• A Vacation to Remember

    We watched this beautiful sunset as we left South Carolina!

    Everyone needs a little time away.  Seriously, life gets busy and schedules quickly become overloaded.  It is important to take some time to relax, enjoy life and create memories.  Every vacation is different some are restful while others are jammed packed with activities.  Chose the vacation that suites your family.  Try to plan a vacation with your family at some point this year even if it is only a long weekend away with your spouse, family, or extended family.  You will cherish the memories you make for a lifetime.

    My husband and I recently went on a cruise with my parents, my siblings and their spouses.  It was wonderful to escape for a week and have fun together.  The kids had a blast staying with friends while we were away and had a little vacation of their own away from Mom and Dad.  The neat part about a cruise is once you arrive on the boat all your meals are provided, the hospitality is amazing and your room is cleaned multiple times a day.  You truly are spoiled!!!  My husband and I had a blast spending time with family, meeting new people, exploring the ship and islands.  We always had plenty of activities, food, and entertainment.  We were rocked to sleep every night as the ship went from island to island and every morning we woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the ocean. We could have continued cruising through the awesome islands, however, we were starting to miss the kids and figured we should get back to the regular routine.

    Over the next few days I will be sharing pieces of our recent adventure with you.  Some posts will be just for fun while others include helpful tips when traveling and cruising.  It was an enjoyable trip and we hope everyone gets an opportunity to go on a cruise at some point.  Go ahead start planning out your next family adventure!

    A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!

  • Book: “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas Stanley

    My husband and I listened to The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley the first time together.  I found the book at the library book sale and went through it again.  It is about the study of Americas deca-millionaires by leading expert Thomas Stanley and the surprising habits and lifestyles of America’s wealthy.  It was a neat book to listen to as a couple or read on your own.  It provides some great topics for discussion.

  • Family Recipe: Karen’s Fresh Fruit Dip

    If you need a super quick recipe to throw together right before the guests arrive you should try my great Aunt Karen Younger’s Fresh Fruit Dip.  It is easy and a hit with everyone.  The fruit looks amazing next to the white dip!

    Karen’s Fresh Fruit Dip

    • 1 (8 oz) package Cream Cheese (soften)
    • 1 (7 oz) jar Marshmallow Creme

    Mix together equal parts of soft cream cheese and marshmallow creme.  Stire well together, cut up fresh fruit and dip.  Works really well with tart fruit.

    My great Aunt Karen added a note on the bottom of recipe – “No double dippers, (smile).  Enjoy!”

    Love that this recipe is quick, easy and delicious!

  • Book Character Parade

    For the Book Character Parade at school the girls their class featured the book “The Crayon Box that Talked” by Shane Derolf.  The kids and teachers dressed up as crayons for the parade.  Every class featured a different book.  It was a neat seeing the kids get excited about their book.  A lot of parents, grandparents, extended family and friends came to watch the kids in the parade.

    They each got to pick and color the crayon of their choice.  Brina was a pink crayon and Karlie was a blue crayon.  It was cute watching them walk in the parade with their classmates.  Thankfully the weather was beautiful that day too.  I always enjoy participating in the fun events at the girls school.  The kiddos are growing up so quickly!

  • Life Simplified: Meal Delivery

    Dessert tray we delivered to a family!

    Every new year we set goals, challenge ourselves to reach new heights and to focus on what’s really important in life.  In 2011 I have made it a goal to simplify my life more by enjoying the blessings and not wasting what God has given me.  I will be sharing with you the successes and challenges on those specific areas in my life as I go through them.  I have already shared with you my 1st Life Simplified Goal of No Grocery Shopping for the month of January.  One of the most rewarding blessings in life is sharing what you have with others.  My second Life Simplified Goal goes along with that piece.

