Dreaming of a White Christmas

I want to say привет to all the people from Russia reading MOJ. 
Lately we've had a lot of traffic from that part of the world, so I just wanted to give you guys a shout out.
С Рождеством to you too.  (for all of us not fluent in Russian that says Merry Christmas. 
I love Google!)

Christmas will change in my home in a few years. Hoppy will be going off to college & he will realize that where ever he is will be his home, and we will be a place he only visits. It makes me want to cry, but I'm going to hold on to the next few years and love every second of them!

I remember the Christmas after my dad died, it was the most heartbreaking Christmas ever.  Christmas was my dad's favorite holiday, and we all knew it.  It changed again 5 years later when my mom was dying.  She was so sick she couldn't join us for most of it.  We did little things to bring laughter in the house, but it was a lot of work.  She died December 30th.  It was a sad Christmas too, but for some reason the music of Christmas always helps me remember happy times.

As far as I'm concerned, only a few people should be allowed to sing Christmas songs.  They are so beautiful and there are so many who butcher them.  :/  Bing Crosby is on the approved list.  Daddy would play the White Christmas album ad nauseam, but to this day when I hear it, I think of Daddy.  

I've always wanted a white Christmas.  Living in the south, the chances of having one are about slim & none..that is until last year.  We had a dusting of snow, the first one ever on Christmas morning in my state, and to make it even better...it snowed the day after Christmas too, which is my birthday.  :)  What can I say, I don't want much, but snow on my b'day was #1.

Well, this year I'm dreaming of another white Christmas.  It would be too wonderful for words. 

What are the things that are a must have or must hear for you & your family every Christmas?  I look forward to reading what you love about Christmas!

Be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley

Some of my Favorite things

Christmas decorations are up in the stores; Magic 96 has started playing Christmas music; and I have to admit...it makes me happy.  (all except for the new Christmas Tree tax the president wants to impose on all of us who love fresh Christmas trees; hey Mr. President, you're killing me.)

I love Christmas.  I love the lights, decorations, music, food, smells, and it's a time for Hopson & me to show our children the true meaning of Christmas.  In the past I have felt pressure, all that I put on myself, to have a perfect Christmas.  What I have learned is that my family just wants to be together; have a little food; and spend some time praising the Lord for when the Word became flesh.  Once I realized this fact, Christmas became easier for me.

Now don't get me wrong, there are certain foods that must be present...it just wouldn't be Christmas at our house without them.  

Something that I learned to make in college from my mom who learned to make it from my MeMaw is homemade mayonnaise.  Most people turn their noses up at it, but once you taste it, oh it's a little bit of sunshine on your plate.  It makes everything taste better.  I eat it plain.  It is so yummy.  It takes some practice to learn how to make it, and you can't make it when it is raining outside, because it will fall.  That's what my MeMaw & mom told me anyway.

Another thing we love to eat are homemade cheese straws.  My MeMaw made the best tasting, most beautiful cheese straws you have ever seen.  I've tried to make mine pretty, but because I'm a lazy cook and not as patient as she was, mine can be quite ugly.  They still taste yummy, but they're not pretty.  I'll also let the kiddos help make them & they don't make them pretty either, but we have fun making them!

I'm going to be posting other recipes that we have for Christmas.  I'm looking forward to the season, as a matter of fact, I think I'll start decorating this weekend.  Merry Christmas to me! 


Y'all be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley

What's the meaning of this?

Can I tell you that I am so glad that some dreams don't come true.  I went this morning, as part of my normal morning routine, to make sure my youngest child, Henry, was awake, and to have a wonderful morning chat before he plopped himself in the shower.  Today is also clean sheet day so I needed to help him strip his bed and start putting clean sheets back on it.  Now, when the fam tells me a dream I like to ask questions to try to understand it. (both for themselves and me)  I have always liked to try to figure out what dreams mean.  Henry's dream from last night has totally stumped me.

That child has some crazy dreams.  I may need to watch his diet.  He starts to giggle as he tells me he had a weird dream last night.  As any good mom would, I asked him about it.  He said he dreamed he had a baby sister (shut his mouth, four children in our family is plenty) who fell in the toilet, and when he tried to get her out; she bit his finger.  Of course now we're both at a full blown laugh, and I'm asking him how old his baby sister was.  He said she was a young toddler, but she slipped off the toilet lid & into the toilet.  Henry has always wanted a baby brother or sister; that's part of  why we bought the Chihuahua, Bella. 

What in the world that dream meant I have NO idea, but it has made my day.  I love that crazy kid.  He is so precious.

On a side note, I was listening to Rick and Bubba, my favorite radio show, yesterday, and someone brought them some Chocolate Chip Cookie Oreo Brownies.  It sounded so yummy I had to share the link.  If you don't think I'm going to surprise the fam with these one day you're crazy.  It looks like heaven on a plate.   

Have y'all or any of your kids had crazy dreams that just left you in a fit of giggles?  I would love to hear about them!

