The Sweetest Thing's Sunday…Home Is Where The Heart Is And Bananas Foster French Toast!

HOME SWEET HOME……HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS…..GROW WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED….

I've heard and loved these sayings all of my life…and I always thought I believed them and that I knew EXACTLY what they meant! 

Well, I only sort of, kind of, maybe did….I'm really not even sure of that! It really didn't hit me what those oh so cute and quaint sayings meant until my daughter and her husband moved 6 times in one year…and I've been able to watch her make her home WHEREVER her heart is! She's made their Home a VERY sweet home…no matter where they are! She has learned to "grow" where they've been planted…and even where they've been "up-rooted" to as well! I couldn't be any more proud of them than I am right at this very moment! They have truly made their home with each other a priority and they have also made it a priority to put God first in their marriage.

After spending 5 days with them in New Orleans and laughing until the wee hours of the morning…needless to say, coming home without them was hard…it's always hard but it's especially hard right now and there are so many different reasons why! Our youngest child leaves for college in less than 6 weeks…(Who do I cook for?) My shop isn't doing as well as I want it to….(What will I do without it if I have to?) None of my prayers are being answered the way I want them to be answered… (Maybe I should change my prayers!) 

I know we all have these same issues and some much, much worse! I'm very grateful that God has used every circumstance with Brad's job for their good…even when it didn't seem good at the time! I always have to remember that as badly as I want them back home and as much as Jim and I love them…God loves them so much more!

Home means a lot of different things to all of us…it could be a smell, a memory, a favorite tree in the yard, a favorite holiday, or simply the fact that you know you are home when your family is together…

As we spent time in New Orleans with Holly and Brad I actually found myself loving it there..go figure! I imagined myself in all sorts of different houses…and I posted about it on my other blog  because New Orleans is so full of history and fabulous architecture. I also found myself "happy" in the sense that my children are living in a fun place..a place they will never forget and a place where their friends and family love to visit and spend time with them. No matter that they are living in a "corporate" apartment or that their belongings have been in storage for over 2 years…they have MADE it "home"! And it feels like home when I'm there….that's how I know that "Home Is Where The Heart Is"! I see it.. and I watch it in the very lives of my children. I don't leave worried about them at all…I leave worried about ME! I'm forever grateful that God gave them to each other and that they are at home together….wherever that may be!

I remember quite vividly that when Brad first left on this 
Chick Fil A journey…we had a big breakfast all together and it was quite yummy! At that point he was headed to Jackson. Little did we know that his farewell, "Big Easy style" breakfast was a forerunner to where they live today! In the Big Easy! 
So it's only fitting that I share one of those recipes with you! As only Commander's Palace in New Orleans can do…

Banana's Foster is a favorite! 
 However, I made a breakfast version for him because he likes it so much and we had Bananas Foster French Toast as well as a Sunday Brunch Egg Casserole dish. Here is the sweetest thing I could think of to post today in honor of our trip to NOLA!~

OVERNIGHT CARAMEL FRENCH TOAST WITH BANANAS FOSTER SAUCE

1 Cup brown sugar

1/2 C butter

2 T light corn syrup

12 slices bread

1/4 C white sugar

1 t cinnamon

6 eggs

1 1/2 C milk

1 t vanilla

1 t cinnamon

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil, stirring and then turn off! Pour in a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish. Top with 6 slices bread: sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon (save 1/2) top with other 6 slices bread and sprinkle with rest of cinnamon mix. I did double this part ( the cinn/sugar mixture) Beat eggs... (I used 8!) add milk.... and then I added 3/4 C fat free half and half!. add vanilla and cinnamon and pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Next morning... let sit out for 30 minutes and then bake covered at 350 for 45 minutes- uncover... bake 5 minutes more. Top with sauce.

SAUCE RECIPE

1 Cup brown sugar

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 C banana liqueur

4 bananas sliced in chunks

1/4 C dark rum

Combine butter, sugar, and cinnamon in skillet or flambe pan over low heat and stir untill disolved.. add liqueur, place bananas in pan stir till browned and softened, carefully add rum... ignite carefully for just a minute to burn off the alcohol.  ( not easy! I had to have help!) Pour over individual servings of french toast.

I hope you will at least try the french toast recipe! But I really hope that you will always remember the feelings of home and what that means to your heart! I hope you will instill a sense of home and belonging in your children so that when they are grown…and I promise you it will be sooner than you think…they will always look forward to returning…to smelling those smells, to remembering fond memories, to looking for that tree in the yard or those footprints they may have stamped in the concrete. I hope that I can remember those memories as well…and that I always make my children feel like they are back home when they are here…but that when they leave, they leave knowing that  really home is where their heart is!

(and yes, I'm hoping that A sends a subliminal message to them about where their home should eventually end up being for good!)

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

The Sweetest Things Sunday…Strawberry Cobbler or Blueberry Pie?

As we head into this long Fourth of July week…I just had to re-cap a few of my sweetest memories from this summer...

Those that will be forever etched in my mind and heart….

Those that will forever steal my soul…

Those that showed us places we'd never been before…

And those that brought our hearts back together again…

 Like our time together in Hilton Head and then in Savannah….

 Layton being so excited to finally be out of the car and at our home for a week all together!

It's these simple memories…the one's that capture your heart and leave you longing for more that make up the Sweetest things in my life right now…simple sweetness...

that's all it is!!!

that's all I've ever wanted it to be…

and yet it's become that and so much more…

enjoying it with my sweet, sweet, family…

And praying it never ends!!

 This ride that seems to take us on a new journey every time we round a corner…

Just the way God planned it and Ordained it!

Being able to watch Layton as she grows up 

All of us spending time with Miller before he heads off to Auburn in August….

 And even trusting God as we wait on His timing for Holly and Brad and what the next step is for them

 They have taught me so much about trusting in God and waiting on His perfect timing, about growing closer to each other and to God through various trials and triumphs, and about never questioning God's goodness…I hope we can be as big a blessing to them as they've been to us over these past 3 years as a young married couple. We couldn't be any prouder of them than we are!

 We will see them in a few days as we head off to New Orleans to spend the fourth with them! We might even take in a swamp tour….you just never know with them!

What I do know is that God has blessed us richly with our children and we are very thankful for that! I am very thankful for a husband that has loved me more than I could ever express to you and that even though there are certain circumstances we might change if we could…God knows what's best for our family and being able to rest in that knowledge and trust Him for His guidance is the Sweetest thing I know!

I'm never looking behind me again…unless it's to spur me on to live the life that God intends for me to live! The past is behind me….I press on….

Philippeans 3:13

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,

Tonight Mitch and Britney and Layton will come over for dinner…I gave Mitch a choice between these two yummy desserts! I can't wait to see what he chooses!

I hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July week and maybe you might want to try out these desserts as well! They are quite patriotic!

Strawberry Cobbler

Pastry for one single crust pie
1 quart strawberries, sliced
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C hot water
1/4 C unsalted butter, divided
Roll out pastry and divide in half. Cut into 1 inch strips. Place half of strips on a baking sheet and Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. ( Reserve other half for the top of the cobbler) Combine the strawberries, sugar and water. Spoon half of the mixture into a glass loaf pan. Top with 1/8 C butter, cut into pieces, and then the baked pastry strips. Add remaining berry mixture and 1/8 C butter. Top with the unbaked pastry strips arranged in a lattice pattern. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 250 degrees and bake an addition 1 1/2 hours. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream! 
( I double this for my family and do it in a glass 9 x 13)

or blueberry pie!