From the hosts

The Blog.

Page 9 of 26.

Sunday Suppers Dec 3, 2014

Hearty Chicken Taco Soup Dinner

The nights may be chilly, but this Hearty Chicken Taco Soup is not. Add a little taste of a warm vacation in Mexico to your December dinner table. And don’t forget to make the Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars for dessert– a seasonal favorite. Ole’! Main Dish Dessert Subscribe to the blog for Sunday Supper re

Sunday Suppers Nov 26, 2014

The Best Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

So you have enjoyed an amazing Thanksgiving feast with family and friends. And now, you have a refrigerator full of Tupperware containers with delicious leftovers. What to do? It’s SusanMe and Pinterest to the rescue! Here is our compilation of the best Thanksgiving leftover recipes to make the most

Encouragement Nov 14, 2014

Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas

Two weeks, that’s all you get to see Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas. Yikes, that’s fast! But it is only in theaters for a short time. This is one I will make time for because of the content. I love Christmas and the story is something that I can relate to. I get a little mad when people want to tak

Encouragement Oct 23, 2014

23 Blast

Where there is tragedy and loss, God can still give hope and abundant life. {Tweet this} I thought about that as I watched the movie, 23 Blast. It’s the true story of a boy who plays football in a small Kentucky town where game time looks like something you’d see in Friday Night Lights. The town lov

Sunday Suppers Oct 1, 2014

Chicken Pesto Soup and Apple Pie

The long-awaited month of October is finally here–all of us in Florida are rejoicing because the “cool” weather is lurking around the corner. Mmm… there’s nothing quite like the sweet aroma of apples and cinnamon circulating through the house on a cool fall day. Does anyone else equate fall with pie

Encouragement Sep 28, 2014

When the Going Gets Tough: Academics

When my kids were growing up, I often wished they would just stop growing up! This was especially true in regards to school–it just kept getting harder. And that meant more and more and more time on school and less and less and less time on us. It also meant that they would, at times, become discour

Marriage Sep 24, 2014

Marriage Lessons Learned the Hard Way

I think David is one of the most fascinating people in the Bible. He was a man after God’s own heart, yet he fell so far short in many ways. One of them was in his role as a father. As much as he loved his children, he did not always guide them as he should have. His son, Solomon, followed David on

Sunday Suppers Sep 10, 2014

Chicken Parmesan Soup and Pound Cake Cookies

Soup is the perfect food in my opinion. Hot and all in one for the most part. Sometimes I add salad but not always. This is a recipe I like to double, serve and freeze the rest for another day. Be sure to answer the question below to be entered to win a 6-month subscription of your choice to eMeals!

Encouragement Sep 9, 2014

When the Going Gets Tough: Sports

So your son grew up playing baseball. He joined the team with his neighborhood friends and enjoyed playing catch, hitting the ball, and of course sliding into home base. But as he got older, little league turned into travel ball and things just weren’t the same. Things got harder as the competition

Encouragement Sep 7, 2014

Just Be You

Once we start playing the comparison game, it’s hard to stop. There’s my friend Marcie—the perfect mom with her counters always sparkling, her carpet clutter-free, and her kids smiling like little angels. There’s my friend Laura—the peaceful mom with her endless patience and tenderness with her chil

Sunday Suppers Sep 3, 2014

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings and Football Rice Krispies

FALL!!! I love it because I crave comfort food. And you can’t have hot steamy comfort food in the heat of summer. Of course I am in Florida and it still feels like summer but psychologically this midwest girl thinks it’s fall. So I just have to crank up the air conditioning. In any case, this is a M

Encouragement Sep 3, 2014

Is Your Child Becoming Your Identical?

