Kathleen's winter vegetable soup

Kathleen made this for me the last time I visited. K, if you want this to be a secret recipe, I'll take it down. It was just so good! Also, this is one of the few recipes that I actually followed faithfully. :)

1 small festival or acorn squash, skinned, cleaned & diced (this is the hardest part of the soup.. its time consuming to cut a raw squash)
1 large sweet potato skinned & diced
2 parsnips diced
1 large onion diced
(the goal is to have about equal parts of each of the 4 items)

saute the above in a few tablespoons of olive oil

after 8 mins or so of sauteing, add 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp thyme, salt and pepper to taste
saute for 2 more minutes
add 4-8 cups of your favorite veggie or chicken broth. Adjust amount so you feel like its just a little less than the right amount of liquid for the amount of veggies you have above. Simmer for 10-20 mins or until all veggies are tender
finally, add about 1/2 to 1 cup of half and half, wisk in to combine.