2nd Annual Ladies' Brunch

One of my favorite new traditions, thanks to Jenn! She encouraged me to start this little brunch to give back to those who give so much to me. She also had her brunch this month and you can check it out here.

I can't believe its already over!!! I prep all week for it and then its over in a few short hours. However, those are a few hours I will never forget! I love the time I get with my girlfriends. They are such a blessing to me in many ways. Each one touching my life differently. God is so good to us. One of the ways I'm continually amazed by His goodness is the relationships I have. They encourage, build up, understand, sympathize, empathize, love, listen, lean, offer courage, enforce accountability, allow girl-talk, lend a shoulder to cry on, grow, and make me smile and laugh. This day is for these ladies who walk this walk with me.

Sadly, I had my camera out, but missed out on prime picture taking as I'm sure you are all so disappointed to miss the spread of food. I went back later to take what I could. I had WAY too much food last year, so I tried to cut back this year. My main table includedItalian Brunch Casserole.Cheesy Bacon Biscuit Pull-Aparts (which were HANDS DOWN the favorite savory dish of the morning). Apple-Cheddar QuicheJalapeno Roll-Ups (its 4oz cream cheese and a jar of jalapenos diced and mixed together).Chile and Cheese Spirals.And, the sweets were milk and donuts (in the back) and Pumpkin Gingersnap Parfaits (in the front. And, these were definitely a favorite!!! If you decide to make the recipe, know that I added quite a bit more brown sugar to the pumpkin mixture. I added it 2 Tbs at a time until it was to my liking). Everyone loves the food, but my favorite part is definitely the fellowship. There were so many ladies from different areas of my life in one room and they all had a great time together. Its fun to see them interact and hear what they have in common. There is nothing like the friendships that come into our lives. They definitely make a difference in mine. I prayed for each one of these ladies all week as I prepared for the big day. I thank the Lord for allowing me to know them and then specifically for the needs I know they have. (Sadly, in the midst of the last group leaving we all missed out on the individual pictures...seems to happen every year). I was so blessed to have my grandmother in town this year! I loved having her here and to celebrate Christmas with her. And, one of my favorite parts. A little something for each person to take home. I got each of the ideas from Pinterest: A personalized ornament, hot chocolate stirrers, and chocolate pretzels (not pictured). I couldn' have done ANY of this without my sweet husband! Seriously. I start planning about a month out and prepping an entire week out for this. He was so sweet to let me have the evenings to work on this and helped me get all our decorations out and the tree set up. He also spent the entire night before cleaning the house while I was still cooking and prepping. It was awesome b/c I didn't have to worry about the house. The next morning, I let him sleep while I was up getting ready...but once he was up, he was working right along with me. It was raining and he stuck around to help people in and get them parked. He even came back early to "crash" the party. haha! He loves my friends and that is a blessing in and of itself. He helped take pictures and visited with everyone the last part of the party! I love that he knows how much this brunch means to me. He is incredibly amazing and I am so blessed to have him!