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Homemade Rice-a-Roni

One of the things that my family collectively loves is my homemade Rice-a-Roni. Besides being ridiculously yummy, it is also a simple and inexpensive recipe. As a side dish, this recipe feeds us all with leftovers….hallelujah for that! Keep reading for the video and printable recipe.

What things do you make homemade that you can find pre-made at the store? I would love some fresh inspiration!

These basic and inexpensive ingredients is all you need to make Homemade Rice-a-Roni.

A few simple steps to light, flavorful, fluffy rice goodness!

Click here to watch the video

Click here for the printable recipe.

Thanks for visiting!

Be Blessed and be a Blessing,

Rebecca

Tags: American, and a sprinkle of love, baking, baking with kids, belief, believers, Bible, Bible verses, birth, birthday, blessed, blessed mama, blessing, blessings, blog, blogger, bondage, brave, budget, budget friendly meals, budget meals, burdened, care, celebrate, celebration, cheap dinner, cheap meals, cheese, chicken, child, childhood, children, christ, Christ centered marriage, Christian, Christian blog, christian blogger, Christian family, Christian Homemaker, Christian mom, Christian mother, Christian wife, Christian woman, christianity, Christmas, church, comfort, comfort food, cooking, cooking for company, cooking for your family, cooking on a budget, cooking with kids, crock pot, daughter, devotions, dinner, easy, easy dinner, easy dinners, easy meals, easy recipe, easy recipes, easy weeknight dinner, easy weeknight meal, economical, economical meal, economical meals, education, Encouragement, Eternal Vaue, everlasting life, faith, faithful, Fall, Fall cooking, family, family dinner, family favorite, family favorite recipes, family friendly, family friendly meal, family fun, family meals, family recipes, family time, fast weeknight dinners, father, food, food ministry, foodie, forgiveness, Freedom, friendship, fun, future, glory, God, God's love, God's work, grace, gratitude, growing up, happiness, happy, happy birthday, health, heart, Heaven, Heavenly Father, Holiday, holiday cooking, Holy Spirit, home, home cooking, home cooks, home education, home school, homemade, homemade rice, homemade Rice-a-Roni, homemade side dish, homemaker, homemaking, homeschool, homeschooler, homeschooling, honor, housewife, humble, hurt, husband, husband and wife, inexpensive meals, intentional, Jesus, jesus christ, journey, Joy, kitchen, Knowing Jesus, learning, leftovers, legacy, life, Lord, loss, love, mama, mama's, marriage, meal ministry, meal plan, meal planning, meals, meals for new mama's, media, memories, menu, menu plan, menu planning, mercy, military, ministry, miracles, mom, mommy, moms next, MOMSnext, MOPS, mother, mother and daughter, mother and daughter baking, motherhood, mothers, parent, parenthood, parenting, parents, party, peace, picnic, Pinterest, praise, pray, prayer, precious, printable recipe, quick dinner, quick dinners, quick meals, recipe, recipes, reflection, respect, rice, Rice-a Roni, salvation, Savior, school, scripture, Servant, servants heart, serving, side dish, simple, simple meal, simple recipe, simple recipes, simple side dish, simple weeknight meals, single mom, slow cooker, social media, son, summer, teaching, thanksgiving, time, Titus 2, vlog, vlogger, what's for dinner, wife, woman blogger, women, women's ministry, worship, youtube

Comments 8 Comments
Categories Food

Lest we Forget

28 May

I am so grateful for the brave men and women who headed the call and left what was familiar and comfortable for a life of upheaval and uncertainty. Today I pause with reflective prayer to honor those who gave their all…the fallen brave who courageously breathed their last breath defending the country and the people they so loved.

To the families who gather around a grave rather than a grill-my prayer is that our Heavenly Father will fill them with grace, peace, and healing. That they would find comfort in each other and that the sweet memories of their loved ones will sustain them until they are reunited in Heaven. Thank you, for your great sacrifice also!

As you enjoy your 3 day weekend please remember and pray for all the brave men and women in our military. Pray for the mothers and fathers who will never hold their precious boys and girls in their arms again, for the wives and husbands who will never get to live out the hopes and dreams they planned together, and for the precious children who will never feel the tickle of daddy’s whiskers on their cheek or the soft embrace of their mother’s arms again. The burden is too great to let this weekend go by without a heartfelt sense of gratitude for the meaning behind our three day weekend.

