Friday's Fave Five

It's Friday already?  REALLY???  This week has flown by.  Friday is the day of the week we look back at the week and talk about five things we are thankful for.  If you are new here and want to play along, you can find all the details here.  Be sure to add your website to Mr.Linky, and visit others who participate in this also.

1.  Sleeping in  With Monday being a Holiday, the kids didn't have school and Chris didn't have to work.   That means, there is no alarm going off in my room at 3:45 am causing me to wake up.  And I don't have a 6 am wake up call to get the kids ready for school.  Sometimes it is just really nice to get a full 8 hours of sleep.  

2.  My mother-in-law's recipes.  While my husband thinks I am a fantastic cook, and he enjoys the recipes I make, the truth is there is still nothing like the foods he grew up eating. I think that's pretty true of everyone.  I mean, even for me, there is still nothing like my grandma's cooking. Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to have my mother-in-law  teach them to me personally as she passed on just a few weeks before Chris and I started dating, but my sister-in-law gave me copies of all Chris's favorite recipes.  Occasionally, if I know he's had a stressful day, I will whip up a batch of his mom's homemade pudding with bananas and wafers.  It puts him in an instant good mood. I think somehow it takes him back before his mom passed, to a time when she would make it for him.

3.  Fall weather.  I LOVE when the temperature cools just enough that you can turn the A/C off and open the windows.  My perfect smell is the mixture of fresh air, and the aroma of food cooking on the stove.  I love when it is cool enough at night that we can break out the fire pit and roast hot dogs and marshmallows with the kids along with camping in the backyard.  

4.  Crock pots.  What's better than being able to put a roast in the crock pot along with some veggies, pushing a button, walking away, and 6-8 hrs later coming back and viola...a cooked meal!  This week as I was working on my cook ahead meals, I threw a chuck roast in the crock pot along with beef broth, a diced onion, pepperoncini's, green peppers and some seasoning.  Once it sits overnight I will divide this into 2 portions.  One will be used to make Beef Drip...a family favorite, and the other portion will go towards making beef stroganoff.  Another favorite of my kids.

5.  My brother's and sister's in Christ.  Yesterday I received a card in the mail from my good friend, Jessica.  The card read, "The road ahead might not make sense to us, but if we trust in God, He'll lead us to greater things."  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11  There was a cloth inside that has been anointed with oil and prayed over.  It's funny it came in the mail yesterday, because yesterday morning I was having a rough day, and I know that was His way of letting me know He's still here.  That He never leaves my side.