#turnsomeonesfrownupsidedown #tistheseason

     Greetings, my sweet peaches! Let's pull up a chair and a cold glass of peach tea and talk for a few.  It's a topic I've touched on before.

     You know, not every day is going to be as sweet as a big bowl of warm peach cobbler, topped with two scoops of homemade vanilla ice cream. It's going to be a big bowl of soupy,  not-fully-cooked peach cobbler and ice cream that has gotten a bad case of freezer burn. What to do, what to do? Dump out the bad cobbler and ice cream and serve up a good bowl  of sweetness to someone else. (Wipe that bewildered look off your face now.)

     Lean in closer and LISTEN UP. If your day is going sour, figure out a way to make someone else's sweet. Send a friend or family member a text. Go old school and mail them a letter or card. Bake some cookies for someone. Make a casserole for someone that is sick. Do something to #turnsomeonesfrownupsidedown. #tistheseason. But, it doesn't just have to be during the holiday season. It can be an every day or every week thing. You'll be surprised that, when you do something to brighten someone else's day, you may just start to feel a smile taking over the frown that was on your face earlier. 

     Short and sweet and to the point today. 

     Talk to y'all soon!

Love, peace and peaches!

--Karen 

Peach Cobbler Just Isn't Peach Cobbler Without Peaches

Hello, my faithful readers. Has it truly been almost a year since I last blogged? I must do better about this. I will work to blog at least one a month, if not more. 

So much has happened in one year's time. James started a new, incredible job which I'm incredibly proud of him for doing. We will soon celebrate our 3 year anniversary.  Laine turned 12, finished 5th grade and moves onto middle school. Riley turned 6, finished kindergarten and is now a 1st grader. Taylor turned three and Alex turned 2 (today!!). And, Mama turned....nevermind...went back to school and will start my third semester in August. You're reading a blog from a hopeful future dental hygienist. 

My parents, sister and grandmother moved to Georgia, which is a treat! No longer do they or we drive hours to see each other...we drive approximately 10 minutes! 

Now that I've caught you up, let's move on to the explanation of the long title of my post today. 

You know, when you've got something in mind to cook or bake and you go to the pantry to retrieve all of your ingredients, it's plum disheartening to discover you have all but one or two of the main ingredients. The store's closed, your one-stop family shopping center is 30 minutes away and you just can't muster up the energy to make the drive this time of night-not to mention you just got all the kiddos all tucked into their beds. You, defeated, settle for a bag of freshly popped popcorn and settle down for a movie. 

This, my dear readers is how we will soon feel with our Laine and Riley going to Mississippi for their summer vacation. 50 days (well 48 because really we don't have to count the day we take them and the day we pick them up because we'll see them those days and it makes it shorter). Understandably, the visit is necessary and I know they'll have a wonderful time, as they normally do when they visit their father, step-mom and family. Nonetheless, it doesn't make it any easier and those who said it would get easier each time...LIED. 

You see, just as each recipe needs all the ingredients to make it a successful dish, we need all of our ingredients to make our family complete. One ingredient can not take the place of the other. Just because we will have Taylor and Alex at home, doesn't mean they will replace Laine and Riley's presence. We will miss them each day. 

Riley sat with me on our swing outside yesterday. He was about to go spend the night at my parents' house and we started talking about that and this summer. He said about his overnight stay, "Mama, don't be sad because when you're sad, I'm sad. And it makes me not want to go and I really want to go." Such wisdom and such a kind, loving heart for a 6-year-old. 

At the age of...nevermind...I realized, from our 6-yr-old that we have to give them wings and let them fly sometimes, even several states over. They will make new memories, fill the rooms they enter with laughter and come back home with all sorts of new stories to tell, new freckles from being in the sun, a refreshed spirit ready to tackle a new school year. These two are my first born and first born son. They are incredible people who fill our lives and everyone's life they enter with such an immeasurable amount of joy.

