Before I get to the update, please say a prayer or send out some good thoughts for ChaplainMom, whose Big A. is in the hospital after getting his adenoids removed last week. He has RSV, which is a fairly common virus in children but it’s wreaking havoc on his respiratory system. They’ve got him on steroids and IV antibiotics. This is the second time he has had RSV, the lucky little guy.


What I would have missed yesterday and today if I’d gone into labor:

• Sunday worship, in which only one or two people uttered the dreaded phrase. Everyone was on excellent behavior otherwise:
“You look great!”
“Hey! It’s good to see you!”
“Looking good… it’ll be soon!”
“Can’t wait to meet her!”

Senior pastor and I were almost late to the early service because we got to talking to the lay leader, who has six boys (two of them stepsons) and was positively giddy about how much she loved being pregnant. Her enthusiasm is infectious.

It was also Christmas Cantata Sunday and the choir did an outstanding job. One of the women brought me yummy snacks between services too.

And I’m getting a Christmas bonus of as-yet unknown size.

• C’s first deliberate, bald-faced lie, but I’ve already written about that. Cracked me right up, guaranteeing that she’ll do it again.

• Getting all of C’s old clothes separated into large bags and labeled with size AND season.

• Going through many of her old toys and pulling out stuff for Goodwill (while leaving plenty of stuff for the baby). Also realizing that, with four weeks of vacation a year and a spouse who will rarely be able to take that much, I really should take a week each year to do stuff like this.

• C has also picked up a Southern accent from God-knows-where.
“What’s thay-uht?” (trans: Pray, tell me what that is.)
and
“Where’s day-uh-dee?” (Where might my father be?)

• Making two batches of pecan pralines, a family tradition. I managed to get every single one of them perfect—sometimes I pour them too soon and get a couple of caramel glops, but these were all perfect amber beauties.

Reverendmother’s Nearly-Foolproof Buttermilk Pralines

1 cup brown sugar
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk (low fat is fine; we’ve never tried fat free and why should you?)
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup pecan halves

1. Line the counter with parchment paper, or wax paper with paper towels underneath (otherwise the pralines will melt the wax paper onto the counter, causing the pralines to break when you pry them up. Of course this causes all the calories to fall out, so do whatcha gotta do.)

2. Combine all ingredients except the pecans into a 6-qt saucepan using a wooden spoon. Cook to the softball stage (240 degrees), stirring constantly.
Note: the last ten degrees always seem to take the longest time. Sorta like the last few days of pregnancy. But I digress.

3. Remove from heat and stir in pecans. Keep stirring for a minute or so, then spoon candy onto parchment/wax paper in small puddles.

Honestly, the only tricky part of this recipe is knowing when to pour. Pour too soon and the first few will be sticky caramel. Pour too late and they sugar up in the pan (although they still taste delicious). You basically want to start when the mixture is juuuuuuuust starting to lose its glossy sheen.

Each recipe makes about 3-4 dozen, depending on how big you make ‘em.