Noah's Baptism....

Last week we made the trip to Texas for the Labor Day weekend and Noah's baptism. After an uneventful drive with three dogs, we arrived and settled in. The kids place is looking good but we all pitched in Saturday to get it tidied up for the festivities on Sunday. Noah was being baptised and there was to be a cookout after church.

The dogs stayed out most of the time on the back porch or out in the yard. They had never been out that much and was enjoying their new found freedom.

You forget how much gear is needed to take a baby someplace, baby carriers, diaper bags etc....on top of it, Noah was being somewhat fussy so if we made a stop, one person would go in for something and we would have to drive around the parking lot to keep him quiet. We shopped for Hot dogs and all their fixing's and hamburgers plus all their fixing's. I decided that I would make Tabouli Salad and proceeded to purchase the ingredients for it. I managed to get everything at Kroger's except for the Tabouli Wheat, they never heard of Tabouli wheat, which is cracked Bulgar wheat. I then went to Wal-Mart, no luck, same blank expression on the sales clerks faces. At the Wal-Mart in Norman the Tabouli wheat is found in the salad area, not so in East Texas. I was begining to become frustrated and decided that you know your in East Texas where they don't know what Tabouli wheat is. Finally, finally at Albertson's I found the Tabouli wheat in the rice isle. I had to purchase two boxes of it to get the portion that I needed. Normally it comes in a plastic bag, sometimes it already has dry ingrediants in it. I do not purchase that, I only purchase the wheat itself. It's a fairly simple recipe to put together.

Tabouli Salad / Half recipe

1 box or half bag of Tabouli Wheat

1 box of Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade thawed

1/3 Cup Soy Free Canola Oil or Olive Oil

2 Lg. Ripe Tomatoes diced

2 Medium Cucumbers diced

1 Bunch Green Onions cleaned and thinly sliced

1 Bunch Parsley cleaned and stem tips trimmed and chopped finely(can be processed in food processor)

Sea Salt

In large mixing bowl soak wheat in hot water for 10 minutes, drain and squeeze dry.

Add in all the ingredients except for salt, mixing well. The salt is a personal preference. I add in 1 Tbs. You may want more salt. Be careful not to add too much. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

This is best if allowed to sit overnight so all the flavors can meld. The longer it sits the better it gets. You will want to stir it ever so ofter so as to get the juices over the wheat so it will swell up. The wheat will turn white the longer it sits.

Noah decided to become real fussy and I could just see him at church the next day. Saturday night I said a little prayer asking that Noah be a wonderful little boy on Sunday. My prayers were answered. He slept through the whole thing and most of the day and night. We were amazed. The kids said he had never slept that much at one time. Of course his daddy held him all the way through the service, and has that wonderful calming quality about him.

The little prince still asleep through all the singing, service, having water poured over his head and paraded around the church.

His baptism outfit was beautiful, his grandmother's sister handmade the whole thing, everything was crocheted, the hat the gown and the onesy for underneath. I had not seen that kind of handwork in a long time and to think it's becoming a lost art saddens me.

I stood in for my younger daughter as she was to be Noah's Godmother. The kids had to get special permission from the Bishop as she is not Catholic. It was a beautiful service and Noah was the little angel.

The cookout was a success and everyone enjoyed themselves. Dave spent Monday morning pulling weeds and trimming trees. We had lunch and bid the kids goodbye and loaded up the car with all our belongings and dogs and headed home. 5 1/2 hours later we pulled into our driveway and unloaded and had time to wind down before bed.

Our weekend was wonderful and we had a great time. While we were out shopping this week I found Noah's Halloween costume and sent it down to Texas. An OU Boomer outfit. His daddy will have to paint his face and his auntie will have to put a drawstring on the hoodie to keep it in place but it will be cute. Besides I just couldn't let him go as a Longhorn (Look for pictures in November).

Happy Trails....