I can't wait to hear about their adventures of the summer and am truly thankful they are loved by so many people. Fly, my little birds, and then fly back to us soon. We'll put the ingredients in a jar wait to make the cobbler till the two of you (our precious ingredients) are back home.

Happy Summer Vacation!

Peace, love and peaches,

--Karen

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Peach Cobbler in a Mason Jar

Ingredients

21 ounces peach pie filling

1/2 cup bisquick mix

1/2 cup plant milk; ie Soy Milk

1/2 cup sugar

pinch salt

1/4 cup melted butter substitute

Original recipe makes 4 Servings
Servings

 

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place a silpat {or other silicon mat} into a deep sided ovenproof baking dish. Spray 4 – 4 ounce mason jars with cooking spray and place them onto silpat
3. Into a bowl add: bisquick mix, milk, sugar and salt. Stir to combine. Add melted butter. Stir. Set aside.
4. Put approximately 3-4 peach slices/filling into each mason jar. Top with 1-2 tablespoons of batter per jar.
3. Bake for approximately 30-35 or until top is golden and bubbly.
4. Jars should be cool to touch prior to serving.

http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/peach-cobbler-in-a-mason-jar/389792
 

 

Skip The Cake, Eat The Peach Frosting

     Happy 4th of July, my precious readers....wait, there are people reading this, right? For those who are taking a break from the fireworks, pull up your chair and a glass of nice, cold ice tea. We had coffee last time we chatted, but it's too dang hot for coffee tonight. And I gave up diet soda. One week off of it tomorrow! That's something. I was ADDicted. No kidding.

     Did you get your tea? Sitting down? Okay, here we go. So, have you ever had one of those days when NOTHING seemed to go right? I mean nothing. Your hair doesn't do what you want it to, your vacuum cleaner stops working, you drop your ice cream bowl, people get on your nerves, etc. I had a day like that today. Hey, I never said this blog would be all sugar and spice and everything nice all the time. I'm gonna' be real with you. So, I can sense y'all nodding your head that you've had such a day before. Boy, it's those kinds of days when I want to pull the covers over my head and wait it out till the next day. Our little minions wouldn't hear of it, though.

     Ever baked a cake and mixed and blended all the ingredients so perfectly? You even cleaned up as you went. Kitchen looks marvelous and cake's in the oven. Someone walks through the kitchen about mid-bake and says, "What's the oven?" As you run in what seems to be slow motion to keep them from opening the oven door and disturbing your baking masterpiece in the making, you are too late. They look, the drool and then...you guessed it. They let the oven door slam shut. What does this do? Everyone say it with me..."Kills the cake". Oh yes. The cake you so carefully created has now sunk the middle due to the "noise" of the oven door slamming. All bakers know you're supposed to be quiet when you're baking a cake or something of the sort.

     Life is like that, isn't it? You get up and get ready for the day, making plans (getting your ingredients out). You rearrange your day for little hiccups that alter the "schedule" (cleaning up as you go) and then the day still seems to go South (cake dead). But then, like a superhero with his/her cape, you look over to the counter where you prepared your almost delicious cake and see the bowl of frosting looking back at you like a superstar. This, my dear readers, is the light at the end of the tunnel.

     You see, although my day today didn't go like I had planned it to go, sweet things happened that made my day brighter. I was able to talk to our two older kids that are in MS visiting some family - that equals at least 1/4 of the bowl of frosting. Then, our two little boys gave me kisses and shared lots of giggles with me today (a couple of more spoons of frosting). Texts and comments on social media from my family and friends, were just as sweet (scraped bowl clean). Days like today aren't what we ask for. Aren't what we hope for, but if we look over to the counter (special people and moments around us), we'll see the big bowl of peach frosting, just waiting for us to enjoy.

     So, when the plans for your day don't work out as you planned (cake dead again), skip the cake and eat the peach frosting. It'll help turn your day around.

     Thanks for reading.

Peace, love and peaches.

