Thanksgiving pictures

Finley and Miles



Wide-eyed boy!



The three girls



Sweet Layla



Cammy & Adison



The other Cammy and Layla

Turkey Tips

Well, I have never cooked a turkey, but I got one from work this year, so here are some tips I found online... I think the advice at the end with using a turkey bag is the route I am going to go. If you have any turkey tips please do share!

It takes a full 24 hours to defrost every five pounds of frozen turkey in the refrigerator (the only safe method). A 20-pound turkey needs to defrost for a full four days. Remove the giblets and neck from the cavity as soon as they can be removed (which will be before the turkey is fully defrosted).

Use a shallow roasting pan. If you use a deep roasting pan, you wind up steaming the meat.

Do not stuff your turkey ahead of time as harmful bacteria growth could spoil the uncooked turkey. Just before roasting, stuff the body and the neck of the turkey. Do not pack in as the stuffing will expand during cooking. If packed in too tightly, it will be very dense instead of light. Sew the abdomen closed and sew the legs together close to the body so that the stuffing cooks evenly.

Roast your turkey breast-side down on a v-shaped rack until the last hour or so in the oven, then turn it to brown the breast. The result is a moister white meat.

To prevent the breast meat from drying out, loosely cover just the breast with a triple thick sheet of aluminum foil, butter on on the inside to prevent sticking. Remove after the first hour of roasting so the breast has time to brown.

Never rely on the little plastic thermometer in some turkeys to pop out. If you wait for it, the turkey will overcook. Instead stick an instant read thermometer several inches down through the skin between the thigh and the breast so the tip ends up about an inch above the joint. They turkey is ready when the thermometer reads 165 degrees.

Let the cooked turkey "rest" after it have been removed from the oven. While the turkey cooks, the juices are forced away from the heat to the middle of the turkey. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes after it is removed from the oven. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the turkey. A moist turkey is easier to carve.

Baste, baste, baste.

If you need your oven to reheat or cook side dishes, it's better to serve the turkey at room temperature with hot gravy than to reheat it. Reheating dries out the meat. The interior of a large turkey will stay quite hot for at least an hour.


Using A Cooking Bag: This is an easy way to cook your turkey. It keeps all the juices and flavors in the bag and the turkey is automatically basted while it cooks. You end up with more juices than cooking the conventional way because they do not evaporate during roasting. The juices also do not burn and stick to the pan.

For more info try this site.

Under Contruction

I am in the middle of trying out different templates, so my blog will be changing until I find one I like. If any of you happen to see one that you like, let me know! I need help. April will be proud once I get a new one, she's been saying I need to change it for months...

Finding out!

I had an ultrasound while I was at the ultrasound conference I went to last weekend and... What do you think?

Thank you!

I just wanted to thank you all for all of your prayers and encouragement. The Lord truly answered them!

We were able to go home from the hospital last night. They said once I could keep something down I could go home, and since breakfast and lunch didn't stay around... I was thankful that dinner did! It is so nice to sleep in your own bed. Although I do miss the ability to push a button to raise the bed up for you and help you get out. There are three places that they cut me to do the laparoscopy - through my belly button then on my right and left sides. The pain right now is very similar to c-section pain, so don't make me laugh! My mom came down last night and has been a huge help, I am so thankful to have her here.

Thanks again for your prayers, they have been and are greatly appreciated.

P.S. I just posted some pictures of our little one at 12 weeks on the baby blog if your interested.