~Be Blessed and be a Blessing~

Rebecca

Photo credit: Google Images

Tags: Air Force, America, American, American flag, and a sprinkle of love, Army, babies, baking, baking with kids, bbq, beauty, belief, believers, Bible, Bible verses, birth, birthday, bless, blessed, blessed mama, blessing, blessings, blog, blogger, bondage, brave, bravery, budget, budget friendly meals, burdened, busy family, camping, care, celebrate, celebration, chaos, cheap dinner, cheap meals, child, childhood, children, christ, Christ centered marriage, Christian, Christian blog, christian blogger, Christian family, Christian Homemaker, Christian mom, Christian mother, Christian wife, Christian woman, christianity, Christmas, church, comfort, cook out, cooking, cooking for company, couple, daughter, daughters, death, devotions, dinner, duty, easy, easy dinner, easy recipes, economical, economical meal, economical meals, education, Encouragement, enemy, Eternal Vaue, everlasting life, facebook, faith, faithful, Fall, Fall cooking, fallen soldiers, family, family dinner, family favorite, family favorite recipes, family friendly, family friendly meal, family fun, family legacy, family meals, family time, father, fellowship, flag, food. cooking, foodie, forgiveness, Freedom, friends, friendship, fun, future, giving thanks, glory, glory to God, God, God's love, God's work, grace, gratitude, grave, grieving, grilling, growing up, guidance, happiness, happy, happy birthday, healing, health, heart, Heaven, Heavenly Father, hero, Holiday, Holiday weekend, Holy Spirit, home, home cooks, home education, home school, homemade, homemaker, homemaking, homeschool, homeschooler, homeschooling, honor, hope, hospitality, housewife, humble, hurt, husband, husband and wife, imperfections, intentional, Jesus, jesus christ, journey, Joy, joyful, kitchen, Knowing Jesus, laughter, learning, legacy, life, Lord, loss, love, loving, mama, mama's, man, Marines, marriage, meal ministry, meal plan, meal planning, media, memorial, Memorial Day, memories, men, mentor, menu, menu planning, mercy, military, ministry, miracles, mom, mommy, mommy blogger, moms next, MOMSnext, MOPS, mother, mother and daughter, mother and daughter baking, motherhood, mothers, music, Navy, not forgotten, parent, parenthood, parenting, parents, party, peace, perfection, picnic, Pinterest, planning, praise, pray, prayer, precious, printable recipe, quiet time, recipe, recipes, reflection, rememberance, remembering, respect, rest, sadness, salvation, Savior, school, scripture, Servant, servants heart, serve, service, service members, serving, simple, simple recipes, sin, single mom, sisters, social media, Soldiers, son, spouse, stress, summer, teaching, thanksgiving, time, Titus 2, training, transformation, trust, Truth, USA, vacation, veterans, vlog, vlogger, weary, wellness, wife, wisdom, Woman, woman blogger, women, women's ministry, Word of God, word press, worship, you tube, youtube

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Faith, Family, Homeschool

A New Year Prayer

31 Dec

I hope you are all having a wonderful celebration with those you love! My prayer for you is that in this new year you will grow deeper in your faith, that your marriages will be stronger and more passionate, that you will find great purpose in being a great parent, to be more intentional with your friendships, and mostly, to find ways to be a blessing to others. May God guide your paths, comfort you, and give you peace as you embark on a shiny New Year

~Be Blessed and be a Blessing~
Rebecca

You can also find me on Pinterest

Image courtesy of [ noppasinw] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tags: 2015, 2016, and a sprinkle of love, believers, Bible, blessed, blessing, celebration, children, christ, Christian, christian blogger, Christian mother, Christian wife, Christian woman, christianity, Christmas, Eternal Vaue, faith, family, father, future, goal setting, goals, God, God's love, grace, health, holiday season, Holy Spirit, home education, homemaker, homemaking, homeschool, husband and wife, intentional faith, intentional liviving, Jesus, jesus christ, Joy, learning, love, marriage, marriages, mother, motherhood, New Year, New year Blessing, New Year prayer, New Year's 2016, New Year's Eve, parenthood, parenting, parents, party, peace, Pinterest, prayer, prayers, protection, purpose, resolutions, scripture, servants heart, son, strength, teaching, traditions, Truth, Woman

Comments 3 Comments
Categories Faith, Family

Alison’s Story

14 Jun

Alison is my oldest child. She was born severely premature and has some cognitive delays along with Cerebral Palsy. Our church put on a special senior service for all our high school graduates. The families had the opportunity to put together a display of photos and academic, sport, etc. accomplishments. Our journey has looked different therefore trophies and other such accolades haven’t been a part of her life. Alison decided to share her story because it is her greatest accomplishment. Our display was a modest piece of tag board with some pictures and her story. I am so proud of her and her resilience and positive attitude, she is my hero! With a little help from mom…here is her story.

