The Sparrow's Home: Life is hard. God is good. We need each other.

New Year, New Blogs (and a Blogger Recognition Award!)

January 4, 2017 by Susan 17 Comments

One of the greatest things about blogging has been discovering new blogs I likely wouldn't have found. Click here to find a list of some of my favorites!

One of the greatest rewards in blogging has been discovering new blogs that I likely never would have found. I’m excited to share a few of them with you today. And I’m equally as excited to tell you that The Sparrow’s Home has been recognized for a Blogger Award!

Here are the rules of the nomination:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
Write a post to show your award.
Attach the award to the post.
Give a brief story of how your blog started.
Give a piece of advice or two to new bloggers.
Select other blogs you want to give the award to.
Let the other bloggers know you have nominated them & provide a link to the award post you created.

Not Your Average Wild Rice Soup

January 3, 2017 by Susan 17 Comments

Wild rice soup with a silky, creamy broth. It’s uniquely different from the other thick, hearty wild rice soups you’ve seen. You’re going to love it!

Winter is soup weather. If you’re a soup fan, you’re going to want to check this one out. It is unique to every other wild rice soup I’ve ever had. Most wild rice soups are thick and hearty. I love ’em. My creamy chicken and rice soup is thick like this. Yum! But this soup is not like that.

For some reason, decades ago, when my mom got the recipe for this wild rice soup, she didn’t thicken it as much as called for. What that leaves you with is a silky, creamy broth. It’s totally unique. And wonderful!

2016: Top 10 Posts

January 2, 2017 by Susan 20 Comments

So here we are, all having to get used to writing 2017. How’re you doing so far? Me? It’s usually at least March before I don’t have to think about it. But I’m the girl who forgets how old I am. (I know what year I was born, and have to calculate it every time I’m asked.) Anyone else?

As I was compiling this list of your favorite posts of 2016, based on the number of visits to each post, I was pleased to see a variety of topics represented. That’s what The Sparrow’s Home is all about, after all. Our homes are made up of many different spheres.

So here they are…the Top 10 Posts of 2016

Small Ways to Serve Close to Home this Christmas

December 21, 2016 by Susan 13 Comments

There are loads of ways your family can help your community without traveling far from home! Parents and kids can serve together, helping others as a family.

Did you know that you don’t have to trek downtown into the inner city to scoop soup for the homeless to serve others this Christmas? I mean, that would be great. Totally do that if you want. But there are other ways, smaller ways, that are no less meaningful.

All of us strive to teach our children that Christmas is about more than presents for me – me – me. Jesus, whose birth we celebrate, served. And he told us to serve. Certainly we should be doing this all year long. But we would be remiss to ignore the fact that Christmastime is a season in which many people feel forgotten, lonely, and quite frankly…sad.

Crock Pot Lasagna Soup

December 20, 2016 by Susan 16 Comments

This lasagna soup for the crock pot is hearty and satisfying! Perfect for a busy day, a cold day, or a day you just want a big bowl of comfort food.

Every year I host a Christmas cookie baking day for a group of ladies. We spend all day baking, dipping, and decorating. By lunchtime, we are ready for a hearty, satisfying lunch. And because my kitchen is full of baking sheets, sprinkles, and cookies in various stages of preparedness… I need something easy!

My standby is a crock pot full of soup. Maybe cheesy potato, maybe creamy chicken and rice. I like to serve something that I can prepare in advance. Then at lunchtime, all I have to do is heat up some rolls or breadsticks and we’re all set!

This year I made lasagna soup. And there was not a drop left. None. That’s a good sign, right?!

Two New Games We’re Loving!

December 19, 2016 by Susan 11 Comments

We are a game playing family. Recently, we’ve gotten two new games that we’ve been playing–a lot– that I want to share with you. We’ve had a tradition for years that we get a family game for Christmas. This year, we were kind of impatient and couldn’t wait to play them. (We did buy an expansion for one of the games to wrap and put under the tree…shhhh)

If you’re looking for some new games for Christmas, maybe one of these will fit the bill.