Sammy & Alyse's Rehearsal & Dinner

We celebrated Sammy and Alyse's wedding weekend December 16-17th, 2011.  I'm a little behind on posting the pictures, but better late than never!  We started off the rehearsal evening at First Baptist Paducah to rehearse the ceremony.

Alyse and her mom

Alyse and her dad practicing walking down the aisle

Jan, Sammy, and Mark practicing-doesn't Jan look so happy?!

After the rehearsal at the church, we headed to Patti's restaurant at Patti's 1880's Settlement in Grand Rivers, KY, for dinner.  Patty's is known in KY for their pork-chops, but everything on the menu is delicious.  Patty's has also been featured in Southern Living for both the southern cookin' and the gorgeous Christmas decorations throughout the restaurant.

Kyle, Isaac, Daniel, Aaron and Katie at the rehearsal dinner

Owain and Leah-engaged to be married next month and expecting Lulu to arrive in May!

Gabe and Donna-last night as the newlyweds of the family

Alyse and Sammy-can't wait to get married tomorrow!

Abby giving her speech at the rehearsal-not sure what she said but it sure did make Nikki crack up!

Alyse's dad giving his speech-notice how beautifully the room was decorated, floor to ceiling.

The Treeshes

Josh and Nikki

Kyle's Parents Joey and Linda aka rehearsal photographers

Sammy receiving his tool belt from the brothers.  This tradition started at our wedding.  Isaac had told Josh that it wasn't fair that I got to have a lingerie shower but he didn't get to have a tool shower...Josh took that in a totally different direction during his speech at our rehearsal dinner and really embarrassed us, but we got him back the following summer at his wedding with an actual "honeymoon tool belt", which has been passed on through all the Treesh boys.

I just loved the decorations that evening-such a beautiful setting for a special celebration.

Daniel and Abby

Cooking 201 Class #2

Back to the Rolling Pin I went this week.  My group was missing Al and Lisa, so not only were we again called OCD, but also SLOW this week.  Two extra sets of hands makes a big difference when preparing such a nice meal with so many courses and layers of flavors.  Now I understand what I've been missing all these years: a live-in Sous Chef.

Our appetizer was Shrimp Risotto-so creamy!-I will definitely make this again at home, but that will probably be the main course since this dish is so labor intensive.

Our main course was Filet Mignon with perigourdine sauce and herbed butter plated with Zucchini Gratin.  Chef Dave taught us how to trim an entire beef tenderloin.  I was the meat trimmer for my group, and I must say that trimming a tenderloin with a chef's knife is a totally different skill from excising skin cancers with a scalpel at my day job!  But, with a little more practice I think I can get the meat trimming down to a science...dinner party, anyone?

The grand finale was Chocolate Mousse for dessert.  This dessert is not hard to make but it does take some extra time.  I joked with my group that this better be tastier than the just-add-water mousse I've made at home...and it was!  Totally worth the effort and can be made a couple days ahead, another major plus!

Yes, I felt very fat and happy after this class, but Isaac did get to enjoy leftovers that night!  I think he loves my cooking classes as much as I do:)

Cooking 201 Class #1

I went back to cooking class last week.  I've graduated Cooking 101 and been promoted to Cooking 201.  My group is all back together again and having a great time.  Chef Dave called us OCD, but if that makes for better teamwork and fabulous dishes, then I guess that's ok.  Cooking 301 is a iron-chef-like competition class-I think my group just might make it to that level-we have gotten kinda competitive.

The picture above does not do this bruschetta justice!  This was the best bruschetta I've ever tasted-even Italy bruschetta!  We roasted plum tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil, rosemary, S&P, and garlic.  The tomatoes where then placed on top of basil pesto made by Chef Bitsy and toasted french bread which had been rubbed with garlic.  Delicious!

Chicken Cacciatore with Goat Cheese Polenta

Chocolate & Hazelnut Truffle

Adoption Update: Back to the paperwork...

No happy adoption news at this time...just updating our paperwork...again...UGH!  Seriously, I'm having a paper-pity-party for myself at the moment.  The stack on the printer is very thick and most of the documents require a check attached once they are filled out...again.  And it looks like we're going to have to be fingerprinted about 3 times this year.  Pray with me that this is the last time...LAST TIME!...I have to do this for this adoption!  

I am so tired of waiting.


But God in His love and mercy gave me this verse on my homestudy agency's website while I was printing the endless stack of paperwork...

"He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children.  Praise the LORD." 

Psalm 113:9

WOW.  What a perfect reminder of why He has called us to this crazy process...called me the childless woman, to settle me down, turn me into a happy mother, and fill our new home with children.  Praise the LORD for His promise.

Grandma Treesh's Memorial Weekend

Grandma Treesh went on to dance with Jesus on October 18, 2011.  We will miss her fun and feisty spirit until we join her one day in heaven.  Isaac loved getting Grandma out on the dance floor!

 The first weekend of December we traveled to Fort Wayne, IN, to join the rest of the extended Treesh family to remember Grandma Treesh.  Since we flew Allegiant Air, we had limited options on flight times and arrived a day ahead of everyone else in Fort Wayne.  We decided that Grandma would want us to have a good time, so we made a fun Christmas weekend out of it touring Fort Wayne, Milford, Goshen, and Syracuse.

We dined at the historic Don Hall's Old Gas House that Thursday evening.  We had amazing filet oscar!  Cheers to Grandma!  She appreciated a good meal too.