    My 2nd Life Simplified Goal:

    • Deliver 1 Meal a Month to a family outside of our household

    Explanation of the Goal: In 2010 I signed up to deliver meals to new Moms after they came home from the hospital, people who had surgery and various other volunteer opportunities.  There were a couple months I didn’t do any meals and other months I had several extra meals to prepare.  For example, in December I had 4 extra meals to prepare and deliver outside of our home before the week of Christmas, some of them being over an hour away, plus we had a Christmas Eve party at our house and guests staying with us for a week.  While I enjoy the blessing of helping others I need to work on saying “No” once I have met my limit.  After much prayer and talking with my husband we have decided it would be best for our family if I would stick to 1 meal delivery a month.  Once I have delivered a meal in a month I will have to say no to any additional inquiries.  There are so many people out there that need help, however, I have to decide what is best for our family too.  I want the girls to continue participating in these amazing acts of service and having a limit will give us the freedom to continue to do it without putting our family in a spot we are over our budget. I think with all the people in our church and community that if everyone did just one meal a month for someone needing a meal there would even be extra to go around.

    I will continue to deliver meals for people once a month.  Below are the opportunities that I am currently and will continue to be involved in:

    • Moms with Newborn Babies
    • People coming home from Surgery
    • Death in the Family
    • Other Volunteer Needs for Meal Delivery

    I have a hard time saying “no” to someone in need but in order for me to have the opportunity to continue ministering to others in this way I need to stick to the goal as well as respect my husband in his decision to help me with this area I love to volunteer.  I will share with you the challenges, successes along the way so you can keep me accountable or you can even go through the journey with me by participating  and sharing your story.

    Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others.  Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff”  and if you are like us we just have too much.  I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives.  When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.

  • Take a Nap

    As a kid I resisted taking naps.  It was about the worst thing my parents could ask me to do.  I did everything I could think of to get out of napping or to convince my parents I had slept even though I hadn’t.  I am pretty sure they realized it but napping did not appeal to me at all!

    Now as an adult, when I cannot take naps on a regular basis, it sounds awesome!  Isn’t that ironic…. During the busy Holiday Season we get so worn out with the celebrations that people tend to get sick.  Now that the schedule is getting back to “normal” try resting a little more.   Take a cat nap when you can even if it is only once or twice a week.  If you still have kids at home that nap take advantage of that quiet time when they are resting.  A 20 minute power nap can give you the extra boost you need to get through the day.  On certain days when we know the family will be up late we try to have the girls rest for at least 30 minutes (like on Sundays and Wednesdays).

    I have a nap on my schedule in the near future.  Do you? You have my permission to take a nap today!

  • Song: “Beautiful” by MercyMe

    I have been blessed with two beautiful daughters.  We all have been created by a loving God who made each of us beautiful and unique.  I am thankful for the uniqueness in each of my girls.  This song is to remind every girl and woman that you are a beautiful treasure in the heavenly Father’s eyes!

  • Book: Better Homes and Gardens

    Grandma Willa gave me this cook book –  Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book as a wedding gift and we use it all the time.  Grandma Willa is one of the most amazing cooks I know.  I am thankful for the times we had cooking together.  Grandma is still cooking a lot of meals for family and friends but due to distance I am not able to participate in her cooking adventures as often as I like.  Below is the note she put in my cook book, which I treasure even more then the cook book itself:

    What’s Cooking?

    Bridgette,

    My Aunt Zell Body, gave me a BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS cook book as a Wedding gift.  It was my first and faithful cook book, and I found it to have many helpful hints as well as great recipes.

    I and the girls wore one out, and almost the second one over the many years.  If I couldn’t find something, needed to substitute, know cuts of meat etc….. I’d go to old faithful BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS.  I hope this new version is as good or better than my old one was.

    Happy Cooking!!!

    Love,

    Grandma Willa

    “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” – John 6:35

  • Recipe: Confetti Dip for Veggies or Chips

    This is a colorful dip to make for when you have people coming over.  It is good on vegetables, crackers, or chips.  Great appetizer or snack for guests.  I received this recipe from a church friend at my bridal shower Andy Conn.

    Confetti Dip

    • 2 1/2 cups sliced and shredded Beef (lunchmeat)
    • 1 (8 oz) package of Cream Cheese (softened)
    • 1 Tablespoon Green Goddess Dressing or Ranch
    • 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
    • 1/2 cup Green Onion (chopped)
    • 1/2 cup Yellow, Orange or Red Pepper (chopped)

    Mix well and refrigerate.  When ready to serve set out with veggies and crackers.