MY STORY

My name is Alison Jordyn. I was born October 31, 1995 at 7:51 PM. My mom is Rebecca and she was just 17 and 24 weeks pregnant when I was born. I weighed 1 pounds 12 Oz. I was born so premature that my eyes were still fused shut. My mom told me what a whirlwind of doctors and nurses there were, all working hard and fast to give me the best shot possible.

I had open heart surgery when I was only two weeks old weighing 1 pound 10 oz. From brain hemorrhages to dangerous blood infections I fought through each one becoming stronger each day. My mom told me that she should plan on me being in the hospital for at least 6-8 months but since I am stubborn (I get that from grandpa) I decided 2 1/2 months was long enough. One month and one day before my due date I was discharged weighing a hefty 4 pounds 7 oz.

When I was born they took my mom aside to prepare her for what life would be like for us. Because of the grade 4 brain hemorrhage she was told I would never walk, that I would never talk, and that I would be plagued with illness, allergies, and asthma. Fortunately, my mama has that same stubborn attitude as grandpa and me and never gave up hope.

I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when I was five months old. Two months later I rolled over for the first time. At ten months old I said my first word, “hi”. On December 28, 1997, I took my first steps and I never stopped moving! I am now 18 and still haven’t been plagued with illness, asthma, and allergies.

When I was in kindergarten my mom was taken aside again and told that I had learned all that I would ever learn. She told my mom that I was incapable of learning new things and maybe school wasn’t for me. That didn’t stop us! I have learned so much and I have accomplished and done more than anyone ever thought possible. We wish we remembered her name because we would like to send her a graduation announcement 🙂

My mom says that I am proof that God is still in the miracle business. With God, even the impossible becomes possible.

I know my accomplishments seem ordinary to most and that’s OK. I don’t have many earthly awards and that’s OK too. You see, my biggest accomplishment is that my life saved my mom’s life. God chose to use a sick little baby to save my mom from a life of addiction and instead led her into a life of salvation. Now that my mom knows Jesus my whole family knows Him. It’s pretty cool to think that I am the reason my whole family will go to heaven.

I am excited for what the future holds because I know the One who holds it. My future is bright and the opportunities are limitless and I look forward to seeing where my journey takes me……..because my story is just beginning!

Our display

Thanks for reading!

~Be Blessed and be a Blessing~

Rebecca

Come on over and see what I am pinning!

Tags: accomplishments, addiction, beginning, believers, Bible, birth, birth story, blessed, blessing, burdened, cerebral palsy, children, christ, Christian, Christian blog, Christian mother, Christian wife, Christian woman, christianity, cognitive delays, comfort, daughter, determined, Encouragement, Eternal Vaue, faith, family, fighter, first steps, first words, food, future, God, graduate, graduation, gratitude, Heaven, high school, high school graduation, homemaker, homemaking, hope, housewife, husband, illness, Jesus, jesus christ, Joy, Knowing Jesus, life story, Lord, love, media, micro preemie, milestones, miracles, motherhood, parenting, parenting a preemie, parenting a special needs child, pemature baby, prayer, preemie, raising a special needs child, salvation, scripture, Servant, servants heart, serving, sick, special nedds, strong, teaching, teen mom, teenage parenting, transformation, trust, Truth, weary, wife, Woman

Comments 30 Comments
Categories Faith, Family

Reflections

28 Sep

I am coming up on a big milestone in my life. My oldest daughter is getting ready to turn 18. I became her mama under the most unfortunate of circumstances. I was a young, unwed, teenage girl with no money and honestly no clue. What makes the story a little more complicated is that she was born not well. I was only 24 weeks pregnant when she made her very small and very quiet way into the world. I think we can all agree that even under the best circumstances having a baby is hard and having a sick baby is super hard.

The past several months has had me being very reflective. Looking back on that hard first year and the subsequent years that were still a little hard but mostly joyful. I keep thinking on all the things I should of done and the things I could of done better. I look at her now, a senior in high school, enjoying a life much different than my own.

