Joi Copeland – Real Life Romance & Recipe for Romance – Part 2 of 2

Shannon here: Joi Copeland shares insight into her family dynamics, along with a recipe for Pumpkin Pie, & a chance to win a Kindle copy of  the Contemporary Romance collection, Christmas Cookie Brides, which includes Joi’s title, Belle’s Ring. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing. Deadline: Jan 4th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Joi:

I can’t think of a better topic than the one of having a baby so close to Christmas! I have had the joy of having three sons, and each time we told my mother-in-law we were pregnant, she was a hoot!

With my first child (we didn’t know the sex of each child until the day I gave birth), my husband decided to tell his mom in a way that was close to her heart: The Beatles. He found songs either in the title or the lyrics that had the word, “Baby” in it. He compiled a list, and one day, we had driven to her house to share the news with her and her husband. She leaned against the counter, in thought as to what all the songs had in common. Her husband got it immediately. We could tell by the grin on his face.

Finally, after five to ten minutes of reading the songs, it dawned on her! She was a bit speechless, and after we left, she sent us a huge email, sharing how excited she was!
With our second child, we had our oldest wear a tshirt that said, “Big brother.” He walked around the room a long time before it dawned on her what he was wearing! Again, her husband caught on pretty quick!

With our third child, we had both boys wear big brother shirts. She was playing with our second son in his stroller at Disneyland, and tickled his tummy, when she read his tshirt. She chuckled and said, “No you’re not…are you?” Then she shot us a look of surprise! She was so funny!

Pumpkin Pie Recipe
 
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 15 ounces homemade pumpkin puree (or canned pumpkin puree)
• 12 ounces evaporated milk (because my son is allergic to cow’s milk and whey, I substituted the evaporated milk with almond milk and added 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the sugar mixture)
• 1 unbaked homemade pie crust or unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie pastry
• whipped cream optional

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in small bowl.
3. Beat eggs in large bowl.
4. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture.
5. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
6. Spray the pie pan with nonstick cooking spray. Put your pin crust into the pie dish. Then pour pumpkin pie mixture into pie shell.
7. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
8. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
9. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

About Joi: Joi Copeland is married to a wonderful man, Chris, and has three amazing boys, Garrison, Gage, and Gavin. She lives in Denver, Colorado, but within the year, hopes to be living in Galway, Ireland.

Joi’s love of writing began at a young age. She wrote short stories for several years, and in 2009, she began writing her first novel, Hope for Tomorrow. Joi enjoys baking and hopes to one day make a recipe that will have consistent results, though she doubts that will ever happen! Learn more and connect:

Joi’s Website               Joi’s Goodreads                 Joi’s Bookbub

Joi’s Facebook                   Joi’s Instagram

Question For Readers: When you had to deliver special news, how did you do it and how was it received?

Merry Christmas! Come back Dec 27th for Leeann Betts!