Hey friends! I hope your new year is off to a fabulous start.
We had the best Christmas season, surrounded by lots of love with both sides of our family.
We traveled a lot in December, so in January we’ve been staying home and keeping a low profile. For me that means lots of reading! In 2017, I read 18 books. When I realized that it made me sad (because it’s not nearly enough reading!), so I set a goal for 2018 to read 2 books per month from the library. That would put me at 24 books, which seemed like a good goal. But I smashed that goal really early on in the year and ended up reading 44 books in 2018!
My least favorite book of 2018 was The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin. The description was so interesting, but it just wasn’t for me. It was the lowest rated book in book club for the year, too. It gets 4/5 stars on Amazon though, so it’s obviously someone’s cup of tea. Just not mine.
My favorite book of 2018 is…coming soon in a top 10 books of 2018 post. š
I’m hoping to hit at least 50 books in 2019. What have you been reading?
I’m officially another year older, and I’m so grateful. We had family over the week after my birthday because Mark was sick earlier in the week of my actual birthday and we didn’t want to infect everyone.
I remembered to use our special birthday plate for my cake, which was actually a big brownie with cream cheese frosting.
My husband spoiled me on my special day as usual. I woke up to these beautiful flowers and a giant Snickers bar, in addition to a gift card to my favorite Catholic book store. They have a beautiful painted cross I’ve been eyeing, so I’m excited to go pick it out!
For the first time ever, Mark addressed my birthday card to “A & Mommy” from him and Arwen. I know it’s silly, but it warmed my heart. Birthdays can be tough in the midst of infertility because they signify the passing of time when you’re waiting to grow your family. Not to mention the aging part. š That simple word “mommy” was like a comforting hug I didn’t know I needed that day.
I’m hoping and praying we’ll be officially listed with an adoption agency soon and by God’s grace (and a small miracle given the typical wait times are closer to two years) I’ll be a mother before my next birthday. We meet with an agency at the beginning of February. Please pray for us as we take this next step, that the Lord will lead us to make the right choices for our family.
The Cookbook Challenge was fun, but I am so relieved to be back to using the internet instead of just my cookbooks. It was weirdly a lot of pressure because I couldn’t type in the ingredients I had on hand and see what popped up. This January I’ve been trying some new recipes and most of them have been really tasty. A few of my favorites are below.
Breakfast Egg Rolls with Sausage Gravy
I accidentally used rice paper wrappers instead of egg roll wrappers. It still came out okay, but I’m sure it would have been even better with the more crispy egg roll texture.
Monte Cristo Breakfast Casserole
I used cherry jam from our annual trip to Wisconsin instead of raspberry jam because it’s what I had on hand.
Do not skip the jam! It made the dish.
Chicken Enchilada Mac and Cheese
We had a few boxes of mac & cheese that had just expired, so I used the noodles (without the sauce) in this dish. I could take or leave the chicken being in this dish, but I enjoyed the different flavors (enchilada sauce, cilantro, etc) mixed in with the sharp cheddar cheese.
I’ll leave you with a photo of my precious Arwen using my slipper for a pillow. You’re welcome. š
How has life been for you lately?