Last night was a great night!  It was my second night home after being on the Gourmet Getaway and I was exhausted, having gone right back to work the first day home from the trip.  I was still recovering from so much fun!  I walked in the door to the smell of dinner almost ready ~ Italian Chicken in the slow cooker (a 4m4m meal), steamed squash and broccoli and some pasta.  I was tempted to take a plate to my room, eat while I changed for bed and then slip into a loooooooong night of sleep.  But the kids were setting the table and I really did want to hear about their days since I had been gone, so I sat down.  An hour later we were laughing, talking and having a great time.  I forgot I was tired!  Eventually the evening activities kicked in and they were off to play tennis and I made my way to that loooooooong night’s sleep I was craving earlier. 

I love Homemade Gourmet!  Coming from me, that may sound strange…but honestly ~ if it wasn’t for the easy preparation our products offer, and the planning ahead our 4m4m facilitates, I am sure I would have missed that delightful hour with my kids.  Yes…I could make Italian chicken from scratch…but I wouldn’t if I was that tired. 

Why do you love Homemade Gourmet?  I’d love to hear your stories!!!

 God Bless and Keep You,
Tami

The other day I responded to a blog comment with these thoughts…”Time around the table represents unity in the family. No matter what is happening in each person’s life…challenges, victories, frustrations or successes…we can all come together and celebrate, discuss, solve or console. There is something about breaking bread together and nurturing unity. It is hard to be divided around the table! I know this is why God gave me a passion for this message. His desire is for there to be family unity…because in unity He can nurture and grow His plans for those lives. If we let the dinner table become just a place to eat…we skip the table and just fill our bellies on the run as we find a minute to eat individually, and we eventually find our families growing apart. If we view the table as a tradition, as a place to come together and as a place of importance where we can eat while we are there…we will prioritize it and make sure it happens on a regular basis. This is my #1 reason for being a part of this incredible business…to let God use me to encourage this tradition so He can work in furtile fields!”

As I sit here a few days later those words have been ringing in my head over and over.  My family and I have had the joy of being able to ‘break bread’ with a group of people who are traveling from school to school to share the very same message in a different way. We at Homemade Gourmet share with families how to make the meal times happen so the family can connect…and in connecting values are shared and children learn how to make good choices that will affect the rest of their lives.  This group we were in fellowship with, called Life Choices, shares with teenagers in general assemblies how they can make good choices today and begin generational change for themselves and their future families.  They do this by going into schools and sharing the story of Rachel Joy Scott…the first child to be killed at the Columbine shootings.  Rachel’s mother, other family members and friends tell her life changing story to help teens understand that there is a better way…a better choice than self destruction.  They hear from teens after these events who tell stories of despare, self doubt and hopelessness…ususally feeling this way because of a broken connection at home. 

As we shared the time around the table with the Life Choices Team these last 2 days…I kept thinking about the words of that posting I had made.  I kept wondering if we really understand the impact and power family connectiveness has…or the lack of it.  It truly hit home to me once again…family time around the table has the power to affect generational change!  It had been a while since I had been with the Life Choices Team and listened to their stories…and once again I was impacted by the thought that something as simple as taking time to bring our children into the kitchen…as simple and traditional as having dinner together around the table…can and will influence the future of our children and the future of our children’s children. 

So as I make those meal time plans, as I stock that freezer with some precooked choices and as I find a few simple meal solutions that will make family time around the table a little easier this week…I will be reminded that I am doing more than feeding my family ~ I am making a difference.  And I will smile as I realize that it can be that simple and that I don’t have to do profound things to make a profound impact. 

What do you think?

God Bless and Keep You,

Tami

for more about Life Choices, see their link on this blog. 

I have to share a new variation on our Creamy Italian Casserole mix!  We featured this mix in our October customer newsletter, In The Mix, and mentioned how you can use smoked sausage instead of chicken as an alternate meal option.  Well…this week I had some precooked Italian Sausage in the freezer (I had cooked it up earlier in the week, just like I precook ground beef, and put it in the freezer to use later). I was inspired to try adding that sausage to the casserole instead of the smoked sausage or the chicken.  FANTASTIC!  It may very well be one of my new favorites!  You really need to give it a try.  And if any of you have some recipe variations to share…I’m listening!  I love trying what others think of…and this is a great place to pass it on!  I am especially interested in cold weather meals this time of year…what do you serve when the weather turns chilly? 

I also wanted to share why I had precooked italian sausage in my freezer.  This is not something I would normally have on hand (but that is going to change now!).  Last month I was traveling a lot.  This meant I had missed many meals with my family over a period of 3 weeks.  They know that when I travel I am spreading our mission and helping other families enjoy the same things we enjoy…time around the table and having a successful home based business.  So they don’t get upset that I am gone…but just like me…they miss our time together.  Well, at the end of that travel time I had a weekend event in Oklahoma that would bring me home on a Monday and keep me home for several weeks before going out again.  My husband and 2 youngest joined me for that last leg of the trip, but jobs kept my 2 oldest at home.  They wanted to celebrate our family being back together on that Monday and because they have grown up treasuring time around the table…their natural instict was to plan and prepare a meal to for us to enjoy together.  Things happened (job called one in for a late shift, etc…) so the meal plan fell apart but the groceries had already been purchased (including the sausage…now you know why!) 

When I got the call on the way home from Oklahoma that the plans had changed…I was touched by the sincere disappointment heard in my daughter’s voice.  One more reminder that family time truly does matter.  I respected her decision to step up and help out her employer in a time of need, and I knew she did not make the decision lightly.  She is growing up… and part of growing up is learning to make the tough choices.  I took that moment to reflect and realize that one of the places she has learned how to make those choices was during conversations held around the dinner table.  What lessons have been learned around your table?

God Bless and Keep You,

Tami

We see the magazine articles and TV specials all the time, telling us that family time together makes a difference in how our children grow up. The stories inspire us to make time for family time … but sometimes we don’t know how to do it or what to do with it! Here is a great place to spur one another on and share our family time ideas. Do you have a great meal time game you play? Do you have a weekly family tradition that gathers the family together? Let’s share and make our family time priority time and see generational change happen one family at a time.

We love to use conversation cookies at our family table. These conversation starters are printed on cardboard cookies and make for amusing table conversation. Now mind you … I have 3 boys and 1 girl, so the conversation starters can generate some “interesting” feedback! Somehow all questions seem to eventually end up on one of the following topics: bugs, squishy things, gross things, or dead things! Inevitably the giggling leads to a spilled beverage or a child falling from a chair and always it is a great time. We don’t use these conversation starters every night … but when the tales of the day are few and uneventful, conversation cookies get us talking! So what do you do with your family time? Tami