Babies, Brownies and Blessings

It was a summer without sports for the boys. Definitely not a popular decision given BigBoy happens to rock lacrosse these days. Being 5'10" and athletically inclined at 12 years old has it's perks. Wonder which side of the family that came from??? How does one come to and stick with the decision to keep a kiddo out of a sport they love and excel at? It's amazing how hard the decision is, even at these really young ages. Even when it's temporary. Here's the scene that launched the decision: Day 2 of an out-of-town-tournament to top off 3 months of running around 3-4 nights a week to get one or two kids to their sports. It's hot. Melting-the-spikes-on-their-cleats hot. You can see the heat wafting from the turf. The boys are playing hard and parents are getting unruly on the sidelines. Parents are yelling to their sons to "get" the kids on the other team. "Push him down, get ON him" Enter expletives. Sitting there, watc...

Dear Young Wife, I hope you are still caught up in the wonder and excitement of being Mrs. So-n-So. I hope you still wake up eager to sip some coffee with your man. I hope you can't wait to be enveloped in his arms when he comes home each day. I hope you still see his good heart, his God-given strength, his sacrifice and his love for you. I hope you haven't gotten caught up in the extras of life and started not noticing or even longing for the ways he usually makes your eyes light up and your heart come alive. If you're married and none of my stated hopes are your reality, don't be discouraged. Life and work and family and busyness are notorious for making us miss each other's hearts. Can I offer some bits of hope and a few suggestions? These were not things I came up with on my own. God put some books, people, teachings and desires in my heart that taught me how to love my husband better. Some taught me not to compare, others reminded me that growth takes...

Ok, I agree the title is a bit dramatic...this isn't quite a miracle EXCEPT that I accidentally created a really good InstantPot soup recipe! Have I mentioned I'm not a stellar cook? (unless hotdish counts!) I'm also not much of a soup girl although as I'm aging  getting older I have found I'm starting to like it. Is it because my taste buds are dying? Or that I'm usually cold? Whatever the reason, soup sounded great today. Pinterest offered me several suggestions but they were mostly slow cooker recipes and I must confess, I am never prepared enough to put together a meal in the morning before work. Kudos to those of you who do, I have so much respect for your ability to plan ahead! I'm working on that... A recipe caught my eye for Slow Cooker Crack Potato Soup  but it was going to take 8 hours. 8 hours! It was 5pm, I only had an hour...time for the InstantPot! I looked through the ingredients and made a few adaptions to make it Instapot-frie...