I was the youngest in a blended family of five, actually I was a big oops! My older siblings really gave my parents a run for their money. It seemed one big problem kept overlapping the next. I was often told to go play and probably unintentionally overlooked because I wasn’t causing any problems. Fast forward to the really formative years of my life and I was still alone. I was left to navigate these years with only destructive bahavior patterns leftover from my now grown but still incapable siblings. It was now my legacy and I didn’t disappoint. The only difference is that being left alone for so long, I was good at hiding in the shadows, therfore, I was able to avoid real trouble.

I really missed out on healthy behaviors being modeled for me. When I became a mama, I ferociosly loved my baby girl with all that I had. I didn’t know what being a good parent looked like but I knew that I wanted to be one. The first years were trial and error. What I really lacked and really craved for was a woman who I could look up to and someone who could encourage me. Self pity is an expesive trip to take and I certainly maxed out. A time came where at a cross road I had to decide once and for all the path I would take. Since I didn’t have the people I needed I could become the type of person I needed. I love that even though I didn’t know God, He still had His hand on me.

Thus, the journey began. So here, 18 years later, I reflect on the journey and all that I’ve learned. That the brokenness of your past does not have to be the legacy of your future. It is never too late to keep trying again. That with God nothing is truly broken, that all the past wounds, heartaches, disappointments etc..are all God shaped.

So here we are. I look over at the one who made me a mama and thank God for our journey this far. She is learning to navigate this complicated world as a young woman with dreams and desires and she is trying to make a mark for herself despite the physical limitations of Cerebral Palsy. She is walking with the one who loves her most and because of that she is OK and so am I.

~Be Blessed and be a Blessing~

Rebecca

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Tags: 18, and a sprinkle of love, babies, baby, believer, believers, Bible, birthday, blessed, blessing, blog, brokeness, burdened, cerebral palsy, children, choices, christ, Christian, Christian blog, christian blogger, Christian mother, Christian wife, Christian woman, christianity, comfort, easy, encourage, Encouragement, Eternal Vaue, faith, faithful, family, forgiveness, forgotten, future, God, God's love, gratitude, growing up, happiness, Heavenly Father, high school, homemaker, homemaking, housewife, husband, Jesus, journey, Joy, legacy, Lord, love, mama, media, milestones, miracles, motherhood, parenting, past, prayer, preemie, pregnancy, premature, raising children, reflections, scripture, senior, Servant, servants heart, serving, siblings, teaching, teenage mother, teenage parent, teenage pregnancy, transformation, trust, Truth, unwed, walking with Christ, weary, wellness, wife, Woman, young, young mom, young woman

Comments 21 Comments
Categories Faith, Family

This is not Heaven

1 Jul

“The song of the whippoorwill. Let her sing. Let her sing in the dark. let her sing at the dawn. Let her song remind you that you were not made for this place and that there is a place just for you. But until then, be realistic. Lower your expectations of earth. This is not heaven, so don’t expect it to be.”

~Max Lucado~

I just now read that. I had to stop and read it a dozen times. As I sat quietly looking this over, this thought came to my mind-“Will what you sow now be worth reaping in the future?” In Galatians 6:7-10 it says that “for the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

When we live for worldly things it creates turmoil and misery in our lives, well, actually our soul. When we give in to the lusty appetites of our flesh our only gift is endless disappointment. But, when we live under the influence of the Holy Spirit we reap everlasting life.

It is hard to comprehend sometimes. We are fallen and of the flesh brings immediate gratification. Doing something for eternal value sometimes can be uncomfortable and even painful. I needed the reminder that what I do or don’t do has eternal effects. Is what I’m planting going to have kingdom value for tomorrow and tomorrow’s tomorrow?

Not always, but God reminded tonight to be more mindful of my life and those who pass through it. To plant seeds of truth and life. To look up and remember this is only my temporary home. To find my joy in the Lord and to not make this place heaven because heaven will never let us down.

~Be Blessed and be a Blessing~

Rebecca

Let’s connect on Pinterest

Image courtesy of [ponsulak] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tags: believers, Bible, blessed, blessing, burdened, children, christ, Christian, Christian blog, christian blogger, Christian mother, Christian wife, Christian woman, christianity, comfort, easy, Encouragement, Eternal Vaue, faith, family, future, Galatians, God, gratitude, Heaven, Holy Spirit, homemaker, homemaking, homeschool, housewife, husband, Jesus, jesus christ, Joy, life, living, Lord, love, Max Lucado, media, motherhood, parenting, prayer, scripture, Servant, servants heart, serving, teaching, transformation, trust, Truth, weary, wife, Woman

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Categories Faith, Family

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