Karen E. Hall

_______________

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/georgia-peach-buttercream-frosting

Georgia Peach Buttercream Frosting

• Yield: Makes 4 1/3 cups

            Ingredients

• 1 large fresh peach, peeled and chopped (about 8 oz.)
• 3/4 cup butter, softened

• 1 (32-oz.) package powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Process peach in a blender or food processor until pureed. (Puree should measure about 1/2 cup.)
2. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add powdered sugar alternately with pureed peach, beating until well blended after each addition.

Peach Jelly

    

     Hello, my dear readers. Can y'all believe it's June? We are more than half way through 2015!  So many big things have happened so far for our family this year. Laine turned 11 and entered the tween years and finished the 4th grade. Riley turned 5 and finished Pre-K. Taylor turned 2 and is talking so great. And Alex turned one and learned to walk. James and I will soon celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary! AND I'll start back to college soon.

     Now that you're all caught up on our family, getcha a cup o' joe and pull your chair up. I'll wait...Back? Okay. Today, I want to talk to you about good ole peach jelly. Most any kind of jelly tastes purely delish on a fluffy biscuit or a just popped up piece of buttered toast. But, if you spread it too thin on your biscuit or toast, it just won't taste as good. You have to make sure to spread it all over, am I right?

     Life. Love. Family. Such powerful words. Add in words like schedule, sports, homework, errands and boy does that first word become hectic. Life becomes so full of schedules, and to-do's that it can become overwhelming at times. By time homework's done, you sling supper on the table and go through the "Sit up and eat", "Eat your veggies", "It's not nice to make faces", "Stop pestering your brother/sister", and any conversation with your spouse is met with confused looks because they can really only hear every other word of what you're saying. Clean everyone up, clear dishes, baths/showers, play time and bed for everyone. You walk, zombie-like to the couch and sit down, both exhausted and feeling accomplished that you made it through another day and that everyone went to bed happy.

      Doesn't sound familiar? Ha! I bet you have some ocean front property in Arizona you've been trying to sell, too. Meaning? You're kidding yourself. Maybe not every day, but some days you feel tired and wonder how you managed everything through out the day that you did. Through all the hustle and bustle of every day, if you don't take a breather, you can spread yourself too thin. Life just isn't as sweet that way. It leaves either you or one of your precious family people feeling neglected. You need to recharge. You need to take time to have a bubble bath (lock the door or you'll undoubtedly have little people coming to the door :) ), read a book, sit down and read a fabulously written blog --I know a good one--, call a friend, write a letter or card to someone (Please Google if you've forgotten what those are), have a date with your spouse.

     I'm the world's worst at recharging or taking a break. And truly, I find myself totally exhausted by the end of the day. I feel like my family is happy at the end of the day, but it's important for me to be, also. The saying "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"? Well, how can you set the tone for a happy home if you're running yourself too ragged to be happy yourself? Case in point, my sweet parents offered to keep our two little boys for a little while to allow me and Hubba Hubba some time alone. Our two oldest, Laine and Ri are visiting their father in Mississippi for the summer. At first, I was really having a tough time at the thought of the little boys being gone because we already miss our two oldest so much while they're gone. My mom, ever so lovingly said, "You're letting them come spend time with their grandparents and aunt, not selling them off to gypsies." My beautiful mother always has a way of snapping me back to my senses with her pearls of wisdom (May I be half the mother she is...I will have accomplished something phenomenal). So, here we are, enjoying time together and I'm, gasp....recharging. Sleeping late, taking naps, catching up on laundry, posting on my blog, chatting with friends and family, going to lunch with my sweet friend, Myra, redecorating (Boy, is Hubba Hubba happy about THAT...insert sarcasm), just having me and us time.

     Does it mean I'm a bad mama? Heck no! Does it mean I don't love our children? Heck heck  (two "hecks" intentional) no! It means I love them enough to want to be the best me possible and to make sure to keep the flame going with the person that loves me more than I could have ever imagined I could be loved. When kids see Daddy and Mama happy and in love, it evokes the feeling of security and gives them a sense of peace. We are missing all four of our little rays of sunshine like cray-zay, but when they all come back home, we'll be even more in love and we'll be even more ready to tackle our parental tasks better because we've had a little recharge.

