Bringin' in the New Year...Southern Style, YAWL !

As you may have figured out by now, ANY special occasion revolves around food here in the South.  New Year's Day is NO exception!

Yesterday morning, I had the sweetest treat from my husband!  I came out of the shower and, as he does MOST mornings, he delivered my fresh cup of coffee to me to drink while I dried my hair. That in itself would have been enough, but after I finished getting ready, he told me breakfast was ready and I came into the kitchen to this DELICIOUS goodness....

He had brought the new year in the night before preparing this traditional Breakfast Casserole with sausage, eggs, bread and cheese that we typically have every CHRISTmas morning, and boy was it yummy!  He was so proud of his culinary skills....the first thing he said to me was, "Take a picture!"... I said, "Really?" and he said, "Why not?...You take a picture of everything else!" HA!

So, be on the lookout...in addition to having  MiMi's Making Meals, we may soon be having Poppa's Making Meals, too! 

After we finished with our breakfast I began preparing our traditional New Year's Day meal.  For those of you who don't know....us Southerners have a tradition of eating black-eyed peas, cornbread, "greens" (collards, kale, turnips, spinach, etc.) and some type of pork on New Year's Day. This variety of foods are said to bring good luck and increase the odds that the new year will be a great one. 

The black-eyed peas are thought to look like coins so people consume them with financial rewards in mind. The hog, and therefore the meat from the hog, is thought to symbolize wealth and prosperity. The "greens" are also considered to bring good luck because their leaves look like folded paper currency.  It's widely believed that the more "greens" one consumes, the larger one's fortune for the next year.

My family joined us at lunch to partake of all this Southern goodness.... Marinated and Baked Pork Chops, Turnip Greens, Southern Buttermilk Cornbread, Black-eyed Peas with chopped onions and Chow-Chow.  Chow Chow is a relish that is a staple on  many Southern dining tables and is typically served with pinto beans and cornbread, or anything else you want to put it on. It's a mixture of sweet and spicy that really "perks up" the taste of about anything you add it to. It is something my soon-to-be son-in-law has discovered that he absolutely LOVES!

We also came to the realization in this new year, that not only does little Miss E no longer need a booster seat to reach the table, but she no longer needs a small little plate!  Girlfriend has really started eating so well!  

So....from now on she gets a BIG dinner plate just like the rest of us Southerners!  Oh..and a big ole' glass of Sweet Iced Tea....YAWL!

Wishing you much health wealth and prosperity in 2011 -

Happy New Year from my family to yours!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Remembering An Awesome Night Of Praise & Worship

On January 25th of this year, my daughter, Faith, and I hopped in the car after church Sunday morning and headed for Atlanta for an awesome night of Praise and Worship with Travis Cottrell at First Baptist Church of Woodstock .

It was exciting enough to be able to participate in a LIVE recording with Travis Cottrell, but one of my all-time heroes in the faith was also going to be there -- Beth Moore!

We had made plans to meet up with one of our sweet blogging friends that we had never had the privilege of meeting in person -- none other than JennaBabe! 

It was an awesome night of worship and one I will never forget.

On Tuesday of this past week, the LIVE recording from that amazing night was released on ITunes and in the stores.  Those of us that were there that night were able to pre-order the CDs and DVDs -- and mine came in the mail yesterday! As I looked at the CD cover and began to listen to the very first song, "To The King", I was taken back to all the emotion and excitement of that incredible evening with thousands of people praising the Lord. It was like a tiny glimpse into what Heaven is going to be like!

If you ask me what are my favorite songs from the recording, that is a tough one because, honestly, they are all so good, but if I had to say, they would probably be - "My Inheritance", "Praise the King"(with Cindy Morgan), "Mercy Seat", and "Do It Lord".

I have not stopped listening to it!  I fell asleep listening to it last night and I woke up to it this morning.  I just have to say, if you haven't already purchased this CD, it is a must-have!  

It will lead you to the throne of worship, sweet friends!

Mother's Day 2009

I had the most wonderful Mother's Day! I was blessed to have all of my children in church with me on Sunday! Even after all these years, there's just something so special about being in God's House together!

The 3 of them got together and planned barbecue and all the fix-ins for lunch and we had so much fun.  After lunch a few of them "scattered" and took naps while Chad, Josh and I watched the National Geographic Channel.

Josh, me, Grace and Faith

Josh, me, Grace, Walt, Faith And Miss E

(I am so sorry that my son-in-law was not included in this picture, but he insisted on being the photographer.)

