the story of us...: Mother's Day

"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my Mother."

- Abraham Lincoln

Today, as I look back at all my Mom has done for me...

Birthed me - with no drugs.

Schooled me... and my three siblings - without strangling us.

Didn't spare the rod - I'm thankful now, not so much when I was six.

Exemplified what it means to be a Godly wife, sister, friend, and mom. I pray one day I can be half the mother that she is.

Rocked me in her lap as I cried countless tears over feelings that were hurt, scraped knees, and animals that had died. Hamsters. We went through a lot of hamsters. Baby birds that had fallen out of their nest and I wanted to take to the vet... One sweet memory I will hold forever is when a baby bird - I really liked animals - had died... I was sitting in her lap, crying (shocking, I know), and she told me that not even a bird falls without God knowing it.

And as I was sitting there with my head on her chest, I could hear her heartbeat. That is what

comforted me. I didn't want to ever get up.

And most important.

Just kidding.

A little.

Taught me that none of life's problems can't be solved with a cookie. Having a bad day? Make cookies! Having a good day? Make cookies! Need a break? Make cookies! Stressed? Make cookies! Celebration? Make cookies!

We had cookies instead of cakes for our birthdays. She would make a huge cookie and decorated/frosted it however we wanted. I always loved these cookies because none of my other friends had them. They got boring store-bought cakes.

So today, I share with you my Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Consider yourself

extremely blessed.

The cast of characters:

I'm sorry Mr. Vanilla, I got in a rush and kind of forgot about including you in the family picture. Not that you aren't extremely important. Especially since you came all the way from Mexico. I promise it won't happen again.

Side note: This is how you accurately measure brown sugar. At least how I was taught. There is no leveling. You scoop and scoop and cram and pack it until the cup is overflowing.

First step is to cream the white sugar, brown sugar, and Crisco.

Next add your eggs and vanilla.

Everyone hates doing dishes. So what we do is cream the above mentioned, then add the flour, soda, and salt. Mix the soda and salt on top of the flour a bit. Then mix everything together. Why in the world would you dirty another bowl to mix the dry ingredients? I don't have a clue.

This was always the time that, if one of us kids happen to be making cookies, mom would magically appear. "Mom, weren't you upstairs taking a nap?" or "Mom, I thought you went to the store?" or "Mom, aren't you out of town with dad?" Oh no, she was there when it was time to test the dough. Or rather, "taste" the dough.

If the dough is sticky, add more flour (about 1/4 cup at a time). You don't want the dough to stick to your fingers.

Mix in whatever combo of "chips" you'd like - about 1 1/2 to 2 cups - depending on your preference. Chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, white... Or if you're feeling frisky, add some Reese's Pieces, Andes Mints, or Holiday plain M&M's (Christmas, Easter, etc).

Drop by spoonfuls - or scooper-fulls on a cookie sheet (use foil or parchment paper if you're wanting to cut down clean-up time).

Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes. I prefer my cookies to have a little crunch on the outside and soft on the inside, so this is what they would look like coming out of the oven if you want them like that.

Remember I was talking about cleaning up and not dirtying any more dishes than you have to? Well welcome to one of my favorite parts of this whole operation. Count 'em... Six dirtied items. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you and goodnight.