Sunday morning cooking

While this recipe does not exactly "go with" any New Year's resolution on the planet (unless your resolution is to eat more and gain weight), it is a pretty perfect recipe for a Sunday brunch.

My kids love Cracker Barrel's hashbrown casserole.  Like, Gabe could eat two plates of the stuff by himself (not that he gets the chance, are you kidding me?!).

So I set out in search of the recipe for Christmas morning's brunch, found this one, made it, and it was a winner.  And the leftovers?  Even better, especially when you heat it up in the toaster oven under "broil".

(And I wonder why that five pounds won't just fall off?)

Below are the details...the link, the recipe, and the picture (not of mine, you know mine won't turn out that pretty, but who cares what it looks like, it still tastes delightful!)

http://southern.food.com/recipe/cracker-barrels-hashbrowns-casserole-copycat-15242

Winter plan.

Winter in Ohio.

This time last year, those three words almost drove Joe and I to pack up our kids, find a home in Florida, and vacate the midwest forever.

Last winter was the worst one I can ever remember.  We had family dramas trying to suck us in, bitter cold that made it impossible to escape, and more snow days than even the kids could stand.  By March, I was turning into a cranky, frozen snow-witch.

Seriously.  I'm not usually a complainer, but I complained about the cold, the snow, my numb hands, snow days, our house, the kids...I drove MYSELF crazy.

But you know what happened?  Spring came, then summer, and they were the best spring and summer I can remember.  Mother Nature redeemed herself, I enjoyed our yard more than ever before and appreciated each and every warm, sunny day.

Pincushion flowers that greet me every spring in our garden.

This winter, I made a promise out loud, to Isabel and on Facebook.  "I will NOT complain about the winter, or the cold, or the snow".  I will use this time to catch up on home projects, my family scrapbooks, my card-making, learning new recipes, playing games with my kids and Joe.  I will count my blessings for a warm house, and a new heated blanket, and furry fingerless gloves that I can wear when my fingers grow numb (I can even type in them!).

I will patiently wait for spring, and I will not wish away these winter days with miserable complaining.

(Please feel free to remind me of this post if you catch me starting to complain.  Especially in March, when the temptation will be great.)

Do you like winter?  Or do you snuggle in under the blankets and count down the days til spring like me?

GIVE

Give.

"to offer to the action of another".

My One Little Word (thank you, Ali Edwards) for 2015.

My goal for the year ahead is to give more of myself.  More time, more money, more love, more service.  With a kind heart and good intentions.  My bigger goal is to help my family learn to do the same.

There is power in giving.

Yes, you might earn credits for community service (the kids will need that for college applications).  You will probably get that warm fuzzy feeling from helping someone else.

But most importantly?  You will make the world a better place, one giving act at a time. 

I have three children watching my every move.  If I can instill in them the power of a giving heart and its potential effect on those around them?  I will be able to call it a job well done.

Have you ever chosen One Little Word to focus on for the year?

Almost a wrap.

2014 is coming quickly to a close.  Another year, a lot of memories, kids growing up before our very eyes.

Gabe is now a fourth grader.  Learning multiplication and long division and reading Hardy Boys mysteries.

Isabel is fifteen.  The age I told her she could color her hair and date boys.  (What was I thinking?!)

Elijah is sixteen.  Driving.  Working.  A junior in high school, thinking about colleges and careers and moving out of state.

Um, if you go back to the beginning of this blog, (seven years ago), you would see this:

And now, we look like this:

Yes, it's a cliche, but seriously, where does the time go?  Sigh...I love watching them grow up, and I do look forward to seeing what they become, but I am really going to miss these years having them all under my roof and within a hug's reach.  If the past seven years went that fast, I can't imagine what the next seven are going to do.

Thank you, Angie Wells, for inspiring me to blog again.  It's been too long, and I hope you follow through and make a blog of your own.  Joe and I dream of moving to Tennessee someday, but for now, we will be happy to live vicariously through you :)

Summer's over already?!

Seems like just yesterday, it was June and we were here, in Michigan, kicking off the summer with a great family vacation.

And now it's nearly fall (my most favorite season ever).  It was a fabulous summer; not too hot, lots to do with every one of us healthy and happy and able to swim, go to amusement parks, hang out with friends, oh, and work (well, Joe and I worked, the kids played).

I'm getting ready to have a milestone birthday next month...the big 4-0.  And you know what?  It doesn't even phase me.  Maybe it's because I talk to people in their 80's and 90's every day for my job, but 40 still sounds really young.  Maybe it's because life is good right here where I am, and I am trying to soak up every minute (even the sassy teen moments, and the fighting-with-Gabe-to-do-his-homework moments; yes, even those).  But seriously, look at how precious time is and how fast it goes.  When I started blogging, Gabe was just turning three and Isabel and Elijah were little grade-schoolers.  Look at that photo again...those kids are huge!  I'm so glad I blogged my way through those crazy years, and even though I'm not here often, I still love reading other blogs and watching time pass by through their lives, too.

I have good intentions about a "turning 40" post, complete with pictures from our trip we have planned.  Stay tuned!

Moments

It's so funny to me the moments in our kids' lives that we cherish, they view in a completely different light.

Last week, Elijah accepted an award for Student of the Quarter of his freshman class.  What an honor, right?

Well, unless you're a fourteen-year-old boy who dreads the thought of getting up in front of an auditorium full of people to accept an award for being, gasp, a good student!  How horrifying...

Horrifying for him (though secretly I'm pretty sure he was a little bit glad), but awesome for his family.  Hearing praise from his teachers, watching him shake the hands of the school administrators, quickly wiping a tear from my cheek before I completely embarrassed him...it was a pretty amazing evening for this proud momma.

Good thing he wouldn't even dream of reading this blog; he'll never even know I told you guys about this!

Off to a great start

2012...the year I lost the weight I wanted to lose, gained the job I wanted to get, and kept on cherishing the family I was always meant to have...

Still crazy about this guy, even after sixteen years!

Joe (38), Elijah (14), Gabe (8), Isabel (13), Me (39)

I am over-the-moon in love with this season of my life.  The kids are doing great in school and are so much fun to be with.  Joe and I are enjoying each other and the free time we find while the kids are with friends or in school.  I am busy learning a new job, and within the next month, I will be working from home, helping Humana Medicare members manage their health and stay out of the hospital as much as possible.  I miss blogging as much as I used to, but I am glad to keep in touch with so many of my blog friends through Instagram, Facebook and even Goodreads (where would we be without technology these days?!).

Here's to a fabulous and even better 2013, for all of us!!