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Merry, Merry Christmas



On Wednesday night, Greyson and I put an offer on our first home and it was accepted!!! We are so excited and thankful for God's provision. We can't make this house our home. If all goes well we will close on January 11 and move in that weekend. Let the packing and purging begin. Prayers are appreciated for us first time home buyers. The experience has been pretty great so far. If you follow me on Pinterest I am sorry for all my “For the Home” pins. I just can’t wait to decorate. We are beyond thrilled with our first house.

Crockpot Comfort


Easy Hamburger Vegetable Soup

My next door neighbor growing up always made her hamburger vegetable soup for me every winter. It was one of my favorites. When I moved off to college I e-mailed her for the recipe. It is such an easy and hearty meal in the winter. But like all my recipes I have tweaked it and made it my own… although I am not sure if it is as good as Michele’s. This recipe just uses items I have on hand and I also make it in the Crockpot.

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
3 beef bouillon cubes
2 packs (30 oz) of mixed frozen vegetables (I prefer Publix’s brand)
1 can of Italian Style Tomatoes (do not drain)
2 ½ cups of macaroni noodles
3 cups of water

Brown ground beef and drain. Boil macaroni noodles as directed on package. Heat frozen vegetables in microwave for 8 minutes. Combine all ingredients in Crockpot on high for 4 hours. It is oh so good!

Special tip: brown your ground beef and boil your macaroni noodles the night before and stick in the fridge, then mix together on your lunch break the day of

Light Em Up

Ever since my aunt passed away a couple of months before Christmas my senior year of high school I’ve become what some people would call a scrooge before Christmas. I guess that was the year everything was truly put into prospective for me. All the glitz and glamour of what we’ve made Christmas to be about does not matter a bit. All the gifts under the tree that year brought no comfort or joy to her 5 children that she left behind. It was then that I really realized for the first time how we’ve turned this season from celebrating the birth of Christ into anything but celebrating His birth. I get anxious and irritable every year before Christmas. This year I was so bad I threatened not to even put up a tree… I realize how extreme and irrational I was being so I did decide to put a tree

I am very glad my thoughts about Christmas are shared with a lot of those around me including my husband. We’ve talked a lot this season about how we want Christmas to be like in our home after we have children. We are really considering just three gifts. The reason for three? Jesus was given three gifts by the three wise men. We also want our children to participate in activities where they give back.

That is why I was so excited when I found this great idea on a blog. The basic principle is to share God’s love with those around you (it may be people you know or do not know) by “random acts of kindness”. Many of you have probably seen similar ideas on Facebook or Pinterest but this particular blog that I discovered the idea to do this for Christmas breaks it down for you and makes it as easy as can be. The writer of this blog gives you ideas for random acts of kindness, gift tags to leave behind to the recipient and a planning guide on PDFs that you can download. I know we are all very busy during this time of year and sometimes even scrooges like me still get caught up in the hustle and bustle. But I love this idea and am so grateful someone made it so easy for us by providing all these resources. My challenge to each of you that reads this is to do one random act of kindness. Just one. We never know what the difference of that 1 act can make.

Merry Christmas!

To read the blog yourself and to download the PDFs visit http://www.lillightomine.com/light-em-up-2011.php .

Ham & Cheese Party Sandwiches




Ham and Cheese Party Sandwiches

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we had over some friends to watch the Iron Bowl game. My mother-in-law had sent us home with leftover ham from Thanksgiving. I decided to make ham and cheese party sandwiches. My mother-in-law has made a variation of these before and that is how I got the idea.

Ingredients
1 lb Ham- can be leftover ham from the holidays or deli ham
6 slices of provolone cheese
1 packet of Sara Lee Classic Dinner Rolls
2 tablespoons of melt margarine
2-3 tablespoons (depending on your taste) of McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning


Directions
Cut Yeast Rolls in half
Layer ham and cheese on rolls
Spread melted margarine on tops of rolls
Top with Salad Supreme Seasoning
Make at 350 for 10-15 minutes (You want your rolls browned and your cheese melted)

Serve with Spicy Mustard and Mayonnaise.

Enjoy!

No Promise of Tomorrow

Yesterday in Nashville there was a large pile up that involved over 50 cars. Unfortunately one life was lost. A life that my husband knew. A life of a young husband of only six weeks. A life of a brother whose sister was supposed to get married this weekend. A life of a son whose father was his best friend.

I have not been able to get this family out of my head. Last night as I was taking a bath after a long and stressful day and I glanced over at a picture of Greyson and I on our wedding day. I began to think about how I felt on my wedding day and as a new bride. It was G and I against the world. My mind was full of hopes and dreams of our future. We were giddy and so excited about our new journey. Then I started to think about how Paul’s wife must feel after losing her husband after only six weeks of marriage. I imagined her feeling robed of her hopes, dreams and life with her groom. I began to cry and then I lost it. My heart ached for this girl and all his loved ones. He was on his way to work and just like that he was gone.

Then I started to go a place of what if that had been me? Did I kiss Greyson before work this morning? Did I tell him how much I loved him? I know it may sound cheesy but during my breakdown in the tub the lyrics to “If Tomorrow Never Comes” echoed loudly in my head. Today I have been conscious more than ever of making sure G got a goodbye and welcome home kiss and a hug and tell him how much I love him.

I hope you will join me in praying for this family. Please pray for comfort, peace and that they will be surrounded by people who will minister to their every need. I pray that God would bring people in their lives that have been through similar tragedies. I pray that even in their grief they will find joy.