     We are like the peach jelly and our family/life is the warm biscuit or toast. If we spread the jelly (ourselves) too thin, our biscuit or toast (family/life) the jelly won't be a sufficient amount. When this happens to our family and our life, everyone suffers. Your family and friends are very important, but don't forget about that other very important person ---YOU. Recharge without feeling guilty or without worrying about if it fits into the busy schedule. You and your precious family will be happier because of it.

Thanks for reading.

Peace, Love and Peaches,

Karen E. Hall

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PEACH JELLY
To make juice, cook peelings, seeds and peaches in water. Strain to make 3 1/2 cups peach juice. Pour into a large saucepan and add 1 box Sure-Jel. Bring to a hard boil and pour in 4 1/2 cups sugar. Boil about 2 minutes or until 2 drops slide together to make a big drop. Pour into sterilized jars and seal.   http://www.cooks.com/recipe/2k2nc7vh/peach-jelly.html

Peach Sweet Tea

     Love. So much power in that one little word.

     I used to work as a Customer Support Rep for a high-end manufacturer of commercial appliances for the home. I worked with a Regional Service Manager who drove me insane by answering my long, drawn out Customer Support email with very cut and dry responses. "I need to get so and so a new <insert appliance here> because theirs is not working and service is unable to repair it and they have 6 kids and 3 dogs and need a working unit." His reply? "No, we will repair it.". "I need to give a service company extra money to hop  on a ferry to go and repair this customer's <insert appliance here> on top of their regular repair fee." His response? You guessed it..."No." I look back on those emails and similar phone calls now and laugh because those things are just a few of the things that made me fall madly in love with that man that I now happily call my husband.

     Love isn't meant to be perfect. But the perfect love for us is us waking up and James looking at me with my make-up smeared (because I fell into bed the night before from taking care of munchkins all day instead of washing it off) and my hair being disheveled and him still telling me I'm beautiful. Or sending me a random text throughout the day to see how my day is or to say he loves me. Or bringing home my favorite candy. Small things that remind me of how much he loves me. Reaching out to take each other's hand while driving the family to the store, fixing each other's favorite meal, watching a movie that makes us cringe - just because we know it's the other's favorite, helping to pick up around the house - these are a few of the things that we do to constantly remind each other that we mean it when we say "I love you".

     Words are empty without actions to follow them up. You can say "I appreciate what you do" all day long, but if you don't show that appreciation by giving your spouse or significant other a chill out time where they get to catch up on their DVR recordings while you wash the dishes in the sink or take the kids for an ice cream cone while she has some "me" time, the words don't mean anything. You can say "I love you" till the cows come home, but if you don't do special things - no matter how large or small - the words can become a habit instead of actually having meaning.

     I know what you're thinking...things take money and sometimes money is tighter than a pair of pants after visiting an ice cream sundae all-you-can eat bar. Lean forward and read closely. Closer, closer, there ya go. Now read on...You don't have to spend money to do something sweet for each other. I'm serious! You don't! My husband and I leave notes for each other all around the house. Doesn't cost a penny, but boy does it brighten my day when I find a note from him. He knows I can not stand touching bread once it's soggy, so if a piece of bread falls from the plate into the sink, he is my hero by coming to scoop the sogginess out of the sink to throw it away. I know he likes chocolate chip cookies so I make him a batch from time to time. We watch TV together after we put the kids to bed, we laugh, we talk - we enjoy time together. Doesn't cost a penny.

     I've read so many articles that remind us to nurture your relationship because, one day when the kids are grown and you have an empty nest, you don't want to be sitting across from a stranger - having not given any of your time to the one who made your family possible to begin with.

