In a Word...

Welcome to 2018!

Seriously?

2018?

What happened to 2017?

For me, much of it went by in a blur. Rotator cuff surgery, our big move, renovating the big house, TWO grandbabies...

Yes, I'd say 2017 was an eventful year. One filled with more blessings than I count.

Just a few of this Grammy's blessings.

So it seems only appropriate that my word for 2018 is GRATITUDE. 

An attitude of gratitude is something I need to exercise more often, instead of allowing myself to get bogged down in the pithy little things that seek to steal my joy. Not when I have so much to be joyful about.

Like this...

And this...

Brie is really is a wonderful thing. Especially when it's baked.

This one is topped with honey, pecans, dried fruit and bacon...

In a word...AMAZING!

Sweet, savory, melty deliciousness.

Now you'll have to forgive me, but I can't help throwing in a couple more photos of our sweet Taegan Olivia, our day-after-Christmas gift.

 She's just...

 So doggone cute.

 Now it's your turn.

Do you choose a word as you head into each year?

Or are you a resolution person? Maybe a goal-setter?

What are you hoping for in 2018?

Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com  

A Recipe for New Beginnings

Apple blossoms in Kansas, Spring 2010

It's been two years since I've had a garden.

That's when we finally sold our house in Kansas and were able to move to the Black Hills to join my husband after six months of living apart.

Being together once more was the best part of this story, but it broke my heart to leave my gardens behind. Again.

I had planted apple trees, raspberries, blackberries, and asparagus. There were four raised beds for vegetables.

We had also planted a bird garden outside the back door - flowering and fruiting shrubs, a bird bath and plans for an arbor.

After five years of back breaking work, the garden was finally beginning to produce.

Then my dear husband lost his job and I was going to have to leave another garden behind - and that was only the surface. Over those five years we had planted relationships, found our favorite restaurants, had learned to like the weather....

Moving uproots everything.

But after two years, it's time. A new garden is going in this week. Not a large one, but a beginning.

A new beginning.

It's spring, and time for new beginnings, right?



Another new beginning is so exciting I can hardly wait to tell you!

Joyce Wheeler, Jan Drexler, Jennifer Rogers Spinola

Saturday morning, a few of us met together in the FIRST EVER meeting of the West River Christian Writers.

All published authors, all ACFW members, all committed to helping one another on the journey and reaching out to bring others along with us (now where have I run into that concept before? Oh, yes, it sounds a lot like Seekerville!)

We had a great couple hours comparing notes, brainstorming, playing with Jenny's cute boys and planning the next several meetings.

And we ate, of course! 

Some bruschetta things from Sam's Club, a batch of the Cinnamon Swirl Cake I shared last month, and some orange juice. Oh, and milk, please, in the blue cup for the four-year-old.

It's the beginning of great things. Two years ago I didn't think I'd ever be part of a local writer's group, and now we are three. 

Sigh. Isn't God good? All the time?

But wait! There's more! Another new beginning! A new little bundle of fluff and pink tongue will be coming to live with us in three weeks!

Wynter isn't sure what to do with the smells we brought home from our puppy picking excursion on Saturday. She's been an only dog for nearly a year, and she'll enjoy having someone to boss around again...but a puppy? 

When my border collie, Connor, died last summer, I didn't think I'd ever have the heart to replace him. He was my dog more than any other dog I've ever owned. His eyes never left my face. When I was at home, he always - always - knew exactly where I was, and if I wasn't at home, he pined. How could he protect me if he didn't know where I was? I was his person.

And how would I ever find another dog to love as I had loved him?

Thatcher at 5 weeks old

But Saturday afternoon, as I held Thatcher in my arms and looked into his little face, I knew I was ready for yet another new beginning.