Y'all be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley

Because I'm the Mom

Ok, this is going to be somewhat of a rant.  I have started wondering who is taking the time to actually raise their children.  Do parents not realize what their children are doing?  I amazes me!  It's a lot of work being a parent, but when did setting boundaries, and prying in your child's life become something that was bad.  Why is saying no so hard for some parents.  Why do we want to give our kids everything when they're too young to understand the meaning or worth behind it?  See, I told you I was ranting.

I am not my childrens' friend, I am their parent.  My kids have friends & they happen to be the same age as they are, and I have friends that are the same age as me.  If I sound like I don't love my children, nothing could be farther from the truth.  They are most precious to me, and I thank God everyday for Him allowing me the honor of being their mommy.  Because I place value on them, I want to equip them for anything the world may throw at them.  I want to raise them to love the Lord and follow His ways first.  Now I have noticed, that as they are getting older our relationship is changing, and there is a mutual friendship growing.  I am far from being a perfect mom, but I hope my 4 realize that Hopson & I are relying on God to help us raise them to be the best people they can be.

One example is Facebook.  I will scroll through from time to time & and am amazed at what some of the teenagers are posting.  It's crazy and shocking.  When my children became old enough, in our household, to have a Facebook account, guess who was their first friend?  You got it...me.  I will check everything they post if I feel like it, whenever I feel like it.  If there is something questionable, we will talk about it & what do they think the right choice is.   (after all, we want them to learn how to make the correct decisions by themselves.)

If you're not checking your child's FB account, cell phone, iPod, laptop or iPad if they have one, their car if they're old enough to drive, wallets, purses, rooms, closets, drawers, cabinets, and anything else I'm leaving off the list, you are not doing your child justice.  Children want boundaries.  They want to be secure that you are going to keep them safe.  I want my children to trust me that everything I do for them is for their best. 

Moms & Dads, please take the time to be the parent your child needs.  Your child doesn't need you as a friend until they are older, they need your loving guidance and wisdom that God has given you.  Don't be afraid, you can do it!  All you need is a lot of love, a little discipline, and wisdom that only the Lord can give. 

Thanks for letting me rant!!!
Y'all be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley

The 5 P's of Life

Prior   Planning   Prevents   Poor   Performance

My 5 P's of life.  I would love to take credit for them, but I heard them first on the Rick and Bubba Show.  I am a task driven person by nature.  If I have a list going & do things that aren't on my list, I'll add them on there just to be able to mark them off.  Yes, it is a little twisted & sick, but it gives me a great amount of happiness.  You know, that little 'woohoo, one more thing off the list' moment.  I put everything on my calendar which is on my computer & on my crackberry.  Both pop up reminders 24 hours in advance of something that has to be done, attended, purchased, etc.  (I'd staple it to my shirt if it wouldn't make me look silly just so I would have one more way to remember stuff.)

If you are a mom with multiple children, you have to live by the 5 P's at least part of the time.  If you don't, I want to know your secret, because I'm going to market it and make a mint!  :)  Just kidding, but I would love to know if you have to have lists to get through your days too.  Yesterday was pretty busy, and I knew I would not have time to cook dinner tomorrow night.  I actually thought about dinner yesterday morning when I woke up at 4:45 am.   I was thinking something like a jambalaya, but there was no time to cook it the normal way, so here's what I did. It's a busy momma's jambalaya.

poached chicken & sausage

I poached the chicken in the crock pot with some Cajun Injector marinade, tons of garlic, 1/2 a small onion, and some chicken broth.  (I used the creole butter.)   What a beautiful creation my crock pot is.  It's almost 20 years old & still going strong.  I can put the meat in there frozen & it comes out fully cooked.  (which is what I did yesterday.)  I also included a pound of turkey sausage.  To the right is a picture of the finished product.

the roux

I had 30 minutes to complete everything else for the dinner.  I needed a roux with this.  The great thing about a roux is a little oil & flour can make a lot.  The way to make it go farther is chicken broth.  :)  A wonderful ingredient, it will add flavor to anything.  Here is my roux while it was cooking.  I added a little kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper, a little ground red pepper & ground pepper flakes, and the secret (my favorite) ingredient is Chef Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic.  Yum!  When it was finished I wanted to just eat it out of the pan by itself.  I cooked it to a light brown.  After it was cooked I added 1 onion & 1 green pepper.  (actually you know how lazy I am when I'm in a hurry, so I used frozen onions & green peppers.)

I cooked 2 cups of rice, and shredded the chicken and cut up the sausage and added them to the roux.  Here is the finished product.  It's  hard to see the chicken because it literally fell apart in my hands as I was trying to cut it up.  Henry had 2 or 3 helpings, I couldn't get a firm confirmation, but it was a lot.  The picky one said it was good but not amazing.  He liked the sausage the best.  (I would have used 2 pounds, but I only had one in the freezer.)  Harry said he didn't like it already mixed in with the rice.  He would have liked it all separated.  Picky eaters...

the finished product

Do I use the 5 P's everyday?  No, and  you know what, on the days I don't I'm not nearly as streamlined and productive in what I have to get done.  The day's I use the 5 P's, I can totally rock this mom thing out!  Well, now I can go mark a few things off my list.  :)  And so it begins...

Y'all be blessed beyond measure,
~ashley