Easter Sunday was extra special to me this year. It started out with the fact that all of my children were with us..I know that's every mother's dream and it doesn't always happen but this year it did…I'm just thankful for that and not asking for more! Easter was a glorious day for me in more ways than one!
Easter was a glorious day because we serve a Risen Savior!
The whole weekend was simply spectacular! Weather wise…family wise…etc..
Thank You , Lord!
I do not take those moments lightly at all anymore! I used to! I really did…and I really won't anymore! I'm forever grateful for each precious moment we are allowed to spend together! Each time sweet Holly and Brad make the effort to come home…each time Miller and Sarah "want" to spend time with us! Each time that Mitch, Britney and Layton come over or call us to go out…just the little things…I'm forever grateful! Sometimes when I look at Layton in particular..I'm so overwhelmed by God's blessings I can't even put it into words…I hope that doesn't offend my own children but you truly can't imagine it or experience it until you are the "Nonnie"! Lately, Layton and I have had several conversations about me being tired, etc and she hears me say, "I don't even know my own name anymore"! She is quick to remind me that "My name is Nonnie"! And you know…it IS!!! And I love it! I told her the other day when I was young I wanted to change my name and she said…" But I call you Nonnie…that's your name!" Of course I melted right into her sweet smile and her childlike perception! I hope I can live up to that name! I chose it because of all of the other Nonnies before me! That's a lot to live up to when you know the "Nonnies" I am blessed to know!
Which leads me into the real meaning of this post!! The Sweetest Thing I've Ever Known Is My Own Mother!!!! That should be the title of this post!!! I've always known everything she shared with us this Easter…but somehow..hearing it again.. verbalized in the sweetest way….it just meant more and more to me and I'm sure it will to you as well!!!
You see…my mother has been wanting to tell all of us her "story"while we were together as a group for awhile now! We all have a story but some of us have lived a lot more of the story than others…and she is certainly one of them. Some of us have stories or pieces to the puzzle that make up our lives that we can't understand until we are parents.We basically all want the same things for our children. Some of us were protected by God's mercy and God's lovingkindness for all kinds of reasons and don't have as much of a story to share…. but it is important none the less! My mother is one of those special people that was protected by God's grace while experiencing things in life that a little girl really shouldn't have to experience in the eyes of this world…especially in the eyes of ME! and yet I get to enjoy the blessings of the life lessons that she lived…the experiences that led her to want to make us a family that always stuck together no matter what and love each other unconditionally! The very fact that I get to be her daughter and my children get to be her grandchildren makes me just smile and feel extremely blessed. And now I even have a granddaughter that gets to enjoy a great grandmother with a very special "story'!~ You see…her story is her personal testimony as to why she believes in our Risen Savior!
If I try to tell it for her it won't do it justice! I watched my mother tell us her testimony with trembling lips…just for a second mind you…but she told us with full confidence that she was saved by a Lord that had been taking care of her since early childhood! Although she lived through a life that not many of us would really want to take on…she knew all the while that God was preparing her for a journey that she wanted and would want to live out to the full extent. While still in early elementary school her mother became quite ill with a mental illness that to me is still baffling…and I'm told isn't hereditary! After researching it I'm not sure I believe that... but that's ok! I know that a lot of her illness came from tremendous hurt, resentment, bitterness and anger that was never dealt with. However…to a child at the age of 8….that's a lot to take on! For 6 months my sweet grandmother was sent away to a mental hospital….I will spare the other details…but that was definitely a lot to take on for my mother as a young girl…growing up with an infant brother and an angry father…. and other visits to the hospital that happened throughout her growing up years.
All I can think about is Mercy Me's new song "When The Hurt And The Healer Collide!" What a great tittle!! Keep my eyes completely fixed on You!!! That's my favorite refrain! Wow!! I could listen to this song all day long!! I love it!! And I'm truly blessed every time that I listen to it!
My mother could be really angry about her life…about not having the childhood she really wanted to have but instead she "made" a life for her children that she knew would be a benefit to us and she cared enough to do it even through tremendous hardships. Finally, once we had moved to Birmingham in the mid 1970's God brought her to a point in her life after preparing her and protecting her all of those years…and she was ready to accept Christ as her Savior and Lord when we had only been in Birmingham for maybe a year? I for one am extremely thankful and forever grateful for the mercies God has bestowed on my family. What God spared my mother from…He also spared us from ..I know the consequences of her life could have so easily been played out in all of our lives. He loved her enough to put that small, still voice in her heart and bring her to a saving knowledge of Him….What a blessing to me…my sister…my brother…and all of our families!
Easter was definitely a Sweet Sunday for our family after hearing my mother tell us her "story"!
Easter was definitely a Sweet Sunday for our family after hearing my mother tell us her "story"!
Thank you, Lord. Your mercies are new every morning!
And here is a Sweet Sundae treat….my new obsession! Gourmet Popsicles!!! Can't wait to try both of these!
King of Pops' Banana Puddin' and Chocolate Sea Salt Pops
Photo by Renee Brock, Styling by Ashley Meaders for Once Wed
In the last post of this series, we continue to share the best of the artisanal ice pops trend with you by featuring stories and recipes from some of our favorite vendors nationwide. See previous ice pop coverage here.
