Time to Breathe

Source GetEntrepreneurial.com

If I thought December was a busy month, I had no idea what January had in store for me.  Between meetings and conferences for the National Guard (for me, not my hubby who's actually in the National Guard), ballet, jazz, cub scouts, church, bridal showers, and field trips, I've hardly had a chance to breathe.  Well, I guess God decided to make me breathe.  I not only have my car out of commission, but my husband's car is down as well.

How is that a good thing?


Put aside the fact that we can't afford to fix either car at the moment, I have decided to look at the blessings in this situation

1. The week after Christmas we were financially able to help our oldest daughter purchase a car in preparation of her getting her license next month.  Since she doesn't have her license yet and isn't working, my husband is able to drive her car to work every day.  So despite both cars needing work, he still has the availability to get to his job.  That is a big blessing.

2. I have time to breathe.  Yes, we're skipping ballet and jazz this week.  But because we're skipping, I'm getting caught up on some cleaning, and basic household chores like baking bread that I haven't had time to do all month.  It's been two weeks since I've baked bread.  Quite frankly, I've missed it, and so has my wallet.

3. I have time for my family.  With running around so much I haven't had much time to sit and play with my kids.  Being home this week has given me that time to play on the Wii with them, play some regular games, and just sit and talk.  I think I'm enjoying that more than anything.

Ever have those times when you are forced to breathe?  To just stop and make time to rest?  By looking at the blessings, I can be thankful for what I have rather than be mad about what I'm missing right now.

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Be a Blessing

I'm over at Today's Housewife today talking about my word of the year, blessing, and how I will be a blessing to others, and how you can be a blessing to others.

New Year

It's 2012 and this year my word of the year is blessing.  I am going to strive to be a blessing to all those I meet. A blessing to my family, a blessing to my friends, and a blessing to my neighbors (which effectively includes everyone else in the world.)

I hope in some small way you will be blessed by my blog this year.  I hope to focus a bit more on my food posts and I'd like to get a bit more creative in my cooking and baking.  I'll continue to post once a month over at Today's Housewife on Faith (in fact, I'll be there tomorrow talking about blessings), but I'll still be here, hopefully getting back into more of a routine now that the holidays have passed.

On a good note, my hubby will be sticking around for a few extra months.  The deployment has been pushed back, I can't give you an exact date, but I am glad to say we'll actually have 2 anniversaries in a row together.  It's been a while since that has happened.

On to the cooking!  Since I happen to get up every morning with my amazing husband and make him breakfast and lunch, and then have 2 hours until the kids wake up, I killed a little time on Pinterest this morning.  If you haven't read about my love of Pinterest before, go ahead and go read about it here.  (And check out my Pinterest boards here.)  While I was there, I saw the cutest pic of cinnamon rolls that were in a heart shape.  Very cute and very easy.  I happened to have one extra can of cinnamon rolls just sitting in my refrigerator so guess what the kids got for breakfast this morning?

They thought this was one tasty treat!  I have to say, they are some of the easiest kids to please.  They seriously thought I had slaved over making them in this special shape.  They also thought they were twice the size of a normal cinnamon roll.  When I told them that each one was just one normal Grands roll unrolled and rerolled into the shape of the heart, they hardly believed me.

Tonight for dinner we're having pork chops with sweet potato fries and green beans.  A nice homey meal on a cold day.  I'm really in the mood for chili, but that will have to wait until after cooking day next week.

So blessings to you in this new year!  I hope you enjoy the recipes that I will be sharing with you and the tidbits of faith that I will share.