When I’m with my husband, I strive to be a good wife. When I’m with my kids, I strive to be a good mom. When I’m at work, I strive to be a good boss. But in those few moments I have alone, I start to wonder what makes me me. And I can’t help thinking, “Who am I? Am I spending my whole life people pl

Parenting Aug 31, 2014

Finding Joy in the Chaos

“Life is about finding the joy in the chaos and the crazy.” -Sondra to Ally, Moms’ Night Out What happens when moms are swallowed up into the chaos of life? They (or at least I) go bonkers! Funny? Only in hindsight. My life becomes messy when I can’t control the circumstances my family is in and I s

Marriage Aug 26, 2014

Recipe for a Great Marriage

Flour on my forehead and egg yolk on my elbow. A splash of milk on my cheek and a tiny bit of sugar on the tip of my nose. I don’t know about you, but this is what I sometimes look like when I cook. In the midst of craziness, I love learning what ingredients go well together, learning how much is to

Encouragement Aug 24, 2014

9 Habits for a Happy Home

Thinking about everything I’ve got to get done today makes my head spin. And spinning stresses me out. There are a million things that seem to be pulling me in a million different directions—from work to friends to keeping track of the kids and their needs… It’s overwhelming! And that is not what I

Encouragement Aug 18, 2014

3 Ways to Boost Your Bandwidth

When my husband Mark is frustrated, it’s written all over his face. And if I can’t see it in his face, I can hear it in his tone. That’s the way if went down last night. He was frustrated with the internet speed on his laptop and…it wasn’t the first time. “Susan…” he began, “You’re eating up all the

Parenting Aug 16, 2014

How to Divert Your Kids When Headed for Trouble

It doesn’t matter how old or young your child is, they can run into trouble. The problem is that kids have easy access to trouble. The online world leads to activities and people that they normally wouldn’t be exposed to. I have 5 kids all within 6 years of each other, so I know lots of kids and lot

Marriage Aug 11, 2014

What to Do When You Don’t Feel Like Having Sex

What do you do if you don’t feel like sex as often as your husband would like? This is a question I have been often asked with an expression of guilt. What most women don’t know is that this is normal. Men physiologically tend to desire sex more than women. According to WebMD and University of Chica

Marriage Aug 4, 2014

I Married a Porcupine

I learned the truth years ago: I am married to a self-proclaimed porcupine and he admits it. Of course, Mark is a great husband and most often fun to be around. But, there are definitely moments when his resemblance to a porcupine is overwhelming (and quite hysterical!). Well, let me clarify that—it

Encouragement Aug 3, 2014

How to Stop Missing Miracles

When my kids were young, we lived in a small house Mark had bought when he was single. Each day when I’d take the kids in the yard to play and ride bikes, I’d worry because there was no sidewalk separating them from a busy road. This may seem like a silly thing, but I began praying for God to give u

Parenting Jul 27, 2014

Teaching Your Kids Self-Control

Self-control is tough at every age (I know that’s true!), but it’s especially hard for children. Still, there are ways we can teach it to our kids, and it’s important that we try. In fact, one research study that I find fascinating, makes that point loud and clear.

Marriage Jul 20, 2014

7 Life Hacks for Wives

Life hacks are the best. I’m a shortcut girl as long as the shortcuts don’t compromise quality. Because, hey, what’s the good of, say, a super easy chocolate cake if it doesn’t taste good? So these 7 awesome life hacks for wives are not only shortcuts, they’re easy ways to help you be the wife you w

Sunday Suppers Jul 3, 2014

BBQ Pulled Chicken, Scalloped Potatoes and Red Velvet Cake

Crowd pleaser meal that is what this meal is–the potatoes are loaded and the cake is the Merrill Family favorite cake in the world. To keep it simple we did not picture this with a vegetable but you know you should–every child needs a little green. Main Dish Side Dish Dessert

Marriage Jun 24, 2014

Sometimes It Hurts to Be Silent in Marriage

I am pretty chill about most things. This can be a good quality to have for marriage and a bad quality. On the one hand, I am more flexible than my husband who is more defined in his opinions. He likes to think about dinner—I don’t really care where we go to eat. There are times when he likes quiet—