"My brother's a sucker for these farmers," says Steven Carse. "He'll pick up odd ingredients from the farmers' markets because they talk him into it." That is how Steven explains the experimentation that goes on in the King of Pops kitchen, which is rented by the hour in Atlanta, Georgia. One day, Steven hopes to have a brick-and-mortar pops shop (and kitchen), but for now he pedals his cart daily around Woodruff Park and the corner of North Avenue and North Highland. (That's on the corner of the Buddy's Gas station, right across from Manual's Tavern, for those who live in Atlanta).
Why pops? A year ago, Steven was laid off from AIG. The extra time to daydream--plus visits to his oldest brother doing PhD work in Mexico spent nibbling paletas--lead to his self-imposed coronation.
Although Steven posts his ever-changing menus on Twitter and Facebook, some pops lovers who aren't hip to social media fail to check before driving to the "the corner." "Some people like the idea of our changing up flavors, some, well... I don't know if I would use the word angry, but they're not happy when they get there," Steven says. So he tries to keep fan favorites--Chocolate Sea Salt, Blackberry Mojito, and Banana Puddin'--in the rotation. (Steven's favorite flavors are Pear Cardamom--"I always get stuck on the newest one being my favorite"--and Blueberry Lemongrass.) We tried to get the Chocolate Sea Salt recipe, but there's a special ingredient that, after putting their heads together, the brothers Carse decided they couldn't bear to reveal. No matter. After the jump, find the recipe for the pop that Steven says represents his upbringing, the Banana Puddin' Pop.
For more information, visit kingofpops.net.
Banana Puddin' Pops
by Steven and Nick Carse
Makes about 16 3-ounce pops
**Note: This recipe has not been tested in or styled by the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen.**
INGREDIENTS
1 quart whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, seeds removed (keep seeds and pod)
1 1/2 cup organic evaporated cane juice
8 ripe bananas, 4 whole and 4 sliced crosswise about 1 inch thick
32 bite-size vanilla wafers (the Carses recommend Nilla Wafers)
PREPARATION
In a saucepan on low heat, mix milk, cream, and vanilla (both scraped seeds and pod), and cane juice until warm throughout. Remove from heat and let cool. Remove the vanilla pod.
Pour the liquid into a blender. Add 4 bananas and blend the mixture until smooth.
Place two slices of banana and two vanilla wafers each into popsicle molds. Then pour the milk mixture into the mold.
Place one popsicle stick in each mold, submerging it halfway. Freeze for at least 8 hours.
How to Make the King of Pops' Banana Puddin' Ice Pops
King of Pops' Banana Puddin' and Chocolate Sea Salt PopsPhoto by Renee Brock, Styling by Ashley Meaders for Once Wed
In the last post of this series, we continue to share the best of the artisanal ice pops trend with you by featuring stories and recipes from some of our favorite vendors nationwide. See previous ice pop coverage here.
"My brother's a sucker for these farmers," says Steven Carse. "He'll pick up odd ingredients from the farmers' markets because they talk him into it." That is how Steven explains the experimentation that goes on in the King of Pops kitchen, which is rented by the hour in Atlanta, Georgia. One day, Steven hopes to have a brick-and-mortar pops shop (and kitchen), but for now he pedals his cart daily around Woodruff Park and the corner of North Avenue and North Highland. (That's on the corner of the Buddy's Gas station, right across from Manual's Tavern, for those who live in Atlanta).
Why pops? A year ago, Steven was laid off from AIG. The extra time to daydream--plus visits to his oldest brother doing PhD work in Mexico spent nibbling paletas--lead to his self-imposed coronation.
Although Steven posts his ever-changing menus on Twitter and Facebook, some pops lovers who aren't hip to social media fail to check before driving to the "the corner." "Some people like the idea of our changing up flavors, some, well... I don't know if I would use the word angry, but they're not happy when they get there," Steven says. So he tries to keep fan favorites--Chocolate Sea Salt, Blackberry Mojito, and Banana Puddin'--in the rotation. (Steven's favorite flavors are Pear Cardamom--"I always get stuck on the newest one being my favorite"--and Blueberry Lemongrass.) We tried to get the Chocolate Sea Salt recipe, but there's a special ingredient that, after putting their heads together, the brothers Carse decided they couldn't bear to reveal. No matter. After the jump, find the recipe for the pop that Steven says represents his upbringing, the Banana Puddin' Pop.
For more information, visit kingofpops.net.
Banana Puddin' Pops
by Steven and Nick Carse
Makes about 16 3-ounce pops
**Note: This recipe has not been tested in or styled by the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen.**
INGREDIENTS
1 quart whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, seeds removed (keep seeds and pod)
1 1/2 cup organic evaporated cane juice
8 ripe bananas, 4 whole and 4 sliced crosswise about 1 inch thick
32 bite-size vanilla wafers (the Carses recommend Nilla Wafers)
PREPARATION
In a saucepan on low heat, mix milk, cream, and vanilla (both scraped seeds and pod), and cane juice until warm throughout. Remove from heat and let cool. Remove the vanilla pod.
Pour the liquid into a blender. Add 4 bananas and blend the mixture until smooth.
Place two slices of banana and two vanilla wafers each into popsicle molds. Then pour the milk mixture into the mold.
Place one popsicle stick in each mold, submerging it halfway. Freeze for at least 8 hours.
