…A Fellow Traveler…

I recently returned “home” to Washington State for a (far too) quick weekend. 
So much about the feeling in that zip code invites cherished memories and excitement in pondering my Eternal Home.
The home we once owned is adjacent to my in-laws’ property. 
From their kitchen, I literally have a full view of our old backyard as it climbs the hill just south.
It’s had a few upgrades since it was owned by us. I saw zero weeds and perfectly coiffed curbs and transitions sprawling across the 2.5 acres. 

The basketball court is at the base of the property. 
That asphalt is sacred ground. Many tough days were worked through by my boys as hundreds upon thousands of dusty composite leather faded orange balls swished through that net. 

Saturday mornings, we worked as a family to clean the inside of the home and maintain the acres. 
Many…many… many weeds grew….
Being assigned a sector to weed was commonplace. 

The decision to buy that large of a parcel was simple-
There was in my opinion (with my Midwest background) no better way to teach our kids to work. 

The boys were teenagers in that home. We worked alongside them, grateful for all of the open conversations we would have in between piling sagebrush to burn, filling bags with weeds, and chugging Gatorade. Jess was expected to work alongside us as well. She was 7 years younger but was told to do her best to keep pace alongside us. We never actually expect her to be able to, but certainly did not tell her such…

She was a baby sis to two older brothers who never went easy on her. They’d never let her win a game of horse or even think about letting her get off easy on chore day. 
They didn’t love spending their Saturday mornings working in this way-
And we only finished when the jobs were done- so everyone was expected to work hard and quickly. 

One Saturday when Jess was about 9 years old- we had worked our way down to the basketball court. We had a few tasks left before Whit would grab two Dominoes pizzas for ten bucks and we’d call it quits for the week. We were likely in our fourth hour of work when the frustration of being-undersized and under-motivated for hours of weeding set in. Jess threw her black bag of weeds down on the court. Her oversized gloves followed. Exasperated, she hollered, “All I do is work work work and all this family gives me is crap!!!”

She stormed off into the house. She was done 
– and let us know it. 

The rest of us exchanged looks and laughter wondering who said what….
We shrugged, finished the task at hand, quit early for the day, and ordered pizza.

Jess joined us for a few slices of her cheese pizza acting as though nothing had happened….

But as a mom-
I felt like a nod in her direction had been earned. She was a 9-year-old girl working to try and keep pace with her older brothers-
Week after week…

Nothing makes me happier as I see what that looks like today. She’s a good friend to all and three semesters away from becoming a college graduate while working two jobs. She’s also slated to spend several weeks in the middle of her fall semester completing a required internship with an additional full-load of class credits. 

Most importantly- she loves Jesus. She’s a stalwart disciple of Christ looking to lift and light the world. 
In so doing, she teaches me to recognize it’s not God’s hope for us that we journey alone. She teaches me as she uses the resources made available through the gospel of Jesus Christ and his Atonement how to improve my own strength and let God prevail- allowing Him to guide my life and recognize the people He has placed in it to help me.

She shows up open-
To new ideas, and new people with a firm grip on who she is as a daughter of God. 
I’m the luckiest mom in the world as I get to cheer her on!
And in so doing –
…I see a fellow traveler.

God has placed her on my path-
I’ve literally felt that blessing since I first held her in my arms- just minutes old. She has her own course- but part of that is to help light mine as we take a few steps together on the road that leads us Home.

-JC

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup soft butter
½ cup oil
1 ¾ cups DARK brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, oil  and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high for 3 minutes or until well blended. Hand stir in eggs and vanilla; don’t over-mix. Add dry ingredients all at once and mix until fully incorporated. Add 2-3 Tablespoons more flour for high elevation. Scoop out approximately 20 -2 1/4” large balls of dough. Gently roll and dip the tops into a mixture of ½ cup milk chocolate chips with ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.  For a richer flavor and smoother texture, form cookie dough balls, flatten slightly and refrigerate or freeze until ready to bake. Place on greased or parchment paper on an aluminum cookie sheet.  
Bake at 400 degrees for 10+ min. 
Let set. share!