Celebrate

Cinco de Mayo, in this house, is traditionally a good excuse to cook up a delicious meal and have lots of friends over.  This year, however, with Shawn right smack in the middle of finals, we decided to play it low key and cook up a feast just for our little tribe.  And so vegetables were chopped, home made chicken taquitos fried, music playing, family dancing.  It was a nice, relaxing, festive evening at home and the perfect way for us to spend time together and unwind.

Shawn is half Mexican and spent most of his childhood summers in California with his Grandma Delia.  She showed him the way around a kitchen and passed down some of her best recipes, which he then taught me when we got married.  Our cooking style has really evolved over the years and has become an interesting merge of his Mexican style and my Cajun flair.  It's a beautiful thing as a couple to take your cultures and family traditions and make them your own.

The best part of this lovely meal was that most of the ingredients came from our very own back yard.  There is something so satisfying and rewarding about stepping out onto your land and gathering goods for your family.  Our little garden is flourishing and the flavors and aromas from the home grown vegetables were amazing.

After dinner, our bellies full and our hearts warm, we tucked the littles into bed and reflected on how, as our family grows, so do our memories.  The traditions from our childhoods that we hold so dear in our hearts are now being tucked safely away in the hearts of our own.  And that is definitely a reason to celebrate.