), takes into account Rebecca's middle name (Lorien) and our mother's maiden name (Swann). I don't know what other names Kat has picked out for future children. Leroy Terrell?? Elizabeth Lynn??
(I'm just picking on Kat at this point)

Connor

Just a couple of cute pictures of Connor. Sean never would leave a hat on long enough for me to get a decent picture of him!



Connor LOVES to hang out with Daddy and watch shows on the XBox 360. He even likes to watch us play games sometimes too. This is actually becoming a sort of ritual in the evenings when Damian gets home from work. As soon as he sits on the couch, Connor is there waiting to be picked up.

Just another cute hat picture. And if you haven't seen Connor dance yet, you should check it out!

Misc. 2

Sean just did something silly in the kitchen. He poured a cup of water into the sink from behind the counter where he and Reagan eat. Fortunately it didn't make too much of a mess, but I informed him that he should not do that sort of thing in the future.

It also prompted me to say, 'Sean, I really wonder what goes through that mind of yours sometimes.'

To which he responded, 'Psycho things.' Please note there was no hesitation before his answer. That was just off the cuff.