And 4 months later....

I haven't been able to jump back in to blogging like I wanted to this year.  The Easter and Spring season brings a sense of new hope and beginnings for me.

So here's a snapshot of the last few months in my world.  I KNOW that everyone is as over winter as I am....but here's a flashback to one of our snow days.  I'm just glad we only have to deal with this kind of snow once every few years in SC!

We celebrated Bryan's grandmother's 90th birthday in February...

Fun time with friends at the City Roots Mardi Gras festival....

I spent a weekend at home celebrating my nephew's sweet baptism...

And last but not least, my niece visited for a weekend and had such a great time with her.  

Add in a few big work projects and conferences, and just like that....the blog is all caught up!

Be Joyful in Hope

Happy, Happy New Year!  I love the promise of a new start. Last year was incredibly challenging for me on so many fronts and I'm incredibly excited and determined for the year to come.  I have missed blogging and plan to make Grits and Gossip a part of my life again.  I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and treasured the time spent with your loved ones. 

I spent several wonderful hours in the kitchen today cooking my traditional New Year's meal from scratch!  It was the kind of cooking that requires an apron, 4 pots (collards, blackeyed peas, noodles for the macaroni, and sweet tea), 3 cast iron skillets (pork chops and cornbread- I had enough left to make 2), ham hocks, real butter, and lots of love.  I could hear my mom's voice in my head telling me how to make the gravy....this was the first time I've conquered it from scratch!  I could see my grandmother stirring the cornbread mixture until it "looks right"- no measurements needed.  Now to enjoy the leftovers for the next few days.....

I have lots of goals for 2014, but one is to try to memorize bible verses.  I picked up my copy of Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (highly recommend) and read the January 1st devotional.  Each devotion also gives you several verses to read and lead me to a perfect verse to focus on this week. 

{Image Credit: http://momandwife.com/2011/02/romans-12-words-to-live-by/}

Here's to a beautiful beginning of 2014 and being joyful in hope for all that is yet to come.