#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

-----------------------------------------------

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