Hashbrown Casserole ~ Comfort & Joy!

Cheesey Hashbrown Casserole

• 1 lb. bag of shredded hash browns
  (I prefer the type that are not frozen, "Simply Potatoes."
  I buy these in the refrigerated section at the grocery store.)
• 1/2 stick of melted butter
• 1 eight-ounce container of sour cream
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

• Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees
• Melt 1/2 stick of butter and pour in large mixing bowl.
• Add sour cream and cream of mushroom soup - mix well!
• Stir in potatoes.
• Stir in cheddar cheese.
• Scrape all into an 8 x 8 casserole (or 2 quart casserole).

 Top with shredded parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and done, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

This is a family favorite and my sons Jeremy and Jonathan especially love it!

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Twenty-six years ago today, God blessed our family with a gracious gift!  Today, October 22, we celebrate the birthday of our youngest son Jonathan.  I asked myself "where did the years go?", so I began sorting through family photos and selected a few to celebrate Jonathan's journey!  This momma's heart was sure blessed as I reminisced the memory of each picture. God did graciously bless us with Jonathan, which is of Hebrew origin and means "God's gracious gift." 

Dear Jonathan...

Here we are getting ready to leave the hospital in Athens, Georgia...ready to go HOME!
 I've told you dozens of times before, but it was a "record hot day" that day...88 degrees.

I should have realized we were headed for fun times...the picture below was taken

literally minutes after we brought you home.  Check out the dart gun in Jeremy's hand!

You were a beautiful baby and a good baby!  Although you had your

days and nights "crossed up" for the first 2 weeks, once you got your schedule

straightened out, you were a dream...easygoing and laidback.

You were about 8 weeks old in this picture.

You loved your big brother so much, and I'm thankful you still do!

This picture was made while we were at Jeremy's soccer practice.  I love it because

you are wearing a "G.I. Joe" shirt - and those were your favorite toys for many years. 

This was your 5th birthday picture, and may well be my favorite of all times. 

The Olan Mills folks thought so too, because it was on display for a long while!

Your Dad and I loved all the years of T-ball, baseball, soccer,

basketball, track, and football! 

 You've always loved animals, and Beulah the bassett hound was one of your favorite pets.

 Fun times on a deep-sea fishing trip with your friend, Jackie Bell.

You were always taller than all your friends, and

stood 6 feet tall in the 7th grade. 

This is one of the last pictures made of you and your brother when you

both still lived at home before Jeremy went to college and seminary.

Raising you and your brother have been my life's greatest joy.

You always have been a handsome young man. Knowing that you

are also a man of ingegrity means more than anything to me.

 I loved watching you catch the football and RUN like the wind!

Although you've never LOVED school, thank you for being diligent!

This is from your Senior pictures and I've always loved it so much.

 God led you to a fine young woman to marry. 

I love this picture of you and Erin Lee.

I

 06-07-08 - handsome groom on your wedding day.

 The Morton Four - how blessed I am.
We loved every moment of your wedding day.

I'm so glad you love the family farm and look forward to you and your

brother having fun times here with your children.  

We are so thankful for the heritage we have.

 

I added this baby picture of you here at the end...

because the one below this one is your son Jackson at the same age.

You have cloned yourself.

 Jackson Evan Morton

You are such a good daddy and there is no greater joy than

watching you be a daddy.

Your precious family.

Jonathan, Erin, Jackson...God is so good!

I love you son! Happy birthday and thank you for being a joy to my heart. Your life is a gift straight from God to our family. Your dad and I are so blessed to have been chosen by God to raise you...you have brought us so much JOY!  And Jackson will be the same JOY for you and Erin as you raise him up in the Lord!  I can't wait! 

Love, Mom

10-10-10

Good Morning Friends.  I am writing this Sunday morning from the balcony of a beautiful condo in Sandestin, Florida.  My husband and I are here for an extra long weekend, a time of rest and renewal.  As my sweet daughter-in-law Carrie told me before we left, "this will be a vacation, when the whole family comes, it's a trip!"  There are times for both, but she is right...this has been a vacation, long awaited.

I am on Day Eight of one of Beth Moore's devotionals entitled 90 Days With JESUS The One & Only. I should complete this one around Christmas. This morning's reflection was from one of my favorite passages in scripture, the verse from Luke 2:19, "But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart."

As I was writing in my journal and took note of today's date 10-10-10; and since I have time and haven't posted in a while, I wanted to do a "Ten" List. Very unorginal, but I'm inspired with the whole Ten-Ten-Ten date today.  This list is not a Top Ten, but rather ten things I have often pondered in my heart.

Ten Ponderings
1.  The amazing grace of God and why He loves me like He does...
2.  The blessed gift of a long and faithful marriage with the love of my life...
3.  How absolutely right all my friends were about the sheer joy of being a grandmother...the inspiration for Gran Jan's Joy
4.  The great delight it is to be friends with my boys, now grown men...and the thankfulness that their wives are taking such good care of them...
5.  How I absolutely love to garden and wonder if those things are truly inherited and if so, then it came from my maternal grandmother...
6.  Sometimes at night when I slip outside I marvel that God really gave names to all the stars and that He knows my name too... Psalm 147:4 "He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name."
7.  After my trip to South Africa last year, I think of the beauty there, but also the devastating poverty in the shanty towns, and I especially ponder a little boy that used a plastic bread bag as his hat. My South Africa journal for that day is here...
8.  How some songs are so anointed and touch me every single time, and how thankful I am to have my own music man for a husband and that I know I am and have always been his favorite choir member...
9.  When God allows me to serve other women even with all my flaws, His mercy overwhelms me...
10. The older I get the more I understand the peace of being quiet and listening more...and often wonder why I didn't glean this truth earlier in my life, but the ways of God are a mystery...

Well, 10-10-10 is here and I'm getting up to enjoy my last day on the glorious Gulf Coast of Florida!

Blessings,
Gran Jan

P.S.  10-10-10 is also some mighty good garden fertilizer.  I'm just saying...