     Believe me, we are not a perfect couple. I have my many imperfections and James has his, but we're perfect for each other. Did ya get that? We aren't perfect, but we're perfect for each other. Our imperfections, our displays of love, our willingness to never give up on each other or our family, our willingness to pick the other one up when the stress or daily to-do's seem to knock us down, make us the couple that we are. One that may have good days and bad but that love each other even more fiercely than the day before and that will never question or wonder if the other still does because we make sure that not a day goes by without the other one knowing 120% how we feel.

     No matter how busy we get with the kids, with work, with life, at the end of the day, when I lay my head on his shoulder to go to sleep, I'm safe in his arms and safe in knowing that I'm truly married to my lifetime love.

     That is refreshing to me like a tall glass of peach sweet tea. You put all the ingredients of peach sweet tea into a big pitcher and then pour it into a glass of ice. Same thing with a marriage and each day. A good pitcher of peach sweet tea takes water, tea bags, peaches and sugar. A good marriage takes the same...Love (water) to mix the other components and have a foundation, loyalty (tea bags) to give it strength, displays of love (peaches) to give it that extra kick, and acceptance (sugar) that lets your spouse know that -good days or bad- you're just as in love with them if not more so whether the days or sunny or gloomy. You can't love someone just when things are going right or smoothly; when everything is seemingly perfect. You have to love each other even on the days that seem like the whole world is against you.

     I think I've mentioned this in another post previously, but when James and I started dating, we both said we wanted someone that we felt like we could conquer the world with and we truly have that in each other. One day, a while back, I asked him, "Do you have any idea how wonderful it is to wake up every day, realizing I'm married to my best friend?" His answer still warms my heart. He said, "Yes, because I do it every day." Be each other's biggest fan, each other's strength, each other's best friend. Be the one they can't wait to come home to every day. Make time for each other no matter what else is going on. If you've not been making time for each other, set aside a day or night to have an at-home date night. We usually have ours on Saturday nights. We feed the kids early and then have our separate meal. Make the time. Enjoy each other. Don't be perfect, just be perfect for each other. You'll find it to be refreshing...just like peach sweet tea.

Happy Loving....

Karen
_____________________________________

Sweet Peach Tea

Rated: Submitted By: Michaela.K9 Photo By: sueb Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Ready In: 20 Minutes Servings: 10

"This is a very light tea with fresh peaches, great for a summer day."

Ingredients:

3 cups water 3 family size tea bags 2 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted, and

sliced 1 cup water 1 1/2 teaspoons stevia powder

Directions:

1.	Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Add the tea bags, and steep for 15 minutes. Remove tea bags.
2.	Meanwhile, place peaches with 1 cup water into the jar of a blender, and blend until very smooth. Pour the peach mixture, tea, and stevia powder into a 1 gallon pitcher. Fill the pitcher to the top with water, and stir until blended.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2015 Allrecipes.com

Printed from Allrecipes.com 3/19/2015

 

 

 

 

Planting Peach Trees

     Ever tried to plant a peach tree? There are multiple steps to take to ensure proper planting. 

     You have to think about your climate to determine what time of year to plant the tree, plant them at a certain depth, make sure they have just enough sunlight, but not too much, this and that and that and this. 

    Planting peach trees is a lot like parenting. A child - no matter how many you have be it one or 19 plus, is special in their own way and must be properly nurtured. 

     Since 2003, when I first learned I was pregnant with my daughter, I was determined as we all are at first to the BEST parent possible. I was going to do everything right and never make mistakes, to make sure that she was always happy. Ummmm. Somehow that didn't quite work out. Mistakes, tears, laughter, frustrations, three more kids and lots of years later, I'm not a perfect mom, but I feel like I'm a dang good one - most days.

    I've learned a lot in my parenting. To share some knowledge maybe will help y'all reading this feel a little more confident in your parenting skills. 