I had to include THIS picture because it is so hilarious to me!

And, NO, Josh is not holding a giant stuffed animal! That's his "baby", Turk, his Labradoodle! He's getting HUGE, isn't he? (He reminds me of "Alf" -- if any of you remember who he is. Or maybe Mr. Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street -- if he only had a trunk!) lol

I am so proud of my family and I love them all so very much! God has truly blessed me with an awesome family. I can think of nothing better than having them all together in church and then spending the day at my house! 

Thanks for making it a wonderful day, guys!

Tip Toe Through The Tulips

The tulips in our neighborhood are just beautiful this year.  Miss E spent the day with MiMi and Poppa on Friday because her daycare was closed for Good Friday.

I had to walk downtown to pick up something at a local store and I decided to pull E for a ride in her wagon.

 I couldn't resist a photo shoot in the tulip patch.

 

How beautiful are these flowers, and, well....

You already know how I feel about this little "flower" in the middle!

Be Still My Heart......

My two daughters, Faith and Grace, took Grace's little "Miss E" to have some pictures taken on Tuesday. The photographer did an absolutely amazing job with the photos. She captured so many of my favorite expressions!

I know that many of you also read Faith's blog, but just in case you haven't already seen "our girl", you have to go here and see all the fun they had!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

The Whole Megillah

I can hardly believe that tonight is my last Esther class. We have finished “The Whole Megillah”! It has been a big commitment for me and I am thankful to the Lord for helping me to stay faithful for 10 weeks of classes, a 36 mile round trip to class each time and some 45 nights of homework. Thank you to my friends and family for praying for me during this time that I would remain faithful and that I would “hear” what the Lord had to say to me. Your prayers were definitely heard!

It has been an unbelievable journey and one that I would highly recommend EVERY lady take, if you have the opportunity. One of the things that we talked about throughout the book of Esther was all the ironies in the book. How about THIS for irony ---- our final class is meeting tonight ON Purim. How neat is that!

The name “Purim” comes from the Hebrew word “lots” and is the festival that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people of the Persian Empire from Haman’s plot to annihilate them, as recorded in the book of Esther. Haman cast lots to determine which day that the Jews would be exterminated.

Our final class tonight is bittersweet for me. I am sorry to say “goodbye” to some wonderful sisters in Christ that I have met and grown to love over these past weeks and to say “goodbye” (for now) to Esther, who I have grown to love dearly! I will never look at the book of Esther the same again. As Beth Moore reminded us in the beginning of the study, even though the book of Esther lacks any mention of God, His Spirit is ALL over it!

We are having a celebration tonight in honor of Purim (and our last time to meet together) and our leader is making “Haman’s Ears”. This is a special fruit-filled triangular cookie that is served during Purim. (They are called "Haman’s Ears” because they resemble the shape of an ear.) I am so excited to try them! Who knows...maybe you'll be seeing them on Mimi's Making Meals soon!

To all of my "Esther-gen" sisters that are still in the midst of your study, I will be praying for you as you continue on this incredible journey! I know that the Lord has placed each and every one of you in this study "For Such A Time As This."

After all....."It's Tough Being A Woman"!!

You Gotta Love SNOW in March

This is what we woke up to earlier this week! Yay!  The weather man FINALLY got it right!!!

Even better than having a SNOW DAY, though, was being able to spend the day with some of my precious family.

Me and "the girl" hangin' out in the snow.

Helping Poppa shovel the driveway.

How beautiful is this tree!!   And those "Carolina Blue" skies!! Doesn't get much better that this, does it?

 
Grace and Miss E spent the night with us Sunday night in expectation of having a snow day the next day. Champ was lovin' life, too!

Mimi and Poppa......

In a Winter wonderland!

The snowman at our local Starbucks.

Is this the way to travel or what?!?!?! 

Kickin' it back with The Poppa chauffeuring !

You know what you have to do when you are at your Mimi's house and your boots are at yours?

Packing tape and freezer bags --Works like a CHAMP!

Fun Times On A Saturday Morning

"Miss E" spent the night with us last night and, let me just tell you, the girl is sooooo funny.

This was just one of the funny things that she came out with this morning.

"Mimi........Can you see what time it is on my feets?"

LOVE this girl!

"SNOW ANGELS" Pay Me A Visit

Yesterday we had a "Snow Day" and just look at the "Snow Angels" that I got to spend the day with!