Story Time

The other day I caught Clarissa reading a story to Clayton. She sure loves having a baby brother.

Surprise Visitor!!

Last month, we had a surprise visitor. Our very dear college friend, Rissy Roo, emailed me on a random monday morning and told me she would be driving through Champaign on her way to a business meeting. How fortunate for us. She had some extra time so we had a chance to get together. She got here around 3pm and after we visited for a few minutes we thought we'd go out for an early dinner. Who knew how hard it would be to find a restaurant open between the hours of 2-5pm. After driving all over town, (we pretended it was to show her the Champaign City sights) we ended up back at our original destination which was now open. We had a lovely indian food dinner and sent her on her way. We had such a great time! Thanks for coming to visit us Larissa.

Tuesday Night = Soup Night

From October through at least March, we have a tradition that we have soup every Tuesday Night. This started our first year of grad school when Quinn had an evening class and didn't get home until 10 pm on Tuesday nights. Soup was a good meal that could be easily heated up for him. The tradition has stuck. This year we are trying to do a different soup each week. Which is hard since we do have some favorites, and would love to repeat, but we are also trying to find new recipes and try new things. The challenge is now coming up with at least 26 different soups. We would love to have your favorite soup recipes if you are willing to share.


Last Night's Soup:
O'Charley's Loaded Potato Soup

3 pounds red potatoes
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1/4 cup flour
8 cups half-and-half
1 (16 ounce) block Velveeta cheese, melted
White pepper, to taste
Garlic Powder, to taste
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 pund bacon, fried crisply
1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Dice unpeeled red potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. Place in a large Dutch oven, cover with water and bring yo a boil. Let boil for 10 minutes or until 3/4 cooked.

In a separate large Dutch oven, combine melted margarine and flour, mixing until smooth. Place over low heat and gradually add half-and-half, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until smooth and liquid begins to thicken.

Add melted Velveeta. Stir well. Drain potatoes and add to cream mixture. Stir in pepper, garlic powder and hot pepper sauce. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Place soup into individual serving bowls and top with crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, chives and parsley.

Makes 8 servings.

This was our first time trying this soup, it's a keeper. Especially for Quinn since it's covered with cheese and BACON! Two of his favorite foods.

Just Taking a Nap

Coming Home

Tuesday afternoon Clayton and mom came home from the hospital.

Clarissa was excited to show Clayton around his new home.

Tiffany has been nervous for the past few weeks that the baby would be born on election day and she wouldn't get to vote. We made a special stop at our polling station on the way home from the hospital.

When my dad was born, my grandfather brought my grandmother a dozen red roses and one white rose. This tradition continued with each of his children adding an additional white rose as each child was born. Since Clarissa was born three weeks early, I wasn't prepared to start this tradition with our first (we didn't even have a carseat yet). Clarissa finally got her white rose about six months after she was born. With Clayton, we weren't quite as surprised when he came early. I was able to keep my head together enough to carry on the tradition.

Grandma and Grandpa came down to see their newest grandchild.

Announcing...

Clayton Henri Peterson
November 3rd, 2008 @ 2:09am
7 Lb 15 oz
21.5 inches


Mommy was a champion!! (Despite the 10 epidural attempts)

The Big Sister




Be Gentle

Our Family!!