Chips Ahoy Pudding

Good Tuesday morning!

First things first... A big shout out to Jennifer for my hand-delivered Christmas card (Big Number Nine). That's right, folks. Postage is not required. You can drive by, honk your horn and throw them in the front yard. I'll gather them up at the end of the day!

Well, even though things are really cranking up for Christmas, I hope you are still trying to find something to enjoy each and every day of this special season. If you haven't read Nitty Gritty on the Blog List recently, read yesterday's post. It was excellent, and so true. Also, if you need a new appetizer, Becky's Blog (go to her recipe section) has a stuffed mushroom recipe I know will be very good. I'm not a mushroom eater, but I know a lot of people who are, and when we go to parties, I've noticed that the mushroom appetizers go very quickly (even without my help).

I've included a picture of my second featured ornament -- a Santa Claus music box. I started a Christmas music box collection years ago, and while I don't get a new one every year, I have about ten in my collection. The one pictured was given to me by my Mikie on our very first Christmas together. We really couldn't afford it, but it is my favorite and the tone is still beautiful.

My Busy Basket - Part One

I want to tell you a story today. It's the main reason family traditions are so important to me. It's why I pour over magazines, and read books, and continually try new and different things with my family. It is why I have such a sense of urgency when it comes to spending time, time, time with Mike and the kids.

When Roxie was almost two, I went for my annual check-up, and to make a long mammogram story short, I had a tumor almost the size of a golf ball in my left breast. We scheduled surgery to remove the tumor because it was so far back in my breast a needle biopsy wouldn't work. Again, long story short, the tumor was declared benign. However, during those few days when I didn't know what the outcome would be, I made some life-changing decisions. Whether I had 50 days or 50 years, all I wanted to do was spend every second with my family. When we received the good news that the tumor was benign, the resolve and urgency to spend time with Mike and the kids didn't leave. It intensified. It became my passion.

I decided then and there to "clean out" my Busy Basket. When I jotted down everything I did outside of my family (including church and school activities), I was surprised I had 12 things on the list. Some of the 12 things were not very time consuming. Some took an amazing amount of time, but I enjoyed doing them, and some of them were just things I did out of guilt or those "everyone's mom does it" feelings. So I prayerfully began to examine what needed to be taken out of my Busy Basket. Out of the 12 things in the Basket, I knew six had to go.

Within a week of deciding what should or should not stay, I resigned, quit, or gave notice to six of those items. Some of them were church offices. Some of them were school positions. Some of them were just busy "stuff" that did not benefit God, me or my family.

With these six things out of the way, I carefully considered any and all things people asked of me. My priorities were very simple... God, Family, Friends, Others... in that order. I also decided to check my Busy Basket every six months (December and June) to see what I had put in the imaginary basket and to make sure it had been put in for the right reasons (God, Family, Friends, Others).

I didn't get support from some people, but I knew in my heart I was doing the right thing.

Fast forward one year later. I went for my yearly mammogram. And once again, to make a long story short, there was a slightly "larger than a golf ball" tumor in my left breast. The surgeon had missed the tumor the year before and had biopsied benign breast tissue. Short and sweet... another surgery and this time they assured me they had gotten the tumor. It was again declared benign.

I immediately looked in my Busy Basket. Three more things left the basket. My resolve and passion for all things family had increased. Urgency, urgency, urgency. Live each day as if it were the only one you had to spend with your husband and kids. What would you do differently? I asked myself that question everyday. I still do.

Tomorrow, I'll share the rest of this little ten year old drama, and maybe it will explain why I'm so obsessed with all things traditional... and why I'm tying myself to Austin's bumper when he leaves for college next fall. (Kidding, I'm kidding. That would be SO unhealthy!)

DISCLAIMER: Please know that I am not putting myself in the same category with anyone who has suffered or is suffering from breast cancer. I am not. I have a friend who has been through breast cancer twice, and my story is in no way similar to the pain and suffering she or others who have had cancer have been through.

Happy post today, huh? And since tomorrow is Part Two, you already know you get pretty much the same thing. I just want you to know where the obsession to share is coming from. It doesn't come from thinking I'm a perfect mom (I am not -- ask my kids), or trying to raise perfect kids (they are not -- ask me or Mikie). At the end of my life, whenever that may be, I don't want to think, feel or say, "I wish I had spent more time with my family." That is my goal, and the only way I know to reach the goal is to work for balance -- God, Family, Friends, Others.

Now, for that quick and easy dessert I promised.

Chips Ahoy Pudding

1 bag Chips Ahoy Cookies (regular - not soft and chewy)
1 bowl of milk
1 large container of whipped topping

1. In a medium bowl, pour half full of milk. Take three cookies and put them in the milk and count to ten.

2. Place the milk-soaked cookies side-by-side in a 9" x 13" pan.

3. When the layer of cookies is finished, spread whipped topping over the cookies.

4. Repeat the two layers... milk-soaked cookies and whipped topping.

5. Keep three to four cookies dry. Crush the cookies and sprinkle them on top of the whipped topping.

6. Refrigerate.

When you serve this for dessert an hour or so later, it is a wonderful, delicious pudding cake. Neesa Gray told me about this dessert several months ago, and I have made it many, many times. Better than that, Roxie has made it many, many times, too. It's that easy.

It looks nice enough to take to a Christmas fellowship, also.

Tomorrow I have a wonderful "transition tradition" for you and your teenagers. We started this when the kids were little, and we "tweaked" it as our kids got older.

Have a wonderful Tuesday, and I'll talk to you tomorrow!