Thanksgiving- Homemade Pumpkin Pie...for beginners...aka: ME!

Tonight I tried my hand at making homemade pumpkin pie.  Not from the frozen magical box.  Not from the canned puree.  Those are yummy, but I wanted to see how my homemade pumpkin puree would work in a pie.  Here's what I used:

30 oz pumpkin puree, 4 eggs, 2 cans sweetened condensed milk, 

pumpkin pie spice(ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon), and 2 frozen pie shells

1.  Pour in Puree.  

2.  Add sweetened condensed milk.

3.  Add 4 eggs and 2 TB of Pumpkin Pie Spice.

My little helper!  This is what the batter looks like when you've added all of your ingredients.

4.  Pour batter into pie shells.

5.  Place pies onto a cookie sheet and bake in oven for 15 min at 425*.  Lower temp to 350* and bake for an additional 40 min.

6.  Wait....impatiently.....

Voila!

Just for fun and festivities.

Side note....the girls and I made this little turkey for a Thanksgiving craft. Fun!

So, I will let you know how they actually taste tomorrow.  The batter tasted quite good, but only a real bite of pumpkin pie with cool whip will be a true test.  I hope to find Grandma Betty's recipe and try that out for Christmas. 

Count your blessings and tell your loved ones how thankful you are for them.  We are not promised tomorrow, so I won't waste any time.  First and foremost, I'm thankful for my Jesus.  He took my place and has wiped my slate clean.  I'm thankful for my incredible husband.  He shows me love so creatively.  I love you, Roger.  I'm also thankful for my girlies, Mckyla Beth and Abby Grace.  They are one very big reason that God has placed me here on this earth.  I'm also thankful for all of my extended family and friends, and the ministries I'm a part of.  Happy Thanksgiving.

What's Behind a Name?

Hey all!  I am so excited that I am finally doing what I've wanted to do for a long time...creating a blog! :)  My aim is to be real with all of my posts, no matter what I write about.  So, let's start out with some honesty, shall we? Would you like to know the real reason that I'm just starting this blog?  I wanted to give it a catchy name!  Isn't that crazy?! Yes, I know, I know. I went with Perfume, Kisses, and Tears.  At first glance, it may appear that I'm writing about a love story gone wrong.  One that began with perfume and kisses and ended in tears.  The opposite is actually true.  A story that began with tears, then kisses, and ended with perfume is what inspired this title.  


My absolute favorite story in the Bible is found in Luke 7.  Go ahead.  Read verses 36-38:
^"36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. ³⁸ As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them."


My girl, Mary, had so many things working against her.  First of all, she was a woman who entered a room filled with men.  Men who knew who she was, knew her past, knew her sin.  Scripture says that she wept.  Her tears wet Jesus' feet.  She even wiped His feet with her hair.  Many people reading this are going, "Gross!", especially if you understand where Jesus' feet had been. Dirt roads that were shared with animals...get the picture?  He was the Son of God, but His feet still got dirty, people!  So, in order for her hair to wipe His feet, that would imply that her head covering was off.  This was something women simply did not do in this day and time.  She then kissed His feet and poured very expensive perfume on them.   How broken did she have to be to be so incredibly bold without fear of what may happen to her?  Jesus later commended her for her faith.  He bragged about her to the Pharisees saying that she washed His feet with her tears, while none of them offered to wash His feet when He entered the house.  He also stated that none of them anointed His head with oil, but she poured expensive perfume on His feet and that none of them offered Him a kiss(much like a modern handshake/hug), yet she kissed His feet continually.


Here's the thing...I am Mary.  I sin.  Sometimes I sin big and bring sadness to my Heavenly Father.  I desire to be so broken over my sin, that I don't care how many people see my desperation. That I would boldly walk through a room full of Pharisees and ONLY care about what Jesus says about me. That I would sacrifice my pride and lay down my perfume, kisses, and tears before Him.  It is such a beautiful picture of salvation.  Christ loves us no matter what our background is, no matter what we do,and no matter how big our sin is.  He sees through it all and you know what He sees? Beauty.