After dinner we walked to the First Presbyterian Church's theater to see An American Christmas Carol.  

The church was so beautiful and had a full theater and art gallery.  It was cool to see members of the congregation using their talents for God's glory and to invite the unchurched to come to church.

The musical had a great storyline, and the singing was superb.

The art gallery exhibited two local artists' work.  One artist showed their wood turning skills with multiple vases.  The other artist's craft is paper cuttings.  The above picture is layers of paper cut to reveal multiple colors and textures.  Every time the church has a new show in the theater, the gallery brings in new artists too.

The next morning, we walked to Cindy's Diner for a quick breakfast.  There are only 15 seats at the counter, and Isaac was pleasantly surprised to find FoxNews on the TV.  The donuts weren't bad either.

Our second stop on Friday morning was the History Museum to see the Gingerbread House Exhibit.  Isaac decided to play "toy soldier" for a moment.  

The Gingerbread exhibit started off with the younger kids' entries.  I thought the Angry Birds entry was especially creative.

My favorite Gingerbread house is the one above-looks like a great place to vacation!

This was the grand-prize winner.  It is hard to see all of the detail in this photo, but this house was pretty amazing.

After walking to the Ice skating rink and sadly finding that it didn't open until noon (the time we had to leave town for the memorial), we headed back towards the hotel and stopped in at the Botanical Gardens of Fort Wayne.  The gardens had a Christmas theme and had ornaments and decorations throughout the various greenhouses.

Saturday, we went to Milford United Methodist for Grandma's Memorial Service and graveside service.    Cousin Eric, Josh, and Leah all shared memories of Grandma at the memorial.  Everyone mentioned her love for her family, love of having fun and laughing, and her selfless attitude.  Most of us wore something red to the memorial-red was Grandma's favorite color.  She was a great lady and a blessing to our family.

Saturday evening, Cousin Jim and Wendi hosted us all in their home for a meal and extra time for us all to visit with one another.  The picture above is of the cousins and spouses.

Isaac's immediate family-all 15 of us!

Thanksgiving 2011

We drove up to Knoxville to spend time with the Smith side of our family for Thanksgiving.  We had a great visit and enjoyed resting and relaxing at my parents' home, eating way too much, hanging out with family, and watching UK victories.

Kari (Neale's girlfriend), Neale (middle child), and Perry (the baby)-notice my brothers' hideous wolf T-shirts...I just don't get it!

Mom and Dad or Chef and Sous-chef

Isaac and Kyle

Dad feeding his grand-dog Kelsey (Neale's baby that he bought to pick up girls...I guess it worked)

Cat lover Isaac petting Belle who was freshly shaved and looking frightening!

Turkey paprika the day after Thanksgiving-yum!

Baby Joseph...a couple of years ago Perry found this plastic Joseph in the front yard.  After Perry and Dad drove around and couldn't find Joseph's home, he came to live at the Smith house and we named him "Baby Joseph" because of his short stature.  We like to prank Perry when we are home and involve Baby Joseph...last year Dad dressed him up in a puffy coat and backwards baseball cap and buckled him into Perry's car...the look on Perry's face was priceless when he got in his car the next day.  This year, Baby Joseph was waiting for Perry in bed after Perry worked a really long shift at Starbucks...the next morning Joseph was waiting for Perry in his bathroom.

Isaac got to play Santa bingo for the first time.  We played this game growing up every Christmas.

On Saturday, we celebrated the UK wildcats beating the UT Vols for the first time in 26 years in football!  Dad had to break out the champagne for this victory!

Dad also had to hang his UK flag for all of Knoxville to see.  I'm sure he'll be sporting his UK tie at work this week, too.

After the game, I watched Nurse Linda give Belle her fluids...the poor cat has kidney failure!  She looks really rough, but Mom swears that she is feeling better.

We also managed to put up the Christmas tree...Dad ended up in timeout for bad ornament placement...but everyone survived and the tree looks beautiful.

Cooking 101

I took a Cooking 101 course at the Rolling Pin this fall.  I had such a great time learning new skills in the kitchen over those 5 weeks and making a few new friends.  Sometimes I took leftovers home to Isaac, and I took pictures of everything to show off for those nights where I cleaned my plate:)  Here's a sampling of my fabulous tastings.

Grilled peaches with sweetened Mascarpone Cheese

Grilled Ribeye with Deep-Fried Potatoes with Key Lime Ketchup

Grilled Marinated Portobella Mushrooms, Zucchini and Tomatoes

Tarte aux Pommes

Roast Loin of Pork with Roasted Root Vegetables

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese

Balsamic Reduction with Strawberries and Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Braised Chicken Thighs with Garlic and Spinach with Traditional Mashed Potatoes

Marinated Green Beans with Smoked Gouda, Capers, and Kalamata Olives

Viennese Style Chicken Scallops with Lyonnaise Potatoes

Creme Caramel

Puree of Split Pea Soup with Homemade Crotons

Warm Pecan Crusted Goat Cheese Toasts with Mixed Baby Greens


I also learned to make Brown Stock, Chicken Stock, Salad dressings, and Pate Sucree.  I'm signed up for Cooking 201 in January with my group from 101 and another friend who took 101 earlier this year.  I can't wait to get back in the Rolling Pin gourmet kitchen...and move into my new kitchen in 6 weeks!