     I've learned that having a great partner who will support you through the laughter and the tears, the boo boos and the boogers, the muddy diapers and the fevers, the slamming doors, the one-more-hug-from-mommy (at least four times) before bedtime ----everything is made better by having someone that will laugh with you or hold you as you cry and tell you you're the greatest mom ever. That person, for me, is my husband, James. He works with me to raise these four amazing children and I absolutely could not do it without him. Your partner may be a friend, a sibling, a parent. Whoever it is, thank them for being there for you, even when the going gets tough and that little tree (child) is hard to get rooted (taught) and allowed to grow. 

     I've learned that although I do believe it is important to teach our children about our Creator, for my beliefs being Almighty God, it is not mandatory for them to see the inside of a church building every Sunday. Horrors! I live in the South and just uttered those words? Yes! Why? Because, although I believe in going to church and enjoy going when we do, our lessons to our children should not be only within the walls of a church building and only from 11 AM - 12 PM Sundays. Guidance on growth should be given every single minute of every single day. At home, on the way to school, in the grocery store, playing blocks, coloring - lessons can be given at any time. Sharing, compassion, respect, loyalty - all these are important to make our little trees grow. Turning the other cheek when someone wrongs us and mercy knows my children have witnessed my turning of the other cheek in life and the other and back and forth. I believe in God. I believe in church. The church is the body of Christ. The church can be experienced everywhere. So, when my children, hubby and I are all sick, we'll snuggle up at home and it won't make me a heathen mama. It will make me a mama who shows her children to love God - no matter where you are.

     I've learned that sometimes you're gonna feel like you'd be better off talking to a wall. A brick one at that. I can see you shaking your head in agreement. Now you're looking around, wondering how I can see you. Duh, I'm a Mom! I can see everything. :) This one decides to hit the other one and the one that was hit says in the loudest voice ever, "Don't hit me!" I sigh, knowing that the only reason they have increased the volume of their voice is to MAKE SURE to get the hitter in trouble. We can try to convince the trees to grow the direction we want them to, but they sometimes have a mind of their own and choose to try to go to the side instead of straight up....meaning...use everything as a lesson to teach them how to grow. The tree branches may get a little blemished along the way, but in the long run - the trees (siblings) will realize that they are each other's best friends. 

     I've learned that we can't protect our trees from everything. As much as we want to, our trees' leaves will be bitten and sun burned (problems will arise) and some of the peaches will have spots on them (obstacles in life). Our children will go through things that dang it, as hard as we try, we can't protect them from. Whether it is a angry bee, a hurtful word from a mean kid at school, life-changing events, someone close passing away, a best friend moving away, etc. We can't protect them from everything. The guidance we give them will prepare them to better handle these things, though.

     I've learned that at the end of the day, as you may have seen in my previous posts, a clean house IS important, but it's not THE most important thing. What's important is that we are sure we've watered our trees. That we've made sure they know they're loved and taken care of. There may be times you can write your name in the dust on our coffee table, but our children know, without a shadow of a doubt that we love them and we'll take care of them. Want to balance daily chores and spending time with your kids? Let.them.help. Yep, it won't be done just as you want it. Yep, the towels will be folded a little less perfectly than you'd do them. But they will be spending time with you and they'll remember those times and reenact them with their own kids one day. 

       Yep, raising children is a lot like "raising" a tree. It may not go perfectly, but it doesn't mean it's not right. It doesn't mean you're not a great parent. In fact, don't let ANYONE make you feel that you're not a good parent. You know the group that had a name like bugs...um....hmmm...what's their name? (Just kidding, my siblings!! I know who they are!! My siblings are the biggest Beatles fans, ever. Had to mess with them.) "Can't Buy Me Love". Dang straight. Can't buy your kids' love, no matter how many trips you take, no matter how many clothes are hanging in their closest, the best electronics are on their desk, the shiniest car is in the driveway. Don't get me wrong...those are all GREAT. But, just remember that along with those things, give water (Praise and encouragement), give plenty of sunlight (Fun!! Laughter! Smiles!), give good soil for roots (Strong family connections and good friends), give room to grow. 

