It was a difficult day as we drove the 17 hours from Wisconsin back to ABC in West Virginia. On the one hand, we all enjoyed normal "van life"-- joking, snacking, watching movies, etc. But it was hard knowing that we were spending our last hours together. We made it back to campus at 4 in the morning on Saturday, caught a few hours of sleep, went to a debrief meeting, and unloaded the trailer. Then it was time to say goodbye. Three of the members of our team will not be coming back to school in the fall, making it especially hard to separate from them. We sang one last song together, cried, prayed, hugged...and said goodbye. I packed up and made the drive home to Virginia with my dad that afternoon.
As hard as the unexpected ending came, it has been a huge blessing to have some extra time at home. I am enjoying cooking, scrapbooking, running, playing ping pong, reading, and generally just hanging out with the family.
Here are the chronicles of my latest cooking/baking adventures!
On Monday evening I wanted to have something yummy for the boys when they got home from their Boy Scouts meeting. Pulling together ingredients found in the pantry and using the inspiration of several Pinterest recipes, the result was a batch of experimental Caramel Pretzel Brownies! The chocolate and caramel were gooey, with just a little salty crunch from the pretzels. Yum.
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This morning (after watching Julie & Julia yesterday with Mom), I was motivated to keep trying new things. So I made my first couple of omelets! Mine had delicious sauteed orange peppers and red onions in it. I also made one for Noah using Muenster cheese.
Noah's breakfast in bed :-) Omelet, toast, and fresh blueberries with a little whipped cream.
My next adventure was to make dinner tonight. After searching through endless online recipes, I finally settled on Pioneer Woman's chicken tenders, along with plenty of dipping sauces, steamed broccoli, and fresh cantaloupe & cucumbers. The cantaloupe came from a lovely little produce stand down the street and the cucumbers were from our own garden!
So, I have been adjusting well to being back home. With a little less than a month left before school, I intend to make the most of every minute being here! Even though a lot of difficult things happened this summer and I can't quite straighten some of them out in my mind yet, it is so good to know that God was in control of every circumstance and situation. I'm resting gratefully in the knowledge that He has every detail planned!
~Hannah Grace
