I am a domestic goddess

Ok, not really, but I did make some really good freezer jam. YUM! It was my first try and I was dubious, but it turned out really well. We've already gone through half a batch, I think I might have to make more!

Anyone have a good cobbler recipe?

I want to make strawberry cobbler. Someone *cough* Mom *cough* filled my freezer with strawberries and one can only make so much freezer jam. We had strawberry cobbler with friends a couple of weeks ago and it was uber-good, but alas and alack, they got it from a Dream Dinners type place, so no recipe. Ricky and I would be ever so grateful. It sounds really good with some ice cream!

Melon Collie

It is so wonderful to be in our big new house. And it will be even more wonderful when we're unpacked and have things put together the way we want them.

But tonight, as we loaded up the last few things at the old house and met the renters for the walk through, it hit me: While it is still our house, because we own it, it is no longer our home.

I know I whined and complained about that house. A lot. But there are still some wonderful memories there. Ricky and I started our life as a married couple in that house, we learned what being married meant and how to be a family in that house. We added to our family in the form of Jacko in that house.

I'll never forget...

• being there late at night, doing homework in the spare room while Ricky was working on getting the house ready before we moved in.
• spending the night on the futon with Sierra, watching (and hating) Monsoon Wedding, and Ricky unintentionally scaring the crap out of us
• realizing the night before our wedding when Heidi and I were supposed to stay there that we didn't have a shower curtain rod yet, and stopping at Fred Meyer about 10:30 at night after the rehearsal to pick one up
• being in the bathroom, brushing out my hair, getting ready to get married
• writing wedding thank you notes late at night, waiting for Ricky to get home
• the ugliest kitchen tile and sink you've ever seen - and how I cried the day I realized no paint color could ever make it look better
• Ricky seeing me cry and deciding it was time to change the kitchen
• our beautiful kitchen!
• nearly burning the house down when heating up some oil. Don't do that at 11 oclock when you're exhausted!!
• hosting Bible study in our home
• studying on the bed, and Ricky bringing me scrambled eggs and toast for dinner
• having dinner with numerous friends and family in our cute kitchen
• my gorgeous - and huge! -geraniums in the front yard
• the shutters. Dear Lord, the shutters.

So many memories, so much for which to be thankful. As I think back on the times I cherish from that home, I realize most are from very early in our marriage, when we were in college and just after. It makes me realize - we really did outgrow that house. It was a wonderful place for us to start, but as we grew as a couple, as a family, as individuals, we began to outgrow our four walls. We began to outgrow the "early married/graduate student" decor of yesteryear. We needed a change

Our new place isn't huge by any measure. It's new, though, and bigger. It's a place for us to continue to grow, a place for new memories. We have our first grown up couch, our first real guest room and bath. We have a house large enough to have a party - and we will, don't you worry!

While I will miss the old house, I know that we are entering a new phase in our lives, and I'm excited to see where it leads.