    You'll find that you have the most delightful peach trees in all the land. And the world will be an even better place as your children grow up because they will have the confidence from you that they can make a difference. 

    Happy Planting (Parenting)!!

Thanks for reading. 

Karen
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http://www.ehow.com/how_4529756_grow-peaches.html

 

     Our sweet Laine started 4th grade last month, cutie pie Riley started Pre-K, Alex turned 3 months old and Taylor 17 months. I love watching them morph into these amazing people, but at the same time, I wish I could freeze my little peaches and make them stay these ages for a little longer.

     So many times, we face speed bumps in life. We have a hurried, busy schedule. We have stress from work or school. We have to-lists longer than our kids' Christmas wish lists (and ya KNOW that means looooong). We get so busy with plans for the future or worrying about things from the past that we forget to concentrate on the now.

     I wouldn't mind fast forwarding through the laundry and housework and my to-do list, but I want to freeze my time with my husband, children and family and friends. Those are the things that are important in life.

     The times that I find my husband looking at me and he tells me he loves me, the times he comes to sit beside me and watches one of our favorite TV shows or a movie, the times he catches me in a strong embrace as I'm scurrying around taking care of our children.

     The times Laine wants to tell me about her day or wants to share something with me that makes her giggle, the times she wants to play with my hair because she loves how soft it feels to her, the times she gives me a hug or kiss for no reason. The times that Riley wants to hold my hand as I walk them up our driveway to catch the morning school bus, the times he chooses to sit right next me on the couch just to snuggle with me, the times he wants to show me how he's advanced in a game on his tablet or when he does something great and wants to know if I'm proud of him. The times Taylor puckers up to give me kisses or stops playing just to come sit in my lap or hug me, the times he play sneezes or coughs - just to make me laugh, the times he waves and says "hey" or winks. The times Alex smiles from ear to ear just at the sound of our voice, the times he cries for something because it means he depends on me.

     The times my family or friends call, text, email or message me on social media just to let me know they were thinking of me or to share something with me. The times I walk outside to see our beautiful surroundings - the trees, the bunnies hopping to the woods, the frog that makes Laine scream as it jumps too close to her in the driveway, the chickens - yes chickens- that come up to the front door and make Riley and Taylor laugh, every time I take a breath - every single reminder of how precious life is. These are the peaches or times I'd like to freeze. I'd love to make each memory last just a little longer. I put my peaches (memories) in my freezer (heart and mind) and enjoy them over and over again.

     One day, when we are just a memory to others, do you think they'll remember how many loads of laundry we did or how clean our bathrooms were? Do you think they'll remember how many times we did the dishes directly after the dinner table was cleared? Do you think they'll remember how rough of a school day or work day we had? No. They'll remember the frozen peaches. They'll remember who you were and how you made them feel important. They'll remember how you loved them and cherished your time with them.

     Believe me, I understand that we all need clean clothes to wear and clean dishes to eat on and jobs are necessary to pay bills, etc. I'm saying to make time to enjoy the peaches. Enjoy the special moments. Make memories. Don't get so preoccupied with all the other freezer items that you allow your peaches (memories) to get freezer burn (neglected, forgotten about).

    I'm going to go freeze some peaches (spend time with my husband. He's feeding our baby baby boy right now...such a good daddy.). Here's a recipe for ya below.

Thanks for reading,

Karen

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 http://www.food.com/recipe/freezing-peaches-484560

Freezing Peaches

By pammyowl on July 30, 2012

Photo by katew

1 Reviews

• 
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 15 mins
• Yield: 1 quart

About This Recipe

"A good way to freeze instead of can your peaches.From the Ball company."

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons fruit fresh
• 1 quart peach, peeled and sliced

Directions

1. Mix the sugar and fruit fresh together. Gently toss the peaches until coated. Let sit for ten minutes to let the juices develop. Pack in quart freezer bags. Store in freezer for up to a year.