Encouragement

I could go on and on about encouragement. I love this topic because this is something vital to everyone. I also love that we are doing it in this forum {blogville} because most of us blog for memories and whether we realize it or not, encouragement.

Each blog we read has something that draws us to it: parenting, loss, friendships, faith, humor... you name it and there is a blog about it.

We read for entertainment sure, but stop and really think about some of the blogs you visit. I can promise you that you get encouragement from most of them if not all of them. It may not be that you're even looking for encouragement, but that you stumbled upon it. We all struggle in our own ways, and let's just be blatantly honest here...we like to know others struggle too and how they get through it. That in a nutshell is encouragement. Seeing someone else make it through struggles that we have and knowing you'll be okay, you've just gotten some of the encouragement you need to keep your head held high. Now what form it comes in is a whole other ballgame.



As several of you know, we've had a rough year! Not anything gut wrenching, but emotionally its been a lot...physically its been a roller coaster! I've certainly seeked out {that just doesn't sound grammatically correct :)}encouragement this year! I searched for people who have dealt with children being diagnosed with ITP, a rare blood disease that Caroline was diagnosed with in late February. And, to be brutally honest, I was having quite the pity party for myself a month ago today while I laid in the hospital not being able to be with my family. I felt hopeless for some reason, a huge sadness just washed over me and I felt helpless. I jumped on here and surfed through my wonderful blog therapy, read some scripture, and I started to get to where I needed to be. In that 2 week period where I did nothing but cry, I found one of the most encouraging quotes I had ever heard:

"Let your unfailing love surround us Lord, for our hope is in you alone."
Psalm 33:22

I changed my blog that day so that it would be one of the first things you saw when you stopped by.

I hope that somehow in my little way, that I can be an encouragement to you. I am imperfect. I make mistakes {sometimes huge ones!}. I fail sometimes. I am a child of Christ, with all my faults and follies. And I love my life, even with the bumps in the road.

***If you need some other encouraging stops, check out my sidebar...these blogs rock! And if your on my side bar...thanks for being you and encouraging me!***

Just one Favorite?

I can't choose just one! You'll have to deal with getting several of my favorite pictures of Caroline! I love certain shots for certain reasons, I would never be able to choose!






These 2 just go together!


My Silly Girl

My Carefree Girl

My Morning Girl


Her first goal, she was so proud of herself


This is her ughhhh face

My Sleepy Girl

Southern Style - Recipes

Well, this one is kind of tough! I have too many good recipes! Okay so I'm a southern girl, and my momma didn't cook from a box, it was all from scratch, so I make just about everything from scratch. Your gonna get 2 recipes out of me today...One for the hubby {his favorite}, and one for Boog.


Alicia's Famous Green Beans
{Husband's Favorite...this is what he calls them...so sweet!}

1/2 lb. Fresh green beans, washed and snapped
1 1/2 sticks of butter
5 pieces crispy cooked bacon, broken up
1 tbsp. Lawry's season salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp garlic
2 tsp dill weed

-Stick all of it in a pot, cover with water making sure that you have about an inch of water over the green beans.
-cook on medium to medium-low {you want it to bubble a little but not have a roiling boil}.
-Let them cook for about an hour, depending on how tender you like your green beans.

*Yes, I know this is extremely unhealthy with all the salt and butter, what do you expect, I'm southern! When I want to make it healthier, I just use stick margarine, Morton's Low-Sodium Salt, and low-fat or turkey bacon.

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Creamy Tomato Basil Spaghetti Sauce
{Caroline's favorite, along with Michelle & several others!}

2 cans tomato paste
2-3 cups milk
1 tbsp. basil or a handful of fresh basil chopped
1 1/2 tsp. garlic or about 4-5 cloves of fresh garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. sugar
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp. oregano
salt & pepper to taste

*add any other Italian seasoning you like...marjoram, fennel seed, sage...you get the idea!

-Put tomato paste in saucepan, heat on medium, stirring constantly. slowly add milk until you have the desired amount of sauce, if you need to add more, keep going!
-Stir until all the lumps are out of the paste
-Add olive oil, onion, and any fresh herbs you use {if you aren't using fresh, don't add anything else yet}
-Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes
-Add all the rest of your spices and sugar
-Let simmer for at least 20 minutes.

*Remember adjust any of the seasonings to taste if you need to, some people want less flavor, some want more :)

My 3 Things

***Hmmmmmmmmmm......3 things that you don't know...that may be hard since I talk, er...type, so much! Let's see:

1. I'm double jointed in my hips and knees...weird, I know!

2. I danced for 16 years: ballet, tap, jazz, modern, drill team, etc....

3. I'm a natural blond - it used to be just like Caroline's, but slowly over the years it gets a tad darker...but even now at 31 {sniffles} it's still pretty darn blond on it's own! But yes, I do get highlights and low lights depending on the time of year! :)

I know this isn't all that interesting, but hey....it's all I've got!***