Family...

"If you don't have enough time for your family, you can be 100 percent certain you are not following God's will for your life." Patrick M. Morley

 

 
 
 
 
 Spend quality time with those you love and have a blessed Christmas weekend! 

Life Lessons & Thankfulness

Where has the time gone?  For over a month I have been on the road.  Paige and I spent 2 weeks in Vegas with my parents...Tyler was supposed to join us for Thanksgiving but we had a change of plans so he spent the holiday with his family.  The Monday before Thanksgiving we received a call that my grandpa had been admitted into the hospital.  He had a stroke about 6 months ago so he has regular check-ups to monitor his progress, but this checkup wasn't good.  A tumor was found on his brain and further testing showed it is what had caused the strokes and had been there this whole time.  I won't get into every detail of the past few weeks but my grandpa left this life last week and he will forever be in our hearts.  Although the past few weeks have been terribly hard, I have comfort in knowing my grandpa is in Heaven watching over us and even though he was taken from us sooner than we would have liked, life is too short no matter how long we spend on this earth.  I am thankful for memories, thankful grandpa will live in my heart forever, thankful he gave a piece of himself to so many of us.  I see him in my dad, my uncle, myself, my brother, my cousins and everyone he touched along the way.  I hope to instill some of his amazing qualities in my parenting and in my child(ren). 

Every time someone close is taken from us, we learn a little more about cherishing the time we have with family and friends, doing good for others, making sure those close to us know how very important to us and thanking them for all they have done for us.  As I sat with my grandpa at the hospital I couldn't help but think about all of the most important moments in my life.  Christmas's, Thanksgiving's, high school graduation, college graduation, my wedding, and the birth of my daughter...and lots of special times in between, he was there, my grandpa was there with me-cheering me on through it all.  Had I thanked him?  Did he know how much it meant to me to have him by my side?  I am thankful I could be by his side, holding his hand and having Paige tickling his fingers so he knew we were with him on his final journey of this life.  I have joy in knowing he will be watching over us from Heaven and thankful God chose him to be my grandpa.

 

"Sure, there's a heap o' sense in some nonsense, mind that! And never be so foolish, just because ye grow up and get a little book knowledge, as to turn up your nose and mock at the things ye loved and believed in when ye were a little lad.  Them that do, lose one of the biggest cures for heartache there is in the world, mind that!" -Ruth Sawyer: This Way to Christmas

"All glory be to God on high,

And on the earth be peace!

Good-will henceforth, from Heaven to men

Begin and never cease." Christmas Hymn

I am counting my blessings and thankful for the time with my family and friends.  Although there has been great heartache this holiday, there has been great joy spending time with my parents, my uncle, great aunts & uncles, cousins and so many others.  Thankful Paige has been surrounded by so much family--which truly is the gift of the season.  Thank you for all of the sweet emails, messages, thoughts, & prayers during this time. 

I have lots to catch up on the blog...Paige has lots of updates, NYC and so much more so be on the lookout! 

 

Quote of the Day

Loved this quote...it is so so true!  Take a moment and think about it! 

“Always set high value on spontaneous kindness. He whose inclination prompts him to cultivate your friendship of his own accord will love you more than one whom you have been at pains to attach to you.”   - Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English author

No Place on Earth I'd Rather Be...

than buried under these two!!!

So THANKFUL for a life full of love, laughter, snuggles, footed jammies, *dog*  fur, quilts, and so so so much more!  Oh yeah...and mexican food takeout...

Photo of the Day

Chicken Picatta

When I find something I really like to eat, I can go crazy with wanting to eat it everyday.  Especially when I was pregnant...I had to put in place massive rules with my Toaster Strudel addiction...no more than 3 per day, must eat with a side of fresh fruit...blah blah blah.  Anyway, I love Chicken Picatta from Cheesecake Factory!  I HAD to have it once I got my appetite back from the Black Plague then 2 days later then 2 days later.  Cheesecake Factory is pretty darn expensive!  In fact, eating out anywhere that often is expensive!  So I decided I better try to duplicate the recipe.  I made it today and it was WONDERFUL!!  Sorry Cheesecake Factory...

Ingredients

1 pound chicken breasts--I bought the Tyson thin breasts because I do not like to pound on chicken...yuck!

a few tablespoons butter

1 lemon

a few dashes of white wine vinegar or white wine if you have it on hand

italian seasoning, black pepper, sea salt-or regular salt

1/2 a jar of CAPERS! 

splash of heavy cream (1/4 of a cup)

angel hair pasta

Melt your butter in a pan, slice half your lemon in fine slices and throw in the pan.  Put your thin chicken breasts in and squeeze the other half of the lemon on top of your chicken.  Add your wine or wine vinegar. 

 Let cook on this side on med-med/low for about 6 minutes.  Then flip your breasts and add in several tablespoons of capers (about half a jar). I went ahead and covered it for the next 6 minutes just to be sure my chickies got all cooked!

Meanwhile, you should be getting your water boiling so you can drop the angel hair pasta!  It only takes 5 minutes!  I also chopped some broccoli and threw it in another pan with some pam, salt and pepper and a tiny squeeze out of my lemon.  Once your chicken has cooked 15 minutes it should be done so turn it down to low and add ina splash of heavy cream.  It only takes a tiny bit but I think it is essential to calm down the vinegar and lemon juice.  Serve your chicken over the angel hair and a drizzle of the yummy lemon sauce with plenty of capers and a side of crunchy broccoli!

Delicious!!  This will be a new regular around here!!! 

Quote of the Day

Loved this quote this morning and wanted to share...it will be a good one to have in my pocket for Mini come junior high! 

"Troubles are often the tools by which God fashions us for better things." Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American clergyman