One Word Wednesday

Blessed

( For cozy days like this with little ones at home... )

( ...And for friends like you who send prayers and love when one of my littles leaves the nest and flies across the ocean. )

They arrived safe and sound in Denmark!

And Madison reports it was the smoothest trip ever!

Thank you!!!

Roots And Wings

“There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots; the other, wings.”

― W. Hodding Carter II

My Madison is off again, spreading her wings and flying back to Denmark!

My heart is sad. And happy.

Sad because I shall miss her so.

Happy because I am so proud of her.

If you think of it today, would you mind sending up a prayer for her and Nicolas' safe return to his home and family?

Thank you, my friends.

Have a cozy day. 

Weekend Plans

I could say this week was a post -holiday- back- to -normal- week, but it wasn't. We are still celebrating Christmas here! Partly because the flu bug affected some of our previous plans, and partly because we prefer to celebrate with family members on a more personal level as opposed to a giant party. For those reasons, we had our annual Christmas pizza and present exchange night with my sister Margie and her husband Chris last weekend, and because we were happy to have dinner here with Steve's brother and his family last week, and his sister and her family this week. Hi, Greg! So as the pages of the January calendar pass, we remain in holiday mode...at least through the end of this week. No complaints from me! (Although I am getting a tiny bit anxious to take the decorations down and give my winter home a good scrubbing!)

Before all that, we have this last weekend with Madison and Nicolas before they return to Denmark until Easter. I designated Friday night as Family Fun Night, to which Madison responded that every night is Family Fun Night! Anyway, we will have a nice dinner followed by some games and some movies. And dessert. : )

Saturday is quiet until late afternoon Mass. After that, we are planning on going out for a nice dinner and then returning home for a fun night of board games together. Nicolas introduced this family to the game Risk. They love it. I love sitting nearby reading and acting as if I have a clue what is going on.

Sunday. Not looking forward to it. I'm sure it will involve some type of organizing, searching, packing and crying. It will also involve Madison's requested meal...Steve's meatloaf, green bean casserole, stuffing, rolls, and apple pie for dessert. We will end the weekend as we do all our weekends, cozy together watching our favorite shows together.

Here is a peek at what went on here this past week in our country home...

January brought coooold weather, but fortunately Santa brought a brand new hat my girl was anxious to wear. : )

We headed to my sister's house for our pizza night. 

Remember I told you she has the coziest Christmas house?

She does.

I could have snuggled there all night!

Here we are...

And again with our Momma. : )

They spoil my kids.

And Flynn's favorite?

Yep.

A little rubber Duckie.

Made her happy for days.

These are some diehard fans right there.

They went to the Steeler playoff game last Sunday.

The temperature felt like 1 degree.

They stuck it out, and enjoyed a good game.

The rest of us?

We enjoyed it from our warm and cozy house.

(And Steve is really upping his selfie game, don't you think?)

And lastly...

Monday night.

The Bachelor.

And the most delicious carrot cake. 

Ever.

My friend Heather comes over every week to watch it with us.

This week she brought this.

And it was amazing.

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Noodles And Milk

Ok. So... you will either love this one or really, really dislike it. I love it. My family, however, falls into the latter category. My mother made this quick and easy recipe for me and my sisters, and her mother made it for her. I imagine my grandmother's mother made it for her as well. It is exactly what it sounds like. It's noodles and milk.

I never said it was fancy.

I eat this for lunch on cold winter days. It reminds me of home. Of my mom and days home from school with a cold. It is warm and comforting. And easy. Simply boil and drain some elbow macaroni. Put some in a bowl, add milk and some butter. Then heat in the microwave until hot. I add some ground sea salt and pepper for flavor. That's it! I like to boil a pound of pasta at one time, and keep it in the fridge. 

Well, what do you think? Have you ever heard of this? Or are you shaking your head in disbelief? Let me know, would you?

Happy and cozy winter days, my friends!