Friendship & Recipes

If you know me at all, you know friendships are very important to me. It's easy to have a lot of acquaintance type friends, but true, connected, in-each-other's-lives-daily-encouraging-laughing-evencrying type of friends are rare and to be treasured. No one can nurture every single relationship that comes into your life. It's not physically possible. I often feel guilty if I can't call or send a note to someone or bring them a treat on a rainy day when I think about them, but if you tried to do that for everyone in your life - you would end up doing it for NO ONE in your life because you typically also have responsibilities, a family, school schedules, a husband, meals to prepare, church responsibilities, homework, needs of the house-hold, time with the Lord, shopping and a whole host of other things that pull you and don't allow you to be all things to all people. However, when you meet that friend or 2 or 3 friends in your life that are people you want in your tight-knit circle - you go the extra mile with them. You check up on them. You deliver soup to them when they are sick. You pray for them when they are struggling. You bring them a Starbucks on a Tuesday just because you love 'em. You ask them about their life and truly listen to their life and all the stories they want to share. It's called being a really good friend.

I'm trying to teach Little Girl and Baby Boy how important friendships are. I want them to treasure their friends like Gold and like gifts from the Lord when they have someone that they have buddied up to at school or church or wherever. I hope I'm instilling this quality in them by example (I know I fall short) and in my words about the importance of being a good friend.

LG has made a really sweet friend at school this year. They both love to laugh and giggle together. They seem to speak kindness to one another and encouragement - which I love, and they are CRAFTY with a capital C. They both have the same little passion for Art which is so enjoyable to watch when they are both in "creative mode". It makes me smile. So, when we heard LG's friend from school was sick most of last week, we both agreed we should drop by a little something to cheer her up.


LG had p.j. day at school and looked all a-crazy, but she had her fun little gift to run over to her friend's house (a crafty project of course) and she was so excited about it.

I believe that being a parent is a really intentional job. A lot of days I worry that I am just coasting by in survival mode and just making sure everyone is fed, clean and presentable to the world. But then there are days when I sit back and really try to make small impacts in different ways on each of my kids and it makes me happy to see them blossom into who God wants them to be.

I have had numerous great friends in my life. Literally every place we have moved to and lived, whether it be for a year or 3 years at a time - God has always blessed me with some of the most amazing women in my life that I still call dear friends to this day. I pray those things for my kids too.

Well, on top of all this fun, we have been cooking up a storm in my kitchen this week and I wanted to send you over to The Recipe Box to check out some of the awesome recipes I made this week. I kid you not that we ate well and we ate healthy this week. This is my all time favorite combo. O.K. - Here's what you have to go make:

Crockpot Barbacoa Beef with cilantro lime rice and corn salsa - You must try! You'll love it!!

Crockpot Creamy Potato Soup

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Banana, Caramel Pecan Muffins

All these recipes were a hit and I have even a new one to share on Monday. It's Skinny Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie and it is awesomely good.

Have a great Saturday. The kids are playing all their musical instruments upstairs as I type and the hubs is asleep on the couch. I guess that makes for a perfect weekend. We're off to a birthday party soon which will run out all their energy and fill them up with sugar.

See you Monday.